The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter

 

Release Date: September, 9th

                                               Arc provided by Tundra Books through Netgalley

Things you should know about this story:

Incredibly addictive, once you start it, I dare you to stop reading it.

The beginning is pretty much perfect. 

We are given a plot that starts with a very likeable heroine, and a small insight into her less than "perfect life". Polly is a young girl on the verge of teenagehood , and it shows :)

There’s no place for me. I’m getting squeezed out of my own house. My parents want to save the world, and they’re doing it one unwanted kid at a time.

Told in dual points of view, "The Swallow" is a story about two girls that live next door to each other, each of them with their own very different lives...

Rose is the quiet girl, the one that feels abandoned by her parents, and basically ignored by the rest of the world. If only the ghosts that she sees would behave in the same fashion, her life would be much more bearable.

Polly is a force of nature. She is lively, with a large _ and what she feels as imposed _ family, and unlike Rose she would love to see a ghost...

 This a story about friendship and how friendship can make you stronger.

Once these two find one another, their lives will never be the same.

The writing

I can't help but recurring to a cliché to define it: Engaging, witty, and concise.

With its first phase _ see phrase copy/pasted above _ we are immediately thrown into the story! The author knows what she's doing, and she caught the story's tone perfectly!

If this were a song, Adele would be singing it.

By having two very different heroines, the author was able to _lets say _ lift the story's "natural" bleakness.

 Rose who has been haunted all her life by ghosts, carries this unbearable weight and this dark cloud with her. She feels as if they want to drain her of her life force. And we feel this, while reading it.

The atmosphere of the setting is just right.

But then comes Polly, curious Polly who would love nothing more than to see ghosts, and someone that in the end is able to change the way Rose feels about her "gift" or "curse". Polly with her red coat, and her enthusiasm for life, someone who _despite all that takes place _in the end is able to keep the narrative more grounded in the everyday life.

The mystery

Very well done! I take my hat to the author! ;)

Of course I am not going to reveal it!! lol So you can keep on reading this review:)

I am just going to say that I kept "piling all the clues" in my head, and trying to figure it out. 

I knew that most probably I was  being "directed" in the wrong direction _seeing the movie The Sixth Sense did wonders for my investigative skills! lol _ and something kept telling me that "the egg incident"_read the book!_ was important, but I just couldn't figure it out.

Hmppf, who am I kidding?

I couldn't figure it out, until it was almost spelled out to me!

First I thought it was the obvious one...then I thought it was both of them...then the least likely of them...but the twins DECEIVED ME!! o_O

Arghhh!

So, yes, as you can read, I loved this story!

So why not five star rating?

Because I can't help feeling that the girls pov's, should have been longer. They kept changing too often, and there was a moment in which I couldn't help feeling that they were disrupting the story's flow.

Besides that, I will say it again, I loved reading this story. And I am really happy that I requested, and most importantly that I was granted access to read it.

Thank you....I've just added another book to my to "buy list". o_O

September is going to be a disaster :/

Meanwhile I will try to restrain myself from doing...this..to my friends! ;)

Author Official Site

Pre-order "The Swallow: A ghost Story"

@Bookdepository.com (With Free Worldwide Delivery!)

September is coming...

....and with it... goes all our money! o_O

Have you already made a list of all the books that you're interested in reading in the next month?
Well I have, and the thing doesn't look pretty...for my pockets! :/

    


                        

   


Of course, this is just an initial list, because "bookworms" such as us, are prone to discover new and interesting books to read in a blink of an eye!


The Winter Long by Seanan Mcguire
(Because this is my all time favourite series!!)

The Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs

Kelly Barnhill' The Witch's Boy
(Because I loved reading its arc! Read my review Here!

Charis Cotter' The Swallow: A Ghost Story
(Review to be posted!)
 
Unmade (Lynburn Legacy #3) by Sarah Rees Brennan
(because this better be good, or I'll flip!!)

Sherry Thomas' The Perilous Sea
(Because I loved the first one, so yes...this is also in the " this better be good or I'll flip" category

Now comes the last three books, and I am completely lost here, because I've never read anything by the authors.

Paper Magician
(Because it reminds me a little of the "Night Circus")

Miss Spelled (Kobo)
(because it sounds..cute?)

Haunted Ever After (Kobo)
(because it sounds cute and funny? lol)

More Book Goodies!

These two books are our latest arc approvals here on Pbwonderland.
Don't they sound deliciously scary? ;)

 

                   Expected publication: February 17th 2015 by Simon Pulse 

 

 

                                          
                                       September 9th 2014 by Tundra Books

The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell

 

A expression that I wouldn't use to describe this book:

                                         A Magical adventure

This is not a magical adventure. This is a book about the journey of two teens, and by journey, I am referring to a journey of the heart.
And no, I am not talking about romance.  Forget about romance. This is a book about faith, forgiveness, and friendship, a story unlike any other I've ever read!

Also I wouldn't place this book in the so called middle grade "box". This is a very slow book, with characters that despite their young age (thirteen) _when compared with today costumes _ feel mostly grown up, in a setting that is firmly set in the Middle Age.

I would prefer to place this book in the historical fiction shelf....right beside the literary fiction one, and close by to the one featuring the magical realism....while trying to ignore the Christian shelf....because despite the Saints, and the faith thing, I really don't want to go there.
It's a complicated thing, trying to define this book....Oh, and there's this tiny bit that could be considered a fairy tale retelling! Ah!

Beginning:
Slow. Really slow, because I for one, am not that interested  in seeing someone just trying to repair and mend broken items!
Here's the thing: Sand our main character, one day finds himself in the interior of an abandoned castle. He has no idea how he got there. He can't leave, because the castle is surrounded by the most vicious thorns known to man, and he has no idea what to do!
No one is going to save him, and everything inside the castle is broken to bits. Even things that shouldn't be, like leather.
Story is, twenty five years ago there was this earthquake, and the castle was abandoned...in more ways than one.

Bit by bit, Sand _ whose father and grandfather are both blacksmiths_ is able to put the castle's forge to work, and he just starts fixing things...in a very "un-magical" way.

Forget about this book's cover, and the axe on the boy's hand. Forget about the vivid colours that you see in it!
Sand finds himself in a place where nothing grows or lives.

“It means, nothing grows here. Nothing lives. Nothing rots, either. Everything just . . . dries out.”

 A place that must have been stage of such a terrible thing, that even the ground, the chapel, and the tombs inside were split apart.
There he finds the body of a long dead girl. She's on the ground, outside of her broken tomb.
Sand knows he can't leave her just like that, so he tries to put her "to rights" inside her tomb...and then he gets the hell out of there...as normal people would do!

What follows next takes a little patience to read. I can't say that the descriptions are engrossing and page turning!
This is not an action...movie/book.
However this is extremely well written, and after awhile I did become fascinated with the story.
Probably about the time the dead girl comes to life (that or the falcon!)...and I am not talking about zombie alive.
Just alive, as if she had just been sleeping:

"Perrotte had never been a good sleeper, and maybe that was why she lived again. Death was the ultimate night, and she couldn’t keep her eyes closed even through that."

What can I say?
You would expect there would be a whole lot of drama, due to suddenly seeing a dead girl come alive, right?
Wrong. With time the blacksmith's son, and Perrotte, who was once the daughter of a Countess, become friends.

Okay, I have a pet peeve _well more than one, but this is the one we are talking about know _ I don't like when religion gets mixed in a story. I tend to always feel as if I am being lectured on something...and the characters end up being some of the worst liars I have ever read about, while the story continues to praise their goodness. It's infuriating. I am thinking about Sarah Sundin's "Distant melody"...which I shouldn't even get started on...

This one, I am glad to say, that despite having two very active Saints _long story _ and the fact that one gets a....you know dead girl/bird rising plot, which can be constituted as a miracle, or just some very strong magical realism setting, never did that! I never felt that I was being lectured! The characters felt real, and likeable (well after awhile...but the girl had her reasons), and not some "goody too-shoes" that just end up behaving like idiots...and liars!
Thank you. It just felt natural due to the time setting.

So, yes, despite what I saw as a slow start, I really, REALLY, ended up enjoying this book, and I think that this is going to be one of those whose reads, that will just keep getting better with constant re-reads.

So, grown ups! You, who like "a bit of the odd" in your stories, what are you waiting for to read this book?

Author Official Site

 Buy "The Castle Behind Thorns"
@Bookdepository.com

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

School Spirits, a Hex Hall spin-off has in Izzy Brannick its leading character. Remember her?
She appears in the last Hex Hall book: She's Sophie's younger cousin.

More "grounded" on earth, Izzy's  is nothing like her demon cousin. Well for starters she tends to hunt people with magic...
The Brannicks have been fighting monsters for all their lives, and have been paying the price for that.
The most recent casualty has been Izzy's older sister, Finn, who has disappeared without a trace.

Izzy's confidence is shaken, and her mother decides to give her a small "case" in order to boast the girl's confidence.
Now, how can someone who has been raised away from the civilization know how to adapt, when faced with the prospect of having to attend High School?
.....
She buys lots and lots of teen series dvd's....
I'm serious.
*Gulp* Poor girl.

The case Izzy's mother decides to give her, involves a somewhat run of the mill...situation involving a ghost.Which according to Izzy is just plain boring.
That is, until the basic "exorcism" techniques stop working : you know, the basic stuff like going into graveyards at night to drop salt into the ghost grave.

“You can’t just go around following people,” I told Dex as I tossed the empty salt carton into my backpack. “It’s creepy. And inappropriate.”
“Says the girl pouring salt onto graves.”
I glared at him. “This is…part of my religion.”

Suddenly, teachers, and students alike seem to have been turned into a target...and not even the family "heirloom" Torin, the guy who has been stuck in a mirror for more than four hundred years, knows what to do.

In high school Izzy makes some friends and meets a potential love interest...but how can a girl less than ordinary, get to live a plain old life?

Just like the Hex Hall series, School Spirits reads itself in a blink of an eye.

Unlike Hex Hall, and despite continuing to have a very particular sense of humour, I am happy to say that Izzy doesn't try to emulate her cousin's peculiar sense of humour!
Don't get me wrong! I love Sophie...but after awhile the girl drives a person insane!

This had a strong plot. I honestly had no idea who was the guilty part up until the end, which is always a bonus.
The sidekicks were all interesting people, and of course I couldn't help but love Dex's charm! Who cares if the guy likes his coats in purple?
They look good on him! lol

“It’s just…purple suits you. Which is good since you wear so much of it.”
Preening, Dex raised his head and pushed his shoulders back. “It brings out the color of my eyes.”

The end...delivered quite a kick in the gut, and despite wishing that some things had been more developed _and questioning Aislin's ability to, lets say...receive another person in the Brannick family _ I have to admit being pretty happy with how this one turned out . *Thumbs up*
In the end, my only question is:
For when the second one? :)

Author's Official Tumblr
Oh, I just read this on the author's Tumblr:

"(..)there are no more School Spirits books coming in the near future. Never say never and all of that, but for now, those are over."

Excuse me:

 

 

Buy "School Spirits"

@Bookdepository.com 

Just saw this...

...on the author's Facebook page, and since both of us here on PbWonderland, loved the first book in the author's trilogy, I decided to help spread the world!
Yes, I am a fan of the series ;)

"Sherry Thomas

54 mins

The Burning Sky is on sale for $1.99 right now. Read it before its sequel, The Perilous Sea, comes out in September!"

( This was posted 54 minutes ago, and I don't know how long it is going to last!) 

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble 

Read Isa's review of The Burning Sky

And also mine:

 Susana's review

 

Pre-order " The Perilous Sea"

Bookdepository.com 

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins

Oh, dear...
As much as it pains me to only give 2.5 stars to this book, considering how much I like its main character, in order to keep the rating for the two previous two books  real and accurate, two and a half will just have to do...

In case this has passed unnoticed, I love Sophie Mercer' character!
She is witty, funny, courageous, and when she was presented in the first book, well recurring to a cliché, she was a complete "breath of fresh air" in the ya genre!
I loved it!
Unfortunately a book can't live of sarcasm and snark only.

And in these last two books, it seems that the only thing that has been properly developed are Sophie's puns and witticisms....which are great..unless when they become a little too much!
Getting back to something that I just mentioned in Demon Glass' review is the fact, that everything about the plot happens too quickly!! It is like an instantaneous...soup! :/
Most things in this plot just lack basic development. Look I am all in favour of not dragging things forever, and ever...but one has to reach some sort of balance. Which Spell Bound completely skipped.
Minus one star for that...

 Then there was the unnecessary and once again, hastily resolved love triangle, that was just...lame.
When to that, one adds some cheesy soap opera scenes, it was just too much.

Bottom Line: Hex Hall, the first, will always be one of my to go books whenever I am in the mood to read something funny. Unfortunately I can't say the same thing about this one.

However I am currently reading "School Spirits" the Hex Hall "spin-off", and so far so good ;)
Of course so far, I've only read 10%.

Author's Official Tumblr


Buy (better yet borrow a friend's copy! ;) Spell Bound:
@Bookdepository.com

Demonglass (Hex Hall #2) by Rachel Hawkins

                             Sophie Mercer and her wicked sense of humour are back! :)

Having just found out about her demon heritage, Sophie wants nothing more than to be rid of all her magic abilities.
Trying to achieve that, she strikes a pact with her father.
 She will spend some time with him in England, and then she will make a decision regarding her magical powers.

So...to England she goes, with her best friend Jenna, the pink loving vampire. :)
But England is full of dangers...namely one Archer Cross who keeps crossing her path!
As if that wasn't enough, she also has a ghost on her trail, and she and her father may not be the only demons alive...
Also lets not forget the complicated  subject of her... fiancée! O_O
YES! Love triangle!! Ugh :/

Which is too bad, because if the story had been properly developed, it wouldn't need any of these things!

Also one of the reasons that made me love reading Hex Hall that much (even after a re-read!), was the fact that it played and joked around, with the basic YA stereotypes!
And we know that there isn't anything more basic than a love triangle in the YA genre!

All these problems _boys vying for her...love, lol, and people trying to kill her _ means that by the end of these vacations, Sophie is definitely going to need some time off!
At least she has the necessary sense of humour to deal with all this.

Bottom Line: the author has a very addictive writing style _it helps that the stories aren't that long to begin with_ so, despite the fact that this wasn't as good as the first one, especially because everything happens too FAST, I'm still invested in this trilogy... I blame it on a long list of insane characters :) Sophie being the number one culprit!


Author's Tumblr



Buy "Demonglass"
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The Time Of The Fireflies by Kimberly Griffiths Little

Arc provided by Scholastic through Netgalley

Normally I don't have any problem reading the so called "Middle Grade" books. In fact I have been lucky enough to have been reading some amazing  well written, and spell binding stories that could place the so called adult ones, to shame.

Now _DUE TO THAT _ I may have temporarily forgotten that middle grade books are intended for middle grade...readers. Which I am most definitely NOT.
I am currently thirty five years old. Therefore I am afraid that I'm no longer this book' intended audience. :)
The only reason I am mentioning this, is that although I can't in all honesty give this book a higher rating, I can't help admitting that its intended audience will probably like it more than I did!

This has a fluid writing, and what starts as an interesting concept.
A twelve year old girl answers a call from a disconnected phone....

However _for me _ the whole time travel....process (lol) felt a little too bland and simplistic.

The main characters could have been more developed...although I understand that due to the number of people that end up  joining the story, that could prove a little too much for the intended audience...

The plot however _despite the time travel thing _ felt nicely done. The author was able to keep all those "balls in the air"_the cursed generations thing_, and was able to perfectly interwove all the lose threads.

The mystery of the mysterious caller wasn't that much of a mystery , lol.
And although I couldn't well grasp the concept of quite a number of things_ too basic and simplistically done_ it was nice the inclusion of a cursed SPOILER!! creepy doll in the plot, and the basic idea behind the story.

Bottom Line: Don't steal...and don't make fast judgements.
A fast easy read for much younger readers.

Author's Official Site

Buy "The Time Of The Fireflies"
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Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution by Laurie Penny

 

Arc provided by Bloomsbury USA through Netgalley

TW's: Mentions of Rape and Cutting

Ironically enough, despite the fact of considering myself a fervent feminist, this is the first actual book I've read on the subject . Growing up in our society it is difficult not to be aware of all the obstacles and sexism that women are subjected to. So, it's not as if most of what is discussed here, is something earth shattering.

What is different for me _at least _ is seeing some of those things written on paper, and the connections that the author establishes with the neoliberal market.

One thing that one gets after reading this book, is that for the author, feminism is not gender exclusive. On the contrary. The author defends a very inclusive definition of feminism:

Feminism has never just been about liberating women from men. but about freeing every human being from the straitjacket of gender oppression.

The author lets it be perfectly clear that she doesn't hate men, lol, so for all you guys reading this, let it be known that you can read a feminist book and not feel as if you're the bad buy.

Ah, it's always hard to comment on someone's else writing. It is different when you're reading a fiction work. There's things bound to be analysed: the writing style, the narrative, the flow of the story, the stupidity of the characters...

When we get a non fiction book, it's the convictions and ideas of a very real person that are on the pages....

This mean I'll try not to put my foot on my mouth...

Things that I can say....you can feel the author's enthusiasm and passion for her calling. If it was up to her, the world would be a different place. Would everyone be happy with it, and in it?

Probably not. Some of us don't have the courage to colour outside the lines, and guidelines are needed.

Then, and this is me analysing something that I probably shouldn't, but the author talks a lot about lost boys.

Lately I have been reading quite a few books on the Peter Pan "myth", and I don't know, but I couldn't help feeling that the author feels a  little like a Wendy to all this lost boys.

I couldn't help feeling as if the author romanticizes the boys of our world . Al least the nerds, the queers _as she puts it _ the misunderstood.

The girls of our world, who most see as fucked up, aren't in such a bad place, since we're used to being exploited, and used to put up with things, this means that the current world crises haven't affected us all that much. 

Because we're more used to bad things than the good ones, unlike most boys.

Hmm.

She has a bold approach to life, and the roles we play in her...but at the same time, I can't help feeling that Laurie Penny's idea of a new society, is based in nothing more than an utopia. 

She romanticizes the outcast and non conformity groups into something that one day will bring about the changes we need.

I would love to believe in that, but like she mentions in a previous chapter, even in this type of movements there's abuses and rapes.

Would we be better if there was to be a change in the powers that rules us?

Maybe in certain things...but after awhile all governments need money to govern, and talking change is all very well, but in the end someone needs to take charge of things.

Bottom line: I liked reading it, and while I was doing it I was interested in it, but as a day passed, I found myself finding the book even more utopia like, than I already did. 

But maybe that's because I fit so neatly in my small box...

Author's Official Site 

Buy "Unspeakable Things"

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