Cover Reveal: Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

I don't normally do many cover reveals but when Strange Chemistry sent through a sneak peak of Zenn Scarlett's cover, I couldn't resist sharing. Not only is the cover beautiful - I love the colours and the wisterful girl, but the story sounds good. I haven't read much science-fiction in a while, but I could be persuaded back into the genre...

Zenn Scarlett - Christian Schoon

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Zenn Scarlett is a bright and occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. She specializes in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars was going well - until there are a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school that Zenn finds herself blamed for. As if this isn't enough to be dealing with, her father vanishes under strange circumstances, and Zenn is worried that she has started hearing the thoughts of the creatures around her...

With the help of Liam, a towner boy, and Hamish, an alien bug also training at the clinic, Zenn must try to find her father, rescue the animals and unravel the mystery of who is behind the attacks on the school. And all without failing her first year...

So what do you think? Does it appeal to you...? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Early Review: Hysteria

Hysteria

Megan Miranda

Publisher: Bloomsbury: Published on 13th February 2013

E-Arc Courtesy of Bloomsbury & Netgalley

Mallory's life is falling apart. Her boyfriend was stabbed. He bled to death in her kitchen. Mallory was the one who stabbed him. But she can't remember what happened that night. She only remembers the fear ...When Mallory's parents send her away to a boarding school, she thinks she can escape the gossip and the threats. But someone, or something, has followed her. There's the hand that touches her shoulder when she's drifting off to sleep. A voice whispering her name. And everyone knows what happened. So when a pupil is found dead, Mallory's name is on their lips. Her past can be forgotten but it's never gone. Can Mallory live with that?

Mallory is going through the worst time in her life – her boyfriend is dead, she stabbed him in her kitchen and now her Mum won’t look at her and her Dad packs her off to his old boarding school separating her from the only person she can talk to, her best friend. But at her new school, secrets are currency and someone wants Mallory’s secrets...

Hysteria is a complete revelation – a YA contemporary that avoids expected clichés and tackles the emotional and mental impact of a moment of insanity. Mallory is upset, confused and isolated. She has trouble sleeping and remembering what happened. She also has a touch of paranoia, not sure who to trust. All the emotions you would expect after someone has gone through that type of trauma. However, Mallory also has some steel in her – she has the kind of strength that is only discovered through adversity and I loved her voice in the story. How she was unsure what to do or who to trust – even doubting herself. Her new school has some creepy elements with plenty of characters and secrets, but Megan Miranda skilfully manages to avoid expectations to create a familiar world that is only slightly off-kilter. I loved the way Reid tries to reconnect with Mallory after two years and how unsure she is with trusting herself again.  

The writing is wonderfully deft and involving. Your emotions will swirl around more times than dirty socks in the laundry, leaving you washed out and exhausted. I’m not usually a big fan of contemporary YA, but this is one of the most realistic and impactful stories you’ll read this year, bringing real depth and passion to every situation. I read this in a day, loving Mallory’s attempts to rebuild her life and her relationships. I will definitely be looking out for more books by Megan!

Recommended for fans of Jenny Han and Jeri Smith-Ready. 9 out of 10 

What Shall I Read This February? + GIVEAWAY

Getting back into the swing of things I want to reinstate Throwback Thursday and letting you guys pick one of my reads each month! To my mind this has the added benefit of allowing me to get through my TBR pile and making sure there's a review that you guys are really interested in reading. Plus your taste us awesome and on many occasions your choice is my favourite read of the month!

So what is this all about? I realised the other day that I've been doing these Throwback Thursday posts inspired by Melissa at My World...in words and pictures for nearly year now - I have posted about over 100 books I own but I have hardly read any yet. So on the first Thursday of each month I will post a poll highlighting all the Throwback Thursday books I've highlighted in the last month plus one of the older Throwbacks and ask you to pick which book I should read. The most popular book after 5 days or so, will be picked up by me and actually read and (hopefully!) reviewed by the end of the month. However, in thanks I will also offer anyone who enters a copy of any book from my TBR Shelf. This way older books get a lot of love from both of us!


So to summarise -
- Pick a book you want me to read from my Throwback Thursday's posts and be in with a chance to win a book for yourself from my TBR pile for your own - check my TBR Shelf at the top for some other books that I need to get round to reading!
- I'll ship it out to from the Book Depository or fishpond so it will be open internationally.
- Leave a comment for an extra entry telling my why I should read your choice!
- Open to followers only (Sorry, but I want to reward those who stop by regularly! Also I'm not advertising or publicising this giveaway so it's just for those who read my blog regularly!)
- Poll closes midnight on Tuesday 12th February - I will try to announce the winning book and lucky follower, by next Thursday.

This month the books I need to give some serious love to are by British authors to give me a leg up on the British Books Challenge I signed up for! You can go to the original posts to see what I said about them if you click on them!

Soul Beach  - Kate Harrison

Department 19 - Will Hill

666 Charing Cross Road - Paul Magrs

Blonde Bombshell - Tom Holt

Devil May Care Review

Devil May Care

Patricia Eimer

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

E-Arc courtesy of Netgalley and Entangled Publishing

After a month of planning not one, but two, demonic weddings, all Faith Bettincourt—the youngest Crown Princess of Hell—wants is to spend some quality time with her angelic boyfriend, Matt. But when a ghost from Matt’s past walks through Faith’s apartment door, her preoccupation with the weddings from Hell is all that’s keeping her from turning his ex, in all her devious angelic glory, into a down throw pillow.
Which is about when Matt’s zealous mother declares war on Faith’s family.Now Faith will stop at nothing to stop the craziness and make sure the impending nuptials go off without a hitch. All she’s got to do is rescue one of the grooms and go up against an army of so-called do-gooders, and everything will go back to normal. Or as normal as it can be where the Devil's spawn is concerned. With any luck, she might just be able to resuscitate her love life while she's at it.

A common theme running through many books is that families can be hell and in Faith’s case that is more literal than metaphorical. Her father is the Devil, she is demoness with wings, tail and horns and she is currently dating an angel who lives across the hall. Unfortunately his ex-girlfriend has shown up wanting him back, while her ex-boyfriend has also arrived on the scene, without any memories of their relationship and falls for her again. Add in two family weddings and Faith’s patience starts to run low...

This is one of those books were the banter between the characters is fun, frivolous and laugh out loud amusing. It could almost be a chick-lit frothy read with demons and angels thrown in for decoration. Faith has the same relationship and family issues as any young woman – although gratefully she is confident in herself and her abilities. Her family are familiar to most people with an over-protective Dad, a hippy Mum, an older half-brother who’s a pain and a bitchy sister – but despite their sniping and banter – but despite their sniping and mockery with each other there is a strong core. And when someone attacks one of them, they pull together.

Outside of the relationships, there is some investigation into drug thievery at the hospital Faith works which doesn’t really go anywhere but ties up some loose ends from the first book, Luck of the Devil. Overall, this is a fast, fun read – light hearted and amusing so a perfect anecdote for the wet, miserable winter days!

Recommended for fans of Mary Janice Davidson and Kerrelyn Sparks, 7.5 out of 10

Early Review: Pantomime

Pantomime

Laura Lam

Publisher: Strange Chemistry - Published today!

E-Arc courtesy of Netgalley and Strange Chemistry

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 Chimaera 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

Pantomime is a wonderfully atmospheric story, invoking memories of fairs and circus and making you almost able to smell the sweet toffee apples and frying hotdogs mixed with straw and animal musk that I remember of childhood visits. Micah is a young runaway who stumbles into training as an acrobat at the circus. At first there is disdain and mistrust but as Micah proves himself, he finds the true heart of the circus but has a secret of his own to protect at all costs.

Set in a fantasy world that feels similar to the 19^th century with well off Lords and Ladies as well as teaming street markets and homeless urchins – think Charles Dickens crossed with CS Lewis. While the world building is somehow familiar and unique at the same time, it is the history of the world with strange creature long thought lost and the mysterious Penglass structures throughout the cities which intrigue and mystify. The story unfolds slowly, like the buds of spring but once revealed it is worth the wait.

For most of the story, it is warm writing and characters that keep you going as it is all about atmosphere rather than action. However, towards the end that all changes as secrets are revealed and new ones raised. The ending will have to crying out to know more – and I hope the wait for the sequel will not be too long! This is different from any other fantasy YA I’ve ever read and stronger for it. This is a book which is better to know less about going in as the joy of the book is in the discovery. Highly recommended.

Recommended for fans of HG Wells and Marissa Meyer.  8.5 out of 10 

Grave Dance (Alex Craft #2) Review

Grave Dance (Alex Craft #2)

Kalayna Price

Publishers: UK – Berkley

 After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge. The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own.

This is definitely one of those series that started out strong but has gotten stronger! I was thrown straight back into the world and loved Alex, her friends, her job and even her two potential suitors are great characters that I loved getting to know better. I can completely understand for once why Alex is unable to choose between the two men in her live. Usually love triangles annoy me as one of the men is obviously the one she will choose from the beginning and I just want the heroine to stop stringing them both along, but here both characters have their flaws and both seem to genuinely care for despite the difficulties in perusing a relationship for very different reasons. Neither choice would be an easy option though…

With Alex’s Grave Witch powers explored in the first book, we now get a chance to look at her fey inheritance and explore fae itself. The Winter Court is an intriguing place as is stasis and some of the other areas Alex find on her investigation. One of the elements that I like about that Alex is that she isn’t a loner but has friends and colleagues who’s opinion matters and we get to learn a little more about Alex’s housemates as well…although a few questions were left unanswered which only makes me anxious to read the book in the series!

This is an easy to read Urban Fantasy with great characters and a very satisfying central mystery. More of the world is explored but more questions are raised and I think Alex is rapidly becoming one of my favourite heroines – she’s certainly one character that I would like to be friends with! Highly recommended series for those who like a little witch and fae in their UF and a genuine love triangle.

Recommended for fans of Jeanienne Frost and Kelley Armstrong. 9 out of 10

My Book Haul / Showcase Sunday

This is Books, Biscuits and Tea's Showcase Sunday where I share my lovely book hauls each week. Have a look back at Vicki's link up to see what everyone is up too!

So this week was quite quiet but I got my reading mojo back! After a dreadful cold last week I was finally able to focus this week. This meant that I finished Pantomime by Laura Lam - a wonderfully atmospheric story as well as Shades of War by Sarah-Jane Lehoux - a great fantasy story with some really different characters, and finally Devil May Care by Patricia Eimer - lots of fun with the family from hell - literally! So finished three books and only two arrived in the flat this week - that's progress on my TBR pile!

So what books have arrived this week?

Review

Fragments (Partials #2) - Dan Wells

Publisher: HarperCollins

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence—it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?
Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what’s left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira’s journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn’t even know existed.

I read Partials last year and quite enjoyed it so when I saw this come up on Netgalley, I thought I would request it to see what happens next!

Bought

Between - Kerry Schafer

Publisher: Ace Fantasy

Vivian Maylor can’t sleep. Maybe it’s because she just broke up with her boyfriend and moved to a new town, or it could be the stress of her new job at the hospital. But perhaps it’s because her dreams have started to bleed through into her waking hours. All of her life Vivian has rejected her mother’s insane ramblings about Dreamworlds for concrete science and fact, until an emergency room patient ranting about dragons spontaneously combusts before her eyes—forcing Viv to consider the idea that her visions of mythical beasts might be real. And when a chance encounter leads her to a man she knows only from her dreams, Vivian finds herself falling into a world that seems strange and familiar all at once—a world where the line between dream and reality is hard to determine, and hard to control...

I pre-ordered this ages ago and it arrived this week. Occasionally I'll see new UF books that capture my attention and decide to try them out - plus the cover has a dragon in a globe!

So what have you all picked up this week?