Laura Howard Cover Reveal

Cover Reveal :) Check out this awesome cover for Laura Howard's The Forgotten Ones

Title: The Forgotten Ones

Author: Laura Howard

Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Expected release date: May 15, 2013

Age Group: New Adult

Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney 

Book Description:

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more.

When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.

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Tuor And The Fall Of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tuor Und Seine Ankunft In Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher: Klett-Cotta
English title: Tuor And The Fall Of Gondolin

This is going to be a rather short review for many reasons. One beeing that this is a rather short book, the other: Do I really need to tell you how much I love Tolkien and the stories from Middle-earth? Do I? I do not think so.

Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien, edited this book, bringing together two different versions of the unfinished shor story "Tuor and the fall of Gondolin".
Gondolin is the secret city of Tugon high king of the Noldor. And Tuor, a human that grew up with elves is set out by Ulmo, lord of water, to warn him that Gondolin will fall.
The book consists of two versions of the story that botj show how Tolkien may have intended to finish it. It also has a huge appendiy, explaining the changes, characters, and places, and many different maps. Therefore the reader is able to understand how the story changed since it was first written in 1916.

This world is so rich on stories, history and detail that you will believe you are reading a history book and not a work of fictional. Tolkien shows in this story one more time what a great storyteller he is, letting the words sound as poetic and melodic as a shakespearean piece. He is indeed one of the greatest fantasy authors that ever graced this world

Tuor and the fall of Gondolin is a great addition for every Tolkien fan's library. So it is basically the perfect book for a fangirl like me. ;D

Love and Words
KJ

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Why I want to read Graceling...

Hey there :)
Yes, I read a Sneak peek again. I'm kind of a sneak peek junky lately... This time it was Graceling by Kristin Cashore. And I loved the first pages! I cannot wait to read the whole book!

In a world where people born with an extreme skill - called a Grace - are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even shedespises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is 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.

Here is what I like about the book:

The book starts with a map. That is definitely a pro-point. I love maps. I love the feeling of standing on the threshold of a new fantastical and exciting world. This world in particular seems to be very political and interesting.
I read the first pages without knowing anything about it. I did not read the summary before reading the book so I had no clue what was going on, who she was, why she was fighting, and why she was so good at it. But I wanted to know what everything was about so badly that I kept reading.
The whole idea of having a grace is, for me, something new and I really like it. Katsa seems to be an interesting and strong protagonist. A strong female lead is always a good sign, but she seems to be really strong not just acting like she is. And I can sense the possibilty of her exploring the philosophical questions of life and guilt. I am really curious what the author made out of that.
There was nothing bad I could say about the writing style, she described the details and character's past without giving too much away.
So I am definitely curious about what comes next for her.
Have you read Graceling? Did you like it? Do you want to read it?
I just have to say that I don't like the cover that much. I do not really get it. I love the German version though. But thou shall not judge a book by it's cover! So this is basically just a side note :)

Love and Words
KJ


PS: Have I mentioned how awesome the fact is that the author Kristin Cashore and I share the same name? Yay, some Kristin-love :D

Summary and Cover taken from Goodreads

Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer

Aloha :)
Years ago, literary years ago, I read something about the new book Arcadia Awakens by the German author Kai Meyer.

Kai Meyer is a famous German author and I practically grew up hearing my friends talk about his stories. But the summary for this one didn't get me hooked. So I filed the book under "Could read" instead of "Want to read". Than the lovely girls over at EpicReads made an ArcParty and talked about the sequel Arcadia Burns and how they could not wait for it.

To New Yorker Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world of Sicily, with its network of Mafia families and its reputation for murder and intrigue, is just that—exotic, and wholly unknown. But when tragedy strikes, she must travel there, to her family’s ancestral home, where her sister and aunt have built their lives and where centuries of family secrets await her. Once there, Rosa wastes no time falling head over heels for Alessandro Carnevare, the son of a Sicilian Mafia family, whose handsome looks and savage grace both intrigue and unsettle her. But their families are sworn enemies, and her aunt and sister believe Alessandro is only using Rosa to infiltrate the Alcantara clan. And when Rosa encounters a tiger one night—a tiger with very familiar eyes—she can no longer deny that neither the Carnevares nor the Alcantaras are what they seem.

Ancient myths brought to life in the Sicilian countryside, dangerous beasts roaming the hills, and a long history of familial bloodlust prove to Rosa that she can’t trust anyone—not even her own family. Torn between loyalty to her aunt and love for her family’s mortal enemy, Rosa must make the hardest decision of her life: stay in Sicily with her new love . . . or run as far and as fast as she can.


There was a sneak peek of Arcadia Awakens on my Ereader so I thought "Why not?"
This was definitely a wink from the universe! It was faith! I loved the first pages! I cannot get enough of this book and I will definitely read the rest of it. I am really glad that I started reading it.

Kai Meyer has a great writing style. I love the sound of the words, they are melodic and evoke beautiful pictures.
From what I read so far the protagonists seem interesting and the scenes left me wanting more. This book goes onto my TBR right now.
So again a huge "Thank you!" to the team of EpicReads for making me curious about the book!

Have you read it? What did you think of this book?
And let's make a little cover contest! Which cover do you like more, the original German one (right corner) or the English one (left corner)?
Tell me about it in the comments!
I personally love the cover for the last book in the series, but I would be mean talking about it since it is out in German but not in English yet :) Finaly a series were we are earlier than the rest of the world :D
Love and words
KJ

YA2U!

Hello everyone :)

Have you ever wished that a big YA book tour would make a stop in your hometown? Well, here's your chance for that wish to come true! YA2U is a program that features five award-winning and best-selling authors who are holding a contest to see what city they should visit in an exclusive tour stop!

The authors are collecting votes from January 1 to February 15, and any city in the continental US or any Canadian city that has an international airport can win an exclusive visit from all five authors, including an author panel and book signing! Entering is super easy--and if you help spread the word about the contest, you can also enter win a signed copy of all of their books (TEN signed books in total!)--and the book contest is open internationally!

The authors in the program are:

• Marie Lu, the New York Times best-selling author of Legend and the upcoming Prodigy
• Marissa Meyer, the New York Times best-selling author of Cinder and the upcoming Scarlet
• Beth Revis, the New York Times best-selling author of Across the Universe, A Million Suns, and the upcoming Shades of Earth
• Victoria Schwab, author of The Near Witch and the highly-anticipated upcoming The Archived
• Megan Shepherd, author of the debut novel The Madman's Daughter

And they want to have an event in your home town! To participate, just got to the YA2U website and let them know what city you want them to come to. And while you're there, help spread the word about the contest and you can be entered to win all of their books--TEN signed books in total! 

Here's why the YA2U Team should come to MY hometown! 

I'm not from the Us or Canada, but here is my favourite city in my homecountry: Marburg in Germany! This is the city were the Brothers Grimm went to study. The Brothers Grimm! I grew up with their fairytales and they are just one of many important names on the "We lived in Marburg list"
Marburg has a wonderful palace/castle and many great and old buildings like the old university (which holds a giant and beautiful library now), the St. Elizabeth Church... And have I mentioned all these amazing bookstores?

Why should the YA2U Team come to your hometown? Why not join in the fun today and share with others about this program and your hometown. The more votes your town gets, the closer you are to having your very own personal tour stop! Vote for YOUR town here!

And if you help spread the word, you can also participate in the book giveaway. Tell them that you learned about YA2U from me and we both get extra entries in the contest! 

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Love and Words

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Balantine Books
Officila summary (Taken from Goodreads) :

"Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart."

After I finished this book I went through my notes for the review. There was one thing I wrote down more than once: I LOVE IT. Yes, I wrote it in capital letters. I think that says everything this review needs to say. But that would be a really unsatisfying review so here is the longer version, why I loved it so much:

Before I really start the review I want to thank the publisher Balantine for answering my request on NetGalley with a yes :)

I really loved the cover. The blue is mysterious and captures the atmosphere in the book perfectly.
Callie McFay has the in my opinion perfect job: She get's to spend all her time with fairy tales and how the inspired the gothic imagination. She is a believable and trustworthy Protagonist and I really liked following her journey.
The book is great researched, e.g. The Cailleach (I always love celtic background, no matter where) and all the myths and background of fairwick, everything fits perfectly together and therefore feels so real! Especially the woods and the picture with the fairy queen where two great detailed passages. You really believe Callie wrote a book about that topic and teaches at colleges because of the great research and the fact that she knows so much about the topic.
It made me curious if Dahlia LaMotte really excisted. I almost believed it because of the great background Juliet Dark created.
The whole plot had just the right theme for me, old gothic stories, a place with a history, fairies, love... I like the whole concept of Fairwick.