Halloween Recommendation: Part Two

Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard
Publication Date: January 1st 2013
Publisher:  Amulet Books

 

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own 

 

 

 UnhingedAuthor: A.G. Howard
Publication Date: January 7th 2014        
Publisher: Amulet Books

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head 

 


 Okay, so these aren't exactly traditional Halloween reads in the way that'll scare you with Horror, and obviously, this series isn't Horror, but it is Halloween-y in it's own right. Just think about Wonderland, it's pretty weird and creepy on it's own, but with Splintered, A.G. Howard takes Lewis Carroll's Wonderland and whilst keeping it familiar, twists it into something completely twisted and strange with this side of off. It's vivid and dangerous and seductive. Then there's Morpheus. Just saying.

While Splintered is centred on and set in Wonderland, Unhinged is set in our world with Wonderland bleeding through, which is actually more disturbing and mad than Wonderland itself. We also get to see the effect it has and Alyssa's slope down the crazy train.

So basically, this series is quite mad. Embrace the craziness. And hey, Elizabeth  this ones for weenies (your words, not mine) ;)

Have you started the Splintered series yet? If so, let's talk Morpheus, because, you know, Morpheus.

            



Morganville: The Series

The web series for The Morganville Vampires was brought to life after 832 backers pledged on Kickstarter. The project was fully funded in July of 2013, and now after a little over a year – the trailer for the series is finally here.

You may have heard of this series called The Morganville Vampires, if you haven't, where you been? ;) It's one of my favourite series, so excited to see my favourite characters come to life on the 27th October, make sure to watch, because you know, Claire, Eve, Michael, Shane,

 

 

 

Read the series? What'd you think of the trailer? If you've read the series, did you picture the characters the way they are? :)

 

Waiting on Wednesday (#68)

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

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman

 

 Expected publication: April 21st 2015 by Balzer + Bray

 

The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: She used to be part of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives with a kindly English family, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel Cohen, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content.

But then, Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany, and Gretchen’s world turns upside-down. And when she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she’d escaped-and return to her homeland.

Gretchen must do everything she can to avoid capture and recognition, even though saving Daniel will mean consorting with her former friends, the Nazi elite. And as they work to clear Daniel’s name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time-or will Hitler discover them first?



 

 

I loved Prisoner of Night and Fog, and I'm really glad the title doesn't have Fog in there this time, since for some reason, every time I typed the title I'd type Frog of Dog.

 

What're you waiting on?

Review: Stray

Stray
Author: Elissa Sussman
Publication Date: October 7th 2014        
Publisher:  Greenwillow
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

“I am grateful for my father, who keeps me good and sweet. I am grateful for my mother, who keeps her own heart guarded and safe. I am grateful for my adviser, who keeps me protected. I am grateful for the Path, which keeps me pure. Ever after.”

Princess Aislynn has long dreamed about attending her Introduction Ball, about dancing with the handsome suitors her adviser has chosen for her, about meeting her true love and starting her happily ever after.

When the night of the ball finally arrives and Nerine Academy is awash with roses and royalty, Aislynn wants nothing more than to dance the night away, dutifully following the Path that has been laid out for her. She does not intend to stray.

But try as she might, Aislynn has never quite managed to control the magic that burns within her-magic brought on by wicked, terrible desires that threaten the Path she has vowed to take.

After all, it is wrong to want what you do not need. Isn’t it?

STRAY is the first in a collection of intertwined stories, all set in a world where magic is a curse that only women bear and society is dictated by a strict doctrine called The Path. A cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and Wicked, with a dash of Grimm and Disney thrown in, this original fairy tale will be released October 7th, 2014 from Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins

You could say Stray is very Once Upon a Time-ish on most of it, but yes in one major way that I am not amused with.  I'd disagree mainly because there's a thin line between good and bad, the good are flawed and the bad have good. Take Regina, whose deliciously evil but she's well rounded and as it goes on, you see the depth of her character. The bad characters in Stray? One sided. Everyone's just out for poor, poor Aislynn, for no apparent reason, they look for things wrong with her, even if she hasn't done anything at all, they look the other way when others do something, or do or say something to Aislynn to  get a reaction from her, and then she gets told off for it. Poor, poor Aislynn, and I say that sarcastically because to be honest, I didn't like her but I didn't hate her. My point is, the wicked evils in this story had no reason.

Release Day Blitz: Runaway

Runaway (Camryn Cruise #1) by Brina Courtney

RELEASE DAY BLITZ

Camryn Cruise is not human. But she doesn’t know what she is. Not yet.

The world is falling apart and her only escape is Camp Silverlake where she frequently stayed as a child. But Camryn’s summers weren’t filled with crafting and swimming, they were spent learning combat skills and how to protect herself from the outside world.

Now she must return to Camp Silverlake to learn the truth, about who she is and she’ll discover the secret hidden within her blood. A secret that could save them all.

~*~GIVEAWAY~*~

The Cryptid Chronicles Set!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~*~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~*~

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She's spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

FIND BRINA AT:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brina-Courtney/270546116309774

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5295520.Brina_Courtney?from_search=true

Twitter: https://twitter.com/brinacourtney

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Brina-Courtney/e/B0073X9KRQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1402683149&sr=1-1

Website: http://www.brinacourtney.com/

Stacking the Shelves (#66) & Recap: The Finally Edition

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? Mines been okay-ish, now, I'm finally doing the physical stack, I'm leaving out some of the ones I've bought since the hauls already big enough. Onto the books!

 

 

For Review