Fury by Elizabeth Miles

From Simon & Schuster:

Sometimes sorry isn't enough....

It's winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...

Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year's even better--the guy she's been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there's no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em's best friend.

On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that's nothing compared to what's really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it's only a matter of time before he's exposed.

In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.

Em and Chase have been chosen.

First of all, I am not big on book trailers, but I actually picked up this book because of the trailer, so I took the liberty of pilfering it from Simon & Schuster's site for your viewing pleasure...

Fury is much darker than I expected (though why I expected something more light-hearted from a book about the Furies I have no idea).  The main characters, Em and Chase have obviously done bad things to draw the attention of the Furies.  They are selfish, unthinking idiots to be frank.  Em is hooking up with her best friend's boyfriend and hurting all kinds of people in the process.  Chase is uncaring and manipulative, obsessed with his reputation and unwilling to let anyone get in his way.  In fact, the only truly "good" person in the book is JD, Em's next door neighbor who does not have a mean or conniving thought in his head, ever. There is definitely no happily ever after at the end of Fury - it is a classic Greek tale, full of magic and tragedy.  

It takes an extremely talented writer to create a story centered around such unlikeable characters and make you care about them.  Make no mistake, no matter how horrible Em & Chase's actions are, you will care.  Your heart will race and break as you experience the Furies torment with them.  I cried foul, rooted for justice and hoped for the best as Elizabeth Miles took me on this nail-biting ride through Ascension.

On the series website, it says "Stephen King-meets-Twilight in this sexy new series" and when I read it I thought, that is exactly right.  You can check out the series info at http://www.thefuryseries.com/ or on Simon & Schuster's website.  Book Two is Envy, but I have no idea when it will be released, my guess is that the torture will continue until next fall...

I give Fury 4 stars and encourage you all to read it, so you know what to look out for - beware the Furies!

~Shel      

Giveaway Technical Difficulties....

Ok, so we have to fabulous giveaways going on right now The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan & Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep.  Unfortunately, Rafflecopter does not like that and if you look at the main blog page, it appears that they both have the same entry form (on the TLH post the RC form actually says ToF).  Never fear, if you click on the individual post instead of accessing from the main blog page, you can enter the contest you want (or both).  So click on the titles above (in this post) or click on the individual posts and we will work on getting this issue fixed. 

Sorry for any confusion and thanks for stopping by to play with us.

~Shel, Bel & Nat

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

* * * *

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?


Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.



I’ll probably start a riot by saying this but I love Percy Jackson more than…Harry Potter.

There. I said it. Did the world combust?

*Looking around waiting for flashes of lightning*




http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/photo_double_rainbow_with_lightning_bolt/



Alright, looks like I survived saying the unthinkable.


There is just something about Percy and his friends that I find so endearing. So when I finally found the time to pick up The Lost Hero at the beginning of this year, I was ecstatic and suspicious all at the same time. I was ecstatic because, the world of Camp Half-Blood was back. I was suspicious because Mr. Riordan was starting a new series with new characters. What if I didn’t like them as much as Percy? What if the story was disappointing? What if, what if, what if?

Well I worried needlessly. The Lost Hero manages to stay close enough to the original series to make young fans happy but also holds its own apart from the Percy Jackson books. Jason, Piper and Leo end up being just as lost and loveable as our Percy.

The story begins with Jason waking up on a bus that is taking him and his friends on a field trip. The problem? He doesn’t know who he is, where he is or how he got there. Leo and Piper are at a loss as to why their friend doesn’t remember them. But before they can find a way to regain Jason’s memories, disaster strikes and the three of them find themselves as the newest guests of Camp Half-Blood. As they learn about their parentage and Jason tries to regain his memories, a new prophecy is given:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call

To storm or fire the world must fall

An oath to keep with a final breath

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death

The three of them head off on a quest to not only fulfill the prophecy (or at least part of it) but also to learn more about Jason. And here begins what Riordan does best. Non-stop action. Along the way they meet both old and new friends and enemies. They overcome and/or escape ridiculously dangerous obstacles. It’s a wild ride that leaves you with a doozy of a cliffhanger.

There were three things that I absolutely loved about this book. First, Riordan cleverly alternates between three points of view (Jason, Leo and Piper). And even though each POV is in third person, you are still able to get a clear view into each characters personality. Second, it was super AWESOME to see both Greek and Roman mythology woven together. And third, I loved the age of the characters. Unlike the beginning of Percy, where the kids are 12 years old, Jason and his friends are 16/17 years old. The age difference allows for more action and a slightly more mature narrative.
I honestly could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this book but I don’t want to spoil any part of it for you. So I will just tell you this - buy this or borrow it. One way or another, you MUST read it!

And then when you are done reading it (because I told you to and you should all listen to me, Bel and Shel) go and buy or borrow Book 2, Son of Neptune, which was just released today. Just in case you didn’t figure it out from the title, PERCY IS BACK and the Bibliojunkies could not be more excited!

Now let’s live it up a little and celebrate Greek Week in true book blog fashion. We are GIVING AWAY a hardcover copy of THE LOST HERO by Rick Riordan. You can enter up to three times by doing one or more of the following - Leaving a comment on this post, Following us on GFC, or following us on Twitter.  Be sure to click on the “I Did This” button in the box below after each entry. This contest is open through 12:01AM CST on 10/9/2011. A winner will be announced on 10/10/2011.








If you haven’t yet done so, check out yesterday’s interview with the FABULOUS Jennifer Estep. She talks about her book, Touch of Frost and also tells us what fictional boy she would most want to date. Let’s just say that her response left me in a tizzy as she (along with Tahereh Mafi) is now direct competition for one of my long time fictional loves!  And don't forget to enter to win a copy of Touch of Frost!

And check back tomorrow as we continue our celebration of Greek Week with Shel’s review of Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini!



~ Nat

A Peek in the Biblio-Bin - #4

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It is a way for bloggers to share what books they have won, received for review, bought from the bookstore, borrowed from the library or friend, etc.

This week Bel is giving you a peek into her section of the Biblio-Bin.

As her freshman classmates move into dorms at Cornell University, Olivia Somerset suffers a nervous breakdown. When months of coaxing and analyzing fail to rouse Olivia from her stupor, big sister Miranda decides the sisters should fly off to Barcelona for some "vacation therapy."

When a mistake at their Barcelona hostel leaves the Somersets in a large co-ed dorm room, Olivia and Miranda are saved by kindly Mr. Brown and his son Greg, who happily volunteer to surrender their private room. But while Olivia feels an instant connection with brooding Greg Brown, Miranda sides with fellow guest and cocky American travel writer Lenny:

The Browns are just plain weird, and must be avoided at all costs.

In the midst of urbane Peruvian priests-in-training and Scottish soccer fans, from the shops of La Rambla to the waters of the Mediterranean to the soaring heights of Montjuic, Miranda works to protect her still-fragile sister while Olivia struggles to understand her burgeoning adulthood, her feelings for Greg, and the fear that makes the next step in her life so impossible to take.

Inspired by E. M. Forster's classic novel A Room with a View, debut author Hannah Sternberg's Queens of All the Earth is a poetic journey of young love and self-awakening set against the beauty of Catalonia. Teenagers and adults alike will be riveted and moved by this coming-of-age novel about the conflicting hearts and minds of two very different sisters.

Summer 1869, and Sherlock Holmes and his friend Irene celebrate her sixteenth birthday by attending the theater to watch a celebrated magician make a real dragon appear on stage. It is the London sensation. Sherlock and Irene meet the magician, Alistair Hemsworth – just as he is arrested for the murder of his rival, The Wizard of Nottingham.

It seems that traces of the missing Wizard’s blood and his spectacles were found in Hemsworth’s secret studio. Hemsworth has a motive: not only is the Wizard his rival, but he also caused a scandal when he lured Hemsworth’s wife away. But is Hemsworth guilty? Sherlock has his doubts, and soon, so does the reader.

With humor and plot turns as dizzying as a narrow London lane, Shane Peacock invites his readers into a fascinating world, and a fresh adventure with one of literature’s favorite characters. The Boy Sherlock Holmes series is an international success with readers and reviewers alike.

The breathtaking conclusion the New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush saga!

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They’ve overcome the secrets riddled in Patch’s dark past…bridged two irreconcilable worlds…faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty, and trust…and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in each other, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they’ve worked for—and their love—forever..

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer — they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

.

What if you knew exactly when you’d die? At age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years to live. Thanks to a botched effort to create a perfect race, all females live to age twenty, and males live to age twenty-five. While geneticists seek a miracle antidote, the world is crumbling: Orphans roam the streets, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and polygamy abounds.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to escape. But then her husband, Linden, exposes her to a world of wealth and decadence she never knew existed. Even if she can’t quite hate her husband, though, she knows to fear her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote and who may or may not be hoarding corpses in his basement lab. At the same time, Rhine is growing dangerously close to Gabriel, a house servant. Will she be able to escape the mansion—before her time runs out?

.

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Why not share your finds with us?

Interview with Jennifer Estep & Giveaway of Touch of Frost!

Guys, I am so excited to give you our first author interview!  I am even more excited that it is with the talented Jennifer Estep!  Long ago I read Jennifer's Karma Girl and for years I have been eyeing her Elemental Assassins books in the bookstore (I finally purchased the first three and am looking forward to reading them).  When I saw that Jennifer was entering the world of YA with a series about mythology and heroes, I was hooked.  See my review of Touch of Frost here.

I was psyched to ask Jennifer to participate in our Greek Week celebration and  Jennifer very graciously agreed to be our very first author interview and even offered to donate a copy of Touch of Frost for a giveaway!  So, without further ado, I give you Jennifer Estep:

1. Of all the special abilities displayed at Mythos Academy, which would you most want for yourself? Which would you hate?Thank you Jennifer!  We really appreciate you coming out to play with us! 

Jennifer: The warrior whiz kids have a lot of cool powers. I think it would be interesting to have a Valkyrie’s strength, an Amazon’s quickness, or a Spartan’s ability to pick up any weapon and automatically know how to use it.

However, I don’t think I would like to have the enhanced senses that some of the kids have. I imagine you would get a lot of headaches from things like bright lights and loud noises.

2. You have a successful adult series, the Elemental Assassin (an urban fantasy series). Did you find it difficult to switch to writing for young adults? What was most difficult?

Jennifer: My Elemental Assassin series can be dark and gritty, so it was nice to write something a little lighter with the Mythos Academy books. Both series have a lot of the same elements in common – a strong, sassy heroine, magic/world building, fight scenes – so I didn’t find it too difficult to switch to writing YA.

I would say the hardest part is just trying to write in a YA voice and tell more of a coming-of-age story. In the Mythos Academy books, Gwen is trying to figure out what she wants her place in the world to be and how she can use her magic to help others. It’s been a fun challenge to write a heroine who is still learning things about herself and growing up along the way. Hopefully, readers will enjoy Gwen’s story.

3. And because we really do have the mentality of 16-year olds here at BiblioJunkies, what fictional character would you most like to go out with?

Jennifer: That’s a tough one. There are so many great heroes in YA books these days. But I would have to say Peeta from The Hunger Games. He’s just a really sweet, caring guy who looks out for the people he loves no matter what. Plus, he can bake too.

4. Gwen shares a love of treats with the BiblioJunkies. We are totally jealous that Grandma Frost has baked treats for Gwen every time she goes home. So, we have to know, what is your favorite treat?

Jennifer: I couldn’t pick just one! LOL. I have a sweet tooth so I love desserts – cakes, cookies, pies. Some of my favorite treats are strawberry cheesecake ice cream and dark chocolate candy bars with raspberry. Even though it’s not dessert, I also have a weakness for cheese fries.

5. What treat should we have on hand for our fictional date with the hottie Spartan Warrior, Logan Quinn?

Jennifer: I would say a sense of adventure. Logan’s a really fun guy, and you never know where you might end up on a date with him – or how many Reapers might be lurking around waiting to spoil things …

Thank you Jennifer!  We appreciate you taking the time out of your extremely busy writing schedule (I count 4 books and 3 short stories in 2011 & 3 books and 1 short story coming in 2012!) to come out for our little party.  You can learn more about Jennifer and her books at http://www.jenniferestep.com/.  

***I'm told that the Rafflecopter is not working properly; therefore, if you comment on the blog, I will make sure your entry is counted & we will manually have random.org pick the winner.  Sorry for the confusion & difficulties. ****
 

Now for the giveaway - comment on this post (and fillout the rafflecopter info) any time between Monday, October 3, 2011 at 7:30 a.m. and Sunday October 9, 2011 at 12:00 a.m. central time.  On Monday October 10, 2011 we will let rafflecopter and random.org pick a winner.  Winners will be notified via email on or before October 11, 2011.  If the winner does not reply to the email with his or her shipping information within 24 hours, we will pick a new winner.  This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. 

Thanks for coming by and check back every day this week for more Greek Week fun!

~Shel

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep, author of two successful adult series, introduces a new young adult series.  Touch of Frost is the first book, released July 26, 2011.  First Frost is a prequel short story, which you can grab for free from most ebook sellers.  First Frost chronicles the events that lead to Gwen's attendance at Mythos Academy.  Touch of Frost picks up the story a few months after Gwen's admittance.  From Kensington Publishing:

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy -- a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I’m determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why – especially since I should have been the one who died …

We have already discussed my love of mythology, so it should not surprise anyone that I would be drawn to this book.  Mythos Academy sounds like an ideal high school to me. 

This book creates another whole world of alternate mythology which unites all cannons of myth to fight "The Chaos" led by the Norse God, Loki (very timely with Thor's release this summer).  Mythos Academy is where the children of myth learn the skills to wage the war against the Chaos.  After tragedy strikes, Gwen finds herself enrolled in Mythos.  She has no idea why she is there or why her family seemed to view her enrollment as inevitable.  After Gwen finds the body of a fellow student, she becomes obsessed with finding out why the popular, beautiful student was murdered and no one seems to care.

Gods, monsters and heroes, what's not to love?  The characters are snarky and sarcastic.  Like Buffy, except with mythology.  Jennifer Estep did an amazing job of honestly dealing with the emotional issues Gwen faces as she struggles to find her place among the students at Mythos.  I felt like Gwen was perhaps a little too accepting of certain things when I wanted her to stand up for herself, but this was a minor irritation in an otherwise fantastic book.  More than anything, this story is about empowerment, friendship and the lengths one will go to understand and deal with loss.  I give Touch of Frost 4.5 stars and encourage you all to pick it up! 

I also want to KISS someone at Kensington Publishing for only making me wait until November 29, 2011 for Kiss of Frost (Book 2)!  Thank you for only torturing me for a few months instead of a year!  Book 3, Dark Frost is scheduled for release June 2012 - I will forgive you for this because I only have to wait until November for Kiss of Frost.  Check out the awesome cover for Kiss of Frost -

I leave you with one of my favorite exchanges in the book:

"Are you actually ... going to eat lunch with me?" I asked.

"No," Daphne said, breaking a buttery breadstick in half and dipping it into the spicy marinara sauce on her plate.  "I'm a figment of your imagination.  You're only imagining that I'm sitting here eating with you.  Because I'm just so freaking awesome that people daydream about being seen with me." 

"Funny," I muttered.

The Valkyrie smiled at me and took a bite of her breadstick.

"But why?" I asked.  "You hate me."

Daphne chewed and swallowed.  "I wouldn't say hate, exactly.  You're kind of like fungus, Gwen.  After a while, you start growing on people."

"So I'm mold.  Wonderful."  p. 131 - 132.

~Shel

It's Greek Week!

Ladies & Gentlemen -

It is Greek Week!  We have fun, authors & giveaways!  We are celbrating all the wonderful new books involving Greek Mythology!  The BiblioJunkies are huge Percy Jackson fans and we wanted to do something to celebrate the release of Son of Neptune tomorrow, but then we got to thinking, there are a ton of great books inovlving Greek myth, heroes and monsters, why not celebrate them all!

So, here we are.  Today we are kicking off Greek Week with the Mythos Academy books by Jennifer Estep, who has generously donated a copy of Touch of Frost for one lucky winner (see details in today's post). 

Tomorrow is the release of Son of Neptune and we will be celebrating Rick Riordan's books.   We will also be giving away a hardcover copy of The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. 

For the full schedule go here.

So, keep checking back all week for Greek Week fun and please join in!  What's your favorite Greek myth, hero or monster related book or series?

~Shel