Angel Fever cover art unveiled

Good lord I have waited so long for this moment. It seems like a life time ago I sat down on that dreary day and it was brightened by the events unfolding before me in a little book called Angel by L.A. Weatherly. Fast forward 3 years and the days are passing by at a painfully slow pace. They need to go quicker. Much quicker. Like fast forward to the 1st October quicker would be nice... Because on that day we finally get to know how it all ends. And boy am I excited! 

Finally the cover art for Angel Fever has been unveiled and it's a beaut...

Just... Gah. I'll be the first to admit that Alex and Seb aren't exactly as I'd imagine them but that doesn't matter. I just can't wait! ARGH! :D

2013: Books of Interst (Part 3)

Now there are some large gaps in the year where there are books that are making me foam at the mouth... Simply because sometime's books aren't announced that early... I've wracked my brain but towards the end of the year there are fewer titles that I can think of, but here they are regardless.

In AUGUST it's a massive double whammy for me. Two books that are part of two fantastic series that I love! The first is out, at the moment (date may change...) on the 1st. And that would be The Burning Shadow, the second book in the incredible Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver. No cover yet, if Puffin follow the time scale they did for book one, that should be available from February onwards. No synopsis for the book yet, and we don't know much apart from the title which Michelle herself confirmed a few weeks ago in the latest Clan Cast over on her official website, www.jointheclan.com! Needless to say, I am dying to read this book. I'm a massive fan of Michelle, and she can do no wrong whatsoever in my book!

Then on 29th, another book courtesy of Puffin! At the time of writing this, there's not even a title! Although I have seen a few online, The Return of Lorien popping up the most often, but we'll see! Yep, that's right. The fourth book in the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore. I love these books. I Am Number Four, The Power of Six and The Rise of Nine. The rumoured title doesn't really follow the pattern of the previous three, but who knows! I just can't wait to see what happens next after that massive cliffhanger at the end of The Rise of Nine! Talk about intense!!

Ooh! And I've just remembered another book out in August! How could I of forgotten! A new book from James Dawson! I adored Hollow Pike when it was released earlier this year and have been waiting with bated breath to see what he'll do next. The answer? Cruel Summer! It sounds fantastic and I can't wait!

"One year after the suicide of one of their friends, the rest of the group decide to spend the summer together in a holiday villa in the Mediterranean. They're hoping to get over the terrible events of the previous year, but then a new guest arrives - claiming to have evidence that the suicide was actually murder. When she is found dead, it becomes clear that the killer must be one of them - but who is it? And will they strike again?

A compelling psychological thriller - with a dash of romance."

Now a book that was originally scheduled for a 2012 release but got pushed back to next year. Trust me, I nearly cried! It's been such a long wait and with another 10 months to go still until the (as yet there's no set date...) OCTOBER release it'll only hurt a bit more! Yes, I'm talking about Angel Fever. The third and final book the Angel trilogy, which started with Angel and continued with Angel Fire, will finally give us all the answer's we've been waiting for! Most importantly, will she choose Seb or Alex? ARGH!!!!?>!"2!!! Seriously, I really cannot wait for this one, and with Lee's recent tweet confirming that she's finally finished the book itself, that it's done, nothing else needs doing, this only makes me even more excited! Fancy just emailing me a PDF, Lee? Hit me up! Haha!

So that concludes the Books of Interest series of posts! What books are you most looking forward to in 2013? Let me know if there are any I've missed you think I should check out. I know that I'll sit back in a bit after I've posted this and think of something and I'll kick myself that it's not on here, but that's part of the excitement I guess. I love not knowing everything that's coming out, then something will come along and just surprise you and make you fall completely and utterly in love!

2012 has been awesome but judging on the books we already know about, I think 2013 is going to be a stellar year for book readers!

I just hope the world isn't going to end today or else we'll never know just how amazing this books will be! Thankfully the world isn't going to end, it's just nonsense! Phew!!

2012: Books of Interest (Part 2)

When I started to make the last post I hadn't thought I'd find so many books I'm excited for! 2012 is shaping up to be such a good year for YA fiction so I guess we spread into Part 2!

We jump forward to August as at the moment, I can't think of any books in May - July... Annoying but I'm sure there'll be plenty. I just can't think of any at this second. Ha...



Anyway... AUGUST will see the release of the third book in Pittacus Lore's Lorien Legacies. Titled The Rise of Nine it is so far away that no cover art or synopsis has been released! But then that's how the rest of this post is going to pan out... None of them have covers or synopsis' and one doesn't even have an official title yet!!

So... to SEPTEMBER... which see's the launch of a brand new series from (quite possibly my all time favourite author...) Michelle Paver! The series is called Gods and Warriors and is set in the Mediterranean. Still pre-history but a lot nearer to our time than the adventures of Torak, Renn and Wolf in Paver's phenomenal Chronicles of Ancient Darkness which took place in the ancient forests of Europe... At the moment there's no title for Book One. All that's known is this brief summary which Michelle released herself as a teaser: 

"The setting will be the Mediterranean, in the Bronze Age, a few thousand years after Torak’s adventures. It is such a rich, spectacular, exciting world to inhabit (and one I’ve loved since I was a child) – a time of chariots, ocean-going ships, slaves, warriors, myths and magic. My main character is Hylas, a goatherd, a thief and an outsider. His story starts in the mountains of Greece where in a single night, his world is overturned, setting him on a journey that will take him far from the mountains and across the seas. Like Torak, Hylas will form lasting bonds with animals... A dolphin, a lion cub and a falcon will all weave in and out of the stories."

Want! Now!

And finally we come to OCTOBER the third and final book in L. A. Weatherly's Angel trilogy will be released. It's called Angel Fever, and that, at the moment, is all we know!

Also in OCTOBER, or quite possibly NOVEMBER (date not yet set in stone...) Walker Books will, at last, be publishing Oblivion. The fifth, and final, book in Anthony Horowitz' epic, thrilling, and damn right addictive Power of Five series, it looks set to be the most explosive book he's written yet. It's already sitting in at over 160,000 words, and he's not even finished yet! Blimey! I remember reading an interview that Anthony did years ago, when Raven's Gate, the first book in the series, came out and he said it'd bee 800 pages long. He wasn't kidding!


And now he's released the first chapter as a Christmas surprise for his readers! How cool (check out my post about that here), but it only has me even more excited wanting to read the next 790 or so pages!

So those are my picks for what is to come in 2012. I can't wait to see what I've missed, and stuff yet to be announced. 2011 has been a real corker, but I think 2012 is about to kick some ass!

Angel Fire by L. A . Weatherly

Written by: L. A. Weatherly.
Published by: Usborne.
Format: Paperback.
Released: 1st October 2011.
Rating: 5/5.


Official synopsis: "Only Willow has the power to defeat the malevolent Church of Angels, and they will stop at nothing to destroy her. Willow isn't alone, though. She has Alex by her side a trained Angel Killer and her one true love. But nothing can change the fact that Willow's a half-angel, and when Alex joins forces with a group of AKs, she's treated with mistrust and suspicion. She's never felt more alone...until she meets Seb. He's been searching for Willow his whole life because Seb is a half-angel too. This is a heart-pounding, knuckle-whitening, paranormal romance."

First of all, let me start this review by saying that I absolutely love Lee (L. A. Weatherly) and Angel was one of my top reads of 2010. It certainly had my expectations at an all time high. I've never been so excited about a book that has romance in it (normally I HATE those sort of books, but there's something about this series that just captivates me and makes me forgive the fact that it is a love story...) so I was a little bit worried when I finally sat down to read this 700 page, beautiful looking tome. I have just 4 words to say to sum up how I truly feel about this book.

I. Am. In. Awe.

Yep. I am in awe! This book slayed me - and that is a very good thing. It made me feel so many things in such a short space of time that looking back I dunno how I coped and I'd like to know how other readers coped too! Haha. The ups and downs of Alex and Willow's relationship, knowing that essentially, for them to be enemies in the real world, that their love is wrong, and then for the deliciously described and atmospheric Seb to come on in and shake everything up. Wow. 

I now, after reading Angel Fire see this trilogy like the building of a house... Angel laid down the foundations, and now Angel Fire has built the skeleton before fleshing it out, albeit one almighty task... and now I can just feel next year's Angel Fever coming along and blowing everything to smithereens.

L. A. writes so beautifully. You can tell that every single word has been agonised over, that it's there because it earned it's right to be there. I want to thank her for yet another stunning reading experience. Because it was stunning. Never before has a book about romance ever hit me like this. I'm not that sort of person. I prefer my fantasy. And while the trilogy has a massive sense of fantasy, it also has a sense of realism that I think at times we all relate to, and it pulls me in.

A serious contender for book of the year. One of my favourites I've read this year and definitely had one of the biggest impacts. And I don't want to EVER hear anyone compare these books to Twilight. These books >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gt;>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TWILIGHT... End of.... Okay?

Lee, you rock, please don't change. To put it simply, I cannot wait for Angel Fever. The next 12 months waiting for this book are going to be one colossal pain in the ass!


(My thanks also to the lovely people at Usborne for sending out my copy and for quoting my review of Angel yet again! :D)

Buy from Amazon UK

Pre-order the US edition from Book Depository

Angel Fire by LA Weatherly: The Change

Now I am very much looking forward to reading this book! Angel Fire by L. A. Weatherly is the second book in a trilogy, proceeded by last years Angel. I was blown away by just how different the book was and the wait to the 1st October is painstaking, so I thought I'd make this post to show the changes that the cover has been under! Now, I like all 3, and they aren't majorly different but still!

First, we got this beaut, our first look at the cover back last October over on LoveReadingX...

Love the blue if I'm honest!! And then we got this version...

Hm... Pink... I didn't like this one so much and was a little disappointed but then I thought "it's what's in-between the covers that counts, forget it!!". But then this happened...

Problem solved! I like this a lot more! The final cover according to all of the online retailers. While I do slightly prefer the blue, the orange is obviously a lot more fitting to the title! Now I just have to wait patiently for October to arrive... Mind you with how fast this year has gone in all honesty it should fly by!

Happy Publication Day to Angel!

It's Friday the 1st October which means only one thing...

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY

TO ANGEL BY LA WEATHERLY!

Oh yes! Get yourself down to your nearest Waterstones, WH Smith or anywhere that sells books. Or shop for it online on Amazon, Book Depositary or Waterstones.com!

Look out next Wednesday when the Angel UK Blog Tour stops here at Empire of Books!

Angel by L. A. Weatherly [Review]

Written by: L. A. Weatherly.

Published by: Usborne.

Format: Paperback (ARC/UK Proof).

Released: 1st October 2010.

Rating: 5/5.

Official synopsis: "In a world where angels are beyond redemption, Alex thinks he's found one that might deserve mercy. Alex is a ruthless assassin - of angels. Forget everything you've heard about them before. Angels are not benign celestial creatures, but fierce stalkers whose irresistible force allows them to feed off humans, draining them of their vitality until there is barely anything left. As far as Alex is concerned, the only good angel is a dead angel...until he meets Willow. She may look like a normal teenager but Willow is no ordinary girl. Half-angel, half-human, Willow may hold the key to defeating the evil angels. But as the hunter and the hunted embark on an epic and dangerous journey and Willow learns the dark and terrifying secrets of her past, Alex finds himself drawn to Willow...with devastating consequences. Eoin Colfer reinvented the fairy, Stephanie Meyer reinvented the vampire, L.A. Weatherly reinvents the angel! This is a heart-pounding, knuckle-whitening, paranormal romance action-adventure for fans of the "Twilight" series. This is the first in a devastating new trilogy."

A few words will come to mind after you finish reading Angel by L. A. Weatherly. The first three are: "HOLY FREAKING MOLY". The next two are "Twilight who?"

This book blew me away. It's fresh, imaginative, hugely entertaining and highly addictive. Right from the prologue, you're drawn into this mysterious underworld, as angels are living amongst us, hidden in human form, sucking their life force in order to survive.

16 year old Willow isn't the popular girl at school. But she has a special ability to 'read' people.

And then there are the Angel Killers. On a mission to kill the evil parasites. In particular, there is young Alex who is a complex but highly interesting young fellow. As far as he's concerned, the only good angel, is dead angel.

When these two meet, the story explodes, and there is no let up. Action. Suspense.

A stunning read that will have you on a roller-coaster of a ride. From love to hate. Fear and anguish. Forbidden love to loathing. Once you start reading this book, you will not be able to stop. It has all the gusto that Twilight wishes it had. This book has the power to do for Angels what no one has really done before. It shows them in a new light - it makes them more interesting, more dangerous, and it toys with the idea that not all that we think to be good, actually is. It could be bad. And when things go bad, there are consequences.

This book is beautifully written and is leaving me achingly yearning for the next book in the trilogy, Angel Heat, out May 2011, and the third and final book, Angel Burn out October 2011. It's going to be a painful wait, but after Angel, I'm sure it's definitely going to be worth it! Top read for 2010!

Thank you to Anna Howorth at Usborne for sending me the copy! I am so grateful, and thank you for the opportunity! You guys should be proud to publish this book! And thank you to L. A. Weatherly for writing such an amazing book!

Pre-order from Amazon UK

Pre-order from The Book Depositary