In My Postbox #25

In My Mailbox idea from Kristi @ The Story Siren, and all links take you to Amazon UK.

Hi guys! Hope everyone has had a great week! These are the books that I got for review this week! 

0.4 by Mike Lancaster

UK Proof/Advanced Reader's Copy

"It's a brave new world. 'My name is Kyle Straker. And I don't exist anymore.' So begins the story of Kyle Straker, recorded on to old audio tapes. You might think these tapes are a hoax. But perhaps they contain the history of a past world...If what the tapes say are true, it means that everything we think we know is a lie. And if everything we know is a lie does that mean that we are, too?"

How awesome does this sound and look? Wow. I cannot wait to get reading this! Thanks to Jenny at Egmont for this!

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

UK Proof/Advanced Reader's Copy

"There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it.

Then, at last, they found the cure.

Now, everything is different. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But then, with only ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable."

This sounds very cool! Can't wait to read it! Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for this!

So that's what I got this week! Hope you all have a good week! I start my new job on Wednesday so that'll be exciting! Until next time! :)

Happy Halloween

Okay. I am not the biggest Halloween fan, loathing the idea of trick or treating (but I like the original, centuries old traditions of Halloween). But I wanted to wish everyone a spooky day. I shall be reading a good scary book (to be decided) and not much else. Haha. Oh, and not answering the door to trick or treaters! Ha. What are your plans? Just remember to be safe! :)

Cover VS Cover:

US // UK

This is on my reading pile and I can't wait to get to it, and today the US cover art is going to battle it out with the UK cover!

I might be biased considering I own the UK edition, but the British cover art is beautiful. The image is just so cool and powerful. It has a matte finish while the black is glossy. Everything about it is just brilliant!

As for the US cover, it's nice but there's something un-definable that I don't like about it. I've seen a few other people say that it reminds them of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance cycle books. So perhaps it's that. It just doesn't look as nice or enticing as the UK cover. 

This week, it just has to be the UK. I'm sorry, but in my opinion there is no competition!

So which do you guys prefer?

Top Halloween Reads 2010

Well Halloween is here again! If you're like me and don't really like trick or treating, and would much rather be in the warmth of your home (let's face it, it's freezing right now!) reading a good, chilling book, then these are my ultimate recommendations to make your Halloween 2010 a spooky, chilling spectacle!

Shadow Bringer by David Calcutt

"Nathan knows something is watching him - something menacing and dangerous. Something without a shape, that he can't get out of his head. The Creature. Then there are the noises he starts hearing in the attic. Shuffling. Scratching. Even a voice. The Bogeyman. Nathan's sure that the Creature and the Bogeyman are the same thing. Whatever it is, it's after him. As soon as it's strong enough, it will show Nathan what it really wants. And it's growing stronger all the time . . ."

An excellent, unsettling psychological thriller that I loved! You can check out my full review here.

Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey

"The first in a terrifying trilogy, read on if you dare: Jake could now see the demon fully. Its body was a mass of steely sinew, its arms roped with muscle. Six fingers sprouted from its hands, each ending in lethal talons. The thing did not possess a nose; instead a large hole, bubbling with green mucus, occupied the middle of its face. Mr Pinch's tongue flickered between his teeth and slurped across his fat lips. He was hungry. When a violent storm rages around the little village of Hobarron's Hollow, a young boy is sacrificed 'for the greater good'. His blood is used to seal a mystical doorway and prevent an apocalyptic disaster known only as the Demontide. Twenty-five years later, another boy, Jake Harker, is about to be drawn into the nightmare of the Demontide. Witches and their demon familiars stalk his every move, and his dreams are plagued by visions of a 17th Century figure known only as the Witchfinder. When his father is abducted, Jake must face the terrible secrets kept by those closest to him and a shocking truth that will change his life forever . . ."

An absolute beast of a book that is not to be missed! Check out my full review here.

Candor by Pam Bachorz

"My name is Oscar and I am the perfect teenager. My girlfriend is the hottest girl in school. I get straight As. I am class president. But there is a terrible reason I am so perfect: the Messages. Oscar Banks lives in the pristine town of Candor. Son of the mayor, he is good-looking, smart and popular. And he knows something he's not supposed to - he knows about the brainwashing Messages embedded in the music that plays all over the town. But Oscar has found a way to burn counter-Messages that keep him real. Up to now, it's all worked perfectly. There's just one problem: Nia Silva, the newest Candor arrival. What will Oscar risk to keep the Nia he loves rather than watch her become a Candor automaton? Deeply chilling, "Candor" is a psychological thriller that will haunt readers with its vision of a world controlled by something worse than Big Brother."

Candor isn't a particularly scary book, but it's chilling and unsettling and will make a brilliant Halloween read! Full review here.

Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan

"Following the massive success of the Demonata series, Darren Shan is back where it all started – telling the life story of the vampire Larten Crepsley. Spanning centuries and continents, taking in sea voyages, murder, war and love, this is the epic, bloodsoaked tale of a vampire who started out a nobody… and ended up changing the world forever. When Larten escapes the terrible workhouse in which he toils, he doesn’t know that he is running from an early death… into another kind of transformation. After meeting the mysterious vampire Seba Nile while sheltering for the night in a crypt, Larten finds himself drawn into the shadowy world of the vampire Clan. As he travels and learns, Larten finds himself enjoying the adventure he has always dreamed of, seeing a world beyond any he suspected in his poverty-stricken youth. But Larten begins to discover something else, too. Much like death, becoming a vampire is something you can’t come back from…"

It wouldn't be Halloween without a brand new Darren Shan book to devour! Check out my review here, and make sure you don't miss this brilliant beginning to a new saga!


And my last recommendation is...

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver


"'What is it? What does it want? Why is it angry with me?' January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark."


Another brilliant book by Michelle, chilling and scary and just perfect for Halloween (or any cold dark Winter night!) My full review can be read here! Make sure you get it, or you might just have some ghosts to answer to!


So there you go. My recommendations for Top Halloween reads. Some of these would not just be perfect for Halloween, but for the cold Winter nights! So don't miss out on these fantastic books! :)

Waiting on Wednesday (14): I Am J

I Am J by Cris Beam

Published by: Little Brown Books.

Format: Hardback.

Released: 7th April 2011

Amazon UK

"J spun. His stomach clenched hard, as though he'd been hit. It was just the neighbour lady, Mercedes. J couldn't muster a hello back, not now; he didn't care that she'd tell his mother he'd been rude. She should know better. Nobody calls me Jeni anymore. J always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was: a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a 'real boy' and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible - from his family, from his friends...from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he's done hiding - it's time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost."

This book is so new that it doesn't even have a cover yet. But just based on the synopsis it sounds really really good and I for one cannot wait to read it. Going straight on my wishlist!

Teaser Tuesday #1

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting.

'"Oh, and don't forget, you're babysitting for Uncle Stephen tonight." Violet made a face, but her mum stopped her before she could actually argue."

Page 22, Line 2-4.

Cover of the Week 4

Another week, another Cover of the Week! And this week it's the turn of Batimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud! 

Published earlier this month, it serves as a prequel to the hugely successful Bartimaeus trilogy. I myself haven't read the trilogy, but I have this sitting on my reading pile and cannot wait to read it! But in the meantime, isn't that cover beautiful? In the flesh it's even cooler. The black bit at the top is glossy and the actually image has a matte finish which makes it even cooler!

In My Postbox #24

In My Mailbox idea from Kristi @ The Story Siren, and all links take you to Amazon UK.

Hello everyone! First off, let me apologies for the relative silence the last week or so. I've been sick with the cold/flu/lergy and haven't really had the time or energy to do much besides lay in bed feeling sorry for myself and reading! Getting better though, and the review list is growing and that needs to be sorted out, so I'm hoping this week won't be so quiet! Anyway, I got some very cool books this weeks, so without further or do, here is this week's In My Postbox!

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting.

"Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies – or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world...and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift, but now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer – and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling in love, Violet is getting closer to discovering a killer...and becoming his prey herself."

I'm reading this now actually and loving it! The cover is so simplistic and beautiful. It really stands out! Thanks to Sam at Headline for this! :D (Published 11th November!)

Entice by Carrie Jones.

"Zara and Nick are soul-mates - they're meant to be together for ever. But that's not quite how things have worked out. For starters, Nick is dead, and has been taken to Valhalla, a mystical resting place for warriors. If they can find the way there, Zara and her friends will try to get him back. But even if they do, Zara has turned pixie - and now she's Astley's queen! Meanwhile, more teenagers go missing as a group of evil pixies devastates the town of Bedford. An all-out war seems imminent and Zara and her friends need all the warriors they can find..."

I haven't actually heard of this series before, so I'm looking forward to reading this! Thanks to Emma at Bloomsbury for this! (Published 4th January 2011!)

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

UK Proof/Advanced Reader's Copy

"New name, new town, new life. Nastasya has done it too often to count. And there’s no end in sight. Nothing ever really ends . . . when you’re immortal.

Captivating, intense and with an incredible and original voice, IMMORTAL BELOVED is a haunting story of friendship, love and secrets, tragedy and loss."

This sounds really good and I am thoroughly looking forward to reading it. The cover is really cool, and so is the envelope that the book actually came in. Check it out below (Massive white bit in the middle is where my address was, deleted for obvious reasons, ha!). Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for this! (Published 6th January 2011!)

So there you go! Those are the awesome books I got this week. Big thanks to all the publicists/publishers! I appreciate every book I get sent! Thank you! Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Publication Day to Dark Matter!

Has that day come around already? Really? It only seems like yesterday I was getting the inside scoop about Dark Matter before it was announced (I am a moderator on her official fansite www.torak.info), then getting a proof and thinking "OH NO! I HAVE TO KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT ABOUT THIS MOST AMAZING OF BOOKS BY MY FAVOURITE AUTHOR THAT I TELL EVERYONE ABOUT. NO! HOW WILL I DO IT?!"

Well, I've done it to the best of my ability, although my mum can now recount the entire story, and I don't think she's read it yet. She might of. I can't remember!

Anyway, at long last, Dark Matter is available for everyone to go out and buy. I cannot praise this book, or Michelle enough! Make sure you check out my review, here, and go and get yourself a copy. It's perfect for Halloween but even more appropriate for the dark and freezing nights of the oncoming Winter! Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did!

To celebrate, it's DARK MATTER Take Over Day here on EoB! :D

Congratulations to Michelle and everyone at Orion for writing/producing another stunning book (both visually and inside!).

Waiting on Wednesday (13): Everybody Jam

Everybody Jam  by Ali Lewis.

Published by: Anderson Press.

Format: Paperback.

Released: 3rd March 2011.

Amazon UK | The Book Depositary

‘Everybody jam’ is outback slang for apricot jam – because everybody likes it. But not everything in Danny Dawson’s life is that sweet. Danny Dawson lives in the middle of the Australian outback. His older brother Jonny was killed in an accident last year but no-one ever talks about it. And now it's time for the annual muster. The biggest event of the year on the cattle station, and a time to sort the men from the boys. But this year things will be different: because Jonny's gone and Danny's determined to prove he can fill his brother's shoes; because their fourteen-year-old sister is pregnant; because it's getting hotter and hotter and the rains won't come; because cracks are beginning to show . . . When Danny's mum admits she can't cope, the family hires a housegirl to help out - a wide-eyed English backpacker. She doesn't have a clue what she's let herself in for. And neither do they."

Personally, I think that this sounds absolutely amazing. It sounds like a great story and that cover is simply brilliant! Cannot wait to read this one! Only 134 days to go*...

*= Please note I'm not that sad to sit and work that out for myself... The Book Depositary did that for me!

Monstrous Monday (2): The Cold

I wanted to do this every fortnight but completely forgot last week, and meant to post it yesterday (Monday) but again forgot. So this is Monstrous Monday, on a Tuesday! But it will return as normal 2 weeks yesterday!

This week, it's the turn of the cold. Not really a monster, but if you have read Shiver and Linger by Maggie Steifvater, then you will know just how much fear it can strike into Sam and the rest of the pack!

During summer the pack need not worry. The temperatures are high enough to keep them human. But soon, the cold will claim them forever and they will no longer make the change during warmer weather, living out the rest of their lives as a wolf.

Personally I think that the cold is one of the best used villains (okay, so it's not really a villain, but it is when it's getting in the way of true love!) in a romanced based series ever (okay, so I haven't read that many, but still!). Maggie Stiefvater uses the cold brilliantly and it just makes me want to read more!

Check out Shiver and Linger in time for the release of the third and final book, Forever next Summer!

The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley [Review]

Written by: Chris Priestley.
Published by: Bloomsbury.
Format: Hardback.
Released: 4th October 2010.
Rating: 4/5.

Official synopsis: "Michael Vyner recalls a terrible story, one that happened to him. One that would be unbelievable if it weren't true! Michael's parents are dead and he imagines that he will stay with the kindly lawyer, executor of his parents' will ...Until he is invited to spend Christmas with his guardian in a large and desolate country house. His arrival on the first night suggests something is not quite right when he sees a woman out in the frozen mists, standing alone in the marshes. But little can prepare him for the solitude of the house itself as he is kept from his guardian and finds himself spending the Christmas holiday wandering the silent corridors of the house seeking distraction. But lonely doesn't mean alone, as Michael soon realises that the house and its grounds harbour many secrets, dead and alive, and Michael is set the task of unravelling some of the darkest secrets of all."

The Dead of Winter is a chilling story perfect for the cold, dark nights of Winter, and one that should definitely not be missed. 

It's a little slow in getting started, but once the mystery of Hawton Mere begins to reveal itself, you are well and truly caught in the books grip. It truly is edge of the seat reading, as the story reveals itself and you try to guess what might happen next. Priestley's writing is brilliant. It's fluid and unstoppable, you just cannot stop reading. Very compelling. 

What I like about this book is that it chills and terrifies while not being explicit. It's a more traditional scare - flickering lights and scary noises aplenty having more effect than any blood, guts and gore could! No stomach-tuning passages to be found in this book, but they simply aren't needed! I almost feel that any explicit horror would spoil the overall feel of the book!

And another plus, is that you some aspects of the plot aren't initially obvious. It isn't till the end that things click and you realise that it's all been building up.

The Dead of Winter is definitely not to be missed. It's perfect for Winter nights, and will have you on the edge of your seat, while gasping with fear, and shivering, all at the same time. A wonderful reading experience!

My thanks to Emma at Bloomsbury for my copy!

Buy from Amazon UK

Buy from The Book Depositary

In My Postbox #23

In My Mailbox idea from Kristi @ The Story Siren, and all links take you to The Book Depositary.

It's been a mental week this week. The to-do list just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and illness and various other things seem to be doing their best to stop me trying to get through said list. But nothing will stop me doing In My Postbox. So here are the 2 books I got this week! :D (Sorry or the lack of pictures!)

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver.

"'What is it? What does it want? Why is it angry with me?' January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark."

A beautiful finished copy of this incredible book. Just in time for Halloween. I actually read it again yesterday in an attempt to cheer myself up. Helped. Although the scary bits weren't so good! Chilling stuff. It's out this coming Thursday (21st October) You can check out my review here, and thanks to Helen at Orion for this! :D

Angel by L.A Weatherly.

"Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where she gets this power from - But Alex does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous - and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy."

A signed proof copy as thank you for being part of The Angel UK Blog Tour! 96/100! :D Thanks to Sally at Usborne for this!

So there you go. Those are the very cool books that came through my postbox this week! What did you get? Hope you all have a great week!

Apologies

Hi guys!


Just wanted to do a quick post! Wanted to apologise for the silence here the last few days. It's been an insane couple of days but everything's all good now, and service will resume as normal tomorrow with a review of Michelle Paver's Outcast AND a review of The Dead of Winter by Chris Preistley!

Waiting on Wednesday (12): In The Bag

In The Bag by Jim Carrington.

Published by: Bloomsbury.

Format: Paperback.

Released: 7th February 2011.

Amazon UK

"Joe and Ash are best friends. Ash is the leader, Joe the one who follows. Then one night after a party, Joe and Ash come across a holdall, seemingly abandoned by the side of the road. They open it up ...and find GBP20,000 in cash. Of course they're going to hand it straight to the police. Aren't they? Or is all that money just too tempting? Whoever has lost it won't notice if a bit goes missing, will they? And that is precisely when the trouble starts ...Jim Carrington has already established himself as a fine writer for teens with his debut novel, Inside My Head. With In the Bag, he shows how horribly easy it is for two teenage boys to make a car crash of their lives, through an unlucky combination of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and making a handful of wrong decisions."

I loved Jim's last book, In My Head which came out earlier this year and cannot wait to read this! (A review of which, can be found here at The Book Zone for Boys, as a guest post!) It sounds brilliant. I love the cover! I can't wait to see what Jim has in store next! Roll on February!

Cover of the Week 3

Monday has come around again, which means it's time for another Cover of the Week! And this week it's the turn of The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley! 

I think you'll agree that that is pretty amazing?! A frosted skull. It's textured too so it's even cooler in the flesh. I like the colours used and as well as looking like frost, it kind of has a forest-like feel. The bit at the top kind of looks like snow-covered pine trees! Very cool! And this was actually designed by the author himself. Certainly makes me want to read it!