Thursday 17 May 2012

Upcoming Summer and Fall Releases

Lots of great stuff is coming out in the remainder of 2012! Here are just a few titles I'm looking
forward to!  All the blurbs telling you briefly what each book is about are courtesy of Goodreads.  Also, I have not included a blurb if it gives to much of the series away, if you haven't checked out one of these series then you definitely don't want spoilers!


Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2) By Deborah Harkness
Coming July 10th 2012 
Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #2)"Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.
Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens."



City of Swords (Stravaganza # 6) By Mary Hoffman
Coming Augusts 21st 2012
I have been a fan of this series for years and these are some of my favourite books from my childhood.  I still love reading about the Stravaganza's and their adventures and love when a new book and characters arrives! (Though I must say that the new covers are not nearly as cool as the original ones, they had sparkles!)

"Desperately unhappy, Laura has resorted to secretly self-harming. But Laura is a Stravagante, somebody who can travel in time and space. When she finds her talisman, a small silver dagger, she stravagates with it to sixteenth-century Fortezza, a town similar to Lucca in Italy, where she meets her Stravagante, who is a swordsmith. But Laura also meets the charming and attractive Ludo, and falls for him. Their love for each other is tested when Ludo lays claim to the crown of Fortezza, and Laura finds herself fighting on the side of the Stravaganti opposing him"



Delusions in Death (In Death #35) By J.D. Robb
Coming September 11th 2012
It's always good news when a new Eve and Roarke book is coming out!

"It was just another after-work happy-hour bar downtown, where business professionals unwound with a few drinks . . .until something went terribly wrong. And after twelve minutes of chaos and violence, eighty people lay dead.
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is trying to sort out the inexplicable events. Surviving witnesses talk about seeing things—monsters and swarms of bees. They describe sudden, overwhelming feelings of fear and rage and paranoia. When forensics gives its report, the mass delusions make more sense: It appears the bar patrons were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that could drive anyone to temporary insanity—if not kill them outright.
But that doesn’t explain who would unleash such horror—or why. And if Eve can’t figure it out fast, it could happen again, anytime, anywhere. Because it’s airborne. . . . "


The Diviners (The Diviners #1) By Libba Bray
Coming September 18th 2012
I have loved every book by Libba Bray so I'm pretty pumped that she is starting up a new series! Hurray!

"Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first"



Rebel Heart (Dust Lands #2) By Moira Young
Coming October 30th 2012
Her debut novel, Blood Red Road, was fantastic and in fact just won the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize!  Part western, part romance, part futuristic, I just loved it!  The sequel will hopefully be just as good!



Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2) By Laini Taylor
Coming November 6th 2012
Daughter of Smoke and Bone was one of my favorite books from last year so I'm really looking forward to continuing this story!

The Perfect Hope (Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy #3) By Nora Roberts
Coming November 6th 2012
Like her Brides Quartet, Roberts' Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy is just lovely.  With strong female, romantic and manly men, and a charming town full of delightful characters, this is a great 'comfort read' series.

"The Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother are breathing new life into the town of Boonsboro, Maryland, by restoring its historic hotel. And they’re finding their own lives revamped by love. This is Ryder’s story... Ryder is the hardest Montgomery brother to figure out — with a tough-as-nails outside and possibly nothing too soft underneath. He’s surly and unsociable, but when he straps on a tool belt, no woman can resist his sexy swagger. Except apparently Hope Beaumont, the innkeeper of his own Inn BoonsBoro. And though the Inn is running smoothly, thanks to Hope’s experience and unerring instincts, her big-city past is about to make an unwelcome — and embarrassing — appearance. Seeing Hope vulnerable stirs up Ryder’s emotions and makes him realize that while Hope may not be perfect, she just might be perfect for him..."

Reached (Matched #3) By Ally Condie
Coming November 13th 2012
I loved the first one in the series and found the second one so-so so this means that I'm really interested to see how she wraps up this series.





Thursday 10 May 2012

“Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged.”

Having loved Veronica Roth's debut novel Divergent, I was super psyched to get my hands on the sequel Insurgent.  One of the things that I really love about this series is that it's not afraid to 'go there' (I can't think of a better way to describe it!)  This series deals with a lot of violence and Roth explores these themes in a realistic yet not to graphic manner, which is really important in capturing the essence of the characters in the Dauntless Faction as well as the other Factions and how they interact together.

It took me longer to get into Insurgent then Divergent.  With the first book, I dived right in and didn't come up for air until I was done reading.  With the sequel, I found that there were ups and down.  By the time I had finished I was demanding the next book (oh cliffhanger endings, how I love / hate you!) but alas, I, like the rest of the world, will have to wait.  You might be asking, why such issues with this book? Why couldn't you get as excited right away like you did with Divergent?  And the answer is this: things were getting a bit too teen melodramatic for me...By this I mean I was actually mentally preparing myself for scenes right out of the Twilight series (minus the vampires), complete with googly eyes and longing looks.  But oh happy day, I worried over nothing!  Things righted themselves just when they needed to and I wasn't left with a sad face, shaking my head.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up!  It's been a good one!

“Most of the time, there is no truth, only various levels of interpretation. Fact is a construct we provide to the public.”

The Ashford Affair  by Lauren Willig I really enjoyed Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series and thought I would give one of her stan...