YA Halloween Fear Factor

This week, October 28th - November 3rd is dedicated to my Halloween feature named YA Halloween Fear Factor. I will be reviewing spooky books with paranormal influences, murder mysteries and thrillers. Among them are TEN by Gretchen McNeil, LITTLE WHITE LIES by Katie Dale, THE SOUND by Sarah Alderson, DANGEROUS GIRLS by Abigail Hass, UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia and the seven-book VAMPIRE ACADEMY series by Richelle Mead.

Another post is reserved to your Top 13 YA Halloween Reads of 2013. On October 30th I'm displaying a bunch of YA cover models and their looks that could make for fabulous costumes. And at the end of our Halloween week there'll be a Tricksters & Treats post with some of the darkest YA minds that are irresistably sexy and date ideas you should give a wide berth. Here's a list of my planned posts for the next seven days.

October 28th Book Review: The Sound by Sarah Alderson

October 29th Your Top 13 YA Halloween Reads of 2013

October 30th Mini Reviews #14 with Ten by Gretchen McNeil,  Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas and Little White Lies by Katie Dale.

October 31st Cover Costume Candy

November 1st Book Review: Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

November 2nd YA Tricksters & Treats

November 3rd Book Review: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

YA Pumpkin Carving Patterns

And now to get in the full YA Halloween mood, you just need to grab a pumpkin and start carving these absolutely drool-worthy YA book cover patterns. I found them at Kate Hart's blog and there are many more fun pumpkin carving patterns for you. Click on the links for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions.

The Fault In Our Stars, Fangirl & Paper Towns

The Curiosities, Sweetly & Paper Valentine

Q! Which YA cover design would you carve into your pumpkin? I'd pick the Sweetly design because the gnarly branches forming a woman's face is the creepiest of them all.

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Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant (Divergent #3)

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publishing Date: October 22^nd2013

Length: 531 pages

Keywords: YA, dystopian fiction, romance, action, friendship
Source: Bought

One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Summary by Goodreads 

I expected the day ALLEGIANT was released to be the day that would part the YA readership. Excessively enthusiastic readers on one side, shattered or even enraged readers on the other. And then my first reaction: perplexity. I just didn't know what to make of ALLEGIANT. Well, at least it made me think. A lot. In the days following the end of the DIVERGENT trilogy I caught myself drifting back to the story of Tris and Four and the other ALLEGIANT characters and reassessing its ending more than once. It was shocking but brave. Encouraging but devastating. I'd never been so torn about a book rating 

After the cliffhanger we were presented with in INSURGENT, a profound background to Veronica Roth's faction world was demanded. And Veronica Roth did everything to supply her readers with theories, information and answers. But at some point, I had a feeling that anything in the story needed a long explanation, turning the third book more into a social or behavioral study than the adrenaline-rush-inducing rollercoaster ride that was DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.
It was a massive mission to wrap up a story and a world such as the one we were presented with in DIVERGENT, a very complex world.
What is power and who wields it? Where can you find the truth in a world controlled by lies? Is humanity still existent and what do Tris and Four have to do to retrieve it?

ALLEGIANT is written from the alternating perspectives of Tris and Four. SO GOOD, I tell you. Both perspectives were dynamic and insightful, complementing the other just naturally. As Veronica Roth so fitly described them in an interview with BuzzFeed:

"Tris’ voice is very stereotypically masculine, very straightforward, very direct, kind of repetitive. Tobias’ is a little more poetic, a little more descriptive, and he generally shares more. Tris is always withholding, but Tobias shares everything"*

Tris and Four even out their weaknesses and underline their strenghts. They are nowhere near a perfect couple. They have flaws and make mistakes, the important part is, that they are both very aware of them and they openly show and consciously reflect them.  The moments they got to show their closeness made me adore Four and them both as a couple even more, but somehow those moments felt bittersweet with all the difficulties that still lay ahead of them. 
No matter what, Tobias, you make readers fall in love with you over and over again. In DIVERGENT, INSURGENT, ALLEGIANT and every future re-read.

There was a time in the book when things started to fall back into an old pattern. People gathering and planning an uproar. I'm not saying that a world as the one Tris and Four are living in doesn't need those people. Active and intelligent people who see the needs of those who can't stand up for themselves. But by the end of the DIVERGENT series it seemed like I'd seen so many different groups of variously motivated people that Tris and Four always get involved with, it was too much and often only caused a lot of relationship drama. 

I'm not giving less than five stars because the story didn't end the way I wanted it to end. I thought a lot about that ending of ALLEGIANT and what Veronica Roth must have imagined and aimed at while thinking it out and writing it.
I can't exactly say what the last third of Allegiant felt like. It was a mass of emotions, mostly a combination between consternation and awe. Initial thoughts after finishing ALLEGIANT were: Why did I ever pick up this series? and Why do I do this to myself? Obviously, I didn't mean them.
At the end of ALLEGIANT we were left with a solution to the big conflict that had been brewing in DIVERGENT and INSURGENT and inevitably a mass of inconceivably sudden and tragic losses, yet not without a note of hope. And hope is all there has to be in the end. The ending wasn't what I expected...at all! But it was the ending that made ALLEGIANT a so much better read in the aftermath. 

4,5/5 ****/* ALLEGIANT – A revolutionary, brave read, not missing out in the heartbreak department, that slams into you like a train on full speed. Veronica Roth doesn't hold back.

ALLEGIANT aka the book that should be named HEARTBREAK wields the power to tear out every reader's heart. A few hours after reading ALLEGIANT my distraught emotions quieted and I could clear my mind enough to calm down and don't be so upset anymore. And then, strangely, I found the ending soothing in some way. I'm mostly trying to appreciate Veronica Roth's achievement as a writer and to cope with the way she ended things, saying Good-bye to the ones we lost in the DIVERGENT trilogy and trying to see the moral and aspiration that's behind it all.

Source

ALLEGIANT you might also enjoy ENCLAVE by Ann Aguirre, PARTIALS by Dan Wells and ARTICLE 5 by Kristen Simmons. I haven't read any of them, but I am hoping to find solace and new adventures in these stories after the DIVERGENT series has come to an end with ALLEGIANT. 

* Can't get enough of FOUR? Read his short story collection, starting with THE TRANSFER.

* Click here for more ALLEGIANT quotes.

* Want to listen to Veronica Roth reading the first chapter of ALLEGIANT? Then click here.

* You can read the full BuzzFeed interview with Veronica Roth here.

* For more information about Veronica Roth and her books visit www.veronicarothbooks.blogspot.de.

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Destiny Book Blitz

Destiny
by P.T. Michelle



Publication
date:
October 2013












When destiny is on the line, will love be enough to light the way?

In order to save Ethan, Nara gets pulled deeper into his dark world, where everything she thought she knew about Ethan and herself turns on its head.

Ethan and Nara turn up the heat with bone-melting seduction and heart-rending moments, but surprising revelations, lies, treachery, betrayal, and unimaginable evil will challenge their relationship and their future together.

As the stakes rise, encompassing more than just her relationship with Ethan, will Nara make the ultimate sacrifice?

Also:
Apple | Kobo

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Cover Reveal: Push by Eve Silver

Push
by Eve Silver




Expected release:
June 10th 2014














It’s either break the rules or die.

Miki Jones lives her life by her own strict set of rules, to keep control, to keep the gray fog of grief at bay. Then she’s pulled into the Game, where she—and her team—will die unless she follows a new set of rules: those set by the mysterious Committee.

But rules don’t mean answers, and without answers, it’s hard to trust. People are dying. The rules are unraveling. And Miki knows she’s being watched, uncertain if it’s the Drau or someone—something—else. Forced to make impossible choices and battling to save those she loves, Miki begins to see the Committee in a glaring new light.

And then the Game crosses a new boundary, pushes harder into Miki’s and her friends’ lives, and there’s nothing in the rules that can save them now.

Push is the sequel Rush fans will be screaming for.

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My Ex From Hell Blog Tour

My Ex From Hell
by Tellulah Darling


Published: April 1st 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Ebook
Pages: 272
Source: For review
Amazon | B&N

Sixteen-year-old Sophie Bloom wishes she’d been taught the following:

a) Bad boy’s presence (TrOuBlE) + teen girl’s brain (DraMa) = TrAuMa (Highly unstable and very volatile.)

b) The Genus Greekulum Godissimus is notable for three traits: 1) awesome abilities, 2) grudges, and 3) hook-ups, break-ups, and in-fighting that puts cable to shame.

Prior to the Halloween dance, Sophie figures her worst problems involve adolescent theatrics, bitchy yoga girls, and being on probation at her boarding school for mouthy behaviour. Then she meets bad boy Kai and gets the kiss that rocks her world.

Literally.

This breath stealing lip lock reawakens Sophie’s true identity: Persephone, Goddess of Spring. She’s key to saving humanity in the war between the Underworld and Olympus, target numero uno of Hades and Zeus, and totally screwed.

Plus there’s also the little issue that Sophie’s last memory as Persephone was just before someone tried to murder her.

Big picture: master her powers, get her memories back, defeat Persephone’s would be assassin, and save the world. Also, sneak into the Underworld to retrieve stolen property, battle the minions of Hades and Zeus, outwit psycho nymphs, slay a dragon, rescue a classmate, keep from getting her butt expelled from the one place designed to keep her safe …

… and stop kissing Kai, Prince of the Underworld.

Excerpt
A lone figure stood awaiting my arrival.

Take the natural snobbiness of your everyday hipster, compound it by the regular arrogance of guys in their mid-twenties, and magnify it by infinity thanks to that whole god factor. You’d start to come close to the waves of disdain that just naturally rolled off this dude. The Eau de Smarm he exuded ensured that I wasn’t going to be cozying up to him any time soon.

It may have seemed like his denim shirt, worn unbuttoned over a white wife beater and skinny jeans had been picked up directly off of the floor that morning, but no. From the top of his rakish fedora sitting on his bright red- dyed hair to his pink socks and white vintage Keds, Hephaestus was calculated cool.

And weirdly cute, but I wasn’t going to give him that.

Not even the cane he sported, due to his left foot being twisted inwards could detract from his projecting an overall “don’t even bother reaching for my greatness” status. If anything, the cane was a sleek, black, way cool accessory. “Hephaestus, I presume.”

He crossed his arms. “It’s Festos. And you better have a damn good reason for showing up here with that password, honeybunch.”

“Theo sent me. Prometheus,” I amended, since I wasn’t sure if he knew Theo’s human name.

Given the double take I received, I guess he did.
“I don’t believe you,” he said flatly.

“I swear. He thought you could help break a memory spell.”

“Too bad. I’m busy.”
I took a step forward, my hand up to keep him from ordering me out.

“Please. I don’t think he would have sent me unless he believed you were truly the one person who could help.”

Festos considered me for a second, then rolled his eyes. “Lovely. You’re her. Did Prometheus mention any type of payment for my services?”

“His undying thanks?”

Festos looked a bit too hopeful at that. You know, if you looked past the “couldn’t care less” vibe.

“Not really,” I amended. “But you’re the only god he’s ever mentioned in a remotely respectful way.”

“Wow. Such flattery.” He sighed and waved me toward the machine in the middle of the room. “Get on.”

I hesitated.

He limped over to the contraption. “You want it undone or not? Lose the pillow you’re wearing and move.”

I tossed my puffy coat onto one of the sofas. Then glanced outside. I couldn’t help it. I was worried the minions had come back.

“We’re warded up,” Festos said and flicked a switch.
The machine came to life in a roar of sound.
I bet you a bajillion dollars that if you made a list of all the ways you might remove a memory suppression spell, no matter how weird you got, none of the items would include being hooked up to one of those kinda grungy, video arcade dance machines and trying desperately to keep up with the patterns whipping past.

I win, right?

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Contingency & Relativity Blitz + Giveaway!

Contingency
by Peggy Martinez



Publication
date:
June 27th 2012












Eighteen-year-old Sage Hannigan wants to get back to her own time, preferably one that hasn’t been destroyed by an underworld plot brewing in Edwardian-era South Carolina. How hard can it be?

All she has to do is:

1. Learn to use newly acquired warping skills to bend time to her will.
2. Take out a few rogue vampires.
3. Join an ancient secret society.
4. Figure out who is putting the time stream in jeopardy.
5. Find and maim whoever invented the corset.

Sage never asked to be chosen by the Druid Priestess, Amerach, to become a Warper. She also never asked to have the future hanging on her shoulders or to warp a hundred years into the past. She certainly never asked to meet Dr. Aldwin Blake, who would make her question her desire to get back to her own time. But if she fails her mission, people will die, history will change, and the present she wishes to return to will be no more.

Relativity
by Peggy Martinez



Publication
date:
February 20th 2013












Three months after Sage Hannigan time warps a hundred years into the past and saves the future as we know it, she is still trying to come to grips with all the has gained…and all that she has lost.

All of her searching hasn’t turned up Cerberus Society or any creatures of the night and she’s beginning to wonder if she’s gone crazy after all.

The only things keeping her grounded are her sparring sessions with Matt and her weekly ritual of scouring the city for low lives to kick the crap out of, and even that can’t keep her dreams free of the heartache and bitter sweet memories she has come to loath and…to cherish.

When blasts from the past; good, bad, and evil, come knocking on her door, will she be able to do what she has to even if it means having her barely-healing heart ripped to shreds?

***GIVEAWAY***


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Cover Reveal: Lost Eden by G.P. Ching

Lost Eden
by G.P. Ching




Expected release:
November 18th 2013













Rules. Balance. Consequences. War.

When Fate gave Dane the water from Eden to drink, she did more than save his life. She changed his destiny.

Since the beginning, a compact between God and Lucifer has maintained a tenuous peace, balancing Soulkeepers and Watchers and the natural order of things. Dane upset that balance the day he became a Soulkeeper. Fate broke the rules.

Now, Lucifer is demanding a consequence, requiring Fate to pay the ultimate price for her involvement. God intervenes on the immortal’s behalf but in order to save her soul must dissolve the compact and with it the rules, order, and balance that have kept the peace. A challenge is issued. A contest for human souls begins. And the stakes? Earth. Winner take all.

The Soulkeepers are at the center of a war between Heaven and Hell, and this time, nobody, anywhere, is safe from Lucifer’s reach.

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