Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

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Publication Date: October 25 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN:  1599906449
Age Group: Children
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Source: NetGalley
Lootability: ****

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan- and bookseller-favorite kicks off a brand-new series sure to become a modern classic

Author Interview: Maria V Snyder

Maria V Snyder is the New York Times best-selling author of the Study Series, which includes her first published novel Poison Study. 
Snyder grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she earned a Bachelor of Science (Meteorology) and she was working as a meteorologist until, as a young mother, she began writing down story ideas and produced Poison Study. Her skills as a meteorologist helped her to produce her Storm series, which began with Storm Glass.
Snyder has also released a two book sci-fi series, Inside Out and Outside In, and has a new series coming out at the moment, starting with her 2012 release A Touch of Power and a sequel Scent of Power expected out next year. 
She lives in Pennsylvania with her family, and a black cat named Valek.

A Midsummers Night's Giveaway: Rumplestiltskin

Sam from A Journey Through Pages is hosting an awesome fairytale adaptation themed giveaway and is awesome enough to let me participate! Also participating is Rose from The Cosy Dragon.

What's in a name? To be as corny as possible, would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? For centuries cultures around the world have been convinced that there is power in a name. The greatest example of this is the widespread variations of the classic fairytale Rumplestiltskin. 
The earliest version of Rumplestiltskin is Johann Fischart's adaptation of Book 1 of Francois Rabelais'  between 1494 and 1553.


A Brief Discussion of Rumpelstiltskin
The best known edition of Rumplestiltskin originated in Germany with the Grimm Brothers in their 1812 edition of Children's and Household tales. The Grimm Brothers collected four different versions of Rumplestiltskin in their search for fairy tales, and compiled them all into the story we know today. 
Some variations on the Rumplestiltskin tale include: 

• Tot Tit Tom -
 in England;

• The Golden Spinster - a Hungarian-Slovenish tale;

• Kruzimugeli - in Austria; and

• Penelop -
from Wales.

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Moonglow by Kristen Callihan

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Publication Date: August 1st 2012
Publisher: Forever
ISBN:  1455508586
Age Group:
Genre: Young Adult/Adult
Source: NetGalley
Lootability: ****

Once the seeds of desire are sown . . .Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .
Their growing passion knows no bounds . . . Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul,

A Midsummers Night's Giveaway: Beauty and the Beast

Sam from A Journey Through Pages is hosting an awesome fairytale adaptation themed giveaway and is awesome enough to let me participate! Also participating is Rose from The Cosy Dragon.

Originally published by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, Beauty and the Beast is one of the best known and celebrated fairytales of all time. Known in various forms across Europe the best known version (apart from the 1991 Disney movie) is an abridgement of Villeneve's by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont.


A Brief Discussion of Beauty and the Beast
Mostly, the characters of Beauty and the Beast exist outside the usual peasant and royalty standards of most fairy tales. Beauty comes from a once wealthy, now impoverished, merchant family and the Beast can be royalty, aristocracy or simply a wealthy and demanding land owner. Their positions within society are not important, it is how they come to view each other and society that matters.
For a quite different version of Beauty and Beast you can look at the classic Norwegian tale East of the Sun, South of the Moon or for a mythological look at the tale check out the Greek tale of Cupid and Psyche. Both are classified as Animal Bridegroom fairytales (425A) while Beauty and the Beast has been given its own subcategory (425C). 
Some other tales in the Animal Bridegroom category include some familiar favourites: The Enchanted Frog, The Princess and the Pig and The Summer and Winter Garden.
This means that modern adaptations of the Animal Bridegroom stories can recreate a Beauty and the Beast story with a million possibilities.  

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To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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Publication Date: October 1st 1986 (first published 1860)
Publisher: Arrow
ISBN:  0099419785
Age Group: Young Adult/ Adult
Genre: Classic
Source: Bookshelf
Lootability: ****

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier

Its name is spoken only in whispers, if the people of Alban dare to speak it at all: Shadowfell. The training ground for rebels seeking to free their land from the grip of the tyrannical king is so shrouded in mystery that most believe it to be a myth.

But for Neryn, Shadowfell's existence is her only hope. She is penniless, orphaned, and utterly alone - and concealing a treacherous magical power that will warrant her immediate enslavement should it be revealed. She finds hope of allies in the Good Folk, fey beings whom she must pretend she cannot see and who taunt her with chatter of prophecies and tests, and in a striking, mysterious stranger, who saves her from certain death but whose motives remain unclear. She knows she should not trust anyone with her plans, but something within her longs to confide in him.
Will Neryn be forced to make the dangerous journey alone? She must reach Shadowfell, not only to avenge her family and salvage her own life, but to rescue Alban itself.

Win A Signed Copy of Juliet Marillier's Shadowfell

Shadowfell
by Juliet Marillier

Its name is spoken only in whispers, if the people of Alban dare to speak it at all: Shadowfell. The training ground for rebels seeking to free their land from the grip of the tyrannical king is so shrouded in mystery that most believe it to be a myth.
But for Neryn, Shadowfell's existence is her only hope. She is penniless, orphaned, and utterly alone - and concealing a treacherous magical power that will warrant her immediate enslavement should it be revealed. She finds hope of allies in the Good Folk, fey beings whom she must pretend she cannot see and who taunt her with chatter of prophecies and tests, and in a striking, mysterious stranger, who saves her from certain death but whose motives remain unclear. She knows she should not trust anyone with her plans, but something within her longs to confide in him.
Will Neryn be forced to make the dangerous journey alone? She must reach Shadowfell, not only to avenge her family and salvage her own life, but to rescue Alban itself.
This first novel in a new trilogy from enchanting fantasy author Juliet Marillier is a captivating tale of peril, courage, romance, and survival.

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The Hedgewitch Queen by Lilith Saintcrow

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Publication Date: December 1st 2011
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN:  B004RD8512
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Kindle ebook
Lootability: *

Vianne di Rocancheil is a lady waiting at the Court of Arquitaine, where she studies her books, watches for intrigue, and shepherds her foolhardy Princesse through the glittering whirl. Court is a sometimes-unpleasant waltz, especially for the unwary, but Vianne treads its measured steps well.
Unfortunately, the dance has changed. Treachery is afoot in gilded and velvet halls. A sorcerous conspiracy is unleashed, with blood, death, and warfare close behind. Vianne must flee, carrying the Great Seal of Arquitaine with her. This is the one thing the conspirators need to rule, and they won’t rest until they have it. A life of dances, intrigues, and fashion has not prepared Vianne for this. Nor has it prepared her for Tristan d’Arcenne, Captain of the King’s Guard and player in the most dangerous games conspiracy can devise. Yet to save her country and avenge her Princesse, Vianne will become what she must and do whatever is required.
A Queen can do no less

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

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Publication Date: October 1st, 2008
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN:  015206396X
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.     When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. Kristin Cashore has taken an old idea and made it young again in her new fantasy trilogy for young adults. 

The Selection by Kiera Cass

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Publication Date: April 25th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 0062059939
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Lootability: **

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

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Publication Date: May 1st 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN:  0007442912 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian
Buy the Book: 
****

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

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Publication Date: February 27th, 2007
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN:  0786839171
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy/Adventure/Supernatural
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high-schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts. Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: He is Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game. A magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death, The winning house ruling the Weir. As if his bizarre magical heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he s not just another member of Weirlind, he's one of the last of the warriors at a time when both houses are scouting for a player. Jack's performance on the soccer field has alerted the entire magical community to the fact that he's in Trinity. And until one of the houses is declared Jack's official sponsor, they'll stop at nothing to get Jack to fight for them.

Rhapsody: Child of Blood by Elizabeth Haydon

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Publication Date: 1999
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associations
ISBN:  0812570812
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Source: My bookshelf
Lootability: ****

Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world-- a world so real you can hear the sweet music of Rhapsody's aubade and smell the smoldering forges deep within the Cauldron.

Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce

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Publication Date: October 1st, 2010
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN:  0545136059 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Digger thrives as a spy and sneak-thief among the feuding religious factions of Gerse, dodging the Greenmen who have banned all magic. But when a routine job goes horribly wrong and her partner and lover Tegen is killed, she has to get out of the city, fast, and hides herself in a merry group of nobles to do so. Accepted as a lady's maid to shy young Merista Nemair, Digger finds new peace and friendship at the Nemair stronghold--as well as plenty of jewels for the taking.But after the devious Lord Daul catches her in the act of thievery, he blackmails her into becoming his personal spy in the castle, and Digger soon realizes that her noble hosts aren't as apolitical as she thought... that indeed, she may be at the heart of a magical rebellion.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

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Publication Date: November 2nd, 2012
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN:  0316090530  
Age Group: Young Adult - Warning - Mature Content
Genre: Coming of Age
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Some schools have honor codes.Others have handbooks.Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

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Publication Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN:  006197806X
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian/Romance
Lootability: ****

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behind a wall of smoke and flame.

What a frightening thing love can be, whirring and swirling around us, throwing off our judgement and hitting us when we least expect it. It's scary to be so vulnerable - terrifying even. Lauren Oliver captures this fear and turns it into a nightmare where love is a highly infections and highly dangerous disease. The moment you turn 18 you receive the treatment.

In Delirium Lena discovered that life was not worth living without freedom and was willing to sacrifice almost anything to get it, in Pandemonium she must accept the only sacrifice she never wanted to make and build a life for herself in the Wilds.

What I Liked: Once again the science of Oliver's world calls for recognition. She has created an arena for mass hysteria while creating an ideal well worth fighting for. In Delirium, I loved the way romances were twisted to turn the sweetness into selfishness, and the way attraction is frowned upon; it's a very puritan, adult society. In Pandemonium further emphasis is put on the Book of shhh! and the DFA feature heavily in Lena's new life, in one of her new lives. The DFA tell us what we need to know about this new world and Lena's new life. It continues the propaganda and takes it to the stage, trumpeting the need and the necessity of receiving the cure. 

I liked best of all the alternating chapters between then and now, between Lena picking up the ragged pieces of her life in the Wilds after the events of Delirium, and the new, polished 'cured' life she lives. 

What I Didn't Like: I feel like the Julian bandwagon missed my stop because I had to run to catch up. It took a long time for me to like him in his role as political icon and in his role as a love interest, and I hadn't liked Alex much so I'm not sure why he couldn't step into that role. A book like this needs a love interest. Then just as I caught up and was getting a leg up, the whole bloody wagon crashed into a brick wall. 

It took a long time for Julian to blossom and I still think it had more to do with Lena's devotion to him, than his character, that bought me around. 

I'm not sure how I felt about the cliff hanger ending. I kind of saw it coming, and the cliche hurts me, but Oliver has been so creative so far that I don't want to doubt her now. Requiem will tell me what I need to know.

Raiding Bookshelves Rating

Cover Conversations: Not great, it doesn't really catch my eye or any particular essence of the story.

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

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Publication Date: 16th Feburary 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN:  144240907X 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian/Romance
***

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

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Publication Date: February 7th, 2012
Publisher: Atom
ISBN:  1907411054 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Romance/Dystopian/Adventure
Lootability: ***

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.
DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.
Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.
Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.
If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

Meridian by Amber Kizer

Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.
Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain. 
Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.

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Publication Date: August 11, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books 
ISBN:  0385736681
Original Language: English
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Adventure/Supernatural/Romance
Source: Library
Buy the Book: Amazon
Lootability: There's room but keep looking.