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April 2012

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Apr. 28th, 2012

pink + green

Fantasy Art Journal

Thames & Hudson Australia sent me a book to review.

Fantasy Art Journal

"My Mind Is My Weapon... And A Mind Needs Books"


A place where dragons are rescuers, where trees talk, rings are all powerful and where anything you can believe in can become reality. This is a world where anything you can imagine can be unleashed with more then enough space to give home to all those creative ideas, thoughts, dreams and wishes.

Fantasy Art Journal is a charming and inspiring journal filled with a number of fantasy quotes that will stir your imagination. Comprising of blank, lined an graph pages, this journal will support you in any creative endeavour whether that is through writing, sketching, planning or any other form of creative expression you could think of. This is a special journal you should treat yourself to or buy for that someone special.
On sale: 01 March 2012
Price (AU): $19.95
ISBN: 9781908150516
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Journal
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
xx

Apr. 24th, 2012

autumn

Green Heart

Scholastic Australia sent me a book to review.
 
Green Heart by Alice Hoffman
 
From The Ashes Of The Past Grows A Bright Green Future!
 

Green Angel is a beautiful, tender and heartfelt story of a girl who lost everything and everyone she loved, and then she lost herself. This is the story of the dreams of the past that haunted her, the lives of those touched by her and all that she gave up and found once again.

Green Witch is an enchanting story of magic, love and witches. When so much of the past was lost all that was left were the memories of what had been. Learning to live again, to love again, was the only hope for a future, but that future would never be unless someone could be found to share that future, unless something could be found to believe in.

Green Heart combines the two stories of Green Angel and Green Witch into one brilliantly composed book. When so many were lost in the disaster, when so much was taken, there were none left behind who had not suffered a loss. Filled with grief, witches, kidnapping and a greedy horde, in the end it will be a self belief that saves her. Out of the devastation and tragedy of the past will grow a new and bright future, where one girl ventures further then ever before to save her heart and discover a new kind of family.
On sale: 01 May 2012
Price (AU): $14.99
ISBN: 9780545141963
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Green
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
xx

Apr. 16th, 2012

princess

The Steampunk Chronicles 1

Harlequin Teen sent me a book to review.

THE STEAMPUNK CHRONICLES:
The Girl In The Steel Corset by Kady Cross

There Are Two Sides To Every Girl!


Finley was never one to fit in, unfortunately that usually meant she was not able to hold down any one job for more then a few weeks. And now it seemed this current position would be no exception. It was too bad, it was quite a good position she held. But now after having beaten a Lord's son and hair to within an inch of his life, she just couldn't see how she would be keep her on in her position or how she would avoid the peelers.

Although it had been frightfully unavoidable the lad had thoroughly deserved every broken bone and bruise he suffered. However Finley now found she did regret it a little, but only because she was now out of a job, again, and would possible find herself in strife with the law. But the bigger problem at hand was not the young Lord and the strife he wanted to set upon her but a Duke and the expectations he now placed on her having seen what she is capable off.

The Girl In The Steel Corset is an action packed Steampunk mystery with a brilliant and colourful cast of misfit superheroes racing about the streets of Victorian London solving crimes and uncovering secrets hidden within the past. A place where the dead may be gone but doesn't mean you can't talk to them, where a broken man can be rebuilt with machines and where even those you trust may betray you. A pacy and enjoyable read that is the first in this new series.
On sale: 01 June 2011
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781742901305
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Steampunk
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
xx

Apr. 12th, 2012

rainy

Fracture

Bloomsbury Australia sent me a book to review.
   
Fracture by Megan Miranda

Death Can Be So Attractive!


Dying is nothing like they say it will be. It's not peaceful and painless; it hurts and is scary as hell. But once a person is dead they are supposed to stay dead, there is no coming back after 11 minutes of death. So how then did she survive? There is no evidence of the brain injury she should have sustained being so long without oxygen, there is no evidence of anything being wrong with her, at least none that will show up on any tests. But she is different, and there is something wrong with her.

Waking from a coma she should never have lived through, everything has changed. No one understands what's she's been through, what she's still going through, no one that is but Troy.  Attractive, mysterious and a little bit dangerous, Troy knows all too well what it is she is going through having been through something similar himself. But the secrets he is keeping are more then just dangerous, if she's not careful they just may be the death of her.

Fracture is part thriller, part supernatural and part romance rolled into a tale of family, friendship and death. As relationships are tested, trust is betrayed and hearts are broken, from the moment she fell through the ice and felt her life slip away her life has been irrevocably fractured. And if she is to begin to put the pieces of her life back together again she is going to have to want to live, and fight to stay alive.
On sale: 12 February 2012
Price (AU): $15.99
ISBN: 9781408817391
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Death
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
xx

Apr. 8th, 2012

ooh shiny

Heaven

Hachette Children's Books sent me a book to review.

Heaven by Christoph Marzi

Catch A Fallen Star...!


Her one thought was getting as close as she could to her name sake, as high as she could to see the stars. There were only curtain places where the sky, the stars, was visible over London for mush of the sky was missing. It wasn't a matter of simply not being able to see the sky; the sky was literally missing, gone, nonexistent. There was a vast nothingness where the sky should be, but for the moment she was consumed with going we're the sky still was, she had to see it.

Then two things happened. First she was murdered, set upon by two men and one knife and before she knew it her heart was in his hands and she was dead. The second thing that happened, and this really shouldn't have, was that immediately following her heart leaving her body she proceeded to get up and run away. She ran scared for her life, scared that she had been killed, scared that she was still alive.

Heaven has all the elements of a classic fairytale mixed with a dash of the supernatural and a touch of mystery. This fantasy romance is an intriguing thriller that is beautifully written around two troubled yet sympathetic central characters that are both as different from each other as they are similar. This is a warm yet fresh tale of both the darker and lighter side of life. A charmingly story that is certainly one to read.
On sale: 01 February 2012
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781408314661
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Heaven
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
xx

Apr. 4th, 2012

squished fairy

Runes Of Elfland

Runes Of Elfland by Brian Froud

A Gateway Into Faerie!


There are many doors and pathways to Faerie, even a window will do if you can open it wide enough to fit through. However this guide takes you by the hand and leads you willingly to a place where faeries exist, a place where they play, dance and dream. Anywhere you find nature, the wind, the sky, a puddle of water, you will find a story and a gateway into Faerie.

The Runes Of Elfland are a set of twenty-four runes known collectively as the Elder Futhark. Each individual rune represents more then just its sound or letter, there is a meaning behind each symbol and a story behind each meaning. Between the pages of this book are charms, stories, gifts and symbols that will amuse, delight and enlighten all those who venture along pathways and through doors opened within these pages. A beautiful book for lovers of faeries, art, fairytales and magic.
On sale: 01 July 2003
Price (AU): $20.86
ISBN: 9780810985438
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Fairies
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
xx

Mar. 31st, 2012

hug

Delirium Trilogy Book 2

Hachette Australia sent me a book to review.

DELIRIUM:
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

All's Fair In Love And War!


Leaving Alex behind was the hardest thing she ever had to do. She was not sure how she could go on without him and indeed she almost doesn't, more then willing to join him in death when her first few days in the wilds leave her starved, exhausted and on the very brink of death. However it is Raven who finds her, Raven who saves her, and Raven who gives her a new life.

She is starting again, in a new school within the protected boundaries of the city, only this time she is starting as someone else, the procedural mark on her neck to prove it. She is the new cured version of herself and she is on a mission. With the demonstration in the city rumoured to be hijacked by invalids, scavengers, Lena is forced to fight to protect all that she believes in.

Pandemonium and chaos ensue as lives are ripped apart. Hardships are born to those on both sides of the fence and despite best intentions, someone is going to get hurt. A story that flips from one side of the fence to the other, a telling of what is happening now, and what went on then. An absorbing and exciting follow-up to Delirium.
On sale: 01 March 2011
Price (AU): $22.99
ISBN: 9781444722932
Recommended age: 15+
In a word: War
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
xx

Mar. 25th, 2012

make-up

EVE Book 1

Harper Collins Australia sent me a book to review.

EVE:
Eve
by Anna Carey

Property Of The King!


She was old enough too remember a time before the schools. A time when people had their own homes, where men and women, boys and girls lived together in society. She was too young however to remember a time before the plague, before fear, survival and death were the only constants. But the one thing she would never forget was her mother, how much her mother loved her and how much she loved her back.

She was promised a future, after school she was promised a life of training, of learning, before moving to the prosperous City Of Sand. But the shining future she was promised was a lie, a fact she discovered only just in time to save herself, but at the cost of her friends. Alone, beyond the fences facing scavengers, wild animals and the Kings guards she sets out for Califia, the only place that is curtain to be safe. But reaching Califia will come at a great cost.

Eve may have been valedictorian and a shining example to other girls at her school, but she is still only a seventeen year old, naive to the way thing really are and the true nature of men, women and the world around her. As a society built on the labour of orphans, Eve, an orphan herself, runs from a horrific future only to discover nowhere is safe for her unless she is willing to leave behind those that she cares for. A new dystopian series of survival, betrayal, sacrifice and love.
On sale: 01 October 2011
Price (AU): $24.99
ISBN: 9780062048509
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Eve
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
xx

Mar. 16th, 2012

pink + green

sea hearts

Allen & Unwin Publishers sent me a book to review.
 
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
 
"The Brides Of Rollrock Island"
  

When she was little she knew she was different, she just didn't understand how she was different. There were those in town who would whisper as she passed, others with courage would openly scorn her but most would simply turn away as though she were never there. That is till one day when the world opened up to her, her secrets were exposed and she performed magic; she called forth a maiden from the sea.

When he was younger he had never noticed the obvious, how all the mams on the island were the same graceful glossy haired beauties. All the mams that is but his own. His father had gone to the mainland to fetch a bride and had hopes he would do the same. But can a bride from the mainland, however beautiful, ever compare to a bride brought from the sea?

Being so young he didn't notice how unhappy his mam was, how unhappy all the mams were. They were born from the sea and living on land and, no matter how much they loved their families, it was breaking their hearts. But the mams could not return to the sea without their seal skins and the dads had those secretly locked away. But even if he could find a way to set his mam free would he really be willing to let her go?

Sea Hearts is a magically dark fairytale of one island and the generations of people who call it home. As one girl grows from awkward child, to misunderstood maiden to vengeful witch, her actions have consequences that span lifetimes. Amongst a witch's revenge, a lover's betrayal, a heart trapped between two worlds, a father's loss and an islands maddening desire remains a heartbreaking love. A hauntingly beautiful and eerie tale that is in every way a tragedy, but may still yet hold some hope.
On sale: 01 February 2012
Price (AU): $19.99
ISBN: 9781742375052
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Sea Maiden
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
xx

Mar. 3rd, 2012

tink

Tryelle Trilogy book 1

Pan Macmillan Australia sent me a book to review.

TRYELLE:
Switched
by Amanda Hocking

Home Is Where The Heart Is!
 

Six years after she was born her mother finally snapped. It was on her birthday, it would have been his birthday, and that one thought finally broke her mother. All these years her mothers true child had been missing or worse and it was her fault. She should not have been there, she didn't belong, she was an impostor and he was gone. But no one but her mother saw her for what she really was, no one but her mother believed in this crazy tale. At six years old she didn't believe it either, not even when her mother went at her with a carving knife.

Eleven years on and she is starting to question whether her crazy mother was right, not about the stabbing thing though but about the monster thing. A new boy at school has just shown up and what he knows about her is enough for her to question her life. Giving up all she knows and the only family that has ever loved her, her brother Matt not her mother who tried to kill her, she runs away with this new boy, after knowing him for only a day or two. Already she is willing to put her life in his hands.

Switched is a changeling story that substitutes trolls for faeries. This is a fairytale of a girl who never belonged becoming a Princess who has fallen in love with her "knight in shining armour". Although there are bad trolls after her, this is predominantly a story of love. Almost from the first instant she has been in love with her protector and for almost the entire book talked of nothing but her feelings for him. This is definitely a story for the romantics.
On sale: 01 January 2012
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781447205692
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Trolls
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: possibly
Star rating: two out of five
xx

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