Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Waiting On Wednesday.


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on....


The Nightmare Affair

When a fire consumes Meg's home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key-a key only Meg can use- that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg has no choice but to follow. She has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect, and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg will be swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny.
Expected publication: March 2013 by Simon Pulse

The Haven
For the teens at The Haven, the outside world, just beyond the towering stone wall that surrounds the premises, is a dangerous unknown. It has always been this way, ever since the hospital was established in the year 2020. But The Haven is more than just a hospital; it is their home. It is all they know. Everything is strictly monitored: education, exercise, food, and rest. The rules must be followed to keep the children healthy, to help control the Disease that has cast them as Terminals, the Disease that claims limbs and lungs—and memories. 

But Shiloh is different; she remembers everything. Gideon is different, too. He dreams of a cure, of rebellion against the status quo. What if everything they’ve been told is a lie? What if The Haven is not the safe place it claims to be? And what will happen if Shiloh starts asking dangerous questions?
Expected publication: April 16th 2013 by St. Martin's Griffin
Shadowlands
Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived … and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection with her father and sister, Darcy, leaving their friends and family without so much as a goodbye. 

Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children, but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. But just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?
Expected publication: January 2013 by Hyperion Book CH
Spirit and Dust
Speaking to the dead is no new thing for Daisy Goodnight. The living, on the other hand, can occasionally be a problem. Especially when they knock you out, kidnap you, and force you to be their magical police dog. 

Donald Maguire—mob boss, extraordinaire—has a missing daughter and Daisy is his first choice to track her down. But he didn't actually ask her for help. When she woke up in his guest bedroom, she was told. But why her? And who—or what—in the world is the Black Jackal?
Expected publication: May 14th 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers


Tuesday, 17 July 2012

(ARC) Book Review (111). The Legacy Of Lord Regret - Sam Bowring


The Legacy Of Lord Regret (Strange Thread#1)

Publication: 1st August 2012
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Pages: 425
Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Book One of the STRANGE THREADS duology. Centuries have passed since the Wardens slew the tyrant Lord Regret, but while the Wound that he ripped in the sky remains open, the earth trembles and the sun vanishes without warning.


The great warrior Rostigan wanders Aorn, weary of battle and unwanted renown. With him travels his lover, the minstrel Tarzi, who hopes she may soon witness further deeds from him worthy of song and tale. Despite Rostigan s reluctance to re-enter the world, she may get what she wishes for . . .

When they travel to the once magnificent city of Silverstone they discover it has been wrenched out of existence. Journeying onwards, they come to learn the disturbing truth. The land has descended into chaos for the Wardens, now craving destruction, have returned from their ancient graves and Lord Regret s malicious legacy grows ever stronger, corrupting the very nature of reality.
My Thoughts.
A highly exciting novel from a fantastic storyteller, that kept me turning the pages till late into the night.
After a bit of a slow start, the book gets better the further along you read, until you get to the end with a cliffhanger that will have you wishing you had the next book right there ready to go.
I loved how we get the back stories of all of the eight wardens as they are brought back to life after being dead for the last three hundred years.
The revelation when we find out about Rostigan's true identity was a shock, I had to re-read it to make sure that I read it right, but it made a good twist in the story that I really liked. 
The Wardens have no idea how or why they have returned, 3oo years ago they killed each other and themselves in hopes that they could fix the wound in the sky, but alas it did not work and so the eight Wardens rush to reunite with each other some good some bad and some on the fence with their decision on what side to fight on.
So they're out to get each other the Wardens on the side of good trying to kill the others on the evil side before they can harm or kill too many people.
I loved all the characters and the fact that before all eight of them were infected with a bit of Lord Regret's powers, that they were all friends and good people, but unfortunately some of them got his destructive and harmful powers which turned them into people that they would have killed before, I especially love Rostigan, Yalenna and Braston.
I really liked the originality of the story not having read a whole lot of Fantasy books, it was a refreshing read to what I'm used too and I like that, and the world building made this book so intriguing.
I would highly recommend this book, it has action aplenty and left me with a hankering to know what will happen next.
I give this 4/5.
A Big Thanks To Hachette Australia.


Monday, 16 July 2012

Cover Reveal And Giveaway: The Star Child - Stephanie Keyes


The world is about to be cloaked in darkness.
Only one can stop the night.

Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role.

Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

Release Date - 21st September 2012
Publisher - Inkspell Publishing


About The Author:

Stephanie Keyes was born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania and has worked for the past twelve years as a corporate educator and curriculum designer in the Telecommunications industry. She holds a Master's degree in Education with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Duquesne University and a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University. She is a classically trained clarinetist, but also plays the saxophone and sings. When she's not writing, she is a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband and mother to two little boys whom she cites as her inspiration for all things writing. The Star Child is Mrs. Keyes' debut novel.


Giveaway Open To U.S And U.K Only!


Celtic knot designed antiqued bookmark – Will go very good with this book! J


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, 14 July 2012

I So Want This In My Bedroom.....


This would look so good in my room!

Cover Reveal: Doomed - Tracy Deebs


Doomed

Beat the Game, Save the World.
One Stuxnet type worm,
One Greek-themed MMO,
One real world scavenger hunt,
Three teenagers on the run,
And a ten-day countdown to total nuclear annihilation.

Pandora’s Box isn’t just a myth anymore …

When seventeen-year-old Pandora Walker opens an email attachment, she uploads the most frightening worm ever invented—and in doing so, brings about total technological Armageddon. Everything from the internet to communications to utilities collapses and suddenly Pandora finds herself on the run from Homeland Security, the FBI and every police department in the country, all of whom blame her for the technological wasteland sweeping across the U.S.. With the help of stepbrothers Eli and Theo, her neighbors and the two hottest guys in school-- plus codes encrypted in a world famous MMO-- she sets out on a real life scavenger hunt that only she can solve. A scavenger hunt that pits her against one of the most brilliant men in the world—the maker of the Pandora worm. Her father. Only by unraveling the clues left by him in the MMO, and in real-world places around the U.S., can they hope to beat the clock ticking the days off until the entire planet is Doomed.
Expected publication: January 8th 2013


Friday, 13 July 2012

In My Mailbox (36).



In My Mailbox Is A Weekly Meme Hosted By Kristi 
The Story Siren.


Review.
A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2) - Suzanne Young (Harper Collins Australia)
Survive - Alex Morel (Hardie Grant Australia)
Wicked Nights (Angels Of The Dark #1) - Gena Showalter (Harlequin Teen Australia)
Blood Storm (Lharmell #2) - Rhiannon Hart (Random House Australia)
Throne Of Glass (Throne Of Glass #1) - Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Australia)

Brought.
One Moment - Kristina McBride
Dark Destiny (Dark Mirror #3) - M.J Putney
52 Reasons To Hate My Father - Jessica Brody
Chosen Ones (The Lost Souls #1) - Tiffany Truitt




(ARC) Book Review (110). Everything Left Unsaid - Jessica Davidson


Everything Left Unsaid


Publication: 1st August 2012
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Pages: 305
Genre: Contemporary
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
"I wait for him, the cold seeping through my clothes, until it finally dawns on me that he's not coming back. And I wonder why he chose her instead of me? Why he went looking for her when I was right there."



Tai and Juliet have been best friends forever – since they met at kindy and decided to get married in first grade.

They understand each other in the way that only best friends can.

They love music, beach walks, energy drinks and, they are slowly discovering, each other.

As they dream of adventures beyond the HSC – a future free of homework, curfews and parents, a life together – their plans are suddenly and dramatically derailed.

For Tai is sick.

And not everything you wish for can come true.

A poignant story of first love, hope, grief, family, and the twistedness of life.
My Thoughts.
Where have you been hiding Jessica Davidson? This is such an emotionally draining book, after finishing it I couldn't stop thinking about it, I suggest a box full of tissues and a place where you can bawl your eyes out alone!
Which to me is the sign of a fantastic storyteller.
This is the most depressingly, wonderful book I've ever read, it sent me on a roller-coaster of emotions, it was heartbreaking and sent me barreling towards the inevitable ending that you knew would happen but at the same time hoped it wouldn't.
The last half of this book had me in tears and I had to escape to the solitude of my room, because this book is so overwhelming, I just wanted to sit and reflect on the brilliance of this novel, I felt like I'd lost a friend once it was over.
Juliet and Tai have been best friends since the first day of Kindergarten, now that they are both in Year Twelve they have finally admitted their feelings for each other, and after finally becoming a couple Tai finds out that he is dying from a brain tumor with only a year left to live.
Told in alternating perspectives we get both sides, Tai having to deal with the fact that he won't get to do all of the things that he dreamed of doing after high school and Juliet who's faced with reality that she will lose her boyfriend and best friend.
And with Tai faced with the decisions on whether he wants to die at home or a hospital, or if he wants to be buried or cremated just made this so hard to get through without a steady stream of tears running down my face, and having him sit by and watch everybody else's lives carrying on around him knowing he won't get to do any of those things is heartbreaking.
Amidst all the tragedy is a fantastic book which everybody needs to read, this is real life, it's not going to end with a couple looking forward to their future together, but instead how a girl is having to carry on without the person she expected to spend her life with.
One of my favourite contemporary's of all time, I'm so glad I read this book.
I give this 5/5.
A Big Thanks To Pan Macmillan Australia.