Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Review: The Ghost & the Goth by Stacey Kade
Release Date: June 29, 2010
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Genre: Paranormal
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 281
Source: Good Golly Miss Holly Arc Tours
Blurb (from staceykade.com)
Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star…and newly dead.
Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.
I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?
The Quickie Review
Meet Alona Dare, beautiful, popular, likes to make peoples lives miserable, however her seemingly perfect life has come to an abrupt end, she’s now the newest member of the ghost (or ‘spirit’ as she likes to be called) universe. Now meet Will Killian, a brooding loner who is outwardly hostile to Alona Dare and her cronies but secretly lusts after the unattainable Alona, oh and Will can see the dead, including its newest member Alona, you can bet with these two fun and hilarity ensures. The Ghost & the Goth is an extremely funny and entertaining read with engaging, well developed characters. It’s a great light hearted and easy read with a dash of seriousness for good measure, perfect for summer.
The Full Blown Review
All Will wants to do is graduate from high school and get as far away as possible from his town and his incompetent psychiatrist to somewhere which has a low population (low population = not many dead people to annoy him). Will’s managed to hide his special ability from the ghosts very well over the years however one stupid mistake has left the ghosts knowing he can see and hear them and now they won’t leave him alone which is very distracting and can be dangerous for poor Will. Fortunately or unfortunately for Will (depending on your view) he smirked at the disappearing ghost of Alona Dare, newly deceased fellow student, who from that very facial expression could tell Will saw her, Alona Dare GHOST, when no one else can. With Will being the only person able to interact with Alona she’s understandably possessive over him, so by uttering the words ‘he’s mine’ to the other ghosts bugging poor Will she inadvertently volunteers to be his spirit guide which ties herself to Will so if anyone wants anything from Will they have to go through Alona. The only problem is Will’s life is quite complicated so in order for Will to help Alona they are going to have to deal with Will’s psychiatrist Dr.Miller, who wants to lock him up in an institution, a huge black cloud (nicknamed Gloomy Gus by Alona) which keeps on attacking Will for reasons unknown and Principal Robert “Sonny” Brewster who has it in for Will in a big way. Will’s not the only one with issues though there’s also the small problem of Alona disappearing into thin air however this issue can be solved simply by Alona being “nice” as Will puts it in order for her to stop disappearing as “positive equals energy”, however nice is not a word many associate with Alona Dare. Will Alona and Will be able to help each other work out their issues before it’s too late for both of them, well you’ll need to read the book to find out!
From just reading the blurb alone I was sure this was going to be a fun read so when The Ghost & the Goth finally arrived on my doorstep I was really excited to get into it and I am pleased to report I was not disappointed, Ms.Kade has written a book that is not only very funny but also a really engaging read with characters that were realistic even though they have some extraordinary abilities.
The Ghost & the Goth alternates between Alona and Will, two characters who were very different yet Stacey wrote them both so well. I particularly enjoyed reading about their growing unlikely friendship with all the hilarious witty banter that was said between the two, both characters had some great one liners. There was also some great chemistry between these two and so much tension, I really wanted Alona and Will to end up together even though Alona is a ghost and Will is still, well alive, but its only semantics people, things can be worked out!
Alona was my favourite character by far even though she was a huge bitch - which surprised me - I mean in real life I wouldn’t go near her with a barge pole. I’ve found that sometimes when I read a book with a bitchy character they are often only one dimensional with no other qualities apart from their bitchiness (there is no substance) however Stacey Kade has crafted Alona into a multifaceted character, she’s not just this one dimensional bitchy character she’s smart (as Will soon discovers) and her life is not all that perfect, she puts on a front - which I’m sure many people can sympathize with - as a coping mechanism for all the stuff that’s not going right in her life (or was not going right in her life). Don’t get me wrong though she was a real bitch, especially at the start, I was certain that I would not warm to her at all but very slowly (and I’ll note subconsciously) I was warming to her and towards the end I really did like her, not love but like, most probably because she mellowed a bit, dare I say I think she even warmed towards Will. Alona was a person who told it like she saw it and was very blunt, I guess you could say she lacked the finesse of tact, which many people don’t like but she just thought she was telling people the truth.
On the flip side we have Will, adorable, cute Will, who at first seemed to be Alona’s complete opposite, he was caring and actually nice however it soon becomes apparent that both have issues that they are hiding from people, their lives are not all rosy. Whilst Will may be a bit of a social outcast, which is kind of understandable with the poor boy seeing ghosts everywhere, he had a friend in Joonie he even stayed with her after she went a tad nutty (her nuttiness will be explained in the book, I don’t want to give too much away), which I found very endearing. I also have to mention Will and his iPod nano Marcy, yes he named his iPod, how cool is that, genius! I’m so impressed that I’ve been inspired to name my iTouch, now I just have to come up with a name, hmmm decisions, decisions….
Secondary characters were also well developed and a lot of fun primarily because of the way Will and Alona reacted to them especially the dialogue between Will’s principal, Mr.Brewster, a hideous man who actually called Will a bad seed, and Will’s psychiatrist Dr.Miller, who was writing a novel based on Will without his consent.
The Ghost & the Goth is such a fun read and leaves open the possibility for a sequel which I’ll definitely be reading!
Rating 3.5 out of 5
There’s Another Book?!?
Stacey has said that The Ghost and the Goth is the first book in a planned trilogy with the second book in the trilogy called Queen of the Dead (don’t you just love the name?) which will be released on June 7, 2011. Here’s the description –
After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare–former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead–finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this, ugh, “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.
Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello?! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.
Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately signs her name in the “clearly not” column. But Will is, ahem, willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea.
Packed with romance, lovable characters, and a killer cliffhanger, Queen of the Dead is the out-of-this-world sequel to The Ghost and the Goth.
I love that we’re going to be introduced to another seer, one that’s a female, bring on the love triangle, because its pretty obvious Alona has a thing for Will and Will definitely has a thing for Alona, me thinks Alona’s going to be jealous with this new lady seer, can you say love triangle.
Oh and here is the super awesome cover Stacey just released for Queen of the Dead, enjoy!
Here are some interesting facts about the cover Stacey mentioned on her blog –
* "The models for Will and Alona (both of whom I LOVE) are the same as on the first cover. The photos for both covers were shot at the same time. And I believe there are photos for the third cover from that shoot as well. Yea! I think these models are perfect as Will and Alona and I’m thrilled to have the consistency of them on all three books!"
* "Will is a busboy in the second book; hence, his apron. In the earliest draft of the book, we spent much more time in the diner. But as I was revising, I cut out most of the diner-based material, and then–yikes–learned the cover was going to be set as a diner. But, with that in mind, a perfect opportunity for a new diner scene in the book came up, and it all worked out beautifully."
* "I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but the gym uniform Alona is wearing is based on my high school’s required gym uniform. So I just love that they put her on the cover in that outfit–it looks so familiar (and right) to me because of my own high school experience!"
Goodies
Teaser Tuesday #19
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
1. Grab you current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today’s teaser is from Torment the second book in the Fallen series. I’m more than halfway through and its only so so for me at this point, I haven’t warmed to any of the characters and I cant’ for the life of me understand Luce’s attraction to Daniel, he’s too controlling and I know he only wants to protect her but I mean he could at least tell her what’s going on, he’s so secretive, which is really very annoying I have no idea what to make of him!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“They could smell it before they could see it: the telltale hickory smoke of a good-sized bonfire. Then, when they were almost at the foot of the steep stairs, they wound around a bend in the rocks and froze as the sparks from a wild orange blaze finally came into view.”
- p. 107, Torment (Fallen #2) by Lauren Kate
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Oh and for your viewing pleasure here are two trailers I found on the internets for the book, enjoy!
* I know this is just a video and I’m just being a stickler for correctness but I just have to mention this, in the book Daniel’s wings are supposed to be huge, like I can wrap you up in my huge wings baby!, I’m afraid in this video it appear his wings have shrunk, those puny things couldn’t wrap around anyone
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Review: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Release Date: November 22, 2010 Publisher: Penguin Australia
Genre: Paranormal
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 348
Source: Penguin Australia
Blurb (from Penguin Australia
Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he's doing all right - until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he's a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle
The Quickie Review
Slacker Sam’s suddenly cosy life is shattered when he discovers he’s a necromancer (fancy word for someone who is able to raise the dead), now poor Sam is introduced to a whole new world he never knew existed whilst trying to deal with a crazy power hungry necromancer, a talking head, a locked up hybrid werewolf cross faerie and a baby faced wise beyond her years harbinger, what’s a slacker to do? Hold Me Closer, Necromancer is a darkly funny, action packed debut novel from Lish McBride which will leave you asking ‘will there be a sequel Lish?’
The Full Blown Review
Poor Sam he’s not having the best week but somehow getting threatened by some weirdo in a suit is the least of his worries as his week is only getting worse what with a talking head that used to be his friend hanging around and being attacked by this crazy guy with exceptional strength who can remove a car bumper with their hand. Apparently Sam is a necromancer and a powerful one at that - someone just forgot to mention that to Sam- suddenly Sam is wanted by one of the most powerful necromancers around for being a threat and you don’t want to get on that mans bad side, believe me.
I loved this book which I wasn’t expecting at all, actually I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book, it just turned up one day from the wonderful folks over at Penguin Australia and boy am I happy it did because from simply reading the blurb alone I probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise (that sounds bad doesn’t it? But it’s true).
From the very first chapter I knew I would love Sam and I did, he was very funny, he had this great deadpan humor going on with a touch of sarcasm which I am especially fond of (I am exceptionally versed in the subtle art of sarcasm, just ask my parents). I especially loved his sharp witty banter with the other characters in the book especially Ramon his best friend and co-worker at Plumpy’s (is that not the best name for a fast food restaurant ever? Plumpy’s it just rolls off the tongue). Lish also wrote some really intense scenes with Sam and his mother which were very realistic, I really felt for poor old Sam, I'd be pretty ticked off too especially considering the secret she was keeping from him.
Apart from getting Sam’s perspective we also delve into the heads of three other characters, Ramon, Sam’s best friend and Plumpy’s grill cook extraordinaire, Douglas Montgomery, an exceptionally powerful sadistic necromancer, and Brid, a hybrid werewolf cross faerie who has been captured by Douglas for one of his creepy experiments.
Ramon is a friend anyone would want as were Sam’s two other Plumpy’s co-workers, Frank and Brooke, they were all willing to do anything to help Sam. I especially loved how the boys were really protective over Brooke even after her little incident with Douglas and a sword, they took it all so well and were very caring towards her.
Now what can I say about Douglas , I don’t think I can sufficiently put his creepiness into words, all I can say is that man is one twisted necromancer. The scenes where he was trying to train Sam in his necromancer abilities showed just how much of an evil sod he was. On the flip side we have Brid who was a kick ass heroine, she was so strong even after everything that happened to her. I really loved how we got to see through Brid’s flashbacks her interactions with her close knit family which gave us a real insight into her character. Also fear not romance lovers there’s a little bit of lovin’ that goes on between Brid and Sam.
From the get go the story progresses at a quick pace and doesn’t really slow down until the end and speaking of the end I really hope there’s going to be a sequel, its definitely possible with the ending, so here’s hoping!
So if you’re looking for a YA book with a darker tone that’s also exceptionally funny this is most definitely for you, bravo Lish McBride for writing such an entertaining read!
* I thought I should mention that the book is a tad violent, has some colorful language and a sex scene so for those of you who are a bit sensitive perhaps you should give this book a miss, its definitely a book for older YA readers as the main characters are in their late teens and in college *
Rating
4.5 out of 5
Goodies
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer Book Trailer –
Waiting on Wednesday: Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" is:
Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: Random House Australia
Age Group: Young Adult
Into a world of wild secrets and deadly pleasures comes a girl whose innocence may be her greatest strength.
Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom.
But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother.
When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?
Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness?
Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark.
Ooohh I love, love, love the sound of this book especially because of its dark undertones and what appears to be (from the blurb anyway) an extremely unique story. This book also happens to be by an Australian author (yay!) so I’ve added it as one of my challenge books to read for the Aussie YA Reading Challenge. Also don’t you just adore the cover, it’s so creepy yet strangely beautiful. March 2011 can’t come soon enough!
For more info you should definitely check out the website for Burn Bright, click HERE.
Well that’s my “waiting on” pick, what's yours this week?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Teaser Tuesday #18
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
1. Grab you current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today’s teaser is from Mercy the first book in a new series by Melbourne Australia
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Before I can reach out and hold him to me for another fleeting instant, before I can tell him I want to be found by Luc, now more than ever, Uri’s outline wavers and splinters into infinitesimal motes of light that wink out and are gone. And I am hit again by a wave of loneliness so vast that it feels for a second as if I am the one who has broken apart and cannot be put back together.”
- p. 193, Mercy by Rebecca Lim
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Sue Bursztynski Book Signing
So on Sunday Sue Bursztynski author of the newly released Wolfborn was at Dymocks in Southland, which is a shopping centre in Melbourne, signing copies of her new book Wolfborn and I decided to trundle along and brave the crazy Christmas shopping crowd to firstly actually meet Sue whose blog I’ve been following for a while now and to get my copy of Wolfborn signed because as many of you already know I love to get my books signed.
When I finally made it to the bookstore I found Sue immediately as she had prime position out the front of the store and she had already sold a couple of copies of her book. It was great to finally meet Sue who was lovely, I especially loved the necklace Sue chose to wear it was this really cool necklace with a silver wolfs head on it (the book is about werewolves). So after introducing myself to Sue I got my copy of Wolfborn signed, Sue even drew little paw prints on the book, so cute! I also was given some signed bookmarks so I’ll be giving them away on the blog sometime soon, so keep your eyes pealed.
Sue signing my copy of Wolfborn
Me and Sue
My signed copy of Wolfborn!
Wolfborn bookmark (front and back), I love this bookmark so I thought I’d show you both sides
Some more bookmarks for your viewing pleasure
For those of you who haven’t heard of Wolfborn before below is the blurb:
Break the curse or howl forever. Etienne, son of a lord in the kingdom of Armorique, goes to train as a knight with Geraint of Lucanne. Geraint is brave and kind, a good teacher and master - but he has a secret that he has kept from his family. He is bisclavret, a born werewolf. When Geraint is betrayed, Etienne must ally with the local wise-woman and her daughter, themselves bisclavret, to save his lord. But time is running out. If Geraint's enemies have their way, Geraint will soon be trapped in his wolf form.
And Etienne has his own secret. The decisions he makes will change his life forever . . .
Inspired by a medieval romance, this engaging novel forces us to question everything we thought we knew about werewolves.
I finished Wolfborn last week (I am in the process of writing my review for it) and thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in the medieval world Sue created were werewolves were not simply mythical creatures but real.
Buy the book
* Dymocks * Borders * The Co-Op Bookshop * Booktopia * The Book Depository * The Nile *
The League of Extraordinary Writers
So you may be wondering what the heck this ‘League of Extraordinary Writers’ is, well it’s a group of debut YA authors who write science fiction and dystopian works (which I am a big fan of). Each of the authors have works that run the gamut of near-future mind control to far-future space travel, but they do have one thing in common: a future where the Earth we know now is twisted, gone.
League Members
Jeff Hirsch, author of THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE, about a 15 year old scavenger coming of age after a nearly apocalyptic war. (Scholastic, Summer/Fall 2011)
Elana Johnson, author of POSSESSION, where one rebel fifteen-year-old tries to fight her brainwashing government. (Simon & Schuster, Summer 2011)
Julia Karr, author of XVI, a novel set in the year 2150, where turning sixteen is anything but sweet. (Puffin/Speak, Spring 2011)
Beth Revis, author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, a murder mystery set in space. (Razorbill/Penguin, Spring 2011)
Angie Smibert whose novel MEMENTO NORA is about a teenage girl’s struggle to hold on to her memories—and her identity—in a world that finds it far more lucrative for everyone to forget—and keep on shopping. (Marshall Cavendish, April 2011)
But Romy your saying why are you telling me this? Well good question I am telling you this because currently they have a pretty awesome giveaway going on where you can score yourself pre-ordered copies of all Five of their Books:
XVI by Julia Karr
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Memento Nora by Angie Smibert
Possession by Elana Johnson
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
So if your interested in winning these books, and I sure am, all you need to do is click HERE and follow the instructions, it's easy. Good luck!
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