A New Look & The January "What's New?" Winner Announced!!

Happy February, everyone!! As you can see, I have a brand spankin' new design here at Stories & Sweeties! Once upon a time, I was a designer for digital scrapbooking supplies, so I thought it would be fun to put some of my retired designs to good use. Except for my little flying cupcake books---drew those especially for the blog. :) I left my banner alone, I like it still and think it perfectly reflects me and what I do here.

I also wanted to announce the winner of the January "What's New" Giveaway!!
Random.org chose lucky # 102...

Latisha Jean!!!

Congrats!! I'll be emailing you in the morning (because it's dreadfully late right now!) to get your info and find out what January release you'd like sent to you! For everyone else...never fear! The February list of releases and giveaway will be up shortly!! Thanks to every one of you who entered!!

Review: Drought

Drought by Pam Bachorz

publisher: EgmontUSA

released: January 25th, 2011

hardcover, 400 pages

intended audience: Young adult

rating:


source: from publicist for review

description:Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.

So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?

Review: This was no easy read. It wasn't easy and it wasn't fun reading. The pace was slow and careful, almost like the author's intention was to make her readers feel the same tediousness that the congregants felt gathering water from leaves day after day. Ruby and the congregants were forced to gather water with small pewter cups and spoons from the leaves of forest plants day in and day out. They were starved and not allowed any water or food unless he was happy with the amount of water they gathered. If they didn't reach a specified daily quota, they were beaten by their captor, Darwin West. Ruby's blood has healing properties, so after her mother takes the beatings for the entire congregation, she heals her. It's an ugly violent cycle---and while that's hard enough to read about, it takes up a good part of the first hundred pages of the story. It took me awhile to get through it.

While it was hard to connect with any of the characters because of the bizarre cult mentality, it was also fascinating to read about people who are so overtaken by their beliefs that they give no thought to their own well being. Ruby's father, Otto had mystically healing blood as well, which brought them all together as his followers. Between the blood that Otto left them in vials before disappearing and Ruby's blood, they have kept their people alive for 200 years. The congregants endure a life of slavery, torture and near starvation because they are awaiting Otto's return. They tell themselves that this is what Otto wanted, for them to live this way until he returns to save them. It was a little hard to grasp, but then again, I've seen they way a cult belief can completely take over a person's mind.

Throughout the story, you get little glimpses of hope as Ruby makes plans to fight and free her people and I was glad and not surprised that it ended the way it did. The climax was quite gripping. I see it as a mark of the author's excellent writing that I closed this book each night with a feeling of complete emotional despair for it's character's plight.

If you decide to take this one on, prepare yourself for a very intense and emotionally draining ride.

Visit Pam Bachorz's site here.

Purchase Drought at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository

In My Mailbox {52}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we all share what we got during the week!

Got some fun stuff this week...and Ta-da!!...stuck to my book-buying ban! The copy of Entangled is a purchase, but I ordered it weeks ago. Took ages to get to me...I mean it usually takes Book Depository a little longer to get books to me, but 18 days?? I was starting to get worried. Still, it's made it now and it's gorgeous, so I'm grateful. :)

For Review:
The Darlings are Forever by Melissa Kantor
This one looks sweet and light---I'll need something like this after what I'm reading now.

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
I've been excited for this one for ages. Can't wait to dive in.

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
This one, if I understand correctly, is a novelization of the upcoming movie, written simultaneously to filming. The fun thing is the book does not include the last chapter---to keep from spoiling the movie ending, the last chapter will be release on the website to coincide with the movie release. Pretty excited about the book...and the movie!

Entangled by Cat Clarke
Love this book, amazing stuff. You can read my review here.

(Many thanks to Hyperion CH, Flux Books, and Little,Brown Books for the review copies!)

So, that is all for me! Hope everyone had a wonderful book week!

This week on Stories & Sweeties:
~I'll be reviewing Drought and hopefully finish and review The Book of Tomorrow.
~Last few days to enter the January New Reads Giveaway!!

HarperTeen publishes book from InkPop

How cool is this news? HarperCollins announced this morning that they are publishing a book that was discovered on InkPop, the online community for teen writers. Huge congrats to new author, Leigh Fallon! Her book, Carrier of the Mark, will hit bookstore shelves Fall 2011!

Check out this gorgeous cover!!
Synopsis:
A move to Ireland is about to introduce Megan to her destiny, her real destiny, can she embrace it and will she survive it?

A tragedy in Megan’s past set her on a predetermined course. A chain of events has been set in motion that brings Megan to Kinsale, a small town in the south of Ireland where her destiny awaits her. Her life starts to fall into place as she makes new friends and settles into her new school. However, the reclusive and distant Adam DeRís calls to her body and soul.

She finds herself increasingly drawn to Adam and his strange family. Adam knows a secret from her past and he and his family hold the key to her future. A future that binds her to Adam and his world, a world of power, mystery and ancient orders. A world that unbeknownst to her, she very much belongs in.

Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?? I can't wait to read it!

Review: Human Blend

Human Blend by Lori Pescatore

publisher: self-published/CreateSpace

released: June 10th, 2010

paperback, 234 pages

intended audience: Young adult (+14 recommended*)

rating:


source: from author for review

description:
Marion, Virginia seemed like a nice place to live a normal life, but she is not a normal girl. Laney has special abilities that keep her looking over her shoulder as she makes her escape from the men who had kidnapped her. A young doctor's interest is piqued when he witnesses her mysteriously curing a young child's illness. He befriends her due to his growing fascination with uncovering the true nature of her abilities, but not without harboring secrets of his own. Laney's budding relationship with a local boy puts both of them in danger when the men she was hiding from find her. All of their lives will change forever as ancient secrets become unearthed.

Review: I really enjoyed Human Blend. I am so glad the author contacted me to review this, as it would have gone completely under my radar otherwise. The cover is nothing special and would have never caught my eye, but inside hides a fast paced and thrilling story!

The protagonist, Laney, has lived almost her whole life in captivity, forced to use her mysterious healing powers and her ability to "see" numbers to aid a group of criminals. She has finally escaped to a small inconspicuous town and is trying to form some sort of stable life for herself, but she is constantly wary of being found and dragged back. Laney, or Julie, the identity she creates for herself is very likable...smart, funny, kind. She immediately set out to find a hospital where she can sneakily use her powers to help people who are suffering. She knows very little about her powers and where they come from or how they really work and that puts her in a few dangerous situations.

She meets a local boy on the very first day she rolls into town. He knows she hiding something, running from something, but is respectful and doesn't push her. The really fun part of the story was watching her rediscover the little pleasures in life---good food, a day at the lake, a first kiss with someone new. The relationship was very sweet and very quickly escalated, which at first had me a little thrown. It seemed every person she met immediately formed this intense relationship with her. By the fifth encounter, I literally said to myself, "Oh, come on!". I couldn't understand why all these men were falling all over her, but then you find out why, and it all falls into place. The explanation was actually quite funny to imagine!

Lots of fun little surprises as the story goes along and everyone's true nature is revealed---no one was who I thought they would be!

The writing is sometimes a little formal for the story it's conveying, and there were a few plot points that were just a bit too convenient, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of this. *I recommended +14 because of sexual situations, including an implied rape, and quite a bit of violence.

Definitely give this one a try! Not sure if there will be a sequel but I would definitely be eager to read more!

Purchase Human Blend at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository

Review: Entwined

Entwined by Heather Dixon

publisher: Greenwillow Books

release date: March 29th, 2011

hardcover, 480 pages

intended audience: Young adult

source: ARC from Around the World Tours

rating:


desctription:
Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Review: This one was a charmer. I love fairy tale retellings, whether they are modernized or told in the old style. This one was true to its fairy tale beginnings so we got all the lush ballrooms and beautiful flowing gowns, gentlemen and ladies with impeccable manners (some of them, at least!) and most of all in this story, the dancing. Dancing is everything to Azalea and her sisters. They dance when they are happy, they dance to lift their spirits, they dance to connect with their mother. It was interesting to try to picture all the dances, sometimes it comes through as enchanting, and sometimes it slowed the story a little.

While Entwined was a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, I also saw alot of parallels to Little Women when it came to the four eldest girls: the responsible and caring Azalea (like Meg), the fiery, temperamental Bramble (Jo), the very timid Clover (Beth), and the outspoken and always-thinking-of-the-future Delphinium (Amy). I loved how each of the twelve sisters had their own defined personalities, even though Azalea, Bramble, and Clover were the three we got to know best.

I loved the development of the relationship between the king and the girls. It starts out very rocky and both the girls and the king are dealing with grief in different ways. That puts them at complete odds in a way that is almost cruel to eachother. But soon the kings sets out to try to mend things with his daughters and there were parts of that that very nearly had me in tears because his efforts were so touching.

In all the magic and wonder and dancing in this, parts were genuinely creepy! Some of the scenes down in the hidden pavilion where the girls sneaked off to dance were frightening, with the eerie Keeper and his ghostly dancers.

The writing was very good, kept me wrapped up in the plot and only dipped a few times. One of my quirks with reading is when a description is used repetitively and I found that here: whenever the king was upset he would "suck in his cheeks" and he was upset quite a lot so this phase was on every few pages when the king was involved in the story. But again, that is just my own pet peeve.

All in all, this was a really enjoyable book! Definitely worth a read!

I was unable to find a website for this author---this may be updated in the future!

Pre-order Entwined at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Watched
by Sharde Richardson

release date: May 30th, 2011 by Jolt

Description:
Mikayla doesn’t want much: just to rock out to her favorite band, become the next Kwiki Stop video gaming champion, and keep her Q-tip habit under control. What she does want is the sight of the sudden inexplicable dark auras around everyone to stop. Problem is, those auras are demons and Mikayla is the last trait holder with the power to ban them. Which is a total buzz kill.

To make matters worse, the town folk of Sulphur Springs don’t look the same, and her classmates are a little dark in the eyes. There are murders, suicides, reckless skinny-dipping, gratuitous use of Q-tips, and newfound powers that Mikayla must learn to control.

Her past becomes present when a shape-shifter tells her what her true identity is, and how to keep the demons of Hell from nipping at her Converse. Through him she’ll discover who to trust, who to kiss, and how valuable her abilities are to the right beings. Because the evils of Hell aren’t staying down without a fight.

Or without her soul.

My thoughts: This synopsis sounds pretty cool, and you can't deny that the cover is amazing! Q-tip habit? Curious. Definitely adding this one to my list of highly anticipated books of 2011.