Saturday 31 December 2011

2012 Debut Author Challenge

I'm super excited about the debut novels coming out over 2012.  Therefore I have decided to take part in this challenge!  It's hosted by The Story Siren.  :)

Any YA debut novel published between January 1, 2012 and December 30, 2012 count.  To complete the challenge you have to read a minimum of 12 debut novels between January 1, 2012 – January 31, 2013.
Here's a list of books I'm planning on reading:

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale
The Catastrophic History of You & Me by Jess Rothenberg
Night School by C J Daugherty
Hollow Pike by James Dawson
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan
A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Scarlet byb A. C. Gaughen
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
The Witch of Turlington Academy by Ellie Boswell
Bunheads by Sophie Flack
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

On My Wishlist (#24)

On My Wishlist is an awesome weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City that runs every Saturday.  It's a place where you can put up all the books you're desperate to read, but haven't actually bought them yet.  They can be old, new or forthcoming.    And, even better, everyone can join in with too, because there's a Mr Linky so you can put your post up.  All you have to do is click on the link below:

 
Two books on my wishlist, both of which I have my eye on as a welcome-in-the-new-year-me presents! ;) 
 
The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1)The Name of the Star
Series: Shades of London, Book One
By: Maureen Johnson
Published: 29th September 2011
Published By: Harper Collins
Found: On Red House
 
Synopsis From Goodreads:
The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.
Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.
This sounds amazing!  I love historical, especially murder-paranormal-historical!  I mean, who doesn't love a good old fasioned Jack the Ripper story?  Um, does that sound totally twisted...?
 
 
Ashes (Ashes Trilogy #1)Ashes
Series: Ashes, Book One
By: Ilsa Bick
Published: 29th September 2011
Published By: Quercus
Found: On Red House
 
Synopsis From Goodreads:
No, she thought. No, please, God, I'm not seeing this
Seventeen-year-old Alex is hiking through the wilderness when it happens: an earth-shattering electromagnetic pulse that destroys almost everything.
Survivors are divided between those who have developed a superhuman sense and those who have aquired a taste for human flesh. These flesh-hunters stalk the land: hungry, ruthless and increasingly clever...
Alex meets Tom, a younge army veteran, and Ellie, a lost girl. They will fight together and be torn apart, but Alex must face the most difficult question of all:
In such a vastly changed world, who can you trust?
A srtory of high-wire tension, gut-wrenching twist, and burgeoning love, Ashes will leave you breathless.
Yay: zombies!!  I do love zombie stories, and according to many reviews, this one is awesome!  :D
 
 
Well, these are the books I'm a wishin-for on the last day of 2011. 
 
What are you wanting right now?

Happy New Year Giveaway!


It's time to welcome in the new year... with a giveaway!   It's been a great year book wise: we've had the first in the new Bloodline series, Alyxandra Harvey's new Haunting Violet.  We've had a second book from one of my favourite authors: Jenny Downham.  We've seen the last installment of Harry Potter, and welcomed the new Pottermore website.  Yes, it's been a great year for books...  But I think 2012 will be even better!  To celebrate these old and the new books, I'm having a giveaway that has something from both.  Therefore I'm giving away:

1x Haunting Violet cloth bag
1x Haunting Violet lipbalm
1x 2012 Bloomsbury Book (Fracture)

This is an international giveaway, so no one will be left out!  It ends January 14th.

Oh, and before you all enter, two more things. 
One: What has your Top 2011 Book been?  And which book are you most looking forward to in 2012?  (This doesn't affect who wins: I really want to know 'cause I'm always on the lookout for more books to read!)
Two: I'd like to thank everyone who has followed, visited, commented or guest-posted on The Book Addicted Girl in 2011!  All of you have really made this year special for me!  And I'm hoping that in 2012, we will have more guest-posts, more giveaways and more books!  
Here's to a Happy New Year!

Now, back to buisness: here's the entry form.  I'm using this new Rafflecopter... thingy-ma-bob.  It's fun!  It means you can get loads of extra entries,  and it looks cool! ;)

Thursday 29 December 2011

Upcoming India Dark Blog Tour

I was sent a copy of India Dark, which will be published by Templar January 2012, and I'm lovin' what I'm reading!  So much that I'm taking part in the blog tour!  Anyway, India Dark is a historical novel, about one of Australia's most famous theatre companys.  It's an amazing story so far, and I can't wait to see all of the guest posts and interviews: I'm intrigued by the history! :D

India Dark by Kirsty Murray

Synopsis From Templar:
MADRAS, 1910: two girls are caught up in a scandal that will change their lives forever. Singing and dancing across a hundred stages in a troupe of child performers, they travel by steam train into the heart of India. But as one disaster follows another, money runs short and tempers fray, what must the girls do to protect themselves, and how many lives will be ruined if they try to break free?

And here is the lineup for the Blog Tour!  For more information, check out the tour's offical page.

9th January: District YA
Find out where the story for India Dark comes from, and enter the first giveaway to win a copy of India Dark
10th January:
All About Me
An interview with Kirsty Murray and another giveaway!

11th January: Ink Scratchers
Hear all about Kirsty's writing process and yet another giveaway!
12th January: Turn The Page
A second interview with Kirsty: lots of insights here!
13th January: Readaraptor
Another guest post from Kirsty: all about the amazing locations in India Dark.

14th January: Bookhi
Another Q&A with Kirsty here.

15th January: The Book Adicted Girl
It's me!  We're going to be talking characters: Kirsty will tell us how she cames up with her characters and the challenges of writing an emotionally charged tale.
16th January: Bookbabblers
The final Q&A and your last chance to win a copy of India Dark.

17th January:Read In Between The Lines
Finally, a guest post from Kirsty, all about her life and how she fits writing into it.

Winner of The Book Addicted Girl's First Blogoversary Giveaway!


Earlier this month, I had a giveaway of some  various Bloomsbury goodies to celebrate my blog's first blogoversary!  The winner was picked at random, and she is...
 
Zoe @ Bookhi
 
MY BLOG BUTTON

Congratulations Zoe!  Your goodies are on their way!

Thursday 15 December 2011

Cinder by Marissa Meyer: An Extract


We all love fairy tales, don't we?  And Marissa Meyer's modern twist on the classic Cinderella is amazing!  Thanks to Penguin, we have a link to an extract from Cinder, the first in the Lunar Chronicles.  To read them, go: here.  Also, you have to check out the Cinder Facebook Page: it's awesome!  I've personally just started to read Cinder, and it is so, so, so good!  I'm hooked!  It comes out January 5th.  There will be three more books in the Lunar Chronicles: one inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, one by Rapunzel, and one by Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.  I'm very excited about all of them! :)


Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Synopsis From Goodreads:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Fracture by Megan Miranda: Book Trailer

Eleven minutes might as well be eternity underwater. It only takes three minutes without air for loss of consciousness. Permanent brain damage begins at four minutes. And then, when the oxygen runs out, full cardiac arrest occurs.  Death is possible at five minutes. Probable at seven. Definite at ten. Delaney Maxwell was underwater for eleven minutes. And she’s alive.

Intrigued?  Well I sure was!  Fracture by Megan Miranda comes out 5th January, and is published by Bloomsbury.  From personal experience, I can say Fracture is amazing - I loved it!  If you're interested, you can find out more about Megan on her Website or on her Twitter.  Also, over January there are going to be competetions and news on the Fracture Facebook Page: like it to keep up!  Keep an eye on the Bloomsbury Website, 'cause soon an extract of Fracture will be put up on there!  And check out this book trailer: if I hadn't already read the book, I'd be desperate to after seeing it!




FractureFracture by Megan Miranda

Synopsis From Goodreads:
By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her best friend, Decker Phillips, her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead.
But somehow Delaney survived—despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature—or something else much more frightening….

Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling: Book Trailer

Have any of you read anything by Curtis Jobling?  If you have, you might be interested to know that the third third thrilling instalment in his epic fantasy series, Wereworld, will be released 5th January 2012.  I've never read this series, but this blurb has me intrigued!  If you're excited too, check out the Wereworld Books Website and  Facebook Page.  And check out this trailer - it's made me really excited!




Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk (Wereworld #3)Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling

Synopsis From Goodreads:
DREW FERRAN, THE RIGHTFUL KING OF WESTLAND, IS TRAPPED.

Enslaved by the Goatlord Kesslar, young werewolf Drew finds himself on the volcanic isle of Scoria, forced to fight in the arena for the Lizardlords. With the help of an unlikely ally, he must find a way to break free - but who has ever managed to escape?

Meanwhile, Hector the Wereboar flees the forces of the Catlords. Now on board the pirate ship Maelstrom, the enemy's net is closing in. Haunted by the spirits of the dead, Hector is soon left wondering who the true enemy is...

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Trapped by Michael Northrop

Publisher: Atom
Format: Paperback
Published: 15th December 2011
Number of Pages: 240
Book: For Review*
Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Action-Adventure, YA
Recommended Age: 12+
Contains: Mild Violence, Death, Swearing
No Alcohol, Drug References
Author's Site: Michael Northrop

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week.
Scott and his friends are among the last seven kids at their school waiting to get picked up that day and they soon realize that no one is coming for them.  Still, it doesn’t seem so bad to spend the night there, especially when Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall.
Then the power goes out.  Then the heat.  The pipes freeze.  The roof shudders.  As the days add up, the snow piles higher, the empty halls grow colder and darker and the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision…


TrappedReview:
When it starts to snow, the biggest worry Scotty Weems has is that his basketball match will be cancelled.  School is shut early, but Scott and his friends stay behind, knowing they have a ride coming.  But as the storm turns into a blizzard, they realise no one will come for them.  Spending the night at school isn’t a dream-come-true, but at least it’s safe and warm.  Only the power fails.  And still the snow falls.  It gets colder, darker…  The seven students remaining are trapped, and the choices they will be forced to make could destroy them all forever…
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Trapped.  All I knew was that the cover made me cold and the blurb made me want to read the book now now now!  And, boy, was I not let down!  The book was able to make me as freezing as the cover, and the story itself was totally gripping.  I sat down to read the first chapter and I was hooked.  It made me need to read on!  It grabbed my attention straight away and the rest of the book held it.  I had to find out what the terrible thing that Scotty hinted at was – I ended up reading half the book in a single sitting!
I liked Scotty Weems’ voice straight away: it was simple but descriptive, and was just really likable.  He was brilliantly snarky and witty, as well as being funny and ironic.  He really felt like a teenager: hormone ridden!  And he also had loads of random facts, but believable random knowledge, which somehow made him more believable.  He was also smart, practical, sort of a worrier, and really, really brave.
Scotty’s two long-time best friends, Pete Dubois and Jason Gillispie, were both great.  The three of them really stuck together, and their relationship felt really natural; though I liked how it also got strained during the trapped period (it made it more believable).  Pete was the “normal kid”: very much average in everything.  He was really nice: he didn’t do fake playing cool.  Jason was kinda twisted; he was fascinated by wars and weapons.  He was (sometimes) logical, a scary-good liar, and was always there for Scotty when he needed him.  Plus, he was really funny!
The other four “trapped” kids were all really unique and different.  Krista O’Rea was the “beautiful” one, the one who had all the guys drooling over her; she was also sweet and funny.  Her best friend, Julie, was always with her: they stuck together all the way through the book.  Elijah, the “weird” one, was sort of a loner; he was also clever, funny, and a realist.  My personal favourite was Less Goddard.  He was “bad news”; Scotty thought he was a psychopath.  Apparently he “radiated danger”.  But, he could be nice, and he was really clever.  I liked how he changed and evolved from being a total jerk in my eyes to me actually liking and admiring him.
The characters all felt so real to me, the relationships.  And the situation felt the most real of all.  It was a terrifying thought, but a believable one: it’s so easy to get trapped by natural forces.  And scariest of all: Kids in charge of a school!
I really liked the writing in this book: I totally believed Scott’s voice.  And the way he wasn’t sure about some things and some names made it so believable.  But: after a while I found there were too many “likes” and “you knows” for me.  It started to get annoying once I’d noticed it.  Nonetheless, the writing was still just so vivid.  I felt the cold, the claustrophobia, the panic.  I just loved how we were given snippets of information, little by little, until they slotted together so we could get a glimpse of what was happening… It made me desperate to read on.  I’ve really got to hand it to Michael Northrop: he’s a really vivid writer.  And, seriously: the worst ending ever!  I want a sequel; I want to know what happens next!  It all just felt too abrupt; it left me dangling without all of the answers!
About fear, death, being trapped and the willingness to do anything for survival, Trapped had me on the edge of my seat: I loved it.  It was full of suspense, fear, real-life-horror and huge national disasters, with a little bit of romance thrown in, and the occasional forced teen slang didn’t take away from all that.  What made Trapped really hit home for me was the realness of it all.  A little too much snow, wrong place, wrong time, and anyone could end up trapped.  Very, very scary.  I can’t wait for my next book by Northrop.

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5



Read this book if you liked:
Gone by Michael Grant
Envy by Gregg Olsen
Fracture by Megan Miranda


Challenges It's Taking Part In:
Happy Reading
Megan
* This book was received from Atom in exchange for an honest review

Tuesday 6 December 2011

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012

I love contempory books, and I seem to be reading loads of them at the minute.   Therefore I have decided to take part in this challenge!  It's hosted by Reading Angel and Katie's Book Blog.  :)


There are different levels that you can choose to challenge yourself in:
Level 1: 5+ books
Level 2: 10+ books
Level 3: 15+ books


I think I'm going for Level 3; as I said, I love contemporary!

And you can read any contemporary YA novel published between January 1, 2012and December 30, 2012. 

 
To take part yourself, click on the picture below:





Books I've read:

15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins

Dying to Know You by Aidan Chambers
The Repossession (The Repossession, Book One) by Sam Hawksmoor
Knock Down (Street Duty, Book One) by Chris Ould
Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce
What’s Up With Jody Barton? by Hayley Long



Here's a list of books I'm planning on reading:

Winter's Kiss by Jennifer Echols
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
Ditched by Robin Mellom
The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal
The One I Want by Jennifer Echols
Dead to You by Lisa McMann
Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale
The List by Siobahn Vivian
Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz
Hersey Angel by Beth Ann Bauman
The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland
Welcome, Caller, This Is Chlow by Shelley Coriell
Adorkable by Sarra Manning
Fall From Grace by Charles Benoit
A Midsummer's Nightmamre by Kody Keplinger
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
While He Was Away by Karen Shreck
52 Reasons To Hate My Father by Jessica Brody

(And I know there are more than 15 books here, but I thought I'd make a big list and just... choose.  Or, if I'm lucky, read 'em all!)