Sunday, September 23, 2012
I've been crazy busy the last few weeks between doctor's visits, physical therapy, work, family problems, etc. I've neglected the blog AND reviewing, but I hope to fix that issue here soon. It helps that I have a ton of new books I am super stoked to read and talk about to get me back into the game!
First, my upcoming blog tour novels have arrived!
From the fabulous people over at TLC Book Tours:
Ironskin by Tina Connolly (Ironskin #1)
Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.
It’s
the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great
War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.
When
a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a
"delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain
the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.
Teaching the
unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t
expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward
Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by
his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come
out as beautiful as the fey.
Jane knows Rochart cannot love her,
just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But
what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the
secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become
whole again.
and
Twenty years ago, a
barmaid in a harbor town fell for a young sailor who turned pirate to
make his fortune. But what truly became of Black Edward Tew remains a
mystery—one that has just fallen into the lap of freelance sword jockey
Eddie LaCrosse.
For years, Eddie has kept his office above
Angelina’s tavern, so when Angelina herself asks him to find out what
happened to the dashing pirate who stole her heart, he can hardly say
no—even though the trail is two decades old. Some say Black Edward and
his ship, The Bloody Angel, went to bottom of the sea, taking
with it a king’s fortune in treasure. Others say he rules a wealthy,
secret pirate kingdom. And a few believe he still sails under a ghostly
flag with a crew of the damned.
To find the truth, and earn his
twenty-five gold pieces a day, Eddie must take to sea in the company of a
former pirate queen in search of the infamous Black Edward Tew…and his
even more legendary treasure.
From the amazing Passages to the Past Book Tours:
Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow by Juliet Grey (Marie Antoinette #2)
A captivating novel of
rich spectacle and royal scandal, Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow spans
fifteen years in the fateful reign of Marie Antoinette, France’s most
legendary and notorious queen.
Paris, 1774. At the tender age of
eighteen, Marie Antoinette ascends to the French throne alongside her
husband, Louis XVI. But behind the extravagance of the young queen’s
elaborate silk gowns and dizzyingly high coiffures, she harbors deeper
fears for her future and that of the Bourbon dynasty.
From the
early growing pains of marriage to the joy of conceiving a child, from
her passion for Swedish military attaché Axel von Fersen to the
devastating Affair of the Diamond Necklace, Marie Antoinette tries to
rise above the gossip and rivalries that encircle her. But as revolution
blossoms in America, a much larger threat looms beyond the gilded gates
of Versailles—one that could sweep away the French monarchy forever.
and
Cambridge, England:
1905. Jane Porter is hardly a typical woman of her time. The only female
student in Cambridge University’s medical program, she is far more
comfortable in a lab coat, dissecting corpses, than she is in a corset
and gown, sipping afternoon tea. A budding paleoanthropologist, Jane
dreams of travelling the globe in search of fossils that will prove the
evolutionary theories of her scientific hero, Charles Darwin.
When
dashing American explorer Ral Conrath invites Jane and her father on an
expedition deep into West Africa, she can hardly believe her luck.
Rising to the challenge, Jane finds an Africa that is every bit exotic
and fascinating as she has always imagined. But she quickly learns that
the lush jungle is full of secrets—and so is Ral Conrath. When danger
strikes, Jane finds her hero, the key to humanity’s past, and an
all-consuming love in one extraordinary man: Tarzan of the Apes.
Jane
is the first version of the Tarzan story written by a woman and
authorized by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. Its 2012 publication will
mark the centennial of the publication of the original Tarzan of the Apes.
Actually still waiting for this one in the mail and am so excited to start when it arrives!
Received for Review/Won:
Enchantments by Thaisa Frank (won from Serena over at Savvy Verse & Wit)
The short fiction of
Thaisa Frank has captivated readers for two decades, and now many of
those pieces are collected in one volume, along with several new
stories. In the title story, a lonely mother and housewife orders an
enchanted man from a website called The Wondrous Traveler, who arrives
with instructions for use and a list of frequently asked questions about
enchantment.
In "Thread,” two circus performers who pass through the
eye of a needle become undone by a complicated love triangle. In "Henna,” a young writing teacher must contend with an exotic student who
will not write, her hands covered in dye and her fingers sprouting
innumerable gardens.” And in "The Loneliness of the Midwestern Vampire,”
the undead descend upon the heartland of the country and become
accustomed to its friendlier way of life, attending barn raisings and
feasting on cattle in an attempt to normalize their darker passions.
These
are vibrant, compelling stories that examine the distance between
imagination and reality, and how characters bridge that gap in their
attempt to reach one another.
and
Orphaned, two sisters are left to find their own fortunes.
Sweet
and proper, Karah's future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House.
She could be pampered for the rest of her life... if she agrees to play
their game.
Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer
choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage's offer
of an apprenticeship. Agreeing means a home and survival, but can
Nemienne trust the mage?
With the arrival of a foreign bard into
the quiet city, dangerous secrets are unearthed, and both sisters find
themselves at the center of a plot that threatens not only to upset
their newly found lives, but also to destroy their kingdom.
The Devil's Metal by Karina Halle (received from author for review)
It’s the summer of 1974
and 21-year old Dawn Emerson has only three things she wants to do:
compete one last time in the Ellensburg Rodeo, win back her ex-boyfriend
Ryan, and become the best damn music journalist at Central Washington
University. But all her plans are left in the dust when she’s contacted
by Creem magazine to go on the road with one of her favorite groups, the
up-and-coming metal band, Hybrid.
At first the assignment reads
like a dream come true. Not only will Dawn land some much-needed
credibility as a female music journalist, but she’ll finally get to
experience life from the other side of the stage, and maybe crack the
drunken, enigmatic code that is guitarist Sage Knightly. Instead, Dawn
finds herself on an aging tour bus filled with ego-maniacs, band
politics and a whole lot of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. When monsters
start showing up in dressing rooms and some of Sage’s groupies become
increasingly strange and dangerous, Dawn discovers the band is not only
going places – they’re going straight to Hell.
And Dawn has a backstage pass.
The
Devil's Metal is the first book in a two-part New Adult
Horror/Paranormal Romance and very (very!) loosely based on the author's
exploits as a music journalist. Hell comes in different forms.
And, now, for when my self-control went entirely missing, the books I bought:
It’s the end of the
world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is
little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors.
One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a
monstrous version of their former self.
To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her
world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep
going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly
waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse
through the eyes of five people who actually want to live.
But
as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling
ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s
happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent
bids for life—and death—inside.
When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (for bookclub)
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times
bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in
this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly
wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s
toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a
nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
On a
warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy
Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and
reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife
disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River.
Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with
cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head,
but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could
have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting
pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting
parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits,
and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely
bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every
couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they
love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his
innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful
wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her
bedroom closet?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark
psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly
dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one
of the hottest writers around.
It's 1920s New York
City. It's flappers and Follies, jazz and gin. It's after the war but
before the depression. And for certain group of bright young things it's
the opportunity to party like never before.
For Evie O'Neill,
it's escape. She's never fit in in small town Ohio and when she causes
yet another scandal, she's shipped off to stay with an uncle in the big
city. But far from being exile, this is exactly what she's always
wanted: the chance to show how thoroughly modern and incredibly daring
she can be.
But New York City isn't about just jazz babies and
follies girls. It has a darker side. Young women are being murdered
across the city. And these aren't crimes of passion. They're gruesome.
They're planned. They bear a strange resemblance to an obscure group of
tarot cards. And the New York City police can't solve them alone.
Evie
wasn't just escaping the stifling life of Ohio, she was running from
the knowledge of what she could do. She has a secret. A mysterious power
that could help catch the killer - if he doesn't catch her first.
Also because I am a cover junkie and it's gorgeous - the UK cover:
The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna
Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.
But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.
Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.
What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.
From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be—until she found the strength to decide for herself.
Saba has spent her whole
life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant
sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving
only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by
her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a
monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's
world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest
to get him back.
Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of
the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to
guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba
learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor,
and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt
society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack
and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a
showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.
Blood Red Road
has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action,
and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and
startling new voices in teen fiction.
and, finally, one I have already read but loved to pieces and needed my own copy:
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That’s
what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I
look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy
way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing
dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid
SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.
He has
said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough
up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going
to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend
Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of
Two.
We are a sensational team.
