Your Top 13 YA Halloween Reads of 2013

Still looking for a good Halloween read? A few days ago I asked you about your literary Halloween plans this year and here's a list of your Top 13 YA reads in no particular order. Background images for each book were taken from their book trailer if not stated otherwise. Among the mentions were a few Stephen King novels like Carrie and Coraline by Neil Gaiman as well. Get inspired. Get reading!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS make the perfect Halloween read with their dark caster magic and the atmospheric Southern town of Gatlin. I still haven't read the third book in the series, but I should get to it very soon!

Watch the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES book trailer.

The Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black

What would Halloween be without vampires? Holly Black's latest book came out in September 2013 and I so have to get my hands on a copy in the next weeks. Its book trailer is really whetting my appetite for a little blood-sucker action. 

Watch the THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN book trailer. 

Anna Dressed In Blood & Girl of Nightmares by Kendra Blake

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD tells the story of a ghost girl who kills everyone who disturbs her. So creepy!

Watch the GIRL OF NIGHTMARES book trailer.

Ten & 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

 

A house party on an island gone terribly terribly wrong. Now ten teens have to fear for their lives. And 3:59 could be even scarier with a parallel universe and doppelgängers! I used the TEN cover for this background image. 

Watch the TEN book trailer.

Find Me by Romily Bernard

Romily Bernard's debut novel is a gripping thriller with a murder case and the hacker girl Wick who gets involved in the case when her sister seems to be the murderer's next target. This could be one of the lighter Halloween reads, more thriller than horror.

Watch the FIND ME book trailer. 

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Pick up a copy of WARM BODIES to read a zombie book of a different sort. 'R' is a zombie and when he decides to save a girl instead of eating her, a love story of a kind is put into motion. I bet someone gets eaten, too.

Watch the WARM BODIES book trailer.

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

The title of Madeleine Roux' novel is a pretty good clue at what we can expect the story to be about. I haven't picked it up until today, because I was too frightened to visit the asylum. Just look at the picture above and you know why. The image was taken from the book's back.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Until today THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER and its sequel are the creepiest books I've read. So many scary things keep happening and Mara is drawn into a tangle of lies, intrigues, delusions and evil intentions. These are two of my favourite YA books and if you haven't read them yet, now's exactly the right time to do so.

Watch the THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER book trailer. 

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Ransom Riggs' and his home for peculiar children is another book that I couldn't bring myself to read so far. The idea of a bunch of children with very unusual talents is freaking me out. I find them even scarier than an evil creature of the night on the loose!

Watch the MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN book trailer.

 

 The Rift by Andrea Cremer

In the wolf category you named RIFT by Andrea Cremer, the prequel to her bestselling NIGHTSHADE series and SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater. If you liked Andrea Cremer's NIGHTSHADE series this should definitely be on your radar. Who can resist the shape shifters?

Watch the THE RIFT book trailer. 

 Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

The SHIVER trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater isn't exactly scary, but it's one of my favourite reads and I was surprised to find it on your Halloween reading list. It has a great romance and a bunch of very hot werewolves. Good choice! Shiver background source. 

Watch the SHIVER book trailer.

 The Host by Stephenie Meyer

An alien read shouldn't be missing from this Halloween reads list, and you named THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer as one of your picks. I really liked both book and movie. Background image source.

The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Your Cassandra Clare Halloween picks were CITY OF ASHES and CITY OF GLASS from the THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series and CLOCKWORK ANGEL from Cassandra's THE INFERNAL DEVICES series. Werewolves, vampires faeries, angels, demons, Cassandra's books have them all.

Watch the CITY OF LOST SOULS book trailer.

My Halloween Reads

I picked three books for this year's Halloween reading. UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia, ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendra Blake, which can also be found on your Halloween reading list and THE KILLING WOODS by Lucy Christopher. Dangerous spirits, ghosts and demons and a murderer on the loose are promising one or two sleepless nights for me.

Q! What are reading on Halloween? Are you throwing a Halloween party, perhaps a bookish themed Halloween party? Tell me all about it in the comments or link me to your Halloween posts.

Read More

Book Review: The Sound by Sarah Alderson

Title: The Sound

Author: Sarah Alderson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Publishing Date: August 1^st2013

Length: 320 pages

Keywords: YA, contemporary, thriller, murder, romance, summer

Source: Publisher

When aspiring music journalist Ren Kingston takes a job nannying for a wealthy family on the exclusive island of Nantucket, playground for Boston's elite, she's hoping for a low-key summer reading books and blogging about bands. Boys are firmly off the agenda.

What she doesn't count on is falling in with a bunch of party-loving private school kids who are hiding some dark secrets, falling (possibly) in love with the local bad boy, and falling out with a dangerous serial killer...

Summary by Goodreads 

THE SOUND is set on the island of Nantucket. And Ren's could've been a story about a beautiful summer spent nannying and enjoying a few weeks in the US, if it weren't for the unpredictable ways of a serial killer. The long stretching beach and the sound, a kind of small strip of sea between two masses of land, hold many secrets that make THE SOUND not your average sunny beach read. Sarah Alderson found the ideal setting for her new thriller. Her personal teen experiences as a nanny in Nantucket definitely contributed to that atmospheric and rich setting we get to explore in her newest novel.

Ren Kingston is British. And Sarah Alderson so cleverly made use of that fact to bring in small hints about the differences between the US and UK, with focus on their comical side of course.
In the US, Ren is staying with Carrie, Mike and their two kids. As it will be Ren's job to nanny them, we will get to know Braiden and Brodie, too and spent time with them. They are two absolutely adorable kids. But as Carrie and Mike are pretty easy-going and accommodating parents, they give Ren the space and time to explore the island and make new friends, too.
Ren meets local teens her age and is friends with them pretty fast. Her summer will be filled with riding her bike, hanging out at the beach and attending fashionable parties by the local kids and their families. She's into music, reading and blogging, aspiring to become a music journalist. I liked her a lot and think we could easily be friends. Her attribute of assistance: Ren is one of the few YA girls who seem to be able to calculate the danger they're in. She's very set on listening to her natural instinct.

Now let's come to the serial killer. Without him this thriller would be only half as much fun. The story around the nanny murderer is chilling and intriguing and it's someone who's on the island with them, someone who Ren already met. This serial killer could've been so creepy with all the tension building and Ren being his possibly next target. It seemed he was a bit too shy to bring on the big psychotic action in the end. His presence created an unnerving feeling, but didn't lead to the high number of bone-chilling incidents  I had been hoping for.

Besides the fear of becoming the next victim of a murderer, a dark secret of a different kind causes trouble and various conflicts in Ren's circle of new friends. Most of them are privileged children of rich parents and couldn't be bothered to hide their disdainful character, openly bullying and provoking local bad boy Jesse. The boy Ren feels herself drawn to, despite her dating someone else (there goes her no-boys-summer rule).
Jesse's father owns a bike shop and Jesse helps whenever he can. He appears to be the rough and scorned bad boy. Unsurprisingly, there's much more to him than the rumors that people so willingly believe. Jesse is confident even though he's not very popluar with everyone on the island and he is protective of the people he loves. He's very skilled with his hands (ha!), the perfect YA book boy crush. His and Ren's relationship is heated and much more compelling than the actual murder case (which is definitely not a bad thing). Sarah Alderson is the best at writing book boys that will have you crushing on them hard within seconds.

4,5/5 ****/* THE SOUND – This strinking new book by Sarah Alderson is a chilling beach read providing you with a luscious love story, a local bad boy to lust after and a slightly less creepy murderer than the story actually needed.

How about a few autumnal days spent at the sea? THE SOUND would make a perfect beach read for the currently darker season! Sarah Alderson is always a safe bet when you are looking for a thrilling and likewise steamy read. I'm a fan of her HUNTING LILA series and now officially can't decide between Alex and Jesse as my favourite Sarah Alderson book boy.

"He ignores me, reaching for a T-shirt on the counter and pulling it on as I watch, trying to force myself not to stare at. Those. Muscles. I forbid myself to quiver. Or to reach out and touch them to check that they are real." ― p. 42

THE SOUND you might also enjoy LITTLE WHITE LIES by fellow UK author Katie Dale, CLARITY by Kim Harrington, set in a beach town as well but with a specially gifted heroine. And of course, if you haven't read it yet, HUNTING LILA by Sarah Alderson. Lila's boyfriend Alex is just as yummy as Jesse.

* How do you like the US cover of THE SOUND?

* Read an excerpt of THE SOUND.

* For more information about Sarah Alderson and her books visit www.sarahalderson.com.

* Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a review copy of THE SOUND!

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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

Read More

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.

Read More

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?

Read More