The first book in a new multi-book series from New York Times bestselling author, COLLEEN HOUCK, about a teenage girl entangled in an epic Egyptian quest full of romance, adventure, and mythology!
Author Colleen Houck's first series, The Tigers Curse, was a New York Times Bestseller, a USA Today Bestseller, A Publisher's Weekly Bestseller, and A Parents' Choice Award Winner. The Tigers Curse series is also being made into a movie! Adapted by Julie Plec, creator of The Vampire Diaries, and directed by Shekhar Kapur, who directed the Academy-Award winning, Elizabeth.
When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification. And she really can't imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe. But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world. From New York Timesbestselling author Colleen Houck comes an epic adventure about two star-crossed teens who must battle mythical forces and ancient curses on a journey with more twists and turns than the Nile itself.
I adore books based upon mythology - greek, norse, egyptian - doesn't matter. I love the myths. Rick Riordan is the king of mythology (and I'm dying to read his new series based upon Norse myths in the fall!), but I will read just about anything based upon mythology. Egyptian is a bit more complicated - gods with three parents, chopped up gods, cat gods, sphinxes (is that the plural of sphinx?), but still I love it.
Houck's take on Egyptian myth is fantastic. The mythology is great, but also the story and the characters kept me completely enthralled. The interactions between Lily and Amon are hilarious. Add in two other roguish demi-gods and I'm in love! Reawakened is action packed and thoroughly entertaining. Well done Ms. Houck!
It's been thirty days, two hours, and seventeen minutes
since Calder left Lily standing on the shores of Lake Superior. Not that she's
counting. And when Calder does return, it's not quite the reunion Lily hoped
for. Especially after she lets her father in on a huge secret: he, like Calder,
is a merman. Obsessed with his new identity, Lily's dad monopolizes Calder's
time as the two of them spend every day in the water, leaving Lily behind.
Then dead bodies start washing ashore. Calder blames his
mermaid sisters, but Lily fears her father has embraced the merman's natural
need to kill. As the body count grows, everyone is pointing fingers. Lily
doesn't know what to believe—only that whoever's responsible is sure to strike
again. . . .
After the impressive debut of Lies Beneath, I was very much
hoping its sequel would continue to carry that sinister sense of foreboding. Deep Betrayal features complicated family
dynamics, a menacing threat to the Bayfield community and a deepening mystery
of mermaid mythology.
Once Lily exposes the truth to her father, he becomes
obsessed with embracing his merman side. His many long absences take a
toll on the family. Lily is still concerned for his safety as Calder’s sisters’
whereabouts and motives are unknown. Her mother’s physical condition appears to
be getting worse and her younger sister, Sophie seems to be keeping her own
secrets. As these things unfold around
her, Lily also begins discovers some startling abilities of her own.
Deep Betrayal has some intense, creepy moments which I appreciated.
It has the same dark undertone as Lies Beneath but with more at stake this
time. The dead bodies washing ashore
have brought unwanted attention to Bayfield and the publicity could mean danger
for Calder, his sisters and Lily’s dad. Lily’s friend Jack, is unstable and is threatening to expose the mermaids and all the events which previously
unfolded, Lily and Calder doing plenty of damage control.
If you enjoyed Lies Beneath, Deep Betrayal will be welcome
addition to your “to be read” pile – its alluring plot will keep you well hooked!
Kami Glass loves
someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she
was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood,
and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t
suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school
newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in
order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks
Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned
their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons,
Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy
away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the
questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the
bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now
that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does
she hate him? Can she trust him?
If you have read my reviews you will not find it a surprise
that I am drawn to books that pull me in emotionally.I thrive on angst (well at least in my
imaginary worlds; I don’t have much time for it in my actual life).So how happy was I to read Unspoken.A book with the perfect amount of angst tempered
with a decent amount of snark.
I immediately fell in love with Kami Glass.She is one of the most emotionally strong
female characters I have read.She is
determined, a bit pushy and very protective of herself.She is always taking charge and is constantly
cracking jokes.The utter ridiculous
banter that she and her father serve up is creative and hilarious.
Then there is our bad boy hero, Jared.Jared is an unfriendly jerk that rides a
motorcycle which he has crashed at least 50 times.But as is often the case, this bad boy is
using his jerk-like tendencies as a cover for his sadness and insecurities.
Kami and Jared have known each other for years.They are mentally linked and have been each
other’s “imaginary” friend since birth.They were never quite sure if the other was real until Jared moves to
Sorry-in-the-Vale.Many authors would
have taken that defining moment and used it to begin a grand romance.Sarah Rees Brennan takes the more “realistic”
route.Both of them are scared.They have never been sure if the other was
real.Now that the one friend that knew
everything about them is a flesh and blood person the reality of how much power
they have over each other is overwhelming and frightening.They both find themselves cautiously testing
each other’s boundaries but at the same time putting up more walls to protect
themselves.
But that is only part of the story.There is plenty of mystery in
Sorry-in-the-Vale ever since Jared and his family have moved back.Strange things are happening in the woods and
everyone s acting strangely now that the Lynburns are back in town.Kami is determined to find out what is going
on and she has recruited her friends to help her.
This story is fast moving and full of intrigue and
action.Oh, and the ending.I haven’t wanted to throw a book across the
room so much since that cliffhanger Cassandra Clare threw at us at the end of
City of Fallen Angels.Thank you, Sarah Rees Brennan for making me happy,
sad and angry all at the same time.Yet
again I lament that I have to wait a WHOLE YEAR for the next installment in a
series.But I can’t complain too much
because that means I have found another book to love which in my opinion is a
total win.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.
By Sarah Rees Brennan
Publication Date: September 11, 2012
Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?
A has no friends. No parents. No family. No
possessions. No home, even. Because every day, A wakes up in the body of a
different person. Every morning, a different bed. A different room. A different
house. A different life. A is able to access each person's memory, enough to be
able to get through the day without parents, friends, and teachers realizing
this is not their child, not their friend, not their student. Because it isn't.
It's A. Inhabiting each person's body. Seeing the world through their eyes. Thinking
with their brain. Speaking with their voice.
It's a lonely existence—until, one day, it
isn't. A meets a girl named Rhiannon. And, in an instant, A falls for her,
after a perfect day together. But when night falls, it's over. Because A can never
be the same person twice. But yet, A can't stop thinking about her. She becomes
A's reason for existing. So each day, in different bodies—of all shapes, sizes,
backgrounds, walks of life—A tries to get back to her. And convince her of
their love. But can their love transcend such an obstacle?
Every Day has got to be one of the most mind-bending
books I've read in a while. In describing it to a friend, the best I could come up with is that it's sort of like a Quantum Leap/The Time Traveler's Wife mash up. I was consumed with every detail of A's journey reading it in half a day.
Our initial
introduction to A is when A inhabits Justin's body for the day and meets his
girlfriend, Rhiannon.Normally A has a steadfast rule about not getting too involved in the "host bodies" lives. A's goal is to
create as little disruption as possible to the individual's day-to-day activities. On this day upon meeting
Rhiannon, A is instantly enamored. A's mind screams to keep her at a
distance knowing the dangers involved in forming attachments. But A cannot
fight the compulsion to be with her, to get to know her and to protect her.
It's the pull towards her that for the first time in memory, grounds A,
providing a center to return to, a home, a possible future to hope for.
However,A's very inconvenient tendency to shift from
one body to the next, landing anywhere from a half hour to 4 hours away,
provides a huge obstacle to overcome, not just geographically but
physically also. This is where the book starts to become a major head-trip. Meeting
A for the first time as Justin naturally sets the reader up to think of A as a
boy. But A does inhabit girls bodies too. A’s attraction and feelings for Rhiannon
do not lessen with that biological difference.A does inhabit many different bodies
throughout the course of the book – kids
his age from various backgrounds, physiques and even different sexual preferences. It's disorienting but it packs a powerful punch because it challenges our views on love and sexuality. A easily looks past the gender
limitations leaving the rest of us to catch up. It's not even a consideration. Obviously that’s easy being that A has never remained in a body
for more than one day, therefore, has never had to identify completely with a specific gender. One of my favorite moments in the book is when A inhabits the
body of a gay kid named Hugo. While at a gay-pride parade with his boyfriend, Austin, A makes a beautiful observation about love:
"In my experience, desire is
desire, love is love. I have never fallen in love with a gender. I have fallen
for individuals. I know this is hard for people to do, but I don't understand
why it's so hard, when it's so obvious."
It's a powerful observation that just slams right into you and totally shifts your perspective. I had to remind myself to not pin A down to any gender but to instead see the well-intentioned beautiful soul A is. A’s astute understanding and connection to the people whose bodies are inhabited provide some of the most poignant moments in the book. A has this inherent desire to try and improve their lives
through some small gesture. And sometimes A is a life saver. As A and a skeptical Rhiannon become closer, A’s yearning
to stay and create a life with her becomes more pressing. A's willing to risk more and starts to deviate from the rules.
Unfortunately taking those risks is dangerous.
A has to work extra hard to remain anonymous when one recent
outing results in unwanted attention from a religious group who believes that
the devil has been possessing bodies. But out of this mishap, could there possibly be some help for A from the unlikeliest of sources?
Simply put, Every Day is phenomenal! It has this amazing "wow" factor that just grabs hold of you and takes root inside of you. It's an unconventional love story so be prepared to be hopeful, uncomfortable, confused but mostly moved. What is most amazing is how through Every Day Levithan challenges us to look at love beyond the conventional norm, beyond the limitations of gender and labels. A may be in a different body every day but A's humanity and moral fiber come through very clearly. I couldn’t help but fall for A and share in A's hope for a future with Rhiannon.
~ Bel
I'm not exaggerating when I say that Every Day grabs hold of you and doesn't let go. I was honestly moved by it for days - still am. And when I heard the beautiful "Trembling Hands" by the very awesome and very talented Temper Trap, I had the chills and I immediately thought of A and Rhiannon. It's forever their song to me.
Are the woods behind
St. Bede's Academy really haunted, or does bad stuff just happen there? When
Calista Wood, a new student, arrives midway through her junior year, St. Bede's
feels like a normal school . . . until she discovers that a girl had
disappeared a couple of months earlier. Some kids think she ran away, others
think she was murdered, but it's only when Cally starts digging around that she
finds the startling truth.
Watch as Cally enters a world of privilege, weekend-long parties, high school
romances, and . . . well-kept secrets. This page-turner will appeal to teens
looking for a fast-paced thriller. Written in a voice at once gripping and
crystal clear, debut novelist, McCormick Templeman, will take readers on a
twisting and turning journey as only a "new girl" can experience.
I don’t often read thrillers or horror stories but once in a
while I totally get an itch to read something scary.The Little Woods sounded like it would fit
the bill.It turned out to be a quick easy read but
unfortunately didn’t really satisfy my need for thriller and mystery.
I think maybe I have watched too many episodes of CSI and
Law & Order in my lifetime because this is not the first novel I have read
where I figured out “who did it” long before the end.Very early on it was easy to determine the
identity of the murderer of Calista’s sister and half way through the book it
was obvious why the same murderer killed again.The only thing I was waiting for was the motive behind the initial
murders.But since I figured it out so
early, the wait for the actual reveal made me lose interest.
I wasn’t a big fan of most of the characters in this
book.You just don’t learn enough about
them to develop a relationship with them.Sadly, I was also not a fan of the main character, Calista.Her character seemed rather contradictory.
She sometimes comes off as an independent rule breaker that turns her nose up
at the popular crowd.This quality is
the reason why I never quite understood her decision to build and maintain
relationships with the popular girls at the expense of other friends that
shared similar interests as her.It just
didn’t ring true.Also, Cali admits to being a
pretentious word snob.She uses a number
of unusual words in her internal dialogue.Although educational, this quality of hers seemed forced.I think maybe it would have seemed less
forced if she had been using those words in dialogue with other characters.
The characters I did enjoy were Jack, Sophie and
Chelsea.Jack was just all boy.Fairly down to earth and “normal” and a
little bit clueless.Sophie was smart
and my favorite moment in the book was her response to Cali when she shaved her head.Then there was Chelsea.She was truly the most mysterious part of this book.Every scene with her involves great dialogue
and/or creepy actions.In the end, you
still don’t know much about her.She is
the one person that provided true mystery to the story.
This was just a meh for me. I haven’t read many YA mysteries but out of
those few I have read I would recommend Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw
Wolf or Every You, Every Me by David Levithan.
Miranda has Shakespeare in her blood: she hopes one day to
become a Shakespearean actor like her famous parents. At least, she does until
her disastrous performance in her school’s staging of The Taming of the Shrew.
Humiliated, Miranda skips the opening-night party. All she wants to do is hide.
Fellow cast member Stephen Langford has other plans for
Miranda. When he stops out of the backstage shadows and asks if she’d like to
meet Shakespeare, Miranda thinks he’s a total nutcase. But before she can
object, Stephen whisks her back to 16th century England – the world
Stephen’s really from. He wants Miranda to use her acting talents and
modern-day charms on the young Will Shakespeare. Without her help, Stephen
claims, the world will lose its greatest playwright.
Miranda isn’t convinced she’s the girl for the job. Why
would Shakespeare care about her? And just who is this infuriating time
traveler, Stephen Langford? Reluctantly, she agrees to help. Knowing that it’s
her only chance of getting back to the present and her “real” life. What
Miranda doesn’t bargain for is finding true love … with no acting required.
Who isn’t familiar with William Shakespeare? We all know
that famous writer of epic love stories, comedies and drama. But ever wonder
about what a young Will Shakespeare may have been like? Kissing Shakespeare, with its eyebrow-raising title and gorgeous cover, feeds that curiosity by using a little time travel
magic and employing the services of a very capable young Shakespearean actress.
Stephen transports Miranda back in time to pose as his
sister, Olivia, while they visit with his uncle’s family at Hoghton Tower. This
is a very hazardous time in England’s history. Elizabeth I is on the throne and
religious discord between the Catholics and Protestants is strife. The
Protestants had endured horrific persecution under the reign Elizabeth I’s
predecessor, Mary aka Bloody Mary. Now under Elizabeth, the pendulum has swung
and it’s dangerous to be Catholic, so much so that they have to practice in
secret.
And this is where we come across a young and impressionable
Will Shakespeare who also happens to be staying at Houghton Tower. Will is
seriously contemplating becoming a Jesuit in this tense political climate.
Stephen cautions that this is a momentous decision: if Will chooses the
religious life, our cultural landscape will be changed for good.Miranda’s mission, should she choose to
accept it, is to convince Will that his destiny is greater than this one
religious cause. And Stephen encourages her to use any means necessary to
convince him – yes, he actually expects Miranda to seduce Will.
It’s easy to succumb to this delightful story mainly because
Miranda’s adjustment to the 16th century is not quite as traumatic as
you’d think. There are also misteps which make for comical moments e.g. when she has to come up with an explanation to give the maid as to why she has a bra which obviously has not been invented yet. After much
goading from Stephen, she takes on her mission with zeal and even proves to be
a bit of a sleuth herself.
Deception and intrigue abound in Kissing Shakespeare and the
stakes are raised higher when Miranda receives cryptic messages. Someone
knows the truth of who she is and this revelation could destroy everything,
including her chance to go home. But what’s heartwarming is Miranda as she
becomes involved and close to her “pretend” family. In the end, she wants very
much to protect them especially when trouble comes knocking.
Truly Kissing Shakespeare is a gorgeous piece of work that
just sweeps you away as you go through the pages. Miranda’s interaction with
Will are tentative and innocent, much to Stephen’s dismay and as a result, Miranda’s
annoyance. Dinner time becomes a moment to non-chalantly spy on their guests to
discover their motives. And poor Miranda, her growing conflicting feelings for
Will and Stephen only add to her confusion. But what I enjoyed most is that it
fed my love of history. By setting the story in this fascinating and troubling
time period, Mingle had plenty to work with to give it tension and substance.
There’s that extra thrill when a character has to really watch their back and
keep all eyes and ears open so that they don’t fall prey to someone else’s
schemes.
Do read Kissing Shakespeare. It's a sweet little escape to a time and a place beyond the present. A little adventure wrapped in innocence and suspense unfolding in front of one of the greatest and most beloved figures in history.
After reading and falling in love with Kissing Shakespeare, I just had to reach out to Pamela Mingle to let her know how much I loved it. Pamela has kindly shared some of her thoughts about the book, the inspiration behind it, the characters ... oh and we may discuss food and perhaps which historical figure she'd be willing to smooch. Read on...
Pamela, thank you so much for
doing this interview with us. Let me say that I thought the premise of Kissing Shakespeare was so interesting. I thought of Stephen as a time lord Ã
la Doctor Who and Miranda as his traveling companion. How did you come up with
the idea?
Thank you! I’d read about the
possibility of Shakespeare being employed as a schoolmaster when he was a young
man. I wanted to tweak the idea by blending the contemporary and historical.
When I first began writing Kissing Shakespeare, I didn’t intend for Stephen to
be such a huge part of the story. He was merely Miranda’s guide, the person who
made it possible for her to travel back. But of course he became so much more. What do you think makes William
Shakespeare still so relevant almost 400 years later? Shakespeare wrote about timeless
themes we still identify with today: love, revenge, jealousy, self-knowledge,
betrayal—and those are only a few. Who can’t recall a boy or girl we dated,
someone our parents disapproved of, Ã la Romeo and Juliet? Or being consumed by
jealousy, like Othello? Fortunately, our experiences don’t usually end in
tragedy, but the essential emotions are the same. Sparring lovers, like
Katherine and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, is a common motif in books
and movies today, and I certainly used that in Kissing Shakespeare. The beauty
of Shakespeare’s language still captivates. And it continues to surprise me
every time I discover a commonly used expression or phrase originated with The
Bard, such as, “fight fire with fire,” “pure as the driven snow,” and “love is
blind.” Of course there are countless more. I’ve always thought that writing a
story which includes a historical character or actual historical events to be a
bit of a tricky enterprise. Your setting
for the story, England during the 16th century was a tumultuous time
politically and religiously. Were you at all worried about how those events would
unfold around Will, Miranda and Stephen or even how you would characterize
Will?
The young Bard
I like dropping characters into
troubled times to see what happens. How do theirpersonal stories play out against
dramatic and sometimes tragic historical events? On the one hand a writer has
to remain true to the historical facts; on the other, she must create fictional
characters and situations within that context. The religious and political
turmoil in Kissing Shakespeare obviously was crucial both to plot and
character.
I did worry about the
characterization of Shakespeare. People have their own strongly held beliefs
about what kind of person he was. Through my research I learned that he was
thought to be a man who wanted to please, who was eager to achieve success. So
I tried to make him that kind of person in the book. We do know that at age 18
he married Anne Hathaway, who was already expecting their child, so I felt safe
in portraying him as a bit of a flirt. But, given his astonishing body of work,
I also wanted to show his thirst for knowledge. That was why I decided to make
the Jesuit life seem appealing to him. Miranda is an aspiring stage
actress following in her parents’ footsteps. Have you ever dabbled in acting
yourself? No, I’ve never had the desire to
act, or the talent! But I’m in awe of great performers, the way they transform
themselves into their character. Even if it’s a famous actor—Meryl Streep comes
to mind—we forget it’s Meryl Streep. She becomes the Iron Lady, or Sophie, or
The French Lieutenant’s woman. I guess you could say there’s a little bit of
acting when you’re dramatizing a character in a book. Part of you becomes that
person. Without giving away too much, what
is your favorite scene in the book? That’s a tough one. One of my
favorite scenes is when Miranda and Stephen ride out from Hoghton Tower and
spend the day together. It’s very romantic, and I love writing romance! Some of
the humorous scenes were fun to write, especially the one in which Miranda
tricks Stephen into practicing the seduction with her.
Hoghton Tower, Lancashire
The ending left me wondering …
could there possibly be more adventures with Stephen and Miranda? (Please say
yes J) I can’t give you a definitive
answer on that one. I would love to write a sequel—finish Miranda and Stephen’s
story—but there are many factors to consider before a publisher commits to a
second book. Now is the part of the interview
where I ask those silly but entertaining questions.If you could be a character from any of
Shakespeare’s plays, which one would you be and why? Not someone from the tragedies! I
think Beatrice, from Much Ado About Nothing. She’s so witty when she spars with
Benedick. Juxtaposed with their story is that of her cousin Hero, which is
terribly sad. I was moved to tears the first time I saw it performed. Kissing Shakespeare describes a lot of food and dessert at the
dinner table. We BiblioJunkies are fans of delicious flavor. Needless to say,
dessert is our lifeline. What’s your favorite dessert? And did you ever try
some of the food described in the book?
On trips to England I ate a lot of
sticky toffee pudding. Good thing it’s not on many menus here. I could eat it
every day! Of course I’ve had many of the vegetables, meats, and fish mentioned
in the book. Never tried mutton, though, and have no desire to. Yuck! And finally, Miranda kisses Will
Shakespeare to save the literary world as we know it. If Stephen charged you with
such a mission, which historical character would you like to kiss?
A young Henry VIII
I’ll stick with the Tudors. Forget
that famous portrait of Henry VIII when he was portly. As a young man, he was
virile, broad shouldered, athletic, tall—and very kissable. But I’d hurry back
to the present before he could call for the executioner!
Pamela, thank you for spending the time with us. Readers, isn't she awesome? To learn more about Pamela, you can visit her website at http://www.pammingle.com/ or you can follow her on Twitter @PamMingle
Now I must go watch The Tudors or Shakespeare In Love or Much Ado About Nothing ...
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.
By Tessa Gratton
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Paranormal romance fans who are looking to up the ante will be drawn to this tale of horror, fantasy, and romance. For Mab Prowd, the practice of blood magic is as natural as breathing. It's all she's ever known. Growing up on an isolated farm in Kansas with other practitioners may have kept her from making friends her own age, but it has also given her a sense of purpose—she's connected to the land and protective of the magic. And she is able to practice it proudly and happily out in the open with only the crows as her companions. Mab will do anything to keep the ancient practice alive and guard its secrets. But one morning while she is working out a particularly tricky spell she encounters Will, a local boy who is trying to exorcise some mundane personal demons. He experiences Mab's magic in a way his mind cannot comprehend and is all too happy to end their chance meeting. But secrets that were kept from Mab by the earlier generations of blood magicians have come home to roost. And she and Will are drawn back together, time again by this dangerous force looking to break free from the earth and reclaim its own dark power.(
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before
Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.
Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they
survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next.
Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern
United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet,
it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its
knees.
Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those
left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if
they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a
price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.
Let’s get straight to the point. The Kill Order is
depressing. Even more so that the rest
of the series simply because it takes place so soon after the sun flares that life
before all hell broke loose is still a fresh memory. Every page speaks of the loss that these
characters have just experienced. That is compounded by the heavy task of
survival and learning to live in this new world that is all debris, chaos and
vile.
We flash back 13 years before the events of The Maze Runner.
Mark and Trina are in New York when the sun flares hit but survive because they
were traveling the underground subway system when it happened. There they meet
up with Alec and Lana, two army vets. Alec is a real tough guy who has seen
plenty of action in his time and takes them under his wing. Together they attempt
to stay alive and seek out shelter and food.
The Kill Order is all about being in survival mode. The only
time when there is “down time” is at the beginning of the book. Otherwise, it’s
straight action and mayhem once they’re attacked and the disease starts to take
a hold of people’s minds.Many of the
things that occur, such as the disease, will be familiar to readers of the
previous three books.
I enjoyed the book. Yes, I know I said it was depressing but
when a disaster of this magnitude happens, how can it not be? What makes it
hard to swallow is seeing what becomes of those left behind.Human nature descends into the depths of
debauchery, superstition, insanity and gore, all in the name of survival. of the fittest. It’s a new world order with rules made up as
you go along. Everyone is out for themselves and it’s hard to figure out who to
trust. It’s in this world that Mark and Trina begin to lose their
innocence.Mark goes from being the
average teenager nursing a crush to a leader and hero who has to learn to make
hard decisions including pulling the trigger when needed.
This is a must read for fans of the series. The prologue at
the beginning of the book featuring Thomas and Theresa where he is getting the
procedure moments prior to ending up in the box gave me the chills!
Even though it’s short, it gives a more sympathetic perspective of Theresa and their friendship. It's kind of heartbreaking too knowing the trials they have to endure later.
Overall, The Kill Order, which will be released August 14, is a great addition to the series. Believe me, you'll feel just as exhauted and worn down as the characters but this time we know what we're in for and we know how it all ends eventually.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.
By Pamela Mingle
Publication Date: August 14, 2012
Miranda has Shakespeare in her blood: she hopes one day to become a Shakespearean actor like her famous parents. At least, she does until her disastrous performance in her school's staging of The Taming of the Shrew. Humiliated, Miranda skips the opening-night party. All she wants to do is hide.
Fellow cast member, Stephen Langford, has other plans for Miranda. When he steps out of the backstage shadows and asks if she'd like to meet Shakespeare, Miranda thinks he's a total nutcase. But before she can object, Stephen whisks her back to 16th century England—the world Stephen's really from. He wants Miranda to use her acting talents and modern-day charms on the young Will Shakespeare. Without her help, Stephen claims, the world will lose its greatest playwright.
Miranda isn't convinced she's the girl for the job. Why would Shakespeare care about her? And just who is this infuriating time traveler, Stephen Langford? Reluctantly, she agrees to help, knowing that it's her only chance of getting back to the present and her "real" life. What Miranda doesn't bargain for is finding true love . . . with no acting required
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.
By James Dashner
Publication Date: August 14, 2012
The prequel to the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series.
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.
Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.
Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive
By Michelle Rowen
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
An Immortality Bites Mystery #1
August 7, 2012 - NAL Obsidian ISBN-10: 0451237641 ISBN-13: 978-0451237644
Sarah Dearly is adjusting to life as a fledgling vampire, satisfying her cravings at vampire-friendly blood banks. But when her fiance Thierry takes a job with the Ring—the secret council in charge of keeping vampires in line—Sarah’s about to get more than a taste of danger…
Being engaged to a centuries-old master vampire can be challenging—especially when he takes a job with the Ring. Thierry’s in for fifty years of nonstop travel and deadly risk. It’s enough to make any woman reconsider the wedding…any woman except Sarah, that is!
Traveling with him to Las Vegas for his first assignment, they encounter a child beauty pageant contestant from hell, as well as a vampire serial killer leaving victims drained of blood, potentially exposing the existence of vampires to the whole world. But when Thierry’s truly ancient history comes back to haunt him, and he’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit, it’s up to Sarah to clear his name before their immortal lives come to an end.
Four girls. One magical, and possibly dangerous Italian summer. Family mysteries, ancient castles, long hot nights of dancing under the stars . . . and, of course, plenty of gorgeous Italian boys!
I loved this book.With the beautiful Italian countryside, gorgeous Italian boys and a
drunk ass, what’s not to love?And when I say drunk ass, I mean a donkey drunk on red wine.Seriously.I need to party with the Italians.Shel, when are we taking your dream trip to Italy?
Oh boy.I just
realized that we might get crap for the above paragraph so let me just say now
that the book does address cruelty to animals and I would NEVER actually
condone giving an animal booze in any way shape or form.*sigh*
All joking aside, this book was lovely.The story begins in London where Violet sees an 18th
century painting of an Italian girl that looks just like her.The resemblance is uncanny which introduces doubts
regarding Violet’s parentage.She begins
to research the painting and although unable to learn the name of the girl, she
does learn where the girl posed for the painting – Castello di Vesperi.This knowledge spurs her to enroll in an
Italian finishing school that is provided the only private tours of the
castle.What begins as a quest to solve
a mystery becomes a summer of discovering new interests, friendships and
crushes. Mind you, the mystery is still
there and comes out in full force towards the end.
Sometimes what makes a love story wonderful is not the
ending but the journey.And this is what
I enjoyed most about this book.So many
times I am rushing to see if the girl gets the boy (or vice versa) but this
time I found myself sitting back and savoring the descriptions of the day-to-day
activities, of the beautiful country, of characters expressions and language.Some people might say that all of that
information is unnecessary but I think that is what makes this book wonderful
and stand out from other YA romances.
My only complaint is that Ms. Henderson
ends this book with a romantic cliffhanger that will leave this romance lover
pouting for days.But at the same time,
I have something absolutely lovely to look forward to when Following in Love in
Italian is released in 2013.
If you are looking for a fast paced read, this isn’t for
you.But if you are looking for a
relaxing story that will make you daydream about Italy, fun friends and cute boys,
pick this one up.You won’t be
disappointed.
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters must prey on humans and absorb their positive energy. Usually they select their victims at random, but this time around the underwater clan chooses its target for a reason: revenge. They want to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother’s death.
It’s going to take the whole family to lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the water. Calder’s job is to gain Hancock’s trust by getting close to his family. Relying on his irresistible good looks and charm, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter Lily. Easy enough, but Calder screws everything up by falling in love – just as Lily starts to suspect that there’s more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined, and just as the mermaids threaten to take matters into their own hands, forcing Calder to choose between family and the girl he loves. One thing’s for sure, whatever Calder decides, the outcome won’t be pretty.
I picked Lies Beneath simply because the title's double meaning appealed to me. And I can now add mermaids and mermen to my list of paranormal love stories.
As described above, Calder and his sisters are looking to avenge the death of their mother. They lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Hancock family and they will not be appeased until they have succeeded. Calder goes along with this out of family loyalty and also because his eldest sister Maris has promised him his freedom should he help them succeed in getting Jason Hancock. Calder does his best to ingratiate himself into the family. And because he's literally a fish out of water, he's often awkward. He decides that Hancock's older daughter, Lily will be the way to get to him.
Lily, however, is no dainty little thing. She has a pretty strong mind and can’t be easily swayed. She's attracted to Calder but also deeply suspicious and can sense that there's something off about him. So while the story begins with Lily being the prey, it’s Calder who ends up being backed into a corner. Since he's not generally among humans a lot, Calder can be rough around the edges and gets more uncomfortable as he becomes more drawn to Lily.
Calder’s sisters add a lot of tension to the plot – in particular Maris, who as head of the clan is hell bent on revenge. She’s the loose canon that Calder must always pacify and keep in check. Calder is also facing a crisis of his own. He craves human emotions as much as his body craves the water. But he has refused to feed off humans for months, staying “dry” and pushing himself further just to see how far he can take it. To give in to temptation would draw unwanted attention to him and his sisters and potentially ruin all their plans. Add to that Lily’s growing suspicions, the mounting lies and Calder is caught in one tangled web.
I liked Lies Beneath. I admit that I’m not familiar with mermaid lore but I found this story interesting and well paced. I liked that Lily wasn’t an easy mark for Calder and that he wasn’t this perfect suave guy. Calder’s internal battle to fight his nature was very compelling and provided a sinister undercurrent to the story. There's enough going on that keeps up the suspense delivering a surprising and turbulent climax.
~ Bel
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing us the ARC.
When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.
In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.
But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.
So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?
The choice isn't as simple as you think.
Don’t You Wish is definitely a lesson in “the grass is always greener” philosophy of life, because Annie desperately wants to be rich, beautiful and popular and once she gets it, she wants her old life back – sort of.
As Ayla, Annie tries, and fails, to keep the status quo. She messes things up with Ayla’s boyfriend (not much of a loss) and her besties (also not much of a loss). She befriends the social outcasts, such as Charlie, who is at the exclusive private school on a scholarship. Charlie is a brilliant science student heading to the ivy leagues. Once Annie confides in Charlie that she is not Ayla and has somehow ended up in Ayla’s body, Charlie kicks into science geek mode and attempts to help Annie find her way back home. Along the way, Annie discovers there is more to Charlie than meets the eye and the tragedies that have changed his life affect her deeply.
Don’t You Wish is well written with an incredibly interesting and thought provoking premise; however, I had a bit of a problem relating to Ayla/Annie. She’s a little self-righteous, especially for someone who was so desperate to be the popular girl. When she begins to think that she should stay in Ayla's dimension to "save" everyone, I was definitely rolling my eyes. There are some complex physics principles involved, but overall the book is sweet and has an ending to satisfy the romantics out there.
Roxanne St. Claire is a popular and prolific mystery and romance writer and I can definitely see why, she is a talented writer. Don’t You Wish is her first foray into the world of YA. You can learn more about Ms. St. Clare’s books at http://www.roxannestclaire.com.
Every Friday, the XO sends an email to his colleagues with fun facts about that day in history. Today he focused on the birthday of the great Dr. Seuss. Since Dr. Seuss is a beloved children's author and the Bibliojunkies are huge fans, I thought I would share the XO's thoughts on this day in history...
There was joy on this day like the noise of a horn From the Fish to a Bird and the Blogg and a Florn He did write and he drew the good words we all knew Learning life and our words and some songs, up we grew
Theodor was his name and then Geisel his last He wrote books about trees and a nuclear blast Born in Springfield in Mass and a friend to us all We read them all in the summer or into the Fall
I went all over town with those book in my hand Matter not where I was in my mind in his land In my mind I was there with the Yax or the Bloose For it was on this day that was born Doctor Seuss
OK, that was a LOT harder than I expected it to be (And I cheated and made up a few words..oh come on, I’m writing about Dr. Seuss, I don’t think making up words is a crime here!).
I have a new respect for anyone who writes in Anapestic tetrameter. (see bottom for more than you EVER wanted to know about this and other writing styles)
The world gained a childhood hero on this day in 1904 when Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Mass. Geisel wrote under a number of pen names, the most fame however coming from his well know alias, Dr. Seuss. My personal favorite being “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish”, you would be hard pressed to find a child (Or even an adult) who doesn’t remember their trips to Whoville, or their journeys with the Lorax.
I will have to admit here, for accuracy, that if you ready my above (bad) prose, I sort of misled you. One of those “I can now show off how smart I am things” for you to remember, If you want to pronounce the name the way his family did, say Zoice, not Soose. However, I know no one who has EVER pronounced it correctly (Geisel himself even used ‘Soose’)!
Geisel graduated from Dartmouth College and then studied at Oxford. His college years were an indicator of his future, spending some of his time at Dartmouth as the editor of the school’s humor magazine. During his senior year, Ted and 9 of his friends got caught drinking gin in their dorm room, thus breaking the rules of prohibition. More importantly to our story, he was also stripped of his editorship. To get around this unfortunate punishment, he began publishing his cartoons under a variety of pen names, L. Pasteur, D.G. Rossetti ’25, T. Seuss, and Seuss. These cartoons mark the first time he signed his work “Seuss”. While at Oxford, Mr. G met Helen Palmer, his muse, who suggested that he might not be right for higher education. Taking Helen’s advice that “that’s a very fine flying cow!”, Geisel dropped out of his graduate studies, and returned to the US, with his soon to be wife, Helen. Upon returning to the states, Geisel worked for a few years as a cartoonist, working for a number of magazines and advertising agencies.
Ironically, Dartmouth gave Geisel his first honorary doctorate in 1955. He would eventually receive several others, including one from Princeton, making him fairly rare in that he earned a Ph.D. by dropping out of graduate school!
As is the case with most great figures, success was not easy nor quick. Ted and Helen married in 1927, and moved to New York’s Lower West Side. While Ted tried to find steady work as a cartoonist, they were in reality barely making ends meet. Then, fate stepped in. In a cartoon for an issue of Judge Magazine in 1928, he wrote a cartoon in which a frustrated knight remarks, “Darn it all, another Dragon. And just after I’d sprayed the whole castle with Flit!.” Flit was a popular insect spray at the time, and the wife of an Ad Exec (I instantly think “Mad Men” here) convinced her husband to hire Geisel to write ads for Flit. “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” became the “Where’s the Beef” or “Got Milk?” of its day, becoming a standard line in jokes, comedy routines, and any time you needed something right now. For the next 30 years, advertising would remain Geisel’s main source of income, writing ads for Holly Sugar, GE, Ford, NBC and others. The publishing of The Cat in the Hat would change that almost overnight.
“And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street”, his first children’s book, was rejected by over two dozen publishers before finally being printed in 1937. His first bestseller took until 1957. His publisher challenged him to create a book containing 220 words identified in grade school reading primers. The children of the time period, and most likely the parents too, found the current primers boring, and lacking in imagination. Using those 220 words, “The Cat in the Hat” was born.
Geisel was notorious for embellishing the truth, and it led to some of the greatest pieces of his lore:
When telling the story of getting “And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street “ published, either 20, 26, 27, 28, or 29 publishers rejected the book. Walking down Madison Avenue, about to give up, Geisel runs into a former classmate who had just been appointed juvenile editor of Vanguard Press. His friend promptly took him up to his office where they signed a contract for Mulberry Street. As Geisel puts it, “That’s one of the reasons I believe in luck. If I’d been going down the other side of Madison Avenue, I would be in the dry cleaning business today!” Would Seuss really have gone into the dry cleaning business? That’s unlikely. But the “dry cleaning” line makes for a better story.
When asked why he wrote children’s books, Geisel responded “I would like to say I went into children’s book writing because of my great understanding of children. I went in because it wasn’t excluded by my Standard Oil contract.” The truth of that statement was never proven, but he wrote his first children’s book the same year he and Helen learned they could not have children.
When asked where his ideas came from, “This is the most asked question of any successful author. Most authors will not disclose their source for fear that other, less successful authors will chisel in on their territory. However, I am willing to take that chance. I get all my ideas in Switzerland, near the Forka Pass. There is a little town called Gletch, and two thousand feet up above Gletch there is a smaller hamlet called Uber Gletch. I go there on the fourth of August every summer to get my cuckoo clock repaired. While the cuckoo is in the hospital, I wander around and talk to the people in the streets. They are very strange people, and I get my ideas from them.”
Geisel, sorry, Dr. Seuss, also tackled more serious issues in his works, even if disguised behind fuzzy lovable characters. 1984’s “The Butter Battle Book” talks about the arms build-up and the threat of nuclear war, and “Lorax”, about to be released as a major motion picture, is about the importance of caring for the environment. Most of his stories had much deeper meaning than the words on the page. “Horton Hears a Who” tackles isolationism and it’s dangers, “The Sneetches” is about racial equality, “Yertle the Turtle” pokes fun at Hitler and authoritarianism, a subject he also tackled for 21 months as a political cartoonist leading up to America’s involvement in WWII (You knew I’d find a tie in to WWII somewhere, didn’t you?!)
Seuss even added words to our vocabulary. And thankful I am, or I wouldn’t be your resident history nerd. The word ‘nerd’ first appears in “If I ran a Zoo”, published in 1950.
Geisel died on Sept 24th, 1991, at the age of 84 at his home in La Jolla, CA. As Seuss writes in his final book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990), “You have brains in your head. / You have feet in your shoes. / You can steer yourself / any direction you choose”
For a wonderful trip down memory lane, please visit Random House’s site for all things Dr. Seuss.
PS – Do you have any idea how hard it is to spell check a story about Dr. Seuss?! Sheesh!
On his writing Style (Sadly from Wikipedia, one of the world’s worst sources of knowledge, but it was the most succinct explanation I could find)
Anapestic tetrameter consists of four rhythmic units, anapests, each composed of two weak beats followed by one strong beat; often, the first weak syllable is omitted, or an additional weak syllable is added at the end. An example of this meter can be found in Geisel's "Yertle the Turtle", from Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories:
"And today the Great Yertle, that Marvelous he Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see."[52]
Some books by Geisel that are written mainly in anapestic tetrameter also contain many lines written in amphibrachic tetrameter, such as these from If I Ran the Circus:
"All ready to put up the tents for my circus. I think I will call it the Circus McGurkus. "And NOW comes an act of Enormous Enormance! No former performer's performed this performance!"
Geisel also wrote verse in trochaic tetrameter, an arrangement of a strong beat followed by a weak beat, with four units per line (for example, the title of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish). The formula for trochaic meter permits the final weak position in the line to be omitted, which facilitates the construction of rhymes.
Geisel generally maintained trochaic meter only for brief passages, and for longer stretches typically mixed it with iambic tetrameter, which consists of a weak beat followed by a strong, and is generally considered easier to write. Thus, for example, the magicians in Bartholomew and the Oobleck make their first appearance chanting in trochees (thus resembling the witches of Shakespeare'sMacbeth):
"Shuffle, duffle, muzzle, muff" then switch to iambs for the oobleck spell: "Go make the Oobleck tumble down On every street, in every town!"[53]
