Plum Spooky (A Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novella)
by Janet Evanovich

Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey. According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys. Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He’s chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he’s chosen the Barrens as his new playground. Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He’s now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn’t made it out of the boys’ department at Macy’s. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn’t met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree. Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel.  Diesel pops in and out of Plum’s life like birthday cake – delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He’s an über bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He’s after Grimoire, and now he’s also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn’t mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs. Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys. (goodreads.com)

Reading Janet Evanovich books is like having my mother make me mashed potatoes for dinner. Total comfort food – for the brain. Since I have been having frustrations with reading and computer using since the Lasik I thought I would pick up the latest between-the-numbers Stephanie Plum book in mass market and focus on that for a while. Easy reading that will always make me laugh out loud and a book that even if I have to put down to rest my eyes I know I’ll be comforted again as soon as I open it back up.

Plum Spooky did not disappoint in any way. It was exactly the book I needed to tackle after finishing the Kim Harrison and something that didn’t make me strain my eyes too much. The only minor disappointment I had was that the story really wasn’t all that spooky. I think I was expecting a little more suspense, when really, I should know better. The spooky would relate to Diesel the odd ball with “mysterious powers”, the rest? Just plain fun.

I adore every character in this series. Stephanie is hilarious, Lula (in small doses) always cracks me up and Ranger is just… YUM. Ranger. I think I could take or leave Diesel, but he made me laugh in this book. And I had to laugh at the monkey, too, and I hate monkeys generally (the animal, not the best friend).

Even though Stephanie Plum is rather incompetent in her job, I am always amused by her actions and reactions. I never get too tired of the insanity and flubbery. I ALWAYS laugh out loud. I ALWAYS smile while reading these books. They are just the ultimate feel-good stories for me. Mashed potatoes of the book world.

Reading this book made me realize I never did read Fearless Fourteen! So of course I will have to pick that one up right away. Also I remembered that this book qualifies me for the Stephanie Plum Challenge I signed up for in JULY! Thank goodness the challenge runs until December 2010.

I am going to make a decent effort to complete my series this year I think. I have many of the books in mass market on my shelf, but I stopped buying them when they came out in hard cover and just borrowed them from work or the library. But now? I really want to re-read this series from start to finish in one weekend, or week. I want to relive the start of these relationships and the evolution of the characters.

And, not to get too much into it but… Katherine Heigl? REALLY? I don’t particularly care for her, but maybe with darker hair? I don’t know. I don’t see it. I feel like they just cast Gary Coleman as Ranger or something. Thoughts?

Stephanie Plum series

1. One for the Money
2. Two for the Dough
3. Three to Get Deadly
4. Four to Score
5. High Five
6. Hot Six
7. Seven Up
8. Hard Eight
9. To the Nines
10. Ten Big Ones
11. Eleven on Top
12. Twelve Sharp
13. Lean Mean Thirteen
14. Fearless Fourteen
15. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen
16. Sizzling Sixteen (JUNE 2010 – hard cover)

Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novellas

1. Visions of Sugar Plums (between 8 & 9)
2. Plum Lovin’ (between 12 & 13)
3. Plum Lucky (between 13 & 14)
4. Plum Spooky (between 14 & 15)

Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan/The Hollows #8)
by ♥ Kim Harrison ♥

I’m going to try and not spoil this book too much and I just noticed that the cover I have saved isn’t the one on the actual book. The book has a little fog cloud over Rachel’s face. Also, while I’m on the cover – is that gargoyle supposed to be Bis? Because he looks way too large to be perching on Rachel’s shoulder if it is. I thought he was smaller from the description in the book. Hmm. Confusing.

To start off this review I shall say, who wasn’t in this book? I think we had every character except for one demon in this story. And if they weren’t IN the story they were mentioned by name so it was like one big ol’ Hollow’s reunion. The best part of the story? Al. I love Al. There wasn’t enough Trent for my liking, but I am sensing a book full o’ Trent in the future with the way things ended in this book. But Al! I love Al! (Have I mentioned that yet?)

Who I do not love? Nick. Pierce. Lee. Um… pretty much all male characters other than Jenks, Al, Trent and Quen. Kim Harrison is my goddess, but I don’t like her male characters. I especially loathe Pierce and Nick. Sadly they are in abundance in this book. Boo! Hiss!

One part of the book made me bloody cry! I was so mad! This after just having a huge rant about Pixar and their “love” and “emotions” after bawling through Up! the weekend prior (which, however helped moisturize my eyes and made them less dry for a little while). But yes, there was one part in the story that I just started to weep over. Damn you, Kim Harrison! Damn you, Pixar and your 5 minute love story montages! I shake my fist at the both of you! *shakes fist*

Plot-wise… meh. I can’t be the only one who is tired of everything always happening to Rachel, right? I mean even the character is fed up of being blamed for everything even if she has nothing to do with it. I am slightly frustrated with the repetitive nature of that plot line, but over-all the story was action packed right from the first pages. It was hard to put it down at all except that I had to since I couldn’t read for long periods of time after the eye surgery. (I am still having trouble, but books are better than the computer screen so I have completed two books and not done a lot of internetting.)

I find myself once more in that “WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT FEBRUARY?!” mode as I twiddle my thumbs in anticipation of the 9th (ninth!!) book in this series.

The Rachel Morgan/The Hollows series

1. Dead Witch Walking
2. The Good, The Bad & the Undead
3. Every Which Way But Dead
4. A Fistful of Charms
5. For a Few Demons More
6. The Outlaw Demon Wails
7. White Witch, Black Curse
8. Black Magic Sanction

(I can’t believe that I don’t have reviews for all of these books when Kim Harrison is my favourite author! I started reading them before I had a fully functioning book blog I guess!)

Hello bloggy friends! I have not gone the way of the, er, things that are gone! I have just been having a long recovery period since my Lasik procedure last Wednesday. Looking at the computer is hard and hurts, and since I am back at work and have to do this on a regular basis I have been less on the internets for fun. Also my reading time has been suffering as my eyes are dry and have difficulty focusing. This is the longest time I have ever spent reading the latest Kim Harrison and it’s killing me.

Patience? Not my virtue.

So I have about 200+ blog posts to go through in my google reader right now and I know that  will just go UP the longer I am away from the computer.

I just wanted to update you – distance is ok. I have blurry problems due to dry eyes, but other than that it’s lovely. I could be suffering another 2 weeks like this though, so in case you think I have dropped off the face of the earth – I haven’t!!

I miss reading both books and the internets! I hope you’re all surviving without me.

A huge thank you to Maddz for her comment letting me know the forthcoming fourth (ha) book in the Suddenly Supernatural series that I adore is now up on Amazon!

Suddenly Supernatural: Crossing Over (Book 4)

Medium-in-training Kat Roberts is one year older and feeling a whole lot wiser when it comes to healing the living dead. But when her spirit-seeing mother volunteers to chaperone her class trip to Old Montreal, Kat’s problems become drop dead-serious.

From dealing with French-Canadian ghosts to trying to win the heart of her former bio lab partner and top-secret crush, Kat is finding beaucoup drama on this border and boundary-crossing adventure. (amazon.ca)

And how awesome is the Old Montreal and French-Canadian ghost story?!?!?! It’s like she wrote this book just for ME! I can’t WAIT for May 1, 2010!!

I don’t normally post new cover news, but I have been waiting for this book to come out for such a long time and then to find out that it’s set right in my backyard? AWESOME!!!

My blog is suffering only because I just have not been able to find the time or patience to read. Currently I am finding most of my books to be unoriginal or just a little too dull to capture my attention. If you compare last February to this one I have read very little this month. I hope that will pick up soon, however there is a reason it might not and so I thought I’d share this reason with all of you!

On Wednesday morning I’m having LASIK eye surgery!

I am both terrified and excited about the prospect of having a surgon shoot lasers into my eyes, but at the same time, I am looking forward to not having to wear my glasses all the time! I take my glasses off to read however and I was told the first few weeks reading might be blurry as my eyes heal and adjust. So I don’t know how much I will be able to read once I have this procedure done. Some people have had no problems and some have had their eye sight fluctuate from blurry to clear for the first couple of weeks. Who knows what I will experience?

It’s only been in the last under 1o years or so that I have had to wear my glasses full-time for distance. I can’t do contacts because my eyes are dry and I hate having things in my eyes. I have disposable contacts for special occasions where I don’t want to wear glasses and if I want to wear sunglasses I have to have them on. I can’t see properly out of brown or black lenses, so all my sunglasses have been of the blue or purple shades since I was a teen! You can’t really get that in prescription unless you want to pay a fortune.

I am pretty lucky, I do not have a very strong prescription to begin with and with my glasses I have BETTER than 20/20 vision (I am so rarely better at anything than most people that I am clinging to this like I just won a gold medal. ha!) and so I am a perfect candidate and the price isn’t too steep (especially when I took the 4-year payment plan heh). So If you factor in the cost of eye exams, prescriptions and frames for the rest of my life the money I am spending is nothing (it’s really not that much to be honest!). So I think it’s a good investment! Plus I needed new frames as the ones I have now (and love) are broken and so I thought I’d look into the free evaluation with LASIK to see if I qualified before making the appointment with my eye doctor and shilling out $400-$500 on new glasses.

Here’s the thing though, my Kim Harrison book comes in on Tuesday! Will I be able to read it? How will I survive if I know I have the book but can’t read it right away? GAH! I will have to stay up all night on Tuesday just to finish it. But they told me to make sure I get a good night’s sleep. What will I do?!?!?

Bone Crossed (Mercedes Thompson #4)
by Patricia Briggs

I seem to be on a disappointment streak with the books I have been reading. This fourth Mercy Thompson book just didn’t live up to my expectations for the series. I thoroughly enjoyed the third book, Iron Kissed, and was expecting way more awesomeness from Bone Crossed than it actually delivered to me.

I have to say that the last time this series revolved around vampires I didn’t much care for the story either. However I found this particular book flat and unoriginal. It sort of just coasted through the motions until the end of the book in order to set up the next one. Sure, the sub-plot with the ghost in college-friend Amber’s home was mildly entertaining, and I did like Chad the 8-year old deaf child immensely, but I did not like the plot with Blackwood and his seeming ease with controlling Amber, her family and Mercy.

I found that there was just too much going on that seemed to be crammed into 300 pages. I have come to expect more from this series as each book was getting better and better. Honestly, I think it was the whole vampire story line that strengthened my disinterest. I couldn’t give a hoot about Stefan or Marsilia the head vampire. I don’t care about their rules and lives and how they think they run everything. Blah, blah, blah. I am just so over vampires in general.

Although I would like to see a story that focuses more on Wulf, as he seems to be a very interesting character, even for a vampire.

I think the best thing about this book was how shiny awesome the cover was. If you moved the book in the light Mercy’s hair seemed to shimmer. That provided much amusement for me as I read the book.

I have not given up on this series at all, I just think that this will end up as my least favourite of all the books. If only the next book wasn’t going to take a year to come out in paperback! I am almost tempted to buy it from the UK even if the covers would completely clash!

Mercy Thompson series

1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne – hardcover March 2010

Unbound
by Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, Jocelyn Drake

I bought this book back in August and it’s taken me this long to get through it. It was something I had kept in my bathroom so I could read a short story during bath time, however that never actually panned out. So I picked it up again this week as I needed some sort of distraction from things going on.

I’m always uncertain how to review anthologies, I suppose a take on each of the stories would be best, but I find that can get too long. I will say that none of the stories were as good as I would have liked. I was rather disappointed in the Kim Harrison story, mainly because the plot revolved around Jenks and where as I enjoy him in small doses in the main Hollows series, he’s not a character I can take entire story of, short or not. Rachel Morgan wasn’t even in the story except by name and the inclusion of Ivy into the plot was trivial to say the least. I guess for those wanting to know more about the pixie life in this series it works well, but I found it hard to get into.

The other stories, set in or around the worlds we regularly know from these authors fell flat to me. Melissa Marr’s story held no interest for me at all, and that is sad since I love her Wicked Lovely series.

I suppose overall I was very disappointed in this anthology. How sad.

A Wind in the Door (Time, Book 2)
by Madeleine L’Engle

Just before Meg Murry’s little brother, Charles Wallace, falls deathly ill, he sees dragons in the vegetable garden. The dragons turn out to be Proginoskes, a cherubim composed of wings and eyes, wind and flam. It is up to Meg and Proginoskes, along with Meg’s friend Calvin, to save Charles Wallace’s life. To do so, they must deep within Charles Wallace to attempt to defeat the Echthroi-those who hate-and restore brilliant harmony and joy to the rhythm of creation, the song of the universe. (goodreads.com)

(Semi-spoilery, though I think many people have read this already since it’s been around since 1970.)

OK, what now? Maybe it’s a good thing I never knew that A Wrinkle in Time was part of a series, because I just did not like this second book. The writing seemed much more juvenile than the first book and it seemed much more disjointed a story – and that’s with leaping through time and the universe in the first book! I find myself disliking Meg more and more as the series progresses, I still have another 3 books to read for this challenge! The story verged on the absolute ridiculous and I think I had a problem with that. Also, I must admit I always thought the Murry’s lived in the UK. Not once in the first book did I ever think USA. And I was wrong. The first third of this book proudly exclaims “United States of America!!” every chance it gets. That was one of the first things that bothered me about the book.

The rest? Granted, I am not a science person at all, but I thought the search for mitochondria and farandolae was a little much and then to suddenly be inside Charles Wallace’s mitochondria? Hmm.

And Mr. Jenkins, this supposed mean and strict principal seemed to handle having three of himself around for a while. I didn’t think that was handled all that well.

I don’t think there was a character that I liked in A Wind in the Door. No, wait, that’s not true. I liked Louise the snake and that is saying something since I can’t stand snakes!

The dialogue also bothered me immensely. Though I am not sure if this is supposed to be a middle grade book or a young adult one. It was all very simple, though the concepts were much more complicated for kids to get. I don’t think I would have liked this book at all had I read it when I was 12. A lot of it swooshed over my head now, at 34, so I don’t think it would have been any better at 12!

I am very disappointed to discover that I did not care for this book when I had just a nostalgic love for the first. I am curious to see how I fare with books 3-5 in the coming months.

Time Quintet

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. A Wind in the Door
3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet
4. Many Waters
5. An Acceptable Time

Due to my book buying addiction I started this  feature on my blog where I post about the book(s) I bought that week. Not something I plan on having every week – though it seems to be turning out that way.  So here’s what I bought this week!

Previous OoMP posts can be found here!

I tried to use my remaining $8-something gift card money on this book but I didn’t have enough change on me to make up the difference from $9.49. So I still have that $8-something gift card left and used my real money on this book. It’s the first real money I have spent so far this year on a book. I will use that $8 on the new Kim Harrison hard cover later this month I imagine.

Bone Crossed
by Patricia Briggs

In a world where “witches, vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters live beside ordinary people” (Booklist), it takes a very unusual woman to call it home. By day, Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic in Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shape-shifter with some unusual talents, Mercy’s found herself maintaining a tenuous harmony between the human and the not-so- human on more than one occasion. This time she may get more than she bargained for. (goodreads.com)

The cover is so shimmery! If you move it around it’s like Mercy’s hair is shimmering in the moonlight. I love it! I really want to read this one now but I have two other books I need to read for February – crap and a review copy to read, too, which I forgot about because it’s an e-copy and I normally don’t read those (I hate reading on my computer) but it was a gift. So, you know.

Cast in Secret (Chronicles of Elantra, Book 3)
by Michelle Sagara

Well, this third book in the Chronicles of Elantra took me a while to get through. I found it very slow and dull for the first half of the book. I kept on reading though because I had a feeling that it would pick up, but I didn’t realize until once it did that I was over half done!

I love Kaylin, I really do and I know she’s a softy when it comes to children, but what I don’t like is how she can get away with her inappropriate behaviour all the time. Book 3 delves deeper into the lives of the Tha’alani, whom Kaylin is known to loathe. But upon her first visit to their, um, enclave (is that the right word?) she is greeted by a small Tha’alani child who runs over to her in glee. Rather than recoil as she would have done with an adult Tha’alani she picks up the child and then spends the next however long romping around in a fountain with him and other children. And the people escorting her just stand there and wait for her to rejoin them! I get that Kaylin loves children and sort of loses herself with them, but I found that scene in the story so aggravating. It seemed out of character for Sevren and the guard to just let her play in a fountain for a half hour or more. And for Kaylin to not see a difference between the Tha’alani child and human children when she makes such a big deal about that race – she even let the children touch her with their little antennae thingies and it was FINE.

That wasn’t the only scene that bothered me in this story, there are a couple of other Kaylin/children scenes that I found set my teeth on edge. The fact that they live in a society so focused on protocol and respect, it seems odd that anyone would accept this behaviour from her. Yes, she gets away with many things because she “failed that course” in school, but after a while I think people should stop accepting her ignorance and maybe start teaching her the hard way. She’s supposed to be in her mid-20s I think based on information provided about her past, and I don’t think people should let her get away with acting as much like a child as she does.

Most the time I love her sarcasm and ability to speak what’s on her mind without thinking (makes me feel like she’s a kindred spirit) but there are just some instances in this story where I felt that the reactions or consequences were out of character for the other characters in the book. Argh!

Ok, so other than my frustrations with Kaylin in this book, I found it pretty enjoyable for the last half of it. There was much more action and less frolicking with children. The plot focuses on the kidnapping of two children, which of course Kaylin must save. As I mentioned, we learn more about the Tha’alani in this story as well as learning more about the Oracles, whom Kaylin also has no love for – until she meets a child oracle that is!

We also learn more about Kaylin’s power in this story and what the words on her body mean. I had trouble following some of the elemental magic storyline, but over all I liked what was discovered.

I find these books difficult to follow for me since there is so much information and it is at times technical. This is ME personally, and my difficulties with reading, not that the books are hard to follow. I find the information provided so thick and rich, making it similar to a textbook in my mind and my mind doesn’t like to understand textbooks all that well. I feel my little dyslexic brain stretching and working hard when I read the Elantra books, which is a good thing, but sadly I tend to miss some important revelations and have to reread parts.

This is one of them “smart book” type series, a-yup! I have to really focus when I read in order to follow the plot. Normally I stay away from books like this because it hurts my head (ha) but I enjoy the world and story lines so much I have to keep reading.

My biggest problem right now? The next two books are in TRADE format and not mass market and I don’t know if they will ever be out in MM! Gah! I can’t buy two books that don’t match the rest of my series! Luna Books! *waves* Please publish Cast in Fury and Cast in Silence in mass market format as soon as possible!! *begs*

The Chronicles of Elantra

1. Cast in Shadow
2. Cast in Courtlight
3. Cast in Secret
4. Cast in Fury
5. Cast in Silence
6. Cast in Chaos (Coming Soon??)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Book 4)
by Rick Riordan

Good lords, I started this post a week ago today and never got past the title, image and series info (below). It feels like it has been forever since I have finished this book. When it really has only been a week.

My thoughts on this fourth instalment of the Percy Jackson series: rushed and had problems with continuity. I was exited to read the book because I love stories about labyrinths and puzzles, but it was almost as though the labyrinth wasn’t even there. For all the fear they tried to instill into the reader and characters about how dangerous and scary this maze was, it really didn’t seem like they had any trouble with it at all. Every turn they ended up somewhere else and although they might have had a challenge to get back to the maze, it went very smoothly for the most part.

One of my biggest frustrations was the fact that time in the labyrinth was supposed to be off from that of the mortal world. For instance when Percy and Annabeth fall into it the first time they are told they were gone for an hour when really it was only 5 or so minutes to them. So all this time they are spending in the labyrinth for the rest of the book? Shouldn’t days have gone by on the “outside”? When this is all over and done with they still have July and August to spend at the camp. I honestly thought that they would have returned to camp at the end of summer based on the way time was supposed to go. But no. I didn’t like that at all. Why even bother with all the warnings and make a big deal of mentioning the time thing only to just forget about it for the next 2/3s of the story?

Although I did enjoy reading this book I did not like it nearly as much as I liked the first three in the series. Part of me wants to rush out and get that final book while it is still in hard cover to have some sort of closure, but the other part wasn’t nearly as desperate for the next book once this one was over and might just be able to wait until August. My husband was going to get Book 5 with his gift card from Christmas only he forgot. Which is what I discovered when we came home one night to a parcel at the front door with a shiny new DnD encyclopedia thing and a book from Jim Burke. When I asked him about the fifth book he replied, “Oh, crap! I forgot!” So you know what? I’m very happy waiting until August because not only will the book not match the rest of my series, it’s also $18. I don’t feel like spending that  right now.

My husband and I have differing opinions on characters, too. He dislikes Tyson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare but loves Annabeth. I however love Tyson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare and do not care much for Annabeth. We both hate Grover and are of varying opinions about Percy. It’s been fun reading this series with him and then finding out what we did and did not like. Normally we’re very similar in our tastes, but these books are proving us wrong!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians series

1. The Lightning Thief
2. The Sea of Monsters
3. The Titan’s Curse
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth
5. The Last Olympian – hard cover

Due to my book buying addiction I started this  feature on my blog where I post about the book(s) I bought that week. Not something I plan on having every week – though it seems to be turning out that way.  So here’s what I bought this week!

Previous OoMP posts can be found here!

The Iron King
by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined–the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series. (goodreads.com)

This has such a pretty cover and it falls into my Debut Author Challenge list! You know, this cover reminds me of the one for Merlin’s Harp (another book that I want to get).

I haven’t bought that many books this year (2010). In fact, I have only bought 4 including this one below, and these were all with gift cards! I still have $8 left on one of those cards. Go me! I have a feeling this will not be as much of a book buying year as last year. Which is good because I would really like to get through all the books I bought last year and never read!

Kelly at YAnnabe contacted me about this special Blog Blitz she was organizing and although I was very interested in participating I failed because this was an extra-busy week and I have had little to no time to blog. So my post is late, when it should have been up on Thursday, or even by the end of Sunday. Since I am writing this Sunday morning and I decided I wanted to do a video post that still needs to be filmed, I don’t know if I’ll make the deadline. I got it up in time, go me!! Either way, I still think this is a great idea to post about some of the best YA books that people have read that didn’t seem to get as hyped as others.

My top YA picks from the video are:

The Puzzle Ring – Kate Forsyth

The 13 Treasures - Michelle Harrison
The 13 Curses – Michelle Harrison

Sisters of Misery - Megan Kelley Hall
The Lost Sister – Megan Kelley Hall

The Swan Kingdom – Zöe Marriott

The Good Girls’ Ghouls’ Guide to Getting Even – Julie Kenner
Good Girls Ghouls Do – Julie Kenner

If you head on over to Kelly’s original post you can see the list of participants, last I heard it was 39, which I think is pretty impressive!

I really do hope that this post has helped some of you discover fantastic new YA fiction to pick up and enjoy. Spread the word!

(Background music provided by: Ian Axel “This is The New Year” CD out now!)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren … and I end up adding a ton of books to my wish list every week.

All my IMM posts can be found here!

Wouldn’t it have been cool if the IMM number was the same as my age? Oh, well, it was close! Either way, I’m still enjoying my birthday weekend!

On Monday I got a happy little box from Kristi of The Story Siren. It had the following two books in it and some pretty cool bookmarks. I LOVE bookmarks so I was happy to see those!

Going Boving
by Libba Bray

Cameron Smith, 16, is slumming through high school, overshadowed by a sister “pre-majoring in perfection,” while working (ineptly) at the Buddha Burger. Then something happens to make him the focus of his family’s attention: he contracts mad cow disease. What takes place after he is hospitalized is either that a gorgeous angel persuades him to search for a cure that will also save the world, or that he has a vivid hallucination brought on by the disease. Either way, what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World. Bray’s surreal humor may surprise fans of her historical fantasies about Gemma Doyle, as she trains her satirical eye on modern education, American materialism and religious cults (the smoothie-drinking members of the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack ‘N’ Bowl). Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy. (goodreads.com)

This book sounds so funny and I love Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy.

Forest Born (The Books of Bayern #4)
by Shannon Hale

Rin is sure that something is wrong with her…something really bad. Something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest homestead where she’s lived all her life. Something that is keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all. When her brother Razo returns from the city for a visit, she accompanies him to the palace, hoping that she can find peace away from home. But war has come to Bayern again, and Rin is compelled to join the queen and her closest allies—magical girls Rin thinks of as the Fire Sisters—as they venture into the Forest toward Kel, the land where someone seems to want them all dead. Many beloved Bayern characters reappear in this story, but it is Rin’s own journey of discovering how to balance the good and the bad in herself that drives this compelling adventure. (goodreads.com)

I am so happy to complete my Bayern collection with this paperback ARC that matches the first three books. Thanks so much to Kristi for passing it on!

Rebel
by R.J. Anderson

The faeries of the Oak are dying, and it’s up to a lone faery named Linden to find a way to restore their magic. Linden travels bravely into dangerous new territory, where she enlists the help of an unlikely friend—a human named Timothy. Soon they discover something much worse than the Oakenfolk’s loss of magic: a potent evil that threatens the fate of all faeries. In a fevered, desperate chase across the country, Timothy and Linden risk their lives to seek an ancient power before it’s too late to save everyone they love. (goodreads.com)

My last book from The Book Depository order I placed in November has arrived! I love how they ship everything individually. It’s always a surprise to find another book in my mail box when I get home from work.

That’s it for the birthday edition of IMM! I didn’t get any books for my birthday, though I did get a $10 gift card from someone, which will help me a lot! But I haven’t actually bought many books this year aside from books 2 – 4 of the Percy Jackson series. Go, me!

As a special birthday treat to myself I’m dedicating today, January 23, 2010 to one of my newest favourite authors of all time – Michelle Harrison! I have reviewed her new book, The 13 Curses (and I loved it!) and now I am excited to present this tiny little interview for all of you to enjoy!

1. I’m curious about the writing process for The 13 Curses as it flips between two points of view – the story of Red in the Faerie Realm and of Tanya and Fabian in the mortal world. How do you write a story like this? Do you write out each story on its own then combine it with the other? Or do you write it all in one shot?

I wrote it all in the order it appears in the book. It was the best way for me to keep track of how the story fitted together, and maintain a connection with Tanya and Fabian which, even though this is very much Red’s story, was important. It was also good for me to flip between what was happening on both sides, the Faerie Realm, and the human world, as generally what occurs with Red is quite dark so it made for a nice break. I did switch some of the chapters around in the earlier part of the book as the timings didn’t quite work at first. Initially I had intended for it to be that way to indicate the difference of time between the two worlds, but when I read it back it came across as too confusing.

2. I was surprised by some of the harsh decisions that were made throughout the story (of which I won’t get into specifics lest I spoil anything). Were you at all nervous about including less than happy-ending type events and decisions in the book? It is rare that a YA or MG book has many, if any at all, dark decisions. Normally the books are all happy and sweet, and everyone lives happily ever after. In The 13 Curses it’s not always that way, especially when it comes to Red.

When I made the choice to give Red her own story I knew it would be a much darker tale than Tanya’s. She’s had a much tougher life and had to grow up fast. However even I was surprised at some of the decisions she makes, which must sound odd, but I couldn’t imagine her reacting in any other way than she does. I was slightly nervous about it in parts, yet at the same time I wanted to show that horrible things can and do happen to people of all ages, but they can still get through them – even if it doesn’t feel that way at the time.

3. Are you nervous at all about “breaking into” the North American market? I know that your first book, The 13 Treasures was well received in the UK, evening winning the 2009 Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, how do you think it will go over in the US and Canada? Aside from the cover, were there any other changes to the book before it crossed the pond?

I’m nervous and excited in equal measure – I’ve no idea what’s going to happen. The book has done well internationally with rights sales, which gives me hope that it’ll be received positively. I’m actually coming out to do a pre-publication tour of five cities in the States at the beginning of February: LA, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. I’ll be meeting with booksellers and librarians, so hopefully I’ll be able to gauge how the book will go down then to some extent. It’ll be my first time to the States too, so doubly exciting!

Aside from the cover there aren’t too many differences. The most notable was that in the US edition the prologue was cut. The other two biggest things were that the treatment of Brunswick, the goblin, at the hands of his companions was toned down a little to be less violent. There’s also the mention of a suicide in the UK edition that was cut for the US. Other than that it was the general small things, like changing ‘pavement’ to ‘side walk’ for a US audience.

Do you hear that, American book bloggers? You make sure you visit Michelle when she comes to your State! (If only there were a Canadian leg, too!)

4. How do you write your stories – paper & pen or computer? Do you have a favourite pen, colour or font that you find you MUST always write in to help your creativity? (Or am I the only one who is like that? ha!)

It’s a mixture of both. When I begin I tend to use pen and paper much more, for starting the chapters and for making notes to myself. This is because I hate staring at a blank computer screen. I’m not too bothered about which type of pen, though I prefer fine liners rather than biro type pens if possible. I find that even if I do a couple of pages of writing and half of it is scribbled out, then I can see that I’ve done quite a lot. I don’t usually write more than a few pages before typing it up. I don’t like to read my own handwriting back – it’s harder to be impartial! If it’s typed it could have been written by anyone. As I get further into the story I tend to get straight on the computer and use paper less, to save time.

5. If you were a tree, what sort of tree would you be?

I’d be a rowan tree! They’re believed to be protected against dark magic and evil. Second choice, a magnolia tree as they’re really pretty. I’m hoping I’ll end up with a garden that has both in, someday.

BONUS QUESTION : I know you’re a fan of The Merrybegot by Julie Hearn (which I did buy but still have not read, bad me!) and have recommended this book to others. Are there any other books out there that you think fans of your books will enjoy?

I’ve been told that The 13 Treasures has reminded people of Eva Ibbotson’s and Cornelia Funke’s books, both of whom I’m a fan of. Their stories are often based in the ‘real’ world with magical aspects coming into the characters’ lives in some way. I think the ‘Septimus Heap’ books by Angie Sage could also be something to recommend if you enjoyed The 13 Treasures/Curses.

Thanks again, Michelle! And I hope your debut in North American goes splendidly! All you book bloggers in Canada and the US, go out and buy The 13 Treasures and read it and I hope you love it as much as I did. And if you love it, feel free to buy the sequel from the UK.

• The 13 Treasures
• The 13 Curses
• 5 Questions Interview #1