Update

Hey guys, I just wanted to keep you informed about what my "blogging schedule" is going to be like over the next little while. I'm back in school and am finally getting back into a regular schedule - except with more work. Such is the price of taking lots of AP courses and (hopefully) taking a position as an editor for the school newspaper. So my reading time is still fairly limited, but I will carve out time to read. As if I could survive that long without any fun reading...heh. You can expect to see some new reviews before too long.

In other semi-bookish news, Warner Brothers is apparently suing a new company for making Harry Potter-themed contraceptives. I get that everybody loves Harry Potter - I mean, I'm a huge Potternerd myself, so I know Potternerds are out there - but seriously? I think that's taking it a bit too far. I can't decide whether it's a little scary or really hilarious that a series of books meant for children has become quite so popular.

Until next time,
Becky

Waiting on Wednesday + News!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

So I dunno about everybody else, but I'm completely psyched that The Clockwork Angel, the first of Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series, comes out in less than two weeks. (How can anyone not be?!) I, like most of the world (with the exception of a few lucky bloggers who have been at this much longer than have), did not get an ARC of The Clockwork Angel and I totally can't wait to read it:

Description from Goodreads:
Magic is dangerous...but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.


Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.


Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa.


As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.


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So yeah, I'm definitely excited. I love love loved The Mortal Instruments series, so this should be great. And now, the news!

An exclusive book trailer for The Clockwork Angel has been released online. And you can watch it here. I tried to embed the video, but apparently I'm technologically un-savvy and also I just got home from my first day of school, so that didn't happen. But click the link and watch the video! It's awesome. Definitely can't wait to read the book!

Tuesday Twins

The covers of Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson and Wish You Were Here by Catherine Clark just remind me so much of each other. I confess that I have not actually read either of this books but every time I see the cover of one I think of the other one. They're not super-identical or anything...just very similar:

With the faces cut off just below the eyes, the bluish backgrounds, the titles that call up images of travel, the placement of the authors' names and "Author of..." statements, even the outfits aren't terribly different (they both have dark jeans and have their weight on one leg). Oh, and the titles are both pink and in similar places, and the hair is blondish.

What do you guys think? And if you spot any twin covers that you think I should feature here, let me know!

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers can share what books they received during the week - for review, from the library, at a bookstore, whatever. I have three this week.

For Review:
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

From the Library:
Flawless by Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars #2)
Perfect by Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars #3)

And of course, I still have some other books to read from before that I haven't been able to get to because of schoolwork. But school starts this Wednesday - which means two things. One, I will have homework more regularly, so it may be more difficult to post often; two, I will not be able to procrastinate on homework as much, so I'll have to get it done in a timely manner and then I'll have a leftover time so I will be able to post more often.

It's a weird balance. It'll work out. I'll still be around and posting. And *fingers crossed* with any luck I'll have a new review up by the end of this week!

What books did you guys get this week?

Review: Shade

*This review was written on a personal blog before the creation of Bookworm Boulevard. It has been reformatted and reposted here for archiving purposes and because homework is mean so it'll be almost a week before I can get any new reviews up (which is sad).

Title: Shade
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 309
Series: Shade #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
Description (from Goodreads): 
Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing at a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura has wanted nothing more than to find out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding -- and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.
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I found Shade when I went on Simon & Schuster's PulseIT website, saw a book that looked interesting, and opened the e-book to read the inside jacket and see what it was about. I swear I never meant to get sucked into it and just keep reading...but I did.

The book about which I am speaking is shade by Jeri Smith-Ready. It's an absolutely fantastic book and you will not - repeat, will not - want to put it down. The premise is this: Almost seventeen years ago, on the night of Aura Salvatore's birth, a mysterious event called the Shift occurred. Everyone born after the Shift - "post-Shifters" can see ghosts. Ghosts can only interact with the living, and they contact post-Shifters so that they can accomplish whatever they need to do to be at peace. Most of the post-Shifters are more annoyed and/or frightened by their violet visions than interested in helping. Aura included. Until her boyfriend, Logan, dies.

While Aura is mourning Logan's death and attempting to carry on a relationship with ghost-Logan, exchange student Zachary Moore arrives and is assigned to be Aura's partner on her thesis project (another school that requires senior thesis projects! Yay for relating to the characters!), which is about megaliths. Aura wants to find out more about the Shift. Which means finding out more about Zachary as well. Throughout Shade, Aura struggles to balance her relationships with the living and the dead, all while searching for clues to the event that has made her and all the other under-seventeens of the world able to see the dead.

I think what I really loved about this book were the characters. While the premise is, of course, blatantly fictional - people don't see ghosts, definitely not everyone under seventeen - the characters were hauntingly (haha, bad pun) real. Aura's grief, Logan's frustration, Zachary's frustration, Aura and Megan's friendship - all of it is wonderfully, painfully real. I also love that the readers aren't being hit over the head with the fact that "YES. THIS WORLD IS WEIRD. THERE ARE GHOSTS." The ghosts and the supernatural aspects of it figure in significantly to the major plot - there'd be no book without the Shift and the ghosts - but it's all just there. It's part of the world. There are no lengthy explanations of why this world is so different; it just is, and we understand that. Time is not spent on "oh-em-gee why are there ghosts? Look, paranormal!" Plus, okay, Zachary is kind of great. I think I want one. (I'm definitely Team Zachary.)

I'm not sure what about it makes it not quite a five-full-stars book; there was something about it that just kind of annoyed me in a couple of places. I wish I could say more clearly what, but I can't quite place it. Still though - definitely a great book. Read it if you get the chance! It's a wonderful, well-written book that I absolutely recommend. I will caution you that there is some strong language and some sexual content so it's probably not good for younger teens, but I think it only makes sense for the story and I don't think it distracts from the rest of the book too much.

Shade does wrap up a complete storyline in and of itself, but it also leaves a lot of unanswered questions about the Shift and Aura's past that could(/should) lead to a sequel. Plus I really don't want to give up Aura and Zach and Logan just yet. So, I'll definitely be reading the sequel, Shift, when it comes out in early 2011.

Links: 

Jeri Smith-Ready's website

AuthorMix

I can't believe I didn't post about this already. I could have sworn I did a post about this when I first found out about it. Silly Becky. But anyway...

AuthorMix is a cool online show type thing in which authors talk about...well, everything, really. So far, there are five episodes out, and they talk about everything from getting published to high school to favorite foods. The authors on the current series of videos are Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don't Die), Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures), Melissa de la Cruz (Blue Bloods), and Cecil Castelluci (Boy Proof, The Queen of Cool, Beige).

It's very cool, and you can (and should!) check it out here.

Waiting on Wednesday: Fearscape

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm waiting on Fearscape, the third Devouring book by Simon Holt. I absolutely loved the first two books, The Devouring and Soulstice - delightfully creepy and full of action that kept me turning pages because I had to find out more. (Actually, a mini-anecdote: I read the first one while I was at a friend's house, and I said "oh my goodness this would make such a good scary movie" pretty much every other sentence until she eventually told me that she got it and I should just write the screenplay already.) If you don't like scary stories, these may not be for you, but if you do...definitely read these! But anyway, on to Fearscape:

Description from Goodreads:
***Beware of spoilers for Books 1 and 2!!!***


The Vours: evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the Winter Solstice.


It's been a year since Reggie first discovered the Vours, and the Winter Solstice is approaching once again. It will be another night of unspeakable horror for those unlucky enough to be taken by the Vours, because this time, she won't be able to stop them. The Vours have imprisoned Reggie in a psychiatric hospital, where she is subjected to a daily routine of unfathomably sadistic experiments. Her life is a living Hell, but she won't give up. They attacked her brother. They killed her friend. And Reggie will never stop fighting back.

I'm really excited to read this one. Fearscape comes out October 5 of this year and I'll definitely be looking forward to it!

What are you waiting on this week? Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments!