REVIEW: Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

 Posted by Anastasia on April 24, 2012  No Responses »
Apr 242012
 
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046. Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
Publication: Candlewick (April 24, 2012), eARC, 465pp / ISBN 0763653446
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy, Romance (bit of GLBTQ)

Read: March 7-8, 2012
Source: NetGalley (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

A powerful tale of magic, love, and revenge set in fairy-tale Japan. Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form – a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.

Review

This is an AWESOME book. What makes it awesome? I’ll tell you what makes it awesome:
1. the characters! Specifically, Suzume and her development over the course of the book. She goes from spoiled normal kid to PTSD-ed refugee with magical powers to someone with a lot of spoilers hanging around. It’s great! Continue reading »

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 5/5, Age Group, Fantasy, Fiction, GLBTQ, Historical Fantasy, New (Birds), Note, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Teen, YA

REVIEW: The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

 Posted by Anastasia on March 30, 2012  No Responses »
Mar 302012
 
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049. The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood and the duchess of Northumberland
Publication: Balzer + Bray (July 20, 2010), ebook, 309pp / ISBN 0061802387
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy, Romance

Read: March 12-13, 2012
Source: Bought

Summary from Amazon:

In the right dose, everything is a poison. Even love . . .

Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure — or kill.

When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined . . .

Review

This was on sale a few months ago and I snagged it, since I’ve got the second book packed and waiting for me to read it and I hate reading sequels before I read the first book.1 I couldn’t remember exactly what either books were about, but I thought it’d have magic and possibly something tragic happening, based on the cover. Continue reading »

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 3.5/5, Age Group, Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, New (Birds), Note, Paranormal, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Teen, YA

MINI-REVIEWS: Dust, My Fair Godmother, Wish

 Posted by Anastasia on February 28, 2012  8 Responses »
Feb 282012
 
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034. Dust by Arthur Slade
Publication: Dava Enterprises (February 5, 2011), originally published 2003, ebook, 192pp / ISBN 0385730047
Genre: MG Horror, Historical Fiction

Read: February 19-20, 2012
Source: Bought

Mini-Review

This was way scarier than I thought it’d be for some reason. It reminds me somewhat of The Boneshaker and how that was scary, how it deals with the power adults have over children physically, emotionally, and so on. I liked the writing in Dust a lot more than I did in The Hunchback Assignments, my first Arthur Slade book, and I liked the story more, too. It’s less of an action, kick-ass, “kid saves the world” kind of a book and more of a magical realism/”weird things happen in small towns” book, which I liked. Plus! There’s stuff about the importance of imagination and reading and thinking outside of the box! Defeating baddies through the power of your mind? Awesome! I love that, especially when it’s in a “boy” book. They don’t seem to get that sort of thing a lot in their books, to be honest. Continue reading »

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 3.5/5, 3/5, 4/5, Age Group, Beach Reads, Contemporary Fiction, Faerie Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, MG, New (Birds), Note, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Teen, Time travel, YA

REVIEW: A Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz

 Posted by Anastasia on February 15, 2012  6 Responses »
Feb 152012
 
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029. A Drowned Maiden’s Hair: A Melodrama by Laura Amy Schlitz
Publication: Candlewick (March 2, 2010), originally published 2006, ebook, 389pp / ISBN 0763629308
Genre: MG Historical Fiction

Read: February 8-10, 2011
Source: Bought (Amazon)

Summary from Amazon:

Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence. So when the charming Miss Hyacinth chooses her to take home, the girl is pleased but baffled, until she learns of her new role: helping to stage elaborate séances for bereaved patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing the “secret child,” she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience. It takes a shocking betrayal to make clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with fascinating details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this novel from Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz features a feisty heroine whom readers will not soon forget.

Review

Things I thought this book was about: ghosts, death, people drowning in some sort of romanticized/gothic romance sort of way, angst and sadness and other things I’m scared of.

Things this book is actually about: ghosts and death and little kids drowning, Spiritualism, con artists, family and love and adorable snarky orphan girls kicking butt! Continue reading »

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 4.5/5, Age Group, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, MG, New (Birds), Note, Paranormal, Rating, Reviews

REVIEW: Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

 Posted by Anastasia on January 10, 2012  2 Responses »
Jan 102012
 
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002. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
Publication: Tor Books (April 1, 2010), ebook, 333pp / ISBN 0765319519
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction sort of?, Alt. History as well!

Read: January 1-2, 2011
Source: Bought (Dec. 25, 2010)

Review

Like most books I buy, it’s been so long since I bought this one– over a year!– that all I could remember about Tooth and Claw was that it had dragons. And, well, yeah, it’s got dragons. But it’s got a lot of other stuff, as well! Continue reading »

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 3.5/5, Alternative History/Earth, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, New (Birds), Rating, Reviews, Romance

REVIEW NOTES: Those Who Hunt the Night, Anna and the French Kiss, Making a Living Without a Job

 Posted by Anastasia on January 4, 2012  3 Responses »
Jan 042012
 
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I want to finish up on 2011′s reviews so I can start 2012! So, very quickly: review notes of three books!

167. Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly
Publication: Open Road (March 29, 2011), ebook, 350pp / ISBN 0345361326
Genre: Historical Fantasy/Paranormal, Mystery

Read: December 11-17, 2011
Source: eBookFling borrow

Review Notes

- Vampires! Yay. I’ve actually started to like vampires again…sort of.
- Vampires who do vampire-y things like eat people and be inhuman and stuff! Double yay.
- Interesting detective character– one of those amateur detectives who get in over their head, but not in a cozy mystery sort of way. I like his wife, too, who’s one of those modern-ish women in a historical fiction sort of people. But in a non-annoying way.
- It did feel a bit like “let me describe this fantasy world to you so you know how interesting/different it is compared to your world” whenever the vampires said something.
- Didn’t expect the solution! That’s good, right? I think it is.

Rating


Overall, I LOVED this book. The mystery was good, the characters were interesting, and although I didn’t like how much explaining re:vampires and their awesome vampire world was in there I still liked the writing.

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168. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Publication: Speak (August 4, 2011), ebook, 386pp / ISBN 0142419400
Genre: YA Romance

Read: December 21-23, 2011
Source: Freebie

Review Notes

- So cute!
- THIS BOOK CUTE BEYOND BELIEF
- Tell Your Girlfriend is totally the theme song.
- Maybe too much emphasis on how hot St. Clair is compared to everything else about him, but the romance builds in a way that I love. Plus St. Clair/Anna DO like more about each other than just how hot the other person is.
- Plus yay changing each other for the better!

Rating


ALL THE POSITIVE HYPE WAS TRUE.

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169. Making a Living Without a Job by Barbara J. Winter
Publication: Bantam (July 1, 1993), Paperback, 272pp / ISBN 0553371657
Genre: Non-fiction, Self-help

Read: December 24-31, 2011
Source: Gift

Review Notes

- Outdated a bit, but still v. good. Talks about mailing lists and using computers to do finances or something– recommends finding books via an offline searching service! There IS a newer version out now, though, which is good.
- Inspiring! And it helped me figure out what sort of things I’m good at already, things that I could apply towards making money (either in a “real” business or otherwise).
- Could maybe use a section on how to actually create business beyond having an idea. Doesn’t talk about anything re:how to find that info, either.

Rating


Should have read the updated version, but I still liked it. Best part was the bit that tells you how to increase your self-confidence. I needed that!

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Get your own copy @ Amazon or BookDepository.com and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog through the power of affiliate earnings!

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 4.5/5, 4/5, Age Group, Beach Reads, Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, New (Birds), Non-fiction, Note, Paranormal, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Teen, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, YA

REVIEW: Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

 Posted by Anastasia on December 9, 2011  3 Responses »
Dec 092011
 
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157. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Publication: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (February 1, 2011), originally published 2009, ebook, 302pp / ISBN 1599904551
Genre: YA Fantasy

Read: November 23-29, 2011
Source: Singapore Public Library

Summary from Amazon:

Rose1 is one of twelve princesses forced to dance through the night in an underground palace. The key to breaking the spell lies in magic knitting needles, an invisibility cloak, and-of course-true love. Inspired by “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” this novel is as captivating as it is fresh. Enchanted readers are sure to clamor for the new companion, Princess of Glass, also published.

Review

Like Inside Out, Princess of the Midnight Ball was one of those books where I was expecting great things from an author who I know does awesome books– but unfortunately, I was disappointed. Like Maria V. Snyder, Jessica Day George has amazing characters in her books. She also has a knack for turning conventional fairy tale stories into something REALLY INCREDIBLE. For instance, last month I read JDG’s Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. In that book she changed up the story enough to take it beyond merely “interesting.” She got rid of the annoying things, she made the main female character seriously wonderful (without going over the top), and she made the romance actually, y’know, romantic. Continue reading »

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 2/5, Age Group, Faerie Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, New (Birds), Note, Rating, Reviews, Teen, YA
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