TSS: The week in summary (14)

I've been a bit quiet on the blog this week as I've been away and offline. I also didn't get much reading done. So I'm still reading: Never Bite a Boy on the First Date by Tamara Summers (ebook), Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire and Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink to which I've added a chapter a day of a book about the paranoid 1970s - Strange Days Indeed by Francis Wheen which is fascinating but not quick reading (for me).

Activity on the blog in the last week:

Monday - news that Rachel Caine is at Mysterious Galaxy today

Tuesday - details of a publishing deal for Lauren Laverne.

Wednesday - 'Waiting on Wednesday' post for Miss Understanding: My Summer on the Shelf.

Thursday - the book trailer for Wake by Lisa McMann.

Sunday - my newly acquired library books, review copies and prizes.

Library Loot (21), 3 review copies & 2 prizes

I think most people stopping by will have heard of these books :).


Library

Kissed by an Angel - Elizabeth Chandler
Ivy and Tristan are meant to be together. Both stunningly attractive, brilliantly talented and very much in love, they think their happiness will last forever. When a terrible car accident shatters their world, killing Tristan and injuring Ivy, she must face life alone - or so she thinks. However, Tristan is watching over her as her guardian angel - so close she can feel his touch and hear his voice. And no one needs a guardian angel more than Ivy, because someone is trying to kill her. But if Tristan saves Ivy, his mission on earth will be finished, and he'll have to leave her behind. Will saving Ivy mean losing her forever?

Death by Latte - Linda Gerber
It was only a few weeks ago that Aphra Connolly’s life changed completely. She had been living a quiet existence on her father’s secluded island resort, until Seth Mulo turned up and stole her heart . . . and provided information that led her to find her mom in Seattle. But the reunion isn’t quite what she expected. Aphra’s mom, Natalie, doesn’t seem happy to see Aphra, and Natalie’s boyfriend, Joe, insists that Aphra go home. Even worse, Seth shows up, only to ask her to return the ring he gave her the previous summer. At least Natalie’s hunky neighbor is sympathetic. But when Joe is found dead at a nearby coffee shop, Aphra discovers her whole trip to Seattle has been based on a lie. And now someone just might be trying to kill her. . . .

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Review

Tempted by PC and Kristin Cast
So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul? Find out in the next spectacular installment in the House of Night Series, Tempted.

The Dresskeeper by Mary Naylus
When Picky's Mum forces her to look after Gran, who has dementia, Picky is accidentally transported back to the year 1685, where a man in a wig insists she is someone called Amelia and tries to kill her. Managing to get the dress off just in time, Picky returns to the present with the dress covered in blood. Who is Amelia? Is she dead? Will wearing the other dresses in the chest take Picky back in time too? And does she dare put herself in danger again?

Plus an e-book ARC of Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search - and the stranger - will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.



Prizes

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (thanks to FallenArchangel.com)
A sacred oath, a fallen angel, a forbidden love...This darkly romantic story features our heroine, Nora Grey, a seemingly normal teenage girl with her own shadowy connection to the Nephilim, and super-alluring bad boy, Patch, now her deskmate in biology class. Together they find themselves at the centre of a centuries-old feud between a fallen angel and a Nephilim...Forced to sit next to Patch in science class, Nora attempts to resist his flirting, though gradually falls for him against her better judgment. Meanwhile creepy things are going on with a mysterious stalker following her car, breaking into her house and attacking her best friend, Vi. Nora suspects Patch, but there are other suspects too - not least a new boy who has transferred from a different college after being wrongly accused of murdering his girlfriend. And he seems to have taken a shine to Nora...Love certainly is dangerous...and someone is going to have to make the ultimate sacrifice for it.

The Hollow by Jessica Verday (thanks to My Favourite Books)
Growing up in the town of Sleepy Hollow, the mystery and intrigue over Washington Irving's classic legend are all part of daily life for sixteen-year-old Abbey. But when her best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Abbey's world is suddenly turned upside down. While everyone is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead, Abbey refuses to believe that she is really gone. And when Abbey meets the gorgeous, but mysterious, Caspian at Kristen's memorial she starts to feel like she has something to hold on to for the first time since Kristen's disappearance. But when Abbey finds a diary hidden in Kristen's bedroom, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her disappearance or even her death? Hurt and angry at Kristen's betrayal, Abbey turns to Caspian for support...and uncovers a frightening truth about him that threatens both their emerging love and her sanity...

Trailer Thursday - Wake

The UK edition of Wake by Lisa McMann was published last week by Simon & Schuster Children's.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams at any given moment is getting tired. Especially the falling dreams, and the standing-in-front-of-the-class-naked ones. But then there are the nightmares, the ones that chill her to the bone...like the one where she is in a strange house...in a dirty kitchen...and a sinister monster that edges ever closer. This is the nightmare that she keeps falling into, the one where, for the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant...

Watch the trailer below:

Waiting on Wednesday - Miss Understanding: My Summer on the Shelf

I'm eagerly awaiting Miss Understanding: My Summer on the Shelf which will be published on 1 April 2010 by Hodder Children's Books. I loved the first book, Miss Understanding: My Year in Agony and I'm looking forward to the publishing house setting.


After a stint as the school agony aunt, Anya's forthcoming summer as an intern at a London publishing house comes as a breath of fresh air. It'll take her mind off Al - her AWOL boyfriend - at least, and maybe she'll get tips on how to be a writer, too. But it's clear that Anya's role is senior dogsbody - and involves reading terrible stories, listening to her colleague's Katie's domestic woes, and taking on a nightmarish teenage author, who is about five years late delivering his next 'best selling novel'. It's not quite the glitz and glamour Miss Understanding thought it would be, but it does have its plus points: Delicious Seth Hodges being one of them... Anya is torn between the suave Seth, the notorious waste of time The Boy, her lost boyfriend Al, not to mention the intriguing teenage writer Casper...So many boys, so little time. Another fresh, original and witty journey through Miss Understanding's life...

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Lauren Laverne - Publishing Deal

In today's BookTrade, news of a teenage trilogy from Lauren Laverne:

Award winning TV presenter and DJ Lauren Laverne is set to write a series of teenage novels with HarperCollins in a deal announced today.

Lauren Laverne has created an uber-cool rock chick lit series for teens featuring a fifteen year old girl who is on a mission to escape her boring and ordinary life and make it big in a rock band. And on the way to stardom she is determined to track down her unknown father – BioDad - who will most definitely be supercool - and it looks like he might also be incredibly famous too! With the unexpected help of her FairyGodbrother, this feisty chick sets off on a quirky and magical adventure that takes her all the way to Glastonbury where it looks like this girl is really going to make it...

Read the whole press release here.

Rachel Caine at Mysterious Galaxy this weekend

Just had a newsflash from Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego that Rachel Caine will be at the store on Sunday, 8 November at 2 pm to sign Fade Out, the latest in the Morganville Vampire series.

From the Mysterious Galaxy Website:

Early on in Fade Out, a character is described as bouncing around like a "demented Goth bunny." That was pretty much the staff's response to news of our event with Rachel Caine on Sunday, November 8, at 2:00 PM. Fade Out is the most recent book in Rachel's Morganville Vampires series. The first two have just been re-released in a handsome trade paperback with new cover art, cleverly titled The Morganville Vampires. We also have plenty of the most recent Joanne Baldwin book, Cape Storm, and the first Cassiel, the former Djinn, novel, Undone, on hand for fans. Rachel will also tease fans with news of 2010's Kiss of Death (Morganville Vampires #8), Unknown (Outcast Season #2), and Total Eclipse (Weather Warden #9).

TSS: The week in summary (13)

This week I finished The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (for Euro Crime) and Cold in Hand by John Harvey (audio book). I'm currently reading: Never Bite a Boy on the First Date by Tamara Summers (ebook), Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire and Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink.

Activity on the blog in the last week:

Monday - review of The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd; Giveaway announced of Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz (US only)

Wednesday - 'Waiting on Wednesday' post for Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot.

Thursday - the book trailer for Tempted by PC and Kristin Cast.

Friday - giveaway for Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire (UK only).

Sunday - my newly acquired library books.

Library Loot (20)

Not much to talk about this week. The postal strike is holding up some prizes I've won and my local library was shut for a few days, so I've only got the two library books from where I work:


Library

Vamps by Nancy A Collins
When the sun goes down, New York's true elite all head to one place: Bathory Academy, where the young ladies of the finest vampire families are trained in shapeshifting and luring their prey.

Bathory's reigning queen, Lilith Todd, is the daughter of a powerful vampire businessman, and she knows exactly what she wants from life. She wants to look beautiful for eternity and party till the sun comes up with her gorgeous boyfriend, Jules. And she doesn't want any New Blood upstarts standing in her way.

Enter Cally Monture, an unexpected threat from a trash zip code. When their first meeting leads to tragic results, Lilith is hungry for revenge.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Win: Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire

This competition is for UK residents only but if you're in the US you can enter the Crocodile Tears giveaway.

Courtesy of the publishers, I have two copies of Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire to giveaway:


There's been no sign of the Beautiful Dead for weeks. Darina achingly misses Phoenix all over again. But surely he will return with the rest of the Beautiful Dead as so much still remains unresolved. It's been ten months since Arizona drowned in Hartmann Lake. Suicide, it would seem. But something doesn't add up. Drowning herself in a hidden-away lake does not sound like strong, confident, Arizona: Ellerton High School's high-maintenance drama queen. Darina needs to help Arizona the way she helped Jonas. But time is running out ...

Book one, Jonas, is reviewed here.


To enter the draw, simply answer the question below:

What is the name of the third book in the Beautiful Dead series?

a) Autumn

b) Spring

c) Summer

Hint: The answer can be found on the Beautiful Dead website

Email the correct answer to karen at eurocrime.co.uk, putting 'Arizona' in the subject line. This competition is open to UK residents only and the closing date is 30 November 2009. One entry per household please.