November 2011 - Competition Winners//Books of the Month & Best New Books for December!

My November was taken over by NaNoWriMo. I signed up to the site in 2009, and didn't write a word. Then in 2010 I mulled it over again, and thought, Nah, it'll never happen. So that was a big fat zero last year too. Then this year I decided last minute to participate and this time I said I'd do it - 50,0000 words in a month, and, guess what - I DID IT! Yay!! More on that tomorrow....

For now, here are some competition winners and a couple book recommendations...

Competition Winners!


Mel won a copy of The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan.
Thanks to Savita for providing a giveaway copy!

Gabi won an e-book of Destined by Jessie Harrell.
Thanks to Jessie for providing a giveaway copy!

Katie S. won a super spooky Halloween Prize Pack!
Liesl & Po, Fury & The Dead of Winter.

All winners have been notified and you should have your books soon.

*Please Note: I am not responsible for books lost in the mail.

Books I loved in November:

I have to confess, I didn't love any book I read in November. Therefore, I don't have a book of the month. I don't even have a book I can highly recommend to you.  Admittedly I didn't read all that many books in November due to NaNoWriMo, but I did read some pretty buzzed about books - and all of them fell flat for me. I enjoyed Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, but it was no ANNA. Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick was a big letdown for me as was Ally Condie's Crossed. The Pledge by Kimberly Derting didn't really work out for me either. Hopefully December will be a better reading month for me. Maybe I'm just too picky! 

I need to read some WOW books in December  (That's WOW as in 'OMG! Can't put this book down! I am so in love with this book etc. not WOW as in waiting on Wednesday. You knew that already, I know.) So, if anyone has recommendations for me bring 'em on!

What I'm reading now:

I'm starting on Tempest by Julie Cross tonight. Has anyone read it already? I looked at my bloggy calendar earlier this evening and got quite the shock.  January is an insane month for book releases and I have a lot of blog tours scheduled. I've a lot of author interviews to prep for too, which means my January reading begins now. And I have to get to all those awesome HarperTeen titles from Netgalley before they expire. Eeek. So many books, so little time!

Top picks for December:

December is another slow month release wise, but there are some promising sounding titles to check out nonetheless such as Still Waters by Emma Carlson Berne and Illuminated by Erica Orloff.

Coming up on the blog in December:

I'll be taking a little blog holiday for Christmas so it'll be all so quiet around here for a week or so. Or maybe just a few days. I haven't decided yet!  Before that though, I'll be posting some lists including my top books of 2011, best books for 2012 and there may even be a giveaway...or two!

Read All About It #3 - Recent Exciting Book News & Deals!

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts (slacker!) and I know I've left out lots and lots of  exciting book deals (boo me!). I've included some pretty awesome upcoming titles here though including  new books from  Jessica Warman (Between) and Rebecca James (Beautiful Malice) and a 2013 debut that's being described as a Black-Swan like tale of spooky happenings at a ballet school. Read on for more...

The Suffering Half by Jessica Warman

I recently read and loved Between by Jessica Warman so I'm really looking forward to this next book from her which releases in September 2012. How good does this sound?! Can't wait!

More About the Book

Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins—so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they’ve lived with since their parents passed away, can’t tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong—especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself? Master storyteller Jessica Warman will keep readers guessing when everything they see—and everything they are told—suddenly becomes unreliable in this page-turning literary thriller.

More About the Author 

Blog: Jessica Warman

Twitter:  @jkwarman

Diabolical by Yelena Black 

ETA: Title Change: Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

I'll be keeping an eye out for this debut in 2013, a spooky tale set in a prestigious ballet school, which is publishing simultaneously in the US, UK and Australia from Bloomsbury.  The first in a trilogy I can see this one being very popular!

More About the Book

A Black Swan–like trilogy about a 15-year-old who starts witnessing spooky goings-on at her prestigious ballet school. When Vanessa Adler becomes suspicious of the controlling choreographer at her academy, she stumbles upon the fact that he is staging a performance in which "the school's dancers become pawns in a world of demons."

Little Deaths by Rebecca James 

I loved Beautiful Malice, and I've been eagerly awaiting the next book from Australian author Rebecca James. It looks like Cooper Bartholomew is Dead, the book Rebecca was working on has been put on the back-burner for now, but Little Deaths is set to publish in January 2013, and I can't wait to read it!

More About the Book

It was a baby. A baby crying. Crying and crying and crying,’ she says, her face pale, her voice sharp with urgency. ‘It was so clear. Didn’t you hear it? You must have heard it!
 
Tim Ellison needs a place to live and when he finds a cheap room to rent in the perfect location in Sydney it seems almost too good to be true. The rent is cheap but the room comes with a condition. The owner of the house, the young and beautiful Anna London, has agoraphobia and is more or less housebound. Tim will be responsible for bringing food to the house, and helping with any other supplies she may need.

Anna is quiet, beautiful and inhibited and Tim struggles to get to know her. When odd and frightening things start occurring in the house – unexplained messes, bizarre graffiti on the interior walls, broken windows – he starts to wonder what he has got himself into. Anna finally begins to open up to Tim. As his feelings for her soften and develop into admiration, and even love, he learns about her tragic past and becomes increasingly embroiled in the mysterious world of Anna London and her sinister house.

More About the Author

Blog: Rebecca James

Twitter: @rebecca_james_

Neptune's Tears by Susan Waggoner

Billed as The Time Traveller's Wife meets ER, Neptune's Tears is the first in a two part YA romance to be published by Piccadilly Press in Autumn 2012. I think this one sounds great, and very romantic too, which is always a bonus. Looking forward to reading it, and its sequel Starlight's Edge which will publish in summer 2013.

More About the Book

Set in 2218, Neptune's Tears tells the story of star-crossed lovers, Zee and David. She is young and idealistic, struggling with the stress and emotional demands of her work as an empath; he is a patient in need of her help. But the path of their love is anything but smooth, for David is a traveller from the future, and burdened with a terrible secret. As their relationship develops, Zee realises that she will have to sacrifice everything she cares about for a life with David.

What the Publishers Are Saying

'I'm really very excited about Timedance. "It's simply one of the best romances I've read in a long time.  It's an original, highly imaginative story, and the central characters are so real.  The futuristic setting adds a quirkiness to the story and is very cleverly handled. I read the material one evening and made a pre-emptive bid when I finished.' - Brenda Gardner, Managing Director, Piccadilly Press.

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Additional info & quotes: 

booktrade.info, The Bookseller, Publishers Lunch

Please note:  Release dates and book titles may not be final and may be subject to change.

Reviewed by Jen: Misfit by Jon Skovron.

Product details:
Publisher: Abrams Books.
Release date: September 1st 2011.
Paperback, 362 pages.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: YA.
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Jen.

Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

Reading Jon Skovron’s Misfit will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about demons.  Forget the fiery red horns, pointy tail, and shiny pitchfork.  Any demon still sporting that look is just a relic stuck in the past. Ok, so most demons are ancient relic’s who have been wreaking havoc on the earth for centuries, but they could still make an effort to look fashionable.  Luckily Jael, Misfit’s main character, is here to help the demonic population acclimate to the new millennium and provide a little rehab to their image as well. 

Like most characters in YA novels Jael Thompson has not had an easy life.  Her father, a former catholic priest, is a distant and forboding figure who rules Jael’s life with an iron fist.  As soon as Jael creates a life that is comfortable and somewhat happy she is uprooted and moved without an explanation.    To make matters worse her father refuses to talk to Jael about her mother who died when Jael was an infant.  The only thing that Jael does know about her mother was that she was a demon.  Jael herself is half-demon, but without her mother to guide her Jael is conflicted as to what exactly that means.  Besides being a half-demon and living with a father who seems to resent her for it, Jael also has to deal with the everyday problems of being a teenage girl.  As Jael’s sixteenth birthday approaches things seem to be falling in place.  Rob, the mathematically inclined science geek makes it clear that he would like to get to know Jael a lot better and Jael is more than happy to oblige.  Britt, Jael’s best friend, is thrilled that her BFF will finally be able to hook-up with a cute guy and see what she has been missing out on.  Maybe Jael will finally be able to escape her fathers suffocating rule.  Unfortunately Paul, Jael’s father, has other plans.  Two years in Seattle is far too long and the ancient demons who have been stalking Jael since her birth are closing in.  It is time to move.  For the first time in her life Jael finds the courage to stand up to her domineering father and discovers what being a half-demon really means. 

I loved Jael.  Besides the fact that I didn’t know how to pronounce her name until over halfway through the book, I thought she was a truly refreshing character.    After living most of her life in fear of her father Jael finally decides to embrace her demon half and stand up to him, finally making her own choices for her life.  Paul has made her feel ashamed about who she is, but once Jael is able to connect with her Uncle Dagon, an ancient demon who agrees to teach Jael how to harness her demonic powers, Jael realizes that being a demon doesn’t necessarily mean being evil.  Demons are just immortal creatures who have been alive since the beginning of time.  Their propensity for evil just depends on who they decide to associate with.  Jael’s birth itself is a testament to the love shared between her mother and father as demon’s can only become pregnant if they are truly and deeply in love.  The fact that Jael exists at all completely contradicts everything she was ever taught about demons in the various Catholic schools her father has forced her to attend.  He believed that sending Jael to a Catholic school would help suppress her evil tendencies, when in fact, Jael was never evil to begin with. 

As much as I loved the coming of age aspect of the story there is a lot more to Misfit than just a teenage girl trying to figure out who she really is.  Since the death of Asarte, Jael’s mother, she has been stalked by Belial, an ancient demon who believes all half-bloods should be killed.  Paul has done what he can to save his daughter, but now it is up to Jael to save herself, and the earth, from this overwhelmingly evil force.  All while trying to maintain a passing grade in Algebra. 

Another aspect that I enjoyed were the flashbacks that allowed the reader to get to know Asarte and understand what her life was like with Paul.  There is a scene where Paul and Asarte have become hunters, exorcising evil demons from the earth.  The incident in a Brooklyn apartment reminded me of one of my all-time favorite books, The Exorcist.  Although this is a YA book I felt that the author made bold choices in his plot in order to tell his story as vividly as possible.  I also liked the way that Asarte and Dagon were set up as various mythological and biblical characters throughout the story.   It was fascinating to read how the author wove his characters through the ancient and biblical stories that helped to give them substance.  Unfortunately, this is also the aspect of the story that I feel would lose teen readers.  The flashbacks to biblical times or Asarte and Paul’s relationship had a much more mature feel to them than the chapters concerning Jael.   I can see teens becoming easily bored throughout these chapters and giving up before the best parts of the story.  Paul is such an unlikable character that I think teens would have a difficult time caring about how he came to be married to a demon.  While I enjoyed the background information, others may find it tedious and boring. 

Overall I really did enjoy reading Misfit.  I thought Jael was a unique character and the story itself stands out from the typical modern mythology fare that is now so popular.  The plot was tense from the first page and that is what kept me reading.  While so many novels are still casting demons as evil creatures Misfit is a refreshingly different story that stands out from the pack. 

Book Trailer: Fracture by Megan Miranda.

How cool does this book sound? If you haven't already got it on your January wish list, well, what are you waiting for?

I'll be reviewing this one closer to release date, and I can't wait to get to it! The book trailer is pretty cool too. Take a look below!

Fracture by Megan Miranda releases January 2012 from Walker & Co. (US) and Bloomsbury (UK)

Fracture by Megan Miranda

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd.

Release date: January 2012

Ages: YA

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….

Book Review: Crossed by Ally Condie.

Product details:
Publisher: Puffin.
Paperback, 367 pages.
Release date: November 24th 2010.
Rating: 2½ out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Series: Matched #2.
Other books in series:  Matched.

Rules are different outside the Society.

Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky-taken by the Society to his certain death-only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.

Narrated from both Cassia's and Ky's points of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever...

Last year, it seemed like the whole world read and fell in love with Ally Condie’s debut novel, Matched. The buzz surrounding the book was enormous, and it went on be an international bestseller. While I liked Matched, and enjoyed the book for the most part, it wasn’t a huge favourite of mine.  I found the plot too slow moving, I didn’t connect with the characters, and so unlike a lot of people who counted down the days to the sequel Crossed, I could pretty much take or leave it. While I didn’t have very high expectations for this one, I was still left disappointed on finishing the book. Crossed if full of perfectly poetic prose from Condie, but that wasn’t enough to save a book that contains perhaps one of the slowest moving plots I have ever encountered in my reading life.

Crossed begins in the immediate aftermath of Matched, with Ky banished to the Outer Provinces where he has effectively been sent to die, and Cassia leaving her life as she knows it to go and find him. Told in a dual narrative featuring alternating chapters in Ky and Cassia’s point of view, our introduction to the new world of Crossed is an awkward and somewhat uncomfortable one. Condie doesn’t do much to re-cap the events of Matched and the narrative structure of this book doesn’t help matters as the voices of Ky and Cassia are pretty much impossible to tell apart. I can’t recall the amount of times I had to check back to the beginning of the chapter to see which of the characters was narrating events.

I really didn’t feel as thought the plot of Crossed picked up at all until the final third of the book, and even then, I can’t say that things were particularly exciting. A large part of the book sees the two characters separated as Cassia makes her way towards Ky overcoming obstacles and hardships in the process. It’s a test of endurance for her, as she breaks free of her societal restraints in search of the boy she loves and the rebels who are leading an upsurge against the Society. But where there could have been action, there never is, and the plot never really hits its stride.

With the plot so lacking then, I was counting on the characters to save this book for me. I didn’t feel connected to Ky or Cassia in Matched, and unfortunately the same can be said here. Those two don’t really work for me. As characters I find them bland, their romance tepid. I’m with the Society when they say that Xander is a better match for Cassia. He’s one character I’ve wanted to know more about right from the start, and it seems that there is much more to him than meets the eye. As a character he intrigues me, but unfortunately he is only featured in this book for the briefest of moments. Still though, I’m expecting more of him in the series conclusion. Crossed also sees the introduction of a wild and willful girl called Indie, who I found infinitely more interesting than Cassia.

While Crossed suffered from the dreaded mid-series slump, and didn’t work for me on a number of levels, I find myself still invested in the series, and wanting to know how it all ends.  A large part of this is down to Condie’s style which is wonderfully descriptive as ever. I also feel that while Crossed lacked any plot tension or excitement, Condie has laid the foundations for an explosive conclusion in which all the secrets of the Society will be revealed, and Cassia will finally have to choose if she wants to be with Ky, the boy who has stolen her heart, or Xander the boy who has loved her forever.

NanoWriMo 2011 - Almost there!

Current Day: 23

Word Count:  40,014

Almost there!

With just over a week to go until the end of the month, I'm sticking to my daily word counts and still enjoying the whole NaNoWriMo experience. Why didn't I try this before?

First of all I'd like to say a special thanks to AshHadAns. In my last update, I was fretting about dialogue and worried that it wasn't coming naturally to me. I was re-reading and nitpicking and doing all the wrong things, and then this piece of advice:

I have a lot of problem with dialogue, too. I kept going back and obsessing over what I had already written that it was really slowing my word count down. So now I just write it as it comes out and don't look back. At the end when you do your edits then you can re-read it and see how it flows and if stuff needs to change. The whole point of NaNo is not to produce a publishable ready book, it's just for the word count. And that thought has really helped my writing a lot. I'm getting through the story faster and skipping to my favorite scenes and shooting them out in just a couple days each.

Totally worked for me - thanks!

Will I make it to 50,000?

The word count shouldn't be a problem. I still have so much of my story to tell (probably too much - more on that later), but I'm away this weekend, and I won't have time to write. Well, I will, but I don't know how well I'll be received if I shut myself away in my room and write for the whole weekend. Hopefully I can sneak an hour or two, though. Even if I don't get to 50,000 I plan on sticking with this thing and finishing it. I've had a lot of fun with it, and I've kind of got a book crush on my own book boy (I still haven't given him a name - ridiculous, I know!) I have to find the perfect name. Sometimes I'm so turned off characters in books because they have the wrong name, although I get over it if they're hot enough!

I Go Round in Circles

I thought that writing 50,000 words or getting anywhere near it would be impossible for me, but I haven't even gotten to the fun part of the book yet, and I'm at 40,000. I'm well aware that there's a lot of trash in there though - abandoned story arc's, a lot of notes to self and TK's. I'm also concentrating way too much on the relationship, which is fun, but I've definitely been drifting way too much into soppy territory at times. Both characters have said a couple things that have made me cringe! I'm still avoiding Insta-Love, but I've given into Insta-Lust. Hey, it happens! Still, this is something of a summer romance situation, and they tend to happen quickly. 

Also, I now totally get what authors say about their characters talking to them, invading their dreams, invading their lives! They totally do that!

The Paranormal Element

I've been concentrating so much on all the relationship stuff that CHAOS has turned into something of a contemporary romance, which, er, its not meant to be. I want the paranormal element, and it is still there, although I can't write detailed account of this particular paranormal element here without research, because I don't really know what I'm talking about.  Still, the relationship stuff is cute, and the boy is cute, and I've just discovered that he's been hurt pretty badly in the past. I didn't know that about him before. This led me to some very interesting discoveries...

What do I do if I get there?

I have a question. OK, this is probably explained on the site somewhere...If I do get to 50,000 do I just automatically become a winner with my word count or do I have to verify it somehow? I could probably figure this out myself if I looked for an FAQ or something, I know...

That's all for now! 

I will update next week when I'll either a be a winner or a loser! ;)

To anyone else taking part let me know how your NaNo is working out! Good Luck in the final week!

Cover Candy #18 - Recent Swoonworthy Cover Reveals!

Cover Candy catch-up time! Feast your eyes on these pretty covers!

Let me know what you think of the featured covers in comments. Will you be adding any of these to your wish list? 

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The Unquiet is one of my top wish listed books for 2012 for sure. Take a look at the cover, and then read the synopsis and tell me that you don't want this book RIGHT NOW! Can't wait to read this one!

The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA.

Release date: July 2012

Ages: 14+

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications (again!) and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home and school. She refuses to be daunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom, or that her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

Here's some pure Cover Candy! Just look at that dress!! The Selection, a dystopian described as Cinderella meets The Bachelor releases in April 2012 from Harper Teen.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release date: April 2012

Ages: 13+

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

When I first saw this cover (which I LOVE) I wondered if somehow Lauren Kate had added another book to her Fallen series that had somehow, inexplicably, passed me by, but no. Even though this cover screams Luce to me, this book is entirely new and different from the Fallen series, and it sounds like a  pretty good one too! Darkness Before Dawn releases June 2012 from Harper Teen.

 Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London

Publisher: Harper Teen.

Release date: June 2012.

Ages: 14+

This electrifying new trilogy blends the best of paranormal and dystopian storytelling in a world where the war is over. And the vampires won.

Humans huddle in their walled cities, supplying blood in exchange for safety. But not even that is guaranteed. Dawn has lost her entire family and now reluctantly serves as the delegate to Lord Valentine, the most powerful vampire for miles. It isn’t until she meets Victor, Valentine’s son, that she realizes not all vampires are monsters....

Darkness Before Dawn is a fresh new story with captivating characters, unexpected plot twists, a fascinating setting, and a compelling voice. Written under the name J. A. London by a talented mother-son team, the trilogy is perfect for fans of True Blood and the House of Night and Morganville Vampires series

Here's the Australian cover for Hallowed by Cynthia Hand. I love the Aussie covers for this series! If you haven't already seen the Australian cover for Unearthly take a look here (scroll down) and SWOON. :)

 * Please note: These covers may not be  final and may be subject to change.  
** All Cover Images have been taken from Goodreads/Amazon/Authors/Publishers websites.

Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.

Product details:
Publisher: Dutton.
Hardcover, 338 pages.
Release date: September 29th 2011.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: YA.

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

A bittersweet tale of love and loss, and learning to love again, Stephanie Perkins Lola and the Boy Next Door, a companion novel to 2010’s heart-warming Anna and the French Kiss, is both whimsical and wistful telling the story of budding fashion designer Lola Nolan as she deals with family fall outs, older boyfriends and the reappearance of Cricket, the boy next door who broke her heart.  Lola’s world is quirky and cute, but it is missing the relatable qualities of Anna and the French Kiss. Perkins again presents to us a tale that is wonderfully written, engaging and witty, but her second novel lacks a little of the magic that made her first forever unforgettable.

In any book enjoyment of the text will often hinge on how well a reader can relate to its characters, and I feel this statement is true especially in relation to this book, and most important in the discussion of the character of Lola.   Unfortunately for me, right from the start, I didn’t relate to Lola, I just couldn’t find any common ground between us.  It’s not that she’s an unlikeable person per se, although she is a little too try hard for my liking, it’s just that we never clicked. While I love that she is a very unique character, quirky, dramatic, and with an extremely unconventional sense of style through which she expresses herself, it is also this which partly makes her difficult to connect with. 

Then there’s the issue of Max, Lola’s boyfriend who at five years older than her is pretty much hated by Lola’s parents, her two dads who certainly have nothing good to say about him, even though he makes every effort to endear himself to them. It doesn’t work, and when Cricket moves back in next door, Lola’s dads couldn’t be more delighted. They want her to be rid of her pot smoking rock star boyfriend, and in his place, they want Cricket Bell, a little shy and a little awkward, he’s a self-confessed geek, and the boy Lola has been in love with forever. So, really, Max didn’t stand a chance, but there were certain elements added to his character as the story progressed that seemed very contrived and that I took issue with. As a love interest, Cricket might have worked for Lola’s dads, but he just didn’t work for me. The appearance of Étienne St. Clair in this book didn’t do Cricket any favours either. I know some people have fallen for Cricket Bell, but I am all about St. Clair, and whenever he appeared on these pages I was all like ‘Cricket who?’  This brings me to the name situation, which has to be addressed. I am preoccupied with names in books, and I place far too much importance on them, I know, but how am I meant to find a name like Cricket appealing? Étienne St. Clair had me swooning, but Cricket Bell? Er, no.

So, while St. Clair stole the show from Cricket, he’s not all perfect here either. I know him and Anna and all loved up and besotted with each other, but they are literally stuck to each other like glue in this book.  I’ll forgive them, as I guess they’re still in that glorious honeymoon period of their relationship, although I preferred when they were all angsty and conflicted and desperate for that kiss!!

 While LOLA didn’t work for me quite as well as ANNA did, I’m not sure that any contemporary romance ever will. That glorious Parisian setting and the dreamiest of dreamiest boys were always going to be heard to beat. In Lola and the Boy Next Door the action has moved to San Francisco, and I admit that just like I knew I would, I missed Paris so much. The city of love came to life on the pages of Anna and the French Kiss and was the perfect backdrop to the story of Anna and Étienne. I’m excited to hear that Perkins is taking her characters back to Paris in Isla and the Happy Ever After, the third and final companion book in this set, which releases next year. I’m looking forward to taking that trip!

Reviewed by Jen: Emerald by Karen Wallace.

Product details:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books.
Paperback, 288 pages.
Release date: August 4th 2011.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Jen.

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, she must beat the spies at their own game - which means transforming herself from a country girl into a Court lady. Can she do it in time? Set against a detailed and vivid recreation of a great Elizabethan manor house, EMERALD will bring to life a world where the most sophisticated rules of etiquette went hand in with brutality and superstition.

Karen Wallace’s historical fiction novel Emerald may be set in the late 1500’s, but the story’s tone is decidedly more modern.  The book’s heroine and namesake, Emerald, is a feisty country girl with a sharp and snarky attitude. Faced with a life of adversity, Emerald is never one to back down.  Set in a time when women were expected to be obedient and compliant Emerald is the story of one girl who refuses to lose herself in the expectations of others. 

Life has not been easy for Emerald St. John.  Born to a mother who had no desire to nurture her children and a father who had no idea how Emerald counted on her older brother Richard to provide her with love and comfort.  When Emerald’s father dies suddenly her entire world is turned upside down.  Without explanation Emerald and Richard are sent from their home to live with distant friends of their father.  His will specifically stated that the children were to leave their home upon his death to live in the country with “Uncle” Charles and “Aunt” Frances.  Despite the sting of her mother’s rejection Emerald enjoyed life at Hawkstone Hall.  She forged a close relationship with her Aunt Frances, who in many ways became the mother Emerald never had.  The only complication came in the form of Charles and Frances’ daughter Arabella, a vain and selfish girl two years older than Emerald.  When Arabella was not in London working in the Queen’s court she was at Hawkstone Hall making Emerald as miserable as possible.  Upon Emerald’s fifteenth birthday she is faced with horrible news: her mother, who has sold Emerald’s childhood home and remarried has betrothed her only daughter to a much older man named Lord Suckley.  Suckley is not the type of man any parent would want to leave their daughter alone with, let alone marry.  It is upon learning her fate that Emerald decides she will not go quietly into her new life. 

There were many things about Emerald that I really enjoyed. When Emerald learns of her engagement to Suckley she is not at all naïve about why he wants to marry her.  She is absolutely terrified of what horrible things Suckley will want to do with her.  The character of Suckley is disgusting and despicable.  He has no qualms about the fact that he is attracted to Emerald due to her much younger age.  As a reader I hated him just as much as Emerald did.  Another character I loved to hate was Arabella.  She is absolutely evil! The only person she cares about is herself.  She is an expert at using and manipulating people to get whatever it is that she wants.  Emerald finally realizes that rather than spar with Arabella she needed to learn from her in order to save herself from her horrible predicament.   

Another facet of this story that I loved was the amount of unexpected twists that seemed to bombard the reader once the story really got going.  As a high school Reading Specialist I read a lot of young adult fiction and have become very adept at predicting what will happen next.  Emerald threw me for a loop on more than one occasion.  I had a very difficult time predicting where the story was going due to the amount of twists and turns the plot took.  Many seemed to come right out of the blue when I least expected it.  This story kept me on my toes and absolutely needing to know what was going to happen next. 

The only part of the story that fell flat was the romance.  First, I felt the back of the book was misleading.  It describes Emerald as being in love with a man who is off at sea and unable to prevent her unfortunate marriage to Lord Suckley.  Much of the beginning of the book is spent on describing Emerald’s love for her brother Richard, who is off at sea, and how he will be the only one who can overrule their mother in the matter of Emerald’s marriage.  I was really worried that this was the extent of the story’s romance: Emerald being in love with her brother.  I truly did not want the story to go there, yet for a while it seemed to be headed in that direction.  Luckily when Richard finally shows up he brings a fellow shipmate named Sam.  Sam and Emerald barely spend anytime together or interact when two weeks after Sam’s arrival at Hawkstone he and Emerald finally have a conversation and fall immediately in love.  There was nothing leading up to this relationship and the whole plot line fell flat.  Although, what Emerald lacks in romance it more than makes up for in mystery as Emerald is recruited to help prevent an assassination plot against the Queen in order to secure her freedom Lord Suckley. 

Historical fiction is not my favorite genre and I usually avoid reading it, yet Emerald has made me a fan.  This is a story that will keep the reader guessing what will happen next.   I loved the vivid characters and especially Emerald’s snarky attitude and zest for freedom.  She is strong and beautiful and I found myself rooting for her from the very first page.  

Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne - Art Reveal!

Harbinger by debut novelist Sara Wilson Etienne is a book that's high on my 2012 wish list, and today I get to be part of this very cool blog tour in which I can reveal to you a piece of original artwork inspired by the book. Follow the path to find out more...

Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile.
Release date: February 2nd 2012.
Ages: YA

Girl, Interrupted meets Beautiful Creatures in this fast-paced thriller

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn’t expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she’s going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she’s come home. She’s even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she’s the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can’t trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her—and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller.

Click on the image below to see the very cool larger image.

Walk the Path! Explore the whole gallery of HARBINGER-inspired artwork at www.holbrookacademy.com/sketchbook.php.
HARBINGER by Sara Wilson Etienne debuts February 2, 2012.
Follow Sara: @wilsonetienne
Visit Sara: www.sarawilsonetienne.com

UK Book News: Introducing a host of dystopian YA titles from Random House Children's Books!

Random House Children’s Books has acquired four new debut dystopian novels for publication in 2012 and 2013. RHCB’s exciting wave of near-future titles, all acquired by Ruth Knowles, include:

Starters by Lissa Price, an American screenwriter, publishing in April 2012, is an action-packed thriller set in a world where eternal youthfulness can be had – at a price. One girl has the ability to bring it all tumbling down . . . RHCB acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Heather Shapiro at Baror International and will be launching globally alongside Random Inc for a truly international campaign.

 A post- apocalyptic Los Angeles is the setting for Struck by Jennifer Bosworth, publishing in July 2012. After the city is devastated by an earthquake, Mia Price finds herself in the middle of a power struggle between two fanatical cults; one that wants to save the world and another that wants to destroy it. RHCB acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Alex Webb of the Rights People, acting on behalf of FSG.

Sangu Mandanna’s debut The Lost Girl publishes in early 2013 and centres around Eva, a feisty teen girl who technically has no true identity of her own. Eva is forced to abandon everything she's ever known and loved, finding herself torn between two worlds. RHCB acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Sarah Malloy of A.M. Heath acting on behalf of the Elizabeth Kaplan agency.

US Cover

And finally, children’s librarian Emma Pass, releases ACID in early 2013. This action-packed novel introduces us to Jenna Strong, a truly kick-ass heroine who is serving time in an all-male prison for the murder of her parents. Set one hundred years in the future in a Big Brother style society; Britain is now under the control of ACID – a terrifying all-seeing police force. RHCB acquired world rights from Carolyn Whitaker of London Independent Books.

Ruth Knowles, Commissioning Editor comments, ‘Dystopian fiction is a much-talked about genre, particularly with the release of The Hunger Games movie next spring. We have acquired some fantastic futuristic thrillers that we know will appeal to this audience, and are confident that RHCB will have some of the most exciting novels in the genre. The worlds within them are very different from each other, but all completely hook you in from the first page and do not let go.’

Source: Press Release.

Book Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting.

Product details:
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books.
Hardcover, 320 pages.
Release date: November 15th 2011.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Galley Grab.

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life tryi...moreIn the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

A dark fairytale with a dash of fantasy and a dystopian setting, The Pledge is the latest offering from Body Finder author Kimberly Derting, and marks her first foray into the increasingly popular YA genre of dystopian fiction. Though the ideas explored by Derting in The Pledge are imaginative and her plot twists inventive, this book was overall just an average read for me, mainly due to a cast of characters that I didn’t fully connect with, and a romantic interest who fell flat for me.

Set in the future imagined society of Ludania where women rule and classes are strictly divided by language, I was initially intrigued by the unique concept of The Pledge.  Derting’s Ludania, although described as a violent country, is also one based on myths and magic, so right from the off, The Pledge seemed more dark fairytale than terror-filled dystopian to me. However, the citizens of Ludania certainly live in fear of breaking the paramount rule of never looking a member of a person of higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native language. The punishment for this is death by execution, which just so happens to be a favourite pastime of the old Queen of Ludania.   Not fun times for Charlie then, who understands all languages, but is forbidden from speaking any but those of her class. She has to be super vigilant and careful at all times.  A mistake on Charlie’s part could mean death for her and her entire family. Then one day she meets a boy who speaks a language she has never heard before, but one which she understands, and one which will change her life forever.

Though The Pledge started well for me, my interest unfortunately started to dwindle with the introduction of Charlie’s love interest, Max. If you regularly read this blog, you’ll know how much I love Derting’s Body Finder series, and you’ll also know that I have the biggest book crush ever on Jay, the love interest in those books. So, what happened here? For one, there is a lack of character development in this book. The Pledge is fast-paced with lots of action, which is a good thing as most YA dystopians, in my opinion, focus too much on world-building and are too slow for my tastes. Here though, I didn’t feel as though I got to know Max at all, neither did I feel as thought Charlie got to know him, and yet suddenly this strong, resourceful girl seems to be dependent on him for just about everything. There is a serious case of insta-love in this book, but for me, I could never understand why Charlie was so drawn to Max. He doesn’t seem to have any overwhelmingly positive attributes and is often smart and snarky towards her, character traits that just didn’t work for me. I thought Derting could never ever set a foot wrong with her book boys, but no matter how much I wanted him to, Max just didn’t work for me.

Though it has an interesting premise, is well paced, and has some clever and unexpected plot twists, The Pledge lacks that special something to make it stand out amongst all the other YA dystopians on offer right now. If not for the fact that this is being so heavily marketed as dystopian fiction, I probably wouldn’t have described it as such in this review. The Pledge contains the future imagined society of a dystopian fiction, but there are also fantasy and fairytale elements to the story, which will appeal to many, but which I personally felt left it lacking the edgy intensity of Derting’s other works. While Charlies’s story is set to continue with a further two books in the series, I’m pretty sure that my journey to Ludania, although it was was fun for a while, ends here.

Guest Post: Mary O' Connell on The Sharp Time cover story!

The Sharp Time by Mary O' Connell

Publisher: Delacorte Press.

Release date: November 8th 2011.

Ages: 14+

Sandinista Jones is a high school senior with a punk rock name and a broken heart. The death of her single mother has left Sandinista alone in the world, subject to the random vulnerability of everyday life. When the school system lets her down, her grief and instability intensify, and she ponders a violent act of revenge. 

Still, in the midst of her crisis, she gets a job at The Pale Circus, a funky vintage clothing shop, and finds friendship and camaraderie with her coworker, a boy struggling with his own secrets. 

Even as Sandinista sees the failures of those with power and authority, she's offered the chance to survive through the redemptive power of friendship. Now she must choose between faith and forgiveness or violence and vengeance.

When my editor emailed me the cover of The Sharp Time, I screamed. I was doing the standard sort of mom multi-tasking, making dinner and checking email, my laptop on the kitchen counter next to the cutting board. I was chopping carrots (I know: A glamorous evening!) and it’s lucky that I didn’t hack off a finger when I clicked open The Sharp Time jpeg. There she was! I recognized her immediately, though of course I’d never seen her before: Sandinista Jones. Somehow the cover artist, Angela Carlino, had captured the spirit of the book in the cover she’d created from a resonant photograph (taken by Metin Demiralay) of a girl looking through a window. The girl looked beautiful and vulnerable at first glance, but her reflection in the window showed something more: Shadows beneath her eyes. Disbelief and Fatigue. Anger. Whatever situation she was looking at, well, she could hardly believe her eyes. But she wasn’t looking away.  This was the very essence of the girl I wrote.

I forwarded it to my agent, who said it best: It looks just like her.

Now I suppose I’ve grown used to it: the pink-gold light that emanates from the cover, the contrasting burgundy of the spine and back cover, the now-familiar girl looking out the window, watching and waiting. I saw the first ARC months ago and the cover is posted on my Facebook page and my Twitter account and Goodreads and Amazon….the image is part of my day.

But I’ve not forgotten the happiness of that day in the kitchen, my thrilled gratitude that someone had interpreted by book—bringing their own vision and artistry to The Sharp Time—in such an amazing way.

So for all you writers working away on your novels this November, I wish you joy in the process, good luck with publication, and a cover artist as intuitive and fantastic as Angela Carlino. And I hope you scream in your kitchen.

********************

Thanks to Mary for the great guest post. I love the cover of The Sharp Time, and I'm looking forwared to reading the book soon.

Mary's Website

The Sharp Time on Twitter

The Sharp Time on Facebook

Book Review: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Product details:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books
Hardcover, 438 pages.
Release date: October 4th 2011.
Rating: 2½ out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Series: Hush, Hush #3
Other books in series: Hush, Hush, Crescendo
Source: Received from publisher for review.

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...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...moreThe noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...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.

 Please note: This review may contain spoilers for previous books in the series.

Fast-Paced and exciting with multiple plot twists and a crazy cliffhanger ending that left me wanting more, Becca Fitzpatrick’s Crescendo was a firm favourite of mine in 2010, and because of this, I had very high expectations for the third in the Hush, Hush sequence, Silence, which I had believed would be the series finale. Of course, it’s not. Shortly before the release of Silence, a fourth addition to the series was announced. I’m mentioning this because, along with a lot of other readers I was all set for epic final showdowns, more action, more suspense, more plot twists, and more romance than ever before in this book. But since it’s not the series finale, Silence doesn’t really have any of that. For me Silence was sometimes slow moving, slightly disappointing and often frustrating read that lacked the intensity of its predecessors.

I’ve already mentioned the almighty cliffhanger that occurred in the final pages of Crescendo. It left me wide-eyed in disbelief and I wanted more. I know some of you hated it. I loved it, but no matter how much we disagree on the inclusion of that particular cliffhanger, I think we’ll all agree that we wanted Silence to pick right up where Crescendo left off. It doesn’t. We wanted to find out what happened next. We don’t. Instead the plot picks up three months on from the events of that fateful night. In that time, Nora has been missing, but as we join the action she is making her way back home. Patch is nowhere to be seen, a fact that Nora doesn’t question, because she doesn’t remember him. She has no recollection of Patch or of anything else that has happened in the time since they first met.  The doctors say its amnesia, but we know that there are far more sinister means at work, and it’s up to Nora to unlock the secrets that are hidden deep inside her mind.

Here’s my major problem with the direction taken by Fitzpatrick in Silence. Nora doesn’t remember anything that’s happened since she first met Patch, but we do. As readers, we are always ten steps ahead of her in this book. This makes for frustrating reading, because Nora takes her sweet time in remembering certain things, her hot fallen angel boyfriend being one of the most important of those things.

 For me, Patch brings the same magic to the Hush, Hush series that Edward brought to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, and when Patch isn’t around everything is a little duller, a little less exciting, especially since, just like Bella Swan before her, Nora is not the most likeable character at times. Remember when Edward disappeared from the pages of New Moon? Didn’t you skip ahead to see when he returned? I had a similar urge here to skip ahead and find out when Patch would show up. He simply doesn’t appear in Silence often enough. When he does though, he has all the best lines, and he is as divine as ever. In fact, he is hotter than ever before, so why so little of him?

While Patch isn’t in Nora’s life like he was before, Scott makes reappearance and is here presented as a laid back, playful and flirtatious guy. In other words, nothing like the Scott I remember from Crescendo. As Scott isn’t a character that made any great impression on me in Crescendo I could be wrong in this assumption, but he seemed like a completely different character from the sullen, secretive guy in the previous book. Marcie Millar wasn’t her same old self in this book either, and her snarky mean girl attitude and constant bitchiness was something I actually missed from this book.  In Crescendo Marcie was a character I loved to hate, but in Silence she’s just forgettable.

In conclusion, I can’t help but think that Silence suffered due to the addition of another book to this series.  It is plot-weak at times especially when you consider that a large chunk of the book consists of Nora remembering what happened in previous books. Considering that I already knew what Nora had forgotten, that element of the story did not work for me at all. I wanted action, and I wanted Patch. I really wanted to love Silence. While this one is my least favourite book in the series, it’s not all bad. It contains some hot Patch scenes that are hotter than ever before, and it does at least set the scene for that epic final showdown I have been waiting for. Hopefully the next book will contain a whole lot more of Patch, because this series just isn’t the same when he’s not around.

NaNoWriMo 2011 - Progress Report!

Current day: 10

Word Count/end of day 9:  15,287.

Hello from NaNoWriMo!

After a whole two years of my participation in NaNoWriMo resulting in a grand total of ZERO words, I'm really surprising myself this year by sticking with it, and finding out that writing is actually fun. Who knew!

Before I embarked on NaNoWriMo I had a couple of concerns. While I knew that ideas wouldn't be a major problem for me,  I was worried about the sheer quantity of the words required for this project. 50,000 words! Eeek! It seems like such a lot, and it is, especially when you consider that the most I'd ever written before now was a thesis, and I had a whole year to write, research and perfect that. The words don't seem to be a problem, though. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not just a little bit impressed with my word count, because I am. I'm pretty shocked too. I haven't even spent all that much time on my project. That said, I haven't read back over what I've written either, and I know if I did, then I'd probably laugh. A lot!

My second concern revolved around writing dialogue. I was and still am slightly intimidated by writing dialogue. I'm used to writing a certain way, and it's a way that has never involved dialogue between characters, so that is all new to me.  If anyone has tips to share on writing dialogue,  I'd love to hear them!

A little bit about my WIP :

I started this without a plan.  I knew I wanted to write YA and I knew I wanted to include some kind of paranormal, magical or fantastical element in the story. I also knew that I didn't want to write anything involving vampires, werewolves, angels etc. I love all of that stuff, but I wanted to do something different.  I was maybe 5,000 words into the story and getting along quite nicely with my MC, (I'm going to refer to her as L here) when I started wondering what strange element I would add to the story. Not gonna lie, I researched a little(I hear you are not supposed to do this! lol!), and I think I stumbled on a pretty fun idea. At least, its nothing that I've read about in YA before, although I'm sure its out there somewhere, in some form.  The working title of my project is CHAOS which lets you know that all sorts of bad stuff is going to happen! Poor L.

Some discoveries and a confession:

Remember when I said I was going to read my teenage diaries while participating in NaNoWrimo? Well, I read a few entries of mine and *confession* while I have complained quite a few times in my reviews about Insta-Love in YA novels, I discovered that as a teen I was quite prone to the odd bout of Insta-Love myself. *cringe!!* Also, L keeps on getting herself into situations where her possible love interest might kiss her, and I keep having to pull her out of that situation and tell her that she'll have to save it for later. This girl needs to learn how to play hard to get.  She's suffering from a bad case of Insta-Lust, and I don't want that to happen. Not yet anyway.  It's not going to be an easy road for L and mystery boy.

The name situation:

L's mystery boy doesn't yet have a name. I resisted Jay. I so wanted to call him Jay! And then I so wanted to call him Alex! And then I realised I couldn't do that because my favourite book boys are Jay and Alex, and well, I was never going to call him Patch after another of my favourite book boys. Uh, no. There might be a dog in the story - maybe I could call him Patch instead. Ha! So, I started referring to this hot guy by his surname, which is believable as a whole lot of guys I know are called by their surnames. Thing is the surname seems to have stuck, which is a good thing in a way because I love the name, and it works as both a first name and surname. Then yesterday I decided to google the name to check its origins and to take a look at the meaning of the name (just out of curiosity - his name doesn't have to have any special meaning) and I learned that the meaning of the name is something hideously ugly! Actually, it kind of made me laugh a lot, but now I don't know if I'll use the name, even though I've become quite attached to it.

If  I was planning this thing properly I would probably spend hours and hours researching names, but for now I have L and a boy with a dirty (it's seriously nothing that you're thinking right now!!) name.

p.s L does have an  name. I'm just not sure if that's her actual, final name as I just went with the first name I thought of when I started writing this.

p.p.s No, it's not Leanna.:D

That's all for my update. I'll try to update again soon!

I hope everyone else who's participating in NaNo is doing well and having fun with it, especially all my awesome writing buddies on there!