Review: Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

*WARNING - SPOILERS FOR INCARCERON*

Finn has escaped from the terrible living Prison of Incarceron, but its memory torments him, because his brother Keiro is still inside. Outside, Claudia insists he must be king, but Finn doubts even his own identity. Is he the lost prince Giles? Or are his memories no more than another construct of his imprisonment? And can you be free if your friends are still captive? Can you be free if your world is frozen in time? Can you be free if you don't even know who you are? Inside Incarceron, has the crazy sorcerer Rix really found the Glove of Sapphique, the only man the Prison ever loved. Sapphique, whose image fires Incarceron with the desire to escape its own nature. If Keiro steals the glove, will he bring destruction to the world? Inside. Outside. All seeking freedom. Like Sapphique.

I got a chance to read this thanks to Pam from Bookalicio.us. She's awesome, so check her blog out. 

Sapphique picks up right where Incarceron left off, and the story doesn't slow down at all until it's over. I loved seeing more of the prison. The worlds Fisher created are fascinating, and I didn't want to leave. I'm not going to say too much about the plot because there are so many twists, and I don't want to spoil them. 

Finn is still struggling with the new responsibility of being the rightful heir of the throne, while worrying about his oathbrother Keiro being left in Incarceron. Of course Queen Sia doesn't want any competition to her throne, and will stop at nothing to make sure Finn doesn't take control. Claudia and Jared are working to restore power to the portal to Incarceron, to free the Warden and the prisoners.  

Meanwhile, Attia and Keiro think Finn has abandoned them, so they are trying to find the exit used by Sapphique long ago. 

The prison wants it's freedom too, and has become even more ruthless toward it's inmates...

I loved this book. I literally couldn't put it down. The writing was superb, and I had no idea where the story was going to go next. Due to the complexity of the story, it does get a bit confusing toward the end, so when you do read this, make sure you read carefully as not to miss anything.

As far as I know, this is not a trilogy, so this is the last book. The ending is left kind of open, but I felt that the story was done, so it didn't bother me. 

If you liked Incarceron, you will love Sapphique. It comes out in the US in December, so preorder your copy now!

Contest!

Shanon is having an AWESOME contest over at her blog to celebrate 500 followers. Check it out!

Review: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

Sisters Red is one of those books that sounded cool, but I was wary about. First, it's a "retelling" of Little Red Riding Hood, and the majority of retellings I've read/watched weren't so great.
Second, most books with a synopsis like this can have the trouble of falling into one of two categories: too boring, or so much going on that the characters' voices suffer.
I'm VERY happy to say that Sisters Red broke all of the stereotypes I had in my head.

For some reason I wasn't expecting this book to be set in modern times, but I loved that it was. Scarlett and Rosie are completely fleshed out, and their relationship is completely believable. Scarlett is passionate about hunting the Fenris, almost to the point of obsession. Rosie hunts with Scarlett mainly out of obligation to her sister, although she feels that she may want more out of life.
Another thing I liked was the fact that I could sympathize with both girls. Neither of them seemed out of line with their wants and desires.

I love the cover! The black, red, and white definitely stands out, and it's perfectly representative of the story. It's currently the background on my cell phone.

Sisters Red is a great read for anyone. It has romance, action, humor, and a little more gore that I expected (go Jackson!). Definitely pick this one up when it comes out in June.

Also, Jackson has two companion books in the works. Sweetly, based on Hansel and Gretel, and Fathomless, based on The Little Mermaid. I can't wait!

Preorder from Amazon here

FTC: This book was provided free from the publisher for review. I made no money whatsoever on this review.

Contest!

Alexandra Bracken is giving away signed copies of her novel Brightly Woven and Leah Cypress's Mistwood! Go here to enter. Or don't, because I REALLY want these. Hehehe.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer

Abby Goodwin is sure her sister Maya isn't a murderer. But her parents don't agree. Her friends don't agree. And the cops definitely don't agree. Maya is a drop-out, a stoner, a girl who's obsessed with her tutor, Jefferson Andrews...until he ends up dead. Maya runs away, and leaves Abby following the trail of clues. Each piece of evidence points to Maya, but it also appears that Jefferson had secrets of his own. And enemies. Like his brother, who Abby becomes involved with...until he falls under suspicion.

Is Abby getting closer to finding the true murderer? Or is someone leading her down a twisted false path?

This book sounds VERY good, but I haven't heard much about it. It comes out May 1, so that's not too long of a wait.

I'm not a big fan of the cover... The title is what got my attention in the first place.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser is from Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, page 69:

"I stretch, tightening and releasing the muscles in my legs and arms, flipping my hatchet from hand to hand. Despite the fact that I'm still angry, I can't help but be excited. Hunting isn't fun, per se, but it's right."

OMG!

So, the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is one of my favorite book series ever, and I just found out that another Bartimaeus book is coming out in November! I have no idea where the book is going to fit in with the trilogy, but I'm excited no matter how it goes!

Cover Twins

Carrie Ryan tweeted the Greek cover of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and it reminded me of another foreign cover...
Here's the cover for the German cover of The Hunger Games:



I like the Hunger Games cover better.

Waiting on Wednesday: Zombies vs. Unicorns

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, Carrie Ryan, Diana Peterfreund, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

I can't wait for this one! I've been following this ever since Justine Larbalestier offhandedly mentioned it on her blog. When I found out which YA authors were contributing, I knew I had to read this one. Look for it in September.
And for the record, I'm totally Team Zombie.

Preorder from Amazon.

Top 100 YA List + My Thoughts

Since everyone else is doing this, I thought I might as well too.
April at Good Books and Good Wine had bloggers and readers vote on their top YA novels/series/etc, and here's the list she came up with. Titles in bold are ones that I have read, italics are those that I own, but haven't read yet. I'll leave a few comments, and at the end I'll name a few that I think *should* be on the list, but are not.

100. Hate List by Jennifer Brown
99. Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
98. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
97. Among The Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
96. Bllood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Claus
95. Forever by Judy Blume
94. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
93. Tithe by Holly Black (I liked this book, but I think I like Valiant better...)
92. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
91. Wings by Aprillynne Pike
90. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
89. Angus, Thongs And Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
88. Marked by PC And Kristin Cast
87. Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
86. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
85. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (Not the MJ book I would choose, but she does deserve to be on the list.)
84. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
83. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
82. The Mediator series by Meg Cabot
81. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
80. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
79. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I honestly disliked this book. Take it off the list.)
78. Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen
77. Evernight by Claudia Gray
76. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
75. Life As We Knew It series by Susan Beth Pfeffer
74. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
73. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
72. Alana: The First Adventure series by Tamora Pierce
71. Stardust by Neil Gaiman (Definitely deserves to be here. I loved this book.)
70. Unwind by Neil Shusterman
69. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
68. Paper Towns by John Green
67. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
66. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
65. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
64. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon
63. The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
62. Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz (Meh. I don't like this series much.)
61. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
60. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
59. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
58. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
57. Eragon by Christopher Paoloni (This series is great.)
56. Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine (The perfect antidote to the sparkly vamps of Twilight. I like it.)
55. The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith
54. Fallen by Lauren Kate
53. The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
51. Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke (Magical series that definitely deserves a place here.)
50. Number The Stars by Lois Lowry
49. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding
48. The Maze Runner by James Dashner (This book was good, but I wouldn't put it on the list.)
47. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares
46. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
45. The Summoning series by Kelley Armstrong ( This is a good series, I'd put it a little more toward the top, like 70ish.)
44. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
43. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
42. Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card
41. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
40. Wake series by Lisa McMann (I didn't like this one much...)
39. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
38. Are You There Good? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume
37. Looking For Alaska by John Green
36. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
35. A Great And Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray
34. His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman (This should be a little lower on the list. in the 20's at least.)
33. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
32. Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare
31. The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
30. Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
29. Forest of Hands And Teeth by Carrie Ryan (Love this one.)
28. Holes by Louis Sacher
27. The Outsiders by SE Hinton
26. The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger
25. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
24. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
23. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
22. Uglies series by Scott Westerfield (I like this series, but I think his Midnighters series is better.)
21. Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia (Needs to be a bit lower on the list.)
20. Poison Study series by Maria V. Snyder
19. Book Thief by Markus Zusak
18. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carlson Levine (I love this one too.)
17. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
16. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
15. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
14. Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery
13. The Giver by Lois Lowry
12. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (This definitely needs to be here, and it's at a good number.)
11. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
10. Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
9. A Wrinkle In Time series by Madeline L'engle
8. Graceling series by Kristin Cashore
7. Percy Jackson And The Olympians by Rick Riordan
6. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
5. Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (In terms of popularity, I can see this being here. Definitely not this close to number one though.)
2. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling (I'm biased a little, but I think this should be number one.)
1. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins (Good series. Not number one, though.)


A few that should be on the list but aren't:

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
Liar/Magic or Madness/How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld
Pendragon series by DJ MacHale
The Hobbit by JRR Tolken
Young Wizards series by Diane Duane
Pucker by Melanie Gideon
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix
The Otori series by Lian Hearn


Is there anything I left out that you think should be here?
Anything you disagree with?
Any of these I haven't read yet but I REALLY need too?
Let me know in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Synopsis:
Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

I can't wait for this book! I may or may not be getting an ARC in the mail in the coming weeks... but we'll see about that.

Anyway, since this is written by Jackson Pearce, I might as well tell you guys about my #Bloggerfail.
When I went to the Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl signing, Jackson was also there. I before this, I had NO idea who she was. I ended up sitting next to her in Starbucks while she, I, Kami, Margie, and a few other people were having a pre-signing pow wow. When Kami and Margie started their talk, they introduced Jackson, and I felt like a bad book blogger. =/

Waiting on Wednesday: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Synopsis:
Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons?

I just happened to see this one and the cover caught my eye. Then I read the synopsis, and I was sold. I think that the author is going to do a book for each of the four horsemen, because her next book is called Rage. I'm thinking War?
What do you guys think of the cover, book, etc?

Preorder from Amazon.

Contest!

Emily Homer is having a contest! Win an ARC of A Love Story Staring My Best Friend and something from Japan!

Review: The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

The Dead Tossed Waves is a companion book to Carrie Ryan's debut novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth. While it's not a direct sequel, Mary's story is revisited and (kind of) continued.
This novel is told from Mary's daughter's point of view, and from chapter one, Carrie wastes no time in making everything tense, bleak, and depressing. I love her for that. After meeting her, it's so weird that such a bubbly, fun person could write this kind of novel, but she excels at it.
If you've read The Forest of Hands and Teeth, then you know that there will be a lot of casualties, as this is a zombie novel. I knew that not everyone would make it, but each loss still shocked me. There were also a few twists that I didn't expect, and that's exactly what I want from a book.

The cover is gorgeous. It definitely represents the book, and as Carrie said,"You want to know what her story is just by looking at her face."

Recommended if you like The Forest of Hands and Teeth, zombies, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner

Order from Amazon.