Angel Burn by L. A. Weatherly

Summary

THEY’RE OUT FOR YOUR SOUL.

AND THEY DON’T HAVE HEAVEN IN MIND . . .

Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself does. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil.

• Number of pages: 449

Review

W. O. W.

I don’t know how else to get this through to all of you clearly except . . . THIS BOOK WAS SOOOOO GOOOD!! I was completely captured even from the moment that I read the PROLOUGE and that is saying something. If you get the chance to read this book then I seriously wouldn’t hesitate to get a hold of a copy. I don’t even know what exactly it was from the story that really had me mesmerized for the entire time that I read this book . . . which was in a day (a new personal best if I do say so myself). I haven’t been this captivated in a book in quite some time. I can’t say I’m not excited to review this book, but I really don’t want to give anything away.

I think I have to start with the fact that the plot itself went beyond the norms of today’s usual books. Lately, a lot of novels have been meshing together with the way the plots all seem in at least one way similar. I mean it’s not always bad because each author has their own way of styling their stories, but I think Angel Burn was a whole new take, a new-ish kind of story. There were some of the typical stuff that we teens read about mostly, like the star-crossed love story of the book or the super natural stuff that gets us so addicted. So what this book is about is that after learning about angels Willow becomes the target of some pretty dangerous beings, and Alex is sent to kill her. Of course Alex—being Alex—has enough common sense to know that something isn’t right. Once they discover what is going on they are force to stick together in what seems the most dangerous, and exciting road trip ever. Along the way of course, the attraction between them builds until it is practically palpable through the pages. I think it had to be one of the top 10 romances ever.

The angel aspect of Angel Burn was really interesting. These aren’t the type of angels I would pray to, if you know what I mean. I kind of found it interesting how the angels were evil and created their own religion of sorts; more like a cult. And how every now and then people would be like, “oh Jesus that was intense”. Or something like that. Probably isn’t relevant to anything, but it was something I picked up and thought kind of interesting, the worship of this strange religion with expressions of another. The adventure also was really cool, too. They travel practically cross-country, and there was much to do on those little trips. Honestly I really did enjoy this book, and maybe you will too. It’s worth a shot picking it up, don’t you think? So from 1-10? Angel Burn definitely gets a 9!!

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Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Summary

Until three months ago, sixteen-year-old Camelia’s life had been fairly ordinary. Then a mysterious boy names Ben started junior year at her school and changed everything.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. Despite the rumors, she’s inexplicably drawn to him . . . and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes, Ben insists she’s in danger, and that he wants to help—but can he be trusted? She knows he’s hiding something . . . but he’s not the only one with a secret.

• Number of pages: 252

Review

Deadly Little Secret was such a hauntingly good novel. I was surprised by the intensity of the mystery, and it was such an entertaining book aside from the mystery as well. One of my best friends, Amanda, gave me her copy to read and see if it was good. She’s not much of a reader, but I am determined to convert her! Okay, back to the book. Camelia and her two best friends go to this school where a new, secretive guy comes and stirs up their little town with drama. Camelia knows he is the one who saved her from being run over by a car, and is determined to get to know him a little more. What she doesn’t know is that she is the one who is going to need saving again. There is someone following her. She starts getting these phone calls and pictures in the mail. Pretty creepy stuff, for sure. I think the creepiest part had to be the small chapters where the stalker would write about his feelings on Camelia. They were so realistic it was mind-blowing. There were quite a lot of parts that gave me goose bumps. As you can imagine, I read this book mostly at night before bed, and it was the perfect time to read a book like this. Unless of course stuff like this really does scare you, then I recommend reading it during the daytime. Just saying. But aside from the mystery of the stalker and the mystery behind the new guy, Ben, this book had a slight comical aspect to it. The best friends had to be the funniest people in the book. They were with Camelia most of the time and lightened up the mood immensely. They were sarcastic and humorous that left me cracking up. From 1-10? I give it a 6.5

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Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein

Summary

An orphan, young Lady Catherine rises to become one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite maids of honor—until her romance with the dashing adventurer Walter Ralegh is discovered. In a fit of jealousy, the queen banishes Cate to the fledgling colony on Roanoke Island.

Sustained by the hope that Sir Walter will soon join her, Cate learns to face the unexpected hardships and dangers of the New World. Torn by conflict and mistrust, and with their numbers dwindling, the colonists are forced to rely on Manteo, a mysterious Croatoan Indian, for their survival. Manteo, who calls Cate his Moon Maiden . . .

But is Manteo truly a friend, or will he betray the English to their enemies? And Sir Walter in England—has he forgotten his beloved, or will he come to claim her? As the months pass without rescue, Cate turns her gaze from the past and considers the possibility of a new love. Then one day a ship arrives—and Cate must make an agonizing choice . . .

• Number of pages: 321

Review

Lisa Klein weaved an absolutely sensational historical fiction out of an event that I didn’t even know about until I read this book! Cate of the Lost Colony was adventurous, mysterious, and the history part of this story was completely amazing.

Cate is in the beginning “Lady Catherine” which is in turn changed to “Lady Cat” or “Cat” as is referred to by the Queen herself. That is when in the beginning Lady Cat is one of the many maids to Queen Elizabeth. It’s her duty to help the Queen dress (a difficult task, no less) and help her with anything that may need helping. To her this is a great honor to serve her queen. Here in America with no kings or queens to look to in that way I can’t imagine why she would have such devotion and such love to a woman who at times treated her a little bad. It’s evident in the beginning part of the book how much devotion she puts into her work for the queen only being rewarded with a nickname that would soon get her into jealous trouble with the other lady maids. I guess that is just how it was. I remember thinking through those pages that I guess our heroine was just going to be a meek girl with not much will to call her own. But wow was I wrong. She turns a complete 180 after her romance with Sir Walter is discovered and is forced to travel to the New World, a place where savages rule and the conditions are harsh. Thus becoming the Cate that I know everyone loves her to be. She relishes the opportunity to travel to the new world, but after a while of seeing the type of condition she is to live in you see a spark in her ignite to take some charge and speak out, even as a woman in a time where men rule, to help her fellow colonist survive while deciding whether to keep hope in the thought of rescue from Sir Walter, or accepting the future and the possible love that comes with it.

At first I thought the story of Cate was hard to follow because at what seemed at random times the voice of Cate would be replaced by what I would call Sir William’s “diary” or “journal” to the point of view of Manteo in some instances, but (and I’m still not sure how Klein did it) it all seemed to make sense after a little bit of concentration. You would think that a book in the time of Queen Elizabeth would be a hard read, what with all the old time slang that must be in this book, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I actually liked the challenge of it! Especially when poetry by Sir Walter would be mixed in, it gave it an old time feel to it that made it special. I was in fact quite charmed by this book as my review probably already told you. So from 1-10? I am happy to give Cate of the Lost Colony an 8!!!

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Review: Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta

MUDVILLE
by Kurtis Scaletta

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published February 24th 2009 by Alfred A. Knopf

Placement in the Pile: Reaching New Heights

Summary:

Welcome to Moundville, where it’s been raining for longer than Roy McGuire has been alive. Most people say the town is cursed—right in the middle of their big baseball game against rival town Sinister Bend, black clouds crept across the sky and it started to rain. That was 22 years ago . . . and it’s still pouring.

Baseball camp is over, and Roy knows he’s in for a dreary, soggy summer. But when he returns home, he finds a foster kid named Sturgis sprawled out on his couch. As if this isn’t weird enough, just a few days after Sturgis’s arrival, the sun comes out. No one can explain why the rain has finally stopped, but as far as Roy’s concerned, it’s time to play some baseball. It’s time to get a Moundville team together and finish what was started 22 years ago. It’s time for a rematch.

Review:
This was our book club book pick this month, and I am so glad I finally had a chance to read it! This was one that I wanted to read way back when I started blogging, but never got around to it.

Not my typical fall in love with book, but this book is WELL worth reading. I laughed a lot. This is a boy book that will get boys reading. The characters in the book are so genuinely BOY! That I think was my favorite part. The characters were so real.

I can best describe this book as Holes meets The Sandlot.

I am very passionate about getting boys to read. If you have a 10-14 year old boy this is a book for them! I can't see how they wouldn't like it!

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I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Summary

WE

May be walking past you right now.

WE

Are watching as you read this.

WE

May be in your city, your town.

WE

Are living anonymously.

WE

Are waiting for the day when

WE

Will find each other.

WE

Will make our last stand together—if

WE

Win,

WE

Are saved, and

YOU

Are saved as well.

IF WE LOSE, ALL IS LOST.

• Number of pages:440

Review

I broke a big cardinal rule of reading . . . never watch the movie before you read the book. And that’s exactly what I did. I can’t believe it either! I didn’t even think the movie was going to be so good, I was mostly just going to watch it because of Alex Pettyfer (<3). The movie was soooo incredible! So I went into the book with high hopes and a little bit prejudiced, I’m not gonna lie.

There were a lot of aspects to this book that made it so life-like that I found so amazing of the author to even think about. The planet Lorien seems like such a possibility when I was reading the book. It’s actually kind of funny how Pittacus Lore basically created a whole new civilization on this completely new planet based around him. Lore made Lorien as a planet with him as the ruler, and although I was kind of confused when he put himself in the actual story I thought it was quite genius. I mean, why shouldn’t he be ruler? He created the whole thing anyway so why not, right?

I actually really enjoyed this book, mostly in the beginning and middle. I blame myself for watching the movie first and maybe diminishing the experience a little bit. Since I kind of knew what was going to happen it didn’t actually have all my attention. (It took me about 2 weeks to finish this one! Not good.) This is a kind of sci-fi novel but for me I categorized it more on the romance side. It was a sweet kind of romance with the fun of having the ex-boyfriend to deal with. It was funny seeing the ex trying to bully John (Number Four) when you obviously knew that he could totally kick his… butt.

The only down side in this book that I actually found was that it was a bit flowery for me. Like in the big epic battle near the end, it was way over done. I mean it took up at least 5 chapters. It was very interesting with the fighting scenes at times, but then it just got a bit tedious, I wanted to see how they would end up! But maybe that was just my impatience at fault. Whatever it was that was how I felt near the end.

It did all tie up at the end setting it up perfectly for the next book. I do want to read the next and any after . . . I just got to make sure not to watch the next movie before I do.

From 1-10? I give I Am Number Four a 6.5

Oh for the book cover I decided to post up a picture of the original cover even though I own the movie version . . . mine has Alex Pettyfer on it!! <3 <3 <3

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The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

Summary

Orphan Mary Quinn lives on the edge. Sentenced as a thief at the age of twelve, she’s rescued from the gallows by a woman posing as a prison warden. In her new home, Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls, Mary acquires a singular education, fine manners, and a surprising opportunity. The school is a cover for the Agency—an elite, top secret corps of female investigators with a reputation for results—and at seventeen, Mary’s about to join their ranks.

With London all but paralyzed by a noxious heat wave, Mary must work fast in the guise of lady’s companion to infiltrate a rich merchant’s home with hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the Thorold household is full of dangerous secrets, and people are not what they seem—least of all Mary.

• Number of pages: 335

Review

This was the perfect way to start off my summer reading! It’s not one of those summer love/sunshine books, but this is such a good book. I don’t even know why I put it off until now.

The whole story was quite unique. I’m not sure if girl spies are popular or not, but a girl spy in the Victorian Era? It all came out so cool.

This is the first book in a series and it starts off with how Mary was recruited. Turns out this little girl was so naughty she was going to be hanged! After a couple of years after being rescued by Miss Anne and studying at the school, Mary is recruited into this very top secret kind of agency that uses the intelligence of women to skillfully accomplish the results that their clients want. (Don’t worry they only do this for good.) Their way of thinking is this: since women in that time were never noticed let alone listened to, they should use that to their advantage. Mary is just the kind of girl that the Agency is interested in, and so she is sent to her first easy assignment.

I can't exactly review this by telling you the assignment or how it goes about in the end, mysteries are always so hard to explain without giving anything away! The only things I can say is that I was thoroughly entertained trying to decipher the who, what, when, where, and whys of this book. The ending is completely unexpected, let me tell you!

Now I really want to read the next book! From 1-10 A Spy in the House gets a 7!

P.S. i just realized that you might get the idea that this is an action packed kind of book. It wasn't really like that, more mystery less violence/action, but good either way.

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Me, the slacker

I have not been posting not for lack of having things to post, just cause summer has hit in full force at our house and we are BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Speaking of, I gotta get going!

What are you doing this summer? What is on your summer reading list to enhance your summer goings on?

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Author Interview: Elana Johnson!

The beautiful and fabulous Elana Johnson agreed to answer these questions for us regarding her new release (officially out today!) POSSESSION!

MPB: Can you briefly tell us a little about your publishing story?

EJ: Okay, so I’ve never wanted to be a writer. Let’s get that out of the way first. In fact, in high school I took the AP English test as a junior so I could skip language arts completely as a senior. In college I majored in chemistry and math before settling into elementary education. No lie.

Fast-forward a few years. Or a decade. Whatever. I was about to turn thirty, and I’d recently been through a very dark time in my life.

Writing became my flashlight. I wrote my personal history, and realized that writing could remove some of the negative emotions that were festering inside me.

When I finished the personal history, I wrote a novel. And it was completely natural to pour that angst and depression into a teenage girl. (Ha!)

Anyway, then the pitbull in me emerged. See, I’m a little OCD, and when I do something, I DO IT.

So, of course, the next step was to figure out how to publish a book. Here’s a timeline for that.

December 2007: Begin writing. Write first novel.
April 2008: Write POSSESSION
April – November 2008: Query a different book. Not a good one. My first one. Write a few more novels. Okay, maybe like 8 more.
December 2008: Shelve said book. Decide which book to revise and query next. Chose POSSESSION.
January – April 2009: Revise POSSESSION.
April – November 2009: Query POSSESSION while writing new books, blogging, etc. After a few phone calls, a few rounds of agent-requested revisions, I finally…
November 2009: Get an offer of representation!
December 2009 – January 2010: Revise some more.
February 2010: Sell POSSESSION to Simon & Schuster
March 2010 – Current day: Freak out. Blog. Tweet. Write some more. Blog. Tweet. Facebook. Manage websites. Freak out.
MPB: How did you come up with the idea for how your dystopian society is set up?

After I decided I wanted to write a dystopian novel, I knew I needed a society. So I played the “What if?” game that some authors are fond of. I came up with “What if there was no free will?” and my society evolved from there. I needed a way to remove the free will; I needed a character who wanted her free will; I needed a place where there was some free will to balance the place where there is none.

I needed rules. I needed tech. I needed it all. I just sort of shoved it all in and cleaned it up later.

MPB: Possession deals with the theme of "choice". How important do you think our choices are?

Ah, excellent question. I think choices are everything. It’s through our choices that we become the way we are. Choice is everything.

MPB: What are some of your favorite reads from the last 6 months?

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis
MEMENTO NORA by Angie Smibert
THE LIAR SOCIETY by Lisa and Laura Roecker
CLARITY by Kim Harrington
BLOOD MAGIC by Tessa Gratton
THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab
I DON’T WANT TO KILL YOU by Dan Wells
A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL by Suzanne Young
THE DAY BEFORE by Lisa Schroeder

MPB: What are you working on now? / How is book 2 going?

I am not working on anything! Launching a book is like building an arc. There’s only time for one or the other. I have written and turned in (and sold!) my second book. Edits are due to get to me in July, and I plan on chillaxing until then.

MPB: What is the one thing that keeps you writing when it gets hard to be committed?

Well, now that I’m writing for publication—instead of just for fun—I have deadlines. Those keep me on track. And if I don’t have a deadline, I make one for myself so that I’ll actually get something done. Otherwise, it’s so easy to burn five hours on twitter or Facebook or blogs or TV or reading. You know?

MPB: What is your favorite snack to eat while writing?

I don’t snack while writing. I only snack during the revisions, and those require a big honking bag of sour patch kids.

MPB: See folks! I told you she was made of awesome! Thank you so much Elana! I hope POSSESSION does fabulously well, and I am very excited to see what happens next!

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Review: POSSESSION by Elana Johnson

POSSESSION
by Elana Johnson
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published June 7th 2011 by Simon Pulse

Placement in the Pile: Middle of the Stack, inching towards New Heights

Summary:
Vi knows the Rule: Girls don’t walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn…and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi’s future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they’re set on convincing Vi to become one of them….starting by brainwashed Zenn. Vi can’t leave Zenn in the Thinkers’ hands, but she’s wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous: everything Zenn’s not. Vi can’t quite trust Jag and can’t quite resist him, but she also can’t give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Review:
Alright, so this was another really hard one for me to review cause once again I have met Elana, I read her blog and I think she is made of fabulous. So remember that as I review, cause I really do want you all to give this one a try!

Possession is a bit of a wild ride. The reader is thrown into this world of literally "control or be controlled". I thought Elana's dystopic world was unique and really quite interesting. I like her use of technology beyond our current science, and yet the people still felt the basic needs of love and family.

I also really like the characters in Possession. Instantly the voice of Vi was strong. Her world was not being torn upside down by one decision, she had always been a bit of a rule breaker. It was just who she was. She has a strong voice and it is easy to like her. Jag was another favorite of mine. I have to admit I've always been a fan of the dark mysterious boys and Jag has it all, he's strong, secretive, hot, loyal...and yet there is a sense that he could disappear any minute.

Despite it's sudden beginning, which threw me off guard, the story between Vi and Jag is what kept me reading this book.

So there really were some great aspects to the book. But I wouldn't be a good reviewer if I didn't give my honest opinion that I thought the narrative was at times choppy in the action scenes. I'd be reading along, crazy action would be going on, and then all of a sudden something would happen, or something would be revealed as being part of the society, or even something as simple as all of sudden the action was over and I was pulled out of the story. My brain went "wait, what just happened?" I'd have to go back and try to figure it out.

I am all for revelations of big things taking the reader by surprise, but I don't think it should ever make the reader stop and be pulled out of the story and the narrative prose. And unfortunately I think the moments that were supposed to be big surprises weren't (besides the twisted ending!) and the moments that were just revelations of world building really messed with the flow of reading. This is the main reason I can't say I was in LOVE with POSSESSION.

I also kinda didn't like the ending, but as Elana announced on Friday there will be a second book, so I have hope! I can't tell you why, cause it would ruin the surprise. ;)

In the end this book is worth giving a try. It has some really great characters and unique world views. Fans of "thinking" dystopias like MATCHED will enjoy this book, but it also has enough action to entice fans of THE HUNGER GAMES.

Come back tomorrow for my interview with Elana! As I said she is made of awesome so you will want to read what she has to say.

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