Becky's View: Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce

Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce
♦publisher: Little, Brown BYR
♦release date: November 5th, 2013
♦hardcover, 323 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Fairytale retellings, book 4
  book 1: Sisters Red (my review)
  book 2: Sweetly
  book 3:Fathomless
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Kai and Ginny grew up together–best friends since they could toddle around their building’s rooftop rose garden. Now they’re seventeen, and their relationship has developed into something sweeter, complete with stolen kisses and plans to someday run away together.

But one night, Kai disappears with a mysterious stranger named Mora–a beautiful girl with a dark past and a heart of ice. Refusing to be cast aside, Ginny goes after them and is thrust into a world she never imagined, one filled with monsters and thieves and the idea that love is not enough.

If Ginny and Kai survive the journey, will she still be the girl he loved–and moreover, will she still be the girl who loved him?

Review:
I haven’t read the Fairytale Retellings series since Sister’s Red---I have no idea why, since Sisters Red remains a favorite of mine to this day.  But that’s one of the beautiful things about this series: they are companion novels that can be read as stand-alones.  The stories loosely intertwine, you get little snippets of characters and storylines from the other books, but they are wonderful just on their own.

In Cold Spell, the story of the Snow Queen is reimagined with the expert Jackson Pearce touch.  Ginny and Kai are childhood sweethearts, with big plans for their future in New York, until the mysterious and seductive Mora seems to blow in with the snow storm.  Kai inexplicably turns on Ginny and disappears with Mora into the blizzard.  Armed with just her own certainty of their love and an old scrapbook full of clues about the snow queen that belonged to Kai’s grandmother, Ginny sets out after them. Ginny is a determined heroine, real and flawed when she blindly throws herself into finding Kai at any cost. She actually starts out quite reliant on their relationship, but grows into her own, finding strength and independence through her dangerous journey.

The story as a whole is just really enjoyable, lots of excitement and creepy moments with Mora and the ferocious Fenris attacks. There are two things in particular that I loved about this story, though.  One was a sort of build-your-own-family idea.  Ginny meets many people, all very different, on her road to rescue Kai.  You have these really unique types and opposing lives; they’re all just kind of floating along until they get thrown together one way or another and become this very odd-ball family unit. I loved that.

Another thing that I loved was the way Pearce gave her Snow Queen a good dose of humanity.  Sure, it’s one thing to write a villianess that is easy to hate, who personifies evil. But what makes this great is that there are moments that let you see what is really driving her, and even put her a little into the role of a victim.

Cold Spell is a thrilling tale and one that made me want to go back and make sure I find time to read the books that I missed in this fun series of fairytale retellings. This is the final book, but I know I’ll always be eager to pick up any of Jackson Pearce’s fantasy titles in the future.

Find Jackson Pearce online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Cold Spell: Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

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.

One Past Midnight
by Jessica Shirvington

hitting shelves July 22, 2014 from Walker Children's

description:
Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is...

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?



My thoughts: First off, gorgeous cover. Secondly, love the concept and there's no doubt that, while I've never read this author, her reputation definitely precedes her.  Still want to try her Violet Eden series, but this one looks like something I would absolutely love.

YA Faeries & Fantasy Giveaway Hop!

Once again this year, I'm participating in the annual Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader!

This year, I'm giving away two ARCs: one faery and one fantasy! :)

One lucky U.S. winner gets both!

While I can only ship my ARC copies within the US, I do have something for my International blog friends!  One international winner will receive a pre-order of your choice of either of these books!  

(All That Glows comes out Feb 11th, and Infinite comes out Jan 28th.)

Note: To make it a bit more fair, the ARC prize will be open to US only, and the pre-order will be open to outside the US only.

Enter in the appropriate rafflecoper below! :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to click below to enter the rest of the giveaways on the Faery & Fantasy Giveaway Hop!

Becky's View: Bang by Lisa McMann

Bang by Lisa McMann
♦publisher: Simon Pulse
♦release date: October 8th, 2013
♦hardcover, 256 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Visions, book 2
  Book 1: Crash (my review)
  Book 3: Gasp (June 3rd, 2014)
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Jules should be happy. She saved a lot of people’s lives and she’s finally with Sawyer, pretty much the guy of her dreams. But the nightmare’s not over, because she somehow managed to pass the psycho vision stuff to Sawyer. Excellent.

Feeling responsible for what he’s going through and knowing that people’s lives are at stake, Jules is determined to help him figure it all out. But Sawyer’s vision is so awful he can barely describe it, much less make sense of it. All he can tell her is there’s a gun, and eleven ear-splitting shots. Bang.

Jules and Sawyer have to work out the details fast, because the visions are getting worse and that means only one thing: time is running out. But every clue they see takes them down the wrong path. If they can’t prevent the vision from happening, lives will be lost. And they may be among the casualties…

Review: Once again, Lisa McMann doesn’t disappoint.  Both books in this series have been fast paced and have a sort of in-your-face feel.  I can’t say this wasn’t also perfect timing for me, because I had just come away from two period-piece books heavy with prim Victorian language and I was so ready for something current and high-energy; this was exactly that and much more.  Jules and Sawyer’s continuing story is hilarious and gripping and touching all at once.  Somehow the terrifying visions that were plaguing Jules in Crash have now taken hold of Sawyer, and they work together to figure out how to stop the disturbing events from taking place. 

Even though I love the romance between Jules & Sawyer, once again my favorite bond to read about is between Jules and her siblings. They really have each other’s backs and make each other stronger, plus their endless banter is just a constant source of laugh out loud moments.  For Jules and Sawyer, so much is screwed up with both their families, that it’s just great to see them carving out their own little close supportive family with just Jules, Sawyer, Trey, and Rowan. 

As I suspected, there will be at least one more coming in this series, and hopefully we’ll get to find out why the visions are passed on the way they are.  Is it because they are in love? Did it pass to Sawyer because he was saved by the last vision?  And there was just an inkling of a hint that Jules’ father may be having them, too.  A few unanswered questions but still an incredibly gripping, electrifying, and emotional story. 

Find Lisa McMann online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Crash:  Amazon  •    BookDepository  •  Indiebound

My Favorite Books of 2013

Oh, 2013...a fond farewell.  You really gave us some great additions to the YA bookshelves.
It's kind of a funny thing, when I was looking through all of my reviews for last year and compiling this list, I found that a book rated 5 cupcakes didn't always correspond with what I look back on and think, "Wow, that is really one of my new favorite books."  These books aren't always titles that I gave my top rating to, but the ones that really stayed with me, ones that even now make me want to dive back in and experience them again (even though I very rarely reread anything!).

Also, these are books I read in 2013, not necessarily books that got published in 2013. :)
The blurbs are quoted from my own reviews.

Born of Illusion was undoubtedly one of my most anticipated reads of 2013.  The 1920s era setting, the promise of both stage magic and real magic, a volatile mother/daughter relationship, and a mystery involving the great Houdini himself ---the entire concept had me seriously pining for this!  Happily, I report that I was not disappointed.  Born of Illusion is a new favorite of mine.  
(see full review)

So much love for this book!  It's a fun and fast read, gorgeous world-building of two very different kingdoms, all with the feel of a grand fairy tale adventure. There is more to come from this series, and I can't wait to see where Elara and Wilha's lives will lead them! (see full review)

The world that Meyer creates has expanded it's reach from Japan into France and it also grows in all it's detailed, imaginative, futuristic glory, and definitely in it's darkness and danger.  A new vicious threat is introduced, Queen Levana's evil grip gets more powerful, and time continues to run thin as Kai makes a desperate decision and this story hurtles forward. 
(see full review)

The Holders was so much more than I expected!  From the cover, I think I expected more of a serious high fantasy---what I got was a fantastic story with some great Harry-Potter type fantasy elements, and a great plot surrounding a fierce heroine with a wicked temper, especially when it comes to protecting her little brother from, well, ...everyone!
(see full review)

BREATHTAKING.
Stacey Jay's latest book completely blew me away.  With it's gorgeous flow of words and undeniably creative restructuring of this classic tale, Of Beast and Beauty is truly one of the best fairytale retellings I have ever read.  These comfortably familiar characters inhabit a futuristic world of myth and dark magic, where one group of people have adapted to survive the world, and one group hides away and fears it.
(see full review)

The scope of These Broken Stars just feels so grand, and romance builds so genuinely that it doesn’t overpower the story. It's just the perfect blend of so many things that really make this story shine. Beautifully crafted storytelling, a tale that I found myself swallowed up into from the beginning and hypnotized by until the end. (see full review)

I always tend to be drawn to stories that make me look at basic human nature as something to be thankful for---being able to cry and laugh and even feel loss and pain. This one did a little of that, too. The ending is gutsy and exciting, as danger creeps in all around them and some interesting things get revealed. It definitely leaves you craving more!
(see full review)

Simply put, there is nothing quite like Some Quiet Place. How does one even begin to write a character that is so completely devoid of all emotion?  How does one begin to imagine what Fear would look like if you could literally face him?  What first drew me to this book was the incredibly unique concept and exactly how author Kelsey Sutton would pull such a thing off.  Well, pull it off she did, and beautifully. (see full review)

What I love about the ending is that it doesn’t tie up in a happily-ever-after, tidy little package.  At 14, Sophie has a ways to go---she grows a ton in this book, learns a great many things about herself and her dad, but she acknowledges that she’s not done yet.  I loved that.
The Theory of Everything is a story chock full of musical nostalgia (for me, at least LOL), wildly enchanting characters, science that is not an exact science,  a healthy dose of imagination, and a lesson in the importance of love of all kinds.
(see full review)

The amount of research put in by the author to make this horrifying era come to life just blows my mind. Plus the imagination to create such a horror story full of creepy birds, eerie ghosts, the feeling of being surrounded by death,…and love. (see full review)

 I almost didn't finish this one. I raced enthusiastically through the first 100 pages, and then somehow it lost me. I actually put it aside for awhile. Then, by chance, I ended up alone with this book and decided to pick it up again. I couldn't be happier that I did.  This story and characters dug into my brain and from then on I was completely enthralled by it through the fantastic, climactic end.
(see full review)

So those were my reading highlights of the year 2013! On to a new year and new fantastic reads!! If I can narrow it down to a decent amount, I'll be posting soon about most anticipated reads of 2014!
 

It's Downton Day!!

Ok, so not book related, but I know some you share my love for this wonderful show. 

Break out the tea settings and set the DVR (because if you're like me, I refuse to watch this while my kids are still around to interrupt my viewing pleasure, so I'll be recording and watching it when everyone is fast asleep!). 

Season 4 begins tonight!! Will you be watching? What's your favorite part of Downton Abbey? The gorgeous clothing?  The grand scenery?  The downstairs drama?  I personally swoon over nearly every dress on the show....so much glamour and gorgeousness!  I hope this season is chock-full of more of Maggie Smith's snide and snobby comments---I absolutely love her and all of her perfectly delivered "zings".

And what will Mary do now that???...well...you know.

 

Gah! So excited for this season to begin! 

New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {71}

For New Shelf Goodies, I'll be showing you what lovely books I acquired this week, whether from publishers, or the library, or from whatever half-crazed book-buying binge I happened to go on. :D (Inspired by Tynga's Stacking the Shelves) The Weekly Nutshell will be just that...my week here at Stories & Sweeties, in a nutshell. (inspired by Ginger @ GReads and her recaps at the end of the TGIF posts)

I haven't done one of these for a while so I'm just going to show you what I got in the past few weeks. I did get some others with these but I only photographed what weren't duplicates.

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Macmillian gets a zillion points for presentation. This packaging was gorgeous with fancy die-cut box and a sword bookmark. 

A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey

Reading now and enjoying! I'm on the blog tour for this one in a few weeks.

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

This looks heartbreaking.  I'll try it when I need a good cry.  

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Haven't tried this series! Heard it's good though!

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White

I haven't read this author since her Paranormalcy series--did love that, though!

Hexed by Michelle Krys

This looks fun, along the lines of the Hex Hall series so I'm excited!

The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

 This sounds amazing, but the cover freaks me out. lol

Stormbringer by Shannon Delany

I'll need to track down the first book to this series, but it looks interesting.

Many thanks to Random House, Harper Collins, St. Martin's Griffin and Bloomsbury!

The Weekly Nutshell:

{Tuesday} Waiting on Wednesday: Dead Silent by Sharon Jones

{Wednesday} "What's New" January YA Releases & Giveaway

Have a fantastic week everyone!