I got lots and lots of great books this week, I’m going to have to read non stop to get through all these :)

Tantalize Graphic Novel by Cynthia Leitich Smith and Ming Dolye
From Publishers – Walker Books Aust.
Release Date – 1st October 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Illustrated by hot new talent Ming Doyle, Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Tantalize is reimagined as a graphic novel—seen through Kieren’s werewolf eyes.

As a hybrid werewolf, Kieren is destined to join an urban Wolf pack and learn to master his shift. Soon, he’ll leave everything behind: home, school, his family, and Quincie, his human best friend . . . who’s beginning to be a whole lot more than a friend. For years, Kieren has managed to keep his desires—and his wolf—at bay. But when the chef at Quincie’s family restaurant is brutally murdered, Kieren resolves to be there for her, even if it means being framed. Even if it means watching Quincie’s beloved restaurant morph into a vampire lair. But when the new chef begins wooing her, how long can Kieren control his claws? How long can he protect Quincie—and himself? In an elegant graphic edition featuring cinematic sequential art by debut artist Ming Doyle and lush, romantic cover art by Sam Weber, best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith re-envisions her delicious dark fantasy through wolfish eyes.

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
Book #3 in the Hush Hush Saga
From Publishers – Simon & Schuster Aust.
Release Date – 4th October 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository | Kobo

The noise between Patch and Nora has gone. They’ve overcome the secrets riddled in Patch’s dark past, bridged two irreconcilable worlds and faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust… and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth.
Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they’ve worked for – and their love – forever.

 

Emerald by Karen Wallace
From Publishers – Simon & Schuster Aust.
Release Date – 1st November 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Emerald St. John is in trouble. She has been condemned to marry a man she hates, her enemies are conspiring to have her pet bear Molly torn apart in the baiting pits, and the man she loves is far away on the high seas. And she has stumbled into a web of spies with a plot to poison Queen Elizabeth I. To save herself and the kingdom, Emerald must beat the spies at their own game – which means transforming herself from a country girl into a lady of the court. Can she do it in time?

 
Prized by Caragh O’Brien
Birthmarked #2
From Publishers – Simon & Schuster Aust.
Release Date – 1st November 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Having escaped from the corrupt Enclave, Gaia ventures into the wasteland with her baby sister, Maya, hoping to find a settlement that’s rumoured to lie in the Dead Forest. After days of travelling, Gaia is close to death when Peter, a ranger from the mysterious village of Sylum, finds her and takes her back with him. Gaia soon realises that Sylum has as many strict laws as the Enclave she fled from, but when Maya is taken from her by the ruthless village leader, the Matrarc, Gaia is forced to stay and submit to their strict social code, or risk losing her sister forever.
But Sylum is in trouble. The population is falling and the amount of women dwindling dramatically, and with a deadly fever affecting striking down anyone who tries to leave, the future is bleak for the village. Desperate to escape with her sister, Gaia is determined to uncover the secrets of the village, whatever it takes.
And when Leon is captured too, Gaia is faced with another tough choice between the boy who captured her heart in the Enclave, and Peter, for whom she can’t deny her growing feelings. But when the decisions you make affect the lives of everyone around you, how can you be sure you’re making the right choices?

Equinox by Lara Morgan
The Rosie Black Chronicles #2
From Publishers – Walker Books Aust.
Release Date – 1st November 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

The thrilling second instalment in the Rosie Black Chronicles by talented WA author Lara Morgan

The second book on the brand-new hit series The Rosie Black Chronicles by Lara Morgan. Rosie’s dad is locked away, Pip has abandoned her, and Riley isn’t telling her the full story. Bent on revenge, Rosie is still working in secret to try and take down the evil Helios group. But what sacrifices is she prepared to make to destroy Helios?

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
From Publishers – Pan Macmillan Aust.
Release Date – 1st October 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository | Kobo

Alex has run away and is hiking through the wilderness with her dead parents’ ashes, about to say goodbye to the life she no longer wants to live. But then the world suddenly changes. An electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky zapping every electronic device and killing the vast majority of adults. For those spared, it’s a question of who can be trusted and who has changed…

Everyone still alive has turned – some for the better (those who acquired a superhuman sense) while others for the worse (those who acquired a taste for human flesh). Desperate to find out what happened and to avoid the zombies that are on the hunt, Alex meets up with Tom – an Army veteran who escaped one war only to find something worse at home – and Ellie, a young girl whose grandfather was killed by the electromagnetic pulse.

This improvised family will have to use every ounce of courage they have just to find food, shelter, while fighting off the “Changed” and those desperate to stay alive.

A tense and involving adventure with shocks and sudden plot twists that will keep teen and adult readers gripped.

Bleeding Hearts by Alyxandra Harvey
The Drake Chronicles #4
From Publishers – Bloomsbury Aust.
Release Date – 1st November 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Lucy’s cousin Christabel has come to live in Violet Hill, and adjusting to the difference between life in a small mountain town and her home in the city is difficult. The strict curfew that Lucy’s parents enforce is hard to respect. Surely something really dangerous couldn’t possibly happen in this tiny town. But Christabel starts to notice some mysterious happenings, and it seems like Lucy, her boyfriend Nicholas and his brother Connor are all in on a secret that Christabel doesn’t understand – one that seems deadly serious. Although she won’t admit it, Christabel would love to be in on any secret with Connor Drake. When Christabel is kidnapped by the ruthless Hel-Blar vampires, Lucy and Connor finally fill her in on all the undead drama. Together, they must find a way to stamp out the Hel-Blar for good.

After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel
From Publishers – Bloomsbury Aust.
Release Date – 10th October 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Aimee and Alan have unusual pasts and secrets they prefer to keep hidden. Aimee’s deceased mother struggled with mental illness and hallucinations, and Aimee thinks it could be hereditary. After all, she sees a shadowy river man where there isn’t one. And then there was that time she and her best friend Courtney tried to conjure a spirit with a Ouija board…Alan is Courtney’s cousin. His family moved to Maine when Courtney’s father went missing. It’s not just Alan’s dark good looks that make him attractive. He is also totally in touch with a kind of spiritual mysticism from his Native American heritage. And it’s not long before Aimee has broken up with her boyfriend…But it’s not Aimee or Alan who is truly haunted – it’s Courtney. In a desperate plea to find her father, Courtney invites a demonic presence into her life. Together, Aimee and Alan must exorcise the ghost, before it devours Courtney – and everything around her.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

The Story Siren runs a meme called In My Mailbox where Book Bloggers can interact and talk about the books they have received in their mailbox each week. Go and check it out and join in the fun!

Alyxandra Harvey very generously offered to answer a few questions about herself and her new book Haunting Violet for us. If you haven’t read the book you can go here to read my review. Let’s get started:

Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a Capricorn. A goat with a fish tail, I mean really, did I ever have a chance to be normal?
I love walking, books, caramel lattes, chai tea. And I could eat my weight in hummus.

Could you tell us a little about Haunting Violet for our readers who have not yet read it?
1872, London
Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade. Violet has taken part in enough of her mother’s tricks to feel more than a little jaded about anything supernatural. The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she’s been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging gift to solve her murder …and prevent the ghost’s twin sister from suffering the same fate.

Which character did you enjoy writing the most?
Violet because I knew her best, and Elizabeth because she’s so fun.

When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely made up?
My characters tend to stroll onto the stage with a pretty good idea of who they are. It’s usually a matter of getting to know them better and then getting out of their way!

If you could be any of your characters from Haunting Violet, who would it be and why?
I’m not sure I’d ever want to be one of my characters…I can be pretty mean to them. ;) Although, I’d like to be Violet for a day, not for the ghostly attacks but because I have a sneaking suspicion that Colin is a really good kisser!

Are we going to see a sequel to Haunting Violet?
I admit I wrote one a few years back, right after I finished the first draft of Haunting Violet. I wanted to know what happened next! As to whether or not it ever gets published that’s to do with sales and schedules and how loudly the readers want it…

(We want it!! We want it!! We want it!! *stamps feet, claps hands and screams at the top of lungs* :)

Ok now we move on to The Fictional Fantasy Five!

What book are you currently reading?
MockingJay by Suzanne Collins. I started the series last week because i thought I might be the only person left on the planet who hadn’t read them yet. Loving them!

Who is one of your favourite Authors?
I couldn’t pick just one! Jane Austen, Patricia McKillip, Holly Black, Terri Windling, Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas…

What is your all time favourite book?
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling. There were rumours of a sequel and I have spent ten long years searching for it.

What is your all time favourite movie?
Again, I couldn’t pick just one… on the list Robin of Sherwood (technically tv), Labyrinth, Pride and Prejudice, The Mummy, Lost in Austen, Harry Potters…

Where is your favourite place to write?

I love the idea of writing in a cafe but laptops are temperamental with me and I can never get comfortable. I do write by hand when I can, drinking yummy lattes and pretending I’m somewhere in Europe.
I have a writing studio on our farm which I adore. I have windows full of pretty views of fields and trees, books, a kettle, an art table and a gas oven for heat that looks like an old-fashioned woodstove. Also, a wall of cute boys…um, Muses. ;)

(Thanks for the photo Alyxandra, I was hoping to see more of the *cough* cute boys *cough* Muses :) )

Thank you so much for allowing us to get to know you, I wish you every success with this series and everything in your future.

I didn’t get any books sent to me this week which is a good thing because there are so many books on my TBR list at the moment. I did get a couple of books from the Book Depository though :)

My Love Lies Bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey
Drake Chronicles #1
From Publishers – Bloomsbury
Release Date – January 2010
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository | Kobo

“They’re close,” she murmured. “Watching.”
“Run?” I suggested. “Like right now?”
She shook her head. “If we act like prey, they’ll act like predators.”
Solange has always known she is a vampire. And as the only female vampire ever born, not initiated, she is surrounded by danger on all sides – from other vampire tribes who want to take her blood into their lineage, and from the bounty hunters who are set on destroying her and her family.
When she is kidnapped, it’s up to her elder brother, Nicholas, and her human best friend, Lucy, to save her.
But can Lucy save herself from Nicholas, who tempts her with every look? What will be her own fate if she surrenders her heart to a vampire?

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Fey #3
From Publishers – Harlequin
Release Date – January 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

In less than twenty-four hours I’ll be seventeen.

Although technically, I won’t actually be turning seventeen. I’ve been in the Nevernever too long. When you’re in Faery, you don’t age. So while a year has passed in the real world, age wise I’m probably only a few days older than when I went in.

In real life, I’ve changed so much I don’t even recognise myself.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who’s sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into conflict so powerful, I’m not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

The Story Siren runs a meme called In My Mailbox where Book Bloggers can interact and talk about the books they have received in their mailbox each week. Go and check it out and join in the fun!

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
From Publishers – Bloomsbury
Release Date – 1st August 2011

Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade, targeting grieving widows and lonely old men. Violet has taken part in too many tricks and considers herself too jaded and level-headed to believe in the supernatural.
The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she’s been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging talents to solve her murder…and prevent the ghost’s twin sister from suffering the same fate.

My Thoughts: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey is set in London in the 1800s. Alyxandra has created an entertaining historical paranormal mystery with a dash of romance. I enjoyed her telling of the Victorian era, I am not an expert nor a big fan of historical fictions, but I believed what Alyxandra has written so I feel it was well executed.

The paranormal element of the story comes in the form of ghosts. Violet who works with her Mother creating fake seances is a skeptic, she doesn’t believe in ghosts until she starts to see them…. I love the irony!. Not only is she seeing ghosts but there is one ghost in particular that just won’t leave her alone. Rowena drowned in a pond, a tragic accident apparently, but Violet doesn’t believe that and won’t quit until she gets to the bottom of it. The twists and turns in the mystery had me guessing at every turn and made it a very entertaining story to read.

I really enjoyed watching the relationships between Violet, Colin and Xavier take shape and enjoyed how the social customs came into play. Let it be known, just for the record, that I am Team Colin! Who wouldn’t fall for a rough and rugged but sweet and caring guy?

I think that Alyxandra did a great job of pulling all four elements together to form this chilling, romantic ghost story. I am eager to find out if there will be sequel because I would really like to see what happens next in Violets life.

About the Author: Alyxandra Harvey is the author of the Drake Chronicles. She studied creative writing and literature at York University and has had her poetry published in magazines, including the Antigonish Review, Room of One’s Own, OnSpec and CV2. When not writing, she is a bellydancer and jewellery maker. Alyxandra lives in Ontario, Canada.

Have you read this book? What did you think? Leave me a comment below :)

There are so many great books out today! I have read some and will be reading the rest in the coming weeks, so look out for my reviews!

Cargo by Jessica Au ( My Review | Goodreads | The Book Depository )
Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers ( Goodreads | The Book Depository )
Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ( Goodreads | The Book Depository )

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater ( Goodreads | The Book Depository )
Supernaturally by Kiersten White ( Goodreads | The Book Depository )
Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey ( Goodreads | The Book Depository )

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour By Morgan Matson ( Goodreads | The Book Depository )

Haunting Violet is out today, find it in your local bookstore or order it online :)
From Publishers – Bloomsbury
Release Date – 1st August 2011

Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade, targeting grieving widows and lonely old men. Violet has taken part in too many tricks and considers herself too jaded and level-headed to believe in the supernatural.
The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she’s been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging talents to solve her murder…and prevent the ghost’s twin sister from suffering the same fate.

I’ve gotten some really great books this week, all of which I am super excited to get started on.

If you haven’t done so already, check out my Blogoversary Giveaway. I have $50 worth of Book Depository books up for grabs, and the best thing is, if Book Depository deliver to you, you can enter :)

If you are a participant in the IMM meme leave me a comment with your url and I’ll drop by and check out what you got in your mailbox this week :)

Ok, now on to the books:

The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn
Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

The Story Siren runs a meme called In My Mailbox where Book Bloggers can interact and talk about the books they have received in their mailbox each week. Go and check it out and join in the fun!

Here’s another book that arrived today that I am super excited to read:

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
From Publishers – Bloomsbury
Release Date – 1st August 2011

Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade, targeting grieving widows and lonely old men. Violet has taken part in too many tricks and considers herself too jaded and level-headed to believe in the supernatural.
The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she’s been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging talents to solve her murder…and prevent the ghost’s twin sister from suffering the same fate.