Review: The Rise and Fall of the Gallivanters

The Rise and Fall of the Gallivanters 
Author: M. J. Beaufrand
Publication Date: May 12th 2015
Publisher: Amulet
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

In Portland in 1983, girls are disappearing. Noah, a teen punk with a dark past, becomes obsessed with finding out where they've gone—and he's convinced their disappearance has something to do with the creepy German owners of a local brewery, the PfefferBrau Haus. Noah worries about the missing girls as a way of avoiding the fact that something's seriously wrong with his best friend, Evan. Could it be the same dark force that's pulling them all down?

When the PfefferBrau Haus opens its doors for a battle of the bands, Noah pulls his band, the Gallivanters, back together in order to get to the bottom of the mystery. But there's a new addition to the band: an enigmatic David Bowie look-alike named Ziggy. And secrets other than where the bodies are buried will be revealed. From Edgar-nominated author M. J. Beaufrand, this is a story that gets to the heart of grief and loss while also being hilarious, fast paced, and heartbreaking

One more add to The Strangest Books I've Read in 2015 list.

It makes a lot more sense once you read it, obviously, but still, the lead up, was so well done, and I surprisingly got rather attached to the characters,  and I say surprisingly, because...

Review: A School for Unusual Girls

A School for Unusual Girls
Author: Kathleen Baldwin
Publication Date: May 19th 2015
Publisher: Tor Teen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts...

Oh, A School for Unusual Girls, you were made for me, taking out the Regency England, which I've only read around four or five books, tops, of them. But, everything else. The characters. The romance. The humour. The cleverness. Basically, just all of it. It is similar to The Lovegrove Legacy series, although not in plot, but in what makes the book absolutely wonderful, not that it doesn't have its flaws, because it does, but it's that type of book that I don't even care because I adored it.

Waiting on Wednesday (#93)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

Expected publication: October 20th 2015 by Macmillan Children's

LO-MELKHIIN KILLED THREE HUNDRED GIRLS before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

It. Sounds. Awesome. Right?

What're you waiting on? 

Review: The Wicked Will Rise

The Wicked Will Rise
Author: Danielle Paige
Publication Date: May 7th 20105
Publisher: Harper Collins
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

In this dark, high-octane sequel to the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die, Amy Gumm must do everything in her power to kill Dorothy and free Oz.

To make Oz a free land again, Amy Gumm was given a mission: remove the Tin Woodman’s heart, steal the Scarecrow’s brain, take the Lion’s courage, and then Dorothy must die....

But Dorothy still lives. Now the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked has vanished, and mysterious Princess Ozma might be Amy’s only ally. As Amy learns the truth about her mission, she realizes that she’s only just scratched the surface of Oz’s past—and that Kansas, the home she couldn't wait to leave behind, may also be in danger. In a place where the line between good and evil shifts with just a strong gust of wind, who can Amy trust—and who is really Wicked?

I read Dorothy Must Die last year, and it fell flat for me. Maybe that was because of high expectations or the lack of learning the plot considering what you learn from the whole 452 pages was mostly on the back of the book. But, I did love how twisted Oz had become (or should I say, more twisted?) and it felt more of a companion to The Wizard of Oz in the vein of Splintered, which was the best part of the book. Going into The Wicked Will Rise, I lowered my expectations and I ignored the synopsis and the mission taglines on the back, and you know what? I liked it so much better for it. The Wicked Will Rise was everything I wanted Dorothy Must Die to be, badass, twisted, character development and originality in a world we already know. In short, The Wicked Will Rise brought it's A Game.

Review: The Lie Tree

The Lie Tree
Author: Frances Hardinge
Publication Date: May 7th 2015
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

The leaves were cold and slightly clammy. There was no mistaking them. She had seen their likeness painstakingly sketched in her father's journal. This was his greatest secret, his treasure and his undoing. The Tree of Lies. Now it was hers, and the journey he had never finished stretched out before her.

When Faith's father is found dead under mysterious circumstances, she is determined to untangle the truth from the lies. Searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. A tree that feeds off whispered lies and bears fruit that reveals hidden secrets. The bigger the lie, and the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered.

But as Faith's untruths spread like wildfire across her small island community, she discovers that sometimes a single lie is more potent than any truth.

A beguiling tale of mystery and intrigue from the award-winning author of Fly By Night and Cuckoo Song

There are two words to describe The Lie Tree. Masterfully and Done. I don't say that lightly. What I loved about Cuckoo Song was how vivid the writing was, and how it was skilfully created, and even though the plot and pacing was slow, it's pay's off when subtle connections are made. The Lie Tree is no exception. It is completely different than Cuckoo Song, but at its core, the writing, the descriptions, the lyrical feel and flow, is exactly the same and it's brilliant.