Read All About It: News, Deals and Cover Reveals from Kiera Cass, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Maggie Stiefvater, Josephine Angelini & 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 One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass ||  Release date: May 2014

(synopsis not included in case of spoilers. You can read it here)

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What I Thought was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick || Release date: April 2014

From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

A magnetic, push-me-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti.

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

Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater 

David Levithan at Scholastic has acquired Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater, a companion to her Shiver trilogy, which concluded with 2011's Forever. The new book follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the series with the ability to shape-shift into a wolf, and Isabel, one of the few who know his secret. The two may have been in love once, and now, Cole is back in Isabel's life. Forever will be published simultaneously in the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada on July 1, 2014. Laura Rennert from Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal.

Crucible by Josephine Angelini

Jean Feiwel at Feiwel and Friends has bought North American rights to Josephine Angelini's (Starcrossed) new series, Crucible. The series follows a teenage girl who gets caught in an epic struggle between good and evil when she's transported to a parallel universe where witches rule and scientists are burned at the stake by an alternate version of herself. Feiwel preempted the series from Mollie Glick at Foundry Literary + Media. In separate deals, U.K. rights and German rights were also pre-empted.

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Lisa Yoskowitz at Disney-Hyperion has bought North American rights to Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, author of the YA companion novels Time Between Us and Time After Time. The new book, pitched as Glee meets Silver Linings Playbook, follows a competitive swimmer with OCD who struggles with her position among the popular circle of friends, until a quirky girl a few lockers away introduces her to a seemingly innocent poetry club hidden below the school theater. It's scheduled for spring 2015; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency brokered the deal. 

21 Kisses by Daisy Whitney

Caroline Abbey at Bloomsbury has bought Daisy Whitney's 21 Kisses, about a Manhattan teenager who leaves love letters around the city in an effort to make amends for the ways that love has disappointed her, while trying to choose between two very different boys. The book is scheduled for winter 2015 publication; Michelle Wolfson at Wolfson Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.

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A couple of US Cover Alerts...

The Sound by Sarah Alderson || Release date: May 2014. 

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...

The gripping new stand-alone novel from the author of Hunting Lila. Out August 2013.

UK Cover

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The Descent (The Taker #3) by Alma Katsu || Release date January 2014

(synopsis not included in case of spoilers. You can read it here).

UK Cover

  

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More Book Deals... 

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

Alexandra Cooper at HarperTeen has acquired at auction a YA novel by New York Times contributor Margo Rabb (Cures for Heartbreak). Pitched as “part love story, part cross-country trip,” Kissing in America follows Eva, a 16-year-old obsessed with romance novels but boyfriend-less in real life, who treks from Manhattan to L.A. with her best friend in search of her one true love. Publication is set for summer 2015. Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights, with the second book planned for summer 2017. 

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

Pamela Garfinkel at Little, Brown's Poppy imprint has acquired at auction A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery, first in a two-book deal. It tells the story of 16-year-old Kelsey, who hides her twin sister's death from her sister's boyfriend, who is on active duty in Afghanistan, by pretending to be her – only to fall in love with him herself. Publication is scheduled for spring 2015; Josh Bank and Katie McGee at Alloy Entertainment negotiated the deal for world English rights. 

Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer

For HarperCollins Kate Jackson has acquired, and Rosemary Brosnan will edit, a debut novel by Lexa Hillyer, former editor at HarperCollins and Razorbill, and co-founder of Paper Lantern Lit, in a two-book deal. Billed as a cross between The Interestings and The Fault in Our Stars, Proof of Forever tells the story of four girls who relive the summer they were 15, discovering friendships, second chances, and a devastating secret. Publication is planned for summer 2015; Stephen Barbara at Foundry Literary + Media sold North American rights in a preempt. 

The Land of Ten Thousand Madonnas by Kate Hattemer

Erin Clarke at Knopf has acquired a YA novel by Kate Hattemer (author of the forthcoming Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy). In her new book, The Land of Ten Thousand Madonnas, three teen cousins embark on a backpacking trip to Europe at the mysterious behest of their fourth cousin, who recently died. It will pub in spring 2015; Uwe Stender at TriadaUS did the deal for worldrights. 

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Some Movie News...

Divergent 'Tattoo' Posters Released

Click for Larger Size

Harrison Glibertson Cast as Fallen's Cam

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And an Awesome Book Trailer...

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So much pretty in the way of cover reveals this time round. The cover for The One by Kiera Cass is so pretty it's almost edible, while the cover art for What I Thought Was True is simply summer. :) I can't wait to read that one! 

Also news of new books from Maggie Stiefvater (more Cole St. Clair - yay!) and Josephine Angelini amongst others - and the casting for Fallen's Cam. Let me know what you think of all the latest news in comments!

Please note that book covers may not be final and may be subject to change.  Additional sources:  PW Children's Bookshelf, The Bookseller, Goodreads, Youtube. 

Reviewed by Liz: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang.

Product details:
Publisher: Harper Collins.
Paperback, 343 pages.
Release date: September 27th 2012.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Liz from Planet Print.

How I Live Now meets His Dark Materials in this stunningly written and intensely moving debut.

Imagine that you have two minds, sharing one body. You and your other self are closer than twins, better than friends. You have known each other forever.

Then imagine that people like you are hated and feared. That the government want to hunt you down and tear out your second soul, separating you from the person you love most in the world. Now meet Eva and Addie. They don’t have to imagine.

Addie is the dominant soul. She’s the one who moves, who talks, who makes the decisions. Eva is the recessive soul, and she was supposed to have disappeared years ago. But Eva still remains. She and Addie are the only ones who know that Eva isn’t really gone, and neither of them could bear the thought of losing the other. But still having two souls at this age makes them a hybrid. Being a hybrid is dangerous and everyone knows that hybrids who get taken away never come back. Addie can’t risk Eva being discovered, but Eva longs to be her own person, and to regain some control over their shared body. When the girls find out that might actually be possibly, everything changes, and they must decide if it’s worth risking the “normal” life they’ve worked so hard for. 

What’s Left of Me was an interesting read that made me think about a lot of things. Told from Eva’s point of view, we got to see the world coloured in the recessive soul’s perspective. Addie and Eva weren’t that different, but there were a few things that separated them. Addie seemed to be slightly more rebellious, perhaps because she was dominant and didn’t have to sit back and watch all the time, but Eva seemed to be the better speaker, and maybe more of a people-person (which sounds weird...but perhaps because she felt alone, she was able to respond better to others like her). I liked them both and could sympathise with them both too. Addie had spent her whole life being dominant, being told only dominant souls should exist, and while she loved Eva, she was terrified of losing that control, and disappearing. Eva was trapped inside her and Addie’s body, unable to say anything for herself, or decide anything without first discussing what she wanted with Addie. When the girls found out Eva might be able to take equal control again, Addie was reluctant to take part, but she did because she knew how much Eva wanted it. 

The romance was...odd. Don’t get me wrong...I liked Ryan, who was another hybrid and Eva’s love interest. But a) it was way insta-lovey and I literally had no idea why Ryan liked Eva so much and vice versa since most of the time they spent together, Eva could barely move or speak, and b) how could he tell the difference between Eva and Addie without them telling him who was in control (and same for Eva distinguishing between Devon and Ryan)?  Sometimes, after Eva had learnt how to gain control, she took over for about a minute just to say a generic line or two about something, and yet somehow Ryan knew it was Eva speaking and not Addie, even though they looked the same, spoke in the same voice and Eva wasn’t even directly addressing him as herself. It was weird. I get they were meant to have some kind of connection and maybe if they’d had known each other for years, I would believe that he could tell when they had switched. But seriously, they barely knew each other and yet he could tell between Eva and Addie perfectly, in the DARK? I would believe if it Eva and Addie had very different personalities (which they didn’t), or even if Eva had been talking for a while, and talking style had changed so it was obvious it was no longer Addie – but Ryan seemed to know it was Eva practically immediately, when they switched mid-conversation. It just seemed way too convenient for me, that someone who barely knew them, could do that. Plus there was the whole fact that Addie didn’t like Ryan in that way and it was all really complicated and ahh. I don’t know.

The world-building was okay, but I would have liked to have known more about hybrids. Was this a society where people with two souls had always existed? If so, why? Or did it used to be like our world, and hybrids had somehow developed in the future? (The former is hinted at most, but still, I would have liked more explanation.) Why were the other countries more accepting of hybrids than in the Americas? Why were hybrids who hadn’t settled (ie, whose recessive soul hadn’t disappeared) viewed as so “dangerous”? How could parents simply be fine with one of the souls in the child they had raised simply disappearing? I had loads of unanswered questions, but perhaps they’ll be explored more in book two. Plot-wise, it was interesting to see Eva learn to gain more control and see the strain it put on her relationship with Addie, as well as learning what happened to hybrids who were taken away. I was also reminded of something  I’d watched/learnt about dissociative identity disorder (DID), commonly known as multiple personality disorder, and was wondering if the author was inspired by studies on the condition when writing this book.

Overall, What’s Left of Me was not without its problems, but was definitely an enjoyable read, so I would say give it a try!

 

Guest Post: Rachael Oku Shares her Top Five Tips for Aspiring Freelance Writers.

Become a Freelance Writer is a complete guide to the business of writing. Freelance editorial consultant, Rachael Oku, sheds light on the skills and attributes needed to become an in-demand freelancer.

Offering a realistic outlook on getting ahead, Become a Freelance Writer provides a wealth of useful information and tips on how to build a successful brand while avoiding common pitfalls. Covering everything from budgeting and prioritising to pitching and reputation management, Become a Freelance Writer also explores the benefits of social media, email marketing and analytics software - advising how writers can leverage such tools to build an expansive audience and client base.

Become a Freelance Writer is a must-read for any writer serious about taking their potential to the next level. With a no-nonsense approach that gets straight to the point, this book is written with the infamous George Orwell quote in mind: "If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out."

Guest Post: Top Five Tips for Aspiring Freelance Writers from Rachael Oku

Top five tips for aspiring freelance writers

When I wrote my eBook, Become A Freelance Writer, I wanted to encourage would-be freelance writers to make the transition from hobby to business. 

You don’t have to wait for someone to validate you as a writer, you have to shout about your work and make things happen. 

Here are my five top tips!

Treat writing like a business

Perhaps the most important aspect in building your freelance career is to approach it like a business. After all, it is a functioning small business if you think about it. 

If word of mouth and marketing are how you rely on finding work, and your reputation is everything, how could you be anything but a business?

If you can get into this mindset it becomes a whole lot easier to separate yourself and your personal views from your work. A good way of doing so is to create a pen name and treat it as a brand.

Position yourself as an expert

To ensure you stand out think about what areas of expertise you have that will make you more valuable to potential clients than your competition.

Whether you choose to mentor, speak at industry events, enter competitions or contribute to blogs, magazines and journals, creating buzz around yourself and your writing knowledge will give you the competitive advantage. 

Know your worth

The most important thing when it comes to turning your talent into profit is knowing how much to charge.

Determining the right rate is a combination of what you think you’re worth, what you think you can get and what your competition charges. This is underpinned with the reality of how much you need to make to stay afloat.

Avoid wasting time competing for low paid work. Instead, hold out for a few well paying clients which will afford you the time and motivation to produce the best work you can. You’ll also find yourself with more free time to dedicate to finding new, quality clients. 

Perfect your pitch

For writers, most pitches will come in the form of query letters. The most popular layout is the hook, a mini-synopsis and finally, your biography.

Sounds simple, but it’s all too easy to underestimate the people you’re pitching to. 

Research the company thoroughly; read their work, follow them on social media and find out as much as possible about them so that you get to understand what’s important to them as an employer and what they’re looking for from a writer. 

Use social media

Cheap and easy to use, social media is great for self-promotion. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Google+ and Digg are ideal for sharing your content with the masses. 

Start conversations with your followers and pay attention to what they say. Share things that you’ve enjoyed or that are relevant to your writing. Whatever you do don’t bore your audience with a hard sell! 

Update your feeds regularly, but don’t take on too much. Choose one or two platforms and set aside time each day to monitor them. 

Rachael Oku is a 27-year-old editorial consultant and writer living in London. She founded Creative-Bloc, a social enterprise for freelance writers, in 2012 and in 2013 published her first book ‘Become a Freelance Writer’. 

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Thanks to Rachael for sharing her tips!   Become a Freelance Writer is available to buy on Amazon. Follow @CreativeIdle on Twitter to find out more.

Book Reviews: Covet by Tracey Garvis-Graves, The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty & The Paradise Guest House by Ellen Sussman.

A thoughtful, touching and timely tale from the author of the best-selling On the Island, Covet by Tracey Garvis-Graves examines the effects of redundancy and resulting long-term unemployment on a one-time golden couple.

When we meet Chris and Claire Canton, the worst is over – or so it would seem. After a year out of work, in which he struggled with self-image and depression, Chris has recently started a new job. The last year has been tough on Chris and Claire, and, as it stands, they are like strangers living in the same house. Their physical relationship is non-existent and the only common ground they seem to have these days is their kids. However, Claire is sure that with this new job, she’ll get the old Chris back. That’s easier said than done, though, especially since Chris’s job involves a lot of travel. In fact, these days he’s barely home at all leaving Claire with a lot of time and a lot of lonely nights on her hands.

Enter Daniel Rush – a cop with a past who just happens to be a whole lot of hot. When Daniel pulls Claire over during a routine traffic stop it signals the beginning of a connection that leads to a fun, flirty friendship and maybe something more. Claire is aware that she’s treading on dangerous ground and yet she can’t seem to resist Daniel. Will Claire cross the point of no return? Or will she remain true to her vows, even though lately it seems that Chris barely notices her at all?

Thanks to Garvis-Graves’ engaging style Covet is a compulsively readable tale, although the detail bestowed upon the routine happenings in Claire’s daily life may grate on readers who prefer a faster-paced read. Not so for me; I enjoyed reading about Claire’s life, her interactions with her neighbours, who incidentally, provided a great secondary cast here, and of course Claire’s torn emotions as she struggles with a marriage where all seems to be lost, and a connection that she knows is so much more than just a simple friendship; it’s an emotional affair that is teetering on the brink of something so much more. Covet deals with a topic that for many will be taboo, but with this book, just as with her first, Garvis-Graves’ is not out to shock with the dramatic or overblown, instead Covet considers what it takes to remain true to oneself and to others in the face of temptation. 

Covet by Tracey Garvis-Graves.  Publisher: Dutton Adult.  Released: September 2013. Ages: Adult.   Rating:  4 out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.  

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‘My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died…’

So reads the letter to Cecilia Fitzpatrick from her husband John-Paul, to be opened in the event of his death. Thing is, John-Paul is very much alive, and now that Cecilia has the letter in her hands, she’s itching to open it. Cecilia would never betray her husband’s trust, though, or his wishes, so for as long as John-Paul is alive, the letter stays unopened. That is, Cecilia has the best of intentions, but when she mentions the letter to John-Paul, he starts acting like he’s got something to hide, even returning from his business trip early so he can destroy the letter and find out the dark secret he’s been hiding for years.

But Cecilia gets to the letter first and the secret she finds will change her life and the lives of all those around her, forever…

Wickedly humorous despite its dark subject matter, The Husband’s Secretby Liane Moriarty explores the consequences and sometimes devastating effects of the secrets we keep from ourselves and from others. I will say that right from the start, I didn’t really connect with the characters in this book. Their situations and their lifestyles were such that I couldn’t really relate to them, and with characters ranging in age from early forties to late sixties, this one took me way out of my usual YA/NA/sometimes-I-push-it-to-late twenties/early thirties-reading-zone. That said, I think a lot of readers will really enjoy the sharp twists and turns offered in The Husband’s Secret. Moriarty is a great storyteller and I loved how the stories of three women intertwined in this book: There’s the afore-mentioned Cecilia, a pillar of the community who seems to have it all until she finds out that she’s pretty much been living a lie her whole married life; Tess, who has just discovered that her husband is having a (non-sexual-as-yet affair with her best friend, who is just so happens is also her cousin; and Rachel a school secretary who has suffered a devastating loss, and who is about to suffer another.

And what of the husband’s secret?  I figured out the truth of the title pretty early on, but what’s so interesting about this book, is not so much the secret itself, but the consequences of it. John-Paul’s secret has been years in his keeping, but once its out in the open it takes on a life of its own, and it’s safe to say there’s no going back to the life they once had for John-Paul, Cecilia, or many of those around them.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.  Publisher: Penguin.  Released: August 2013. Ages: Adult.   Rating:  3½ out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.  

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Two haunted souls run from the past to find the future…

Twenty-something adrenalin-junkie adventure guide Jamie returns to Bali a year after the terrorist bombings that rocked the island and robbed her of her boyfriend, Miguel. One year on Jamie has returned to attend a remembrance ceremony and is seeking closure, but there’s something else on her mind too: she’s back in Bali to seek out the man who brought her to safety and nursed her back to health a year ago.  Though she still feels the loss of her boyfriend, Jamie felt a connection with this man, and now she wonders if the key to her future might lie in her past.

Gabe Winters, though, has other ideas.  When Jamie finally tracks him down with the help of a not-so-trusty young native and his dog, Gabe tells Jamie to go home. He doesn’t want to listen to what she has to say. Haunted by the ghosts of a tortured past, Gabe has closed his heart to happiness. And, yet, he can’t stop thinking about this woman who one year ago gave him hope and made him smile even in her darkest hour.

A short yet satisfying read, The Paradise Guest Houseexplores the impact that the terrorist bombings had not only on the individuals detailed in this book, but also on the island of Bali, its residents and its previously-booming tourism industry. The narrative switches from present to past and takes us back to the night of the bombings where we learn the true extent of Jamie’s grief and the guilt that haunts her every waking moment. Gabe, too, has suffered in his life. For him, Bali is his escape from reality, but in the aftermath of the bombings, he feels his paradise may be lost.

A tale of second chances and hope in the face of devastating loss, The Paradise Guest House may lack in detail at times, but there is something beautiful too in the simplicity of this latest book from French Lessons author Ellen Sussman.

 

The Paradise Guest House by Ellen Sussman.  Publisher: Corsair.  Released: March 2013. Ages: Adult.   Rating:  3½ out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.  

Reviewed by Arianne: Mystic City by Theo Lawrence.

Product details:
Publisher: Corgi.
Paperback, 400 pages.
Release date: October 11th 2012.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Arianne.

For fans of Matched, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Blade Runner comes a tale of a magical city divided, a political rebellion ignited, and a love that was meant to last forever. Book One of the Mystic City Novels.

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.

The combination of dystopia, magic and mystery was what really caught my attention about Mystic City. There are elements of the book which have all been done before - a main character with memory loss, a world divided by politics, an arranged marriage to a very distasteful character - but the way Theo Lawrence ties them all together makes this story feel fresh and exciting. 

Aria is a likeable protagonist - but she's not loveable. Her ruthless father, heartless mother and slimeball fiancé are much easier to visualise. I didn't understand the role of her brother in proceedings (he's basically just there for when things need ruining or a social scene needs an extra cast member). Aria's friends are equally as useless, but their purpose is to paint a picture of a society with a rotted core - and the rot doesn't lie in the Depths, where families struggle to survive. It lies in the upperclass Aeries, where families aren't families at all. 

To this end, Mystic City's futuristic backdrop is dazzling and vibrant. The Aeries is secluded high above the rising sea levels and pollution which riddles the Depths. The rulers of the Aeries would rather forget that the Depths still exist - but they need the mystics who are confined there because it's their mystical, magical power which fuels the floating city. 

Hunter is a mystic, and he's the really loveable one. He steals every scene and while Aria spends most of her time feeling confused, he's sure of himself, his beliefs and his place in the story. His tough-guy best friend Turk doesn't endear himself right away - but he grows on you. I found myself wishing I could spend more time in the Depths so I could experience more of these characters and how they lived.

Unfortunately, in a book which possesses plot twists and pacing issues in equal measure, there just isn't time for any detailed exploration. For the most part, the plot twists are brilliant and inject life into the narrative before it begins to wane. The bad pacing and lack of thematic balance is a far more worrying problem. Whole plot threads are simply glossed over for the sake of pressing on with the book and while I loved that it read fast, I just kept wishing for something more. 

The romance, for example, left me feeling this way. It's there, and you want to root for the couple at the centre of it, but it's just not given the tender loving care it needs in order to flourish as the heart-warming, gut-wrenching centre of the story. I hate to say it, but sometimes, things were just a bit all over the place. Likewise, the social conflict in Mystic Cityisn't as impressive it could be. The idea is great but the execution isn't up to scratch. The misery of the Depths is told, but not shown; it fails to tug on the heartstrings and keeps us detached from the true cause of the bloodbath rebellion which preoccupies so many of the book's action sequences. 

The true redeeming factor of this book is the fact that it's male author writing a female viewpoint. It's written so well I almost forgot about all the challenges writing in the opposite gender can present and I adored the story even more for it. YA needs more of this bravery - and soon!

In short: a stunning, fast-paced debut. Not without fault but really, really enjoyable. I can't wait for the sequel!

-Arianne

Reviewed by Liz: Arclight by Josin L. McQuein.

Product details:
Publisher: Electric Monkey.
Paperback, 400 pages.
Release date: August 12th 2013.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Liz from Planet Print.

The Arclight is the last refuge in a post-apocalyptic world consumed by terrifying monsters called the Fade. No one crosses the wall of light that keeps the last human survivors safe. There's nothing else left and nowhere to go. Or so they thought, until Marina, a lone teenage girl, stumbles out of the Dark.

Marina can’t remember anything about her life before that moment. Where has she come from? How has she survived? And why do the rulers of the Dark seem determined to destroy her? To find out, she will have to venture back into the Dark . . .

Edgy and chilling, perfect for fans of Veronica Roth, Stephen King and Suzanne Collins.

Marinaremembers nothing of her past. All she knows is that she was found hiding from something in the Dark before she was brought to safety in the Arclight. The others in the Arclight see her as a bad omen, especially Tobin, the son of the man who died to save her. But there is something strange about Marina’s sudden appearance and when a Fade, a dweller of the Dark, offers answers no-one else can seem to give her, Marina starts to question the circumstances of her arrival in the Arclight. Forced to work with Tobin, who believes there must be more to his father’s death than they’ve been told, Marina begins to realise that perhaps the Arclight isn’t as safe as she thought.

Arclight was an interesting but somewhat confusing book (but I'll get to the confusing parts later). Marina was a pretty good main character. There was a lot of mystery surrounding her and where she came from, and everyone seemed to resent her, or even fear her. Marina herself felt out of place. She had a strange connection to the Fade which she didn't understand, and even though she had no memories, she was drawn to the Dark; a place she had been told was too dangerous for anyone to ever enter alone. Her arrival in the Arclight made a lot of people wary of her, so she really only had one friend, Anne-Marie - but Anne-Marie was quite a loyal and good friend, and defended Marina when she could. Despite what a lot of the others thought, Marina was actually quite a caring person, and when the Fade called Rue requested her help to find someone named Cherish, Marina agreed even though they were supposed to be enemies. Even though she feared the Fade and wasn't willing to bend over backwards for them, Marina wasn't intentionally or needlessly cruel (though she did have a hard time accepting certain things).

Tobin started off ignoring Marina. She was the reason his father died and he probably didn't want much to do with her. But during an emergency, he helped her escape, and then helped her a second time when she was about to be attacked. I didn't really understand why he did those things at first, but then after they were made to work and spend time together, they sort of became friends? It was a strange relationship. They got to know each other better and realised perhaps they weren't that different after all. The romance was a little odd, I must admit, but I kind of liked it anyway (though there was a bit of a love triangle that is likely to be developed in book two, which I am not looking forward to). Tobin had already lost his father and he really didn't want to lose anything or anyone else close to him. He seemed to be trying to do what his father what have wanted him to do a lot of the time, though his judgement was a bit skewed. I could understand how frustrated and upset he must have been feeling, and his desperation to know more about what happened to his dad.

Plot-wise, this was where things were confusing. First of all, almost nothing was explained about the world the characters were living in or why any of the things that happened, happened. I had no idea what was going on in the beginning, and I barely understood what the Arclight even was. There was hardly any explanation for how the Dark and the Arclight came to be, or why, and I didn't know where the Fade came from, why they came or how they were a threat. Apparently, the Fade had caused humanity to decline, but we weren't told exactly how, or when, or why or what the Fade were doing before. I do realise things may be explained more in later books, but we were really kept in the dark about a lot of things. The world-building could have been better. I also think the villain was a bit obvious and that their motives and actions didn't exactly pair up. However, I didn't see the twist concerning Cherish coming and I did think the author had some quite original and interesting ideas.

Overall, Arclightwas an enjoyable read with a fairly unique storyline. I was confused by a lot of things, but then again I am one of those people who likes clear-cut answers and explanations. If you like futuristic (is it futuristic? Or dystopian? Not entirely sure which genre this book comes under, it seems to have a bit of everything) with a bit of mystery and thriller added in, then give Arclight a go.

Book Reviews: Keeping Her and Faking It by Cora Carmack.

 **These reviews contain spoilers for Losing It by Cora Carmack. **

 Losing It, Cora Carmack’s bestselling debut, breathed a much-needed sense of fun into a New Adult genre often straining under the weight of a multitude of issue-driven books. Sure, being in your twenties can be a whole lot of confusing, and being in college can be stressful; but it’s also fun, and, for me, at least, Carmack’s Losing It was the first NA novel I read that accurately portrayed this time of growth and change. Losing It was something new and different; it injected a sense fun into the genre. And, in its funny, accident prone, easily embarrassed, crushing on her college professor and desperate-to-lose-her-virginity protagonist Bliss Edwards, it was onto a winner.  I liked Losing It a lot.

In this novella, we catch up with Bliss and Garrick (the professor), now engaged and en route to meet his parents in London. Now, I can’t remember this pair ever getting on my nerves when I read Losing It, but here – Oh, did these two annoy me. First off, I know they’re all loved up and everything, but seriously guys - get a freaking room! Also, Garrick develops a bad case of ‘controlling-boyfriend-behaviour’ in this book, which is a major turn-off for me. Also, his internal monologue at times (the novella is told in dual P.O.V) doesn’t ring true for a guy, and a lot of the time, Garrick comes across, not as a guy in his twenties, but as a whiny little girl. He’s got major issues with his parents, I know, but still.

For her part, even though Garrick is clearly head over heels in love with her,  Bliss is still plagued by insecurities, and while this was somehow endearing in Losing It, um, not so much here. I guess maybe because this is a novella, the characters didn’t really have time to redeem themselves, but I don’t know the story here kind of fizzled out into nothing. Garrick’s mother for instance is built up as this mother-in-law- from hell type figure, but um, again, not so much.

Oh, and I felt like screaming every time Garrick asked Bliss to marry him. Was that meant to be cute?! Maybe it was the first time, but not the fifteenth!

Read Keeping Her if you want to find out more about Garrick’s background and upbringing or if you like sickening sweet and constant public displays of affection. As you can probably tell, I don’t, and though I usually enjoy Cora Carmack’s work this one wasn’t for me.

Keeping Her (Losing It #1.5) by Cora Carmack.  Publisher: Ebury Digital.  Release date: August. 15th 2013.  Ages: 17+  Source: Received from publisher for review via Netgalley.

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Remember Cade from Losing It? He was Bliss’s gorgeous best guy friend who just so happened to be totally in love with her.  If you ever wondered what happened to Cade after Bliss shacked up with Garrick, well, now you get to find out, because Cade is back, and while he’s still as nice-guy as ever, he’s about to fall for a very bad girl in Faking It, the second novel in Cora Carmack’s Losing It sequence.

McKenzie, known as Max, unless you want a slap across the face (I’m totally serious) has major issues. She has issues with her parents, issues with her friends, issues with her boyfriend, issues with the cat in the apartment next door (I’m kidding), but the list goes on.  Max uses music as the focus with which to keep her internal demons under control, but music is not going to help when her parents arrive in town expecting to meet her new boyfriend. Thing is, Max’s boyfriend is not the type you take to meet the parents. He’s a true bad boy – he has the name (Mace), the attitude and the tattoos to prove it. Max has tattoos too, not that they are ever on show when her parents are around. Max needs to fake it until she makes it, and for that she needs her parents to keep paying her rent. So, she has to put on a good-girl show for them while they’re in town.

 Enter Cade who is only too willing to play Max’s fake boyfriend, um, even though she slaps him across the face all of five minutes after she meets him. I tell you, there’s being a nice guy, and then there’s Cade…He’s willing to put up with a lot for this girl. Then again, he is totally hot for her.

In Faking It, Cora Carmack again captures the great sense of fun that made Losing It such an engaging read. If anything, I enjoyed this one more than the first book, and I think a lot of that can be attributed to Carmack’s improved skills as an author. This story flowed really well from start to finish and was a very absorbing read. I did have a couple issues though. In fact, I had one main issue, and that was the character of Max. Bad things have happened in her life, for sure, but it seems like Max expects everyone around her to pay for them. This girl has attitude with a capital A and here that capital A also stands for annoying – just saying. However, despite my issues with Max and really enjoyed this one overall and I’m looking forward to the third book in the series Finding It which releases in October.

Faking It (Losing It #2) by Cora Carmack.  Publisher: Ebury Digital.  Release date: June 6th 2013.  Ages: 17+  My rating: 4 out of 5.  Source: Received from publisher for review via Netgalley. 

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