Bookish News! #3

Sorry for a second post of the day, but had to squeeze this post in! 🙂 BookishNewsMemeBanner

Here’s a few-day late fangirly babble about The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Trailer! 😀

Caesar with his awesome hair and Katniss with her awesome dress. Can you spot the mockingjay embedded on her dress?

So, last Saturday, I stayed up, on the Yahoo Movies page, watching the teaser trailer like a crazy person for the best part of forty five minutes straight, waiting eagerly for the new official movie trailer! Oh, and I was also waiting by fangirling via twitter with Sophie from A Daydreamer’s World. If you follow me on twitter you probably saw those capitalized nonsensical tweets of mine.

Want a sugarcube? Aah, they’ve included it!

The wait for the trailer was definitely worth it! I had to watch it a few times over like a ~~very sad person~~ very dedicated fan for it all to sink in. And, it was PERFECT! I loved all of the scenes they showed. I think not only me but everyone almost fainted when they saw Finnick holding a Sugarcube (For non HG fans- that’s the biggest, most highly anticipated scene in catching fire)! I also really loved the scene they showed of Katniss twirling in her new dress. I saw a very funny picture the other day, similar to the one above, but with her dress on fire, and Caesar’s facial expression was hilarious. Unfortunately I couldn’t find it to show you all! 😦

What are you most looking forward to in the new movie? I really can’t wait for the sugar cube scene and to see how they’ll explain how the arena works (if you haven’t read the book I won’t spoil it for you. But it is so clever!).

In other words… The Bloggy Awards ’13!

I previously didn’t know about these oscar-level awards (scolds self) but a few of some awesome bloggy friends of mine have, including Jack at The Book Stop, Amber at The Mile Long Bookshelf, and Lucy at Queen Of Contemporary. Go drop them a vote on the Bloggy Awards Website, you’ll make their day! Good lucky to them and all of the other nominees!

Have you heard any other book related news recently, or want to add something about the Catching Fire trailer? Feel free to drop a comment! 🙂

The Testing

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By Joelle Carbonnaeu, published by Templar.

The Testing (The Testing, #1) Goodreads synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Cia Vale is honoured to be chosen for The Testing – a series of exams set by the United Commonwealth that selects the brightest young adults to become leaders of their war- stricken world. But when candidates start disappearing and Cia witnesses unimaginable horrors done in the United Commonwealth’s name it becomes clear that these are no ordinary exams, and Cia is forced to realise the truth: this is no longer about winning, but surviving.

My review: The Testing was a really enjoyable read, great for dystopia fans, though there were a few points that I think brought the book down. I’ll get those points out of the way, before I go onto the best things!

I started this book, really excited to see what would happen. I’ve never read anything by Joelle before so I was quite interested to see what her writing would be like. I was really hooked onto the story from the beginning, curious about this mysterious Testing that was taking place in a mostly destroyed future world. Then, as the story progressed, I got a little bit annoyed about certain aspects.

Anyone who knows me well enough will know that I am a huge obsessive about The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is my all time favourite book. And so while I was reading this, I noticed a lot of things that seemed to just have been copied from THG. For example: Teens are being selected from district-like colonies, and there’s a city much like the Capitol that they travel to. Then, they have a feast before The Testing… a little like they do before the tributes go into the arena in THG. Then, in one stage of The Testing, the teenagers are left in a wild, abandoned place and it turns into a game of survival where people start getting killed. All of this just made it seem like this book had been built on the foundations of another book, which was a bit disappointing for me because I had such high hopes for this, and it looked pretty original. But, bad stuff aside now. Onto the good points!

Despite the beginning which I didn’t enjoy as I kept noticing Hunger-Gamesy things, I really grew to love this book after about half of it. I enjoyed reading about these tests that Cia had to undertake, and the book got pretty pulse quickening as some of the tests were revealed as deathly! The plot was gripping, especially during the final, lethal test of survival. There were definitely lots of surprises hidden away, making the story unpredictable. I ended up reading the whole thing in a matter of hours, because I wanted to know what would happen to Cia.

Cia was a really great character, though I didn’t really connect with her at first. She seemed a bit emotionless, until she was selected for The Testing. Then, I started to really feel what she was feeling. She was portrayed as a typical teenager, really- with the best friend who she has a crush on, who’s got the good grades. There wasn’t that much development on her background, though there really was on her father’s, which was really interesting as his past linked to her fate, in a way. She was quite realistic after I’d gotten used to her character, brave, intelligent, and above all, I really loved seeing her relationship with her friend grow throughout the Test of survival.

The world building was effective in this book. The destroyed, but re-building world the story was set in was brought to life well through the writing. I liked the narration, and the vivid descriptions of some horrific things!

Overall, The Testing was a great read. It annoyed me that the first half of the book seemed to be based on The Hunger Games, but the story definitely picked up halfway through and I came to enjoy it more. It was really fun to see Cia travel through her terrifying journey to winning The Testing, and the world it was set in was imaginative and scarily possible! I read it in quite a short space in time; this is a great book to curl up with. The ending has really made me want to read the sequel, which I’m really hoping doesn’t have other book’s aspects in, though. A fun read for dystopia fans!

My Rating: I was really torn as to what to give this book, because of so many good and bad things. This rating is going to seem quite low, but it’s actually a good rating for a book. Check out my rating system page to get the details!

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I received a PDF of The Testing from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Witchfall

New Books! #17

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This week, not only did I get some really cool looking books, but I also found a bunch of proof PDF’s of books from Templar and Hot Key Books on my computer, that I received at the bloggers lunch in February and I forgot I had! I haven’t included these in here, because there are quite a few and I don’t want to bore you. But, they include Don Calame’s books, and Transparent by Natalie Whipple! Fortunately, most aren’t published yet, but I’ll definitely be reading and reviewing all of those soon.

Netgalley:

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill- I’ve seen so much anticipation around this book on a lot of book blogs, and thanks to the awesome publisher for accepting my request for it on Netgalley! I can’t wait to start this.

Untraceable by S. R. Johannes- This book was published a couple of years ago, though I’ve seen many good reviews of it and the synopsis makes it sound pretty brilliant. This looks like a must read!

The Boy With Two Heads by Andy Mulligan looks hilarious! Imagine waking up, with an extra head. Pretty creepy. This read looks very funny as well as creepy.

Bought:

Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days, #1)

Angelfall by Susan Ee- Again, lots of hype around the book, but over Goodreads. And also I found out this was going to hopefully be a movie soon. So I bought a copy when I saw it in a shop! I finished it last night, and whoa. Awesome, but also really terrifying. Review soon!

Received in post:

Vivian Versus The Apocalypse The Rig

Vivian Versus The Apocalypse by Katie Coyle and The Rig by Joe Ducie- I was just about to click ‘publish’ on this post when the doorbell rang. These two brilliant looking books, the winners of the young writers fiction prize with Hot Key, came in the post! I did a little happy dance, these books look so amazing. What a brilliant covers!

A huge thanks to the lovely publishers on Netgalley for accepting me, and also a really big thank you to Hot Key Books for the beautiful finished copies of their new books!

What was in your book haul this week? Drop a comment! Happy Reading!

After Eden

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By Helen Douglas, published by Bloomsbury.

After Eden (After Eden, #1) Goodreads synopsis: Eden Anfield loves puzzles, so when mysterious new boy Ryan Westland shows up at her school she’s hooked. On the face of it, he’s a typical American teenager. So why doesn’t he recognise pizza? And how come he hasn’t heard of Hitler? What puzzles Eden the most, however, is the interest he’s taking in her.
As Eden starts to fall in love with Ryan, she begins to unravel his secret. Her breakthrough comes one rainy afternoon when she stumbles across a book in Ryan’s bedroom – a biography of her best friend – written over fifty years in the future. Confronting Ryan, she discovers that he is there with one unbelievably important purpose … and she might just have destroyed his only chance of success.

My Review: After Eden just blew me away! I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, as I’ve seen the (vibrant and gorgeous!) cover popping up all around the blogosphere. Why were so many people eagerly anticipating this book?

After reading it, I definitely knew why. After Eden was absolutely amazing.

It all began as a bit of a typical, high school set book: our protagonist a typical girl, not too popular, but not an outcast, and the mysterious new American boy. I quite enjoyed seeing Eden start to figure out everything: as she is drawn closer to Ryan whilst finding out some strange things about him (like how can he not know who Hitler was?!). As well as the whole time-travel thing (watch out. In a little while I will be going into a full on rant about that.), there was also this subplot, which was a tiny bit predictable but still very enjoyable: Eden’s best friend is in love with her, and this is all slowly revealed and really shakes things up. The plot was really well structured: there was a great build up to Eden’s discovery, with her playing the detective. And then, it was well paced, with drama and a developing relationship that made a plan at the ending come together. It was all really clever, with some great plot twists and shocks!

Eden was a really brilliant protagonist. I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to like her or not at the beginning, but I grew to really love her. she developed really well throughout the events of the book, too, which was great! I found her to be a really strong heroine- although it was a bit strange that she just accepted that Ryan was from the future, I loved how she was so willing to help him, putting aside any shock or screams and helping to save the future of Earth. A lot of pressure, right? Than there was also her relationship with Ryan. I loved that aspect of the book! It made for a really tragic love story- because he would have to return to the future, maybe meet her great grand children, and never see her again. It was heartbreaking to even imagine poor Eden being left behind in his past, to be replaced by her future generations. However, there was a brilliant outcome to their love story, which I absolutely adored! The ending really showed how caring and loveable Ryan was. The author has portrayed him as the typical YA heartthrob, though he seems so much different from your Jace or Tobias (not that they’re not awesome!). I really understood him, even though I think the focus was intended for Eden’s feeling. Team Ryan!! I also really loved the story behind his name: there are a few future-people in this book who are named after constellations. Ryan changed to Ryan when he went back in time. His real name is so clever!

*this paragraph will contain spoilers!*

Okay, rant time. As a proud Whovian (Doctor Who fan, for those of you who are unfamiliar), I cannot help but notice the extreme flaws in the whole scientific aspect of this book. This part may be a little spoilerish if I get carried away. t will also likely be incredibly confusing. Apologies in advance! So, if Ryan was to use the help of Eden to save the Earth by stopping somebody she knows from discovering something that will affect the future, if Ryan goes back into the future, shouldn’t he have forgotten her? Because everything would have been repaired and so there would never have been a problem in the future and so he would never had gone back in time so there would be a nine month long empty gap in his life. Wouldn’t this then cause a paradox that could disrupt the continuity of space and time? How could he then have traveled back to see Eden again? Because his meeting her would be non-existent, so how could he have known her to go back and see her? My inner science nerd got so annoyed at this! So if you are reading this book very carefully and noting the scientific aspects, you will probably notice this.

Overall, though, and aside from the whole time travel thing, After Eden was just so amazing. I loved the whole idea for it, it was so imaginative! Eden was a really great character, and it was so interesting to read about how she discovers what happens in the future. It’s also really genius how it all links to her, especially her name. Ryan was a character that it was quite hard not to fall in love with. Jace Wayland, watch out! The plot was really engaging, and rich with detailed imagery that made the story really spring to life. Helen Douglas is an amazing author… I really can’t wait to read her next book!

My Rating:

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I received a copy of After Eden from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Being Billy

Bookish News! #2

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Let the second round of bookish ramblings… commence!

Most people probablyalready knew this… but I only discovered it about three days ago. And now I am extremely excited.

I’m a really huge fan of The Maze Runner trilogy, and so I was jumping up and down in my seat when I found out, via the wonderful, informative twitter, that it is becoming a movie! How brilliant!

The Maze Runner begins when Thomas wakes up, in a lift, the doors of which open to reveal a bunch of children his own age. He finds out that they’ve all been dumped, in this strange place, with no memories of the past at all. They’re in The Glade- and what they don’t know is that they are part of an experiment. Every day, when the doors open, The Runners of the group rush out into the looming maze which surrounds The Glade, and search for a way out. Every time, they fail. But now Thomas is becoming a Runner, and what will he discover?

I think this would make a really great movie. It’s a mixture of dystopia- what’s very popular in book adaptions at the moment- and mystery. From what I’ve seen in stils, the cast definitely look the part; every setting exactly what I’ve imagined whilst reading the original book. I’m sure it will look really exciting on a big screen, too. Since I found out about the movie I’ve been stalking the twitter feed, searching for more news, checking blogs about TheMaze Runner… I’m so excited, I really can’t wait for its release!

My only issue… will they adapt the other books, too? Let’s say Maze Runner is a really successful movie. And now the studios are going to adapt the sequel, too. The Scorch Trials was really, really, awesome- I reckon they could make that, and it would be just as amazing as I’m hoping this first movie will be. But I kinda don’t want them to make a sequel… because then they’d have to finish off the trilogy in order to resolve all of the questions. I really don’t think that The Death Cure would make a good movie. It was a great book and all, but a bit random and all over the place. People wouldn’t be able to follow it on a screen unless they’d read the book.

So, what do you think? Have you reading The Maze Runner, and what did you think of it? Will it make a good motion picture? Or do you think the movie shold be a stand alone? I kind of do. I really don’t want them to ruin it, or make the last book too confusing as a film.

Happy Reading!

An Interview With Darren Shan!

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The second interview of the fortnight, people! How cool! And yes. THE Darren Shan. He’s possibly the best children’s and YA horror author on the planet. I loved Cirque Du Freak so much, and as you have probably been able to tell if you’ve been following this blog for a while, I am the hugest fan of Zom-B ever! 😀 So, imagine the delight on my face when the amazing Darren answered some interview questions for me, and allowed me to put them on my blog! I didn’t just have a happy face. I kind of squealed and ran around the room in circles for a bit and did some nonsensical babbling and probably really freaked out most of my family. But enough of that, you want to read this interview, right? All the questions that I’ve asked are themed around Darren’s bestselling new ZOM-B series, so enjoy!

An Interview With Darren Shan

1- What made you decide to move on from Vampire novels to Zombie ones?

I wanted to write a book that looked at the society in which we live, especially issues like racism and the abuse of power, but I wanted to do it in an exciting way. Zombies just seemed to suit the needs of my story the best!

2- Did you always intend to shock readers with B Smith’s actual gender in Zom-B?

It wasn’t about shocking readers, but about drawing their attention to the fact that we all make assumptions in life, but sometimes those assumptions are inaccurate. One of the things I hope readers do after they’ve read Zom-B is look at themselves and the world a bit more questioningly. This was one of my ways of encouraging readers to look at the world more closely – in effect I was saying “Take nothing in life for granted.”

3- Mr Dowling, your antagonist zombie clown, has definitely creeped out a bunch of readers (even me, he’s terrifying!) Are you also a bit scared of your creation?

No. As a writer, I don’t get spooked by my own stories, because I always know where I’m going with them. I have a different relationship to my books. I’m like a puppet master – I see lots of strings from overhead, not the show from the front that everyone else sees.

4- where did the idea of ‘Angels’, the group of revitalized zombies, come from?

I knew that B was going to team up with a group of similarly revitalised zombies. And I knew I was going to tackle the issue of religion over the course of the series. So this seemed like a good opportunity to get that ball rolling.

5- Are you able to give Zom-B fans out there any hints about upcoming books?

Only that we still have a long way to go, and there are a lot of twists still to come. Zom-B Angels answers a lot of the questions raised by the first three books, but it also throws up some new questions. I hope to keep fans on tenterhooks until the end of the series – there are going to be huge surprises right up until the very last chapter of book 12!

6- What are your favourite zombie-themed books or films?

Dawn Of The Dead (the original version, made in the 1970’s) is my favourite zombie movie.

7- If zombies invaded London while you were there, where would you go?

I explore those different options during later books in the series, when we get to see what life is like for the survivors who stayed, and those who fled.

8- Finally, do you have any advice for aspiring young horror writers?

Keep writing – the more you write, the more you learn and the better you get!

Thanks so much, Darren Shan, for the brilliant interview answers! I was so happy you were able to answer- I’m honored! I, and I’m sure every other ZOM-B fan, can’t wait to see what happens next in the ZOM-B series. ZOM-B BABY looks really great!

Reviews:

Here are the links to my reviews of all of the ZOM-B books so far: click on the jackets for that book’s review. I recommend the whole series, for teen horror fans!

Have you read any of Darren Shan’s new gory horror series? What have you thought of it so far, and what are you looking forward to in the future titles? Happy reading!

Witchstruck

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By Victoria Lamb, published by Corgi.

Goodreads synopsis: Meg Lytton has always known of her dark and powerful gift. Raised a student of the old magick by her Aunt Jane, casting the circle to see visions of the future and concocting spells from herbs and bones has always been as natural to Meg as breathing. But there has never been a more dangerous time to practice the craft, for it is 1554, and the sentence for any woman branded a witch is hanging, or burning at the stake.

Sent to the ruined, isolated palace of Woodstock to serve the disgraced Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and half-sister of Queen Mary, Meg discovers her skills are of interest to the outcast princess, who is desperate to know if she will ever claim the throne. But Meg’s existence becomes more dangerous every day, with the constant threat of exposure by the ruthless witch-finder Marcus Dent, and the arrival of a young Spanish priest, Alejandro de Castillo, to whom Meg is irresistibly drawn – despite their very different attitudes to her secret.

My Review: Witchstruck was an extremely enjoyable book! I wasn’t entirely sure it would work at first, quite honestly- a paranormal romance? In the Tudor era?- but I still was really curious to see what the book would be like. On reading it, I was totally sucked into Meg’s world full of witchcraft, secrets, and lies. The concept definitely worked, and it’s so original. From the first page I was really interested in Meg’s story, as she assists with her aunts’ illegal magick with Elizabeth in a dark cell in the middle of the night. Very rebellious with a paranormal twist, so I instantly fell in love with this idea. Who wouldn’t? I also loved the setting. As already said, Witchstruck is set in the Tudor era. The author has captured this medieval world immaculately, and I found myself not wanting to leave it once the book ended! More specifically, the book is set in an isolated-to-the-world area, called Woodstock, where Meg Lytton waits on Elizabeth, after she was banished by her sister. It was all so realistic, because it is actually true that Elizabeth was under house arrest in Woodstock. I found it very clever how Victoria Lamb has entwined the fantasy with the facts, keeping everything accurate but adding a fantastical element that makes the story so exciting!

The plot was really great. There was a great build up to the story, with the beginning pages showing Meg, her aunt, and Elizabeth committing treason of Witchcraft. That set the tone for the rest of the story very well. It was so predictable that Meg was going to fall head over heels for Alejandro, a Spanish priest sent to keep Elizabeth true to Catholic faith, practically as soon as she saw him, but it was pretty enjoyable to read their journey, as they meet and get closer. The synopsis of this story, and the blurb of the book makes the book seem ridiculously romantic, but I didn’t really see it like that. It was more of rebellion, in my opinion, as I think the most romantic pages of the book were the last few: where a really happy ending (or beginning, as it is for book two!)take place, that I won’t tell you, so you’ll have to read this to find out, takes place!

Meg was a really great character. I understood her straight away; realised she was so scared of being caught but so eager to practice her paranormal gift. I really admired that determination with her- as that seemed to make her such a realistic, three-dimensional character. I really enjoyed watching her become close to Alejandro, and her emotions were just so real… and very well shown through the writers words. As well as Meg, I also quite liked Alejandro. He was a little mysterious: not much was revealed about him. However, he was made to be such a likeable character. He seemed to me like the Jace Wayland (heartthrob of City Of Bones, by Cassandra Clare) or the Tudor era!

As for the writing, Victoria Lamb obviously has some real talent. She’s made a subject, the Tudor era- a topic I’ve been over so many times in school, seem fresh and new, and much more fun to read about. I love her style of writing so much. I got a detailed, brilliant understanding of Meg and her struggles through a flawless narration!

Overall, Witchstruck was a really great piece of historical fiction. I’m really starting to get into the genre, though I’ve only ever read as historical as the Victorian Era. However, Witchstruck has given me a great introduction to Tudor stories, and ‘m really looking forward to reading more books like this! The plot was really great, and the author’s idea just genius. She’s combined interesting, intriguing facts with imaginative magick that spices up the story. I really loved it! Thanks to the amazingly awesome Harriet, I have a copy of Witchfall, the sequel, too. I really can’t wait to begin it; the effective ending to this book was a really shocking cliffhanger, in a way!

My Rating:

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I received a copy of Witchstruck from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

New Books! #16

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This week, sadly, I haven’t bought or received any hard copy books, but I’ve been lucky enough to receive some really brilliant things from Netgalley! I joined quite recently, and I’ve reviewed a couple of things from there before. As I’m not sure about revealing one title, here’re three that I got this week, that I’m really looking forward to!

Itch Rocks by Simon Mayo looks really great. I ~~borrowed~~ stole my brother’s copy of the first book, so I really can’t wait to start both! I’ve read some really great stuff about them, and as a serious science nerd, I’m really looking forward to this- a story about an element hunter! Awesome!

After Eden by Helen Douglas looks like an amazing, original read. I have seen a lot of hype around this book on various blogs, and isn’t the cover just so pretty?! It’s about a boy who this girl like but he turns out to be an alien who’s come down to Earth. And it’s a paranormal romance. Awesome stuff. I’ve never read a YA paranormal romance about ALIENS! I really can’t wait to start this.

Doll Bones by Holly Black is a book that I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of since the beginning of this year! As a big fan of The Spiderwick Chronicles, I just had to look out for this, Holly Black’s new story. It’s all about three kids who find a doll that might be made of human bones, which means that they might have to travel across various American States in order to bury it so that it doesn’t haunt them. I was so happy when I got accepted for this- and I’m halfway through it at the moment!

A big thanks to the publishers who’ve accepted me for these great titles!

What books have you bought or received this week? Drop a comment! Happy reading (: