The Wait Is Almost Over...

Inheritance, the final book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle series has been revealed and the release date announced!

Inheritance will be released 8th November 2011 worldwide.
It is the fourth book in the epic fantasy series following on from Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr and fans have been waiting three years for this info.

While, personally I am not a fan, I am very familiar (due to my time working in a book store) with the amount of hype surrounding this long-awaited title and the eagerness of fans to get their hands on a copy.

From Random House:

"Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilisation rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances.

The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

This is the much-anticipated, astonishing conclusion to the worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle."

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You (#1)
Released: August 2008

Cammie Morgan is a second-generation Gallagher Girl, and by her sophomore year she’s already fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti). But the one thing the Gallagher Academy hasn’t prepared her for is what to do when she falls for an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl.

Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without his ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a boy who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she’s beginning her most dangerous mission yet!

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (#2)
Released: November 2008

Cammie Morgan may have a genius IQ and attend the best school in the country, but as she starts the spring semester of her sophomore year there are a lot of things she doesn't know. Like will her ex-boyfriend even remember she exists? And how much trouble did she really get in last semester? And, most of all, exactly why is her mother acting so strangely?

All Cammie wants is a nice, normal semester, but she's about to learn her greatest lesson yet—that when you go to a school for spies, nothing is ever as it seems.




Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover (#3)
Released: May 2009

Cammie Morgan has a cover for every occasion. Being a spy-in-training, aliases, phony passports and fake ID's are a means of survival. But what happens when the ghosts of her past see through her flawless façade?

This semester, Cammie continues to flirt with danger at Gallagher Academy. When a national political convention turns into a trap, Cammie is forced to lose her cover to save her best friend, Macey – a major political target – from being kidnapped.

But are the kidnappers’ political extremists or something more sinister? And why has Zach, Cammie’s mysterious (and totally h ot) crush, suddenly returned?

With the help of a glamorous ex-Gallagher Girl, Cammie and her friends are determined to hunt down the group that threatens to tear their secret sisterhood apart.

This time it's personal.

Only The Good Spy Young (#4)
Released: June 2010

When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. She just didn’t know that life would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when Cammie faced off against a mysterious organisation called the Circle of Cavan. Now even Cammie 'The Chameleon' can’t hide.

Danger has followed her to London where she discovers one of her most trusted allies has been labelled a double agent. The Gallagher Girls quickly realise that the Circle’s agents are closer than they’d feared -- maybe even within the Gallagher Academy’s own walls. Cammie and her room-mates must call upon old friends if they want to find the traitor at their beloved school before it's too late...

Book 5 in the Gallagher Girls series is as yet, currently untitled but will be released early 2012.


My Review:
The Gallagher Girls is a fun series about a girls boarding school that is actually a spy school. While it is written for ages eleven and up, I find, being in my twenties, that it is one of my guilty pleasures. The girls have their normal teenage problems but what I think makes a big difference in the series is that it is based on friendship.

Cammie and her three best friends always stick by each other and tackle whatever problem they come across together, whether it be boys, sneaking out of their school, a kidnapping plot or a secret ops mission. They are brave, likeable characters that have their weaknesses; even if they super-spies, it's nice to know they aren't invincible, and that the girls know this and are down-to-earth. The spy school is a great way to have the girls tackling normal teenage problems and while the stories are written light-heartedly, the girls are always faced with serious issues and consequences.

All the titles are lots of fun and entertaining and have up to date pop culture references. I personally feel that each title gets better than its predecessor.

Also by Ally Carter: Heist Society

Outspoken by James Vachowski

Title: Outspoken
Author: James Vachowski

Release Date: 8th February 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Abraham Lincoln Jenkins is a teenage vandal, social activist, and aspiring revolutionary, but with only four months left until his high school graduation Abraham’s lifelong dream of attending Harvard College is put in jeopardy when he learns that he is still in need of two core credit hours in Physical Education. Unfortunately for Abraham, the only available spaces in a P.E. class are as a cadet in the Army’s JROTC program!

Told almost exclusively through Abraham’s one-sided complaint letters, OUTSPOKEN is the natural result when the War on Terror collides with the War on Christmas.

My Review:
Outspoken is a hilarious collection of an obnoxious, articulate and self-serving letters written by Abraham Lincoln Jenkins to a variety of people who hold 'power'. His letters poke fun at snobby rich people, incompetent police, the school system, the craziness of the Black Friday sales (which I discovered last year while holidaying in America) and provides us with a particular social commentary of America.

You will find yourself laughing at his wit, audacity and all-around "smart alec-ness". Abraham Lincoln Jenkins is the kind of person who would have annoyed the stuffing out of you if you had been the one on the receiving end of his rants but on paper, he is hilariously opinionated and believes whole-heatedly in what he is saying. He would make a fantastic lawyer (which is what he hopes to study if he ever makes it to Harvard).

Outspoken is a 'comedy novelette'. A relatively fast read with letters and quotes making up the 112 pages.

“America is not at war.
The Marine Corps is at war;
America is at the mall.”
— Unknown Marine in Iraq

Outspoken is available at all major digital book retailers, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and OmniLit, as well as on the Vagabondage Press website.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth

Release Date: 1st May 2011

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

In Beatrice Prior′s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue-Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is-she can′t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are-and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she′s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she′s kept hidden from everyone, because she′s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.

My Review:
I LOVE THIS BOOK!

When I picked Divergent up, I was unaware of all the hype circulating the blogosphere and was unsure of what I was getting myself into. I like going into reading a novel without a biased opinion and allowing the book to have a clean slate. It wasn't until I finished reading it that I discovered I was not alone in my love for it.

It is so easy to become completely absorbed in the pages of Divergent as Tris struggles with the choices she has made, how they affect her in her new faction, and her feelings towards the family she has left behind.

While I didn't connect with all the characters (when tragedy strikes some of them I didn't feel a great loss, just like Tris didn't), I did really like the slowly evolving friendship and relationship between Tris and Four. I liked his whole 'tortured soul, mysterious background' deal and was glad to not have to face ANOTHER love triangle. The relationship is a secondary storyline and I really liked that it wasn't the main focus. There were some fantastic surprises that I really loved, including revelations about her family and the discovery of a long-lost faction member.

I love Tris's spirit, her courage and trains of thought. I love her innocence but also how she feels when she lets go and becomes the person she is, rather than who she has been told to be, no matter the consequences. She is her own person, who is stronger than she, or anyone else, would have believed.

Think The Hunger Games meets Matched. I was a little worried that it would be more like Matched when I first started reading it but the more I got into it, the more I grew to really love Divergent. While I know I probably shouldn't compare books to each other, trust me, dystopian fans will not be disappointed. Beware, like some scenes in The Hunger Games, Divergent can get quite brutal at times.

I can't praise debut author Roth more. Fantastic!

Die For Me Cover Love

Lately I have been extremely excited about getting my hands on a copy of Amy Plum's debut novel Die For Me. Unfortunately I still have just under two months left until it is released but if I wasn't desperate before, I am now after the stunning new cover was revealed!


Is that not one of the most beautiful covers EVER?! It's rare that I am so impressed with a marketing team. While the original US cover wasn't bad, it didn't grab you like the UK cover did. So now the US gets a pretty cover too. The only thing that is different between them now is the font on the cover. If you want more info about the change, you can find it at Amy Plum's website.

Old US cover

Die For Me
Released 10th May 2011

MY LIFE HAD ALWAYS BEEN BLISSFULLY, WONDERFULLY NORMAL. BUT IT ONLY TOOK ONE MOMENT TO CHANGE EVERYTHING.
Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.
Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But this time I was ready to let it happen. Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies…immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.
While I’m fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family’s—in jeopardy for a chance at love?”

A Night With Our Stars and Give-Away!

Last night, I went along to the CBCA's A Night With Our Stars, a showcase of West Australian authors and illustrators published in 2010. Along with my friend Julie, and Danni from The Book Nerd Club, we listened to just over twenty authors who each had three minutes to talk about their books. The speakers who were highlights for me were YA authors Shirley Marr, AJ Betts and Deb Fitzpatrick, as well as Elaine Forrestal, Sally Murphy, Meg McKinlay and Cristy Burne who write for younger readers.


Shirley Marr and Deb Fitzpatrick


AJ Betts

After the talks we were able to mingle with the authors and have books signed and I also got to catch up with some friends from my bookshops days (that makes me sound old!). I finally got to meet Shirley Marr and AJ Betts whose books, Fury and Wave Length, I reviewed last year and I got their books signed. Deb Fitzpatrick, author of 90 Packets of Instant Noodles, also signed a copy of her book for me which I am very much looking forward to reading. Unfortunately Kate McCaffrey, the author of Destroying Avalon, In Ecstasy and Beautiful Monster, wasn't able to make it which was unfortunate as I really wanted to meet her and have my books signed.


It was a wonderful evening and I got to meet some very lovely people. I was also lucky enough to have photos with both Shirley Marr and AJ Betts who were both SO nice. I still find it daunting introducing myself and meeting authors and I was so glad I didn't get star-struck and tongue tied this time. Danni put it perfectly saying "meeting authors is right up there with meeting rockstars". I idolise them both.


I would like to make a special mention of the venue for the evening, Westbooks. If you haven't already visited this fantastic store, you should. It has an amazing selection of children's and YA books with a small amount of adult titles as well. It's like the opposite of a regular book store, kids and teens have the majority here! I hadn't been there before but I will definitely be making a return visit.


GIVE-AWAY!
As a special treat, I got extra copies of Fury, 90 Packets and Wave Length all SIGNED as give-aways.

The give-away is open INTERNATIONALLY until 11th April 2011. All three authors are from Perth, Australia so would be perfect for the Aussie YA Reading Challenge.

There are three simple steps:
1. You must be a follower
2. Tell others about this give-away, either in a blog post or by placing the give-away button on your blog
3. Leave a comment under this post with the link to where you have 'spread the word'

Perth Writers Festival Happenings and Giveaway!

Over the last week, I have been working in the book tent at the Perth Writers Festival. For those of you who didn't see my post back in January, PWF is an annual event in Perth held over the long weekend at the beginning of March and at the end of the Perth International Arts Festival. It is three days of local and international authors giving talks and workshops.

We don't get a lot of memorable moments working in the book tent but I did get to briefly meet Perth author Amanda 'AJ' Betts whose book, Wavelength, I reviewed last year. She came up to the cash register to buy something and I got a bit nervous and tongue-tied when I introduced myself, but she was lovely :)

There were quite a few talks I had hoped to attend but unfortunately, my shifts in the book tent were at the same time so I was unable to make it to any of them, except for half of the Melina Marchetta and Bernard Beckett talk (which I embarrassingly had to leave in the middle of, to make it to my shift).

Marchetta and Beckett

I'm sure most of you have heard of Melina Marchetta, someone Australian bloggers talk about and whose books are recommended left, right and centre, but Bernard Beckett, is a slightly lesser known New Zealand YA author. I have seen some of his books around in the past but never actually read one. But this weekend, I bought two (and had to stop myself from buying the others)! I can't wait to start them!

August, Beckett's latest book which was released last week, and the multi-award winning Genesis were the two I chose. I desperately wanted to get both these, and a couple of Marchetta books signed, but, being stuck in the extremely busy book tent, wasn't able to get away. Instead, my amazing friend Bryton lined up for me! She is totally awesome. Unfortunately, Marchetta wasn't signing (so, so annoyed and I could rant about it for quite some time, but I wont) but Bernard was, and he very generously posed for a photo so I could actually see him signing my books :D

GIVEAWAY!

At my request, Bryton also got a second copy of both August and Genesis signed for two lucky followers! The give-away is open Australia wide until March 31st 2011.

To enter there are two simple steps:

1. You must be a follower.
2. Leave me a comment on this post with which title you would like to win and tell me something that you like about The Tales Compendium.

Also, telling others isn't required but is appreciated. Please feel free to use the give-away button found below and link it back to this page.

August by Bernard Beckett

Trapped in a car wreck, upside down, bleeding, broken and in pain, Tristan and Grace are staring at death.

As they await their fate, with only a glimmer of hope they might be seen and rescued, we discover the stories of their lives, the sequences of events that brought them together and the shocking truth behind the cause of their crash.

Part philosophical thriller, part love story, August is a compelling novel of power, humanity and desire.

Genesis by Bernard Beckett

It’s the year 2075.

The island Republic has emerged from a ruined world. Its citizens are safe but not free. They live in complete isolation from the outside world. Approaching planes are gunned down, refugees shot on sight. Until a man named Adam Forde rescues a girl from the sea.

Anaximander, a young Academy student, is put through a gruelling exam. Her special subject: the life of Adam Forde, her long-dead hero. What secrets has she discovered and what is her own surprising link to Adam? She is forced to confront the horrifying truth about her totalitarian world.

Genesis is a thriller that asks the big questions. What is it to be human? What makes a soul?

A Great Day!

Today has been a great day!

Today is my birthday and one of my amazing friends made me cupcakes. Being the wonderfully creative person she is, Bryton didn't just make me ordinary cupcakes, no I got cupcakes decorated with some of my favourite books!

For those of you unfamiliar with these books, we have: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Graffiti Moon, The Alchemyst, Shiver and Guantanamo Boy.

Bryton's website is still under-going some work but you can check out some of her other cupcakes and crafty designs here.


Many other wonderful things happened today so excluding birthday celebrations, other cool news is that I have discovered that Rachel Caine, author of the Morganville Vampire series, and who is touring Australia and New Zealand in May, will be coming to PERTH!

This is very, very exciting news. Not only am I currently ADDICTED to her series, but I may actually get the chance to meet her. As Perth is such an isolated city, alot of people who come to Australia on their "AUSTRALIAN TOUR" usually leave Perth out of their visit, not to mention other capital cites in Aust such as Darwin, Adelaide and Hobart. Perth is the first place to be announced as part of her Bite Club Tour and my fingers are crossed for the other cities as more will be named soon.

Read my review of Glass Houses, book one in the Morganville Vampires series.

For a write up of each individual book, check out mummazappa's reviews at The Book Nerd Club.

Beautiful Chaos Update!

A couple of days ago the title of book three in the Caster Chronicles was announced as being Beautiful Chaos and today the cover AND release date have been revealed!


I love how all three covers tell a mini story; through the woods, up the steps to the gate. Everything is slowly revealed. Authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl don't actually decide what goes on the cover but I think the designer has done a really great job on them all. I can't wait to see what the cover of book four is going to be.

Beautiful Chaos will be released 18th October 2011! It seems like it is ages away but I'm sure the time will pass quickly!

Read my review of books one and two, Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness.

You can also head over to NextMovie for info on the film adaptation, complete with a fantasy cast from Garcia and Stohl! I love who they have suggested (except for the first Ethan and second Lena), and think they would be perfect but most fantasy castings don't usually follow through to the actual casting. But I can hope right?

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Title: Just Listen
Author: Sarah Dessen

Release Date: 2nd July 2007

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:
I'm Annabel. I'm the girl who has it all.Model looks, confidence, a great social life.I'm one of the lucky ones. Aren't I?

My Review:
This is the second time I have re-read Just Listen and I still love it as much as when I first read it a few years ago. I've read a couple of other Dessen books but I didn't connect with them as much as I did with Just Listen.

Annabel used to be the girl everyone envied, until something happened at the beginning of the summer. Her best friend stopped talking to her and now slanders her every chance she gets. Annabel spent the summer in solitude, hoping that once school started again, everything would go back to normal. No such luck. What happened is one of the many secrets that unfolds throughout Just Listen.

Annabel is the kind of person who holds everything in to protect others. She hides her own wants and feelings to protect her broken family. She holds back her desire to quit modelling to protect her mother who once again shows signs of life after having a breakdown. She holds back how she feels towards her sisters and the position she has in the family. She hides what is really going on at school. And she definitely hides what happened at the beginning of the summer. She is on an emotional roller-coaster and what she doesn't realise, is that sometimes, she just has to open up and let others help her, before everything explodes.

Just Listen is not solely about Annabel. While she is the main character, the troubles of the rest of her family and those around her are also heavily highlighted. And each character is amazing, with so much depth, pain, fear, love, confidence and hopelessness.

Kirsten and Whitney are Annabel's two older sisters and I love their complex relationship. Whitney struggles with an eating disorder but Kirsten is the only one in the family that can see what is really happening behind Whitney's lies. One of the most powerful moments in the book, to me, is when Kirsten tells her family that she has warned them but they are choosing not to listen to her. As Whitney's eating disorder really comes to light in one shocking scene with Annabel, everything she has tried to keep hidden is uncovered and we slowly become witness to all of her internal battles.

There are many influential scenes featuring Whitney. Some that stick in my mind include Whitney's concentration as she tends to her herbs, Annabel spying Whitney watching her model from afar and, when Whitney takes part in the open-mike night. It never fails to bring a tear to my eye. Kirsten, the biggest drama queen of all, actually turns out to have her life sorted out the most. You will find that in the book, Kirsten makes a short film about a memory she has. I love that everyone who views it takes something different from it, that is the way art should be, but that it also helps mend Whitney and Kirsten's fragile relationship.

Owen is an outsider. And we all know what happens when the dark and mysterious outsider meets the messed up beautiful girl. I love Owen and his crazy obsession with music. He is so sweet and honest. He believes in honesty above anything else, except music. He introduces Annabel to his "placeholder" way of thinking and teaches her that bad choices and dishonesty can haunt you if you don't do something about them. He is absolutely one of my literary crushes. And his best mate Rolly is like a faithful puppy dog and totally loveable.

"silence is so freaking loud"

Just Listen really gets down to the core of how appearances can be deceiving. I love the symbolism of the family home being made of glass and that what is seen through the glass is very different to the words spoken, and not spoken, on the other side. No one's life is perfect and the myth that someone could have it all is just that, a myth. Sarah Dessen does well to point that out to her readers, that people and families are not always as they seem.

Also, I loved the car wash scene and it really resonated with me. The first time I went in a car wash when I was little, I thought it was scary but I always felt safe because my parents were with me. Even though I thought it was scary, I loved the darkness and the sight of the water and soap suds running down the windows and the sound of the brushes hitting the sides of the car. Just like our characters, I now view them as a magical, relaxing place and I love to sit in the dark while the water swirls around outside.

A fantastic read that deals with real life issues such as friendship, family life, relationships, eating disorders, sexual assault and personal discovery.

Oh boy, I want to read it again *sigh*