Prodigy (Legend, #2)

Wow, wow, wow!  What a thrilling second book in the Legend Series.  Prodigy by Marie Lu, follows the adventures again with Day and June on the run and this time we are set on a journey that takes the duo to the heart of the rebellion to join forces with the Patriots who seem to be the only ones equipped to help Day and June, but for a price.  The Patriots will take in Day and June but ask in return for them to help assassinate the new Elector, Anden.

Lu does an amazing job setting the stage and really building up the environment around the story.  She also provides alternating views of Day and June that shows the reader of this dual understanding of the two sides of the story.  The characters throughout are all unique in their own and have a story to tell - beautifully developed and totally believable in their actions.  Of course there are twists and turns that will keep you guessing throughout the book and in the last third of the book, she sets off in a racing pace that will not let you put the book down until the end.  Her fast paced writing style and plot really keep the reader engaged from the first page to the last and leaves you wanting more.  I for one cannot wait for the final book in the series, Champion that comes out this fall!

Upcoming Projects to Drool Over: The Young Elites

Okay, so first off sorry for the delay...the Memorial Day holiday weekend got the better of me and I found myself out and about rather than writing and reading. However, I did find myself looking at some projects that some great YA authors are working on...not to debut this year, but next (guess we have to wait). Marie Lu, fantastic author of the Legend series is working on a new fantasy trilogy, The Young Elites that will feature young, plague-surviving children with some super god-like powers in a Renaissance-like world. Most of the character descriptions sound absolutely delicious and intriguing. Lu is asking us to think of a cross of X-Men and Game of Thrones...Who can resist that! I cannot wait for Fall 2014!

Find more here: http://marielubooks.tumblr.com/post/51560431653/picture-is-a-sketch-of-my-new-protagonist

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

I know, I know....this book is sooooo yesterday, but oh my, what a fantastic jewel of a read for those of you who have yet to discover this gem!  Catherine Fisher does an outstanding job building a world within a world with her novel, Incarceron

Incarceron is a story about a futuristic prison that the outside world thinks is a paradise while those on the inside believe the same to be true of the outside, but neither could be further from the truth.  In both worlds there are those who rule and are ruled by fear but both worlds also contain a secret, a secret some would kill for.  Inside the prison is a boy, Fin, who swears he is from the outside and has visions of, what he believes, his life before Incarceron.  No one has ever escaped the prison except one man, and even that could be a made up fantasy.  The Warden's daughter, Claudia, is ever so curious and intelligent and makes contact with Fin through a pair of crystal keys and is determined that he is the missing prince that she was once betrothed to.  Can she break Fin out and call off her horrid betrothal to a irresponsible playboy prince?  Is there even a way to escape the prisons that they both live in?

I have to tell you, I was constantly engaged by the characters that live in the two worlds that Fisher has brought to life.  They each were so unique and real in their actions, their decisions and their feelings and frustrations.  The only thing that could top the rich characters was the detailed descriptions of the two worlds.  Fisher created a landscape so vivid that I actually felt as if I was walking the halls of Claudia's home and grounds and then a second later I was inside the prison walls and could smell the stenches and feel the desperation all around.  Seriously, a talented brave writer who opened our eyes to a world beyond imagination.  

Crumble by Fleur Philips

Typically, I blog here mainly on YA Dystopians (or so it seems) but this book caught my attention in a very different way.  Crumble (YA Fiction Finalist in the 2013 International Book Awards), by Fleur Philips is one of those raw, exposing, real reads that really makes you open your eyes and think, "wow, there are people out there that really think like this in today's age."  This is a story about racial boundaries, intolerance, hatred and most of all love.  Philips builds a world that could be any place really...could be your own backyard.  In this small town in Montana Sarah McKnight is secretly seeing David Brooks because the town and most importantly, Sarah's father, looks down upon interracial relationships, but what happens when Sarah realizes that her problem is much bigger than just a white and black issue?  

This book tackled a slew of issues all at one time and did an okay job touching them all but the overall theme of love was well told.  This is a great book to open up for discussion with your teen or with your friends or classmates.  It's still really hard for me to believe that these racial boundaries still exist, but I know they do.  A very brave and thought provoking read with an unpredictable ending.

Shades of Earth (Across the Universe, #3)

For those of you who have long followed the Across the Universe series, you will not be disappointed with the final book in Beth Revis’ trilogy,  Shades of Earth (Across the Universe, #3)!  Amy and Elder have traveled through space and stars and finally reach their destination - Centauri-Earth.  With the frozens thawed and shipborns learning to cohabitate and settle on this new planet they find that there is distrust and prejudices but now they also find that they are not alone on this new planet, but who is the one to be feared?  Someone, or something else is alive on this planet and is slowly killing them one by one, but why?    New discoveries come to light as their quest for clues put them in grave danger. 

Revis does an amazing job in this fast-paced thrilling conclusion that you will not want to put down.  I would say, the last third of the book is so thrilling that I wanted to turn the pages faster than I could possibly read them.  Revis does such a wonderful job creating the world, inhabitants, nature, circumstance and atmosphere of Centauri-Earth that at times it seems like a very possible location of the future.  This story of struggle and conflict has it all: man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. society, man vs. nature (literally).  Shades of Earth is a book not to be missed and is an electrifying ride unlike any other!  A real treat to read and the perfect ending to the Across the Universe series.

Cover Reveal: Romancing the Bookworm (New Adult)

Happy Monday Morning you lovely bookworms!  As All Booked Up's first cover reveal, we bring to you a new read by Kate Evangelista, Romancing the Bookworm!  Here are some of the exciting details! 

Title: Romancing the Bookworm     

Author: Kate Evangelista

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Genre:  Romance

Age Group: New Adult

Expected release date: July 9, 2013

Cover reveal organized by: AToMR Tours

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17668573-maverick
Book Description

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can unravel.

It's spring break, and Tamara Winters would rather stay on campus and read romance novels than flaunt her size-fourteen body on a beach. But her best friend, Ronni, has other ideas. Against her wishes, Tamara is whisked away to picturesque Maverick Bay, where she's wrangled into waiting tables with Ronni at the Shore Shack for its busy week leading to Maverick's Surf Invitational. There she meets fellow schoolmate Xavier Solomon, the Invitational's organizer and campus womanizer by reputation. From the moment Tamara sees him emerging from the waves like a hero in of one of her romance novels, all she wants to do is run away from the feelings he inspires in her.

Little does she know Xavier has been watching her for weeks now. In fact, after failed attempts at asking her out on campus, he's concocted a crazy plan: fabricating romantic situations straight out of her favorite books. Xavier quickly realizes that if Tamara gets a whiff of his designs, he might as well spell CREEPER across his forehead. Yet as they grow closer, he's convinced it's a risk worth taking. What he hasn't planned on, of course, is his drug-addicted, alcoholic stepbrother, who decides to join the fun and put a wrench in Xavier’s scheme.

Spring break is proving hotter than Tamara expected. Will her romance novels be able to compete?

About the Author

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master's courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing. Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing. Today, she has four completed Young Adult novels.

Author social media links:

http://kateevangelistarandr.blogspot.com/

@KateEvangelista

Need To Read: Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1)

New week, new book!  Our next Need To Read on our ABU radar is Gail Carriger's debut YA novel, Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1). One of Goodreads YA Novels of 2013, Etiquette & Espionage looks promising and has already received some outstanding reviews.  Some readers are comparing this to Harry Potter or Downton Abbey but we'll need to see...

Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):  

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail Carriger's legions of fans have come to adore.

Carriger is known for her witty characters mixed with a Victorian paranormal steampunk style and strong and willful heroines with humor sprinkled throughout!  I, for one, cannot wait to dive into this read!  

Birthmarked (Birthmarked, #1)

Okay, I realize that most YA books now-a-days seem to be trilogies or series, but Birthmarked (Birthmarked, #1)  by Caragh M. O'Brien is one of those series not to be missed.   O'Brien does an excellent job building a beautiful (and scary) world from the ground up leaving out no detail in a fast-paced, gripping tale filled with amazingly written and crafted characters that overcome adversity and continue to grow and shift throughout the book.  

Birthmarked is a story about a harsh desolate society where there are the "haves," those privileged few that live within the protection of the lush walls of the Enclave and the "have nots," the majority who live on dry and famished outside.  Gaia Stone is one of the "have nots."  Her family believes in the duty of their work and Gaia follows her mother's footsteps and begins her practice as a midwife who delivers the quota of babies from outside the wall to be "advanced" to those on the inside.  Gaia has never questioned what she did or why until her mom and dad are imprisoned and Gaia must try to save them. Her journey opens her eyes to the world and people around her for the first time and sets her on a path of family, adventure, strength, personal growth and friendship that will send her into a direction she never knew or dared to think existed.  

This is surely a series that you will not be able to put down and will go looking for Prized (Birthmarked, #2)  & Promised (Birthmarked, #3)  right after!  

Enclave (Razorland, #1)

Welcome to the future.  A future where the society lives underground.  A future where you are raised to become either a Breeder, Builder or Hunter.  Welcome to the Enclave imagineered by Ann Aguirre.  

This book both surprised and intrigued me despite it's original lack of notability.  Aguirre does an amazing job creating and weaving the wonderfully diverse characters together and laying out the beautifully and horrifying settings.  This is one YA dystopian that is not all gloom and doom and also does not focus on the romance (there is a little, but it's not the main plot) and for once there is no love triangle...whew!  I love me a good love triangle, but lately it feels overdone.  

Now, onto the plot.  Imagine a time where someone who is 25 years is old.  The times are dire and dangerous and individuals are only granted a name if they can survive to the age of 15.  Enter our main character, Girl15 who has been training to become a Hunter and is now known as Deuce, an official Hunter that will navigate the tunnels filled with "freaks" who are zombie-ish without being totally spelled out as zombies, and bring back food for the other Breeders, Builders and Elders.   She is finally doing what she loves only to find she is paired with outcast Fade who is quite, strange and the only one in their Enclave from the outside (he, of course is also irresponsible and irresistible).  As Deuce gets to know Fade she learns to trust him and also learns that all is not as she has been raised to believe.   Fade and Deuce discover that changes are happening and that the thoughtless "freaks" are developing more intelligence and strategy to hunt and try to warn the Enclave but the Elders refuse to see and accept this and the two of them are exiled and forced outside the Enclave and head "topside,"  only to discover that the "freaks" are the least of their worries.

This is a great read and yes, it too is a series so there is more to read if you so desire!  It is elegantly written and I love when characters develop and expand their views right in front of you.  They're eyes are opened to possibility.  This book really takes you on and adventure and I'd have to say that if I have any critique it's that the name Deuce was entirely hard for me to embrace but only because I always seem to want to laugh like a 10 year old boy when I read it because yes, Deuce, in my mind, is another word for "poo."  

Legend

If you want a read that really does live up to all the hype, you should pick up Legend by Marie Lu.  I must say, for a long while I was very skeptical - the cover art was not provoking or interesting to me (yes, I am definitely a "judge a book by the cover" kind of person) and it's written in a dual point of view style that I often feel is jarring and disconnecting.  Let me say, however, that this book should not be judged by the cover and the alternating points of view really work in this case and really allows you to dive into each character's story.  

Legend really pulls you in from the get-go.  There's not a huge amount of backstory - in fact there isn't any.  The reader dives headfirst into the story and current action and you don't come up for a breath until the very end.  This fast paced adventure really hooks you in and takes you on an amazing journey of family, beliefs, determination and love.  

We meet our two leads: Day and June who are both really fascinating and interesting characters.  They both have their points of view and are both extremely intelligent and loyal to family.  They are, in fact, so similar that besides the fact that they are on differing sides of the economic spectrum it is clear that their paths will eventually end up colliding.  Day, is a 15-year old living in the poorest sector of the Republic while June was raised in the wealthiest area and given every advantage.  Their paths cross when June's only living relative, her older brother,  is killed during a hospital break-in by Day trying to secure medication for his dying brother.  The hunt is on for Day as the Military uses June's exceptional tracking intelligence and thirst for her brother's revenge.  June soon realizes that not all is as she has been told as she personally dives back into her brother's files.

Overall: the setting is well told and fairly believable, the characters (even the secondary characters) are exceptionally written, the love story is OK, and the plot is incredibly fast-paced and gripping.  Definitely lives up to all the hype!  

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon #1)

To follow in my recent theme of dragons, knights, kings, queens and magic I bring to you, my fellow reader friends, Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman.  This is another story of an underdog that will overcome immense obstacles to achieve great power, but that comes with a sacrifice and deadly secrets.

Eon, our main character has been studying Dragon Magic for the past years so that he might become an apprentice of one of the twelve energy dragons and eventual Dragon-Eye. Eon is an underdog too the tee: too small, too slow, too weak, crippled and also a girl, Eona, pretending to be a boy.  If discovered, Eona could get killed since girls are not allowed to practice Dragon Magic, however against all odds she has a unique gift of seeing all of the energy dragons - not just one, and is selected by the powerful Mirror Dragon that has been missing for hundreds of years.  Eon is catapulted into an action-paced adventure with danger written all over the walls.  She quickly makes an enemy of the powerful, Lord Ido and learns that she is not the only one holding on to a riveting secret.  

Alison Goodman does an amazing job setting the scene and laying the groundwork for this magical journey ahead.  The characters are incredibly imagined and fleshed out to great detail.  It is interesting to see this underlying theme of gender and power in a YA novel.  The book does slow down a bit in the middle, but please read on because the ending is one you will not want to miss!  A great read for those looking for adventure, intrigue and magic!  

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)

For those of you that are fans of fantasy, mysticism and magic, Graceling by Kristin Cashore is an excellent read!  In a time of kings and queens and betrayal and politics lives a girl Katsa who has a very useful Grace.  Gracelings are blessed with amazing beauty along with a special talent and identified by the mismatched colored eyes.  Many gracelings possess gifts like, storytelling or dancing but Katsa is graced with the gift of fighting, one her kingdom covets and wants to control.  Manipulated into service for the corrupt king, Katsa is sent as a henchwoman to do the king's dirty work and punish those against the king  and to counter and calm her guilt, she forms the Council that acts secretly for justice and fairness for those accused.  

We meet Katsa on a mission to rescue the Lienid King's father and joins forces with Prince Po, the captive's grandson that sets the path for the two on a very dangerous, exciting and romantic journey.  Each and every character is wonderfully developed and Katsa is a heroine to fall in love with.  She has struggles of her own to overcome and does grow and change as she learns more about herself throughout the pages.  The romance laced throughout are not the main plot but definitly has it's place.  That being said, Graceling, has one of the more true relationships than those in many of the YA books.  I must warn that this romance can become more graphic than I have seen in other books as well and I would suggest the age suggestion of 14+.  This is a beautifully told and adventure packed story of love, fantasy, magic and romance.  It is clear that Cashore has a grace of her own - Excellent Storytelling! 

Seraphina

I have to review this wonderful debut read of Rachel Hartman, Seraphina!  What a wonderful adventure and world that Hartman builds in her stunning story about a magical land that blends together the world of humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd in an entirely new way.  The story behind how they have come to be at peace, the underlying tensions between them both and the realities of living side by side is very unique as well.  

We enter into this era where dragons take human form to co-exist with humans as ambassadors at court as scholars, musicians, teachers, etc.  Tensions and mistrust grow between the two races as the anniversary of the treaty between Dragons and the human race draw near.  Court musician assistant, Seraphina Dombegh, our main heroine, is caught in a difficult place as her secret is one that could mean her life.  As tensions continue to build, there is a royalty murder that captures Seraphina's interest and as she partners with the captain of the Queen's Guard, Prince Lucian Kiggs, her secret becomes harder and harder to conceal along with her feelings.  Can she keep the peace of the human and the draconian race while keeping her secret?  The more time she spends with perceptive Prince Lucian the more he seems to dig and learn about her.

It is no surprise to me that Rachel Hartman's book won the coveted Morris Award.  Hartman does an amazing job building the characters, elaborating on the beautiful architecture and countryside and weaving the mythological story of Seraphina.  This is a great debut and I look forward to reading what is to come!

Weekend Reading: Shades of Earth & Incarceron

What are you reading this weekend?  In the queue for reading this weekend is finishing up Beth Revis' Shades of Earth: An Across the Universe Novel, which is shaping up to be quite the adventurous read. A perfect conclusion to the thrilling, page turning series!

Also in the queue is a classic favorite YA genre, Incarceron by Catherine Fisher.  This read looked too good to pass up, especially with the spellbinding synopsis by Goodreads:

Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born.

Happy weekend reading! :-)

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

In honor of the upcoming movie debut here is the official trailer (that makes me so excited) and a short review on Rick Riordan's, The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians).  

Join Hero, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, on a new adventure to save camp Half Blood from impending monsters and danger when the magical borders are weakened by a mysterious poisoning and the only hope is to recover the famed Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes, which also happens to be the location where Satyr pal, Grover is being held captive to be married to the terrible Cyclops, Polyphemus.  Percy's quest takes him to The Sea of Monsters, otherwise known as the Bermuda Triangle where he, Annabeth and cyclops friend Tyson must save their friend Grover, overcome monsters and and survive some legendary dangers.  Will they be able to save  their beloved Camp Half Blood?  Can Tyson really be trusted?  Can they save Grover before he becomes dinner?

Rick Riordan does an amazing job with The Sea of Monsters.  His characters are exciting and believable and he is continually impressing me with his excellent writing style as he weaves in adventure, classic mythology and humor. 

My Dog: The Paradox: A Lovable Discourse about Man's Best Friend

I know, I know, we usually post exclusively YA books and news, but today I was perusing the shelves of Barnes & Noble and I found this short (only 32 pages) and hilarious book by Matthew Inman, My Dog: The Paradox: A Lovable Discourse about Man's Best Friend.  Let me just start by saying, that this is a laugh out loud sort of comic book for dog lovers everywhere about the hilarity of our furry friends, our lifelong friends, the good and constant pals, our dogs.  

You may have even already seen some of Matthew's hilarious comics on www.theoatmeal.com.  So if you're an animal person, have a sense of humor, enjoyed How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You, or even a pulse then this book is for you!  A must read for anyone who has ever had a dog!  

Memento Nora

I don't know why but lately I seem to have only picked up books with really strong female leads...go figure!  Anyway, what's wrong with a good dystopian with a female lead?  And speaking of dystopians, let me introduce another great quick summer read for those of you that can't get enough of this dystopian genre, Memento Nora by Angie Simbert.

Memento Nora takes place in the not-so-distant future (and this is one dystopian where the future world is a believable one, not one run by zombies or aliens or where society is a compound with desolate areas).  Nora is your average teenage girl who loves to shop and witnesses a bookstore bombing and in this society when something horrible happens the people visit a Therapeutic Forgetting Center (TFC) to take a pill and put those bad memories behind them.  When at the TFC Nora notices classmate, Micah spit out his pill and Nora decides to do the same and does this change her life!  

Nora's spur of the moment decision takes her on a dangerous roller coaster of a journey where she meets new friends Micah and Winter and together they start a comic, Memento (remember in latin) to document their stories and spread the truth.  This (like many things) catches like wildfire at school and beyond to the community.   All of the sudden, people are after them, either to silence them or erase their memories and the truth might not set them free.  What will happen next?  Will they find their way to the Big Pill and erase their memories forever?

This is a great weekend read that really has it all!  The story is believable and exciting with really well written characters and interesting plot turns.  It's short enough that you could pick it up for a flight or a trip to the beach or even some reading material for the bus.  You won't be disappointed.  

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)

With the recent release of Unravel Me (Shatter Me) by Tahereh Mafi, I thought I would review another favorite, the first in the series, Shatter Me.  

Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me is a breathe of fresh air in the all-too-crowded dystopian/romance genre.  First off, the canter and pace is very unique different from a lot of the other books out today.  The book opens with Juliette, our narrator and main character telling her story of her constant isolation and loneliness from humanity and the curse of her deadly touch in a very stream of conscious sort of way.  Mafi uses scratched out thoughts throughout as Juliette changes her words, making us feel like we're actually inside of her mind, hearing her thoughts and feelings or reading her private and personal journal. 

We being our story with 17-year old Juliette confined to a cell, imprisoned for nearly a year for a murder by her deadly touch, a place where she can do no harm.  In enters Adam, a boy about her age who she can't quite understand.  Is he safe?  What is his motive?  Will she kill him?  He definitely is not what he seems.  And what of Warner?  He seems like the bad guy, but is he really?  Does he just want to help?

This is a story of a girl who develops as a person and character so much throughout the pages.  She goes from a shy, quiet and weak character to a strong and capable young woman.  She also finds herself and realizes that there is something worth fighting for...and from.  Once she realizes how powerful she can be, she needs to decide what role she is willing to play in this game - weapon or warrior.  This book and series is definitely worth the read!