Monday, 12 September 2011

Review for Velvet by Mary Hooper

Velvet by Mary Hooper
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: 5th September 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Ghost Story, Mediums
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Amazon Summary:
"Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry is scalding, back-breaking work and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger..."

Review
I have a huge interest in stories about mediums and spirits especially those set in the Victorian/Edwardian period when spiritualism was at its peak. So reading Velvet a fictional yet realistic account on mediumship during that time was fascinating to me. Mary Hooper mixes fiction with fact and spins a realistic and creepy portrayal on what it might have been like working for a respected and popular medium during that time.

Velvet is my first book by Mary Hooper and I can certainly see why she is such a popular author! Mary has the rare ability to submerge the reader entirely in the past and learn something about life during that time without it ever feeling like a history lesson. Mary makes her characters and situations relatable to the reader and whilst the plot is rich with history it above all is a good story that will captivate any reader whether your particularly interested in history or not.

The main thing I loved about Velvet was the fascinating and at times creepy plot. The story is rich with suspense and intrigue and I, like our main character Velvet, was swept up in trying to find out if the mediums, particularly Madame Savoya, were what they seemed.

Despite all the sinister goings on Velvet still manages to find time for romance something I think all female readers will appreciate and Velvet’s boy troubles make this heroine from another time relatable to modern teens. I really liked the characters of Charlie and Lizzie Velvet’s friends and couldn’t help but feel sympathy towards Velvet after everything she’s had to go through, she’s really a character you want the best for.

The only thing that let this book down for me was that I felt the ending was a bit abrupt. Once the big climax was unleashed everything else sort of trailed off and I would have liked a bit more closure regarding some things.

Overall I found Velvet to be a highly engrossing read that I couldn’t wait to escape into each night. If you’re looking for a realistic ghost story or simply a good historical read I would highly recommend this book and will definitely be looking to read more by Mary Hooper.

Thursday, 8 September 2011

Septembers Readers Choice and October Vote!

Readers Choice is my brand new feature where readers of the blog can vote for which book off my To-Be-Read pile they would like to see me read and review the following month. For more details check out my introduction post here.

Septembers Readers Choice is Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

"Amy Goodnight's family are far from normal. She comes from a long line of witches, and grew up surrounded by benevolent spirits and kitchen spells. All fairly harmless, but Amy can't wait to get to college and escape the "family business".


But things take a darker turn when she and her sister Phin spend the summer looking after Aunt Hyacinth's ranch. Amy is visited by a midnight spectre who is clearly trying to send her a message. It seems that the discovery of an old grave on a neighbour's land has been the catalyst for an apparent ghost uprising.


Aided by local friends and Ben, the handsome cowboy who just can't take his eyes off Amy, the sisters investigate. And they soon find that there's something strange and dangerous going on, deep in the heart of Texas..."

Big thank yous to everyone who voted last month being a new feature it’s much appreciated! Texas Gothic came in first with The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks a close second! I can’t wait to delve into Texas Gothic and get it reviewed for you guys soon!

Now onto October’s vote! With October being the month of celebration for all things spooky and supernatural with Halloween I’ve decided to go for that theme for Octobers vote. Voting’s open to anyone and everyone whether you’re a follower or not and you can vote once for any reason you like whether you’re interested in the book and want me to review it, loved it and want me to check it out, or simply think it sounds like the best of the bunch! All votes are appreciated so please take the time to fill out the form :)

Octobers Readers Choice Nominees (Spooky and Supernatural Themed!)


Deception by Lee Nichols
When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.

After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.

The Taker by Alma Katsu
True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. . . .

On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her . . . despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated.

Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for all eternity. And now, two centuries later, the key to her healing and her salvation lies with Dr. Luke Findley.

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Pack life is about order, but Bryn is about to push all the limits, with hair-raising results. At the age of four, Bryn watched a rabid werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by Callum, the alpha of his pack. Now fifteen, Bryn's been as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule. Little fazes her. But the pack's been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum's orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her parents come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter. It's Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.

Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.

But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
The undead can really screw up your senior year ...

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction

This vote is now closed check out the results here!

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: Fateful

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that bloggers are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Fateful by Claudia Gray
Publication Date: 29th March 2012
From Amazon UK
A tragic tale about falling in love on the world’s most infamous ill-fated sea voyage as heroine, Tess, discovers darker secrets that lie beneath the doomed crossing… and a hidden brotherhood that threaten to tear her lover from her forever.
The RMS Titanic is the most luxurious ship ever built, but for eighteen-year-old Tess Davies it’s a prison. Travelling as a maid for the family she has served for years, Tess is trapped in their employ amid painful memories and family secrets.
When she meets Alec, a handsome upper class passenger, Tess falls helplessly in love. But Alec has secrets of his own… and soon Tess is entangled in a dangerous game. A sinister brotherhood that will do anything to induct Alec into their mystical order has followed him onboard. And Tess is now their most powerful pawn.
Tess and Alec fight the dark forces threatening to tear them apart, never realising that they will have to face an even greater peril before the journey is over…

This Wednesday I’m waiting on this gorgeous sounding historical fiction/ paranormal romance. Lucky for my friends across the pond this book is hitting the shelves in the US later this month but for us Brits we’ve still got a bit of a wait with it not coming out until March next year. I think it will be well worth the wait though because I LOVE our stunning UK cover so much more than the US one. An epic paranormal love story set on the doomed ship that was the Titanic? Erm yes please!

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Monday, 5 September 2011

Review for The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Headline
Release Date: 5th January 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Adult, Contemporary, Chick-lit, Romance
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Amazon Summary:
" Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Imagine if she hadn't forgotten the book. Or if there hadn't been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn't fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she'd run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else - the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?

Hadley isn't sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it's the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver...

Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. "

Review
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is the kind of book that sets the butterflies off in your stomach and makes you feel warm from head to toe. It’s romantic, funny, sharp, and ultimately uplifting. Set over a 24 hour period in a day of the life of our heroine Hadley except little does Hadley know that today is no ordinary day because in such a short amount of time her life is about to change forever.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a love story and not just Hadley and Oliver’s. This book gets to the heart of human relationships and gives an honest portrayal on the lives and loves of many different characters in this book not all of them necessarily the romantic kind. Hadley and Oliver’s whirlwind romance which is triggered by a series of mishaps and chance on a flight from New York to London shows how when we meet the right person at the right time it has the ability to change everything and turn what should be one of the worst days of our lives into one of the best all because of that one person who opens your eyes and makes you see things differently.

Despite this book being narrated by a teenage girl I believe it’s being pitched as a crossover novel and I can certainly see why! This book has the ability to charm any reader of any age reminding us of the innocence and recklessness of young love and that invincible feeling that comes along with it. Jennifer E. Smith captures what it’s like to be young and in love in its truest form and I read this book with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face I was that swept up in Hadley and Oliver’s story.

Hadley is the perfect leading lady. She’s naive, vulnerable and very easy to relate to. And then there’s Oliver who will charm the socks off any red blooded female who reads this book, he’s witty, thoughtful and the perfect romantic hero. Both characters are so easy to like and I was rooting for them both as a couple and with their own separate affairs.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is the best contemporary romance I’ve read all year and is the ultimate feel good read. I defy anyone not to fall in love with it. A book that will touch even the most reluctant romantics and will 100% make you believe in love at first sight.

Friday, 2 September 2011

Review for Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razor Bill
Release Date: 25th August 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Vampires
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Amazon Summary:
"Sydney protects vampire secrets - and human lives.

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one . . ."

Review
Bloodlines is the first book in a new spin off series to Vampire Academy. Bloodlines follows on one month after the events in Last Sacrifice and mixes the old with the new making it readable whether you’ve read Vampire Academy or not. This book follows Sydney an alchemist whose job it is to protect humans from the secret vampire world. Sydney is still in trouble with her people after her part in helping Rose Hathaway and is sent on a new mission to redeem herself by keeping vampire Princess Jill hidden in the human world. Sydney, Jill and two familiar faces to Vampire Academy fans Adrian and Eddie must protect Jill at all costs but with humans sporting magical tattoos similar to those of the alchemists and Moroi (the good vampires) murdered in unusual circumstances the stakes are higher than ever.

I’m a HUGE fan of the Vampire Academy series and couldn’t wait for this spin off. I was a little worried that this book wouldn’t live up to my love for VA but I’m happy to say that it did! Richelle Mead’s writing is as fast paced and snappy as ever and Bloodlines has a good mix of the old to keep fans satisfied and the new to make it fresh and exciting so that it’s not just a copycat of its predecessor. Events from Last Sacrifice follow on in a natural, smooth way but Sydney and Co also unearth a lot of new problems and a whole new exciting plot Richelle Mead evolving this amazing world even further, delving more into the alchemist side of things but still keeping the plot intermingled with the Moroi (good vampires), Strigoi (bad vampires) and Dhampirs (half human, half vampire).

Fans of Vampire Academy are probably eager to know if there will be any appearances or talk of our old favourite characters, Rose, Dimitri, and Lissa and I’m happy to report that there is plenty of mention of them and even a special appearance from Rose early on in the book. It was really interesting to see Rose from Sydney’s point of view as Rose was our protagonist in Vampire Academy and I have to say that the last sentence of Bloodlines had me wiggling in my seat with excitement for book two- I won’t say anymore than that but if you’ve read the book you’ll know what I mean ;-)

That being said however nice that it was to catch up with old friends Bloodlines is very much about Sydney, Jill, Adrian and Eddie and I found myself not missing the old cast as much as I thought I would because I was so wrapped up in their story. Richelle Mead has also hinted at some potentially very interesting and exciting future love interests and I’m very excited to see where she goes with that.

Overall Bloodlines was a fantastic first novel to a brand new series that will enthral Vampire Academy fans and entice new readers. Richelle has set up an absorbing new plot that runs smoothly alongside past events, and characters old and new who are as strong and hugely likeable as the first cast. Bloodlines is a must read for anyone and I can’t wait to see where Richelle Mead takes us next.
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