Month: June 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (55) – The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf5 Comments
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Rae Carson
Publisher: HarperCollins
To be released: September 20, 2011
Summary (from Goodreads):
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.
I really cannot wait to read this book. It sounds very interesting and I love fantasy novels like this. I cannot wait for September to read!!
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event highlighting exciting upcoming releases. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf3 Comments

Angel Burn

L.A. Weatherly
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Series or Standalone: Angel Trilogy #1
ISBN: 0763656526
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 464
Source: BEA
Websites:
L.A. Weatherly – Author Site
L.A. Weatherly – Twitter
L.A. Weatherly – Book Site (UK)
Rating: 3 Stars
Angel Burnoffers a new take on the ever-popular angels. This is not your typically angel book in any way. L.A. Weatherly has created a new type of angel, one that is not benevolent, kind or angelic, which provides the basis for a good read.
I liked Angel Burn. It was not the stereotypical angel book, which made me enjoy this book a lot more. The angels in this book are down right frightening. One my level of scary angels, they are just below the weeping angels from Doctor Who. Weatherly has created a world based off these frightening angels. The angels are not nice at all, they feed off of humans leaving them with angel burn and it basically destroys the human’s life. I loved the whole aspect of the Church of Angel. The angels are disguised as humans and gain a human following, but the humans have no idea the effect the angels are having on them. The Church of Angels seemed like a cult, and was seemed like a frightening place to be if you know what those angels were doing. The angels that Weatherly created made me really like this book. The books stand-out from all the other angel books.
I really liked the shifting point of views. The story was told from first person from Willow but also let the read see the point of view of Alex and even the angels at times. The different perspectives worked really well into building the story. I also really liked that both Willow and Alex had very strong, distinctive voices.
However, I felt the pacing on this book was a bit off. I wish at parts that the pacing was slower and at other parts that it was faster. Also, there was bit too much of instant-love for me that made me really wish Alex and Willow’s relationship was slowed down a lot. The action at the end happened very quickly and left me a bit confused as to what happened that I need to reread a few pages to figure it out. There needed to be a better balance with the pacing of this book.
Overall, I enjoyed Angel Burn. The angels that Weatherly has created are awesome and they make the book for me. I’m interested to see where the next book in the series takes us and to learn more about the angels.

Blogoversary Giveaway: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf2 Comments
UPDATE: Giveaway is closed. 

And the final blogoversary giveaway is an ARC of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. I accidentally ended up with two copies of this book because I got one at BEA and then one at the Scholastic event so I am going to give one of my copies away. Fill out the form below to be entered to win.

Contest runs until midnight on July 1, 2011. Open INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person. Multiple entries will be deleted.

Waiting on Wednesday (54) – Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf2 Comments
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick
Joe Schreiber
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children           
To be released: October 24, 2011
Summary (from Goodreads):
Perry Stormaire is a normal high school senior– he is busy applying to college and rehearsing with his band –until he agrees to go to the prom with the Lithuanian exchange student who is staying with his family. It turns out that Gobi Zaksauskas is not the mousy teenager that she seems but rather an attractive, confident trained assassin. Instead of going to the prom, Perry finds himself on a wild ride through the streets of New York City as Gobi commandeers the Jaguar his father lent him for the prom in order to take out her targets. Perry learns a lot about himself – and ends up with some amazing material for his college application essays.
I first heard about this book from a friend at BEA. It sounds like a really good funny read. Cannot wait to read it.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event highlighting exciting upcoming releases. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Blogoversary Giveaway: Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf4 Comments
UPDATE: Contest is now closed.

Today’s blogoversary giveaway features one of my favorite books from 2010 Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken. I am giving away a signed paperback of this book. Just fill out the form below to be entered to win.

Contest runs until midnight on June 27, 2011. Open for residents of the US only. One entry per person, multiple entries will be deleted.