Me on Waiting on Wednesday (19)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted every week by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher:Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

From Goodreads:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

This book had been referred to as the next Hunger Games, which worried me a little because I enjoyed the first and only mildly liked the second and third. This, however, seems a bit different. :)

Me on Red Glove

Title: Red Glove
Author: Holly Black
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (Simon & Schuster imprint)

It's my first time reviewing a book I got through the S&S Galley Grab. Whoa. And it's the first time I read a book about a month before the release date. It was a bit weird at first. (If you haven't read White Cat yet, don't read this review because there are spoilers. I don't think there are any Red Glove spoilers.)

The second in Holly Black's Curse Workers series, Red Glove provides just as much intrigue, teen angst/confusion, and film noir mobster feel as its predecessor White Cat. Cassel Sharpe is attempting to get his life back on the normal track it was before his mother got out of jail, before he saved his brothers from mobster retribution, and before he realized he hadn't killed his best friend Lila Zacharov (a mobster's daughter) and had turned her into a cat instead. As a transformation worker, his life's a bit sticky, and it's about to get even stickier when he tries to mix being a worker with a normal life. Unfortunately for Cassel, the normal track soon veers off in the wrong direction when he's approached by not one but two sides of the law and both want his unique abilities. A choice has to be made, and if he wants to get out alive, he'll have to pull off the biggest con of his life.

This book was awesome. It had a way of sucking me in, bringing me straight back to Cassel's world after his mom worked Lila at the end of White Cat. Everything is still messed up, sort of, but he's trying to get back to the as-close-to-normal he had before his memories came back to him. And now Lila's back, drawing him to her, pulling him in, pushing him away. Then Zacharov wants him to take part in the less-than-legal mobster lifestyle while the FBI are trying to draw him in with some pretty strong leverage.

Cassel's caught again between right and wrong, good and bad, life and death, or maybe life and prison. Little chunks of good times are all he's allowed before he's pulled back in by both sides, before both arms get tugged on from different directions.

The fantasy magical element of the workers and their different abilities is wicked cool. It's almost how I wish life could be, without the possible evil. ;) And Holly Black does an excellent job of revealing the consequences of such an ability. Not just the blowback Cassel experiences, but the whole legal side of the novel. Magic doesn't make the world right, you still need to make certain choices. It's up to you to figure out which choices you make and to decide which side you want to be on.

I haven't been exposed to much film noir and 1920's gangster-style books or movies, but this novel had a way of getting my attention. The sense of class and style mixed with cynicism and morality is interesting, and when Holly Black introduces it to the world she's created, it's almost hypnotic.

While reading Red Glove I was continually overwhelmed and thoroughly creeped out by the film noir style, the dangerous gangsters who very rarely take no for an answer, and the intriguing twists and spirals Cassel falls into. His world, his family, and his life are far from perfect, and he's got to work his way through it all. It's the only way he'll survive.

Me on In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox is hosted ever week by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

5 weeks since I broke my ankle. I've got some movement, but the muscles are either stiff or have atrophied from not being able to use them, like my calf muscle. I won't show you a picture of the incision, I'm a little grossed out by it. Maybe once it totally heals and just looks like a long pale scar. ;)

Borrowed from the library:
Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri (e-book)
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr (e-book)

From S&S Galley Grab:
Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury (e-galley)
Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis (e-galley)

You may be wondering, Lindsay, you mostly review YA novels, what's with the middle grade book? Well, it sounds funny. That's what's with it. :)

Me on Rosebush

Title: Rosebush
Author: Michele Jaffe
Release Date: December 14, 2010
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)
Pages: 326 (Hardcover)

Reading this was like reading a whodunit YA psycho thriller in a race against time to figure out who the villain is before the heroine dies a gruesome and revenge-filled death. A bit dark, but still attention-grabbing.

Jane is one of the popular girls. She's got awesome friends, a sweet boyfriend. Life is great, with the possible exception of her distant mother and possibly mobster boyfriend/fiancé, but other than that everything's working out for her.

Then she's found, half alive, in a rosebush after being hit by a car.

Jane's story was very interesting, and rather emotional. She comes to in a hospital after being at a party with her friends, discovers she can't move, can't talk, can't remember anything. She's left to piece together her lost hours in snatches of conversation with friends and snippits of vague memories that come to her as someone continues to call her and threaten her. Someone wants her dead, wants her to suffer, and Jane's freaking out.

I liked the path the book took as it told Jane's story from the party to the hospital and her struggle to work out how her life changed in a few late-night hours. It sort of reminded me of an Agatha Christie story, or maybe a TV movie version of one of her stories. You see the beginning, you see the end, and you're left to figure out with Poirot or Miss Marple, or Jane, who did it and why.

I'm unsure on the flashback chapters. I understand that the author included them as insights into Jane's character and to draw similarities to her current situation, but I felt they drew me away from Jane in the hospital a bit.

Other than that, I found the book to be pretty good. It's an interesting YA contemporary mystery. I didn't figure out who'd done it until Jane did, which might say something about me. ;)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (18)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset
Author: Kady Cross
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Publisher: HarlequinTeen

From Goodreads:

She thought there was something wrong with her. She was right.
Finley Jayne has known for quite some time that she isn’t ‘normal,’ but when she beats up the son of her employer and is forced to flee, she stumbles into a world where there are bigger freaks than her. They take her in, treat her like family and demand her trust. How can Finley trust them when she can’t trust herself? And why is she drawn to the powerful Griffin as well as the dangerous Jack? She has to get herself under control before she gets into trouble she can’t get out of.

Griffin King is one of the most powerful men in Britain but he couldn’t save his best friend from almost dying. He is determined to save Finley and help her become the person he knows she can be, but there’s evil afoot in London. Machines have attacked humans under the orders of a nefarious criminal called The Machinist. He has sworn to protect his country against such a threat, but he’s never faced any foe like this. However, when he discovers The Machinist’s connection to his past, Griffin vows to end the villain once and for all — but he’ll need the help of all his friends, including the beautiful Finley Jayne – the girl in the steel corset.

This both looks and sounds awesome. I love the idea of steampunk, the world building and the different machines, even if I can't quite write it. ;)

I've been a Harlequin reader for years (their Blaze series) and I love the fact that their YA imprint is taking off and is publishing a bunch of really good books like Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series, Mara Purnhagen's Past Midnight, and Aimeé Carter's The Goddess Test. You can bet I'll be requesting this on NetGalley soon. :)

Me on In My Mailbox (16)

IMM is hosted every week by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

This broken ankle of mine has become less painful and more inconvenient. Can't go out and buy books. Can't go out and pick up library books. Can't buy snacks. I miss walking. Thank god I can borrow e-books from the library.

Bought:
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Hélène Boudreau (e-book)

Borrowed from the library:
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (e-book)

There were some other e-books I bought, but they're not YA. :)

Me on Book Swap/Trade

Think of this as my version of ReadingTeen's Second Hand Saturday.

I've got books. You've got books. We've all got books. How would you like some books??

I've got some books I'm willing to giveaway, or hopefully trade for a book I don't have but would like to read, either finished copies or ARCs.

These are the up for grabs books (some are in the picture):
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (HC)
Unleashed by Kristopher Reisz (PB)
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (HC)
Beastly by Alex Flinn (PB)
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (PB)
The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld (PB)
The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive, Part 1 by L.J. Smith (PB)
The Secret Circle: The Captive, Part 2 and The Power by L.J. Smith (PB)
13 to Life by Shannon Delany (PB)
The Secret Society by Tom Dolby (HC)
Sucks to be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire by Kimberly Pauley (HC)
Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne (PB)
Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne (PB)
Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne (PB)
Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt (PB)

This list will be updated over time as I get books or find books or get tired of books or don't like books.

Books I'm looking for:
My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent
Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen
One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen
Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs
Darklight by Lesley Livingston
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau
The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker
Entangled by Cat Clarke
Personal Demons by Lisa Desroches
Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen

A book I'm really looking for:
An ARC of Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (Nightshade was awesome and I'm obsessed with finding an ARC with the first cover & not the new revamped cover)

There doesn't have to be a trade. If you don't have any of the books I'm looking for, then don't feel obligated to send me one of your books so everything's fair and even.

If you want one of the books I have, e-mail me at leroberts.26(at)gmail(dot)com, replacing the (at) and (dot). You're also welcome to give me a list of books you're willing to trade for, if it's not on my list and you think I'll be interested in it. Feel free to look through my shelves on Goodreads. :)

Of course, if you're not able to mail things to BC, Canada because it might cost you some money, that's okay. I don't want to force you to spend money you can't spare. With my current broken ankle, it might take me a little bit to get to a post office and mail out books, but I'll try to get them mailed out in a timely manner.

Me on Angelfire

Title: Angelfire
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Release Date: February 15, 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)
Pages: 464 (Hardcover)

I'm not quite sure how to start this review, but don't think I didn't like it. I did. I do. I thought the story was really cool. Everything moved at a good pace, I didn't think it dragged.

The best way to describe this book is almost like calling it a book version of the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I think other people have said when describing this book.

I'm not sure why I would describe it like that. Probably because of the giant balancing act Ellie has to perform with her life once Will shows up and flips everything around. She's got to deal with school, her family, her friends, and now she has to put up with this sudden job of killing monsters that creep around in the shadows while hiding the fact that she sneaks out of her room at night to hang out with this new guy that's got a bunch of weird tattoos.

Ellie's complete freak-out and self-doubt was awesome. You can't have a character just believe that she's got this power and strength and ability and wicked sharp swords when she had no idea before getting smacked in the forehead by a hot guy's palm. The idea that she'd just believe him and start kicking butt is outrageous, and so that's part of why I liked this book. Ellie's so human and so scared and a bit panicky, but she has to be human to be believable.

Well, as believable as possible in a book that involves angels and reapers and past lives and guardians and psychics and white cars named Marshmallow. ;)

The romance wasn't overwhelming, which was good. Ellie being drawn to Will came from him knowing her mixed with the attraction, which does give it a boost. It's like,'oh, I sort of know you, and so there's something familiar there and there's parts of you I like and that's attractive.' I did see it coming. It wasn't hard to find. I don't think it's hard to pick out the romantic relationships in most YA novels. And it's not that I mind that. I like reading about how they get together and what crap they have to face because no relationship will ever be perfect.

I know there's a lot of recent YA releases out there involving angels, I've got two more waiting for me to read them, but surely there's no harm in giving this debut a try. Especially if you like a healthy dose of fighting and swords and big monsters thrown in.

Me on Gushing About Stephanie Perkins

I've said more than once that I'm not a big contemporary lit reader, but so when I first heard about Stephanie Perkins' debut novel Anna and the French Kiss, a YA contemporary novel about a girl moving to Paris to go to school and meets a cute British guy, I was inexplicably drawn to it.

Somehow. Beyond all reason. Impossibly.

And I don't read chick lit. My sister, when she does read something that isn't environmental science related, reads chick lit. She enjoyed all the Shopaholic books, she liked the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. She reads chick lit. And I don't.

But this book.

I can't explain it. Maybe it's the cover that says chick lit but not necessarily chick lit (no bright pink, sorry if you think I'm stereotyping). Maybe it's the soft blues and greens. Maybe it's that the hardcover is a dark purple. Maybe it's the Eiffel Tower in the background. Maybe it's that I loved Rachel Hawthorne's A Year in Europe: Three Novels when I was in high school, three books about friends from Texas who spend a year in London, Paris, and Rome on an exchange program.

Maybe it's the cute guy that Anna has a massive crush on.

Who knows. All I know is I started to covet this book, and that was in July 2010, almost six months before I actually read it.

Then came the December 2010 release date and the book did not appear in bookstores.

I live in Canada, which has the same release dates as the US (for the most part, there are rare differences). This was one of those rare instances. I believe the US release date was a Thursday, but in Canada is was the next Tuesday. Books always come out on Tuesdays up here. I stalked the Chapters/Indigo website (it's Canada's big box bookstore, no B&N or Borders up here) and no store in the area had it (I just checked and still, no store in the area has it). It wasn't until after Christmas that I gave in and ordered it online with a birthday gift card (December 26, if you were curious), but that was when it hit the 'ships in 1 to 3 weeks' stage. Which sucks. I think this is when I seriously started stalking our mailbox.

It came in early January. I read it. I loved it. Read my review if you don't believe me.

Now Lola and the Boy Next Door is coming out at the end of September. And again, I got that pang of 'dude I so have to read this so give it to me NOW.'

It's got to be the cover. Or the girl with her purple hair. She's gorgeous.

Or the guy, cause he's totally hot. Read Kiersten White's blog to learn a secret about the cover. ;)

Her name is Lola. Awesome. His name is Cricket. More awesome.

It's like the summary hooks me, the cover totally whacks me over the head, and the book turns me into a totally gushing mess.

And I've only read Anna once. Once.

Oh, Stephanie Perkins. Why have you done this to me? I used to love reading books about vampires and werewolves and angels and demons and faeries, but your books have none of that. They've got normal people dealing with normal crap and normal school, and beautiful sightseeing in gorgeous cities I've never been to. After reading Anna I wanted to curl up on my bed and hug it and pet it and hope I was a teenager again so I could go to this school and be just like Anna.

Look at what you've done to me. I'm jealous of a girl in a book. *sigh* She can keep Étienne, of course. I'm sure I could find my own guy.

If you ever appear in BC or Washington state for a signing or book event, Stephanie Perkins, I imagine I'll be there to ask you what you've done to me and if you could keep doing it.

I think tomorrow I'll sit with my broken ankle and revisit Anna's year in Paris. ;)

*pause* Can you imagine what I'll be like when Lola comes out?? Or what I'll be like when Isla and the Happily Ever After comes out?? *faint*

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (17)

Waiting on Wednesday is weekly book fun hosted every week by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Rage
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Release Date: April 8, 2011
Publisher: Harcourt Graphia
Pages: 228 (Paperback)

From Goodreads:

Missy didn’t mean to cut so deep. But after the party where she was humiliated in front of practically everyone in school, who could blame her for wanting some comfort? Sure, most people don’t find comfort in the touch of a razor blade, but Missy always was . . . different.

That’s why she was chosen to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War. Now Missy wields a new kind of blade—a big, brutal sword that can cut down anyone and anything in her path. But it’s with this weapon in her hand that Missy learns something that could help her triumph over her own pain: control.

A unique approach to the topic of self-mutilation, Rage is the story of a young woman who discovers her own power and refuses to be defeated by the world.

Hunger was honest and moving, and Rage sounds like it's going to be just as honest about the harm teens inflict on themselves in search of perfection.

Me on Jekel Loves Hyde

Title: Jekel Loves Hyde
Author: Beth Fantaskey
Release Date: May 3, 2010
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Pages: 283 (Hardcover)

Another recent library pick-up. :)

Jill Jekel's dad was murdered, which really sucks. And the money for her college education has disappeared, which also really sucks. And she wants to open this box in her dad's office, even though she promised over and over again she wouldn't, but when it might help her win a chemistry scholarship she can't help but be tempted to break the rules. Then there's Tristen Hyde, who also has some secrets, but agrees to partner up with Jill in a sort of 'Jekyll and Hyde' team to split the money.

I read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 2008 when I was studying for my B.A., so I know what the novel is based on. Clearly, there are some differences, like the fact that Jekel and Hyde are separate people and Jekel's a girl. ;)

I really liked this book. It was mysterious enough to keep me reading, the plot moved along at a good pace. The point of view shifts back and forth between Jill and Tristen, but not one after the other. There might be a few in Jill's view, then one in Tristen's, then one in Jill, and so on. I liked it like this. Sometimes a chapter in one character's point of view ends in a mini cliffhanger, but the next chapter in someone else's point of view doesn't continue or takes place in a totally different place. Not that this book doesn't do that, but it flowed a bit better this way.

The dark and mysterious gothic vibe was wonderful. I don't think I've read a book where the darkness was solved through possibly logical chemistry. As a semi-possible nerd (not in science, I was terrible at science), I found it a bit funny and rather interesting.

This book was a mix of different ideas and points. A winding path through dark mists and thick fog, a hunt through papers and compartments to discover hidden secrets, an unending desire to change who we are at the most basic elemental level because there's something lurking in the shadows of our minds just waiting for the opportunity to break free.

Looking for a YA version of Jekyll and Hyde that also has a healthy dose of teenage hormones and almost kisses and actual kisses mixed in? Give Fantaskey's Jekel Loves Hyde a read. ;)

Me on In My Mailbox (15)

IMM is weekly fun hosted over at The Story Siren by Kristi.

I so thought I wouldn't be getting any books until April when I attempt to go to the Cassandra Clare and Holly Black signing in Vancouver, but things change. Like when you see an e-mail that says a request you made to read an e-galley on NetGalley gets approved after about 2 and a half weeks. I'm still surprised that I was approved for even 1 of the requests I made (which I still haven't read but my to-read stack is only 6 books deep and I'm reading both Rosebush and Raised by Wolves right now).

To review from HarperTeen & NetGalley:
Die for Me by Amy Plum

This must be a new cover, it's not the one in the e-galley, and it's so pretty. And I'm not the biggest fan of pink. :) Why did I never make this a Waiting on Wednesday? Maybe I will this week and cheat a little. I won't actually get to read it until mid April.

And if you were curious, my stitches are out, I've got about 6 screws and a plate in my left ankle, and I'm the proud owner of one of those walking boot things. :) Still can't walk properly, though.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (16)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted every week by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Putting Makeup on Dead People
Author: Jen Violi
Release Date: July 26, 2011
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 336 (Hardcover)

From Goodreads:

It's been four years since Donna Parisi's father passed away, but it might as well have been four days. Donna makes conversation and goes through the motion, but she hasn't really gotten on with life. She's not close with anyone, she doesn't have a boyfriend and she's going to college at the local university with a major that her mother picked. But one day Donna has an epiphany. She wants to work with dead people. She wants to help people say goodbye and she wants to learn to love a whole person--body and soul. She wants to live her life and be exceptional...at loving, at grieving and at embalming and cremating,too. Even as she makes the decision, things start to change. Donna makes friends with the charismatic new student, Liz. She notices the boy, Charlie, at her table and realizes that maybe he's been noticing her, too. And she begins to forgive the rest of her family for living their lives while she's been busy moping. 

Jennifer Violi's gentle, moving story of a girl who finds a life in the midst of death will appeal to any reader who's felt stuck and found inspiration in an unexpected place.


I'm not sure what it is, but this book just sounds really interesting. And the cover is gorgeous.

Me on Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Author: John Green & David Levithan
Release Date: April 6, 2010
Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 310 (Hardcover)

Twitter was all abuzz when this book came out, possibly because it turns out I follow a lot of John Green and David Levithan fans. I felt indifferent, it sounded like an interesting book, I stuck it on my to-read list, but it wasn't that high in terms of desire to read and priority. When I went to the giant library downtown on February 19th (in the morning, my recent ankle breaking accident happened that afternoon), I saw it on the shelf and grabbed it, figured why not.

Meet Will Grayson. His family's pretty average, school's okay, and his best friend Tiny Cooper, who wants to put on a musical about his life as a big, loud, gay person, is the biggest, loudest, gayest person he knows.

Meet Will Grayson. He lives in an apartment with his mom, has one friend named Maura who he sort of avoids, takes pills because he's depressed, and is kind of having a secret IM relationship with someone he met online, a guy names Issac.

A chance encounter bring Will Grayson and Will Grayson together late one cold Chicago night and throw them together, maybe not always directly, but still together.

I found this book to be unexpectedly funny and heartfelt. Of course, I wasn't sure what to expect at the beginning, considering I've never read any John Green and the only David Levithan book I've read is his recent co-written with Rachel Cohn Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (that might be a lie, I think I tried to read Looking for Alaska a few years ago and didn't completely focus on it while reading it).

It tries to make you think like some contemporary books do, in terms of connections and life and relationships and people and what makes us do what we do as people who try to be normal but feel like we're complete freaks on the inside. Everyone has some stuff happen to them that makes them think they're weirder than everyone else, whether it be a big loud gay friend or an odd semi-compulsion to be negative and depressed or not knowing what you want in life until it's almost too late or getting a fake ID that fails to get you into an over 21 club because it says you're only 19 (or 20, I don't remember).

This book was a refreshing contemporary insight into completely believable and realistic characters, showing us that sure, life isn't perfect and we're all weird in some way or another, but sometimes chance encounters can bring us together and change the way we see life for the better. And that love and affection and appreciation can bring together anyone.

Me on In My Mailbox (14)

In My Mailbox is some weekly fun hosted every week by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

So, while I have this broken ankle, the only new books I see myself reading are presents from other people, ones I buy online, or library e-books. I'm still not totally comfortable with requesting books on NetGalley. I love the idea of it, but it makes me feel entitled when I don't want to be. Briana (@breesbooks on Twitter) was sort of talking about this on Twitter the other day. I've requested 2 books through NetGalley and was lucky enough to get to read the second one, which I'm saving for the end of my current giant to-read list.

So, here's my small list of what books I got this week.

Borrowed from library:
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (e-book)
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (e-book)

I wanted to read I Am Number Four before I saw the movie, but I have no idea when I'm going to the movie now. Darn broken ankle, ruining my mobility. Everything else works, except for that one important hinge that makes my foot move. *sigh*

Me on Bloody Valentine

Title: Bloody Valentine
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Release Date: December 28, 2010
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Pages: 160 (Hardcover)

Note: a short review, but hey, why not? It's been a while since I reviewed something.

A short, sweet novella that fits into place right between last fall's Misguided Angel and the upcoming October release of Lost in Time. Split into three sections, Melissa de la Cruz shares with us the tale of Oliver getting over his broken heart, the beginning of Allegra's fall into love with a human, and the bonding of Jack and Schuyler.

All stories have something to do with love, whether it be overcoming a past relationship, the first brush of lust and affection with the forbidden, or committing in a ceremony to love someone forever. Sure, there wasn't a whole lot of moving forward in the whole plot of the series, except for the obvious bonding ceremony between Schuyler and Jack, but to me it felt more like a brief interlude, a break before, possibly, all hell breaks loose in Lost in Time when Schuyler heads for Alexandria and Jack returns to New York to face his former bondmate/sister/lover Mimi. Can you imagine how Mimi's going to react? I predict a mix of collected stiffness and total volcanic explosion. ;)

Think of this as similar to Keys to the Repository, the some guide book some and some short story small hardcover that came out last June. If you're a hardcore fan who loves Schuyler and Jack, then you'll pick this up and love it. If you're a hardcore fan who needs to watch how much she/he spends on books like me, you might want to borrow it from the library or a friend, then buy it either on sale or when it comes out in paperback (whenever that may be).

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (15)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Demonglass
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)

From Goodreads:

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

I've read Hex Hall, it was pretty good. This one sounds just as good, maybe better. And the cover is awesome. :)