Monthly Archives:: January 2013

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Posted by 30 Comments

Scarlet
Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles #2
Publication date: February 5th 2013
 by Feiwel and Friends

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

*A copy was provided by Raincoast Books for review purposes*
*Spoiler free for the series!*

Not everyone can pull off retellings, or even stories inspired by classic fairy tales. They more often than not have a certain missing element that stops them for shining. Rarely do they stand out among the masses like Cinder does. Marissa Meyer is one of those authors who can take an overly used concept and turn it into something completely unique, while leaving in the charm and delight of our beloved classic. Cinderella meets Red Riding Hood in this second installment of the Lunar Chronicles. This time, Scarlet’s grandmother was taken, and there is, ladies and gentleman, a very sexy, extremely charming, wolf.

Between Cinder and Scarlet, we have plenty to keep us rolling in this fairly long novel. Told in dual POV–with the occasional 3rd–we continue where we left off in Cinder, while we simultaneously get introduced to Scarlet–an equally strong deadly and feisty heroine. They both offer a lot of charisma; they’re intelligent, determined characters, and alongside each walks supporting roles who add plenty of emotion to the book, some from humor, others from frustration. And, of course, we get our old favorites. Iko, for one, in a much larger form this time, which garners its fair share of amusement. We also meet Thorne who accounts for more than a few chuckles throughout the story due to his obliviousness or dumb remarks. As promised, we also have the big bad Wolf! A very complex character, Wolf is an excellent addition to this series. His bad-boy persona is one I could swoon over for once, not being tarnished by a controlling or creepy side that, unfortunately, often goes hand in hand with this type. He had charm, tact, and motive; his development bloomed to perfection throughout the novel, Marissa has created a positively satisfying character and love interest… however… with this said, I have to admit that I did not feel a huge connection between him and Scarlet. Yes his personality makes for a great romantic hero but I didn’t feel this was used to its full potential, or maybe there was simply too much going on in this book to concentrate on sparks. There are cute moments and definitely potential, but that’s as far as it reached for me.

Like Cinder, the plot in Scarlet is not one that is filled with shock and unpredictability. It’s easy to foresee what’s going to happen, at least to some extent. However, also like Cinder, it feels like this is intentional. As if we’re meant to know before the characters, so we can resent our helplessness to warn them of the oncoming collision. Either way, the action packed pages make up for any disappointment you may carry for its predictable outcome. Plus, the ending still induces *Le gasp!* Or, more accurately, *Le headdesk*.

Still as fresh and unique as Cinder, Scarlet combines two classic fairy tales into one brilliantly structured plot. And soon, there will be three! Rapunzel will join us in the third book, Cress, and being a huge fan of this lady of thee fabulous hair, I will not rest until it is in my greedy, greedy hands!

4 Hot Espressos
Lunar Chronicles:
 

Waiting on Wednesday (69)

Posted by on 01/16/2013 • 58 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine  and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.  My pick this week:

Dirty Little Secret Jennifer Echols Release date: July 16th 2013 byMTV Books (S&S)

From the author of the “real page-turner” (Seventeen) Such a Rush comes an unforgettable new drama that follows friends-turned-lovers as they navigate the passions, heartbreaks, and intrigue of country music fame.

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that…

Heist Society Exclusive! Excerpt + Giveaway

Posted by on 01/15/2013 • 25 Comments

In honor of the third Heist Society novel coming out next month, I’m doing an exclusive on the series so you can read all about it, and then enter to win something! 😉

Heist Society Ally Carter Series: Heist Society #1 Publication date: September 1st 2011by Orchard       

Kat’s got a deadline – two weeks to pull off the biggest heist in history…

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie travelled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own – scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind.

But now her dad’s…

Review: The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Posted by on 01/14/2013 • 39 Comments

The Madman’s Daughter Megan Shepherd Series: The Madman’s Daughter #1 Publication date: January 29th 2013 by Balzer + Bray

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s…

Xpresso Weekly: Stacking the Shelves (38)

Posted by on 01/13/2013 • 58 Comments

Xpresso Weekly is my edition of Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga’s Reviews featuring the books I got this week, and I also mention blog news/happenings of the past week. This week at Xpresso Reads

How was the first week back at work/school? I hardly had time to drink coffee *blasphemy* so I didn’t even see the freaking week go by! The blog was pretty busy too–especially giveaway wize–I had the Cadet of Tildor tour drop by, as well as the Cinder paperback tour just yesterday with sweet giveaways so check those out! Also, I received extra copies of some great ARCs that I’m giving away here. And I have a giveaway going on at Xpresso Book Tours in case you missed it! 😉

Reviews on the blog this week:…

Cinder Blog Tour: Meet Iko + Giveaway

Posted by on 01/12/2013 • 23 Comments

Having just read Cinder a few weeks ago and loving it, I was excited to be a part of this tour, hosted by Mac Teen Books, where all the stops focus on a particular character, and on my stop today we’ve got a little bio on Iko! And of course a lot of extra goodies including a giveaway!

Cinder Marissa Meyer Series: Lunar Chronicles, #1 Publication date: January 8th (pbk)       

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a…

Fresh Batch (January 13th – 19th)

Posted by on 01/12/2013 • 13 Comments

Exclusively titled for Xpresso Reads, Fresh Batch features the hottest releases of this upcoming week.

Flavor of the week: Shades of Earth Beth Revis Series: Across the Universe #3 Publication date: January 15th 2013by Razorbill

The final book in the  New York Times bestselling trilogy, perfect for fans of Battlestar Galactica and Prometheus!

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They’re ready to start life afresh–to build a home–on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn’t the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The…

ARC-Apalooza Giveaway!

Posted by on 01/11/2013 • 19 Comments

Courtesy of Penguin Canada, I have three gorgeous extra ARC copies of Prodigy, Paper Valentine, and The Ruining for giveaway. Thanks to Jenni of Alluring Reads for the fabulous giveaway name! And don’t forget to stop by the blog in the upcoming weeks for tour stops on all of these pretties! Here are the pretties:

Prodigy Marie Lu Series: Legend, #2 Publication date: January 29th 2013by Putnam Juvenile      

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must…