Giveaway for Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black! (UK/ Ireland Only)

Hello lovelies! Today I wanted to bring to your attention an exciting upcoming February release that I am really looking forward to Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black which is being published in the UK on the 12th February by Bloomsbury. This book is being pitched as Black Swan meets Gossip Girl and I can’t wait to read it! And thanks to the publisher I have one proof copy to giveaway to one of my UK readers but in case this book isn’t on your radar yet here’s a little bit more about it…

Synopsis
"Vanessa doesn’t believe that her sister is a runaway. She wouldn’t leave her family behind without saying a word. The only way Vanessa can discover the truth behind her mysterious disappearance is to follow in Margaret’s footsteps, but to do so she risks her sanity and maybe even her life . . .

Vanessa Adler is one of the talented few to get a place at the acclaimed New York Ballet Academy. Between backbreaking rehearsals for the school’s production of The Firebird she desperately tries to find out what happened to her sister before she vanished. There are rumors that the pressure of performing the lead role, the same role Vanessa is now rehearsing for, drove her mad. Other girls have gone missing too. Can the role be cursed? Vanessa’s new relationship with leading-man Zep only seems to complicate things further. What is he hiding from her and can she really trust him?

Black Swan meets Gossip Girl in this thrilling first book in a new series. Sexy, sinister and full of secrets, readers will be hooked on Dance of Shadows from the first page. Look out for the sequel in 2014."

 Watch the stunning trailer! 

You can also like the Facebook page, add to your Goodreads wishlists, or even download the first three chapters for free from Amazon UK to get a taste for the book! For your chance to win simply read these rules and enter the Rafflecopter good luck! 

Rules 

To enter please fill in the Rafflecopter 

Open to UK/Ireland residents only 

End date: January 24th 2013 

Winner will be contacted by email and will have 1 week to reply else another winner will be selected.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Letterbox Love (17)

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.

 For Review

Vortex by Julie Cross
Everbound by Brodi Ashton
Ferryman by Claire McFall (Proof Copy)

Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Jill Mansell
The Love Book by Fiona O'Brien
Speechless by Hannah Harrington (Proof Copy)
Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan

 Gifted From Mira Ink 

This week Mira Ink sent me this epic bundle of books and a lovely card for getting into the top ten of the blog ink competition. Because I already review for them I already have most of these but it was lovely to swap over my proof copies for glossy finished ones and the rest I'm either donating to libraries and charities or passing on to people who I think would like them. Thanks guys! This was such an awesome surprise!

New Girl by Paige Harbison
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett
Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

From Netgalley

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

That’s it from me for another week! If any of these beauties have caught your eye and you’d like to find out more about them simply click on the title and the link will take you to goodreads for a full synopsis, reviews, and to add them to your wishlists. As always thank you to the lovely publishing folk for the review copies. If you’re looking forward to a certain book in particular and want to request a review feel free to in the comments and I’ll do my best to get around to the book sooner rather than later. And if you decided to do a Letterbox Love, Book Haul, IMM, Showcase Sunday, Mailbox Monday or whatever else featuring the books you got this week leave me a link as I’d love to check out your books too! ^_^

 Happy reading till next time!

Review for Pantomime by Laura Lam

Pantomime by Laura Lam 
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release: 7th February 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Goodreads Summary: 

"R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimeras is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada."

Review 
Pantomime is one of the strangest, most fascinating, and daring YA debuts that I’ve read in a while and I mean that in the best possible way. Every time I put this book down I felt like I’d awoken from a peculiar yet wonderful dream as that’s what the tone of this book sets in the fantasy world of Ellada in a circus of magic.

The book is told in alternating perspectives between Micah a training aerialist at the circus and Iphigenia a girl from one of Ellada’s most honourable families. Both of them are hiding a secret that is revealed later on in the book and interweaves these two characters together. This books secret is a brilliant one and makes the book stand apart from other YA books out there. Unfortunately for me I figured out what it was after only a couple of chapters which I must admit took away from the experience a little bit as I do love a good twist. 

As mentioned Pantomime is set in a fantasy world and I thought the world building to this book was excellent. At the beginning of each chapter is an article or old legend about Ellada. I really loved these snippets as they allowed you to find out more about the history and politics of the land as you go along without lots of heavy description interfering with the story which I’m never a fan of. I thought this was really clever and was a brilliant aspect to the book.

Despite being set in a fantasy world Pantomime had a very contemporary feel to it and even with having a circus as a backdrop was very character driven. Every single character in this book has more to them than meets the eye and I loved finding out their secrets and peeling away their layers as the book went on. I loved how emotionally complex this book was and how Laura Lam tackled subjects that other YA authors are afraid to. That being said I’d recommend this book to a mature teen audience simply because this book can be rather dark and brutal at times and requires a mature outlook and approach.

Even though Pantomime was a brilliant read in its own right it felt very much like Laura Lam was setting us up for a fantastic series as not much happens plot wise until the end and this book was all about the world building and character development. From what was hinted at and the way that this book ended I think Pantomime is only a taste of the wonder that is to come from both this series and Laura Lam as an author.

Overall what I loved most about Pantomime was the message that whoever you are, whatever you’ve done, whatever your past. There is a place for you somewhere to belong to with people who will embrace and accept you as you are. Pantomime is a truly unique and wonderful experience that will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t fit in.

Review for The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 
Publisher: Headline
Release: 30th August 2012 (Paperback Edition)
Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Fairy-tale, Family
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review



Goodreads Summary: 
"Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart—he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season’s first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone—but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place, things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them."

Review 
Following the roaring success of The Snow Child last winter I knew that I had to make it a priority read this Christmas. From the synopsis it sounded like the perfect book to get me into that magical childlike frame of mind, and I’m so glad that I finally read it because this book was, in a word, enchanting.

The start of the book is really quite heart-breaking with one half of our beloved couple Mabel attempting suicide. Mabel and Jack are so utterly alone in their relationship and are still grieving for a baby they lost years ago and with it their one chance of being parents. The first few chapters are really gutting to read in a beautiful yet fragile kind of way, until in a rare act of tenderness and joy they build a snow girl together during the first snow fall of winter.

The book reads as part adult fairy-tale, part historical fiction on life in rural Alaska during the 1920’s. I have to say that I enjoyed the fairy-tale aspect to this story the most but can see how the setting created the perfect backdrop for this story. At times the solitude and snowy landscape of a wintery Alaska made the place read like a magical land itself.

I think that what I loved most about this novel was how you never really know exactly what Faina is or how she came to be. Throughout the book you’re not quite sure if she is the little snow girl Jack and Mabel built come to life, if she belongs to someone else, or if she’s simply a figment of the couples imagination. I loved the mystery and magic surrounding Faina and although some things are cleared up as the story goes on there is still a lot of room for the reader to interpret the story in their own way.

Reading The Snow Child had the same effect on me as the fairy tales I read and loved growing up did and will be sitting proudly next to the classic fairy tales on my bookshelf. In turns heart-breaking, magical and beautiful this book will awaken the inner child in adult’s worldwide.

Review for Easy by Tammara Webber

Easy by Tammara Webber 
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 3rd January 2013
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Abuse
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review



Goodreads Summary:
"Jacqueline seems to have a knack for making the wrong choices. She followed her boyfriend to his choice of university, disregarding her preference. Then he dumped her. She chose a minor she thought she could combine with her music studies, but she's falling behind. And then, leaving a party alone one night, she is attacked. If it wasn't for the timely intervention of a stranger, she would have been raped. Now she must make a choice - give up and give in, or toughen up and fight on. Only the support of the man who is tutoring her and the allure of the guy who saved her from the attack convince her that it's worth fighting on. Will Jacqueline now have to make a choice between them too? And can she make the right decision? It's not easy..."

Review 
New Adult is a genre that is receiving a lot of love lately and so being this genre’s target audience I figured it was high time I gave one of the genre’s big guns a read and was recommended to start with Easy. Because this is my first New Adult book I’m going to talk about my experience with the genre as well as my thoughts on this book.

Easy starts off with an attempted rape scene which is pretty much like jumping into the deep end of the pool! This could have been too much too soon but as this book is set around the subject of abuse it sets the story up well, is tastefully handled, and important to the rest of the novel.

One of the things I loved about Easy is how it sets an excellent example for young women. In my opinion there are too many books out there at the minute that glorify abusive relationships not just the physical kind but the mentally unhealthy ones too. All too often absolute psychopaths that I’d want a restraining order against are portrayed as misunderstood irresistible bad boys who simply need love to save them. After being in an abusive relationship myself I can’t help but wonder what kind of example these books are setting? A potentially dangerous one if you ask me with these sorts of relationships on the rise. I feel like Easy sets the world back to rights with women telling somebody, learning self-defence, standing up for one another, and perhaps most importantly of all calling abuse by its name.

Our heroine is Jacqueline and I really liked her voice. It’s much more mature than a YA character but just because she’s older doesn’t mean she’s perfect, she still makes mistakes and grows throughout the book. At the start Jacqueline is getting over her three year relationship. I feel like this will be something I enjoy about NA books. Getting over your first serious relationship is something I’ve always wanted to read about but is never offered in YA as the characters are usually at the stage of finding that first big love. It was interesting to watch Jacqueline go from high school romance to her first adult relationship and was something I could really relate to as a twenty something reader.

Jacqueline’s love interest Lucas was such a swoon-worthy guy. Not only is he intelligent, gorgeous and artistic but he also teaches self-defence class and is all for women knowing how to protect themselves. I adored Lucas from the start and only loved him more when we find out what skeletons he has in his closet. I also loved how Jacqueline and Lucas’s stories tied together nicely creating a strong message to this story. Their romance not only has substance to it but is also incredibly hot and steamy without being full out erotica, another thing I think I’m going to love about New Adult Fiction.

Overall my first experience with this genre was definitely a good one and thanks to Easy I have already bought some other New Adult titles to try! If you’re new to this genre I’d definitely recommend giving this book a go. Steamy, romantic and empowering this is a book about things not ending up as you might have originally planned, only to find that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.