A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless. When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year old Princess Eliza manages to escape. Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope-and love-once more.Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become… The Last Princess.

Hardcover, 295 pages  Published May 1st 2012 by Poppy  ISBN  0316185485 (ISBN13: 9780316185486)

Eliza’s childhood wasn’t so bad. As a member of the royalty, she was raised with the best of everything. When the revolutionaries begins to rise up, Eliza must grow up very quickly. She sees her pregnant mother poisoned, her father shot in front of her eyes and her brother and sister kidnapped by the leader Cornelius Hollister who’s determined to take the crown by destroying all living members of the royal family.

Barely escaping with her life with the help of one of the revolution guards, Eliza is determined to find and kill Cornelius Hollister for everything he has done to her family. She has nothing else to live for and her determination pushes the story forward. She soon ends up within his camp disguised as a soldier and finds that her siblings are alive. She’s called on to fight and help bring back supplies for the army, also having to participate in raids upon the innocent, and even family friends and loved ones.

This story is very fast paced and full of action scenes. Eliza  is tortured and scarred and the difficulties that she has to endure really hook the reader into her plight.

A warning to those that are sensitive there are animal killings and torture scenes.

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City–and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult–also known as “The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies.”

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer–if he doesn’t catch her first

Evie O’Neill is the main focus of this epic new paranormal story from Libba Bray set in 1920’s New York City.

Evie has just moved in with her uncle after leaving home. She has the power to read objects and has visions. Unfortunately it doesn’t help her get away from the occult when her uncle runs the Museum of the Creepy Crawlies.

Evie soon gets caught up in the police investigations of a serial killer. Strangely, all clues lead to the long dead Naughty John, who couldn’t possibly be committing the murders… could he? From there on in, Evie is drawn into a world that is dangerous and thrilling.

Bray keeps up a quick-witted, snappy dialogue as she beautifully portrays the fashion, entertainment and superstitions of the time. 

While Evie’s story is pretty well rounded in book one, Libba Bray leaves a lot of the other characters stories unfinished. This will draw the reader in for the next instalment to see what happens next.

When I was asked by Pan MacMillan Australia to review this book I thought, ‘why not?’

I didn’t really read too much into the background of the book, thinking it would colour my impressions, and apart from the duo of boot clad feet on the cover, and a comparison to John Green (whose books I haven’t read to date), I jumped in unaware of how charmingly disarming Fiona’s writing style is.

In the semi-tamed bushlands of a wilderness style campus of a boarding school in New South Wales, you will find a bunch of pampered, scared sixteen year old city kids about to lose themselves, only to find friendships, inner strength and the ability to camp on their own.

Sibylla finishes her school holidays by kissing the most desirable guy in the school, and now they’re going bush. She’s struggling to find her way in the uncharted waters of peer pressure and being true to herself. Lou and Michael are along for the ride, and though they are firmly land locked there isn’t a light house on earth that can steer the HMS Siby from disaster. Not even the advice of a life long friend can save her now.

Quite frankly I am not the camping type. Though I may hold tight to my brought up in the country ideals, there is a line I will not cross. BYO is for restaurants, not toileting habits. So reading about a place described as richly as this, allowed me to dip my toe into the water without the cold shock of the full on reality experience.

The emotions explored in amongst the eucalyptus trees is more than enough to tug at your heart strings and by golly if you don’t feel like punching Ben by week 2 I would like you to sign up to therapy because if that is your idea of a ‘healthy relationship’ you are waaaaaaay off (mumble mumble mumble mumble).

I thoroughly enjoyed the character arcs and I have a feeling I will be hunting down Fiona’s previous book, starring Lou, called Six Impossible Things, in the not too distant future. Lou’s a tough nut to crack but I’d like to see her when her guard is down. Perhaps it’s contained within that book or perhaps I will find it in future instalments.

However, it turns out I was thrilled to that I got to review Wildlife. A way to go bush from the warmth and safety of your favourite chair.

http://fionawood.com/

Paperback

384 pages

Expected publication: June 1st 2013 by Pan Macmillan Australia

ISBN13 9781742612317

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.

Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

Hardcover, 295 pages  Published September 4th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

ISBN  0374373663 (ISBN13: 9780374373665)

Last year here on the site we read Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan for a book club pick. This book, like that one, revolves mostly around the idea of sea creatures coming to live on land. The story follows a 17 year old, Hester, and the “love curse” that has fallen upon her family. We learn about the curse through flashbacks to Syrenka’s life and Hester’s research.  Monstrous Beauty is a historical fantasy fiction with a few paranormal twists; a very unique read that is full of mythology, detailed research for historical accuracy and yet draws on the emotions of a mystery/detective novel.

With some subject matter that is more appropriate for more mature readers, Monstrous Beauty takes us through a tumultuous story of a young Hester. With this curse put upon her family, she has rejected the idea of finding love for herself, yet is still drawn to two different boys as she tries to solve the mystery of the curse.

After reading several mermaid books this year, what caught my attention was the mermaids’ connection to the land and I loved the mythology behind Syrenka’s life. Elizabeth Fama’s version of the mermaid is dark, terrifying and completely engrossing. Hester on the other hand is portrayed as naive and emotional but I found it was fitting for the time setting. With a young girl trying to solve a century plus old curse, the switching between the past and present helped build the tension as the story grew. The reader will question when, if ever, Hester will catch up to what we already know. 

When Hester does put the clues together it is a very dramatic and fast paced ending with plenty of paranormal activity.  I was not expecting ghosts to show up in a mermaid story, but with several supernatural elements blending in, it makes for a very unique and interesting read.

How can such a lovely story stem from miscommunication?

Hollywood has done the mistaken phone connection before, and they’ve delved into the email realm as well. They never quite did it justice though. Meg, please.

This is What Happy Looks Like, begins with a typo and charms you from the first reply. Who’d have thought such a rampant bunch of clichés could be so comfortably nice.

Here’s what goodreads have to say about the blurb

“In This is What Happy Looks Like, Jennifer E. Smith’s new YA novel, perfect strangers Graham Larkin and Ellie O’Neill meet—albeit virtually—when Graham accidentally sends Ellie an email about his pet pig, Wilbur. In the tradition of romantic movies like “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” the two 17-year-olds strike up an email relationship, even though they live on opposite sides of the country and don’t even know each other’s first names.

Through a series of funny and poignant messages, Graham and Ellie make a true connection, sharing intimate details about their lives, hopes and fears. But they don’t tell each other everything; Graham doesn’t know the major secret hidden in Ellie’s family tree, and Ellie is innocently unaware that Graham is actually a world-famous teen actor living in Los Angeles.

When the location for the shoot of Graham’s new film falls through, he sees an opportunity to take their relationship from online to in-person, managing to get the production relocated to picturesque Henley, Maine, where Ellie lives. But can a star as famous as Graham have a real relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie’s mom want her to avoid the media’s spotlight at all costs?”

This is a book in the same vein as The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, though it isn’t the same characters or setting. It is however just as warm and fuzzy. 

Jennifer has a real knack for making deliciously consumable lovable books. I am in awe of how she sucks me in every time. Through all the light and airy, there are issues to be explored. The price of fame, and does being famous automatically mean you get everything you desire?

There are tissue moments and plenty of bits to giggle over. Dialogue is easy and believable.

It’s a bit of a thick volume, however you’ll hardly notice if sweet and fluffy is your thing.

Definitely one for a gloomy day, or a blue mood. Curl up with the cat, in a blanket, and keep the tissues and hot chocolate handy.

http://www.jenniferesmith.com/

Paperback, 224 pages

Published April 4th 2013 by Headline Book Publishing

ISBN 0755392280 (ISBN: 9780755392285)