{Cover Wars} Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Hello and welcome to Cover Wars where covers battle it out in hopes of knowing which one is the best face for the books you love. Right now we have a winner in our hands that has been trying to scream it to the world so let’s go ahead and reveal the winner for The Scarlet Dagger by Krystle Jones.

The winner is…

The Bad Ass Cover!!!

Now that we’ve all basked on the winning cover’s glory it is time to move into this week’s contestant Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, the first book in the The Lynburn Legacy series. For those of you that don’t really recall this book here you have the book blurb darlings:

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

After reading that creepy blurb it is time to take a look at the covers that are trying to give a face to this story. First up we have the first cover this book ever had, the one that depicts a lot of elements that are shown to us in the blurb yet still finding a way to keep an air of mystery to it, here we have the red cover.

Next up we have the cover that goes more along the lines of a typical romance novel, and that in my opinion shows more a movie teen version of the characters (a.k.a. the people in the cover are obviously not in their teens!!), I present to you guys the yellow cover.

Last but not least we have the black and white cover, the cover that tries to cover the underline of creepiness that we read on the book blurb, but doesn’t carry as much symbolisms that we see in the red cover.

Now that the covers are in the table, tell us which one is your favorite, is there one that you are just craving to have in your bookshelf? Or one that you think it best describes the book? Please remember to vote and comment.

{Trailer Sunday} Find Me by Romily Bernard

“Find Me.”

These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.

Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.

Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?

Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.

But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.

Because it just got personal.

{ARC Review} Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Series: Finishing School #2

Publication date: November 4, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780316190114

Synopsis

Not all finishing schools are the same, especially Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality where the young ladies are not only thought the proper way to act in society but they are also instructed and encouraged in the arts of espionage, diversion and the difference between cooking for 4 and poison for two.

Sophronia has find herself quiet comfortable with this unexpected finishing school and after proving to herself that this is the place she has to be and with suspicious and unusual behaviors occurring on the school Sophronia is not a minute late to inspect what is happening.

With someone after her best friend, a conspiracy is a foot and hands on the job of breaking a reputation Soprhonia might have her hands in more that she can chew, but she must learn to be careful with the games she plays.

 Review

Curtsies & Conspiracies is the second book in the Finishing School by Gail Carriger where we find Sophronia a girl that wasn’t really meant for the average Victorian lifestyle her family was pushing on her and how on a twist of fate she ends up in a finishing school that is more then she could have expected.

As Etiquette & Espionage, this book is enriched by the secondary characters to the point that I think that at least one of them deserves her own book. The mix of new characters and the collision with the old ones was brilliant, although at one point I think there was some inside joke when they introduced some of the, I will have to read Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate to make sure there aren’t some character from that series popping up here.

Compared to the first book, I feel that danger and the time where Sophronia and her friends start taking action comes sooner in this book, making it move at a faster pace then Etiquette and Espionage.

This book is more set right now into living the moment and in a one conspiracy at a time at a time where I suspect everything will start tying up, there is no main villain from the beginning there is no Voldemort, no corrupt government to overthrow or anything that sets a specific group as the main evil doer.

We are all experiencing this world one book at a time trying to see behind the masks that each group hides behind, and to hopefully get to see their true intentions.

I would like to do a Fangirling on post of this book once it has been published so that we can all talk about this series in an uncensored matter full of theories and spoilers, is anyone game?

Rating:

{Audio Book Review} The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

Series: Stoker & Holmes #1

Narrator: Jayne Entwhistle

Publication date: September 17th, 2013

Publisher: Chronicle Books

ISBN-13: 9781452110707

Synopsis

When a series of suicides turn out to be more than just that, Mina Holmes meets Evaline Stoker to go into action and show them exactly how much of a Holmes and a Stoker they are and bring the truth to light.

Now trying to keep their service to a crown a secret and solving the mystery that has all the young girls in London, they must dig deep and find out how the clockwork scarabs come into the equation.

Review

I really enjoyed the Clockwork Scarab narrated by Jayne Entwhistle, she did a wonderful job giving each character a unique voice and keeping the story flowing. Jayne did a delightful job giving each of the young male characters giving each one of them their one accent and making them as memorable as Mina and Evaline.

Sadly I can’t say if this books is appropriate for Arthur Conan Doyle or Bram Stoker fans, I have never read any of their books (please don’t hurt me!), what I can say is that Colleen Gleason took some great risks making them part of the word count, among other risks she took along the book.

The author leaves the idea in the air of possible love triangles, but romance really play a big role in this book, this book is more about presenting the main actors and letting us know how Mina and Evaline’s relationship got started.

There is a part of the book that may be too out there for some, it took me some taking used to and it’s the fact that there is some time and dimension traveling in this book, if you are not willing to give this idea a try then this book is not for you.

This a fun read and what I truly hope is the beginning of the Stoker & Holmes world expansion, I hope that we get to see the characters undergo real growth, see them fight their way to their happily ever after (if there is going to be one), I hope the mystery goes deeper and really makes a great job unmasking the villains at hand.

Rating:

 

{Review} Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Series: Finishing School #1

Publication date: February 5th, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780316190084

Synopsis  

Sophronia is a young, educated, an active mind and the energy to take on the tasks she sets herself into. Sadly, this does not amuse her mother, nor Sophronia’s sisters. As a last resort to correct her unlady like daughter Mrs. Temminick sends her daughter off to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

Being sent into a school that would teach her how to curtsy or make her a proper lady was always a treat her mother used, but not one that Sophronia’s mother would actually act on. But the school seems to hold more than the key to becoming a true lady, her education is more complete and exciting then she expected.

Review

Etiquette and Espionage was a book hard to put down, an interesting combination of supernatural, Victorian etiquette and a girl that won’t let society limit all that she can be.

For those of you that are expecting a comparison between Finishing School and the Parasol Protectorate, the only thing that I can tell you is what the blurb in goodreads says, they are both set on the same world. This is my first experience with Gail’s work and let me tell that I will be keeping an eye out for her new series as well as getting myself familiarized with her first series.

I am going to be honest there was a part of the book that made me doubt if I was going to read this book ‘til the end, I thought maybe there was some forced multiracial in the book, you know like in the movies when suddenly a non-caucasian characters enters to give “color” to the story. That was my first impression with the characters in the first line it appeared, but after that line I felt bad for thinking that and was relieved that this wasn’t the case.

I love how the story developed at its own passed, it gives you time to know more about the paranormal in this world, about who the characters are, how the technology in this world works and for the story to breath.

As a main character Sophronia is smart, fun, one to take risks and not stuck on herself. And her roommates give you a broader dimension on how this world works, the expectations of society, makes the story more fun and makes you wonder about each of their background stories.

Rating:

 

{Trailer Sunday} The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one...except the "thing" inside her.When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no "normal" Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch....

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of "them." The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help--and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

{Audio Book Review} Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #1

Publication date: December 23, 2010

Publisher: Tantor Audio

ISBN-13: 978140014936000

Synopsis

Merit was a 27 year old grad student in the University of Chicago, happy with her life and 100% human. But one night it all changed... after being attacked and ends up being transformed into a vampire against her will, the explication she got was... "it's the only way we could have saved your life" but Merit isn't sure it was for the best when she is forced to make her academic life come to a sudden end while all her dreams and plans jump out the window.

She is put to the test right away as the only "survivor" of a series of murders and she feels its her responsibility to help put an end to them, the only problem is she has to play nice with her Lord, the extremely attractive and charming Ethan Sullivan who isn't afraid to accept the attraction between them nor is he afraid to say he isn't the least pleased with it.

Merits to do list is a little extreme for a newly turned vamp, she has to accept the fact that she is now a vampire, drink blood, remember to stay away from the sun, stay alive, find out who was the person that attacked her and not to kill or succumb to the charm of her Lord.

Review

If you are thinking of starting the Chicagoland Vampires series in its audio book version you may want to listen to the sampler, Cynthia Holloway the narrator of this audio book, isn’t the best person to give a voice to this story and believe you want to know what you are getting yourself into.

I read this story and suddenly I wanted to try another version of this book hoping that it would feel like I was reading this book for the first time, get to hear the phrases I love and get to see the first interactions between Merit and Ethan Sullivan.

All those expectations of dynamism and the narrator’s voice inviting the listener to get lost in this book where lost at the first chapter, there weren’t really any inflections on her voice, any intentions while this book was being read or any life as she walked us around the Some Girls Bite.

I dared review this DNF book because I have a base, I read the book then tried the audio book and between us guys I am sticking with the books, I prefer to listen to the characters in this series interact in my head then the work that Cynthia Holloway voiced them.

In case that your first try on the Chicagoland Vampires series was the audio book I would strongly recommend blacking out that experience and giving the physical or e-book version of this book a try.

Rating:

{Trailer Sunday} The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

When madness stalks the streets of London, no one is safe… There's a creepy new terror haunting modern-day London. Fresh from defeating a Jack the Ripper killer, Rory must put her new-found hunting skills to the test before all hell breaks loose… But enemies are not always who you expect them to be and crazy times call for crazy solutions. A thrilling teen mystery.
* This book is the second on the Shades of London series.

{Cover Wars} Beta by Rachel Cohn

Hi guys welcome to Cover Wars, where covers do a little catwalk for us then we get to pick our favorites. Before we get to see this week’s competitors lets get to see last week’s winner, your favorite Magic Under Glass is...

Curious Cover

Now that we know who gets to bask in all the glory lets see the book blurb of Beta by Rachel Cohn.

Elysia is created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen-year-old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of a teenage clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to exist.

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air induces a strange, euphoric high, which only the island's workers-soulless clones like Elysia-are immune to.

At first, Elysia's life is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, who should want for nothing, yearn. But for what, exactly? She also comes to realize that beneath the island's flawless exterior, there is an under­current of discontent among Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care-so why are overpowering sensations cloud­ing Elysia's mind?

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When her one chance at happi­ness is ripped away with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

Now that we all get the gist about what is on the inside lets see what is on the outside.

First we have the hardcover cover the one with the girl that was supposed to be soulless but will discover that there is more to this world than just what we are supposed to do.

Then we have the cover makeover for the paperback edition of this book, the one that depicts the island and what seems to be a glance to the people that inhabit it.

Well guys contestants have done the catwalk and now it is time for you to vote be it in the form of a comment, poll or smoke sign; your opinion is highly appreciated.

{Trailer Sunday} Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Series: Pretty Crooked

Publication date: March 13, 2012

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

ISBN-13: 9780062066060

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

 Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy.

Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.

But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

{Trailer Sunday} Code Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Publication date: February 6, 2012

Publisher: Egmont Press

ISBN-13: 9781405258210

I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

{Trailer Sunday} The Diviners by Libba Bray

Series: The Diviners #1

Publication date: September 18, 2012

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780316126113

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first

{Trailer Sunday} I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Series: Jasper Dent #1

Publication date: April 3rd 2012

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

ISBN-13: 9780316125840

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

{Guest Post} If you’re tired of vampires, try Capture the Flag by Kate Messner

I’m not gonna lie, I love a good vampire/witch/werewolf/fantasy book but sometimes I want to read something else.  I know, strange, right? But just like someone said: Pam cannot live on bread alone (or something) I believe Pam cannot live on vampires alone.  I need to switch up my reading every now and again and try something different.  After all, you can’t live on a strict diet of cake, can you? No.  Maybe.

So, what does one read when one needs a break from the fantasy genre?  A quick switch to a delightful middle grade book called Capture the Flag by Kate Messner.  Capture the Flag is a fun multicultural read that will appeal to most everyone. Four children of differing ethnic backgrounds are thrown together to help solve the mystery of a missing valuable piece of history. The tale takes place in Washington DC so there’s lots of regional attractions for readers to recognize plus fun connections to famous artists. 

This group of tweens use their talents and pool their wits to help solve the mystery and look for the missing valuable artifact.  It’s delightful to see kids who think they can’t do something special discover that they are indeed brave and daring when they need to be.  The story also shows how culturally sensitive kids today can be. 

Like that idea? Then a companion piece to Capture the Flag is The Obsidian Mask by Caroline Ludovici.  Obsidian Mask is involves young teens who meet at an archeological dig in the Middle East.  The kids’ parents, famous archeologists, uncover some fascinating artifacts that capture the interest of the locals.  There’s kidnapping, theft, and lots of bad guys to keep you interested.  If you didn’t think archeology and ancient history could be interesting, give The Obsidian Mask a read; you can practically see the uncovered jewels of the ancient warrior queen sparkling in the sand. 

Never read a middle grade book? Why not give it a chance?

PammyPam @ Unconventional Librarian