More Bree Tanner News

At 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will release Stephenie Meyer's The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (9780316125581/031612558X, $13.99)--if you can call a 192-page book a novella--with a first printing of 1.5 million copies. One dollar from each book sold from that first printing (or two years from pub date, whichever comes sooner) will go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, "which supports disaster relief efforts such as those in Haiti and Chile."

Meyer said in a statement that she’s "as surprised as anyone" about the novella. She said it began "as an exercise to help me examine the other side of Eclipse." Bree Tanner makes her first appearance as a newborn vampire in Eclipse (book three in the Twilight Saga), and this novella follows the formation of Bree’s army and its plot to target Bella and the Cullens. As a thank-you to fans, Meyer is making Bree available on a dedicated website, from June 7 to July 5. Bree will also be available as an e-book beginning 6 a.m., June 5. More information will be coming by year’s end regarding The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide.

Who is Bree Tanner?

Who is Bree Tanner? Coming June 5, 2010!

Coming June 5, 2010
An Unforgettable New Novella from International Phenomenon
Stephenie Meyer

There are Two Sides to Every Story

Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

One dollar from each book sold will be donated to the American Red Cross*

*The American Red Cross name is used with its permission, which in no way constitutes an endorsement, express or implied, of any product, service, company, opinion or political position.

Hachette Book Group is helping people affected by disasters like the Haiti Earthquake by donating to the American Red Cross International Response Fund $1 for every hardcover book sold from the first printing in the U.S. Donations will continue until all first printing copies have been sold or at the end of a two-year period from the initial publication date, whichever is the first to occur. The International Response Fund enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disasters. On those rare occasions when donations exceed Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters.

Book Review: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception

Book Review: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

First sentence: "You'll be fine once you throw up."

From the back: "Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand -- one who can see faeries.

Unexpectedly, Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy named Luke who enters her ordinary life, seemingly out of thin air. But his interest in her might be something darker than summer romance. When a sinister faerie named Aodhan shows up with deadly orders from the Faerie Queen, it forces Dee right into the midst of Faerie. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend.

Deirdre had been wishing her summer weren't so dull, but taking on a centuries-old Faerie Queen isn't exactly what she had in mind."

My take: Loved it. Adored it. Couldn't put it down. So much that I'm half tempted to run to Borders and buy Ballad. Maggie Stiefvater has woven a delightful tale with her words and I'm totally captivated. I wondered, before I read it, how in the world the author was going to pull it off. But pull it off she does magnificently. The only thing that kept me from reading it one sitting was sleep. I highly recommend the book. Can't get enough, and I find myself wandering about the house day muttering "Pretty Girl" under my breath. Visit Maggie Stiefvater.

If you've reviewed the book, leave a comment here and I'll post a link to your review!

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Flux; 1 edition (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738713708
ISBN-13: 978-0738713700

My Rating: A

Book Review: Star Crossed: Aries Rising

Book Review: Star Crossed: Aries Rising by Bonnie Hearn Hill.

First sentence: "It started with a wish."

From the back: "Logan McRae is your average high school sophomore, trying her best to juggle the chaos of friends, guys, school, and parents. So when she discovers a magical book called "Fearless Astrology, all she wants is to change her sucky life.

In order to get into the summer writing camp of her dreams, Logan needs the recommendation of her irritable English teacher Mr. Franklin. She also has her eye on Nathan, the hottest guy in class. And when the Gears, a group of unknown students, start causing trouble in school and out, she decides to identify them using her new-found knowledge of astrology.

Her goals: to impress Mr. Franklin, get a date with Nathan, and keep her column at the school newspaper. The answers are in the stars, all right, but can Logan decipher them before it is too late?"

My take: Cute. Different. Astrologically accurate? I guess you could say that. Having been interested in Astrology since I got my first reading many years ago, I think that the book is well-written. The author never promises something that Astrology can't deliver and does her best to explain that along the way. It's always helpful to know a bit about a person's sun sign to understand them better. Knowing the other things in the chart helps decipher why your friend the Pisces is so not like the "typical" fish. It's a fun book. Even if you nothing at all about astrology, you will be able to follow along. In fact, it might be best if you don't consider yourself an astrology expert. To learn more about the author and the rest of her work in this series, visit Bonnie Hearn Hill.

If you've reviewed the book, leave a comment here and I'll post a link to your review!

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Running Press Kids (March 2, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0762436700
ISBN-13: 978-0762436705

My rating: C

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
  
  
  "I barely slept at all that night, and when my alarm went off, I realized that I was still propped up in bed, and the book was in my lap."
  
  
  
  

Book Review: Deadly Little Secret

Book Review: Deadly Little Secret (A Touch Novel) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

First sentence: "I could have died three months ago."

From the back: "Some secrets shouldn't be kept...
Until three months ago, sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary. Then a mysterious boy named Ben started junior year at her school and changed everything.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. Despite the rumors, she's inexplicably drawn to him... and his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she's in danger, and that he wants to help -- but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret."

My take: Delightful, quick read. It's not a brand new book, but the cover and blurb caught my eye at Barnes & Noble the other day, so I picked it up. I've read other work by Laurie Faria Stolarz and I like the easy way she writes. This book has many twists and turns throughout that will have you guessing "Who's doing it?" until the end. I didn't guess right... It's the first book in the "Touch" series. "Deadly Little Lies" being next. Some of the book made me think hmm, that's a little far-fetched. But it wasn't too far out there. And I guess I missed the whole thing about Camelia's Aunt and why she was a necessary part of the story. But all-in-all, I enjoyed the book.

If you've reviewed the book, leave a comment here and I'll post a link to your review!

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; Reprint edition (November 10, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1423111982
ISBN-13: 978-1423111986

My Rating: B

Book Review: Wake

Book Review: Wake by Lisa McMann

First sentence: "Janie Hannagan's math book slips from her fingers."

From the back: "Not all dreams are sweet. For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant..."

My take: This was another quick read. I read it in a matter of a few hours. Of course, now I wish I had the other two in the series to pick up and breeze through today. I read so many great books and think to myself, "Dang. I wish I would have thought of that." I liked the characters, especially Janie and Cabel. Very well written book. The only complaint I had is that it was too short! Meaning that I was so engrossed in the book, I could have read for hours. This book is complete in itself. You don't have to read the other two in the trilogy to get any answers. But I think after the first one... you'll just want to read the other two. I know I do. Lisa McMann's Page.

If you've reviewed the book, comment here and let me know. I'll post a link to your review!

Tea Time with Marce
Love To Read For Fun

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (December 23, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416974474
ISBN-13: 978-1416974475

My rating: A

Book Review: Token Of Darkness

Book Review: Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

First sentence: "The darkness was alive, and it was hungry."

From the back: "Cooper Blake has everything going for him -- until he wakes from a car accident with his football career in ruins and a mysterious, attractive girl by his side. Cooper doesn't know how Samantha got there or why he can see her; all he knows is that she's a ghost, and the shadows that surround her seem intent on destroying her.

No one from Cooper's old life would understand what he can barely grasp himself... But Delilah, the captain of the cheerleading squad, has secrets of her own, like her ability to see beyond the physical world, and her tangled history with Brent, a loner from a neighboring school who can hear strangers' most intimate thoughts. Delilah and Brent know that Cooper is in more trouble than he realizes, and that Samantha may not be as innocent as she has led Cooper to believe. But the only way to figure out where Samantha came from will put them all in more danger than they ever dreamed possible."

My take: Short and sweet. I read it in a few hours. I liked the book and there were some things that made me laugh. It was a quick easy read and the characters were interesting. I liked Cooper. I didn't get to see enough of Samantha to really get to know her. The other characters were there to help tell the story, but they left me a little cold. Some books are too wordy and tell everything from what they were wearing when they got out of bed, what they had for breakfast, and just about every step of their every day. Pushing the word count and page count up. But if you don't need all that "stuff" to get the story across, I think you can do without some of it. In the case of this book, it was 208 pages long. I don't really feel cheated -- the story was good and was told in the pages nicely. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that the price on this book was $16.99 and the price on one with twice as many pages was the same price. I suppose that might make some people shy away from shorter books. I guess if I want to read it, I will read it, no matter what. Overall, an enjoyable read.

If you've reviewed the book, comment here and let me know. I'll post a link to your review!

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (February 9, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385737505
ISBN-13: 978-0385737500

My rating: B

The Friday 56

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
* Post a link back to: Story Time With Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

"She knew about the accident, of course, but though she had many interesting skills, she was no doctor: there would have been no point in her loitering by his side while he was comatose."

Book Review: The Hollow

Book Review: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

First sentence: "They said she killed herself."

From the back: "I reached out and touched the casket lid. It was cold. So cold that I immediately snatched my hand away. It almost felt like it had burned me.

I just stood there. I couldn't bring myself to say anything... not out loud, at least. But a thousand thoughts raged inside my head, while a thousand feelings raged inside my heart.

The weather mimicked my emotions. A fierce wind rattled by, howling in outrage. The edges of the plastic awning flapped angrily against the aluminum poles holding it up and made a horrible ringing sound. Even the rain pounded harder, lashing out its bitterness.

And that was when I felt someone watching me."

My take: I'm in-between on this one. I don't know what I think. I mean, I liked the book. It totally kept me captivated enough to keep turning the pages for hour after hour -- when I should have been sleeping. It's just that I'm a stickler for endings and I did not like the way this book ended. Too many unanswered questions in my notion. But this is the first book in a trilogy, so I suppose that's what will get us to buy the next book when it comes out this fall. I like the story, I loved the setting. The characters were believable. The story about how Jessica Verday wrote this book are interesting. You can find more information about her on her website. And for you aspiring authors, you can read the query letter she wrote that got her a book deal at Query Tracker. I want to see what happens next, so I'm sure that I'll read the next book when it comes out.

If you've reviewed the book, comment here and let me know. I'll post a link to your review!

Booking Through 365

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 544 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (September 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416978933
ISBN-13: 978-1416978930

My rating: B

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Look, Abbey," he said seriously. "I know it must suck for you right now, with prom coming up, and hearing the latest news about Kristen. I miss her too, but I know it must be a million times worse for you."

Musical Monday

I just happened to stumble on to this song this afternoon and since I posted a Musical Monday on my other blog already, I thought I'd do one here and share this song. Enjoy!

Free Book Friday Teens: The Karma Club

This looks like a great book! Go to Free Book Friday Teens to enter for a free copy!

Book Review: Undone

Book Review: Undone by Brooke Taylor

First sentence: "Kori came with a warning label -- a black T-shirt that read: DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR ABOUT ME."

From the back: "Kori, the "dark angel" of her high school, and Serena, just an average girl, couldn't be more different. But when a seemingly chance encounter ignites their friendship, Kori draws Serena into her world, one where "living on the edge" is an understatement. Then they are given an assignment to list five ways to tempt fate -- things they would never dream could actually happen. Serena doesn't take her list very seriously until a tragedy leaves her shocked, alone, and in possession of Kori's five secret wishes. Can Serena complete her best friend's list? Or will she leave Kori's dreams undone?"

My take: This will probably go down as one of my favorite books for 2010. I laughed, I cried and I found myself completely enthralled with Brooke Taylor's writing style. This is a story about best friends. It's also the second book I've read recently that has to do with wishes. Maybe something is telling me to write down my own wishes? I don't know. But I might just do it for fun. The power of love in this book is about the love between two teenage girls. Not romantic love, but genuine through thick or thin love. A few twists and turns take you through the story. I highly recommend you read this book. I loved it and look forward to more work by Brooke Taylor. The author's website is here.

Here's another review: Liv's Book Reviews.

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (January 19, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802720757
ISBN-13: 978-0802720757

My rating: A

Book Review: Immortal

Book Review: Immortal by Gillian Shields

First sentence: "I don't believe in ghosts."

From the back: "Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.

Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.

Gillian Shields's electrifying tale will dazzle readers with suspense, mysticism, and romance"

My take: Some books suck you in and never let you go. Some books entice you in slowly and keep you hanging on page by page. That's how I would describe Immortal. It wasn't a book that I couldn't put down, but it was certainly a page turner that drew me in, made me want to keep picking it up to find out what happened next. I liked the setting. I liked the writing. I liked the characters. Though they seemed much older, and wiser than their ages. Although the cover reads "First love never dies..." It wasn't so much a love story to me as it was about a lonely girl trying to find her bearings in an unfamiliar place. I definitely smell sequel all over this book and I really do look forward to reading it. I found a little bit about it at Dark Faerie Tales. It appears that it will be released August 3, 2010. More information on preordering can be found at Harper Teen. If you're looking for an interesting story line, this is a good book. If you're looking for a red-hot romance, this book probably isn't for you.

Here's another review: Pure Imagination.

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 1 edition (August 4, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061375802
ISBN-13: 978-0061375804

My rating: B

March Giveaway!

March Giveaway!

I will be giving away one of the above 4 books. Enter anytime between now and March 31st, 2010. Winner will be announced on April 1st, 2010. Just fill out the form below and feel free to spread the word!

These are gently used, one time read and reviewed by me books.

The books are:

1. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.
2. Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia.
3. Sea Change by Aimee Friedman.
4. Immortal by Gillian Shields.

Thaw by Fiona Robyn

Ruth's diary is the new novel by Fiona Robyn, called Thaw She has decided to blog the novel in its entirety over the next few months, so you can read it for free.

Ruth's first entry is below, and you can continue reading tomorrow here.

These hands are ninety-three years old. They belong to Charlotte Marie Bradley Miller. She was so frail that her grand-daughter had to carry her onto the set to take this photo. It’s a close-up. Her emaciated arms emerge from the top corners of the photo and the background is black, maybe velvet, as if we’re being protected from seeing the strings. One wrist rests on the other, and her fingers hang loose, close together, a pair of folded wings. And you can see her insides.

The bones of her knuckles bulge out of the skin, which sags like plastic that has melted in the sun and is dripping off her, wrinkling and folding. Her veins look as though they’re stuck to the outside of her hands. They’re a colour that’s difficult to describe: blue, but also silver, green; her blood runs through them, close to the surface. The book says she died shortly after they took this picture. Did she even get to see it? Maybe it was the last beautiful thing she left in the world.

I’m trying to decide whether or not I want to carry on living. I’m giving myself three months of this journal to decide. You might think that sounds melodramatic, but I don’t think I’m alone in wondering whether it’s all worth it. I’ve seen the look in people’s eyes. Stiff suits traveling to work, morning after morning, on the cramped and humid tube. Tarted-up girls and gangs of boys reeking of aftershave, reeling on the pavements on a Friday night, trying to mop up the dreariness of their week with one desperate, fake-happy night. I’ve heard the weary grief in my dad’s voice.

So where do I start with all this? What do you want to know about me? I’m Ruth White, thirty-two years old, going on a hundred. I live alone with no boyfriend and no cat in a tiny flat in central London. In fact, I had a non-relationship with a man at work, Dan, for seven years. I’m sitting in my bedroom-cum-living room right now, looking up every so often at the thin rain slanting across a flat grey sky. I work in a city hospital lab as a microbiologist. My dad is an accountant and lives with his sensible second wife Julie, in a sensible second home. Mother finished dying when I was fourteen, three years after her first diagnosis. What else? What else is there?

Charlotte Marie Bradley Miller. I looked at her hands for twelve minutes. It was odd describing what I was seeing in words. Usually the picture just sits inside my head and I swish it around like tasting wine. I have huge books all over my flat — books you have to take in both hands to lift. I’ve had the photo habit for years. Mother bought me my first book, black and white landscapes by Ansel Adams. When she got really ill, I used to take it to bed with me and look at it for hours, concentrating on the huge trees, the still water, the never-ending skies. I suppose it helped me think about something other than what was happening. I learned to focus on one photo at a time rather than flicking from scene to scene in search of something to hold me. If I concentrate, then everything stands still. Although I use them to escape the world, I also think they bring me closer to it. I’ve still got that book. When I take it out, I handle the pages as though they might flake into dust.

Mother used to write a journal. When I was small, I sat by her bed in the early mornings on a hard chair and looked at her face as her pen spat out sentences in short bursts. I imagined what she might have been writing about — princesses dressed in star-patterned silk, talking horses, adventures with pirates. More likely she was writing about what she was going to cook for dinner and how irritating Dad’s snoring was.

I’ve always wanted to write my own journal, and this is my chance. Maybe my last chance. The idea is that every night for three months, I’ll take one of these heavy sheets of pure white paper, rough under my fingertips, and fill it up on both sides. If my suicide note is nearly a hundred pages long, then no-one can accuse me of not thinking it through. No-one can say, ‘It makes no sense; she was a polite, cheerful girl, had everything to live for,’ before adding that I did keep myself to myself. It’ll all be here. I’m using a silver fountain pen with purple ink. A bit flamboyant for me, I know. I need these idiosyncratic rituals; they hold things in place. Like the way I make tea, squeezing the tea-bag three times, the exact amount of milk, seven stirs. My writing is small and neat; I’m striping the paper. I’m near the bottom of the page now. Only ninety-one more days to go before I’m allowed to make my decision. That’s it for today. It’s begun.

To be continued: Thaw.

Book Review: Twenty Wishes

Book Review: Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber

First sentence: "It was six 0'clock on Valentine's Day, an hour that should have marked the beginning of a celebration -- the way it had when she and Robert were married."

From the back: "What Anne Marie Roche wants is to find happiness again. At thirty-eight, she's childless, a recent widow, alone. She owns a successful bookstore on Seattle's Blossom Street, but despite her accomplishments, there's a feeling of emptiness.

On Valentine's Day, Anne Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate ... hope. They each begin a list of twenty wishes, things they always wanted to do but never did.

Anne Marie's list includes learning to knit, falling in love again, doing good for someone else. when she volunteers at a local school, an eight-year-old girl named Ellen enters her life. It's a relationship that becomes far more involving -- and far more important - than Anne Marie had ever imagined.

As Ellen helps Anne Marie complete her list of twenty wishes, they both learn that wishes can come true... but necessarily in the way you expect."

My take: I've never read a book by Debbie Macomber before, and I can understand why she's so popular now. The characters are believable and lovable. I couldn't wait to see what happened to all of them. I understand that this is the fourth book in a series, The Blossom Street Series. Very good book, and I will look forward to reading more of Debbie's work in the future, and perhaps even go back and read the other books in this series. It's even inspired me to make some wishes of my own!

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira Books; Reprint edition (April 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778326314
ISBN-13: 978-0778326311

My rating: B

Winner of February's Giveaway!

February's giveaway winner has been notified by email. Look for March's giveaway to be announced within the next couple of days! Stay tuned and thanks to everyone who played along!

Mrscullenized has won Fallen! That means the other two books are still up for grabs in March, and I will be adding another book to the list as well!

Congratulations Alicia!