June 2012 Releases

Done with May 2012 Releases? Here are June 2012 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

April 2012 Releases

Done with March 2012 Releases? Here are April 2012 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

January Through June 2011 Reads – Star Ratings

Books I read in January through June this year. Separated into star ratings, then listed by order in which I read them. All up at GoodReads. Some reviews here on my WordPress. Does not include books that I didn’t finish, because I’ve deleted them from my catalogue, and likely my memory.

Let me know if you decide to read or not to read them, based on my ratings. Because yes, I am that egocentric 😉

5 STARS: Rage (Jackie Morse Kessler), American Vampire (Jennifer Armintrout), Project 17 (Laurie Faria Stolarz), The Gathering (Kelley Armstrong), The Repossession Mambo/Repo Men (Eric Garcia), Moongazer (Marianne Mancusi), Wither (Lauren DeStefano), Girl Hero (Carrie Jones)

4 STARS: Outside In (Maria V. Snyder), Stocking Full of Coal (Amanda Feral), The Walled Garden (Michele Lang), The Shadow Runners (Liz Maverick), The Vespertine (Saundra Mitchell), Linger (Maggie Stiefvater), Dark Life (Kat Falls), Demonized (Naomi Clark), The Reckoning (Kelley Armstrong), Midnight Alley (Rachel Caine), Feast of Fools (Rachel Caine), Lord of Misrule (Rachel Caine), Carpe Corpus (Rachel Caine), Fade Out (Rachel Caine), Coming Home (P. D. Martin), Kiss of Death (Rachel Caine), XVI (Julia Karr), Ghost Town (Rachel Caine), The Girl in the Steel Corset (Kady Cross), Matched (Ally Condie), Uninvited (Amanda Marrone), The Bradbury Report (Steven Polansky), Uninvited (Justine Musk), Exile (Rebecca Lim), Helper12 (Jack Blaine), Darkness Becomes Her (Kelly Keaton)

3 STARS: Jealousy (Lili St. Crow), Among the Betrayed (Margaret Peterson Haddix), Among the Barons (Margaret Peterson Haddix), Becoming (Kelley Armstrong), Shadow Days (Andrea Cremer), Day of Fire (Kathleen Nance), Dreaming Anastasia (Joy Preble), Things Bogans Like, Beyond Heaving Bosoms (Sarah Wendell & Candy Tan), Fugitives (Alexander Gordon Smith), The Power of Two (Patti O’Shea), Coming Undone (Lauren Dane), In the Arms of Stone Angels (Jordan Dane), The Iron Witch (Karen Mahoney), Damaged (Yolanda Sfetsos), Falling Freestyle (Vivian Arend), Jeweled (Anya Bast), Thyla (Kate Gordon), It Takes a Village Idiot and I Married One (Alex Borstein & Cherry Chevapravatdumrong), Burn Bright (Marianne de Pierres), A Touch Mortal (Leah Clifford), Night and Chaos (Naomi Clark), Savage Transformation (Lexxie Couper), The Official Illustrated Guide (Stephenie Meyer), Exit Strategy (Kelley Armstrong), Made to Be Broken (Kelley Armstrong), You Are So Undead to Me (Stacey Jay), Hereafter (Tara Hudson), Relentless (Lauren Dane), The Scarlet Empress (Susan Grant), Close Encounters (Katherine Allred), Perfect Cover (Jennifer Lynn Barnes), Killer Spirit (Jennifer Lynn Barnes), West End (Laura Van Wormer), Moon Sworn (Keri Arthur)

2 STARS: Defiance (Lili St. Crow)

March 2011 Releases

Done with February 2011 Releases. Here are March’s. To see future titles and dates, check out Reading Wishlist.

Persnickety Snark’s FIVE Challenge, Day 3: Great Series

Today, December 23, is the third day of Persnickety Snark’s FIVE Challenge, and today’s particular challenge is…Great Series!

Adele’s list may be YA only, but I’m including all age brackets. Oh, and these aren’t all published in 2010 – I just read them in 2010. Better late than never 😉

Anyhoo, here we are, counting down from 5 to 1 – yes, I do play favourites:

October 2010 Releases

Done with September 2010 Releases? Here are the October 2010 Releases. To check release dates further into the future, check Reading Wishlist.

[REVIEW] Death Sentence – Alexander Gordon Smith

Alexander Gordon Smith
Death Sentence (Furnace, Book 3)
Faber (UK: 1st October 2009; AU: January 2010)
Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

Alex Sawyer and his allies were close enough to see the sky, but they didn’t manage to escape Furnace Penitentiary. Now Alex is being physiologically turned into one of the monstrous blacksuits, but even worse is that his psychology is shifting that way, too.

Furnace’s history traces back to WWII, and whilst the science is vague (and thus seems unrealistic), it still has interesting development. Logic-fail aside, Death Sentence is another cracking thriller with plenty of soul. The threat of Alex losing his mind to bloodlust is ever-present, but so is the hope that he’ll still have his morals, and can work together with others for the greater good. But the monsters aren’t just physical – now they’re seeping into the inmates’ brains. Expect another cliff-hanger, because it seems Book 4 will explore new territory…

[REVIEW] Solitary – Alexander Gordon Smith

Alexander Gordon Smith
Solitary (Escape from Furnace, Book 2)
Faber (UK: 2nd July 2009; AU: September 2009); Farrar, Straus and Giroux (US: 21st December 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

Alex Sawyer and his allies broke out of the general population sector, but their escape from Furnace Penitentiary is far from over – more so now that those who survived are locked in solitary confinement. Despite the hallucinations, and licking the rock walls for moisture, solitary isn’t so bad compared to the dangers outside. But Alex is dead-set on escaping the prison once and for all, and an unexpected ally is showing him the ropes – though the psychological obstacles are beginning to outweigh the physical.

Solitary begins directly where Lockdown ended – yes, this is a cliffhanger series. I read the first novel in late 2008, and my brain isn’t good at remembering stuff, so reacquaintance with characters and the prison set-up took me a few chapters. But this cracking YA futuristic horror thriller comes with a heartwreching emotional punch that very nearly had me in tears. This unique series may be targeted towards teenage boys, but it’s certainly won over this twenty-something female!

P.S. But what really had me crying was the author’s guest blog post at the Book Smugglers, where he explains the inspiration for this series. Read it and weep: Alexander Gordon Smith on Inspiration & Influences

9 New Covers

Marta Acosta: Haunted Honeymoon Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Kelley Armstrong: The Gathering Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Megan Hart: Amidst a Crowd of Stars
Julia Karr: XVI Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, Jory Strong & Ava Gray: Primal Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Rebecca Lim: Mercy Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Yolanda Sfetsos: Touching Moonlight
Yolanda Sfetsos: Damaged
Alexander Gordon Smith: Fugitives Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

[COVER ART] Ghost Town, Eternal, Solitary & Bring On the Night

UK cover for Rachel Caine’s Ghost Town. US cover for Alexander Gordon Smith’s Solitary. Unspecified covers for P. C. Cast’s Eternal and Jeri Smith Ready’s Bring On the Night. To check my sources, click on the images.

Rachel Caine: Ghost Town Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
P. C. Cast: Eternal Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Alexander Gordon Smith: Solitary Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Jeri Smith-Ready: Bring On the Night Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)