Archive for the ‘New Teen Paranormal’ Category

Zombie Romance? Lia Habel shows you how

Saturday, January 14th, 2012

Dearly Departed (Epub) By Author Lia HabelBook Title: Dearly, Departed

Author: Lia Habel

A pacy, bloodthirsty, hugely entertaining teen zombie novel with an unconventional but tender love story at its heart.
From the ruins of a cataclysmic ice-age a new society has emerged, based on Victorian customs. Nora Dearly, a feisty teenage girl and apparent orphan, leaves her exclusive boarding school for the holidays to return home – only to be dragged into the night by the living dead.
Luckily for her, this particular crack unit of zombies are good guys – sent to protect her from the real nasties roaming the countryside and zeroing in on major cities to swell their ranks. Nora must find a way to defeat the evil undead with help from Bram, a noble, sweet and surprisingly hot zombie boy for whom she starts to fall…
Format: eBook , 464 pages
ISBN: 9781409014454
Publisher: RHCB E-Books
Publication Date: October 01, 2011

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ALI’S THOUGHTS

Dearly departed takes a familiar zombie theme and completely turns it on its ear.

This is the debut novel from Lia Habel, and although the first chapter does not set the scene well, with bloated prose and no set up, from then on in its nonstop page turning as were taken on an emotional action packed ride.

The world building is very clever; set in a future America, where the population has chosen to revert to a Victorian period England. Anyone who has ever read a historical romance can understand how ideal that world seems, how romantic, how civilized, how refined. Of course anyone who’s put more than a passing thought to the fantasy quickly discovers the downside to that world. And this is the world we are in, with strict class structure, no woman’s rights, employment and schooling based on who you parents are, and all the fakery that is required to stay in ones class.

Living trapped in this world is Miss Dearly. She’s in the right class, so even as an orphan she’s going to the right school. But she isn’t a particularly good little lady; she is fascinated by the most appalling news footage and is just a little too good at shooting. She’s a rather spunky heroine who doesn’t put up with too much crap and adapts quickly with aplomb.

Hidden from this world is the zombie apocalypse that is quietly happening, and it’s being kept hidden by the military. But the really strange thing about this zombie apocalypse? Some of the dead are “normal”.

One of these would be the handsome, for a dead guy, Bram.

The whole story is in first person, but to add yet another twist, we hear several different voices. In some ways this was great as it meant we knew what was going on without any convoluted dialogue, and even with all the POVs we still managed to get a bit of misdirection thrown in to keep the reader on their toes. However it did feel like there were too many main characters, even though there were really only two, the POV writing style allowed the secondary characters to develop more than they really needed to in the first book.

Overall, this is a great fun read, very light, but clever and original. Well worth a look at if you like zombies, light action, or have a secret fantasy about living in a regency romance.

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New from Maria V Synder

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Touch Of Power By Author Maria V. SnyderBook Title: Touch Of Power
# 1

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honoured for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader — an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own — is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince, the leader of a campaign against her people.

As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for.

Format: B-Format paperback
ISBN: 9781921796494
Publisher: MIRA
Publication Date: January 01, 2012

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Ali’s Thoughts

Touch of Power is the first novel in a spectacular new series from one of my favourite authors, Maria v Synder.

Set in a world full of magic, post a plague that whipped out millions, a plague that the general population has been lead to believe was unleashed on them by the healers. Avery is the last living healer, and in a world were factions are fighting to rule what’s left of the world, it seems that she’s rather hot property. Some want her dead. Some want her alive.

She’s stubborn, strong, but her weakness is children, she can’t walk past a child in need without helping, and it’s going to get her into trouble one day, even grateful mothers will hand her in for the reward.

Enter Kerrick. He wants her alive, but only so she can die healing the man he hopes will save the world. He’s also a bully, authoritarian, used to being obeyed, and completely out if his depth in dealing with Avery. Even if he does has a secret of his own.

Touch of Power had it all; magic, a quest, worlds torn apart, loyal friends, confusing enemies, twists, and kisses.

It’s a very addictive book, and an incredibly comfortable and enjoyable read. It’s well paced, taking the time to allow the reader to develop emotional ties to the characters, without trying to force the issue.

In some ways it feels almost formulaic, but this stems more from the sense of familiarity than any true formulaic writing. Anyone who’s read or watched a fantasy will feel like they’re curling up with a old friend when reading this.

Maria v Synder creates characters that come alive and plots that form movies in your mind. The hardest part of reading this book is trying to find intermission.

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Review: Illusions by Aprilynne Pike

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

Teen Paranormal

Book Title: Illusions
# 3

Author: Aprilynne Pike

On the first day of Laurel?s senior year there are two new arrivals. Tamani – the electrifying faerie with whom she shares an undeniable connection – appears, posing as a foreign exchange student. And even more disturbing is another foreign exchange student named Yuki whom Laurel quickly realises is a faerie, though the new girl doesn?t seem to have any idea who or what she really is.

Laurel is determined to figure out how Yuki fits into the picture, and what connection she may have to the ever-increasing threats to her family and Avalon. Meanwhile, Laurel struggles to maintain a balance between her human boyfriend David and Tamani, with whom she shares a passionate past. But balancing two worlds is becoming more and more complicated. When the threat to Avalon grows ever stronger, Laurel?s illusion of control of the situation shatters and she must confront a danger even greater than the trolls.

Format: B-format Paperback, 356 pages
ISBN: 9780007358403
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: June 01, 2011

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KAYLEE’S REVIEW

Another remarkable story by Aprilynne Pike in the Wings series, all the same old loveable characters plus a few exciting extras. Illusions is a little different from the other two stories(Wing and spells), but not the improvement I was hoping for. Illusions isn’t like the first two books because it’s more focused on Laurel’s(the main character’s) love life; it’s good to see something happening there, but I would’ve liked a little more of the old story’s traits and thrills. I’m looking forward to the next one though, by the looks of Illusions ending, there’s going to be some exciting events.

The characters are, as always, amazing. I always find something to like about every character and they always have that little twinge of mystery. I don’t like Laurel much in this story though because it seems like she’s just stringing Tamani and David along. But my guesses is that she figures out how she feels in the next book and decides who she would like to be with. Which I’m hoping is Tamani; I’ve always loved him.

Because this is the third book I kept my attention on how well Aprilynne Pike introduced the characters and ideas of the series and I can say she did quite well. If Illusions was the first of these series that I’d read, I would’ve caught on with what was going on, with a few acceptions.

A real dampener on the story was that halfway through, everything just died down. At the start it had already been pretty dull compared to the other two, but the middle was even worse. I, for once, found myself wanting to read a different, more interesting book. That’s definitely not like me when it comes to this series.

Illusions has its mix of good and bad, it’s nicer to see more interest in Laurel’s love life, but I do miss the old ways of the story, when it was more focused on trolls and Laurel had no time figure out who she wanted to be with. Even though I thought this book was average compared to some other books I’ve read, I’m still looking forward to the next one. I recommend you read this one, it has important scenes in it, but it’s not as good as the other. I just hope that I’m not getting my hopes up for another let down.

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Spirit Bound release day looms

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

banner_spiritbound

Spirit Bound is the 5th installment in the Vampire Academy series, which has been gaining a huge following, particularly with teen readers, all while managing to avoid the silliness found in the ‘why do you like Twilight‘ rants.

The entire series so far is a wonderful “Teen Paranormal Romance” that manages to cross the generation gap to be enjoyed by adult readers as well as teens (although more so after book 1 as we get into more of the long term story and less of the build-up and peer dynamics).

Yes, it gets those horrid “if you like Twilight, you’ll like this…” reviews. But it really shouldn’t be compared to Twilight on ‘literary’ style. Although the readership is similar, the whole story concept is very different. For starters this is set in the vampire world, not the human world, and more importantly, our main heroine is a strong character. The series deals with more ‘real world’ situations which gives it a more believable feel, in a fantastical sense.

Richelle Mead is a very talented author who also has two adult series; Dark Swan, an action-packed urban fantasy series and Georgina Kincaid, a sexy paranormal romance series. All of her series’ are very well written, but each is slightly different in writing style and language as well as being very different in actual story and content. As an adult reader I have enjoyed everything she’s written and I am impressed with the diversity of her writing style.

If you haven’t yet started the Vampire Academy series, you really must give it a go. It’s relatively light but does manage to pull of some great twists and moments of intensity. We’ve got excerpts for all of the books, so there’s no excuse not to try one!

Book 1: Vampire Academy
Book 2: Frostbite
Book 3: Shadow Kiss
Book 4: Blood Promise
Book 5: Spirit Bound

But, of course, if you’ve already started this series, then you too will be eagerly awaiting the release of Spirit Bound after that horrible tease of an ending in Blood Promise.

Make sure you get your pre-order in quickly and Tuesday morning might see you calling in sick.

Read an excerpt from Spirit Bound | Buy Spirit Bound | More details on Spirit Bound

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More than just a ghost story in Nearly Departed

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Nearly Departed cover: book 1 in the Welcome to Weirdsville series by Rook Hastings Nearly Departed is a terrifying new ghost story by Rook Hastings.

Rook also writes under the name of Rowan Coleman, but chose to publish this titles under the pseudonym of Rook Hastings. I love it when authors publish books under different names for different styles. The Coleman books tend to be more romantic, even the teen stories. Whereas Nearly Departed is a whole new style of writing in a whole new area.

So with the  new series from Rook Hastings “Welcome to Weirdsville” we’re getting the best of both worlds, a dynamic and exciting ‘new’ author with all the originality that implies AND the quality of an author who has honed their craft to perfection.

This is a wonderful book that crosses age-groups and gender barriers. It’s light enough to not leave you traumatised, yet subtle enough so that you don’t realised how engrossed you are until you find yourself shrieking if someone taps you on the shoulder while reading this. There is a great sense of realism and a slight hint of predictability. You know that something is coming, but you just can’t quite work it out. Of course, that’s one of the problems as an adult reading a book marked ’11+’, you run the risk of thinking that books for ‘teens’ aren’t as intense as books for adults. You’d be wrong.

Enjoy the terror!

The full review for this five-star book is on the book page.

Immortal Remains Book 2 in the Welcome to Weirdsville series by Rook HastingsBook 2 in the series: Immortal Remains, is due for release in Australia/New Zealand in September.

A little taste of what’s to come in the next instalment of Welcome to Weirdsville:

Four freak accidents. Four mysterious deaths. Four signs of trouble. Welcome back to Weirdsville…

“You see, the girls that died – it wasn’t by accident. They were cursed, every one of them. Cursed to meet a horrible death… And I’m going to be next.”

Four girls from posh school Riverbank have been killed in seemingly random but freakish ways and it’s not long before Bethan and co. are lured into investigating the grisly case. Is it really just coincidence or is there something more sinister going on?

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