Schuyler’s hunt for the Gates is becoming more intense as the vampire world is beginning to show cracks. The New York Coven’s ancient lore and the desires of young vampires keep coming into dangerous conflict that could have repercussions worldwide. The course of forbidden love never did run smooth…

I’ve had this book on my ‘to read’ pile for a little while so when the urge to read something ‘paranormal’ came on last week, I went straight to my favourite vampire series. This is the sixth novel in the Blue Bloods series and the penultimate; the final book The Gates of Paradise will be releasd in January next year. Although I love this series, I’m pleased it is coming to an end; I enjoyed Lost in Time but not as much as some of the earlier novels in the series and at times I felt like the plot and mysteries were just going round in circles with very little being reveled that moved the story on.

As I’ve said in previous reviews, it’s hard to comment in depth on a particular installment of the series without giving away spoilers to those who haven’t read the earlier books so I’ll keep my comments short and please don’t read on if you are planning to read the other books in the Blue Bloods saga first.

Lost in Time is actually three separate stories which interconnect but involve separate groupings of characters. The first story is that of Schuyler as she hunts for the Gate of Promise. This part of her quest takes her to Egypt and also tells the next part in the tale of Schuyler and Jack’s relationship. For me, this was the least gripping of the three plots in Lost in Time and at times I got quite confused as to who was who and what had happened before.

The second strand to the story is led by Mimi and Oliver. Regular readers will know that Oliver has always been one of my favourite characters in the Blue Bloods novels so I was really pleased to see that he had a significant presence in this book. I’m still hoping that Oliver will get a happy ending! Mimi’s character has undergone a dramatic change as the series has progressed and I think her true character really comes out as she descends into the depths of Hell in Lost in Time to search for Kingsley Martin. I’m always surprised by the amount of humour Mimi brings to the plot and this novel was no exception.

The final storyline was the one that had me most intrigued and gripped as I was reading, telling the story of Schuyler’s mother Allegra and her relationship with Schuyler’s father. The beginning of this story was told in the Bloody Valentine novella and I was so pleased to see that the full story has now been told – it filled in a lot of gaps for me and finally answered some of the questions I had!

As with all of the novels in this series, Lost in Time ends on a cliffhanger which left me wishing I had the seventh book to read right now. I’m already looking forward to reading the final installment and can’t wait to find out how the series ends. Lost in Time reminded me how much I enjoy Melissa de la Cruz’s books – I always read them quickly and I love the worlds she creates so I’ll be turing my attention to her new adult series The Witches of the East, which takes place in the same world as the Blue Bloods, while I wait.

4/5

You can find out more about Melissa de la Cruz and her novels at: http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/

September has to be the quickest month to pass of the year so far. It was all a bit of a blur of sleepless nights and nappy changes for me but I did find time to read six books and post the odd review I also took part in Talli Roland’s If I Could Be Anyone, I’d Be…’ online launch party! and ran three giveaways!

The books I read were:

Book of the Month September

Star Struck by Jane Lovering

Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes by Sue Watson

Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland

(Un)like A Virgin by Lucy-Anne Holmes

Persuade Me by Juliet Archer

Netherwood by Jane Sanderson

My book of the month for September is (Un)like a Virgin by Lucy-Anne Holmes because I absolutely loved lead character Gracie Flowers and her story left me with a big smile on my face!

The three most popular reviews in September were:

(Un)like A Virgin by Lucy-Anne Holmes, Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes by Sue Watson, Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland

Searches bringing most people to One More Page were for Bad Sisters by Rebecca Chance, From Notting Hill With Love …Actually by Ali McNamara and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness which came out in paperback this month.

October is already flying by and I have a brilliant pile of books lined up to be read and reviewed including the latest and penultimate installment in the Blue Bloods series, Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz; the highly anticipated new novel from Jeffrey Eugenides The Marriage Plot and two gorgeous Christmas stories; The Night Before Christmas by debut author Scarlett Bailey and Wrapped up in You by Carole Matthews. I’m really excited to be taking part in the blog tour for Wrapped Up In You at the end of the month so look out for that!

Though it’s only October, I’m also starting to plan posts for my Countdown to Christmas which is my book blogger version of an advent calendar with a Christmas-themed post every day from December 1st to 24th. I did the countdown last year and it was great fun but I’m hoping to make it bigger and better this year. As well as reviews of Christmassy books I’ll have book-inspired gift suggestions, Christmas-themed interviews, giveaways and guest posts. I’m looking for contributors so if you are an author, publisher or fellow blogger and you’d like to take part, drop me an email at: onemorepageamanda@gmail.com

Happy autumn reading!

This week’s book news has taken on a paranormal theme …

New covers from Meg Cabot

I’m a big fan of Meg Cabot and was very excited when she announced she was writing an adult paranormal series last year. Meg announced the new covers for the series on her blog recently and the title of the sequel to Insatiable! Overbite will be released in the US on 5th July. I’ve had Insatiable on my ‘to read’ pile since my birthday in January so I’d better get reading.

Blue Bloods news from Melissa de la Cruz

Atom has done it again with a fab cover for the UK release of Lost in Time, the sixth book in the Blue Bloods series which is released in October this year. This is my favourite vampire series and I’m equally excited about the adult spin off series Witches of the East released later this month. Melissa has also announced that book seven in the Blue Bloods series will be the last in the series. You can find out more about Melissa and her books at: http://melissa-delacruz.com/index.php/site/

New Series from Carol Goodman

I enjoyed Black Swan Rising By Carol Goodman and her husband Lee Slonimsk when it came out last year so I was excited to see a new series by Carol launching next month. Incubus is released on July 21st:

‘This is where all stories start, on the edge of a dark wood…’

Dr. Callie McFay’s travels to the small college town of Fairwick in New York State for a job interview. Despite it being her second choice she finds herself talked into accepting a job offer from the Folklore Department to teach a class on demons and vampires. She also finds herself drawn to an old house in the woods where Gothic novelist Dahlia LaMotte used to live and buys it on a whim, despite the seeming reluctance of the estate agent to sell it to her.

But on the night of her job interview, she had a very vivid erotic dream about a man made out of shadows and moonlight, and this dream becomes a regular occurrence when she moves into her new home. Callie starts to feel like a heroine in one of the gothic novels she teaches as slowly it dawns on her that things at the college – and in her home – are not what they seem. She learns that her house is supposed to be haunted by LaMotte’s former lover and her new – and rather strange – colleagues tell her an unfamiliar fairy tale about an incubus-demon with a human past who was enchanted by a fairy queen…

Cover crush part one …

Victoria Connelly announced the release of the cover for her next book, The Perfect Hero this morning and what a lovely cover it is. I love the seaside theme with the pretty beach huts and I’m really looking forward to reading it.

The circus has come to town…

Die-hard romantic, Kay Ashton, uses her inheritance to open a B&B in the seaside town of Lyme Regis and is dumbstruck when the cast and crew of a new production of Persuasion descend, needing a place to stay. Kay can’t believe her luck – especially when she realises that heart throb actor Oli Wade Owen will be sleeping under her very own roof!

Meanwhile, co-star Gemma Reilly is worried that her acting isn’t up to scratch, despite landing a plum role. She finds a sympathetic ear in shy producer, Adam Craig, who is as baffled by the film world as she is. Kay thinks the two are meant for each other and can’t resist a spot of matchmaking.

Then, when Oli turns his trademark charm on Kay, it seems that she has found her real-life hero. But do heroes really exist?

What’s in a name?

As I was browsing Amazon today, I noticed that a couple of my wishlist books had undergone subtle name changes. Paige Toon’s follow up to Johnny Be Good which is one of my top five most anticipated chick lit books of 2011 has changed from Baby Be Mine to Be My Baby.

Melissa de la Cruz’s new adult series set in the same world as the brilliant Blue Bloods has a new UK title Witches of the East. It will still be published under the original title Witches of East End in the US.

Cover crush part two …

Lisa Jewell revealed the cover for her next book on her Facebook page this week and she is releasing extracts from the book over there too I love the cover – especially the colours and cannot wait to get my hands on this book!

They’re Young, Fabulous and Fanged…

Vampires have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shapeshift and more. But all too often the only thing that eludes their grasp is love.

So when two young lovers are kept a part by a centuries old decree, they’ll be forced to learn that, in matters of the heart, not even immortals have total control. . . or do they?

Bloody Valentine is a Blue Bloods novella; it supports the main Blue Bloods series and fills in some of the blanks but isn’t directly part of it and doesn’t really move the plot forward from that of the main novels. As a novella, Bloody Valentine is short – only 147 pages in total but as with the rest of this series, Melissa de la Cruz manages to fit a huge amount of story, intrigue and action into those pages. 

Released at the end of January, just in time for Valentines day, Bloody Valentine consists of three short love stories. The first and third stories are set in the present and provide updates on some of the series regulars. I don’t want to give too much away but I will say that I am so glad to see Oliver back in one of the stories!

The second story, and my personal favourite, takes us back to 1985 and focuses on Schuyler’s mother, Allegra Van Alen. I really enjoyed finding out a bit more of the back story surrounding the mysterious Allegra and I love the depth Melissa has given her plot and characters in this series.  My only frustration is that I now have a million more questions that need to be answered and the next book isn’t out until October

Melissa also gives a tantalising glance in one of the stories at a character from her new adult series The Witches of East End, which will be out in June.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for fans of the series.

5/5

You can find out more about Melissa and her books at: http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/ and at http://www.atombooks.net/

Misguided Angel Giveaway!

I have a brand new copy of the latest Blue Bloods novel (book five in the series), Misguided Angel to give away. You can read my review of the book here. To win just leave a comment below and I’ll pick a name at random after the closing date. This giveaway is UK only and will close at midnight on Monday 14th February.

Good luck!

This is a new feature for me. I haven’t done a monthly round up before but I thought I’d start for 2011. January was a bit of a busy month for me and for various reasons I didn’t get as much blogging done as I would have liked. My aim is to get back to posting at least every other day so we’ll see how that goes for February!

I didn’t get as much reading done as I’d have liked either but I managed to read six books. My book of the month for January is Beautiful Creatures which was something a little bit different for me and pure escapism. It had me gripped for all of its 600 plus pages!

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

A Girl Like You by Gemma Burgess

Beautiful Creatures by Lulu Taylor

Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Three of these were new releases for January, two were new purchases and one was from the TBR pile and had been there since August last year! I read two on my Kindle and the rest in hard copy and two of my choices counted towards the British Books Challenge that The Bookette is running.

Looking at my stats for January, the most popular review on the site was for Ali McNamara’s From Notting Hill with Love Actually. FNHWLA and variations of it was also the most popular search term! Although I only posted it last week, my ‘Top 5 most anticipated chick lit books of 2011‘ was the next most popular post which has inspired me to think of a few more top 5′s that I might post in February.

So, that was my first month of blogging in 2011. In February, I’ll be reviewing fab new release A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness,  Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz and Costa winner The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell plus lots more! And look out for a great giveaway next week where you could win a copy of Marrying Out of Money by Nicky Schmidt.

What are you looking forward to reading in February?

In My Mailbox is hosted by the Story Siren to highlight books bought, borrowed or received each week and is a great way to find lots of new ideas for books to read.

Just two for me this week – one for review and one that I just had to buy!

For Review

Marrying Out of Money by Nicky Schmidt
Kindle Edition out now; Paperback release 30th March 2011
Publisher: Prospera

‘Marrying out of Money’ is the story of Lou Hubbard, modern-day heiress to a billion pound fortune, who is determined not to marry aristocratic playboy Harry Stomeworth in an arranged marriage. In order to extricate herself, she decides to become as undesirable as possible, but things go awry when she finds herself falling for a man who repulses her.

Bought

Bloody Valentine (A Blue Bloods Novella) by Melissa de la Cruz

I love this series so couldn’t wait to add this one to my collection and I’ve just started reading it.

They’re Young, Fabulous and Fanged…Vampires have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shapeshift and more. But all too often the only thing that eludes their grasp is love. So when two young lovers are kept a part by a centuries old decree, they’ll be forced to learn that, in matters of the heart, not even immortals have total control…or do they?

So that was my mailbox this week. Happy reading everyone!

I read 74 books this year but as I didn’t start this blog until June, I only reviewed 45 of them on here. I’ve decided to pick my favourites from books released this year and have linked reviews where I posted them. I couldn’t pick an absolute favourite as I loved all of these books for different reasons so, in release date order, my books of the year are:

The Blue Bloods Series (published throughout 2010 by Atom)

Actually a bit of a cheat as I read all five of the books in the series when they were released this year plus the companion book Keys to the Repository. This is my absolute favourite vampire series at the moment and I can’t wait for the next installment Bloody Valentine: A Blue Bloods Novella which is released in January 2011.

The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne (published in May 2010 by Hodder)

 I loved this story of a very modern finishing school. Hester Browne was a new author for me this year and I’m hoping to read her previous novels in 2011 and am already looking forward to her new book Swept off her Feet which is released in March 2011.

Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon (published in July 2010 by Simon and Schuster)

I’m a huge fan of Paige Toon’s books and have read them all. Pictures of Lily was the perfect summer love story and I’m already counting the days to the release of her next book Baby be Mine a much awaited sequel to Johnny be Good.

I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk (published by Harper in July 2010)

Angela’s adventures in the ‘I Heart…’ series never fail to make me smile and her jaunt through Paris was another brilliant summer read.  I Heart Paris is also on the Romantic Novelists’ Association longlist for the Pure Passion Romantic Novel of the Year Award so good luck Lindsey when the shortlist is announced in February!

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur (published by Greenwillow books in August 2010)

A brilliant debut and start to a new college based series following Callie Andrews as she starts her first year at Harvard University. The next book in the series, Secrets is out in May 2011.

Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (published by Transworld in September 2010)
In July I set myself a Shopaholic Challenge after confessing that I hadn’t read any of Sophie Kinsella’s books. The challenge was to read and review all of the Shopaholic series before the publication of Mini Shopaholic in September. I had an amazing response to the challenge and really enjoyed it. Mini Shopaholic is a fab addition to the series and I hope we see more of Becky and the gang soon.

 Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (published by Bloomsbury in October 2010)

The sories of Andi (modern day New Yorker) and Alex (occupant of Paris during the French Revolution)  collide in this brilliant historical fiction novel. It’s an absolutely gripping read.

Welcome to my World by Miranda Dickinson (published by Avon in November 2010)

One of my favourite reads this winter, Miranda Dickinson’s second novel sees protagonist Harri locked in the loo for the majority of the book as she ponders the events that have brought her to her hiding place. A lovely warm, romantic winter read.

From Notting Hill with Love … Actually by Ali McNamara (published by Sphere in November 2010) 

My favourite ending in a book this year, this book tells the story of film obsessed Scarlett as she tries to live her life like the movies whilst house sitting in Notting Hill.  A wonderful debut from Ali McNamara and I’m looking forward to reading more from her in 2011.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (published by Atom in December 2010)

A late addition to my favourite books of the year, Nightshade was released earlier this week and is set to be a huge hit in 2011. Also my favourite cover of the year and I can’t wait for the next book in the series, Wolfsbane.

So, that’s my list of favourite reads this year. What do you think? What was your favourite book of 2010?

After inheriting the complicated Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence with Jack, risking both of their lives for love. The two of them embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the remaining five gates that guard Earth from Lucifer, Prince of Hell and lord of the Silver Bloods. As the Blue Blood coven weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler closer to a terrifying crossroads and a choice that will determine the destiny of all vampires.

I think all of the UK covers for the Blue Bloods series are fab but this one is my favourite so far. I love the different coloured spines too – they look so good lined up on my bookshelf! Misguided Angel is the fifth book in the Blue Bloods series. A companion book; Keys to the Repository was released in the summer but it’s not essential to have read that before you read this one. I do think you need to read the main series in order though to have any chance of understanding the complex story and mythology. So if you haven’t read the others, you might not want to read on. I try to keep spoilers to a minimum in all of my reviews but with a series like this it’s difficult!

Misguided Angel is quite a short book – only 265 pages, but Melissa de la Cruz manages to pack an amazing amount of action and plot in there! The book is divided into four parts, told from three character perspectives, although narrated in the third person. Each part is set in ‘the present’. The parts are interspersed with short entries dated Florence 1452 which tell a parallel story to the one happening to the Blue Bloods and their friends in the present. As with the majority of the Blue Bloods plot lines, past and present are inextricably linked and I was gripped trying to work out how the two stories would come together.

Part one is told from Schuyler’s perspective and follows on directly from the end of The Van Alen Legacy with Schuyler and Jack together in the Mediterranean under the protection (which is actually more like imprisonment) of Isabelle of Orleans. The action starts immediately as they make a break for freedom from their captors and head off in search of the next gate. As they escape they are drawn into a mystery surrounding the Petruvian Order of priests and a series of kidnappings of young women.

In the meantime part two of the book follows Mimi, who is now acting Regent of the coven, as she attempts to deal with a serious threat to the the New York coven. Part three of the book introduces a new character, Deming Chan to the series as a seventeen year old venator enlisted by Mimi to help her get to the bottom of the disappearance of two young Blue Bloods. The stories of Schuyler, Mimi and Deming are linked by the appearance of ancient marks and symbols upon their victims but it is not until the very end of the book that the strands meet with the historical narrative to reveal a frightening secret threat to the Blue Bloods, with the final part setting the scene for the next book in the series.

Misguided Angel is fast paced and action packed. There is less emphasis on relationships in this book, although Jack, Schuyler and Mimi’s relationships do feature. Oliver has a much smaller, but not insignificant, role in this novel and I liked new character Deming very much. There is no sign of the series becoming tired after five books – in fact it just gets better and better!

I can’t wait for the next book in the series but until then I’ll be looking forward to Bloody Valentine which is a Blue Bloods novella and will be out at the end of January.

5/5

You can find out more about Melissa de la Cruz and her books at: http://melissa-delacruz.com

In My Mailbox is hosted by the Story Siren to highlight books bought, borrowed or received each week and is a great way to find lots of new ideas for books to read.

Spookily, my Halloween IMM is number 13…

It’s been a fab book week here at One More Page and I’m so pleased I have the next week off work so I can read my new books

For Review

The Hating Game by Talli Roland

This is Talli’s debut novel and will be released worldwide on 1st December as an e book and in paperback in early 2011. I posted about Talli’s blog splash a little while ago and if you’d like to join in on 1st December or find out more you can find the details on Talli’s blog. I’m really looking forward to reading this one and would like to thank Talli for sending me a copy for review.

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she’s confident she’ll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she’s perfected from years of her love ‘em and leave ‘em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £200,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it’s revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

Won

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I won a signed copy of this one in a competition over at Jess Hearts Books

Pack life is about order, but Bryn is about to push all the limits, with hair-raising results. At the age of four, Bryn watched a rabid werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by Callum, the alpha of his pack. Now fifteen, Bryn’s been as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule. Little fazes her. But the pack’s been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum’s orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her parents come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter. It’s Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.

Bought

Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz

The Blue Bloods series is my favourite vampire series so I’m very excited about this one.

After inheriting the complicated Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence with Jack, risking both of their lives for love. The two of them embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the remaining five gates that guard Earth from Lucifer, Prince of Hell and lord of the Silver Bloods. As the Blue Blood coven weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler closer to a terrifying crossroads and a choice that will determine the destiny of all vampires.

No and Me by Delphine de Vigan

I’ve had my eye on this for a while and saw it in an offer in the book shop yesterday so finally decided to buy it.

Lou Bertignac has an IQ of 160 and a good friend in class rebel Lucas. At home her father puts a brave face on things but cries in secret in the bathroom, while her mother rarely speaks and hardly ever leaves the house. To escape this desolate world, Lou goes often to Gare d’Austerlitz to see the big emotions in the smiles and tears of arrival and departure. But there she also sees the homeless, meets a girl called No, only a few years older than herself, and decides to make homelessness the topic of her class presentation. Bit by bit, Lou and No become friends until, the project over, No disappears. Heartbroken, Lou asks her parents the unaskable question and her parents say: Yes, No can come to live with them. So Lou goes down into the underworld of Paris’ street people to bring her friend up to the light of a home and family life, she thinks.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Halloween!