Pretty Cover Alert

As you guys know, I love Lisa McMann and I ADORE Kimberly Derting. And yes, I discovered that both authors revealed the covers (and in Kimberly's case, the title of the third Body Finder novel) for their novels, DEAD TO YOU & THE LAST ECHO!

Now, I am very excited. So, let me show you the lush covers and the blurb for them. Ready?


DEAD TO YOU: Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...
Blurb Taken from Goodreads


THE LAST ECHO: Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet’s talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it’s Violet’s job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by “the girlfriend collector” she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new “relationship” and Violet may have caught his eye....
Blurb Taken from Kimberly Derting's Website

What do you guys think? I LOVE BOTH OF THEM! I can't wait to get my hands on these! Now, I know that Headline are the UK publishers of Kimberly Derting's novels so they SHOULD publish THE LAST ECHO & her stand-alone novel THE PLEDGE *fingers crossed*. As for DEAD TO YOU, I LOVE this cover so will have to get the US edition.

But what do you think?

GoodRead - Cryer's Cross/The Missing

As you guys knows, I really like Lisa McMann's Wake trilogy so when news hit me that her stand alone novel - Cryer's Cross - was getting published in the UK (under the new title of The Missing), I got excited then worried. Will it live up to the Wake hyper? And for quite some time, I was wondering if I should even buy it? And then, Tescos started selling copies SEVERAL MONTHS EARLY - and I couldn't resist.

So, the story. The small town of Cryer's Cross is shocked when a girl called Tiffany vanishes without a trace. Kendall didn't know Tiffany well, but her disappearance upsets her OCD. Months slowly pass and life returns to normal. And then Kendall's maybe boyfriend, Nico, vanishes in exactly the same way as Tiffany. The town is thrown into shock as is Kendall. With the town in a state of fear, Kendall's OCD makes a connection bewteen the disappearances: both Tiffany and Nico sat at the same desk. And then the messages start. Is Kendall slowly losing her mind to her OCD and grief? Or is something more sinister and frightening happening in Cryer's Cross?

If you look for secrets in the small town, you'll find huge and terrible secrets...

Now, let's get this straight. As I have said in a previous blog, I don't like the UK title of The Missing. I much prefer the title Cryer's Cross. And though I don't exactly like the UK cover (the US cover is CREEPY AS HELL!), the cover has slowly grown on me. I can now accept it, though I still don't like it.

And before you say it, you guys are right. NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!

So, the story itself. I really like it. It is a perfect book to come out after Wake. It has the same levels of story telling and characters you can relate to. And yet, it feels different.

Maybe it's because of the main character, Kendall. She's a character that I really liked and it was interesting to read a character who has OCD. I have never read a book where this issue had been tackled and yet, isn't the main issue of the story. The main issue was the disappearances, but the OCD was there and didn't feel like Lisa decided halfway through the story to have a book about OCD and just threw it in. It felt like Lisa took great care in tackling this issue (in one interview, Lisa said her daughter suffers from OCD and she just wanted to tackle this issue) and it shows.

Also, there were little paragraphs in the book entitled WE. And... THEY WERE CREEPY! Seriously. They were just creepy! And once you figure out why, it makes those paragraphs more creepier!

One thing I wanted to talk to you about which I think Lisa did perfectly in this book: the not knowing. These character suffer the shock of the disappearances, but it's not the not knowing that is far worse. The not knowing if they were alive or dead, and then you see the world/life is still going on yet your stuck in this limbo.

So, if you're a fan of Wake, you will be thrilled to read Cryer's Cross or The Missing.

*

Now, here is all the trailer, interviews and the song I listened to at one point in my reading blitz (blame Grey's Anatomy again...)

GoodRead - UK Cover vs US Cover

As some of you know if you go back through my blog, I read the WAKE trilogy by Lisa McMann. Loved that trilogy, even though I have seen other people's reaction to the final book in the trilogy - GONE - got very mixed reactions.

And now, in the USA, Lisa's new novel has hit bookshelves. It's called CRYER'S CROSS. But, when it hits the UK in the summer (Lisa McMann tweeted me that it was Summer, not March as was first told), it will have a title changed called THE MISSING (no idea why. I tweeted Lisa [@lisa_mcmann] to ask if she knew why and she said the UK publisher decided to.)

Anyhow, let's compare the covers. Let's start with the US version with the true title, CRYER'S CROSS...



And now, to the UK cover with the new title, THE MISSING...



Ok, before I go anyway, I must state one thing first: I HATE THE TITLE CHANGE! I prefer CRYER'S CROSS to THE MISSING! To me, CRYER'S CROSS just sounds darker and creepier than THE MISSING.

Now, the covers... am torn. Don't get me wrong. I really like the US cover. It's dark and edgy and there is a "READ ME NOW!" vibe to it. But it's very similar to the WAKE trilogy covers and I worry that people will look at it and go "Oh. It's another WAKE book." It's not. From what I've read on reviews and heard on audiobook teasers, it's nothing like WAKE.

However, I do like the UK cover. It's very art-like. And, from what I've read in reviews, the girl on the UK cover looks like the main character in this book, Kendall. But, as I haven't read the story, I have no idea if she does look like Kendall or not.

But, out of the two, I prefer the US cover. It's just creepy. Plus, it will go with the rest of the WAKE trilogy I have. So, yeah, selfish-ish reason. But what do you guys think? Do you prefer the US cover over the UK? And how do you feel about the titles? LET ME KNOW!

Also, here are some videos about Cryer's Cross and Lisa chatting about the book. Enjoy!

Lisa McMann's New Book - *tad excited*

Okay, I kinda love Lisa McMann's WAKE trilogy (only just hitting the UK shores, but it's completely out in the USA). So am very surprised and shocked over the reveal of her new novel. Surprised because it sounds so good! My type of read. And shocked because I totally missed it!

Lisa's new novel is called Cryer's Cross and this is what Lisa has revealed to us.

The small town of Cryer's Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

When a second student goes missing - someone close to Kendall's heart - the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall¹s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school - messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there - Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

Something's not right in Cryer’s Cross - and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

This book will be released in the US on 8th February 2011. Oh, my reading for next year's already started. That's not a good sign...

Wake: The Movie - Starring Miley Cyrus?

Now, I love news of books I’ve read and really like being turned into films (Harry Potter, Twilight, Shiver, Mortal Instruments, Hunger Games among others!). Now, another book series is added to the list – WAKE by Lisa McMann.

For those of you who don’t know the trilogy (complete in the US, only recently hit UK shores), the main character, Janie, can enter people’s dreams. And it’s not as cool as I’ve made out. She has no choice in the matter – if you fall asleep, so will she. And, because of this, she knows things about her friends (and enemies) that she rather not know. Then, one day, she enters a nightmare so terrifying, that she soon realise that she’s taking part in the nightmare…

Okay, I admit, I’m not a huge lover of the series, but I like them. A lot! It’s urban paranormal that’s true to the characters (and there’s no vampires! An antidote for all the vamp-fic out there!), so when news that MTV Films & Paramount have bought the film rights to the while Trilogy, I was a bit “Oh cool! How are they going to do the dreams? Some of them are very explicit. That’s going to be interesting to see.”

Then, I read the article more and my heart sunk. Why?

Miley Cyrus is considering taking the lead role of Janie.

Okay, I’m going to say this now. I’m not a great Miley fan. But she isn’t Janie. I don’t think she could pull the edginess or the toughness Janie needs. I mean, Janie’s mother is an alcoholic and, while we see more of this and why she is in GONE (the final book in the trilogy), Janie has to deal with being her mother’s carer and I don’t want the film to shy away from that. Plus, Janie sees some horrible things in her dreams – ranging from sexuality and self image worries to nudity and abuse – and I worry that if Miley does take the role on, she won’t be able to pull it off.

And FADE! There’s a scene in FADE (second book in the trilogy) that is horrible! (If you read the book, you would know what scene I am talking about!) And if the films are going to be three films and not one film put together, how is she going to pull that scene off?

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she would get the emotion that Janie needs (I have been wrong about actors before) but that’s my main fear. I don’t want Miley to be given the role for her name alone – I want her to ACT!

Sorry, that’s my tiny rant over this. If she is in the film or not, I will probably want to see it.

*

Oh, one other thing. If she’s starring in the film, that means Miley has veto-ed her right to be on the soundtrack. Sorry, one or the other – not both!

And speaking of the soundtrack – Okay, am going to stop now! Expect for patchwork quilt. I want the soundtrack to be like a patchwork quilt. Like Juno’s, in a sense. But not quite.

Okay, now am ending this! Laters!

http://lisamcmann.blogspot.com/2010/06/rumors-are-true-wake-movie-news.html

http://riskybusiness.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/06/16/miley-cyrus-attends-wake-at-paramount-exclusive

Reviews of the WAKE trilogy are here (for WAKE and FADE) & here (for GONE).

GoodRead - "Gone" by Lisa McMann

I have to be honest: This book was meant to be my holiday read. But, I read the back once I got it in the post and after than... I couldn't stop myself! I HAD to read it!

So, because FADE (book 2 in the trilogy) isn't published in the UK Yet - April 2010, I think - I will be vague on the plot.

After the shocking event of FADE, Janie is stuck in the middle of a horrible situation. A situation that not even her beloved Cabel can solve.

But Janie's world is turned upside-down by a mysterious man and she mas to make a decision, both as bad as the other.

What will Janie choose? And once she chose it, will she stick to it?

Out of the trilogy, GONE is the most human and while I know there will be some readers will find it a bit of a let down, I liked it. I didn't love it, but it gave the trilogy a satisfying ending. Now, I'm not going to tell you if it all ends happily ever after or not, but Lisa McMann stays true to her characters and, for that, I thank her because I loved spending time with Janie, Cabel and the Captain.

Now, I know the trilogy had ended, but if Lisa McMann writes another book linked to the trilogy (maybe from Cabel's Point of View) or a new story, I will be happily waiting to get my hands on it when released in the UK. If not, thank you Internet!

GoodRead - UK Cover Vs US Cover

After me doing "UK Cover Vs US Cover" on Trudi Canavan's "Priestess of the White" where you guys agreed with me that the UK cover is better than the US Cover), I wanted to do this again with other cover.

I sense this will become a regular thing with me.

This time, I decided to do Lisa McMann's "Wake".

Now, this is the UK cover:



And this is the US cover:



So, what cover do you prefer? I prefer the US cover, shockingly! The UK cover seems very childish whereas the US cover seems dark and leaves more to the imagination...

But what do you think? The UK cover of "Wake" or the US cover?

(I did review this book earlier on in the blog. If you want to read it, click here!)

GoodRead - "Wake" & "Fade" by Lisa McMann Book Review

Janie has a small problem. She enters other people’s dreams. She can’t stop it – whenever someone falls a sleep in a room, she gets sucked into it. She has entered every dream you can think of: the being naked in front of the class dream, the falling dreams, the sex dreams… But then she enters a dream that scares her. A dream where she’s not just the observer, but she’s actually involved in…

And that how the first book, Wake, in the Wake Trilogy by Lisa McMann starts. Janie trying to figure out how to handle her falling into dreams and then, later, how to use her entering other people’s dreams to her advance. All of this, while getting closer to Cabel who, for a reason she can’t understand, seems to care about her…

The first two books in the trilogy, Wake and Fade, have been released in the US for quite some time and they are (FINALLY) hitting the UK. Wake will be published at the end of October and Fade will be published sometime in April 2010. But, in the USA, they will already have the third book in the trilogy, Gone, as it will be released in February 2010.

I discovered this author and her books via a Twitter friend of mine (like most books of late – eyes Maureen Johnson, Maggie Stiefvater among others!) and I sped through this book, ordering them from a UK store that got US copies so no waiting, and then sped through them.

No kidding here, these books are fast reads. You can easily read these in one sitting, and at the end of each book, you feel the need to grab the next book.

Also, a great thing about these books is the fact that it’s doesn’t fit in one genre. They easily fit into several, and that’s great! If you don’t like the supernatural element to the story, then there’s the romance element or the crime element to keep you interested.

And then, you have to include the shock factor which Lisa has buckets of. She dares to use language and write scenes that most authors would shy away from. I mean, I dare you to read the last 100 pages of Fade and not be shocked!

Now, I know that there will be some people who, when reading these books, will strongly dislike the language used, the boldness of the scenes or may find the fact that she write in the Present Tense (that took some getting use to. I find it very confusing at the start of Wake!), but I do really enjoy this trilogy. I wish that the books were longer and I hunger for Gone. But, at the same time, when I start reading Gone (will is on my list of “Books I Must Get in 2010”), I know that I won’t want Gone to finish. I won’t want Gone to be… well, gone.