Review: Whisper the Dead (Hint, I love this book.)

Whisper the Dead
Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Publication Date: October 9th 2014        
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Gretchen is struggling with her newfound gift as a Whisperer; the constant buzzing in her ears from detecting spells is more frustrating than fun, especially when she is spending time with one of the Order of Iron Nail's Keepers, the icy but strikingly handsome Tobias Lawless. But while Gretchen tries to hide the truth and resolve her feelings for him, London fades from beautiful and bustling to deathly silent ...Something evil is once again menacing Mayfair, and Gretchen and her cousins must use their powers to prevent a horrible sacrifice.

This second book in the Lovegrove Legacy trilogy is full of dark twists, spellbinding suspense and sweeping romance - perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, Lauren Kate and Ruth Warburton.

As of A Breath of Frost, Whisper the Dead gave me the same feeling as it's predecessor gave me , while I absolutely adored it, I still have a few minor issues. With A Breath of Frost it took me a while to get into because of the large cast and side characters, the out of order perspective changes and such big personalities to contend with. Being familiar with the world now and the fun and outlandish characters that are out of style with the Regency Period, I had no problem getting back into it, and this time around, focusing more on Gretchen, who obviously now is was my favourite. She's so...Gretchen.

Stacking the Shelves (#68) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? Mines been good, been a slow week, good book mail week though, lots of surprises and finally two pre-orders got here. I'm really hating Amazon at the moment. Only one digital this week, but it's a pretty important one. My first Gayle Forman!

Review: The Perfectionists (In which my inner bitch comes out to play, bitches.)

The Perfectionists
Author: Sara Shepard
Publication Date: October 2nd 2014        
Publisher: Hot Key Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

In Beacon Heights High, Nolan Hotchkiss is king. His charm, wealth and good looks are deceptively seductive, and many are the students whose lives and reputations have been ruined by it. All while Nolan continues to reign, unquestioned and undisrupted. Until now, that is.

Mackenzie, Ava, Julie, Caitlin and Parker seemingly don't have much in common. Each has their own friends, dramas and goals. But one thing they do share: they all have a deep hatred of Nolan Hotchkiss. And they all think it's about time he paid for what he's done. They come up with the perfect murder - a hypothetical murder, of course. It's all wishful thinking ... until they wake up one morning to find that their wish has come true. Nolan has been killed - in exactly the way they planned. The thing is, they didn't do it. So who did?

Let me introduce to you Pretty Little Liars 2.0 The Perfectionists.

Now, I couldn't get into the Pretty Little Liars books, but I'm addicted to the show,  and The Perfectionists reconfirms why. Yeah, the show is getting as repetitive as the books when it comes to A, he's A, no, she's A, no, she's A. Wait, he's A, no he's A. Wait- who's a, what's an A? Who the fuck is A? The characters are more fleshed out and it's so damn entertaining to watch. Key word watch. When it comes to reading, I however, like more substance that these don't give.

Puppet Release Day Blitz‏

 

 

 

 

About the book:

 

 

 

Penelope lives in a world of advanced technology but many claim society has yet to catch up. Marionettes have advanced in the form of robots; lifelike creations remote controlled to perform super human tasks.

When Penelope makes a deal with Jed, a marionette-obsessed scientist, she doesn’t fully realize what she’s getting herself into. In order for Jed to take her away from the orphanage she lives in, she must first agree to undergo his experiments and tests, ultimately creating something no one ever dreamed possible; the first living marionette.

As Jed shows off his scientific creation to the world, concerns arise surrounding Penelope’s abilities and what she’s capable of doing. Ordered to somehow lessen her abilities, Jed makes a desperate attempt to change Penelope to make her more human, more vulnerable. After Penelope lies to the officials about her past, Jed makes sure it’s the last one she’ll ever utter. The truth is now the only thing she is capable of telling.

As Penelope struggles with her past, her disturbingly new present, and her uncertain future, she is thrust into a magically twisted world of mayhem in search of the one thing she wants, but knows she can never have. The chance to be just a girl again. To be normal. To be real.

Get the book
@Amazon
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Release Day Twitter Chat

The Patchwork Press team will be hosting a release day chat with Pauline and would love for anyone interested in the book to stop by. Just be sure to follow Pauline and Patchwork Press!

 

 

 

About the author:

Pauline C. Harris is a ninteen-year old author living in Northern Idaho. She started writing short stories when she was eight, and after she self-published her first book when she was fourteen, moved on to write the Mechanical Trilogy. She loves anything that has to do with science fiction, including Star Trek, and her main hobbies are writing and playing the violin in various orchestras and quartets.
​
Mechanical is her first professionally published novel. She is currently studying in both high school and college and hopes to achieve her AA degree alongside her high school diploma.

She is also working on another series of YA science fiction novels.

 

 WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

 

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? :)