Cover Reveal : Hallowed by Cynthia Hand and Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes

If anybody would read the lost couple of posts on the blog, you's notice I've been going all gaga over book covers for some time now. Well, I'm back with more cover madness today. So, first up, Hallowed by Cynthia Hand! This is the second book in her series Unearthly. And then comes, Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes. I know this one's cover was out a while back but I just couldn't resist putting that out there along with Hallowed.

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

When Theia Alderson first encountered a mysterious, handsome boy in her dreams, she never imagined how finding Haden Black—and falling in love—could change her life. To save Haden, Theia sacrificed everything. And the dangerous bargain she made could have lasting repercussions.

Now Theia has returned to Serendipity Falls, and she finds herself struggling with the same deadly hungers that have tortured Haden. When students at their high school fall prey to a mysterious illness, Theia can’t help but wonder if Haden’s control is slipping—and how much longer she’ll have a grip on her own.

And still the nightmare realm of Under won’t let them go. Someone from Haden’s past is determined to destroy Theia from the inside out, starting with those closest to her, forcing Theia to choose between family and friends and a love that may have been doomed from the start.
 

  

Review : Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

 

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. 

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

First Line:

“But if you bought me a car now, it would be yours when I go away to school in two years.”

My Thoughts:

Hmm, where to start? Firstly, before I start rambling about the awesomeness of the book, I'll do some rambling about the cover.

Am I the only one who goes all dreamy-eyed when they see this cover? I'm horribly partial to book covers. It's the first thing I look for in a book and this cover is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. The backdrop of the sea, the partly seen girl, the amazing blend of colors - all hint to an impending storm and gives an almost ethereal feel to everything. I love it.

The book was a good read and each page I turned, the story just got more interesting. The characters are fun and easy to connect with and I loved every sibling the Delos family. Even though I liked every other character in the book, I just can't say the same about Helen and Lucas. The two main characters. Thankfully, there is enough involvement of the rest of the characters that I didn't give up on the book.

About half-way through the book, Helen seemed to get whinier and whinier, not to mention that she had a guard posted near her window every night (very Twilight-esque, by the way). And this is despite the fact that she was supposedly stronger than any other Scion before her, which isn't proved until very late in the book. I actually enjoyed listening to Helen in the beginning of the book, even with all the homicidal intentions.

Oh, did I mention Lucas' awesome cousin Hector somewhere in there? People, he's great. Even if he played an utter jerk in the beginning, he's an awesomely created character.

Even if I love the cover and the book would make an enjoyable read,  I'd rate this around 3.5 or 4 stars 'cause of the characters, the setting and of course, the fresh storyline.

More Awesome Covers : Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer and The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

Bloodrose (Nightshade #3) by Andrea Cremer and The Last Echo (Body Finder #3) by Kimberly Derting. Two more awesome series (I'm just assuming so for the second one - I have not read the books but I have read a lot of glowing reviews!) and two more awesome covers coming right up!

Hopefully the cover for Bloodrose doesn't change! This one looks great! But Nightshade's cover is still my favorite out of this lot!

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Review : Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

 Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction. 

First Line : 

The first time I saw him, a heavy, gray fog clung to the cornfields, tails of mist slithering between the dying stalks. 

Jessica Packwood or rather, Antanasia Dragomir gets the biggest surprise of her life when the new kid in town lands up in her house making the most absurd proclamations. He claims to be her fiance and also assumes that she is an heir to the 'vampire throne', sent away to the United States for her protection. Imagine that.

I had no trouble getting into the book. From the very first line, it dragged me headlong into what looked one hell of a ride. The first half, or maybe first one-third of this book, I couldn't stop myself from cracking up every time Lucius opened his mouth to speak. Who knew supercilious Romanian princes could be so wittily sarcastic and so, so amusing? And that was an awesome opening line of his, with all the "You know a writing instrument, yes?" in that patronizing voice I could practically hear.

And then, as I was berating myself for taking over a year to pick this awesome book up just because it had such a cheesy name, it all started going downhill. I quickly tired of the heroine, not being able to connect with her and relate to her actions, but Luc turned out to be as bad. Our Prince Mocking turned to Prince Brooding and what started off as an amusing, engaging read faded into standard high school drama material. Why should there always be annoying blonde cheerleaders and mean jocks in every book in high school?
 
This is somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, probably a 2.5. If I'd to rate this book just on the basis of the first half of the book I'd give it 5 stars! I wish I could give it more just because of the great beginning but the rest was just plain horrible. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but all the teenage drama annoys me bad. Yet, I'm sure when the next book releases I'll be clamoring with the rest of them for a copy. Wish I had a stronger resolve when it came to buying sequels.

There's yet another disappointing book added to the list that's been growing a lot longer this year. Or I've finally given up on vampires.             

The second installment in the series, Jessica Rules The Dark Side, is coming out in January 2012. My common sense tells me I probably should stay away from it but I'd probably end up reading it anyway, unable to stand the fact that there's a book full of Luc's sarcastic comments and wry humor sitting out there without me reading it. 

 It’s one thing to find out you’re a vampire princess. It’s a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband’s name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius’s time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is—and whom she can trust—before it’s too late?

Review : The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Day Two: The Wise Man's Fear.

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."

An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's road.

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women.

In The Wise Man's Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

 The Wise Man's Fear was an epic of a novel, a whopping near-thousand pages. It is the sequel to The Name of the Wind, released in 2007.

The beginning finds Kvothe (assumed name Kote) in his role as the innkeeper at the Waystone Inn. He continues narrating his life (to Chronicler and Bast) at the University, where he is starting with the second term. Only the first quarter of the book focuses on his time at the University.

At the beginning of the term, Kvothe is drugged with an alchemical substance during the admissions lottery which induces him to do stupid and impulsive things and causes his anger to flare at the slightest provocation. Armed with a recommendation from Thrope, he sets off to Vintas to seek patronage under Maer Alveron.

This books was immense in length and detail but it has a lot of positive aspects to it. It fills up the map, adding more places and generally giving a wider view of Rothfuss' world. His ideas are original and refreshing after the slew of vamps and weres in current YA. His writing is as captivatingly poetic as ever and within minutes, I was hooked.

There is a lot of interaction between previously ignored people in the University, (like Fela, Devi and Manet) and makes it a lot easier to connect with individual characters and understand their motive and reasoning. Fela and Devi are active players in the escapades of our three miscreants. I liked the fact that there was emphasis on a female character other than Denna, who keeps up with her random disappearing acts in the book.

Yet, by the end of the book, Kvothe is no wiser to the identities of the Chandrian and the Amyr, despite the fact that he spends a large part of the book researching them in the Stacks and in Vintas, and endlessly quizzing everyone he knows about their existense. The only thing he does learn about them is in the form of a short poem describing each of them.

Also, Kvothe's time with Felurian in her realm was a tad unclear. I felt like it had just blurred past with him lounging around and alternating between either him or Felurian in a moody temperament. Or that might just be my dislike of Felurian acting up.

On the whole, The Wise Man's Fear was a wonderful if exhaustingly long read, with an ominous undertone that will have you wondering what will come to pass in the sequel. I'm drumming my fingers now, hoping I won't be waiting 5 years for the next book....