Goodreads has practically been screaming at me to pick this book up through their recommendations page since some time last year. I saw it in a discount book shop in January and now I have an extra space on my YA recommendation list as well as a humorous, sweet book.

The goodreads blurb reads…

“Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.”

As you can imagine there are plenty of snort-giggle worthy moments. Classic one liners, words that would be swearing in regular language being switched out for sea-themed words.. ie: Crap being switched out for carp… and that’s all before the disaster strikes. Love, love, love it.

I’m sure we can all relate to the feeling of being like a fish out of water at some stage in our lives. Lilly just does it with class.

Tera Lynn Childs has done a nice job of making her characters endearing. Quince would have to be my favourite. Added bonus is there’s a recipe in the back of the book, for Mermaid Cupcakes. My daughter is hitting me up to make them over the Easter holidays. I’m sure they’ll be delish.

Book 2, Fins are Forever, will certainly be on my must have list for this year.

http://teralynnchilds.com/

Paperback, 336 pages

Published June 28th 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books (first published May 19th 2010)

ISBN 0061914673 (ISBN13: 9780061914676)

Cora from Vintage or Tacky does a whimsical mermaid Queen tutorial

Nothing is certain and no one is safe in the second book in the highly praised Dust Lands trilogy.

It seemed so simple: Defeat the Tonton, rescue her kidnapped brother, Lugh, and then order would be restored to Saba’s world. Simplicity, however, has proved to be elusive. Now, Saba and her family travel west, headed for a better life and a longed-for reunion with Jack. But the fight for Lugh’s freedom has unleashed a new power in the dust lands, and a formidable new enemy is on the rise.

What is the truth about Jack? And how far will Saba go to get what she wants? In this much-anticipated follow-up to the riveting Blood Red Road, a fierce heroine finds herself at the crossroads of danger and destiny, betrayal and passion

This series is absolutely one of the most unique reads you will find in Young Adult books today. Mostly due to the dialect of the characters and the minimal writing style the author has chosen to use. The combination leads to a very unique read.

Saba gets a coded message from Jack and decides to go and find him against the advice of Hugh. The whole group follows Saba knowing that they must stick together and they want to help her. Through their travels they encounter several people in trouble. But when they reach their destination we find that maybe Saba has a destiny, something she never would have considered before and never expected.

One thing that stood out more to me in this book than the first, was the dialect. It was harder for me to get back into the story, but I found that listening to the audio-book made it a lot easier to picture the story.The audio is narrated by Heather Lind and I imagine it would have taken some practice reading through it without tripping over the words. She does an amazing job getting the story to flow and helps bring in the passion and tension the characters feel throughout their adventures.

The books have a similar rhythm to them. Something happens in the beginning to initiate their travels, they come across several different characters and trials along the way, and the books end with a bang and several revelations. I can see a pattern here with this series, and with the events in the end of this book, I cannot wait to find out where the next book takes us. I have really high hopes for what Saba can become. She’s strong, smart and has heroine written all over her.

Here’s a sample of the dialect: “Not jest wagons, lone travelers too. We found the leftover bits of one fella. Well, Nero did. Dead eaters had bin at him, jackals an vultures, so you couldn’t tell much. Jest his hair color an boot size. The boots was good an they fit Tommo. You never felt right, takin from the dead. But he wouldn’t be doin no more walkin an Tommo would. We piled rocks over what was left of him and Lugh said a few respeckful words.”

This is only one of a few NetGalley’s I’ve been approved for over the year or more I’ve been a member. I chose Ink for 2 main reasons… the concept outlined in the blurb and the delicious cover art.

“On the heels of a family tragedy, Katie Greene must move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school’s kendo team, she is intrigued by him… and a little scared. His tough attitude seems meant to keep her at a distance, and when they’re near each other, strange things happen. Pens explode. Ink drips from nowhere. And unless Katie is seeing things, drawings come to life.

Somehow Tomo is connected to the kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan—and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control. The wrong people are starting to ask questions, and if they discover the truth, no one will be safe.”

My daughter is a bit of a Japan-o-file and I thought what better way to spend a little time in her headspace than to dip into a story set in Japan.

Right from the cover art, which in the case of the NetGalley, paperback and the Kindle edition is a strawberry blond girl drawn in ink. She’s in profile with a spray of cherry blossoms and it’s all about simplicity and clean lines, yet extremely beautiful. Seems to me to be very Japanese stylistically.

Amanda has a talent for creating believable settings. I could envisage the cherry blossoms, the koi ponds and almost taste the food. I sensed (albeit as an outsider who knows very little about Japan) that Amanda got the culture right.

I really felt for Katie; uprooting and moving to a place where she’s as far out of her comfort zone as humanly possible. She has guts, and it showed extreme strength in character that she didn’t just crumple and become a stereotypical victim. She also does not bow to the bullies. Yay for strong female characters!

As far as action goes, it’s wild! Drawings that come to life are only part of it. I have great respect for the martial arts and I felt like I was in the room with the Kendo club, while they were practising. Though doing drills during a Japanese summer sounds like a hell I could do without.

I’d suggest anyone who holds any interest in Japan, pick this book up and give it a chance. There’s something for everyone, from mobsters, to romance and action to fantasy. Certainly an eclectic mix of elements that work in perfect harmony.

Paperback, 377 pages

Expected publication: July 1st 2013 by Harlequin Teen (first published January 1st 2013)

ISBN: 9781743641651 (ISBN13:9780373210718)

Return to Paradise is the second book, and takes place eight months after Leaving Paradise ends off. Caleb still hasn’t come back to paradise, keeping the promise he swore to take to his grave, and trying to build a better future himself. Caleb leaves behind everything his ever known and loved, including Maggie. But staying in Chicago isn’t as good for him as he thought it would be, and gets himself in trouble once again.

While Caleb left Paradise in hopes for a better life, Maggie begins her life all over again, with more independence and confidence. She is doing really well and even accepts an offer asking her to go on a three week trip, stopping different places to tell the story of her accident. But everything changed quickly and her three week trip turned foul, when Maggie realizes that Caleb is also going on the exact same trip. But not just to tell his story, like Maggie, but also to keep him from going to prison again.

Return to Paradise continues on with Maggie and Caleb’s story, but the secret Caleb promised to keep forever, isn’t so secret any more. The beginning explains both of their new lives; Caleb’s in Chicago, and Maggie’s in Paradise. The middle is their entire three week trip, which is where things turn sour for me.

The story was … steady. It was never boring but it was also never too crazy. While I enjoyed Return to Paradise, I liked Leaving Paradise much, much more.

Maggie and Caleb were both interesting and realistic (as realistic as any couple could be under such circumstances); I enjoyed reading about the two of them and seeing them together. But those things changed in this second book. Caleb and Maggie changed. The entire trip, the two were back and forth, and back again, about liking and wanting to be with each other. One minute they were in complete love, and the next they avoided or pushed the other away. It was confusing, irritating and frustrating!

And another issue I’ve been facing a lot lately (in books) are boys saying things to girls which no REAL boy would ever even think about saying. Caleb did exactly that at times he just blurted random things out without thinking about them first. Or one time that made me throw the book across the room, was when Caleb was blurting his feelings for Maggie, and then stopped mid sentence to tell us to just forget about it!! REALLY?!

Return to Paradise started off really well, and I was excited to see how things worked out for the two love birds. The middle wasn’t very enjoyable for me, it was too much back and forth, and confusing. But I do have to admit the ending rapidly recovered and I ended the story loving both Maggie and Caleb once again.

I love Simone Elkeles, all her books, and her writing style, so I’m sad to say that I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did her others.

Ballet is one of those things that you either love or hate. I’m a fence sitter to say the very least and my dance style boarders on a spider on a hot tin roof, and can in no way be mistaken for grace or beauty. However, I know the behind the scenes world of ballet is pretty cut-throat and nasty, which always makes for a great suspense novel. Black Swan anyone?

Dance of Shadows isn’t a typical boarding school/ university novel. Sure it has the stereo typical hazing, the secret society and the new girl falling for the cutest guy in school; but this one had me questioning the motives of the lead character.

Vanessa is living in the shadow of her sister, Margaret, who went missing from the New York Ballet Academy years before this story is set. She dons the point shoes and pliës her way into the academy, not believing that Margaret could have just run away. What she discovers will clear her sister’s name and open up a huge can of worms for the NYBA.

My issue was with Vanessa’s single-minded working to get into the NYBA, just to find her sister and then still having enough mental capacity to fall in love, go to classes and dance so well. I find it hard to believe anyone would get as far in a profession that is so difficult to break into in the first place.

The mystery elements in the story were entertaining. The characters and the settings were as you would expect. The rest is all just a little predictable.

What isn’t predictable is the cover art. A beautifully posed dancer with red petals making her costume is rather special but things get very interactive. Once you download the free app and hover your smart phone over the cover, the dancer comes alive. If you get the book and do this please let us know what it’s like.

If you liked the movie Black Swan, and enjoy boarding school novels, this one is perfect for you.

Twitter name: TheYelenaBlack

Paperback, UK, 369 pages

Published February 14th 2013 by Bloomsbury (first published February 12th 2013)

ISBN: 1408829975 (ISBN13: 9781408829974)