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Hey, readers! Once again, we’ve brought out the Upcoming Titles feature to give you a sampling of the books being published this month! As always, this is by no means a comprehensive list of forthcoming releases, just a compilation of titles we think our readers (and our contributors!) would enjoy.
I’m back from the American Library Conference in San Francisco! Well, I’ve been back for almost a week, but was so wiped out (and still nursing minor injuries), so this post is just now going live. But here I am with tidbits and goodies to share. Fair warning that I was bad at taking photos this year, but it was for good reason–I was having such a good time that I often forgot! Last year’s trip was great, but ALA 2015 surpassed my expectations, in ways I didn’t even imagine. Stick around, since we’re also giving away TWO prizes–a box of 10 coveted ARCS to a U.S. reader, and an awesome tote “Reading is my Everything, Everthing” bag filled with swag to an international reader. The Authors There were so many great authors at ALA this year, and I trotted around like an obedient pony trying to find them all.... Read more »
It’s a sign you like a series when you’re willing to try to overlook—albeit to ultimately still be largely infuriated by and not be able to forget—an incredibly annoying error on page one of the latest release. The series? Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines. The new book? The Ruby Circle. The error? Having Adrian (the male protagonist) […]
If you're hooked on Kid President then this month is your month for new release kids books. This month's selection of best new kids books includes Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome and Richelle Mead's conclusion to the Bloodlines series.
Penguin Random House has created three teaser trailers for the final installment of Richelle Mead’sBloodlines series, The Ruby Circle. The video embedded above features trailer #3. Follow these links to watch trailer #1 and trailer #2.
Razorbill, an imprint at Penguin Young Readers Group, will release the U.S. edition on February 10, 2015. For those who can’t wait, the first five chapters have been posted on TheRubyCircle.com. The publisher unveiled this content after Mead’s fans shared the #LoveWillConquerAll hashtag thousands of times on different social media platforms.
Wow! This month is proof of good reads, everything remains the same on our best selling kids series list; including the blast from the past ... the Mr. Men and Little Miss books.
The Vampire Academy movie production team have launched a crowdfunding venture on Indiegogo.
They hope to raise $1.5 million to adapt the second installment of Richelle Mead’s young adult series, Frostbite. The campaign will run until September 05, 2014. We’ve embedded a video about the project above. Here’s an excerpt from the message that screenwriter Piers Ashworth posted on the Indiegogo page:
“We have to get this movie made. We have to meet Adrian and understand the new dimension he brings to the story. We have to experience the changes Rose undergoes as she battles the ultimate foe at the same time as coming to terms with her relationships (including the one with her mother). We have to see the battle of wills in the basement – and the surprise of Mia’s use of water magic to incapacitate Isaiah. We have to see the Strigoi for what they really are. Please help make that happen.”
You know you’re excited about a book’s impending release when you’ve literally instigated a countdown calculating the time until its release. And you’re emailing a friend and co-fan who happens to be in Europe for four months, telling her if she’s in doubt about returning to Australia, rest assured: the book will help smooth her potentially bumpy I’m-not-in-Europe-anymore arrival.
Silver Shadows, Book Five in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy* spin-off Bloodlines, has just been released (Still with me? The series and spin-off and book titles can be confusing and I have to admit I still refer to everything as a Vampire Academy book).
It picks up where Book Four left off—if you haven’t read this yet, now’s the time to do the reading equivalent of lalalalala, AKA stop reading this blog post). That is, Alchemist extraordinaire Sydney Sage has been kidnapped and imprisoned by the Alchemists in an underground ‘re-education’ facility. Moroi lover Adrian Ivashkov is losing his mind with grief and frustration as he tries to use mental-health-destabilising spirit find out where she’s being kept.
With Sydney trapped in a seemingly-impossible-to-escape prison, I truly expected Rose and Dimitri to feature heavily in this tale (in truth, I expect that every book). But Mead surprised me and again kept them to cameos—she really does seem to mean what she said about being done with following their stories. That said, the way the book finishes has me convinced that the next one will surely see them come to the fore (in truth, I’ve thought that every book too).
The Silver Shadows contains less sassy repartee than previous books, but that’s both because people are trapped alone in various locations and in their heads, which makes the requirement of having someone to trade repartee with rather troublesome. Besides, the subject matter—torture, prejudice, and mental health and alcohol issues—makes for some reasonably bleak reading. In the most gripping, tale-inhaling manner, of course.
There are a few moments, though, such as when Sydney first encounters her uptight, Type A roommate, AKA ‘the Sydney Sage of re-education’. There’s also some banter about which car Adrian and Marcus should take on a roadtrip to find Sydney: a Mustang or a ‘lame yet highly fuel-efficient’ Prius that would require fewer stops and, therefore, hasten their mission.
The book touches on some more adult themes. And by adult, I mean challenging, life-changing stuff such as battling deteriorating mental health and grappling with feelings-suppressing alcohol addiction.
It handles it in a way that’s respectful, demystifying, and de-stigmatising, which is all you could ask of a young-adult text. (Forgive me for getting my responsible adult hat on, but hopefully the young adults and not-so-young adults reading the series will feel a little less hesitant to ask for help sometime if they ever need it.)
Overall, though, not a lot happens in Silver Shadows. At least, not compared with other Vampire Academy slash Bloodlines books. But the tension around Sydney’s circumstances and whether Adrian, who’s self-destructing, will be able to hold it together, propel the story tensely forward. It’s also setting the scene for a bigger shebang, which Mead cruelly (and by cruelly I mean niftily) drops on us in final words on the final pages.
Which means that, having inhaled the book that answered the year-long what’s-going-to-happen-to-Sydney-in-re-education-camp suspense, that suspense has now been replaced with what’s-going-to-happen-with-[I’m not going to issue that spoiler so soon after its release—suffice to say, the plot twist and its ramifications are big] agony.
What I am going to say is that Mead had better been well on her way to writing Book Six. Let the countdown begin.
*As a side note, the covers continue to be terrible. I’m glad someone’s finally shifting the Vampire Academy titles to a more generic VA. They need to do similarly with the Bloodlines series. Pouting generic blondes and brunettes don’t cut it. For starters, Sydney Sage wouldn’t pout lustily at a camera…
The mature thing to do when you both have enormous, suffocatingly impending deadlines as well as knee surgery and an enforced lay-off coming up would be to save up a good book for the latterly mentioned respite.
I, of course, did nothing of the sort, head-in-the-sanding it ostrich style to pretend that I didn’t have deadlines and figuring that I’d find another book to read during my post-operative recovery.
Suffice to say, I raced through Richelle Mead’s latest Bloodlines installment, The Indigo Spell, faster than you can say, ‘Bring back everyone’s favourite dhampir lovers, Rose and Dimitri’.
With the exception of a two-or-so-sentences cameo, Rose and Dimitri didn’t feature in this book. Again. Although these days I’m better able to cope, both because I’m used to the disappointment and because Mead’s fleshing out the Bloodlines plots and characters a little better than before.
Case in point: Sydney the uptight alchemist, who in this book finally loosens up and allows herself to fall in love. Well, sort of, given that she spends the bulk of the book denying and quashing it, but semantics …
The book begins with Sydney being awoken in the middle of the night by her kooky, witchy teacher to cast a spell relating to a ‘life-or-death matter’. Props to Mead for an opening that both throws you in there and, er, garners your attention:
This wasn’t the first time I’d been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I’d been subjected to such a personal line of questioning.
‘Are you a virgin?’
‘Huh?’ I rubbed my sleepy eyes, just in case this was all some sort of bizarre dream that would disappear …
Mead gets straight into the snappy repartee, too (although out of context this is admittedly not as snappy as I first found it):
[Ms Terwilliger] stepped back and sighed with relief. ‘Yes, of course. Of course you’re a virgin.’
I narrowed my eyes, unsure if I should be offended or not. ‘Of course? What’s that supposed to mean?’
Soon after, Sydney narrates:
I was pretty sure I could hear some large animal scuffling out in the brush and added ‘coyotes’ to my mental list of dangers I faced out here, right below ‘magic use’ and ‘lack of coffee’.
Later, she has this encounter with love interest Adrian Ivashkov:
‘Nothing will get you anywhere with me,’ [Sydney] exclaimed.
‘I don’t know about that.’ He put on an introspective look that was both unexpected and intriguing. ‘You’re not as much of a lost cause as [Rose] was. I mean, with her, I had to overcome her deep, epic love with a Russian warlord. You and I just have to overcome hundreds of years’ worth of deeply ingrained prejudice and taboo between our two races.’
The Indigo Spell continues on chronologically from the previous Bloodlines books. Sydney is still tasked with protecting sister-to-the-queen Jill, whose knocking off could, due to archaic laws not yet changed, topple the entire and tenuously held throne. The two are holed up in the decidedly un-vampire-friendly Palm Springs along with guardian Eddie, wannabe guardian Angeline, and adorable, spirit user and arguable alcoholic Adrian.
The plot hole that so enraged me last book—the fact that, despite books and books worth of rules that a guardian never leaves their guardianee, Jill is left alone and unprotected for vast chunks of time—isn’t entirely plugged in this book, but it is addressed enough that it no longer explodes me.
My main gripe with The Indigo Spell, which I enjoyed more than its predecessors mostly because Sydney stopped being so Hermione and started having fun, was that the mysterious breakaway-alchemist storyline it featured didn’t exactly come to fruition. The promising plot, frankly, fell a little so-what flat. I could be proven wrong in future books, but for the moment I’m not convinced the storyline contributed to the plot, much less propelled it forward, and I have to wonder why it wasn’t excised in the edit.
Still, it wasn’t enough to make me put the book down (in reality, my deadline issues would have been better served if it had been), and reading The Indigo Spell left me with a feeling that was a cross between the one you get while consuming comfort food and being wrapped in a freshly laundered doona on an autumnal night.
The book was also packed with enough small-moment witticisms to keep me smiling to myself. Say, for example, when Sydney freaked out because her teacher was away sick and left only instructions to work on homework for the substitute teacher.
This seemed to amuse [her friend] immensely. ‘Melbourne, sometimes you’re the only reason I come to class. I saw her sub plan for your independent study, by the way. It said you didn’t even have to stick around. You’re free to run wild.’
Eddie, sitting nearby, overheard and scoffed. ‘To the library?’
Late in the book she calls Adrian with a request that’s rather unusual for her:
‘Can you come over to Amberwood? I need you to help me break curfew and escape my dorm.’
There were a few moments of silence. ‘Sage, I’ve been waiting two months to hear you say those words. You want me to bring a ladder?’
Now, if I can just find another book to read while I’m hopped up on painkillers and propped up on pillows, I’ll be sorted book-wise for at least another few days …
I am the first one to say that I love the Vampire Academy novels. In fact, right after reading The Golden Lily, I had to reread the original series (which I just finished).
I'm finding myself not happy with this Bloodlines series. I mean I love that we get more Adrian and Jill and Eddie. My problem lies more in the narrator-- Sydney is dull. Rose was so dynamic with her colorful language and snarky witticisms. The relationship between Dimitri and Rose was swoon worthy and probably the most romantic pairing since Buffy and Angel. I know that Adrian deserves his happily ever after, but with Sydney? I just don't see it and to me it feels forced.
So let me just go into what I didn't like. The storyline goes nowhere. It took a lot of pages to get to the finale scene which was just made me scream (in my head) WTF! I adore Richelle's writing and Vampire Academy is so tightly plotted and written so damn well, that this series seems like a completely different writer is writing it. Where are my clues that were sprinkled in VA? Where is the underlying passion and greatness that I have come to adore in Mead's writing?
So what did I like about it: Angeline. We first meet her in Last Sacrifice (the final VA book), where she lives in the mountains with The Keepers. A ragtag bunch of vampires and Dhampirs and human who commune together in harmony. Angeline has spunk and her besottedness with Eddie is fun to watch. Eddie Castile. Ever since Frostbite, I have adored this character. He's strong willed, he's a good friend to Rose and he adores Jill (The Queen's illegitimate sister). Jill can be annoying at time. I know that she's learning all about being royalty as it was thrust upon her. Plus having your life constantly in danger should make you a more exciting character, but she's not. You know who is missing from this series? Mia Rinaldi. I like Angeline, but Mia would work well especially as possibly a rival to Adrian's affection from Sydney. There needs to be some conflict and Syd being an alchemist just doesn't bring the fervor.
Adrian Ivashkov deserves his own paragraph. Adrian is still smarting from Rose's deception and defection of her heart to her one true love, Dimitri Belikov. What makes matters even worse? Dimitri is in this whole book with another strigoi turned back, Sonya Karp. They are trying to find out the secrets of turning back from Strigoi and long-term effects of spirit. So Adrian and Dimitri are in close contact often and the turn of events are funny and sometimes sad. However, snarky Adrian is always fun. Drunk and smoking Adrian is hilarious.
Even Adrian can't help this installment. I'm pretty invested in the series so I'm definitely interested to see where she's going with it (let's hope not 6 books), and I'd like to see everyone happy. I know Rose' story is done, but I'd like to see her back (even if sh
2 Comments on Book Review: The Golden Lily, Richelle Mead, last added: 6/28/2012
Just read Bloodlines recently and I wad not impressed, it definitely wasn't add good add VA and I was easily able to predict the whole plot and what was going on before Sidney figured it out. I agree with you about Sidney, I found her boring too but since I love Adrian so much I'm willing to read this one and hopefully it won't turn into a long series.
Really are there any words needed? June 12, 2012. I cannot wait. I'm hoping that maybe they'll have copies at BEA but that is probably few and far between. This one I'm really excited about.
0 Comments on Waiting on Wednesday 29 as of 1/1/1900
When I received this book I was a bit nervous because I have not read any of the Vampire Academy series. However, I was only slightly confused in the first couple of chapters and was actually able to catch on really quickly! I enjoyed the writing style, the characters and the storyline very much. To read more of my review, click here.
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.
Kimberly's review:
Lissa Dragomir is a vampire princess and must be protected from another kind of vampire race, the Strigoi, who are fierce and dangerous vampires. Rose Hathaway, a half human-half vampire, is her classmate, her best friend and her partner in crime.
After two years of freedom, the BFFs are captured and dragged back to their exclusive boarding school where they have to train to become, respectively, a political figure and a fighter/bodyguard. But they soon realize that inside their school, it's just as dangerous as outside its gates.
Rose is a strong, fun and cocky character. She is quick-witted and throws herself into dangerous situations--my kind of girl! Her narration is very clear; you learn a lot about her character.
Lissa is seen through Rose's eyes and while Rose is the physically stronger and more aggressive of the two, Lissa is not a whimp. She has some special powers (not going to tell you!) and a few problems of her own. She is the last Dragomir princess alive. Um, that's a lot of pressure.
This is a great female relationship. They're totally loyal to each other. It's easy to see how they are best friends. It's refreshing to see a functioning, healthy friendship where the two characters genuinely care about each other, instead of other dramatic relationships where there is a lot of jealousy and backstabbing.
And oh, the boys! Dimitri, stoic, hot and Rose's instructor, is sexy and a lean mean fighting machine. The chemistry between them is ... whew. Sorry. Got hot in here. Lissa finds her match in an unlikely hero.
I want to stress that the story is about way more than boys, even cute vampire boys. It's about friendship, about growing up and finding oneself. Lissa and Rose may have been dragged back to St. Vladimir's unwillingly, but that doesn't mean they stop fighting for what they want, what they believe in. They continue to grow as characters, not just through the book, but throughout the series. Their relationships with each other grows and evolves, the best parts of each of them coming out to protect the other
3 Comments on Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) - Review, last added: 10/10/2011
love this series! the one time that the kindle sample thing actually worked. after reading it, i immediately downloaded the book. and the rest is history...
Great review Kimberly! I have only read the first book in the series but now you make me want to read the rest of the books! I may have to tackle that task next year.
Thanks! This is such an awesome series, Richelle Mead is a favorite author of mine! I should mention that on www.thewindypages.com we are having a giveaway for one of two Richelle Mead books in her adult fantasy paranormal series: Succubus Blues or Succubus Revealed.
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore Amy and Phin Goodnight are spending the summer housesitting for their aunt Hyacinth. Both Amy and Phin are witches, as are all Goodnight women, though Amy would much rather have a normal life. But there are times when witchcraft and psychic powers come in handy—like, say, when there’s a ghost supposedly haunting the area.
Texas Gothic reminded me of Highway to Hell, Rosemary Clement-Moore’s third Maggie Quinn book. So if you enjoyed that one, there’s a lot that will appeal here, namely romance, humor, mystery, and the supernatural. Yeah, these were present in Prom Dates from Hell and Hell Week, but what really unites Texas Gothic and Highway to Hell (from what I remember, at least) is how their supernatural elements are rooted in broader historical events or legends. By this I mean the supernatural events are not just a generic “a person was killed here and their vengeful spirit has been haunting it ever since”-type thing that could take place anywhere (even if a particular setting is well-drawn), but are instead tied to a particular place and its own specific history.
Overall, I liked Texas Gothic but didn’t love it. Mostly because I was lot more interested in the Phin-Mark romance than Amy-Ben, which I never completely bought into.
Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer Speaking of plots centered on local history…
Anyway, so after the events of Meridian, Meridian and Tens are on the road, looking for another Fenestra. They end up in Carmel, Indiana, still unsure of how much they can trust other people. Meanwhile, alternating with Meridian’s narration is that of Juliet, who lives in a group home under horrific conditions, not knowing that she is a Fenestra.
It’s been a couple of years since I read Meridian, and while I didn’t remember much about the story, Kizer provides enough background that I didn’t feel lost. As for the story itself, I’m a bit torn. It’s a long novel, but while I was reading it, it didn’t seem to drag, even though it’s a while before Meridian and Juliet finally connect. After reading it, and without knowing what will happen in the rest of the series, my reaction now is, that was a lot of pages without as much plot as you’d think would be in a 500+ page novel. Oh well, I do plan on at least reading the next book and I wasn’t bothered by the length while reading, so I’ll be generous here.
Oh, and yay, no love triangle! But what happened to [name redacted just to be on the safe side of spoilers] at the end of the story?
Most of all, what really struck me about Wildcat Fireflies is how it contrasts with Angel Burn. I mean, Angel Burn and Wildcat Fireflies share some similarities in their respective angel/protector road romance storylines. However, whereas there’s a notable lack of action (you know, *that* kind of action) during Angel Burn’s idyllic interlude, Kizer tackles this head-on, wit
2 Comments on Three paranormals, last added: 9/20/2011
Thanks for the post! I love all Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy books and devoured Bloodlines as soon as it came out. If I remember correctly, Sydney’s issues with her recent step up to a size 4 actually are meant to further clue the reader in to the psychological games Sydney’s father has played with her. Her weight and appearance is something else he feels free to criticize.
Trisha said, on 9/20/2011 2:48:00 PM
Hmm, I didn’t read it that way, but will take another look with this interpretation in mind. Thanks for bringing it up!
Alexis Grant has a day job as a journalist and devotes her evenings and weekends to writing her book. In a guest blog post on Guide to Literary Agents, she listed five reasons why writers should keep their day jobs.
Grant (pictured, via) explained that having “a job helps you generate ideas.” Other benefits of a day job included: forced productivity, a steady paycheck and health insurance.
Here’s more from her blog post: “Having a day job gives you the opportunity to get out and about, talk with smart people and learn new things. You can do all of that without a day job, of course – but we often don’t make it a priority. The daily interactions I have through my job often lead to ideas for ebooks and blog posts and freelance pieces. Without that stimulation, I wouldn’t be the same writer.”
May 2-8, 2011, is Children’s Book Week. Each year, during this week, The Children’s Book Council hosts the Children’s Choice Book Awards. These are the best awards because the children are given a voice! I highly recommend checking out the thirty books that have been nominated for the six categories: k-2nd, 3rd-4th, 5th-6th, Teens, and author of the year. Then, along with your kids or classroom, go and vote for their favorite(s)—you have until April 29. The winners will be announced on May 2 at the Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala.
This year’s Children’s Choice Book Award finalists are as follows:
Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
Shark vs. Train
by Chris Barton (Author), Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (April 1, 2010)
Publisher’s synopsis:Shark VS. Train! WHO WILL WIN?!
If you think Superman vs. Batman would be an exciting matchup, wait until you see Shark vs. Train. In this hilarious and wacky picture book, Shark and Train egg each other on for one competition after another, including burping, bowling, Ping Pong, piano playing, pie eating, and many more! Who do YOU think will win, Shark or Train?
Publisher’s synopsis: Learn to read with this New York Times-bestselling picture book, starring an irresistible dog named Rocket and his teacher, a little yellow bird. Follow along as Rocket masters the alphabet, sounds out words, and finally . . . learns to read all on his own!
The Children's Book Council hosts the Children's Choice Book Awards. The favorite book finalists for this year were determined by close to 15,000 children and teens. I highly recommend checking out these books!
Life has not become any less complicated for Rose Hathaway. She continues to struggle with her feelings for Dimitri, her super hot tutor, and she keeps being pulled into her best friend Lissa’s head during intimate moments with her boyfriend. Things get worse when a massive Strigori attack puts St. Vladimir’s on high alert and the Guardians gather en mass at the Academy- including Rose’s mother
0 Comments on Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) by Richelle Mead as of 8/19/2008 8:22:00 PM
Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess, and her best friend Rose, a Dhampir have been found by the Guardians and forcibly returned to St. Vladimir's Academy. As a mortal Moroi, Lissa is highly coveted by the Strigoi, the evil immortal vampires, the race that Dhampirs like Rose train to fight as Guardians. Lissa and Rose have a remarkable bond, and Lissa's power is so rare in the history of Moroi that
0 Comments on Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead as of 1/1/1900
Best friends Lissa Dragomir and Rose Hathaway are on the run from their boarding school St. Vladimir's Academy, hiding from the well-meaning but misguided Guardians of the school and the evil vampires the Strigoi. Lissa is a Moroi princess,
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Speaking of plots centered on local history…
Alexis Grant has a day job as a journalist and devotes her evenings and weekends to writing her book. In a 
Thank you for the honest review I love the vampire academy series also but wasn't sure about this one. I think I may go ahead and give it a try .
Just read Bloodlines recently and I wad not impressed, it definitely wasn't add good add VA and I was easily able to predict the whole plot and what was going on before Sidney figured it out. I agree with you about Sidney, I found her boring too but since I love Adrian so much I'm willing to read this one and hopefully it won't turn into a long series.