We’re excited to share some new reviews for SHINE LIGHT.

ReadPlus say ... “Marianne de Pierres has created an unforgettable world with characters fans love.”

Bug in a Book are in agreement … “de Pierres has woven a darkly intriguing story that has gone from strength to strength. This is a fitting conclusion to this trilogy. I loved it and wanted to go with Naif all the way.”

Book’d Out also enjoyed the final book … “The Night Creatures has proved to be an exciting and creative series blending fantasy and science fiction. I am sure fans of the series will be satisfied with the climax and will no doubt hope de Pierres shines on.”

Tsana Reads says … I recommend this series to fans of speculative YA who might be looking for something a bit different.

Booky Monster gives it the thumbs up … A unique and spellbinding conclusion to one of the  freshest Australian YA series I have had the delight of reading.”

Also the winners of out CODE BREAKER competition are April Mary Hobson and Elyse Robens – CONGRATS!

For those of you who were following the competition, below is the meaning of each strip of code (and I apologise for some of my typos in creating the code!):

“I WATCH THE YOUNG FEED THEIR LIVES TO THE DARK AND KNOW ITS HUNGER WILL NEVER BE SATED” – RUZALIA

“THE ANSWER IS IN THESE BOOKS. EVERYTHING I WOULD EVER WANT TO KNOW” – C(H)ARLONGE.

“COME. COME. NEED YOU. TASTE YOU. NEED YOU.” LEYSTE TO RETRA

“YOU UNDERSTAND THE BOND OF FAMILY, NAIF. EM AND JARROLD ARE MY FAMILY. I MUST LOOK OUT FOR THEM.” MARKES

“I WILL WATCH FOR ALWAYS.” LIAM TO SUKI

“WHY ARE YOU SO FROSSING ANGRY, NAIF?”  JARROLD

“I WILL PROTECT YOU ALWAYS.” SUKI TO LI(A)M.

“YOU HAVE GROWN INTO A WOMAN, LITTLE SISTER. AND I HAD NOT NOTICED.” CLASH TO NAIF

“FIGHT OR DIE.” EVE TO THE CURSED LEAGUE.

“OUR SPECIES MUST SURVIVE.” VARONESSA

“OUR RULES ARE FEW BUT ABSOLUTE.”

“NAIF, NAIF … COME TO ME …’ LENOIR

Sixteen year-old Adelice is a Spinster. She can weave time and matter. But no one knows just how talented she is….

The Guild demands loyalty, and everyone has their secrets. But Adelice is about to unravel the deadliest one of all, a sinister truth that could destroy reality as she knows it….

Once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

Months prior to it being in my hands, Crewel had the advantage of containing several of my personal literary ‘buzz words’ – namely “weave” and “spinster”. I was envisioning some sort of take on the Fates of Greek mythology, intercepted with commentary on female roles and functions in society. Needless to say, I allowed myself to build up my own idea of what this book would contain, and perhaps that was my downfall. While I certainly can appreciate the original elements and unique world-building that Albin employed, Crewel was sadly a case of having set my expectations too high.

An interesting blend of genres – at once dystopia, science-fiction and good old fashioned fantasy – Crewel essentially adheres to many of the trappings of other young adult titles in these genres, but occasionally takes some surprising, somewhat unexpected turns. The action takes place in the universe of Arras, a baffling futuristic society in which women are once again designated to the second-class citizens, serving only as wives/mothers, secretaries or in the revered position of a Spinster. A Spinster weaves time and space – the very matter of Arras – and as such has control over life and death, creation and destruction, all living and physical things. Nothing can exist in Arras without the work of a Spinster; in theory, they play God. However, as our protagonist Adelice is to learn, they are not in possession of any true power and things are a great deal more oppressive within the Coventry than they are outside of its walls.

I really wanted to empathise with Adelice; I truly did. The poor girl is not in control of her seemingly astonishing weaving abilities, and these lead inevitably to her separation from her family, the murder of loved ones, and the loss of her personal and social freedom (what little there was!) However, Adelice was nothing if not inconsistent as a character for me, leaping from being rather shallow and self-centred to more proactive and aware without much growth in-between. And in what actually proved a problem for many characters, her rather ‘modern’ attitudes and opinions were, rather than comforting and familiar, far too at-odds with the world she would have grown up in. At times, it felt as though Albin was hesitant of providing her cast of players with beliefs and ideas that might sit uncomfortably with a reader but would maintain coherence with Arras as a society. This was quite disarming, especially towards the novel’s beginning, when the world was still being gradually revealed piece-by-piece.

The romance of the novel also fell quite flat for me, as is often the case: there was a somewhat forced attempt at a love triangle, which I am never a fan of, with Adelice juggling between her more superficial attraction to the cocky Erik and her ‘deeper’ connection to the stoic, Jost. Throw in the unwanted attentions of the villainous and older Ambassador Cormac and there were simply far too many men interested in this girl for me to find it at all credible! Cormac at least, in his bad guy role, was slightly more consistent that most other characters, and despite the stereotypical attributes, I found some of his brutal honesty refreshing, as did Adelice. Side characters such the loyal Enora and the allusive mentor Loricel could have been much more than their designated functions  – and at times they almost got there, which was tantalising but ultimately frustrating.

The overall tone of the novel never felt as though it had been decided upon exactly; there were moments where I thought Albin was reaching for some social commentary and some rather sweet and considerate messages about sexual and gender equality. So many themes were possible in this particular universe that she crafted; I am just very sad that there weren’t explored as deeply as they could have been. Of course, this is only the first in a series, so perhaps I am judging too harshly, too quickly. The world-building itself was also somewhat confusing for me; depictions of the weaving in particular were fascinating yet unrelentingly vague. I wanted so badly to get a clear image of how this skill worked and formed the world of Arras, but it never came to light for me. Perhaps I am simply too restricted in my imagination to glimpse it, which I regret!

I will probably give the next instalment in this series a whirl, just out of curiosity, but I still can’t help wishing that the Crewel I had formed in my head was the Crewel that I held in my hands.

Crewel – Gennifer Albin

Faber and Faber Limited

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ISBN – 0374316414

369 pages

October 16th 2012

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Meet Book Vlogger Friday Ketchup

Sixteen year old Ember has never fitted in. As a daughter to a Scottish lord she is expected to fulfil her duties to her family through an advantageous marriage; but prefers being outside than in and would rather wield a sword than a needle. She has only one chance to escape the life her father is trying to make for her. As an infant she was pledged to the ancient and mysterious order of Conatus in exchange for the life of her mother. Old enough to leave her home now, Alistair her childhood friend, who has since joined the order, arrives with the intimidatingly attractive Barrow to collect her.

Once at Conatus, Ember may take the path of the warrior as she has always wanted. She never expected that Barrow, one of the strongest warriors in the guard, would choose her to train under him. Nor did she anticipate the way he would make her feel. Trouble is brewing though; and the world holds more evil than Ember could possibly have imagined. She and her fellow guards will need all of their resources to survive the coming war.

The premise behind Rift by Andrea Cremer is an interesting one. Set in 1404, it follows the story of a girl who doesn’t want to resign herself to the only duties known to noble women in that age. Ember is by nature active and curious; not happy to be confined to a building or carriage, but wanting to experience as much of the world around her as she can.

Conatus too, with enough dimension to be considered a character in its own right, is a compelling concept. A faction divided into three groups, scholars, warriors and craftspeople, working towards the common goal of eradicating supernatural monsters. There is enough mystery to the order to keep it intriguing throughout the novel; but politics add to the tensions already present. In order for Conatus to do the work that it needs to, it operates under the protection of the church. With that protection comes great threat, should the true nature of Conatus ever emerge. In many ways the political story of Conatus overshadows Ember’s tale. It was so much sturdier and more ancient that her and, as a newcomer with no idea of the power struggles within and without her new home, she was often an incidental player to the overall plot-arc.

While the world that comes to life within the pages of Rift is a brilliant concept; the main character doesn’t quite stand up to it. Cremer evidently wanted to write a strong, medieval young woman, but giving her warrior traits didn’t achieve the goal. Ember is incredibly gifted when it comes to fighting and horse-riding. Mentally, however, she accepts situations at face-value, never questioning the goals of those at Conatus though she is not sure that her church (or God) would ordain them. She is also cut off from the other women in the novel. Despite two incredibly strong women leading the Guard at Conatus and one woman being within its ranks, Ember never makes friends with any of them. The only time that the other female guard spends time alone with Ember is to do the ‘girly’ things that Barrow can’t; like teaching her to bind her breasts or helping her dress. It leaves me with the impression that Ember places value on the men rather than the women around her.

Rift is very much a love story at its core. The relationships between Ember and Barrow is every bit as tentative and lovely as it should be considering that neither character wants to find love. Rather than a sudden and inexplicably strong passion, Cremer lets her characters grow and bloom until the reader can see why the attraction is there. Initially Barrow is reserved to the point of being stuffy, but as the novel progresses we get glimpses of his humorous and more carefree side and begin to understand what Ember sees in him.

Ultimately Rift is the book to curl up with when in the mood for something light and romantic. The characters are a pleasure to get to know and the old-world atmosphere within these pages is luxuriously friendly. Cremer has left the ending wide-open and there are a myriad of options to be explored in the next instalment. But for now I’m going to have to wait and see which path she takes.

Rift – Andrea Cremer

Atom Books (August 7, 2012)

ISBN: 9781907411731

And seemingly, as soon as it starts, it’s over!

Yesterday I talked about Lenoir at The RestIsStillUnwritten and today of course it is Naif is the final part over at BadAssBookie. I hope you enjoyed reading my personal thoughts on the characters, and that it gave you even deeper insight into what I was trying to achieve.

I’ve loved every minute of writing this series, and have so many people to thank for helping me make it a success;  including my agent, Tara, all the WONDERFUL Random House Australia staff, with special shout outs to Zoe, Kimberley, Dot, Sarana, Peri and Adiba. What a pleasure working with you all!

I also want to thank my own team. We started working on this site before Burn Bright was published and have written endlessly to bring you good, current content. To my team, this is definitely as much your series as it is mine. Love you!

Finally, to all the amazing YA bloggers (too numerous to name) out there, in Australia and overseas. You’ve been so supportive and interested, I hope that the series is its own reward – but thank you from the bottom of my heart anyway.

So what next??? Well we still have plans for wider release of the series (German edition next), so the site will continue as is, and in time when I have more YA/Children’s books published, they will be connected to this site. Burn Bright is forever … or at least for the duration of this writer’s career.

I have some other plans for the site further down the track, which I will tell you about in time. In the mean time, sit back and continue to enjoy our reviews and blogs that celebrate the wonders of YA literature.

Marianne xx