Magic Under Glass

Title: Magic Under Glass

Author: Jaclyn Dolamore

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: December 22, 2009

Received From:  AWT (Around the World Tours)

Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for mere pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the cover of this book, but Bloomsbury has recently made a new cover for it, which is the cover that I am using for this review, I have to say that I like this cover much better than the previous, and I think it fits the book better.

This book had a really great premise, I mean an enchanted automaton? I have never heard of a book with that idea! And the characters were really believe! I fell in love with Namira and Erris. The plot was gripping and i fell into it. Dolamore's writing was exquisite, her ability to pull me into the novel was really nice and I cannot wait for more from her!

Some problems I had with the book, was that I felt that the ending was not resolved well enough, and  the ending seemed a bit disconnected, like there should be a sequel or something of that nature.

Besides that I enjoyed this novel, and cannot wait (hopefully) for the next book and more from Dolamore!

4/5

Wherever Nina Lies Contest!

You have the chance to win one of three paperback copies of Wherever Nina lies by Lynn Weingarten! I really enjoyed this book, and my review will be posted soon.Visit the book's site for more info!
http://www.thisispoint.com/books/whereverninalies.asp   

About the book:

Nina was beautiful, wild, and adored by her younger sister, Ellie. But, one day, Nina disappeared. Two years later, everyone has given up home that Nina will return, but Ellie knows her sister is out there. If only Ellie had a clue where to look. Then she gets one, in the form of a mysterious drawing. Determined to find Nina, Ellie takes off on a crazy, sexy, cross-country road trip with the only person who believes she’s got a chance—her hot, adventurous new crush. Along the way, Ellie finds a few things she wasn’t planning on. Like love. Lies. And the most shocking thing of all: the truth.

About the Author:
Lynn Weingarten spends a lot of time writing in coffee shops while occasionally reading strangers’ laptops over their shoulders. In the past she has been a book editor, a barista, a counter girl at a bakery in Ireland , a waitress at a bar, and a seller of tiny homemade clay animals. She lives in New York City . Wherever Nina Lies was her first novel. Please visit her online at www.lynnweingarten.com. 

Fill out the form to enter!




Sorry USA addresses only
Contest Ends March 12 at 4:00 Central Time

Dark Divine Nail Polish!!

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain has a beautiful cover!!!
Do you want nails like the cover model? Well you can! They have made a nail polish to match the cover!! I think this is such a great idea, so of course you can win one of four bottles of nail polish!
All you have to do is either write a short story about forgiveness or a short story about a time it was hard for you to forgive! I will be choosing my two favorite stories from each category to win a bottle of nail polish. So make sure to enter!!! You can enter both of them to increase your chances of winning. The reason the stories need to be about forgiveness is because forgiveness is a big part of The Dark Divine!

Rules:

Must write a short story about forgiveness, or about a time where it was hard for you to forgive!

(does not have to be very long!)

Open Internationally 

Must be 13 or older 

Must give me a way to contact you in the comment. If you don't feel comfortable email your entry to me @ a_readers_adventure@yahoo.com

Contest ends March 24 at 4:00 Central Time

Good Luck!!!!

O, Juliet

Title: O, Juliet

Author: Robin Maxwell

Publisher: New American Library

Release Date: February 2, 2010

Received From:  Publisher/Author


Before Juliet Capelletti lie two futures: a traditionally loveless marriage to her father's business partner, or the fulfillment of her poetic dreams, inspired by the great Dante. Unlike her beloved friend Lucrezia, who looks forward to her arranged marriage, Juliet has a wild, romantic imagination that knows not the bounds of her great family's stalwart keep.


The latter path is hers for the taking when Juliet meets Romeo Monticecco, a soulful young man seeking peace between their warring families. A dreamer himself, Romeo is unstoppable, once he determines to capture the heart of the remarkable woman foretold in his stars. The breathless intrigue that ensues is the stuff of beloved legend. But those familiar with Shakespeare's muse know only half the story...

I have always loved historical fiction! I don't know what it is about it, but I love it! Even though Romeo and Juliet was never my favorite I was excited to see a different interpretation of the story. This was my first Robin Maxwell book, but with her power of storytelling, I will definitely be picking up some more of her books.


I really enjoyed seeing into Romeo and Juliet's heads, it made the personal story even more personal. Even though the story takes place in a different time and place, then in the original, I felt that the story did not suffer at all from the setting change. I liked that Juliet was treated like an individual person, not just always connected to Romeo, like in some other interpretations.

I really enjoyed how I felt so much more for Romeo and Juliet in this version because their story was more real to me, which I really appreciated. Even though I obviously knew the ending I was heartbroken when it happened which is a testament to Maxwell's talent.

The only problem I had with this book was I felt that parts of it were kind of boring, and even though I know some of it was necessary, I was bored for a little while in the middle of the book, but the characters really got me through it!

Overall a good historical retelling!

Visit Robin Maxwell's Website

4/5

Spell Hunter

Title: Spell Hunter (Faery Rebels #1)

Author: R.J. Anderson

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

Release Date: April 28, 2009

Received From:  Library
(Summary from Goodreads)

Forget everything you think you know about faeries. . . .
Creatures full of magic and whimsy?
Not in the Oakenwyld. Not anymore.

Deep inside the great Oak lies a dying faery realm, bursting with secrets instead of magic. Long ago the faeries mysteriously lost their magic. Robbed of their powers, they have become selfish and dull-witted. Now their numbers are dwindling and their very survival is at stake.
Only one young faery—Knife—is determined to find out where her people's magic has gone and try to get it back. Unlike her sisters, Knife is fierce and independent. She's not afraid of anything—not the vicious crows, the strict Faery Queen, or the fascinating humans living nearby. But when Knife disobeys the Faery Queen and befriends a human named Paul, her quest becomes more dangerous than she realizes. Can Knife trust Paul to help, or has she brought the faeries even closer to the brink of destruction?

Spell Hunter was an interesting detour from the normal fae books, which was really refreshing. While I could definitely tell this was a MG book, it was pretty captivating.

I wish Anderson would have gone into greater detail about the reason the magic was gone. I was really expecting more from this book, so I was slightly disappointed, She did not really go indepth into the storyline, just skimmed the surface.

But Knife was a really fun character and her relationship with Paul was really cool, I enjoyed her take-charge, no holds-barred spirit, which I think really needs to be instilled in young girls.

While I was expecting more from this book, it was pretty good, the characters were cool and different.

Adventuring Tip: A quick, light, ok read.

3/5

Amazing Linger Contest!!!!!

You guys know how much I loved Shiver, so I was so excited to find this amazing contest on my reader!!! Enter!



In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

IMM 7

Have a great Valentines day everyone!!

IMM 7

Yes I do these very sporadically but oh well.

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and is inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie!

(Links go to Goodreads)
Bought (from Book Depository)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Fire by Kristin Cashore

From ARC tour (Around the World Tours)

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

A pretty good week! I was really excited to get my Book Depository Order!

What did you get in your mailbox?

Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study

Title: Poison Study, Magic Study, & Fire Study

Author:  Maria V. Snyder

Publisher: Luna

Release Date: Various

Received From:  Library


This is the synopsis from the first book as not to give anything away:
Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear…

I really enjoyed this series, I decided to do one review for them all because I felt there was not enough to say to fill three reviews, also I wanted to give as little away as possible.

I'd have to say my favorite book in this series was Poison Study, there was so much intrigue, and interest, i really liked the idea of Ixian tradition and the storyline that, that brought. I enjoyed the fast paced manner of this one better than in the other two books.

While Poison Study was my favorite I really enjoyed Magic, and Fire Study as well, while there was too much traveling for me in these books, I loved the new aspect of romance, and the more political sense that they had.

Overall this series was good, but the last two kind of left me wishing for less traveling. I loved Yelena and Valek, as well as all the other characters in these books!

(One thing about the covers, is while they are beautiful they are white-washed, Yelena is a POC  and that fact is very important in these books, especially the last two. I just wanted to draw your attention to that fact.)

Overall for the series: 4.5
Poison Study: 5/5
Magic Study: 4.5/5
Fire Study: 4/5

A Match Made In High School (Repost)

Title: A Match Made In High School

Author:  Kristin Walker

Publisher:  Razorbill

Release Date:  February 4, 2010

Received From:  Around the World Tours


When the principal announces that every senior must participate in a mandatory year-long Marriage Education program, Fiona Sheehan believes that her life can’t get any worse. Then she marries her “husband”: Jerky jock Todd, whose cheerleader girlfriend, Amanda, has had it in for Fiona since day one of second grade. Even worse? Amanda is paired with Fiona’s long-term crush, Gabe. At least Fiona is doing better than her best friend, Marcie, who is paired up with the very quiet, very mysterious Johnny Mercer. Pranks, fights, misunderstandings, and reconciliations ensue in an almost Shakespearean comedy of errors about mistaken first impressions, convoluted coupling, and hidden crushes.

Oh my gosh this book was hilarious! Warning don't read in public or everyone will think you are insane. The banter that goes on in between Fiona and Todd, is so funny.

Besides that this book was really good, the characters were all very different and had their own distinct personalities, the plot was interesting while somewhat predictable, there were some parts that I was definitely not expecting. I really appreciated the message that was portrayed in this book, while not being too pushy.

Again this book was hilarious and dealt with some real life issues that really make the story relate-able, I mean who hasn't been stuck with an unwanted project partner? This is a great Debut and I cannot wait for more from this talented author! And the cover is beautiful!

5/5

Happy Debut day!

Today is the release day of A Match Made in High School! If you read my review you know how much I enjoyed that book, so I am wishing Kristin Walker a great Debut Day! My review will be re-posted later today! Happy debut day Kristin!!!! Check out this fabulous book, out today!

Added later * It is also Suzanne Young's Debut Day as well! Her great novel The Naughty List Debuts today! I wish both of you a great day!

The Mark

Title:  The Mark

Author: Jen Nadol

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: January 19, 2010

Received From: First Reads Contest


Cassandra Renfield has always seen the mark—a glow around certain people reminiscent of candlelight. But the one time she mentioned it, it was dismissed as a trick of the light. Until the day she watches a man awash in the mark die. After searching her memories, Cassie realizes she can see a person’s imminent death. Not how or where, only when: today.

Armed with a vague understanding of the light, Cassie begins to explore her “gift,” seeking those marked for death and probing the line between decision and destiny. Though she’s careful to hide her secret—even from her new philosophy-obsessed boyfriend—with each impending death comes the temptation to test fate. But so many questions remain. How does the mark work? Why is she the only one who sees it? And finally, the most important of all: If you know today is someone’s last, should you tell them?

This was a very interesting premise, I have never read a book with this topic, it was very poignant, and made me think hard about what I would do in Cassandra's situation!

Cassandra's life was very interesting and it seemed that everything that could happen did, which was a little hard to believe but painted a good scene for the novel. Her personality was very relate-able, and I really felt what she did. Jen really developed very interesting characters.

This book kind of made me squirm when she was in her relationship, but besides that it was very good. The only main problem I had with it was the fact that it just cut off, I wished the ending could have been less of just a cut off, even though there is going to be a sequel.

4/5