Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.

Alluring romance, heart-stopping danger, and sinister intrigue combine in the penultimate volume of Melissa Marr’s New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series.

Sorcha is mourning Seth’s absence. She’s the unchanging queen and she isn’t supposed to mourn, but still Sorcha does. She frets for Seth’s safety and agonizes that she cannot see him when he is in the mortal world. So Sorcha sends Devlin, her brother and loyal servant, to Huntsdale to check on him, to stay with him in case he should need anything. Little does she know that upon his arrival in Huntsdale, an event takes place that will change Devlin’s path for the rest of eternity.

When Devlin sees Ani in the club, his heart stops short. He’s seen that face before, and as magnificent and beautiful as she is, he knows things about her past that could break her innocent little heart. Not that knowing that stops him in the slightest. When Ani lays her eyes on Devlin, and decides that she wants him for herself, Devlin realizes that although he’s lived a lifetime of loneliness, his future doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. The only problem is, they can’t really be intimate, if you know what I mean, or they risk the possibility of Ani sucking the life right out of Devlin. Who wants to kill the one they love?

Ani is reckless and restless. That would be the hound in her, though, and is to be expected. She’s got spunk and just the right amount of attitude, but that’s not all she’s got. Even though she doesn’t realize it yet, Ani is special. So special that Bananach – Sorcha’s crazy (and evil) sister – wants her blood all for herself. As we all well know, Melissa Marr doesn’t write happily ever after fairy tales, and things don’t play out smoothly for Ani. Hearts are broken, loves are lost, relationships are forged, bruised and battered, and truths will shatter the Earth from the inside out.

Although I found it a little slow on the uptake, I now see that those chapters were necessary to lay the foundations for what shaped up to be a spectacular, gut-wrenching read. Radiant Shadows is exceptional in every way, and I’ve come to expect nothing less from this phenomenal story-teller. Marr’s characters are deep, tortured, and believable in every possible way. Their faces are burned to the insides of my eyelids, their voices ring out loudly through my ears. It’s as if they’re really my friends, instead of a bunch of fictional people that I obsessively follow in their pursuits.

The Wicked Lovely world is definitely one of my favorite places to visit. Radiant Shadows does not disappoint.

Pages: 340

Publication Date: April 20, 2010

Rating::

Teaser Quote:

“Go upstairs Ani.” Irial swung his feet to the floor. He didn’t glance her way. His attention was all for the Dark King now. “Tell me what you think I should have done differently, Niall. I spent the night talking and giving her a safe place to rest. I gave her the nourishment she can’t find elsewhere without compromising her already absent virtue.”

The Dark King didn’t respond.

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it?

Meet the Smitten Kittens. Sounds kind of sexy, huh? Alluring in that mysterious way. If you knew what they were doing, though, sexy wouldn’t even come into it. In fact, the Smitten Kittens are all about busting cheating boyfriends from doing the sexy with people other than their other half. The male adolescent population of Washington High is more than a little naughty, it seems.

The squad – which double as a cheer squad by day – have high tech spy equipment and have a well organized system of spying on the boys at their school. They take requests from girlfriends who suspect their boyfriends are cheating, and investigate till the allegations are either cleared, or confirmed. Unfortunately, they’ve never had the opportunity to clear anyone’s name because every single suspect has been found guilty. Every single one.

Tessa is the only girl left on the squad who actually has a boyfriend. Over time, the others all dumped theirs because they were caught cheating. Then, Tessa’s boyfriend’s name shows up on the list, and with a one hundred percent confirmed cheating rate so far, it isn’t looking good for Tessa and Aiden. But maybe he’s innocent, he seems like a nice guy, after all. Could he be the first boyfriend to ever be cleared of all charges?

Initially, I couldn’t decide exactly how I felt about this book, or for whom exactly the target audience might be. Tessa comes across as a good, wholesome character. She doesn’t curse, and always corrects those around her that do. She uses expressions like strawberry smoothie, for example, instead of actual curse words. She’s an excellent friend to her fellow squad members, a great student, and an all-round shiny, happy girl. At first I thought this was going to be a clean and wholesome novel for younger readers, but then I discovered that Tessa sleeps with her boyfriend and sneaks around in the middle of the night, lying to her parents and Aiden about what she’s doing, and spies on people till dawn. And Tessa is the only one that doesn’t curse; it seems the book is littered with swear words and over active adolescent hormonal activity. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, either, I’m just saying that Tessa’s character confused me.

I found myself trying to decode the messages that came attached to Tessa’s character. By creating a character like Tessa, is Suzanne Young is attempting to send a message that teen sex is okay? After all, Tessa is a really nice girl that is seemingly good in every other way. Does the fact that she’s sexually active make her a bad role model for teen girls? I really couldn’t decide. I’m inclined to say no, but I felt uncomfortable making that judgement alone. What I did like about Tessa is that, especially at the beginning, she is committed to Aiden and although she is well aware of her sexual allure and uses that on Aiden a lot, she doesn’t really flounce it around in front of everyone else. She isn’t promiscuous and she obviously has a lot of self-respect, which I think is important when setting up a potential role model for teens today.

The whole book left me feeling a little uneasy, which I suppose is actually a good thing because I thought about it for hours after I finished it, trying to figure out whether I liked it, how to categorize it, what the underlying messages were. While there was obviously a formula that went into the plot, it seemed there was a lack of formula that went into creating the characters, setting, tone, etc. I found this quite refreshing and I think others will too.

I think this book would be a great jumping point for book clubs and discussion circles that wanted to talk and debate the issue of teen sex and teen relationships.

Pages: 239

Publication Date: Febraury 2010

Rating::

Teaser Quote: Cassandra was less than thrilled to see the glossy eight by tens of Marcus and Red Heels. It nearly broke my heart, especially when I considered her recently departed virginity. All of it left me feeling, well, bummed.

A serial killer on the loose.
A girl with a morbid ability.
And a boy who would never let anything happen to her.

Violet Ambrose can find the dead. Or at least, those who have been murdered. She can sense the echoes they leave behind… and the imprints they leave on their killers. As if that weren’t enough to deal with during her junior year, she also has a sudden, inexplicable, and consuming crush on her best friend since childhood, Jay Heaton.

Now a serial killer has begun terrorizing Violet’s small town… and she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Fill with suspense, a gripping romance, and deadly consequences, The Body Finder is an impressive debut novel that’s impossible to put down.

Violet has known that she was different since she was eight years old. That was when she discovered her first murdered body, although at the time, she had no idea that it was the start of a supernatural ability for finding the dead. It’s the kind of thing that can’t be explained by normal or natural circumstances and Violet knows that she needs to keep this to herself. Her family knows, and so does Jay – her best friend – but she’s managed to keep it from everyone else.

She’s in her junior year now and there is a lot going on. Over the past few months, Jay seemed to transform from regular old Jay into an irresistible chick magnet, and it’s driving Violet bananas. She knows she shouldn’t care so much; he’s just her best friend after all. But the more attention Jay receives from her classmates, the more Violet realizes that she doesn’t think of him that way anymore. It seems that Violet has jumped on the Jay-loving bandwagon, too, and she wants him all for herself. But Violet knows her feelings are irrational and sets about pushing them aside. He’s been her friend for far too long…

Then, as if Fate was mocking her in the cruellest way possible, Violet gets the distraction she’s looking for. Teenage girls (girls that she knows) start going missing. When Violet stumbles across the first body, she knows it was murder. The echo left behind is a direct indication that it was so. Then another turns up, and another. When the police have little luck uncovering even a hint of a clue that points to the killer, Violet realizes she might be the only one capable of actually finding him. It’s dangerous, sure, but she can’t just sit by and do nothing.

Would you?

But Violet is just a girl and her serial killer is a skilled hunter. In the game of cat and mouse, who normally wins…?

Jay is a lovable character and it’s easy to understand why the girls are falling all over him. He’s very protective of Violet, he’s handsome – he’s the ultimate package really. Although I couldn’t pin point one particular characteristic that may cause a bit of a fangirl frenzy among readers, I think his loyalty and how much he cares about Violet is going to win him many points with the ladies. While he may not top the Fave Male Characters Of All Time list, he’s not exactly forgettable, either.

Violet seems like a regular teen with regular teen problems. There are so many strong female characters around in YA Lit at the moment that are so supernaturally charged they can’t possibly resemble regular teens. Although she does possess a supernatural ability, Violet strikes me as pretty normal. She experiences regular teen emotions and she’s dealing with regular teen problems on top of the whole murder mystery thing. Overall, The Body Finder feels much more like a teen mystery than a supernatural story.

I was a little creeped out by the pages that were written in the point-of-view of the murderer. Being inside someone’s head that is obviously as messed up as he is gives me the heebee jeebees. It goes to show that you just can’t trust anyone these days…

This one has romance, murder, suspense, mystery, and a whole lot more. All in all, The Body Finder has a little something for everyone and is bound to be a hit with readers or any age.

Pages: 327

Publication date: 2010

Rating::

Teaser quote: “But he was bigger and stronger and his hands reached up behind her to the back of her head, ignoring her denials and pinning her in place. When his mouth finally landed on hers, the combination of his alcohol soaked breath and his brutish unrestrained actions made her quiver sickly beneath him …… she felt like she was going to puke.”

Special Announcement:

yaReads is participating in Kimberly Derting’s promotional blog tour for The Body Finder. Tune back in on Feburary 11 - that’s two days from now, folks - for more Kimberly Derting goodness!

Some nightmares never end.

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They’re just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody’s talking. When Janie taps into a classmate’s violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open – but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie’s in way over her head, and Cabe’s shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability – and its bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what’s to come is way darker than she’d feared…

Janie has slotted into her new life as an undercover detective well. It seems to give her a sense of purpose, that her gift is being used for the greater good. But it does have its downsides – like not being able to be seen publicly with Cabe. They’ve been an item for a while now and they’ve never even been on a real date. Janie’s friends don’t know that she’s even involved with someone. That part really sucks.

But it’s necessary, and they both know it. That doesn’t make it any easier, though. Especially when Janie gets assigned to a case that entails Janie trying to seduce a teacher. Someone at Fieldridge High is doing the dirty with students, and Captain wants Janie to find out exactly who it is.

And Cabel hates every single second of the assignment. When Janie gets herself into a bit of trouble, Cabel does something that only adds to her already big pit of bad.

As if having to seduce her teacher wasn’t enough, Janie starts noticing that stuff with her body isn’t working quite right either. She does some digging and stumbles across a piece of information that breaks her already busted heart.

Although it’s only 248 pages long, a whole lot happens in this novel. Janie and Cabel take their relationship to several places of unchartered territory. I’m sure girls all over the country will swoon, scream in despair, sigh in relief, and throw their books against bedroom walls as the events unfold before their eyes.

McMann has mastered the art of ‘less is more’ and crafts her tale in surprisingly few words. Her writing style is unique, enjoyable, and more than a little addictive. The narrative moves along at an engaging pace and never once did I find myself wanting to skip over paragraphs, sentences, or even single words.

With just the right amount of romance, heartache and suspense, Fade is a real page-turner. I recommend that you set aside a block of time before beginning this one, though,  because once you start, there will be no stopping till you hit the end.

Janie and Cabel’s world is one that I love to lose myself in. I am one hundred per cent invested in their story and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Publication year: 2009

Pages: 248

Rating::

Teaser Quote:

“Are you familiar with these?”

Janie smiles, reaches inside her bag, and pulls out an identical package.

“Excellent.” Captain nods. “Cabel. What’s your job?”

“Watching in agony, sir.”

Captain supresses a smile.

What happens when your life doesn’t go according to plan?

Ryden Malby had a plan. Step One: Do will in high school, thereby achieving Step Two: Get a college scholarship. Step Three: Limit her beer intake in order to keep said scholarship (which wasn’t always easy). Now that she’s finally graduated, it’s time for Step Four: Move into a gorgeous loft apartment and land her dream job at the city’s best publishing house. So far, Ryden’s been three-for-three, but she’s about to stumble on Step Four…

When Jessica Bard, Ryden’s college nemesis – the prettiest, smartest, most ambitious girl at school – steals her perfect job, Ryden’s forced to move back to her childhood home. Stuck with her eccentric family – a stubborn do-it-yourself dad, an overly thrifty mom, a politically incorrect grandma, a very odd little brother – and a growing stack of rejected job applications, Ryden starts to feel like she’s going nowhere. The only upside is spending time with her best friend, Adam – and running into her hot next-door neighbour, David. But if Ryden’s going to survive life as a post grad, it may be time to come up with a new plan…

Ryden Malby seems to be on the up. College scholarship, best friend that she has known forever, and promising prospects at top publishing firm Happerman and Browning. It’s The Plan after all. Moving away from home and an eccentric family that Ryden wishes she weren’t related too is all Ryden has ever wanted. It’s graduation day, and if she can get through the ceremony without some form of disaster, tomorrow will be the start of her new life.

And to being with, everything seems to be going great. Until Adam, her best friend who is driving her to look at the gorgeous loft apartment and to her interview crashes. From there everything seems to fall apart. Being beat out for the dream job but perfect, valedictorian college classmate Jessica, being denied the keys to the apartment, Ryden is forced back to the last place she ever wants to be – home.

Facing countless months of un-employment when she can’t even keep a job at her own father’s luggage store, Ryden feels that nothing will ever be right again. A small light in that future however is David – her older and hotter next-door neighbour. Scoring her a small job as an assistant on the set of the commercials that he directs, Ryden finally feels like she has some to talk to. That is, until she messes up again, angering Adam to the point that he decides to take the offer of a law course in New York. Completely on the opposite side of the continent to Ryden, and it seems no amount of apologies will get Adam to talk to Ryden.

In a world with plans go off track, Ryden must work out exactly what it is she wants, and what she is willing to give up to get it.

Post Grad by Emily Cassel is adapted from the screenplay of recent movie release of the same name, starring Alexis Bledel. I haven’t seen the movie from which the novel was adapted, but I have it on good authority that it was a fun, easy film to watch. Shame that the same can’t be said from the novel. I found the plot weak and that the characters lacked development over the course of the events. Nothing ever happened for a reason, things just happened. With an entirely predictable ending, there was nothing in this book that really got me caring about what actually happened to Ryden.

The most notable parts of the book were Ryden’s eccentric family. They at least, made it interesting to read – their bizarre and somewhat random acts breaking up the monotony of the rest of the plot.

To me, Post Grad was a concept that had a lot of potential, but was poorly executed in terms of plot and character development.

Pages: 243

Publication date: America 2009, Australia 2010

Rating::

Teaser quote: If you ever truly want to be stared at, try driving down Wilshire Boulevard in your mother’s pink Le Baron with an enormous, half-shattered coffin strapped to the roof.

Paradise wasn’t supposed to suck.

Not the state of being, but a resort in the Caribbean.

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all.

It will change Jena, whose first brush with romance takes her that much closer to having a life, and not just reading about those infinitely cooler and more exciting.

It will change Dakota, who needs the devastating truth about his past to make him realize that he doesn’t have to be a jerk just because people think he’s one.

It will change Skye, a heartbreakingly beautiful actress, who must come to terms with the fact that for once she has to stop playing a role or face the consequences.

And it will change Owen, who has never risked anything before and who will take the leap from his online life to a real one all because of a girl he met at Paradise. . . .

From confused to confident and back again, one thing’s certain: Four months after it all begins, none of them will ever be the same.

Jena is one of those girls that talks way too much when she’s nervous. Babble, babble, babble. At least that’s how she sees herself, anyway. When her mom announces that she and Jena are accompanying her friend Luce and her daughter Skye on vacation to the Caribbean, Jena’s nerves hit boiling point. Spend an entire week with Skye, prancing around in a bathing suit? Please god, no! Skye is beautiful, popular, and a successful teen actor. Her life is oh-so-glamorous compared to Jena’s, and Jena can’t help but feel like a spazz in her presence. Who wants to spend an entire vacation stressing about being in someone else’s shadow like that?

Enter Dakota. He’s also on vacation in the Caribbean with his family and he notices Jena. She’s hot (his words, not mine) and she looks just like the distraction he needs right now. Much to Jena’s surprise, they end up hooking up, but that’s because he hasn’t met Skye yet. Dakota can be a real jerk sometimes, and his vacation in the Caribbean proves no exception.

Cue Skye here. She knows it is wrong, but when she sees Dakota with Jena, Skye knows all it will take is for her to bat her eyelids in his direction and he’ll come a wandering. And he does. It’s cruel, yes, but it makes Skye feel good, even if it is only for a moment or two. As if Jena didn’t already feel lousy enough about who she was … did Skye really have to stoop that low?

This is where Owen comes in. Owen is Dakota’s brother. Deemed a wimp by his brother and his father, Owen’s social life is non-existent. He lives for his blog and the anonymity that having an online profile provides. Where Dakota is athletic and built, Owen is asthmatic and a weedy computer geek. Dakota has picked on Owen all his life and let’s just say that Owen – like Jena – has some self – esteem issues of his own.

If you ask me, Skye isn’t really such an awful person. She’s just got issues. She’s got a charmed life – all the money, beauty, and material possessions anyone could ever hope for – but she’s still not happy. And it’s not because she’s a spoiled brat (although she certainly exhibits traits that would attest to that now and then), it’s because she’s depressed. Money and stuff can’t cure depression and I love how Mackler touches on this within Skye’s journey.

Unfortunately, Dakota does not have the same excuse. He’s not mentally ill, he’s just a jerk. In his defense, though, he’s had a bit of a hard life – but that’s no excuse, if you ask me. What we learn from Dakota, though, is that people can change, and that, my friends, is one of the most important lessons in life.

I loved Owen and Jena. To me, they represent forgiveness and second chances. Even though they are both treated badly by Skye and Dakota, when push comes to shove, they are able to forgive, forget, and make amends. The world needs more people like Owen and Jena.

The thing I loved about this book the most of all is that it demonstrates that the world is full of all kinds of people. Different colors, races, sporting abilities and intellectuality, and those differences are just that, differences. We’re all just people inside and we all deserve to be loved and treated with respect, regardless of where we come from, what we do for a living, or what we look like. Although it may be subtle, Mackler drives this message home, with each character coming to realize this in their own special way.

A mix up of male and female narration, Tangled provides examples of a variety of adolescent troubles. With just a splash of romance and a whole lot of angst, Tangled is bound to be a hit with both male and female readers alike. This one is a rare gem in a pool of glass beads.

I’ve been a fan of Carolyn Mackler’s work for a long while now, and Tangled does not disappoint!

Pages: 310

Publication Date: 2010 (available now)

Rating::

Teaser quote: Lube the conversation? This guy was definitely not from Earth.

In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve been featuring Lili St Crow’s Betrayals as our Book of the Month in December. To close off the promo, Lili sat down and penned a review of Sarah Dessen’s Dreamland for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

The first Sarah Dessen book I ever read was Dreamland, and it is to Dessen I owe my reintroduction to the young adult genre. When I was of the age to be marketed to as a “young adult”, I found most of the offerings insipid to say the least, and downright patronizing at worst. I’m glad to say that the genre seems to have undergone something of a revolution in the last five to seven years, and Dessen holds a special place in my heart as the person who introduced me to a new breed of YA books.

Dreamland is about Caitlin O’Koren, a younger sister whose older sister Cass leaves home without a word on Caitlin’s birthday. The reason for her sister’s flight is beautifully shown but never spelled out: their mother’s almost frantic insistence on living her life through one of her children. Both O’Koren parents are flawed but not overly so, doing the best they can.

Caitlin, after living her entire life in Cass’s shadow, suddenly finds herself the focus of her mother’s ambitions. She’s now a stand-in instead of a postscript, and when she meets the appropriately dangerous-seeming Rogerson Briscoe, she makes the first of many abortive attempts at freedom. Unfortunately, Rogerson is a problem in and of himself. He has serious anger-management issues, a bad home life, and is exactly the wrong boyfriend for a vulnerable, uncertain girl.

Unfortunately, many real-life stories start out this way and end tragically.

When I was young enough to be a target audience for YA, the subject of teen dating violence—like so many other subjects—was taboo. I think what grabbed my attention most in Dreamland was Dessen’s unflinching but gentle look at the realities of such a situation. Rogerson is not a villain, he’s a messed-up kid. Caitlin is spoiled, yes, but she’s also loyal to her friends and trying to shoulder her family’s burden as well as she can. Caitlin’s mother is so devastated by her older daughter’s disappearance that her younger daughter becomes a figurehead to her, and Mr. O’Koren is uncomfortable with anything even relating to “girl talk” and prefers concrete action over emotional messes. All these things conspire to make an abyss Caitlin falls into, one she can’t extract herself from without help. She’s not completely a victim, and Rogerson is not completely evil.

I remember finishing Dreamland for the first time and feeling as if Dessen had reached into some of my most secret memories. The shame Caitlin feels, her need to “protect” Rogerson and cover things up, the pressure of her family’s loss, all these things felt familiar. It felt like someone was speaking the truth, and I do not remember the young adult books of my young adulthood ever giving me that frisson. Instead, I graduated early to the “adult” section of the library and didn’t look back—until Dessen.
Dreamland is not perfect. For one thing, the pacing is uneven and Caitlin’s therapy is not given nearly enough room. For another, all Dessen’s heroines start out (even if they haven’t always been) as upper-middle-class. Money is rarely an issue for the kids in her books, and it seems a shame that a writer of Dessen’s talents hasn’t explored that angle. Rogerson Biscoe screams “trouble” so loud, and Caitlin is such a sleepwalker, that occasionally the adult me wanted to shake both of them—as well as Caitlin’s mother. Still, the very strength of my emotional response tells me that these are well-crafted characters. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t have fallen so hard into the world of the book, nor would I reread it with my heart in my mouth each time.

I’ve read most, if not all, of Dessen’s other young adult books, and been entertained each time. Dreamland, however, remains something special. Every time I read it, it’s like the author—and Caitlin herself—are speaking directly to me. Which is a feeling to treasure, whether one is seventeen or seventy. Dessen opened up the new world of the young adult genre for me, and I’m glad to note that books for younger readers are not the clichéd swill that was the only thing on offer when I was significantly younger than I am now. Each time I see a new Dessen book, I feel a thrill and reach for my bank card.

And that, as a reader, is the highest compliment I can give.

Oaths sworn…loyalties tested…forces collide.

It’s been only months since Eragon first uttered “brisingr”, an ancient-language term for fire. Since then, he’s not only learned to create magic with words – he’s been challenged to his very core. Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still, there is more adventure at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.

When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices – choices that will take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

Murtagh is defeated – for now. But not after revealing the information the rocks Eragon to his core and changes everything he knew and thought was right in his life. Struggling with the true identify of his mother and rejecting that of his father, Eragon is trying to find where he truly belongs. After having his entire being affected by the Ageti Blodhren ceremony of the elves, Eragon is starting to feel the binds of the oaths that he has made – oaths to each race and the individual people of Alagaesia.

First, is the oath to his cousin Roran. Roran’s betrothed is being held hostage by the Ra’zac – servants of Galbatorix, they spread fear in their opponents making them a deadly enemy in battle. And for this battle, it is impossible for Eragon and Saphira to be together. For it is in the caves of the Ra’za, caves too small for Saphira to fit through. Eragon and Roran are on their own. And when further complications arise, Eragon is making the first of his decisions that will affect the entire Empire.

Then there is the oath to Elva, the blessed-yet-cursed child that Eragon has promised to help. Yet when it comes to the ancient language, nothing is a simple as it seems. The more Eragon learns, the more he beings to realise how hard it is to remove the cures he placed on Elva. One wrong pronunciation and it could become a lot worse.

Then there is the problem of his un-finished education and the promise to return to Ellesmera to complete this. Yet can Eragon really afford the time to travel across the Empire when the Varden need him now more than ever?

For it is Ellesmera that holds the key to the next stage of the battle against Galbatorix. For Ellesmera holds the only elf with the knowledge on how to forge a Rider’s sword. A sword Eragon is in need of after Za’roc was taken from him by Murtagh on the plains. For only a Rider’s sword can face another of its kind and only a Rider’s sword can withstand the pressure of magic. Yet this seemingly simple process is complicated further by more oaths and promises, some that Eragon himself doesn’t yet know the cost of.

As Eragon, Saphira, Arya and the Varden hurdle closer to the battle that will decide the fate of the world, each side begins to face the costs of what has be promised.

In Brisingr, I feel Paolini has outdone himself. This is by far the best of the series. The characters all come leaps and bounds, with the multiple viewpoints woven simultaneously into a smooth plot that gives you an understanding of each and every race that make up Alagaesia. One of the biggest things I noticed in Brisingr was the development of the characters and the relationship between these characters. You could see just how much each character was standing for and just how much they would lose if they failed.

Personally, I’m a sucker for romance in any for, and the continuing developments between Eragon and Arya had me happy in this novel. There still isn’t a relationship between these two, yet the strength and development of the friendship that Paolini developed between Eragon and Arya was so believable and strong, that it had me smiling at many stages in this novel. Not to mention the ending that had me tear up at one stage, due to the pure and raw emotion in the scene.

Once again, I would recommend Brisingr to any lover of epic adventure fantasy novels, and with one instalment left to go, I will be looking forward to the release date for the last novel in the Inheritance Cycle as much as the next reader.

Pages: 763

Publication Date: 2008

Rating::

As you all know, Lili St Crow’s Betrayals (the second book in her Strange Angels series) is our Book of the Month for December. We’re stoked to have Lili with us this month, and after reading this interview, we think you’ll be pretty stoked too. We want to thank her for taking the time to respond to our questions with such honesty and detail. You rock our socks off Lili! Grab a cuppa and sit back and enjoy!

Strange Angels is your first venture into young adult story telling. Was it a conscious decision to write a story for teens, or did the narrative just take that shape?

I actually never thought I would write YA. It never seemed to be an option because of the subject matter and darkness of my usual work. I was quite surprised when I was contacted about my willingness to write in the YA field, it just never occurred to me as something feasible.

I think the YA genre has grown tremendously in the last five to ten years. When I was in that age group, I don’t think certain issues of violence or sexuality would get through the gates, so to speak. There’s been a certain loosening of attitudes and an admission that teenagers do say bad words and they do have hormones, they face dangerous situations and they make choices. I skipped a great deal of YA when I was that age because it just didn’t speak to me—I started reading “adult” books because none of the YAs addressed issues I felt were relevant to my problems. I think teens today have a much greater choice in the genre.

For you, what was the biggest challenge about writing a story for teens as opposed to adults?

Well, they’re not that different. The baseline promise a writer makes is to tell the truth. This makes no difference whether your audience is 14, 40, or 70. Once you have that commitment, you can tackle questions of appropriateness in your own way.

I was very concerned that there would be tension between my editor and me when it came to certain things—rough language, violence, sex. Once I had That Talk with my editor, I was much more sanguine. Before I ever signed the contract I spoke with my editor about my concerns and it was just all out there on the table: I was not going to sugarcoat anything or BS any of my readers, no matter their age. My editor agreed completely and is very supportive.

It seems, at the moment, that in paranormal YA lit, the big thing that draws readers in (especially girls) is the presence of an impossible love triangle. Why did you decide on a love triangle, rather than a single love interest for Dru?

It was just the shape the story took. There are triangles of one sort or another in a lot of my adult work as well.

A lot of paranormal YA—and, let’s face it, a lot of adult fiction—tends to have this narrative that the dangerous, flashy, obsessive partner is desirable and something girls should aim and sigh for. I like to contrast that with the partner who isn’t obsessive or as dangerous. I think a lot of our cultural narratives about romantic love glorify behaviour that would get a restraining order out here in the real world, and contrasting that with a more realistic portrayal of what a healthy relationship looks like is very valuable.

But then again, there are huge conversations going on in our society about gender roles and relationship roles, and the triangles are a good way to explore a lot of those knotty problems. Plus there’s the fantasy factor—in real life, sometimes behaviour a fiction character engages in would be creepy. But the reader has control over how far they enter into the fantasy, and it’s empowering to have that complete control.

I have to ask, are you Team Graves or Team Christophe?

Personally, I’m very Team Graves. He’s not perfect, but his affection and attention are very much preferable to Christophe’s. I mean, Christophe is very old. He remembers certain parts of World War I, for crying out loud. It’s disturbing that he had this relationship with Dru’s mother and is now acting interested in Dru. It’s always faintly skeezy that we have these immortal beings in love with teenagers in our fiction. Part of this goes back to that cultural narrative, and the fantasy.

On the other hand, Christophe is an interesting character because djamphir don’t mature in certain ways. They’re stuck in teenage bodies and dealing with a world that treats them like children nowadays. So it’s not as skeezy as it could be, and Christophe’s growth as a character brings some of these issues into focus.

Artistically and as a writer, I don’t know where Dru is going to “end up”. Why does it have to be a choice between Graves and Christophe? Maybe she will decide to take some time off and figure out what she wants without a boy in the picture. I find it interesting that this isn’t even seen as an option when this sort of thing is discussed.

Do you have the whole Strange Angels series planned out, or are you creating as you write?
I have the big things, the broad strokes, very firmly in my head. But part of creating a work of art is making choices in the moment that might take it in a different direction. It’s a balance, a fine line to be walked between one’s idea of where the story should go and where the story wants to go. Just like life, I guess.

If Dru could click her heels and have three magic wishes, what would she ask for?

I think she would ask for those people she loves to be back with her and whole. She’s had a lot of loss. Dru is an orphan, and that’s a heavy burden to bear. Through most of the series she’s searching for someone to help her, and missing very much the love and stability that her father and grandmother provided, even if both of them were extraordinarily non-traditional.

What about if you could have three magic wishes, what would you ask for?

It’s probably a marker of my age that I don’t know. I think I’d have tremendous difficulty deciding, because any wish I made would have consequences I couldn’t even guess at. I’m not sure I would take advantage of that. I’m profoundly wary of such questions.

Do you have any particular writing habits?

Other than doing it every day, rain or shine? Not really. I’ve trained myself to write no matter what, so my habit just takes the form of doing it every day. Making the commitment to get it done, no matter how or what or why.

When you ventured into the world of YA, why did you chose to write under Lili St Crow rather than Lilith?

That was a decision taken in conjunction with the publisher, to make it very clear that I was writing in a different genre with different expectations.

Can you tell us anything about the next Strange Angels novel?

I’m working on Book 4 right now, and Book 3, Jealousy, isn’t out yet. So I’m kind of torn—which one should I talk about? I suppose it would be fairest if I spoke about Jealousy. The title kind of speaks for itself.

I’ve always seen jealousy as one of the biggest and most insidious problems in high school. There’s this complete lack of proportion and this social pressure, and popularity or even just plain fitting in and finding a peer group is often played as a zero-sum game: the more for you means the less for me. I don’t think our current system does a good job at teaching kids compromise and cooperation as an non-zero-sum game. So when people hit the adult world, there’s this all or nothing habit of interacting with people that’s very hard to break. Some people never grow out of it.

But you wanted to know about the book, right? Well, this is the book where Dru finds out more about how her mother died and who was truly responsible. The traitor to the Order is unmasked, and there is a price to be paid for Dru’s acts of kindness. Dru also learns a great deal more about what it means to be a part of the Real World, the world of all these things that go bump in the night.

Are you working on anything non-Strange Angels related at the moment that you’d like to share with us?

I’m actually incredibly busy right now, with a ton of short stories for anthologies in process and the next Jill Kismet novel (one of my adult series) pretty much wrapped up and sent to the editor to begin the revisions process. I like being busy.

Thanks so much for having me here!

We’re stoked to announce that Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to adapt Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl’s novel, Beautiful Creatures, for the big screen.

Richard LaGravanese (who directed P.S I Love You) is rumored to be both writing the script and taking on the role of director for the film.

No word yet as to who will be playing out leading lady and leading lad. Any suggestions?

Beautiful Creatures also debuted at number three on the NY Times Bestsellers List for December 20, 2009.

The third novel in Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking trilogy, Monsters of Men, has an official cover! Take a look:

On his blog, Patrick had this to say about the cover:

“Like the others, this just gives a slight impression.  The book itself will be black and the white printing will be on clear acetate sleeve like The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer, with the Noise stretching all over the spine and the back, too.  Wait ’til you see it for real, it’s awesome.

The US cover is also underway, and I’ll debut that as soon as I can (it’s looking pretty great, too).”

At yaReads, we’re very excited about the release of this book. So what do you think? Love, or hate?

For the month of December, we’ll be featuring Lili St Crow’s second novel in her Strange Angels series, Betrayals.

Keep your eyes peeled for:

- Our review of Betrayals

- An interview with Lili

- An awesome giveaway

- A guest review by Lili herself.

Have you read it? We’d love to hear from you … are you Team Graves, or Team Christophe?

The second novel in Lili St Crow’s Strange Angels series, Betrayals, is set to debut on the New York Times Children’s Paperback Bestseller List at number five on December 6, 2009.

Congratulations to Lili! Betrayals is a truly compelling read, and we’re happy to announce that we’re featuring it as our Book of the Month for December!

The fourth book in Melissa Marr’s ever popular Wicked Lovely series, Radiant Shadows, finally has a cover!

What do we all think?

It has been reported in various American media outlets this morning that the second film in the Twilight Saga, New Moon, is about to reset the record for takings at a midnight screening. Pulling between $23 and $24 million for the 12.01 screenings alone, if ticket sales continue through the day, it’s predicted that New Moon will trample all over The Dark Knight’s and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’s record takings.

Were you at a theater last night?

Join the discussion on the forum and tell us your thoughts.

As spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father’s death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes.

Carolina Broad, society’s newest darling, fans a flame from her past, oblivious to how it might burn her future. Penelope Schoonmaker is finally Manhattan royalty—but when a real prince visits the city, she covets a title that comes with a crown. Her husband, Henry, bravely went to war, only to discover that his father’s rule extends well beyond New York’s shores and that fighting for love may prove a losing battle.

In the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling Luxe series, New York’s most dazzling socialites chase dreams, cling to promises, and tempt fate. As society watches what will become of the city’s oldest families and newest fortunes, one question remains: Will its stars fade away or will they shine ever brighter?

When the young Diana Holland follows Henry Schoonmaker, the love of her life, to war, what are the chances that she’ll actually find him? Diana isn’t concerned with chances, though. The whole world has been stacked against them right from the beginning, and they’ve managed to battle through it all. What’s stopping her this time? No, chances are not important. All that matters is that she finds Henry. She must, she will make sure he knows how she feels, propriety and marital conventions be damned.

Meanwhile, Diana’s sister, the newly married Elizabeth, is settling into life as the new Mrs Cairns. Newly weds are supposed to live out their days in blissed out harmony, shack up on cloud nine, and all that. So why does it feel like there is something missing between Mr and Mrs Cairns? And if we, the readers, can see it, what’s stopping the harsh and unforgiving New York City society from noticing as well?

Speaking of society, New York City’s newest society member, Carolina Broad, has just about reached her all of her goals. All she has ever wanted was money, status, and a man to call her own. With two of those three already checked off the list, there’s only one more thing left for her to chase. Will Lina land her man, or will she continue her days in bitter loneliness?

With Henry off at war, Mrs Penelope Schoonmaker is up to her old tricks. Penelope proves money can’t buy happiness, and it certainly can’t buy love. Not the love of her husband, anyway, so she tries out her charm on a new player in town. Will she get found out, or will anyone even care enough to notice that Mrs Schoonmaker is not making good on her wedding vows? But when does Penelope ever make good on anything she says?

Splendor is an exceptional ending to an exceptional series. Some get what they want, and some don’t. But that’s the way the cookie crumbles in life, so why not in fiction, too? Anna Godbersen’s characters remain true to themselves in every which way, and although the way things unfold may not occur exactly how you might want them to, they certainly happen how they’re supposed to. How could we possibly want anything more than that?

You’ll gasp, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry out in glee. Splendor does not disappoint. Reading this series has been a real pleasure and I can’t wait to see what Godbersen produces in the future.

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Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again…

Now Claire can actually concentrate on her studies, and her friend Eve joins the local theatre company. But when one of Eve’s castmates goes missing after starting work on a short documentary, Eve suspects the worst. Claire and Eve soon realize that this film project, whose subject is the vampires themselves, is a whole lot bigger-and way more dangerous-than anyone suspected.

With Bishop out of the picture, I bet you thought life in Morganville would take a bit of a dull turn, especially now that the humans in town seem to have a more equal footing than ever before. Well, you thought wrong. This is Morganville, after all, which is short for trouble, with a capital M.

A few things have changed, though. Shane has a job, for one. He’s bringing in the dosh and making his contribution to the crappy Morganville society, chopping and cooking meat at the local BBQ joint. The good folk of the Glass House are eating less chili and more BBQ these days, not that anyone is complaining.

Michael is settling into life as a vampire, embracing the big bad fangs (in a good, non-evil way) and learning to love the newly acquired powers that come with being an Undead American.

Eve landed a gig acting in the town play. With a combined cast of vampires and humans alike, it sounds like something Eve would run a mile from. Wait till you hear what they’re performing… the whacked out folk of Morganville are in for a real treat – a rendition of A Streetcar Named Desire with a twist. A goth-girl twist. Sounds perfect for Eve. Totally perfect.

And Claire… well Claire is plodding along, loving being super smart Claire with the super hot boyfriend. Until Kim comes along, that is. She’s the new player in town (or the old player, depending on your perspective), and she seems well acquainted with the Glass House members. Too acquainted, according to Claire. She’s got a bit of a history with a certain guy that Claire might be dating, and she’s not liking that one bit.

Morganville’s awesome foursome is back with the full-scaled witty banter that we all know and love them for. In this chapter, friendships will be tested, loyalties questioned, rules broken and new ones forged. One of our very fave Morganville couples will hit one hell of a bump in the road. The question is, will they be able to navigate their way to the other side? Hold your breath because only time will tell, my friends, only time will tell.

Fade Out is laced with all the usual humor we’ve come to expect from Rachel Caine’s dynamic characters. While it may seem that not a lot is happening, if you read between the lines, keep your eye out for all the tiny clues, you’ll see that, in fact, a whole lot is going on. With the conflict presented in the last six books pretty much resolved now, Fade Out sees Caine outstandingly carve up the beginnings of the next big drama, the next life-threatening challenge that Claire and her friends must face. Because let’s face it kids, this is Morganville, where the vampires bite and not a soul can be trusted.

Rachel Caine rocked my reading socks off with this one.

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P.S - I reckon this one rates a special shout out to the cover artist. This is, in my opinion, the best cover to grace the Morganville series released so far.

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

When Nora is partnered up with the new guy in biology, she knows instantly that there is something a little off about him. He’s cocky, for one, but that’s not all. The thing that really creeps her out is that he seems to know so much about her. And not just stuff he could have found out by sneaking a peek at her school record, or asking around on campus. No. He knows personal things about her, things that she barely knows about herself. And it’s more than a little terrifying.

Interestingly, though, after Nora gets over the initial shock that he seems to know every possible thing about her, the thing that bothers her the most about him is this weird, niggling feeling she gets every time he’s near. Is it fear? Anger? Or maybe it’s something much, much worse… but what could be worse than fear and anger? I think we all know what I’m talking about. When you’re a teenager, love can be worse than everything.

Although its totally obvious that Nora is right to be creeped out by Patch, his persistence, his arrogance, and his mysterious bad boy persona is extremely attractive. Becca Fitzpatrick didn’t need to work very hard to convince me that Patch is one hell of a character. He’s got sex appeal, he’s other-worldly, and he’s got just enough bad mixed in with all the mystery to make him oh-so-good. Patch had me at hello, and I’m almost certain he’ll have all of you, too.

But be warned, readers. Looks and first impressions can be deceiving, and there’s more than a little deception going on in Hush, Hush. The hard part is figuring out where it’s all coming from.

Nora is no idiot, and although she’s beginning to work out that those weird zappy feelings she’s having in her stomach whenever Patch is around are actually warm fuzzies, she keeps her guard up. How can you trust someone you know nothing about? How can you trust a locked vault? Patch won’t tell her anything, and when creepy, unexplainable things keep happening in his presence, Nora is smart enough to know that he’s linked to all the craziness.

Nora’s character is totally believable. She hesitates for just the right amount of time, and her natural sense of curiosity motivates her in just the right kinds of ways. Unlike so many other characters in young adult novels today, Nora totally acts her age and I bought every single aspect of her personality. She’s strong and independent, but not so strong that she is without a sense of teen innocence. She’s an awesome role model for teen girls everywhere.

Becca Fitzpatrick’s prose is effortless, and a real pleasure to read. By the end of the first page, I felt like I was sitting front and centre at the local cinema, rather than on my couch with a book in my hand.

This is teen urban fantasy at its best. It’s got romance, supernatural goodness (and badness), thriller, mystery, and just a splash of realism. When heaven and earth collide, all hell will break loose. Patch and Nora are characters that you’ll love to lose yourself in, and their crazy supernatural world is one that you’ll want to revisit over and over again.

Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

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Morganville Vampire fans, check this out. We’ve got an official title and cover for the eight book in the series, due out April 2010.

Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you Kiss of Death:

Here at yaReads, we’re loving this. What about you guys?

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.

After Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games, their lives changed forever. They’re now totally loaded, for one, and Katniss and her mother and sister moved out of their old shack into newer, more desirable living quarters in District 12. That means no more scavenging just to make ends meet; no more hunting for food; no more cold showers. They’ve got everything they could possibly need in the district. Everything except freedom, that is.

Even though they’re home, the Capitol still controls their every move. It’s less obvious at first, and life assumes some kind of normality for Katniss and Peeta for a little while. But then the Quarter Quell is announced – another version of the Hunger Games – and Katniss, Peeta and Hamish find themselves in the middle of another Capitol scheme to ensure complete and utter control over all citizens everywhere.

But the people aren’t having it, and those with enough guts and manpower are revolting against the Capitol’s regime – and they’re using Katniss as their inspiration. If Katniss can defy the capitol in the arena, like she did with the berries, then they can too. If Katniss can manipulate the Capitol through her ‘relationship’ with Peeta, then surely they could find a way to do the same. Their freedom, their quality of life depends on it. Katniss hopes like hell they do, because in the meantime, her and Peeta are the Capitol’s pawns. They have to do what the Capitol wants, or they risk the lives of the people they love.

Love.

It’s certainly an issue that is dealt with in Catching Fire. Although he seems to have accepted that Katniss’s affections for him in the arena were fabricated, Peeta still loves Katniss. And it’s not that Katniss doesn’t feel for Peeta, it’s just that she feels for another, too. Does she love Gale? It’s clear that Gale loves her. It seems no matter whom she chooses, someone she cares about is going to suffer. Then the Capitol picks up on to Katniss’s little dilemma and interfere in a way that makes life almost impossible for her. Can’t choose? No problem. Katniss’s choice is made for her…

After the hugely popular The Hunger Games, I bet a whole stack of you have the Mount Everest of expectations for Catching Fire. No problem. Suzanne Collins takes those expectations, stamps all over them, and proves that she’s a force to be reckoned with.

Her prose is effortless and her characters shine brightly in a world of chaos. Katniss is brave, logical, and she certainly has her priorities in order. When the going gets tough, she doesn’t forget what the important things in life are. She’s an outstanding role model for teenagers everywhere.

You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll gasp, and your heart will break. I can’t wait for the third book. Pity the release date is so far away!

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