Books from Before (2)

I liked the "Books from Before" idea, so I have decided to continue with it. In the previous post, I talked about Magic Under Glass and reposted something from a very short-lived "forerunner" of Bookworm Boulevard. In the same post on the old blog, I talked about The Light by D.J. MacHale, so I'm going to share that one with you today. (Don't worry, these won't all be repostings of old stuff.)

What I Said: 
THE LIGHT was written by D. J. MacHale, who also wrote the wonderful sci-fi/fantasy/adventure Pendragon series. THE LIGHT was a really strange book that took me a little bit to get into, but in the end, I really enjoyed it and I'll definitely read the second one when it comes out.

The book is about Marshall ("Marsh") Seaver, a quiet boy with one real friend who lives alone with his father because his mom died. He's planning a wonderful summer vacation, but then two strange things happen: Marsh's best friend Cooper disappears, and the scary comic-book super-villain that Marsh has been doodling everywhere starts appearing in real life. When it starts becoming clear that the two occurrences are related, Marsh has to team up with Cooper's sister Sydney to find out what happened to his best friend and put a stop to Gravedigger (the super-villain)'s dangerous behaviors.

I can't count the number of times I said "This book is so weird" while I was reading it, but in the end, I did think it was a good book and it definitely kept me reading. THE LIGHT was full of mystery and creepiness and adventure, and Marsh is a pretty well-developed character. It plays with your mind and makes you want to find out what happens. There are definitely a few plot holes that need to be addressed and hopefully will be later in the series, but it's definitely worth reading. You can find out more about stuff at D. J. MacHale's website. 


The Light was a fun read and I will be looking for the sequel, The Black, in April. Apparently the sequel will be told from Cooper's POV, so that should be interesting. D. J. MacHale has some fun stuff - if you haven't read anything by him, definitely fix that. :)

Travel Notice!

This afternoon, I'm leaving for Orlando to attend the NCTE/ALAN annual convention with my dad (because he is awesome and brings me along to his English-teacher events). I'm incredibly excited about this trip. (Thank you, Daddy! ♥) The conference goes from Friday to Tuesday, at least the parts I'm there for, and then we'll be off to visit family until after Thanksgiving, so I'll be away for a while.

Hopefully I will have internet and so I will be able to continue posting, and I have a few posts already scheduled. However, just in case I don't manage to find a magical internet corner somewhere, I wanted to let you guys know where I'm going to be.

I'll tell you all about it, promise. And I'll take pictures.

Happy Thursday, Blogosphere.

Waiting on Wednesday: Burn Bright

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

This week, I'm waiting on Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres. The cover makes it look so delightfully dark and creepy (I don't read enough dark and creepy. I like dark and creepy), and the summary is just awesome. But don't take my word for it...here, cover and description:

Description from Goodreads:
In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .

Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom.

But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother.

When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?

Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness?

Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark.

*****

I just think this sounds like the kind of book that would draw me in and be so much fun to read. Possibly a do not read after dark book? Hm... Anyway, Burn Bright releases March 1, 2011, so I'll be looking for it then!

What are you waiting on this week? Leave a link in the comments and I'll come visit!

From Bad to Cursed

Katie Alender, author of Bad Girls Don't Die (which was delightfully creepy and also generally awesome), posted on her blog today a picture of the ARC and the jacket copy for the sequel, From Bad to Cursed.

She's trying not to spread the picture of the not-quite-final cover all over the internet, so I'll let you click here to see her original post with the picture and her comments, but I will post the jacket copy here:

From Bad to Cursed
Alexis is the last girl you’d expect to sell her soul. She already has everything she needs–an adorable boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and a little sister who’s finally recovering after being possessed by an evil spirit, then institutionalized.

Alexis is thrilled when her sister joins a club; new friends are just what Kasey needs. It’s strange, though, to see how fast the girls in The Sunshine Club go from dorky and antisocial to gorgeous and popular. Soon Alexis learns that the girls have pledged an oath to a seemingly benevolent spirit named Aralt. Worried that Kasey’s in over her head again, Alexis and her best friend Megan decide to investigate by joining the club themselves. At first, their connection with Aralt seems harmless. Alexis trades in her pink hair and punky clothes for a mainstream look, and quickly finds herself reveling in her newfound elegance and success.

Instead of fighting off the supernatural, Alexis can hardly remember why she joined in the first place. Surely it wasn’t to destroy Aralt…why would she hurt someone who has given her so much, and asked for so little in return?

I can't wait to read this! Also, if you go and look at the cover - isn't it awesome?

Review: Halo

Title: Halo
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 484
Series: Halo #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
From the book jacket: 
An angel is sent to earth on a mission. But falling in love is not part of the plan.


Three angels -- Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, the youngest and most human -- are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness. They work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all human attachments.


Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them. Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong.


The angels' mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her?

----------

I have to start off with a little bit of cover love. I absolutely adore this cover. I'm not sure what it is about it that makes it so amazing, but it is seriously one of the most gorgeous book covers I can think of. Beautiful.

And of course, it helps that the story inside is also wonderful. I love Bethany as a protagonist. She is so wonderful and relatable and she just feels so genuine, even though she's an angel. Also, if anyone is worried about this book getting "too preachy" since it's about angels...quit worrying. Yes, obviously talk about God is involved, it's about angels, but it's not trying to convince anyone to convert.

Anyway. Back to how Bethany is a fantastic protagonist, and Xavier is an excellent love interest. (He really is, and he's totally human and non-stalkerish, too. I want my own Xavier Woods.) And have I mentioned that Bethany is just a wonderful character? And Gabriel and Ivy are great too, and Molly, and Jake...Alexandra Adornetto does characters well. Very well.

And the plot was also quite awesome. There were some things that I definitely predicted, but other things that had me wondering, and it sucked me in - I needed to keep reading it until I finished. I also think it wrapped up this storyline nicely enough as a stand-alone but also set itself up well for a sequel (which, by the way, I am dying to read). There were moments where I couldn't help drawing some rather unfortunate parallels to my least favorite part of Twilight, but they were few and far between. And Bethany and Xavier are a much better couple than...well, actually, a better couple than a lot of YA couples.

In places, the writing was a little awkward, but those moments too were few and far between. I noticed them, but they didn't detract from my love of the story. And the characters. I swear, I could go on all day about how much I adore Bethany and Xavier (and Gabriel and Ivy), except that you'd all get bored and tell me to shut up.

To sum up: Do not hesitate. Go read Halo now. You won't regret it. :)

Title Code

Ally Carter posted on her blog yesterday the title to Heist Society #2. Well, sort of...

This post contains a code. Your mission: crack the code and figure out the title of the sequel to Heist Society. (If you haven't read Heist Society, I don't know what you're waiting for. It was an excellent book. You can see my review here.)

I solved it (it is an excellent title), and you can too! Good luck!

Books from Before

...before the blog, that is.

My reading time has been somewhat limited lately (oh my goodness, college applications and calculus are working together to eat my soul. Seriously), but there are so many wonderful books that I read before I started Bookworm Boulevard that I haven't been able to post about! So today (and this may possibly become a regular feature), I'm going to tell you about one of these lovely Books from Before.

Today I shall be telling you about the wonderfulness that is Jaclyn Dolamore's Magic Under Glass. I actually posted a little about this on a short-lived, private blog over the summer about a month before I realized that a full-on book blog was an option, so I'm just going to share with you the Goodreads description of the book and my writing about it from before:

From Goodreads:
Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir. 

Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

From Becky:
[MAGIC UNDER GLASS by Jaclyn Dolamore] was such a good book. Beautifully written, like Jane Austen infused with sorcery, and it's so poetic and magical and it's a wonderful love story and it's so great.

Nimira is a dancing girl in a poor city, seeking her fortunes after her father's fall from grace. She gets the opportunity to go live with and work for a sorcerer, Mr. Hollin Parry, and sing with his automaton. But the automaton is more alive than anyone realizes, and Nimira may be the only one who can save him. MAGIC UNDER GLASS is a beautiful love story about a girl torn between "a man she does not love and a man she cannot have" (from the jacket cover) and it was so good and so sweet and oh my goodness everyone should read it because it was fantastic.

You can find out more about the author and the book at Jaclyn Dolamore's website. There is a sequel in the works, MAGIC UNDER STONE, but there isn't a release date available yet. Definitely read this book, you guys, it was awesome.


And I can now edit this to say that she also has another book coming out before Magic Under Stone, entitled Between the Sea and Sky, which I posted about for WoW a while ago.


If you haven't read Magic Under Glass, definitely give it a try. It is beautiful and excellent and made of awesome.