Fantastic Finds

I had pumpkin flavoring in my coffee today, which means something very, very important- fall is almost here! To celebrate this, the best of all seasons, here is a sneak peek at some of the books I will be reading and reviewing over the coming months.

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Since this paranormal thriller is being billed as a cross between the writings of Stephen King and Pretty Little Liars, it promises a hefty dose of chills, drama and intrigue. I, a fan of CW dramas, particularly of a supernatural nature, am so there.







The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

"Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound. Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price." Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

Paranormal historical fiction with a gorgeous cover? Why is this not already on my shelf? 



Untold, The Lynburn Legacy Book Two by Sarah Rees Brennan

You can read my gushing glowing review of Book One here. I love this series, with its mysterious small town setting, gothic trappings, quirky family dynamics, and well-rounded characters. The romance is a bit over the top, but, given the aforementioned fondness for the CW, I can hardly pretend to be above bad boy (or are they?!) love interests with leather jackets, motorcycles, and weird abilities, especially when their female counterpart is interesting, capable, and intelligent. 





The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Holly Black has traded in fae-flavored urban fantasy for a vampire dystopia, and I am so on board. I'm hoping for some well-thought out and compelling vampire worldbuilding similar to what I read in Team Human (which is FANTASTIC, close this tab and read it immediately), rather than the slightly Mary Sueish genre lumbering from Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules, but we shall see.




Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff

The first book, Stormdancer, was a bit love or hate for most readers, and I loved it. Sure, Kristoff borrows a lot from Japanese culture, and it doesn't always work, but I give him major points for even approaching Steampunk from a different cultural perspective than "white upper middle class Englishman." Also, I have a mighty need for more Buruu in my life. Plus, when do I ever turn down a demon-hunting protagonist? Ok, sometimes, but a demon-hunting protagonist with her very own talking griffin? Not bloody often, mate, that's when.




The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Guys. GUYS. More Raven Boys. More Blue Sargent and all her clairvoyant family. More ghosts and romance and Ronan. And his baby raven. AAAAHHHH.









The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente

I can't even tell you how much I want to be back in Fairyland with September, A-L, and the other characters from this series. I tend to get a little carried away when talking about this series, so you might just want to read the first two blog posts I've done, before I get carried away again. 





There are more, of course, many of which are on the scarier side (Halloween being not far off, after all), but I don't want to give everything away at once. Stay tuned, folks.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

This dystopain-lite novel was ok. If you are looking for a more intense, menacing, or developed dystopia, I would recommend that you keep looking. For a more exciting sci-fi novel with, again, stronger dystopian elemends, I'd really suggest Across the Universe and its sequels. For a survival flavored dystopia, check out After the Snow. Finally, if you like your bleak futures and evil governments softened by a little romance, go for Matched or Delirium.

If it sounds like I'm really underselling this book, it's because I kind of am. Sorry! There were things to like about it- for instance, it had all those elements I mentioned in one handy place (sci-fi, dystopia, romance, survival). I liked the male lead, Perry, and his role in a post-apocalyptic tribe of hunters and gatherers was pretty neat. The action sequences were solid, the roving, killer electrical storms were interesting. The main reason I'm reviewing this one though, is to bring up one of the coolest reasons to read sci-fi in 2012: our technology is developing so quickly, that you can read about some amazing future tech in a book one day, and see a REAL WORLD EXAMPLE OF IT IN THE NEWS THE NEXT DAY.

In Under the Never Sky, Aria and her fellow city dwelllers have an ocular device that connects them to each other in a huge network and enables them to access information, view their surroundings differently, and communicate across large distances. Kind of like, oh, I don't know, the device worn by Steve Mann, the "father of wearable computing." He made the news in July when several workers at a French McDonalds " took exception to his "Digital Eye Glass" device and attempted to forcibly remove it from his head." This has been referred to in the news as possibly the "world's first cybernetic hate crime." Welcome to the future, people.

Oh, and if the idea of a wearable computer on your face appeals to you (and honestly, why wouldn't it? Think of the reading you could do! The things you could Google while walking through a museum! You could play Angry Birds with your eyes!! Just don't go to French fast food establishments), there's good news! Google is well on its way to completing on of its many (somewhat terrifying) endeavors: Project Glass.


This device runs Android, the same operating system used by millions of smart phones already. I don't know about you, but I'm a little excited for our rapidly approaching/kind of already here sci-fi future.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads


Now that is a hard premise to resist. Also, there are so many fairy tale retreads that I really appreciate when an author makes it worth my while. Why choose Cinderella? Why not write about a cyborg Snow White, or one of any other dozens of characters? Because Cinderella's lowly status in the traditional version segues perfectly into a look at the social status of cyborgs, that's why. Hurrah, a reason for a retelling!

I was hoping for a smidge more in the way of world-building, and some of the plot points were fairly predictable (then again, how could they not be in a story with such a familiar framework?), but those are pretty much my only quibbles. This was an interesting story with enough brains, heart, and originality to keep me interested. There was plenty going on- politics, a plague, romance, subterfuge, medical experiments, social tensions, endearing robots, and more. Also, her "pumpkin" is pretty amazing. You'll see.

Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads


I can't tell you too much without giving this book away. I will say that it is compelling, strange, dark, suspenseful, and in the end, maybe just a little bit too weird for me (and this is coming from someone raised on Oingo Boingo and Tim Burton). That said, it was a quick and hard to put down read, and it was definitely refreshing to read something so original and unpredictable. If you're grinding your teeth from an excess of love triangles, dystopias, and paranormal romances, this might be a bit of a palate cleanser. In a gibbering, Lovecraftian kind of way.