Am so slow! Sorry, but I only just saw this a few days ago so... yeah...
Yes! The US cover of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS has been revealed and, as most of you know, the author John Green is signing EVERY BOOK in the first print run (preordered mine. BRING ON JANUARY!)
So, what do you guys think? I know that there's a split in NerdFighteria over this cover and I am not going to help much with my opinion. So, here goes. I am in the middle. I like the colours - the blue is striking and I love how simple it is! But, it's kinda too simple. I think this is because so many people did mock-up (at John Green's request) of what The Fault In Our Stars cover was going to be that this has kinda come out of nowhere. And some of the fan covers were awesome!
Also, for quite some time, I thought this was actually going to be cover and John asked us to create cover designs, just to mess with our heads.
But what do you think of the real cover for Fault in Our Stars? I would really like to know. And DFTBA!
PS - on the VlogBrothers youTube channel, John read the first chapter of The Fault of Our Stars. If, like me, don't want to hear it, DON'T CLICK PLAY! If you do, GO FOR IT!
I gonna tell you something: I'm not a big fan of zombies. Seriously, zombies kinda freak me out. I don't like zombie films and TV shows, videogames scare me and when people ask why I don't like zombies, my answer is usually "Well, they're dead! There's nothing really exciting about that." So, when Non from Catnip asked if I wanted to read this, I was in two minds for quite some time over it. But after having a on-off chats with the author, Christopher Edge, on Twitter, I decide to attempt to read it.
The UK government have a plan to benefit future generation of pollution and stop congestion on the UK busiest motorways. The Greening of the Roads scheme is the removal of these roads and replaced by fast-speed train. But since the project started, stranger things have begin to happen. Mist and ghostly apparitions appear out of the nowhere and effect only the motorway.
So, when Scott Williams, son of Alex Williams, civil servant to the Department of Transport, is nearly kidnapped and, six months later, discovered his father dead, he knows something is terrible wrong. And when Detective Inspector Jason Dyer is assigned to the case, both slowly discover that there's a conspiracy going on. But what on earth is the Dead Ways? And how is that connected to the Greening of the Roads scheme?
The Dead Ways is a fast read because it is so short compared to other books I read (and I was reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare at the same time) as this was under 200 pages long. And it was fast-paced and, seeing as I do like crime thrillers, this suits me to the ground as, most of the story, there was a dark thriller edge to the story so when things did begin to happen, it was a creepy moments in the story (let's not talk about what happened at the Royal Alexandra Hospital's Mortuary as that one scene really creeped me out and I would LOVE to see on TV - Oh yes, I think this would be a brilliant BBC One family show on Saturdays at the Doctor Who & Merlin timeslot!) and they fit the story.
There was one or two things that bothered me about The Dead Ways. The first is that, there were times that I felt that the story lacked substance. And there was times that I put the book down, I had to make myself pick the book up (but as I was reading Clockwork Angel at the same time [part of a Read-A-Long I'm taking part in], this could be the reason).
But The Dead Ways is an interesting supernatural thriller and I will be intrigued on what will happen next in this trilogy. And I might not be able to look at flowers on the side of the roads in the same way again... Thanks, Christopher.
(As I was reading Clockwork Angel at the same time, thinking of what song fitted this book was quite hard. But I heard this after I finished the novel[thanks Michelle Zink!] and it seems to fit the tone. The creepiness of it all! I hope you all enjoy!)
Mira Ink have revealed an EXCLUSIVE animated cover for the fourth book in the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, MY SOUL TO STEAL. This make Mira Ink "first YA publishers to create an animated book jacket for one of their titles", and that makes this kinda cool!
And it is! I love it! It's a really cool idea!
Now, also, there is a small competition running on Mira Ink for ten lucky people to win a copy of My Soul To Steal. Now, if you want to win a copy, you have to go to Mira Ink's Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/miraink - and comment on the picture of the My Soul To Steal cover. YOU HAVE TO COMMENT, no liking the picture! After that, Mira Ink will select the winners! Good luck!
Yesterday, Liongate revealed, from several different online locations, character posters for The Hunger Games. It was simple, yet effective posters. And, the lovely people at Hypable, got them all together and here they are...
And here is the only poster, where the character is looking to the right. Well, with the lead being Katniss, THEY HAD TO!!!
I really like them, much to my surprise. I'm still not 100% certain on Lenny Kravitz being Cinna (he's my fave character hence my resistance to him), but I love Rue's poster (it's perfect and heartbreaking) and whenever I look at Effie's poster, I feel the urge to laugh. It's tacky and it's perfect for her! Still not sure about Cato's poster (as I can't remember his character) but I thought we would see President Snow or Foxface. Now, that would be interesting to see...
Also, reported from Hypable, the real name of Foxface will be revealed in the movie! The actress playing Foxface, Jackie Emerson, revealed that the film will reveal her character's name as Suzanne Collins was heavily involved in the script writing process. She even, to my knowledge, wrote the first draft of the movie.
But what are you guys think of the posters and the news of Foxface's real name being revealed?
This was a random purchase as I kept listening to the 30 seconds teaser on iTunes for this and Sarah Millican’s Support Group (which came from this “pilot”, and I use that term loosely) and I found both the teasers funny. Also, I saw her on TV shows and I found myself laughing my head off so I felt I had to purchase this (and after listening to the first hour of Vampire Academy, which has a HORRIBLE READER and I can’t face listening to her, I needed something light!).
Originally aired on BBC Radio 4, Sarah Millican chats about her divorce and, how when this happened, her finding a councillor. Well, two. The first was shocking and the second who Sarah just clicked with. And with, she created a character called Jean, a relationship “...who is so good that most people don't come back after one appointment with her.” During her annual appraisal, Jean discusses her clients, her husband and the importance of pictures from Google of animals wearing clothes...
It’s a short, but quite funny half an hour, though there are moments where you do go “ah. This does feel like a pilot episode” as there are times you do feel out of sync with it. I have listened to the first series of Sarah Millican’s Support Group (am writing the review) and I feel that this is for the die-hard fans. If you’re a casual fan or curious, just go for the series.
Now, to get you through this lack of review (and seeing as this was mention on several occasions), I hope these pics help you smile...
As you guys know, I loved Die For Me. It made me realise how much I REALLY WANT TO GO TO PARIS! I still want to go, and am planning to in the next few years!
Reason for post, Amy Plum, author the Revenants trilogy, has revealed the cover for the second book, Until I Die. And here it is:
Do you guys like it? I really like it. I might like it a tad more than the Die For Me cover, but that had the Eiffel Tower so it has more brownie points. And I am a sucker for red, blue and purple so it's a draw.
Now, this is the UK cover so no news on the US cover as of the moment, but remember, the US publisher changed the cover at the last minute so they had the UK cover. But I am excited to see the cover and I will be waiting (impatiently) for this book (but I have to wait till MAY 2012! So far away!!!)
And we didn't wait long for information. Yesterday, Mundie Moms revealed the Until I Die synopsis. And it makes for intriguing reading...
Kate has chosen to leave the comfort and safety of her human world in order to join Vincent in the dangerous supernatural universe he inhabits. For his part, he has sworn to go against his very nature and resist the repeated deaths that are his fate as a revenant—even though it will bring him immeasurable suffering.
Heady with romance and rife with danger, the second book of the DIE FOR ME trilogy follows Vincent and Kate as they search—separately—for a solution to their plight, pursuing their quest from the glamorous streets of Paris to the city’s squalid underbelly. Although the experiment that Vincent attempts is progressively destroying him, he insists on seeing it through to the end. This prompts Kate to strike out on her own into the dangerous world of the revenants to find another way. But she unwittingly puts everyone she loves at risk when she discovers a family of ancient healers who hold the key to a secret that could help the bardia—the good revenants—overthrow their murderous enemies, the numa, forever.
And while the lovers search for something they have little chance of finding, a new threat arises among the numa. Kate finds herself in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, not as a bystander...but as a target.
I discovered Myra McEntire via Twitter (again!) and after getting excited over hearing it tackles time-travel (or time-slip), I ordered it from the states (the wonders of Book Depository, as this book hasn't got a UK publisher) and waited till I found time to read it. And before long, I thought "Am reading this now!"
Emerson is seeing people who aren't there. Swooning Southern belles. Soldiers long forgotten. A jazz trio playing on a piano. Unsure what they are, she tries to cope the best she can. All she wants is to be normal. To forget that she was sectioned due to depression (caused by her parents' death) and just cope with life the best she can. So when her brother tries one last time with a consultant, Emerson decides to give it one more try.
She didn't expect her consultant to be Michael from the mysterious Hourglass. He's a year or two older than her, and seems to believe every word she says. And when they touch, sparks seem to fly. Literally.
So, why is this happen? And why does Michael believe her?
Now, this is a very different read for me. I'm not to describe this as a thriller/mystery or a time-slip novel as this fit in both. A thriller/mystery as the story adds questions and twists so you never know where you were going and when you did think you got what was going on, the rug gets pulled from under you. But then, as you have a time-slip, when the twists came, you were thrown as you never saw them coming. Hell, you never knew that the ideas could exist and then, Myra would explain it in such a way, you go "Oh. Okay. That makes sense." and you continue without questioning it.
Now, I would like to chat about the relationship between Emerson and Michael. But I won't. Nor will I touch on Caleb (says nothing), but I do want to write quickly about Emerson. She is kick-ass. Her humour took some getting use to, but she is one kick-ass female lead. In one of my fave scene, she threw Michael over her shoulder - and it was a proper karate move. And she didn't just do that move for the first time. She has been taught (and is a brown belt, if I remember correctly). What I'm trying to say is, even though things are happening to Emerson that are out of her control, she isn't waiting for someone to save her. She's saving herself and others around her.
I found Hourglass an interesting and a quite original debut novel and I'm sure there will be a sequel (there BETTER be! [EDIT: There will be. And it's called TIMEPIECE]), so hopefully, by then, Myra McEntire will have a UK publisher...
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And now, for book trailer and my song choices. ENJOY!
