Captivate, by Carrie Jones

Summary from Borders.com -

Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.
A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

 

Carrie Jones will be discussing Captivate at Book Divas from February 22-March 22. Come stop by and ask her a question! (I’ll be there!)

Rhia’s Review – Gosh, I loved this book! Why? Let’s start with Zara, the main character. Her voice is so strong, so individual. (Did I already say that in my Need review? Well, it’s still true, so whatever.) Throughout the book Zara is faced with some serious emotional issues, and she reacts with strong emotion. She doesn’t read like a character, she reads like a person. I developed a bond with her, even if we’re not very much a like.

At first glance at the summary, it might seem a little ‘eh’, and close to other YA book plots. But it so isn’t. Even though another male character enters the mix, Zara doesn’t get all confused and whiny. She sticks to her beliefs. And the supporting characters are perfect! Just enough about them to love and know who they are, but not so much we get distracted from our heroine.

In short, this is a REALLY good book! I couldn’t put it down, and  enjoyed every minute of it!

The Recommendation – Fans of Need won’t be disappointed in this sequel, and if haven’t already, you should really check this series out!

The Other Books – I’ve heard that Carrie is officially contracted for two more books in the Need series, and from the looks of things, they’ll both be high on my buy list! Can’t wait!

The Vitals* – Captivate is available in hardback for $16.99.

The Links – Carrie Jones Official Website, Official Website for Need and its sequels

 

*=All prices are from Borders.com and are subject to change without notice, and without this page reflecting those changes.

Need, by Carrie Jones

 

After Zara's stepfather died, Zara’s mother saw that she was having a hard time coping. So Zara's mother sends her to Coldwater, Maine to live with her grandmother, hoping the change will do her good. Once in Maine, however, Zara finds herself apparently stalked by a strange man, and learns that boys have been mysteriously disappearing. Whilst probing into the disappearances, and the strange man, she discovers that something inhuman plague streets of Coldwater, and even she herself isn't what she seems.

Need is individual in choice of supernatural being, the pixie, which is one of my Favorite things about this book. Instead of giving into many of the most popular trends in teen fiction, such as vampires, Carrie Jones gives us something completely different because, even though pixies can be compared to fairies, another rising trend in YA Lit, they are clearly their own, different species.

Also, instead of the usual werewolf, which Carrie does supply, she also gives us other were animals, such as tigers and eagles, which is a nice little change.

All in all, this was a great read, great characters. Zara’s voice was loud and clear; she’s very individual.

Carrie Jones will be visiting Book Divas February 22-March 22.

The Recommendation – This is a superb read for anyone into Paranormal YA.

The Other Books – Captivate, the sequel to Need hit shelves in January. I’ve already bought it, and am currently diving in. I’ll have the review definitely before the 22nd. Carrie has confirmed that there will be two more books in the series, but I don’t know much about them yet.

The Vitals* – Need is available in hardback ($16.99) and paperback ($9.99), while Captivate is in hardback for $16.99.

The Links – Carrie Jones Official Website, Official Website for Need and its sequels

*=All prices are from Borders.com and are subject to change without notice, and without this page reflecting those changes.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

 

Nora Grey hates her new biology partner, Patch. Yet, in typical teenage fashion, the more she gets to know him, the more she is drawn to him, even though she tries to tell herself she still hates him. But there is more to Patch than meets the eye.

Hush, Hush was a really awesome book. There isn’t a lot of YA fiction about the fallen or other angels, which is something I’m really into. So, I was pretty excited about this book. It kind of took a while for the really exciting stuff to happen, but there was enough suspense to keep up a good pace. Even though ‘romance’ is one of the first words in the description, I think the level of romance in the story was kept at a perfect level. There was enough spice to soothe the romance begging beast in all of us, without it becoming nauseating or graphic.

The characters are developed nicely, and so is the plot. There was even a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. (And lately YA books have disappointed me in that area. It takes the main characters most of the book to figure out the most obvious of things.)  And the lack of cussing and sex-crazed main female protagonists was really very refreshing, and I definitely commend Fitzpatrick on that. A marvelous debut that’s finally something pretty different from the rest of the books on the YA shelf.

Don’t forget that Becca Fitzpatrick is chatting on Book Divas until the 21st!

The Recommendation – I’d recommend Hush, Hush to pretty much anyone! It’s really a fantastic read and deserves your attention!

The Other Books – Crescendo, the sequel to Hush, Hush will be out in about a year. And I’m really interested, so I’ll do my best to grab a copy when it comes out. Really worth my limited book money.

The Vitals – Hush, Hush is available in hardback for about $17.99 from Simon and Schuster.

The Links - Becca Fitzpatrick's Official Home Page

Author Visit Roundup!

Here’s a quick list of some of October’s author visits around the web.

 

Becca Fitzpatrick, author of Hush, Hush, will be hanging out at Book Divas from the 14th-21st.

Books Divas will also be hosting a virtual book club forum this month for LIAR by Justine Larbalestier, though the author will not be present. (To my knowledge anyway. You never know.)

James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner, will be discussing his work at Random Buzz.

Well, that’s all I really know of for this month, form the sites that I know. If I’ve missed something, or you’d like to introduce me to another site I should keep track of, let me know!

Be sure to check in tomorrow for the unveiling of this month’s FEATURE!!!

Forest Born, by Shannon Hale

 

 

Well, my plan was to have this whole feature on Book Divas' author visit with Shannon Hale, author of The Books of Bayern. I was going to have trumpets and everything. Really.

But as usual, life got in the way. But I do have a nice review of Forest Born, and I might post her answers to my questions I asked on Book Divas.

Forest Born is the fourth novel in The Books of Bayern. This book tells the story of Rin. (If you’re familiar with the story of The Books of Bayern, you may know that Rin is the little sister of Razo.) Rin has always felt close to the trees in her forest home, seeking their refuge in troubled times. but when the trees turn their back on her, as Rin believes they have, she leaves her large family, and her life as Ma’s shadows, and accompanies her brother to the city for a change of scenery.

Whilst there she meets Isi, the Queen of Bayern, and her friends Enna and Dash, whom she lovingly names the Fire Sisters. Serving as a waiting woman and caring for the young Prince Tusken, she helps to uncover a plot which aims for one of Isi’s old enemies to take control of Bayern.

I hadn’t read the first three books in the series, yet even so the relationships of the characters came through very strong. Had I read the other books, they probably would have had more gravity with me, as I would have seen them grow. All of the characters were unique, and all with their own histories and problems. the book kept me engrossed, and I couldn’t wait to get back to it every night.

The only thing that really bothered me was some of the character’s speech. The book is set in a medieval type world, yet the characters use some really modern speech. This could have been intentional, since it is a fictitious world, but it still kind of stuck out at me. However, it was used to make the dialog more humorous, so I guess it was worth it.

Recommendation – I would recommend The Books of Bayern to any fan of fantasy, medieval fantasy, and fans of Fairy-Tale retellings. (The first book, The Goose-Girl, is a retelling of a story by the Brothers Grimm.)

The Other Books – I will probably backtrack and read the first three Books of Bayern at some point. They’ll be more toward the middle of my ‘To-Buy’ list, because funds are low (I know I’m not alone in that) and I have really important things coming out. But, I think they’re worth the money when the time comes.

The Vitals * – Forest Born is available from Bloomsbury in Hardcover for about $17.99, and The Goose-Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets are all available in both hardback (Prices seem to to range from $17.95 to $18.99) and paperback for $8.99 each. There is also a boxed set of the paperbacks of the first three for about $26.97. (The paperback covers match the hardcover of Forest Born, while the hardcover versions have different cover art.)

Shannon Hale is chatting about her books on Book Divas until October 5th!

* All prices from Borders.com