New and Noteworthy for Lesley Livingston

Lesley Livingston, the amazing author of the Wondrous Strange series, has another book coming out soon called Once Every Never. The cover has yet to be revealed, but there is a trusty banner that gives us a hint to what the cover will look like:

*

*Thank you to the wonderful Liz over at Midnight Bloom Reads for this extraordiary banner

This is what it's about:

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. On the surface. She's smart, but a bit of a slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker...but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes. Also? She unwittingly carries a centuries-old Druid Blood Curse running through her veins.

Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals intoa  deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there's still time--literally--maybe even get a date.

This is the kind of adventure that happens to a girl once every...never.

Hmm, let me see...adventure, love, and time travel? Count me in! I'll be waiting for the cover reveal this week, so be sure to check back in.

<3 Paige

Blog Changes

Hello, everyone! If you were just tuning into my crazy blog changes, I'd like to tell you that it's currently done. I'm sorry if you were enjoying a post and then it changed; I wanted to do it quickly for your sake. It's a dramatic change and I hope you like it. Please comment if you do or don't, and if you have problems with links or pictures or something of the sort. Thanks much!

<3 Paige

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Genre: teen fantasy and adventure
Age Group: Young Adult
Book # and Series: no series
Pages: 480
Synopsis: Deadly Grace. Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight--she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away....

~~

Eep! I loved, adored, and will-never-stop-thinking-about Graceling! This was a exhilarating, breathtaking, heartbreaking, extremely wonderful novel with an extraordinary cast of characters. Cashore wrote a beautiful world that I just loved!

Graceling is set in a sci-fi medieval ages world. There are seven kingdoms, each with a very interesting king that Katsa explains throughout the book. The world is so different, but similar, to a medieval England. Lady's are required to wear skirts, they aren't supposed to know combat skills, and they are supposed to marry. Katsa doesn't wear skirts, she knows combat skills, and she has vowed to never marry. She's very isolated from the women of her world, but has very close friendships with many of the men.

Katsa is such a wonderful MC. She's very scared of what she can do, but also proud of it. She doesn't like to kill others or torture others for her uncle and you finally see what happens when her uncle pushes her to do something out of her comfort zone. Katsa is strong but she also cares about others more than she really knows and you see that when she's with Princess Bitterblue, Princess of Monsea.

Overall, Graceling was one of those awesome, amazing, wonderful novels. The characters made me laugh and cry, especially Po, who was beyond amazing. There are so many twists to this book, both good and bad, and they had me flipping pages like a maniac. Graceling is definitely one of my all-time favorite books!

The Cover: The sword is so appropriate for Katsa and her ability to kill. The background like a tapestry is so pretty and great for the medieval setting. And they eye in the sword really emphasizes the importance of eye color in this book.

Wolves, Boys, & Other Things that might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler

Genre: literature and fiction, social issues
Age Group: Young Adult
Series and Book #: no series
Pages: 371
Synopsis: KJ Carson lives and outdoor lover's dream. The only daughter of a fishing and wildlife guide, KJ can hold her own on the water or in the mountains near her hometown outside Yellowstone National Park. But when she meets the shaggy-haired, intensely appealing Virgil, KJ loses all self-possession. And she's not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that they're assigned to work together on a school newspaper article about the famous wolves of Yellowstone. As KJ spends time with Virgil, she also spends more time getting to know a part of her world that she always took for granted...and she begins to see herself and her town in a whole new life.

~~

Just to clear things up, this book is not about werewolves. It seems that most of the people I talked to about this book thought it was about werewolves, even I thought it was about werewolves before I bought it. No, it's about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park.

This was a informational book that I thought was very interesting. KJ was a strong character when it came to what she believed in, which were the wolves, but wasn't strong when it came to herself. She let Kenner, Mandy, and Joss (the bullies of school) to push her around and even let her dad kind of control her. That's what bugged me about her most. She also messed up everything she did with the wolves which added problems, but got annoying after awhile.

This book is about a very sensitive subject: wolves. Some love them dearly, and some hate them mercilessly and you see both sides in this book. It was informational and was a detailed read. She explains everything about where she lives and the things that happen involving the wolves.

Overall, this book is not for ones who don't like informational and definitely-not-paranormal reads. It was great to read, hearing both sides of the wolf subject. Still not sure where I stand, but this was a very nice informational novel. I thought the book picked up immensely in the end when KJ finally stands up for herself and does what's right and is strong and passionate.

The Cover: This cover is so appropriate and I think I fell in love with the bright background and the dark wolf and model. The model was my image of KJ throughout the entire novel. Very cute.

Wishful Thinking by Alexandra Bullen

Genre: teen social issues
Age Group: Young Adult
Series and Book #: no series, book 2*
Pages: 243
Synopsis: A heartbreaking past. Three wishes to change her future. Hazel Snow has always been alone. Adopted as a baby and shuffled from home to home, she's never belonged anywhere and has always yearned to discover where she comes from. So when she receives three stunning, magical dresses--each with the power to grant one wish--Hazel wishes to know her mother. Transported to a time and place she couldn't have imagined, Hazel finds herself living an alternate life--a life with the mother she never knew. Over the course of one amazing, miraculous summer, Hazel finds her home, falls in love, and forms the most unexpected friendship. But will her search to uncover her past forever alter her future? In the heart-pounding, luminous sequel to Wish, Alexandra asks the question: If you could wish for a new life...would you?

*this is the companion novel to Wish by Alexandra Bullen. See my review here.

~~

Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic. Actually, I know I'm a hopeless romantic. I balled through half of this book! I was crying when I finished it, and it hasn't really cleared from my mind.

Hazel bugged me through practically the entire book. She feels so sorry for herself that I thought she was rather selfish and conceited. When she manages to be transported back in time, she didn't even care about her stepdad Roy. She was more concerned with finding her real mom. And when she finds out who her mom is, she just won't accept it. And she had so many mood swings that I sometimes had to take a step back from her confusing thoughts. But in the end, I grew to like her. Although her decision mostly annoyed me. But that was because of her love life that was gone and I hate when a love life is ruined or destroyed. I believe in happily ever after.

The side characters were so sweet and nice. Rosanna was so sweet to Hazel in the past, and she was just a perpetually good person. Jaime was...temperamental. But you could see her side of things through it all. Luke was, is there anything Luke wasn't? Besides a horrible boyfriend? He was so sweet, and nice, and was willing to take Hazel back even though she ran away from him, like, three times. *Sigh* I love fictional men.

Overall, Wishful Thinking was a warm, heartfelt novel that really delved deeper than Wish into the sacrifices you have to make to really live your life. I was crying through most of the novel. Bullen's writing is so beautiful and she really made me look at things. A great book, just beautiful.

The Cover: GORGEOUS! I can't say it enough. The butterflies (excuse me, las mariposas), the gold, the font, and the model all are so perfectly set together against the black background. It gives it an extra push against the other novels you may see on the shelf.

Release: The Charmed Return by Frewin Jones

By the light of the pure eclipse, two worlds will be as one... She was once a princess of Faerie, the seventh daughter of King Oberon. But sixteen-year-old Anita Palmer has no memory of the Faerie Realm; her true Faerie princess identity; her love, Edric; of her quest to save Faerie from a deadly plague that ravaged it. With the help of an unexpected ally, Anita must figure out a way to reawaken Tania, her Faerie self--but how? Now Anita--or is she Tania?--doesn't know who, or what, to trust, including her own memories. With no time to spare, Anita must act. A thrilling final battle is soon to be waged that will affect not only her destiny but the fat of both Faerie and the Mortal World. Loyalties will be tested, true love questioned, and nothing is what it seems.

~~

I've read the first four books in this series (The Faerie Path, The Lost Queen, The Sorcerer King [also published as The Seventh Daughter], and The Immortal Realm. Number five is The Enchanted Quest) and have yet to read the fifth, but these books were very good from what I remember of them. The book is based in London, considering the London author, which is a fresh new twist to YA. The Faerie world that Tania lives in is very sweet, too. They are very happy in Faerie, unlike some of the darker twists to Faerie. Jones' writing is just right, with the right blend of descriptive and vague. I remember being entranced by the first novel and just having to finish it. Very good novels, although The Immortal Realm seemed to just be an add-on. I think she could have stopped at The Seventh Daughter, but I can't really remember them that well so I don't really think I'm inclined to make a decision.

Daily Dose (6)

Daily Dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share the wonderful and inspirational photos we've found.

(Doesn't the fourth one sound a little like a book you've read? I know for me it does...)