In My Mailbox #3-2011

A weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren where I give thanks for books and friends.

Amazon Pre-Order I love The Blue Bloods

Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz

From the library

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt

For Review: (by J - ohhh the excitement)

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel

For Review: (by the terrific Year 12 Danni)

Tomorrows Guardian by Richard Denning

For the School Library from the Author - Super Big Hugs

The idea I have is to get every pupil that borrows the book to write a sentence about what they thought of the book *clever yes*

WitchFinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey

WitchFinder: Gallows at Twilight by William Hussey

Another wonderful book gifted by Clover of Fluttering Butterflies - she is very kind to me [ : D ]

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Life is very busy with work at the moment and it doesnt help when the computer system crashes , lol. I really felt for the IT department this week. I shall keep plugging away at all the little projects I have on the go with work and the blog.

I hope you all have a terrific week *hugs*

Saturday Spotlight: Asamum Booktopia 1st Birthday

I cannot believe that this blog has been going for a year TODAY.

It has seen so much progression, has helped me develop a career and personally via the fantastic selection of books under the YA umbrella.

I have made some truly amazing blogger and author friends for which I am eternally grateful.

I have toyed with the idea of doing a give-away and I will do at some point but not for the Blogs 1st Birthday.

Instead I have decided to send little Thank You gifts to people that have been so supportive and all round wonderful to me. You know who you are and this is my way of saying:

THANKS - YOU GUYS ROCK.

Review: The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Title: The Iron Witch
Series: The Ironbridge Chronicles
Author: Karen Mahoney
Publisher: Corgi Children's
Publication Date: 20 Jan 2011

Source: Publisher - Thank you




Synopsis: From Amazon
Freak.
That's what they call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood at Ironbridge High School. A horrific fey attack that killed her father when she was just a child left Donna branded with iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms - and magically enhanced strength, that she now does all she can to hide.
Now, after ten years of wishing for a normal life, Donna finally accepts her role in the centuries-old war against the darkest outcasts of Faerie - the dark elves. Aided by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout, Donna must save her best friend's life - and that means betraying one of the world's greatest secrets and confronting the very thing that destroyed her family.

Review:
The tension literally crackled off the page from the very first word. The air of mystery combined with intrigue and magic is tantalisingly woven together to provide a page turning plot.

Written in third person narrative but focalized from Donna's perspective; I will admit I didn't actually notice it was third person narrative until after the first chapter. I think this was due to the fact that I found Donna so completely relatable, I actually felt as if I was in the party at the very beginning with Donna. Such powerfully descriptive writing draws you straight into the story, encompassing all the senses.

The chapters are interspersed with first person diary extracts giving insight and understanding to both the plot and characterisation.

Donna is such a wonderful character, steadfast/loyal and a deeply devoted friend even though she has suffered emotionally and physically herself. Her wonderfully strong sense of self was inspiring. Even the brutal high school cliques weren't able to dent her strong core essence although they did cause momentary hurt.
 
All the characters were well rounded and their interactions believable/relatable. I would love some more background details on the two male protagonists. They really compared and contrasted beautifully with each other - no love triangle here (I don't think). Navin, the best (only) friend, supports Donna emotionally and is fiercely protective of her, sticking with her through anything. Xan, the love interest, hot/steamy while retaining an air of charm to sweep a girl off her feet *swoon*. I am concerned that he has an ulterior motive for his relationship with Donna and hope I am proved wrong.

You should know by now that my catch-phrase is 'reading is subjective', with that in mind, I will say that due to my experience of my Mother being in a Nursing Home the description of the Nursing Home within the narrative was so disturbingly real to me that I found it a bit difficult to read. Purely from the emotion it invoked from my own experience. Again this gives Karen Mahoney credit for such descriptive and realistic writing.

The revelations and plot building was richly layered developing throughout the story and beyond, leaving me desperate to find out what happens next. A wonderful mix of mystery, intrigue, suspense, romance and friendship with paranormal elements. The beginning of the book and the end tie together beautifully bringing together the revelations that have been placed throughout the book.

I just can't believe this is a debut novel. I am sure it will be the first of many fantastic books by Karen Mahoney and I for one can't wait for the next installment of The Ironbridge Chronicles.

Thursday Tunes: What song am I???

While on Twitter on the weekend, Carla from The Crooked Shelf posed the question -

WHAT SONG AM I??

As you should know by now I love putting theme songs to things, I love music and relate to certain songs for certain situations. So when I saw Carla's question I nearly jumped out of my seat in excitement. Time for some self-analysis. I have to say this was a lot harder than I thought it would be and more personal.

Add your What Song Am I link
(please click the above link in order to add your link, the document below will refresh within a few minutes)

Review: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

Title:  The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Corgi Childrens
Publication Date: 6 Jan 2011

Source: Publisher - Thank you





Synopsis: From GoodReads
A steamy Southern beauty makes one fatal mistake
Natalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honor of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead.
From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove.
Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.

Review:
As you can see from the synopsis this book has been branded as a cross between Macbeth and Cruel Intentions well let me tell you Lady Macbeth and Kathryn have nothing on Natalie Hargrove.

High school cliques and politics are shown in microscopic and unflattering detail. Easy to relate to but uncomfortable on such a close inspection. I had the feeling that for some reason the cliques in the 'South' are perhaps the worse on the planet. Maybe someone can explain why this is the case to me.

The prologue starts with a direct address to the reader in first person narrative, I wasn't sure who was doing the address at first until later in the book when all the pieces fall into place. When the pieces clicked, (perhaps it was just me being silly about not completely getting it in the first place), the sporadic placement of direct address to the reader gives the narrative an intimate feel, almost like reading someones diary.

Written in first person narrative from Natalie perspective. Totally obsessed with status and position without a thought to anyone but herself. To say that Natalie is not the most like-able of protagonist would be an understatement. However, through flashbacks and plot hints regarding Natalie's background/upbringing/past I did feel sorry for her and was able to understand her motivation/drive to some degree.

I can't go into the detail of the plot without giving away spoilers, so I will leave it to your imagination, let me just say that the way in which the events are handled leads to repercussion and consequences far beyond anything 'normal'. Remember: honesty is always the best policy [ ; D ]

The wonderful vocabulary used within the prose added the extra element of educational purposes. I will say that I was not all that comfortable with this book due to the concepts of a 'dog eat dog' world. The image of the High School being like a swim through a shark infested cesspit does nothing for my escapism but is *sadly* relatable working in a school myself.

Saying that I did think Natalie provided a great way of giving an additional perspective into the character/motivation of Lady Macbeth and I will be recommending it to the English Department as such.

Must Read: The Dark Divine: The Lost Letters of Brother Gabriel

Synopsis: From Amazon
A prodigal son. A dangerous love. Haunted yearning...Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood. Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother. As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul.

Review Here


For anyone that has read The Dark Divine they will now the importance of the letters from Brother Gabriel to his sister Catherine. They add beneficial information to the origins of the curse and valuable insight into the moral character of not only Brother Gabriel but Daniel as well.

So for all fans of The Dark Divine I urge you to read The Lost Letters - 5 in total scheduled every Thursday from 6th January to 3rd Feb:

Schedule:

Thurs, Jan 6th- First Letter hosted by Manga Maniacs Café

Thurs, Jan 13th- Second Letter hosted by Page Turners Blog

Thurs, Jan 20th- Third Letter hosted by Dark Faerie Tales

Thurs, Jan 27th- Fourth Letter hosted by The Story Siren

Thurs, Feb 3rd- Fifth Letter hosted at Bree Despain's Blog

I am now literally gnashing my teeth in anticipation of The Lost Saint.

Synopsis: From Amazon

True Love's First Kill ...Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure the boy she loves - Daniel. She gave her soul to save him, but in the process she lost her beloved brother, Jude. Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Tal - a newcomer to town who promises that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities - not realising that an old enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Trailer Tuesday: Southern Splendour

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.
Sometimes life-ending.
Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.

Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?

It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Lauren Kate's irresistible first novel, THE BETRAYAL OF NATALIE HARGROVE, features the most ruthlessly ambitious heroine since Lady Macbeth. Natalie is utterly determined to cement her position at the top of the high school social ladder by becoming prom queen. When it looks like an interfering ex-boyfriend might get in her way, she devises a little prank to humiliate him. But when the prank goes devastatingly wrong, Natalie starts to lose control of her life. Caught in a web of dark secrets, shame and abuse of power, it's not guilt that eventually defeats Natalie. It's fate: the only thing she can't control . . . 

Look out for my review of this one tomorrow