I picked this book up at the library on cover art alone… well, that and the blurb on the inside cover.

A girl dressed in an oversized black jumper, covering her face with clenched fists and her hair is being blown off her face but it’s morphing into smoke. It looked intriguing and beautiful to me.

The following is the blurb as it appears on goodreads.com

“Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There’s only one problem: Ava can’t remember any of them – and can’t shake the eerie feeling that she’s not who they say she is.

Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn’t know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . .

but only in exchange for her trust.”

I have always wondered about déjà vu. The French translation is ‘already seen’. Some reports say it is a misfire of our neurons. It has also been said that it is a form of foresight, or precognition; that feeling that we’ve been here before, or have met someone but not in this life.

For Ava, opening her eyes to a strange reality she doesn’t remember at all makes her déjà vu episodes feel comforting more than off-putting. Any memories are better than no memory at all, even if these memories are horrific and sometimes downright scary.

It was interesting to delve into the unsettling premise of As I Wake. The need for love at any cost, moral and ethical standards weighed against the desperation of a heartbroken mother with an option of second chance with a daughter she had lost long before she died.

If you had the chance to stay in a reality that may be easy and luxurious knowing the love of your life is in a parallel reality, and to be with him would mean living the life of a fugitive, what would you choose?

If you’re sick of candy, sweet, fluffy romance books this is your cure. It’s gritty, haunting and makes you think. Be prepared to leave a night light on.

http://www.elizabethwrites.com/

Hardcover, 269 pages

Published September 15th 2011 by Dutton Juvenile ISBN 0525422099 (ISBN13: 9780525422099)

At the start of August there was a glut of new books on the shelves; most of them having rich covers and intriguing blurbs. The one I chose to give a chance was Skylark by Megan Spooner. I picked it up first for the cover, second for the blurb and third for grabbing me with the first page.

In a spectrum of purples and a collage of cityscape, forest and filigree iron work, my first impression was a positive one. On the bottom of the front cover there’s also a quote in what looks to be Latin (the google translator doesn’t like it though) that reads Vis in magia in vita vi ~ In magic there is power and in power, life.~

The goodreads.com blurb reads as such…

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children’s innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret—but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

This book reminded me of those wise quotes about following your own path and blazing your own trail, because that’s basically what Lark does for a large portion of the story. She learns to survive in an unknown environment, overcomes her fears and adapts in a mostly believable manor.

Some elements of Lark’s survival seemed a tad convenient but I was able to forgive this for the sake of the action sequences and the urge to turn the page to find out what happens next. The pacing varies, but is slowed only to create tension in a really effective way.

I was impressed by the vivid images of the ‘outside world’ through the eyes of a terrified Lark. The contrast between the City and the Iron Wood is quite significant, and speak volumes about the way they are ruled.

I keep trying to think of books or movies to compare Skylark to and the only thing that comes to mind is the slightly demented sequel to The Wizard of Oz, Return to Oz. Clockwork devices and people who aren’t what they seem are the main similarities.

Spooner is ahead of the curve when it comes to this breed of sci fi. She’s definitely a trail blazer and I look forward to reading the sequels Shadowlark and The Leaden Sky.

www.meganspooner.com

Hardcover, 344 pages

Published August 1st 2012 by Carolrhoda Lab

ISBN 0761388656 (ISBN13: 9780761388654)

For those of you who enjoyed the first book in The Sky Chasers series, Glow, the second book will be on the shelves near you soon.

**If you haven’t read Glow, there may be spoilers so I suggest grabbing the book before reading on.**

I jumped at the chance to review Spark and was over the moon to receive the book in the mail. It felt like forever since I’d read Glow but surprisingly the characters were still fresh in my mind and I was back into the rhythm within a few pages.

Here is part of the goodreads.com blurb

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

If Glow can be compared to Lord of the Flies; Spark has every right to be compared to the 1981 Todd Strasser novel, The Wave.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely is the concept we explore through these well-developed characters and heart-wrenching plot lines.

Seth is portrayed as an evil maniac for some of the first book and yet I found myself really being able to sympathize with his plight right until the last page this time.

Amy Kathleen Ryan takes us places where we are looking at our own morals and asking what we would do if placed in a similar situation. To be honest, some parts made me a little uncomfortable on an ethical level, because I couldn’t see myself dealing with situations better than her characters did. The action scenes are fast paced, and unexpected heroism is the call of the day.

I read Spark cover-to-cover in 3 days, though without life getting in the way it would have easily been back on the shelf in 24 hours. Where the third book will lead us I have no idea, but I am on the edge of my seat and you’ll find out why once you own a copy of Spark.

http://www.amykathleenryan.com/spark.php

http://amykathleenryan.blogspot.com.au/

Hardcover, 309 pages

Expected publication: July 17th 2012 by St. Martin’s Griffin ISBN 9780312621 (ISBN13: 0978031262135)

How do you judge a really good book? Is it the way it resonates with you and changes you in some way come the last word on the final page? Is it the way the world falls away while you’re reading it and nothing can stop you from turning the pages? Is it when you lovingly add it to the pile of books you WILL reread until the book falls apart?

For me Throne of Glass is all of the above and more. My hubby was incredibly embarrassed when I refused to leave the book at home and was reading while we were grocery shopping. (Sorry to the people I accidentally ran into in the store that night.)

I was reading the uncorrected proof of this epically engaging tale of strength, so the cover art isn’t the finished version, but it is pretty close. On the proof, we have an icy blue backdrop and the shadow of Celaena stalking toward us. On the finished paperback book we have the artist’s rendering of Celaena in some seriously awesome clothes and deadly looking weapons out the wazoo.

I’ll grab the blurb from goodreads.com, so I don’t give away anything the publishers don’t want you to know until you pick up the book… and you know, I think you should.

Celaena Sardothien is a daredevil assassin with unrivalled fighting skills. After a year’s hard labour in the salt mines of the kingdom of Adarlan, Celaena is offered her freedom on one condition—she must fight as handsome Prince Dorian’s champion in a contest sponsored by the king, facing the deadliest thieves and assassins in the land in a series of set-piece battles in the country’s stunning glass palace. But there is more at stake than even her life—for Celaena is destined for a remarkable future…

I was in awe of the world building Sarah has worked so hard on; I was enchanted with thoughts of entire castles made from glass and the gentle way the seasons turned. The clock tower sounds rather foreboding, and who doesn’t love the thought of exploring a long forgotten part of a castle?

The characters were well developed and I think Celeana will become one of the best heroines of 2012.

The theme of the book is strength. You don’t have to have rippling muscles to be the strongest person. There is strength of morals, strength of will, courage is a type of strength and so is making the difficult decisions even if they go against every fiber of your being. All Celaena wants is her freedom, but is she strong enough?

If you like Jaqueline Carey’s Kushiel series, Rowena Cory Daniell’s King Rowland’s Kin and the T’en series, then you will seriously love this book.  I recommend reading it while the weather is cooler so you feel even more a part of the story, not that you won’t get sucked in even in the repressive heat of summer.

This will definitely be on my top 5 list of best books of the year.

Will it make your top 5?

http://sarahjmaas.com/

http://sjmaas.livejournal.com/

Paperback, 404 pages

Expected publication: August 2nd 2012 by Bloomsbury

ISBN 140883233X (ISBN13: 9781408832332)

I have had a really long love affair with the books written by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I adored the first two books in the Chronicles of Nick series and I feel book three, Infamous is the strongest book in this series to date.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an audio book copy of this novel and the narration is done beautifully by Holter Graham. I got a completely different experience with having the book read to me rather than reading it to myself. If you have the means I wholly recommend allowing Holter to woo you with the book. Anyway, let’s cut to the chase.

Nick found out the truth about his ‘uncle’ Ambrose and is having a bit of a John Conner, Terminator moment. He has enough on his plate with the 2 jobs, school, his mum and his virtually nonexistent social life – but to then find out your older self has come back in time to try and get you to fix your life so you don’t turn into a heartless evil monster; is a little more than even Nick can take.

To add insult to injury, some loser is targeting people at school, telling secrets and doctoring explicit photos. Not to mention making up vicious lies. Nick is caught up in the maelstrom of hate and it will take trust, willpower and the best efforts of Nick’s friends, to keep him from a fate worse than death.

I now know why Nick feels so awfully henpecked throughout this series by his overly protective mum. I hope all mothers don’t sound like that when we are in the throes of a stress attack over our children. Even I wanted to yell at Cherise for not letting her son explain himself. Funnily, when reading in my head, she never sounded quite that manic.

We still have the cheeky repartee that is typical of Nick, but I was surprised by a certain scene with Kody that had me doing the ugly cry. Battling your personal demons isn’t easy for anyone, and Sherrilyn approached the subject with dignity. The monologue was beautiful and I’m sure if more people had friends like Kody in their lives, the world would be a different place.

Your jaw will hit the floor with some bits and for the most part, this is a book that should come with a choking warning, Talon sounding like a Valley Girl, need I say more.

I tell you it is going to be a really hard thing to wait for the next installment of the Chronicles of Nick with the book, Inferno not due until March 2013. That’s an eternity away!

If you’ve read Infamous, please, tell us what you thought.

http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/book-series/chronicles-of-nick/

Audio Book Info

ISBN 1427214891 (ISBN13: 9781427214898)

Macmillan Audio Narrated by Holter Graham

Book Info

Paperback, 358 pages

Published March 13th 2012 by Atom

ISBN 1907411550 (ISBN13: 9781907411557)