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City of Heavenly Fire Cover Reveal

AHHHHH Its finally here.

The City of Heavenly Fire cover was revealed last night, its the sixth and final book in the Mortal Instrument series.

I don't think I can express how excited I am for this book to be released May can not come quick enough, even though it will be sad to say goodbye to Clary, Jace and all the gang and I know that we are in for some shocking surprises, I still can't wait to see what happens, espcically after the cliff-hanger in book 5.

The cover is awesome it shows Clary holding a sword dressed in white while Sebastian stands in the background with black wings. We all know that someone (or maybe more) are going to die in this book and I am guessing the Clary wearing white is a reflection of this.

 

What do you think of the cover? Do you have any predictions for the final book?

Fictional Crush (January)

Okay, so we all have to admit we occasionally (maybe more than occasionally) wish that some of our favourite fictional characters were real. I know I do and I can even admit to having a tiny incy wincy crush on some of them too.

Now instead of hiding our feelings away I think that this is something we should embrace, something we shouldn't be afraid to announce to the world. Well maybe not the entire world but you know lets not hide the fact that we sometimes crush on people who aren't real.

Once a month (maybe twice) I'm going to talk about my fictional crushes and why I think they are completely crush worthy.

This months pick has to be my first ever book crush Ned Nickerson from the Nancy Drew series.

I'll be honest when I was younger I wanted to grow up and be Nancy Drew, I wanted to solve mysterious, I wanted to be as quirky and witty as she was. Basically everything about her life I wanted including her boyfriend Ned. Thinking back he was the first every character that I had a crush on, the Nancy Drew series was one of the first series where I started to imagine what I would do if I was one of the characters.

“Ned said "Nancy Drew is the best girl detective in the whole world!"
"Don't you believe him," Nancy said quickly. "I have solved some mysteries, I'll admit, and I enjoy it, but I'm sure there are many other girls who could do the same.”  


As I've gotten older I've realised that Ned isn't the greatest guy on earth and that he is a little bit of a bore. But when I was younger all I knew was that he was kind and considerate, he worried about Nancy's safety and all round he seemed like a good guy. He was completely devoted to Nancy and let her shine when it came to solving cases and yet was there to rescue her if he needed to, plus he was the hottest guy in River Heights.

Who was your first fictional crush?

Top Ten 2014 debuts I'm excited for

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks theme is top ten 2014 debuts that we are looking forward too. I always love reading an authors for the first time, I love hunting down new authors to read. Every year more and more amazing authors are getting published and this year is no exception.

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

 

 

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page

 

 

Love Letter to the Dead

 

 

The Murder Complex

 

 

Side Effects May Vary

 

 

The Winners Curse by Marie Rutkoski

 

 

Are there any other 2014 debuts that I should be looking out for?

 

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee
Penryn End of Days Book 1
 
Release Date: 23rd May 2013

Pages: 325

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Dystopia

Star Rating: 4.5

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

A dark and captivating story set in a post apocalyptic world that has been devastated by Angels, cities lie in ruins, most of the population has been wiped out and only a handful of survivors are left doing what they must to get by in a world gone mad. Angels rule and you hope you never have to meet one.

17 year old Penryn lives and breathes this world everyday and with a Mother suffering with Schizophrenia and a sister who is wheelchair bound, she must fight harder than others to keep her family together. The story starts with Penryn and her sister having to flee the apartment they've been living in as its no longer safe. When a fight between a group of Angels breaks out and Penryn watches in horror as one Angel has his wings ripped from his body and her little sister is kidnapped by the same group. Knowing the only way to get her sister back is to work with the broken and battered Angel she must overcome her fears and help him.

Penryn is a strong and beautiful selfless heroine, who will do whatever she has to in order to look after her family. She is the personification of what a protagonist in this genre should be like, it doesn't matter the situation Penryn will use her wits to figure out a way out of it, she is fierce and loyal to a fault and has a strength that is hard to comprehend and yet she comes across as being a normal 17 year old girl, who is so easy to relate too. Susan Ee has done an amazing job at creating a character that is believable in a world that is so far from our own.

Now Raffe, apart from the name which had a few problems initially when trying to pronounce, I absolutely loved him. He was dark, mysterious and a typical bad guy with a twist. Initially he was arrogant and was clearly amused by Penryn's acts of bravado but as the story progresses we get to see a softer and funnier side to him. At first him and Penryn come to and uneasy truce in order to get his wings back and Penryn her sister but as their journey progresses so does their relationship. Whilst not overly romantic, they both start to learn that maybe the other isn't the 'enemy', their banter is witty and funny and was definitely one of my favourite parts about the book. Actually I completely loved everything about this book.

A book that is anything but ordinary, with a plot that never gives up and plenty of twists and turns. The character and wind building is fantastic, Susan Ee creates a vivid and captivating world that I could completely imagine existing with characters that manage to balance each out. A book about doing whatever its takes to look after those you love, about learning to overcome prejudices and a book about finding love in even the bleakest of circumstances.

This is one book that you just have to read to understand just how good it is.

Most Anticipated Reads of 2014 (January)

2013 was an amazing year for me in terms of finding new authors and series to read. I discovered the amazing talents of Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss/ Lola and the Boy Next Door) and Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor and Park and Fangirl) who made me realise I do actually like to read contemporary fiction. Fantasy became my new love, Maria V Snyder, Leigh Bardugo, Laini Taylor and Sarah Mass all contributed to this and had my imagination living in far off lands. However 2014 is set to be just as good with so many series reaching their epic conclusions but what about the new authors, new series and standalones. There are so many great book set to be released this year which I why I've compelled by list of my most anticipated reads.

Each month I'll list the books I'm most looking forward to reading this month, the ones I'll be rushing out to buy on release day.

 Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

 

In 1940 after the first book ends, Jacob and his new Welsh island friends flee to London, the Peculiar capital of the world. Caul, a dangerous madman, is Miss Peregrine’s brother, and can steal Peculiar abilities for himself. The Peculiars must fight for survival, again.

 

Taste of Power by Maria V. Snyder

 

 

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.

 

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

 

 

For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over?

 

Up From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

 

Lately, life has been unnaturally calm for vampires Cat Crawfield and her husband Bones. They should have known better than to relax their guard, because a shocking revelation sends them back into action to stop an all-out war…

A rogue CIA agent is involved in horrifying secret activities that threaten to raise tensions between humans and the undead to dangerous heights. Now Cat and Bones are in a race against time to save their friends from a fate worse than death…because the more secrets they unravel, the deadlier the consequences. And if they fail, their lives—and those of everyone they hold dear— will be hovering on the edge of the grave.

 

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

 

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

 

 

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

 

What are you looking forward to reading this month?

 

Graphic Novels

I've never been a big graphic novel fan, there isn't a particular reason behind this I've just never had the urge to pick one up before.

However recently this has all changed, my boyfriend is a big comic book fan and he loves exploring our local comic stores for hours on end, looking at all the new releases and well whilst I'm there with him, I end up looking too and I have to say I think I may have a new love, they are quick and easy to read and yet at the same time some are so thought-provoking and create intense emotional reactions from me, the same reactions I get from reading books, I can't believe I've never given them a try before and can we talk about the illustrations. Just wow! I wish I could draw as well as some of these artist, honestly I would love to see some of my favourite books turned into graphic novel form.

Now I am still a complete novice but these are some of the graphic novels that I've read and really enjoyed.

Locke and Key (Welcome to Lovecraft) by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

"The Eisner-nominated Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them, and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all!"

 

Chew (Tasters Choice) by John Layman and Rob Guillory

 

 

Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.

 

 

The Sandman (Preludes and Nocturnes) by Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith and Mike Dringenberg

 



 

In PRELUDES & NOCTURNES, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. After his seventy-year imprisonment and eventual escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine, and an all-powerful madman.

 

Maus (My Fathers Bleeds History) by Art Spiegelman

 

A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history itself.

 

Fables (Legends in Exile) by Bill Willington, Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha and Craig Hamilton 

 

 

When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf (Bigby Wolf), to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose's ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber.

 

 

Can you recommend any Graphic Novels I should read?