Hey everyone! Welcome to another one of my reviews! Two weeks ago, I went a little crazy on NetGalley, requesting way too many ARCs (that I now need to read). So, those will be books I’ll be writing reviews on in the near future! I couldn’t help myself! Thank you, Krista, for my new -found addiction (:

The book I’m reviewing for you all today is Blood by K. J. Wignall, and again, this copy is a e-book from Netgalley.  It’s coming out in hardback on the 27th of September! When I review books here on Burn Bright, I usually don’t like putting the summary in, and instead summarize it myself. But with this book, I’m having a hard time doing that. I loved and had such a great time reading Blood, that I’m scared I’ll mess up the story for you guys if I summarize it myself. So here’s the synopsis:

“Will is a vampire in danger. Heir to the Earl of Mercia, he was brutally attacked and buried in the thirteenth century before he was able to assume his title. Perpetually sixteen, Will’s life has been lonely. He leaves his tomb every so often, adapts to the present day, feeds his bloodlust, and never gets close to anyone.
Until now. Waking from a twenty-year slumber, hungry for the blood that sustains his undeath, he meets Eloise—but can’t bear to make her his next victim. Drawn to a girl he can never have, but whose fate seems bound with his own, he feels the need to protect her. But Will has an enemy who will stop at nothing to find him . . . and he’s closing in. . . .”

Sounds pretty awesome, huh?  Basically, the main character is Will, he’s only sixteen and he’s from the thirteenth century. Every few years he wakes up from his sleep to feed on blood. So, if you didn’t already know this, he’s a vampire. No he isn’t Edward Cullen, he doesn’t need blood very often, he doesn’t have any super powers, and he isn’t exactly sure how he became a vampire. Without any family or friends (they’re all dead, and he can’t get close to anyone since he doesn’t know when he’ll go back to sleep), he sleeps at his “tomb”, a.k.a a local church.

After a very short twenty-five year nap, Will wakes up in our time. As he leaves the church to go on a search for blood, he runs into a few people, who play important roles throughout the story. In Blood, Will is on his search to find out who bit and created him, and most importantly who is searching for him. Yes, there’s even a little romance in there for us ladies (; Will also meets a girl named Eloise. Will doesn’t want to become to close to her, simply because he never knows when he’ll be sleeping again (*semi star crossed lovers*); not wanting to go through that again. Getting to know one another more, Will and Eloise find that they have a lot in common, and each starts to build feelings for the other.

Yes, even I am bored of vampires, but I promise you, Blood wasn’t the usual vampire book! I had a great time reading Blood, and I can’t wait to finish the series. Thank you Netgalley, K. J. Wignall and Krista (for introducing me to Netgalley!)

Blood – K. J. Wignall

Published September 27th, 2011, by Egmont Books

Hardback, 336 pages

ISBN: 9781405258609

Imagine in the last two years your life has been completely and utterly turned upside down. Not only do you find out that your  mum is in fact over a hundred years old and half angel—wings and all, but you’re also about to be tasked with your “Purpose”, your whole reason for being, and you haven’t even mastered the whole flying thing yet.

Welcome to 16-year-old Clara Gardner’s world. Given clues to her Purpose through a series of often confusing visions (all featuring the same forest fire and same mysterious boy) Clara, her mum and younger brother, Jeff, leave California for Wyoming to fulfil her destiny. But along with starting at a new school and trying to fit in, Clara realises there is a lot more to this angel business than she first thought, and some of it can be deadly. Plus there is that pesky Purpose; but when you’re meant to save one boy and you’re head over heels with another in danger, just who do you choose?

Unearthly is one of the best books I’ve read all year, it’s just simply beautiful. You can’t help but fall in love with the main players, especially Clara. Not only is it a tale of destiny and first time love, it’s also the story of one girl trying to desperately make sense of the curve balls life keeps throwing at her. And it is a realistic look at the changes approaching adulthood can make to family relationships—especially between a mother and daughter. It’s the type of coming-of-age story that leaves you feeling all warm and glowing, yet still retains that ring of honesty.

It’s not all mushy though, don’t worry. There is plenty of action and uncovering of hidden truths to keep the pulse racing: the revelation of “evil” angels; Clara’s discovery that her mum is telling her all the facts; the day-to-day struggle of keeping such a huge secret. The plot is finely woven and entrancing; Clara’s world will draw you in completely. It’s vividly rich and the setting  almost becomes another character.  My only complaint is that the pages just turned way too fast, it is just that addictive. The ending does leave you with emotions raging and a desperate need to know what’s next. Thankfully there is a sequel, Hallowed, due for release in January 2012 so the wait is not too long. So whether or not angels are your cup of tea, Unearthly is still worth checking out.

Unearthly-Cynthia Hand

Published Jan 4, 2011 by Harper Collins

Paperback, 435 pages

ISBN: 9780730492818

Author info can be found here

Quillblade is the first book in the Voyages of the Flying Dragon saga, and it left us figuratively hanging from the edge of a cliff by a fingernail.  Beast Child picks up where it left off, but rather than settling into a comfortable pattern of asking questions and answering them; once more Ben has us holding our breath, being blinded by red herrings and itching for answers.

There is no cream for the itch however; the only way you’ll find out what happens next is to get your hands on a copy and consume it, page by well-crafted page.

The Hiryu has been given an engine upgrade by Lenis, allowing for a quick getaway when it’s needed, however as Lenis is the only one who knows how to run the engine without blowing the whole Hiryu to kingdom come, it becomes necessary to get him back, when a plan to retrieve the stones of Ebb and Flow from Karasu backfires and he is stranded on the mercenary’s air ship.

Missy is forced to question her own moral values to get her brother back and to continue the search for the stones that will help Suiteki’s powers come into their own.

We are introduced to at least 3 new characters, and their roles will only become more apparent in book 3. You’ll have to decide for yourself if they should be trusted.

The character evolution is on an extreme skyward arc, I felt that the one character I wanted to hear more from was the Dragon Suiteki but she took a back seat. I have hope she will come to the forefront in the next installment, Ebb and Flow

I cannot wait!

http://www.benchandler.com.au

ISBN: 9781864719796

Format: Paperback

Imprint: Random House Australia

Published: 01/09/11

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJ_1U1x1QQ&feature=channel_video_title

Yara and her friend Cherie are transferring to Pendrell school. It so happens that Yara comes from a Waker family. Her family for generations have been able to see ghosts and help them cross over. Yara is still unwilling to accept her gifts and the responsibilities that come along with it, but her friend Cherie would do anything to have Yara’s gift, and Cherie has trained with Yara’s grandmother (Vovo) for years.

Cherie has been able to talk Yara into going to Pendrell with her, both knowing very well that the school is known to be haunted. Soon Yara finds out that Cherie has managed to also score them the dorm room, known to have the most ghostly activity throughout the school’s history.

What I appreciated the most about this book is the friendships that the characters have with each other. You can tell Cherie and Yara have been friends for a long time, they know each other’s quirks and care for each other deeply. As the girls start to date, the love interests also hold more than just a physical attraction, but friendship and trust. The dialogue and banter throughout the book is light-hearted and funny. Yara is one to wear her heart on her sleeve and you never have to guess what she’s thinking. One of my favorite parts is when she hurls her chemistry book at Brent’s head for mouthing back to her and pissing her off.

After settling into school Yara soon finds out that she has the ability to spiritually leave her body and wander around the campus. She also finds out that she is not the only person who can do so, and her new abilities draw danger closer. There is something weird going on behind the walls of Pendrell and Yara may be the only person who can rescue the school from the evil spirits…if she survives.

Intrinsical is one of those books that I have been recommending to my friends. I was so impressed with this story that I fan-girled the author over Twitter and never miss one of her stops into my town. It had all of those elements in it that make a great young adult novel. There is the boarding school setting, the BFF and the cute boy crush. With Intrinsical you get the added elements of ghosts and magic. A highly enjoyable read for me and have purchased more than one copy of it myself.

Hardcover, 304 pages
Published August 20th 2010 by Pendrell Publishing (first published August 17th 2010)
ISBN 0982729707 (ISBN13: 9780982729700)
More info here.

Series The Yara Silva Trilogy #1

I’m one of those people that likes something left for me to discover about a book after reading the review. I read the first book of this series last year, and though the book is well thought out and evenly paced, I found it difficult to write a review without giving the away whole plot.

The deep and intricate way the stories are woven together really has everything connected in such a way that to tell one story, is to involve them all. So upon completing the second book this week, I think I can now natter out a skeletal enough review without totally ruining all the surprises that will await you, should you decide to pick the series up and give it a go.

Our key characters are British teenage boys, Fin, Christopher, and Joe. They know each other from the schools that Fin attends in an alternating order. The journey through book 1 Double Edged Sword introduces Fin and his friends to the alternate reality London called Nowhere, and the secret society of knights that keep the Somewhere (the London reality that Fin and his friends grew up in) very much separate from the Nowhere. Confused yet? Fin’s main storyline is that he just wants to find out who his parents are.

In book 2, Traitor’s Gate, Fin’s main storyline from book one isn’t as prominent, while the struggles of Christopher and Joe share equal page space. There is an evil forcing the Somewhere and the Nowhere to align, sending both realities into utter chaos. The boys are struggling to find out who’s responsible and how to fix the rift.

As I said before, the books are evenly paced, though that pace is very slow. I think this series would be a little more consumable if it were in audio format, or if you’re a teen that still enjoys being read to, this would make a brilliant read aloud series.

There is political intrigue, gypsies, thieves and damsels in distress everywhere.  There are twists in the least likely places and stick with it until the end of Traitors Gate to have your mind blown away and to have you really wishing book three, The London Stone, was close at hand.  But you’ll have to wait until March 2012 for that third installment.