The hourglass door has closed behind Dante, sending him back in time to hunt down Zo, Tony, and V. Although giving him up was the hardest test she ever faced, Abby knows that Dante is the only one who can stop the others from destroying time itself. But almost immediately, things start to change, and Abby’s worst fears are realized when Zo begins targeting her past specifically.

With each change that ripples into her present, Abby’s life continues to spiral out of control. Her relationships with Jason, Natalie, and even her family are threatened to the breaking point. Zo’s power is greater than Abby ever imagined. Will her love for Dante be enough to turn the tide?

The Golden Spiral picks up right where The Hourglass Door left off. Many of the characters return in this intricately planned sequel – but some return only to be erased from Abby’s life by Zo. With Dante gone for the time-being, Abby finds herself facing off against Zo alone as he’s determined to completely unravel her life and, possibly, the world.

Lisa Magnum is a master at story-crafting. Her lyrical descriptions at times border on poetry and her plot is so unique, full of twists and turns. While Abby solves mysteries from The Hourglass Door, she finds herself unraveling new, more complicated ones. Without Dante by her side, her strength is tested over and over. Abby grows a lot in this book and reasserts her independence, proving that she doesn’t need Dante to protect her, but that the two make each other stronger. Abby also learns to take more risks and trust in herself. Despite the fact that Zo attempts to rip her life apart, she refuses to back down to him, which is admirable given his all-around creepiness and nearly god-like power.

I was also really impressed by Abby’s friends in this book. Natalie really steps up to the plate when Abby decides to confide in her, proving that yes, she is human and therefore needs support and friendship. Natalie’s hesitance is believable, as well as her eventual of acceptance. It’s important for Abby to maintain her relationships with her old friends and I’m glad she acknowledges this, rather than abandon her friends for her gorgeous boyfriend and his complicated life. Speaking of complicated, poor Valerie. Her descent into delirium is equal parts fascinating and depressing. At first I thought she had gone completely crazy, but I was happily surprised to find out she was still hanging on, if just barely. I’m still worried about her, but glad to see that perhaps all hope isn’t lost.

If you thought The Hourglass Door was unique, The Golden Spiral pushes that kind of creativity even further. Abby’s and Leo’s use of photography is downright fascinating. Also, V’s unexpected character development is adorably awesome, though it comes with a price, and Zo’s cryptic messages are creepily alluring. Mangum blurs the line between friend and fo so that you’re left guessing up until the very end, when she drops a few major bombs. The characters are repeatedly tested and while the tests usually leave them stronger, they suffer a few devastating losses by the end of the book. And again, Mangum leaves us with a cliffhanger that leaves me, at least, craving the conclusion to the trilogy.

Pages: 362
Publication Date: May 2010
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “He is nowhere. He is everywhere. He is in between. He doesn’t like it. The darkness presses on him and it hurts.”

“In 1629 a young Frenchwoman is convicted if murdering her husband. The elderly lord is found dead on the stairs, apparently savaged by a pack of dogs. But there were no dogs – no live dogs – at Kerfol that day.

In the first of these five stories, we return to the haunted manor and hear the ghost story “Kerfol”, first told by Edith Wharton, through the sympathetic eyes of a servant girl. Four more tales slip forward in time, peering in on a young artist, a hard-drinking party girl and young American couple and a deaf gardener who now tends the Kerfol estate. All of these souls are haunted by the ghosts of Kerfol – the dead dogs, the sensual yet uneasy relationships and the bitter taste of revenge.”

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Let’s get one thing clear – I’m the biggest chicken ever. At least when it comes to ghost stories. I can’t read them without getting a bit jumpy, I watched Paranormal Activity behind a gap in my fingers, I think the guys on Ghost Hunters are nuts. So I was a bit hesitant about reading a story about vengeful ghosts from the 17^th century.

The Ghosts of Kerfol is five short stories, starting with a retelling for Edith Wharton’s original short story Kerfol , with each subsequent story moving forward in time till we get from 1629 to 2006. In the first story (the retelling) we learn about the mysterious death of Yves de Cornault, who was found dead on the stairs of his home, apparently attacked by dogs. Since he maliciously killed every dog his wife ever had after discovering her disloyalty, there hadn’t been a dog on the grounds since. So how did he die?

The stories that follow are about the house that still stands and the ghosts that now haunt the grounds.

Despite my previous issues with ghost stories I thought the story sounded interesting and was ready to give it a go. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to my hopes.

My issue was that after the first story, each of the others felt too brief and disconnected from one another. At only 171 pages each story only got about 30 pages and in that time there’s so much focus on the main character that the ghosts become a small and almost pointless feature. Once we started to become interested in the human characters, we moved right along to the next story.

And the ghosts themselves, in the end what did they do? Not that much, besides one incident all they did was a lot of creepy staring. It would have been better if each story linked to one another or built up to some big ending but the tension just kind of fizzled out to nothing.

If you do happen to read it I don’t recommend doing what I did – reading it right before bed. Though none of it was hardly scary, the creepy staring is still not the best thing to have in mind while trying to sleep.

If you were interesting in the story, you’re probably better off just reading Edith Wharton’s original short story. There was nothing wrong with this book generally but in the end all I could think was ‘meh’.

Pages: 171
Publication Date: August 2008
Publisher: Candlewick Press/Walker Books
Challenge: Historical Fiction
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “When at last she called for me to dress down her bed, we took the stairs slowly, carefully, like elderly women afraid of slipping or breaking a bone. We did not hurry, but we arrived all the same.
We found it.
The little dog lay dead on her pillow.”

You should never judge a book by its cover.

Sure….but they never said we couldn’t admire them. Cover of the Week pays homage to the beautiful and eye catching graphics that grace the covers of our young adult titles.

This week’s cover of the week goes to Muse by Rebecca Lim

Release Date: November 2011

After lots of waiting and speculation, author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling finally gave fans an insight into what the heck is Pottermore.

Check out the video below -

After watching the clip (twice), I still wasn’t exactly sure what Pottermore was, I just knew it’s gonna be HUGE and exciting! With a little help from the-leaky-cauldron.org, we know that Pottermore will be -

• Pottermore is an interactive new web site and reading experience with more than 18,000 new words from J.K. Rowling: Much more to come.
• JKR behind the scenes filming the video picture.
• An online experience to read, interact with and share the Harry Potter stories. Exclusive writing from J.K. Rowling and more.
• Pottermore will feature infromation J.K. Rowling has been “hoarding” for years about Harry Potter.
• Pottermore will be the exclusive place to purchase the digital audio books and, at last, eBooks of the Harry Potter series.
• Pottermore was developed in association with the leading digital company, TH_NK
• Pottermore was also created in partnership with Sony
• One million fans will get access to a beta on July 31, Harry’s birthday. It will be open for all in October 2011.
• The launch of Pottermore will have more than 18,000 words from J.K. Rowling, but that is only a third of what she has written so far.
• J.K. Rowling said this morning that there is a lot more content to come for the Pottermore site, and she will develop it as it grows.

• You will follow the story, get sorted into a house and get a wand (one of 33,000 possible combinations) – all crafted by JKR.
• JKR is excited to include a long backstory on McGonagall – her childhood, ministry career, early heartbreak…
• JKR said if you’re not sorted into Gryffindor you get even more exclusive content about your house.
• Chamber of Secrets story to debut in 2012.
• There will be info on Minerva McGonagall’s long friendship with Dumbledore
• Also mentioned that Vernon and Petunia met at work, backstory also on Pottermore.

So so so exciting! You can head on over to www.pottermore.com to sign up to receive an email when registration opens for Pottermore on July 31. One million lucky fans will get to try the site out first while the rest of us will have to wait October.

the-leaky-cauldron.org are constantly updating their page as more news comes in, so head on over for all the latest.

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren, inspired by Alea and explores the contents of our mailbox on a weekly basis.

For Review:

Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel by Michael Gerard Bauer
Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Eight Keys sounds  particularly interesting, I’m definitely looking forward to checking that out.

We’re at the halfway point of the year but 2011′s big releases are only just getting started. Bloodlines, Crossed, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Clockwork Prince and Forever to name just a few are still waiting for release. What are you most looking forward to?

Happy Reading!