Three Years, A Blogging Break, Google Reader and other things too!

Image Source: We Heart It.

THREE!

That's right, in just a couple of days, this blog will turn three, and I'd like to take this opportunity to everyone who stops by to read my ramblings, especially those regular readers who stop by time after time to share their thoughts on my thoughts.  Thank you all! I started this blog on a total whim, and I'm always surprised when it gets another year older, as generally I have a short-internet-attention-span! Blogging is fun, though, so here's to another year!

A Blogging Break

Okay, so I know I just said that blogging was fun (and it is!), but it also takes up a ton of time.  Unless you've been there with a blog, you probably won't realize just how much time it takes to keep a blog regularly updated -- I'm talking up to five posts a week -- many which consists of reviews that take (me) sometimes hours to write. 

So, I'm taking a break. 

I want to write (not just reviews, but an actual book) and I've often found over the last few months in particular that my blogging time has been cutting into my writing time -- that's even after I've stopped accepting most review copies! There's always so much to do where blogging is concerned, and so I've decided to take a time-out.  I've taken breaks before, but this one will be a little bit longer.  

My plan is to take the rest of March and all of April off, so you should see me back here in May. Then again, I could return sooner. Who knows if I'll be able to stay away for that long! 

I should be more organized when I return as I plan to stockpile reviews during my break and I'll also use that time to plan my Summer Spotlight feature. 

Most of all, though, I'll use that time to write. And catch up on TV shows. I also need to read certain books that I've been meaning to read for years (The Hunger Games, Before I Fall) -- basically all those books that have fallen by the wayside. As all bloggers know -- review copies generally take precedence over older books even if you don't plan it that way!

Google Reader

This week you may have heard that as of July 1st 2013 Google Reader will cease to exist. Cheers for that, Google!  I just hope they don't go and delete Blogger next as part of their 'Spring Clean.'

So. If you follow this blog (or any other blog) via that service, then you'll need to find a new way to follow. I recommend Bloglovin' -- it's sleek and simple and you can even import your Google Reader subscriptions with the click of a button: http://www.bloglovin.com/import/reader   

Follow this blog on Bloglovin:  http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/1706207/daisy-chain-book-reviews

There are a number of other RSS services out there including Feedly, Friendfeed, Newsblur and Netvibes. You just need to find the one that suits you best. 

Disqus Comments

You might have noticed that the comments system on here has undergone something of an ugly change this week. Nothing to do with me, I swear. It's still pretty simple to use - just pretty ugly to look at, and there's nothing I can do about it. I've already complained to Disqus. Ha! And I've already tried to change the comment text by doing all sorts of crazy html stuff, but, no dice.

The main problem is that the text looks gigantic. I don't know if this bothers anyone but me, but I had to put it in there.  

I would actually go and change the commenting system, but I'm too afraid of losing every comment. Which is probably what would happen. I'm not so great at all this technical stuff.

FOUR!

So, I couldn't take off on my super long blog break without mentioning that 'Four' has finally been cast in the Divergent movie. I'm so excited for this movie, and I'm happy with this guy as Four -- even though I've never seen him act in anything.  My initial reaction was something along the lines of:  'It's not Pettyfer - thank you, thank you, thank you casting gods!'  I was pretty dismayed when my 'Fallen' casting contest resulted in an almost unanimous vote for Pettyfer as Daniel. That said, he has a good look for Daniel, but he would have been totally wrong for Four, in my opinion.

What do you think of Theo James as Four?

Divergent Movie: Theo James as Four

This Divergent movie is shaping up pretty well casting wise, it must be said!

That's all from me for now. I'll be back in May! Maybe even before that! Oh, and I'll still be around on Goodreads and probably on twitter too!

Book Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver.

Product details:
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton.
Hardcover, 400 pages.
Release date: March 21st 2013.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Series: Delirium  #3.
Other Books in Series: Delirium, Pandemonium,
Overall Series Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Source: Received from publisher for review.

Battling against a society in which love has been declared a disease, Lena now finds herself at the centre of a fierce revolution. But the Wilds are no longer the haven they once were as the government seeks to stamp out the rebels. And Lena's emotions are in turmoil following the dramatic return of someone she thought was lost forever...

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Lena and her best friend Hana, Requiem brings the Delirium trilogy to an exhilarating end and showcases Lauren Oliver at the height of her writing powers - emotionally powerful and utterly enthralling.

 Please note: This is a review of a next-in-a-series book. There may be spoilers for the previous book in the series in this review.
 

 Requiem, the breathtaking conclusion to Lauren Oliver’s dystopian Delirium trilogy sees the stakes raised higher than ever for Lena Haloway as she fights to stay alive in a world where falling in love is the deadliest crime.

Confession:  While I love Lauren Oliver’s remarkable writing style, it took me a while to fall in love or even to fall in like with this series. I’ve said it before: Dystopian fiction can be hit and miss for me, and for a while the Delirium trilogy while not a total miss, wasn’t entirely a hit either.  I found the first two books in the series a little slow moving. In Delirium I wanted more background information about the world Lena lived in. Pandemonium, I found predictable right down to the final shocking twist, which didn’t come as a shock to me at all. I was glad for it, though, I’ll say that.  I looked forward to reading Requiem, mostly for the words, and the style, and then: I fell in love with the story.  Beautifully written, thoughtful, intriguing and exciting, Requiem is a stunning finale to the Delirium trilogy, and my favourite of the series.

Once upon a time, Lena lived in a world dictated by rules, and now she lives in the wilds where there are no rules.  She’s free to love. But who does she love? Alex, who is not the same boy she fell in love with, but who still holds a piece of her heart in his hands. Or Julian, who gave up everything he believed in for her; who believes in her, who would do anything for her.  Years ago, the powers that be in Lena’s society outlawed love as a disease. For Lena, love is something to cherish. It’s something worth fighting for. But she can’t deny that love hurts.  And she can’t deny that love breaks her heart when Alex starts growing closer and closer to Coral, a survivor who has joined their camp. She can’t deny her heart either, not when it soars whenever Alex is near; and not when she feels wrapped in warmth whenever Julian is by her side.

But Lena has bigger things to worry about than love. She has revolution in mind. The invalids - constantly under attack from a government intent on eradicating them - are rising in the wilds; increasing in numbers and no longer willing to be denied their basic human right to love.

In a very different world, Lena’s former best friend Hana is at the center of her own personal revolution.  With weeks to go to her wedding, Hana finds out some chilling truths about her soon-to-be husband.  She feels trapped in her world – nothing more than a pretty bird in a gilded cage. And as the days pass, she realizes that the cure is not all she thought it would be. She still dreams at night.  She still remembers her old life. She still remembers Lena. She still remembers the secrets she held close, and the promises she broke.

And in a very different world, a girl sleeps under the stars dreaming of the boy she still loves, while another boy lies at her side.

Requiem deals in shattered dreams, broken hearts and forgotten friendships, but this book also offers hope and it teaches that what once was held dear can never be truly lost.  A book that is redemptive and hopeful in nature despite lives lost and hearts ruined Requiemteaches us to remain true to ourselves and to others and to never stop fighting for what we believe in.

*****

Delirium Novellas

Annabel (Delirium #0.5) - Lena's mother, Annabel has always been a mystery to her, and to us. We know her only through Lena's memories. Now though, with this novella, she becomes real.  Told in alternate chapters between Annabel's life in the early days of the cure, and her life in the crypts; Annabel details Lena's mothers fighting spirit and her will to survive. Through it all, Annabel never gives up hope, and she forgets Lena - the life they had and the love they shared..  My favourite of the Delirium novellas.

Hana (Delirium #1.5) - Hana has a secret - a secret she'll never tell.  Read my review: of Hana: here.

Raven (Delirium 2.5) - Tells the story of Raven, one of the leaders of the rebel group Lena meets in the wilds. I have to admit, I never fully warmed to Raven, so much so that I didn't read this novella until after I read Requiem (Ooops!). If you really want to connect with Raven and fully appreciate her journey in Requiem, then read this first. I can't say any more than that! 

Read All About It: News, Deals and Cover Reveals from Sarah Alderson, Gayle Forman, Stephanie Perkins, Jessica Shirvington & More!

Here's a round up of the latest book news, deals and some cover reveals that I've discovered over the past few weeks!  It's also basically a digest of all the exciting news stories that come my way and which I've mostly already posted on my twitter and Facebook feeds, so if you want up-to-the-minute book news and you don't want to have to wait around for me to type this up, you can follow me on those sites!

 Like DaisyChainBookReviews on Facebook  ||   Follow  @daisychainbooks on Twitter and then you'll never miss a thing!

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The Sound by Hunting Lila author Sarah Alderson is one of my most anticipated titles of the next while. Cannot wait to read this one! Doesn't it sound so good?!

 The Sound by Sarah Alderson || Release date: August 2013.

When aspiring music journalist Ren Kingston takes a job nannying for a wealthy family on the exclusive island of Nantucket, playground for Boston's elite, she's hoping for a low-key summer reading books and blogging about bands. Boys are firmly off the agenda.

What she doesn't count on is falling in with a bunch of party-loving private school kids who are hiding some dark secrets, falling (possibly) in love with the local bad boy, and falling out with a dangerous serial killer...
 

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Book Deals, Book Deals, Book Deals....

New YA Series from Rebecca Serle. 

Farrin Jacobs at Little, Brown's Poppy imprint has preempted North American rights for When You Were Mine author Rebecca Serle's currently untitled new YA series, about a young actress who gets cast in the role of a lifetime, and the two very different boys she encounters in her new life. Publication is set for fall 2014. Mollie Glick at Foundry Literary + Media and manager Dan Farah of Farah Films & Management did the deal. 

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And Yet More Cover Reveals....

Love the sound of Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington and I'm super excited for both Just One Year and ISLA.  I'm not so happy that my copies of ANNA, LOLA and ISLA will be mismatched now.  Mid-series cover changes -- especially when they happen on the final book of the series are so not cool!

 Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington || Release date: May 2013

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is...

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her 'other' life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she's a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she's considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other. With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she's always wanted...But just what - and who - is she really risking? 

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 Just One Year (Just One Day #2) by Gayle Forman || Release date: October 2013

Companion to JUST ONE DAY. It will be in Willem's POV.

"Can you fall in love in just one day? Can you become a new person? How about in just one year? In JUST ONE DAY and its companion novel JUST ONE YEAR, sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey and easygoing actor Willem De Ruiter are about to find out against a guidebook-worthy array of foreign backdrops. Equal parts romance, coming-of-age-tale, mystery and travel romp (with settings that span from England’s Stratford upon Avon to Paris to Amsterdam to India’s Bollywood) JUST ONE DAY and JUST ONE YEAR show how in looking for someone else, you just might wind up finding yourself."

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 Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins || Release date: September 2013

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

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 Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone || Release date: October 2013.

Calling Anna and Bennett’s romance long distance is an understatement: she’s from 1995 Chicago and he’s a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds.

It’s not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they’ll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn't want?

Told from Bennett’s point of view, Time After Time will satisfy readers looking for a fresh, exciting, and beautifully-written love story, both those who are eager to find out what’s next for Time Between Us's Anna and Bennett and those discovering their story for the first time.

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Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller || Release date: September 2013

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true. 

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 From Book to Screen.... 

Delirium Casting News 

Daren Kagasoff as Alex Sheathes

 Gregg Sulkin as Julian Fineman

Jeanine Mason as Hana Tate

What do you think of the latest casting choices for the Delirium pilot? I'm fine with the boys. The guy they picked for Alex is pretty much how I pictured Alex. But Hana? Um. Could they have picked an actress who looked less like the character of Hana? I mean, sure, she can dye her hair, but still, Jeanine is nothing like I pictured Hana.

See further Delirium casting choices: here.

Please note that book covers may not be final and may be subject to change.  Additional sources:  PW Children's Bookshelf,  Book Trade.Info,  Goodreads and TV Line.

Guest Post: Ilsa J. Bick on Tackling Taboo Subjects in Drowning Instinct.

Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick || Release date: February 2013

Jenna is sweet sixteen, the age when a girl is supposed to find her prince.

Instead she finds Mr Anderson – intelligent, handsome, married Mr Anderson, who just happens to be her chemistry teacher. With a dark past and a difficult family, Jenna is just happy to have someone to protect her, to worry about her, to love her.

But should she be suspicious of Mr Anderson’s reputation for helping ‘damaged’ students? Why is the most popular girl in school suddenly jealous of her? And where is Mr Anderson’s wife?

This is a love story that breaks all the rules, but that won’t stop it breaking your heart.

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Ilsa J. Bick talks tackling taboo subjects in Drowning Instinct....

To be honest, I’m not sure that I’ve tackled such a taboo subject as much as I’ve tried not to be formulaic about it.  Many novels out there see this kind of relationship as very black and white, cut and dried, good and bad: the adult is a smarmy shmuck who manipulates his innocent victim.  When she comes to her senses, the victim may feel torn but ultimately acknowledges that the adult was a smarmy shmuck who then gets his comeuppance.  I’m not condoning abuse or predators; far from it: as a shrink, I find true predators—the real sociopaths out there—to be pretty scary people.

But being a shrink, I also tend to think more about and live in those gray areas with my patients.  I’m less interested in absolutes because, frankly, then I’d have ended up being a policeman or lawyer or judge.  What I find much more compelling are the lengths people go to justify their behavior to themselves, and we’re talking adults and kids.  I’m intensely interested when good people make terrible decisions; when a manifestly decent guy does something that starts out one way and ends up another; when a kid gets in way over her head, and vice versa.  When people try to fix themselves the best way they know how because, really, we’re talking about relatively good, quietly desperate people in pain that they sometimes don’t know about and couldn’t articulate if they did.

So, for me, the task in writing this was to avoid being preachy and taking sides. What I was out to do was to create doubt; to blur the distinctions between victim and predator; to make the whole scenario a lot less clear-cut. 

This would’ve been a very different novel if I’d chosen to do it from, say, a third-person POV or multiple POVs or Mr. Anderson’s.  But I really wanted this to be Jenna’s story.  I wanted it to be her truth.  Is that the same as reality?  Who cares?  Does it matter?  It’s Jenna’s story as she remembers and needs it to be. If my readers come to this book believing one way and then close it thinking that, maybe, things are not as comfortable and tidy as they thought; if they question their assumptions and end up rooting for the impossible  . . . then my job is done.

 

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http://www.ilsajbick.com/

Book Review: Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood.

Product details:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.
Hardcover, 288 pages.
Release date: February 14th 2013.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Received from publisher for review.

Iris Dancy’s free-spirited mum has left for Tunisia, her dad’s rarely sober and her brother’s determined to fight anyone with a pair of fists.

When a family of travellers move into the overgrown paddock overnight, her dad looks set to finally lose it. Gypsies are parasites he says, but Iris is intrigued. As her dad plans to evict the travelling family, Iris makes friends with their teenage son. Trick Deran is a bare knuckle boxer who says he’s done with fighting, but is he telling the truth?

When tools go missing from the shed, the travellers are the first suspects. Iris’s brother, Sam, warns her to stay away from Trick; he’s dangerous, but Iris can no longer blindly follow her brother’s advice. He’s got secrets of his own, and she’s not sure he can be trusted himself.

Infinite Sky is a family story about betrayal and loyalty, and love.

Family, friendship, first love and the loss of innocence are just some of the themes explored in Infinite Sky, the heartfelt and at times harrowing coming-of-age tale from debut novelist C.J. Flood.

Thirteen year old Iris lives in a world painted in different shades of blue. Since her bohemian mother decided to go ‘find herself’ beneath azure blue Tunisian skies, Iris’s whole world has turned upside down.  Family life has fallen by the wayside, and nobody has done the housework in forever.  Iris’s dad is drinking heavily, her older brother Sam who has fallen in with the wrong crowd is heading for trouble fast, and the childhood friendship she thought she could count on is falling apart.  With a long, hot summer stretching before her, Iris needs something to fill her days and to take her mind off her none-too-happy home life.  Enter Trick.

Tick is the boy who breathes sunshine and bright blue skies into Iris’s life.  He’s also a traveler, and Iris’s dad is none to happy when the caravans housing Trick and his family move into his paddock.  Iris, on the other hand, is fascinated by the travelers and their different way of life. Over the course of the summer, Iris and Trick forge a friendship in the cornfields and lakes surrounding her dad’s farm.  Their friendship is an innocent one of first kisses and shared secrets. It is genuine and touching, but we already know from the opening pages of this book, that theirs will be no happy ending.

Iris is a girl who refuses to let life bring her down.  In contrast to a father who is world weary, and a brother who simmers with anger and frustration, Iris tries to find the good in every situation.  Her views towards the travelers are not coloured by her dad’s prejudices, and she is the only one in her family who maintains contact with her mother, keeping her informed on her friendship with Trick and the goings-on at the farm. She makes pancakes for breakfast when nobody else bothers to cook, and finds beauty in art and in nature.  Though she is a teenager, she maintains the innocence of a child. Iris sees the wonder and joy in everything around her.   It’s just a pity that not everybody around Iris sees the beauty in life the way she does.

 Written with a charming simplicity and beautifully vivid descriptions, Infinite Sky is an endearing coming of age tale, but it also has a jagged edge that cuts right to the core as tensions and ugly prejudices play out with tragic consequences for Iris and everyone she knows.

 

Book Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West.

Product details:
Publisher: HarperTeen.
Hardcover, 352 pages.
Release date: February 12th 2013.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Source: Received for review via Edelweiss.

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

If books were relationships, and I was breaking up with Pivot Point by Kasie West, my parting words to it would be it’s not you, it’s me.  But we all know that line is never really true. The truth is that it takes two. And the truth is that there were things about Pivot Point that just didn’t work for me.  Still, I seem to be in the minority with my views on this one, and I can see why. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with this book.  Pivot Point is well-written, well plotted, and Kasie West has some inventive and inspired ideas. For me though, there was something missing.

When Addie Coleman’s parents announce that they are divorcing, she doesn’t break down and cry. Instead she decides to conduct a search into her two possible futures.  Addie is a clairvoyant, raised in a secret community where everyone has paranormal abilities.  The rest of the book alternates between Addie’s life if she stays on the compound with her mom and her life out in the normal ‘Norm’ world if she decides to go live with her dad.  Sounds pretty cool, right?  I should have liked this book, but I don’t know…  I guess I like books that delve deep into their characters, and this one didn’t.  I also feel that for a book where nothing much really happened for quite a while, this one could have dedicated a little more time to world building. That didn’t happen and it’s a pity, because I’m pretty sure that Addie’s world has some pretty cool stories to tell. Instead, I got to read a heck of a lot about football.

                                                                                                                      

What Pivot Point has in abundance, though, is boys.  Both of Addie’s potential futures are big on boy time, which would usually be just fine by me, but here I didn’t fall for either boy. Not Duke - a telekinetic hottie or Trevor, a former footballer and sensitive type who Addie makes a beeline for because his eyelashes make hers ‘want to commit suicide’ or some such thing. Yeah. Addie actually says stuff like that. All the time.

Pivot Point does pick up as a murder mystery enters the fray and the stakes in both of Addie’s futures are raised.  The last couple chapters are fast paced and exciting, but I was never really in doubt over which future Addie would choose, and for her part, she didn’t’ really seem all that torn over her choice. I think that’s what Pivot Point was missing for me, really – emotion. Addie really lacked a strong emotional response in situations where it was really required.

 Pivot Point is the first book in a proposed series, but for me, this one worked pretty well as a standalone and so I’ll say goodbye and wish Addie well in all of her future(s) endeavors!

Competition Winners: YA Prize Pack// 2013 Mega Giveaway // Flapper Scarf// Just Remember to Breathe// Dance of Shadows// Beautiful Creatures// Valentine's Day// The Butterfly Clues & Notes from Ghost Town.

Here are the latest competition winners on the blog! 

 YA Prize Pack

Kirsty C.

 Hello 2013 Mega Giveaway

Maida K.

Kirsty L.

Evelyn W.

Heather K. 

Fabulous Flapper Scarf

Artemis

Just Remember to Breathe

Kirsty L.

Dance of Shadows

Sarah D.

Beth K.

Beautiful Creatures Movie Companion

Victoria D. 

Valentines Day Romantic Prize Pack

Kristia M.

The Butterfly Clues & Notes from Ghost Town

Anastasia B.

 

 

 

 If you haven't received your book within 28 days of sending me your details, please let me know. 

 

Thanks! :)