The winner is …

Booketta

Congratulations! I have sent you an email. A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who entered. Look out for more giveaways coming soon.

Merry meet, fledgling.  I trust this guide will serve you well…

Every vampyre fledgling who arrives at the House of Night receives a copy of The Fledgling Handbook 101, and now, fans can have one, too.

Inside you’ll find original stories, the complete vampyre history, inside info into rituals, vamp biology, and the Change, and much more.

As somone who is new to the House of Night series, I really enjoyed this book. So far,  I’ve read the first two books in the series and The Fledgling Handbook provides a deeper insight into the mythology and history of the House of Night and its vampyre occupants.

Beautifully illustrated, The Fledgling Handbook includes sections covering the class emblems worn by House of Night pupils and their history; Vampyre biology covering the process of being marked and becoming a vampyre; rituals, elementology and Vampyre history. The Fledgling Handbook is given to all new entrants to the House of Night and there are sections to make your own notes and for the reader to fill in – great fun!

I think this is a book that will appeal to readers at any stage of the series and is a beautiful acompanyment to the novels. It is quite short at only 157 pages and I wonder if those who have read all of the books released so far (eight in total to date) may find that it doesn’t add much detail to the plot but I’d say it is a must read for fans and readers like me who are just discovering the series.

4/5

You can find out more about the House of Night at: http://www.houseofnightseries.co.uk/

Giveaway!

I have a shiny new copy of the first book in the House of Night series, Marked to give away to one lucky reader. To enter, just leave a comment in the box below and I’ll draw a name using random.org after the closing date. This giveaway is UK only and will close at midnight on Sunday 3rd April. Good luck!

When sixteen-year-old Zoey gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny – with a little help from her new vampire friends.

I only have two books on my December wishlist but I have a whole heap that I want to preview for January so I’ve decided to do December and the first week of January in this post and do a wishlist post for the rest of January next month.

December

The Hating Game (ebook) by Talli Roland
Released 1st December
Published by Prospera Publishing
Website: http://talliroland.blogspot.com/p/hating-game.html

The ebook version of The Hating Game is out on the 1st December (paperback to follow in 2011). I’ve been lucky enough to receive an ARC of this already so look out for a review soon!

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?

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Released 28th December
Published by Atom
Website: http://www.andreacremer.com/index.html

I love the cover for this one and although I won an ARC recently, I’ll definitely be buying the final version for my collection.

She can control her pack, but not her heart …’I wanted him to kiss me?wished he could smell the desire that I knew was pouring off me. You can’t, Calla. This boy isn’t the one for you.’ Calla Tor has always known her destiny: graduation, marriage and then a life leading her pack. But when she defies her masters’ laws to save a human boy, she must choose. Is one boy worth losing everything?

January

Awakened (Book 8 in the House of Night Series) by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Released 4th January 2011
Published by Atom
Website: http://www.houseofnightseries.co.uk/

Zoey and the gang are back fighting evil (well, duh, that’s what being a High Priestess is all about) but with a variety of romantic intrigues to distract them it’s a wonder they can get anything done! Zoey’s got some serious work to do at the House of Night if only she could concentrate …

The Spellmans Strike Again (Spellman Mysteries book 4) by Lisa Lutz
Released 6th January 2011
Published by Simon and Schuster
Website: http://lisalutz.com/

I love this series and can’t wait for the next installment!

At the ripe old age of thirty-two, former wild child Isabel “Izzy” Spellman has finally agreed to take over the family detective business. The transition won’t be smooth. First among her priorities as head of Spellman Investigations is to dig up some dirt on the competition, slippery ex-cop Rick Harkey. Next, faced with a puzzling missing-person’s case she recruits an actor friend, Len, to infiltrate the home of an ageing millionaire as an undercover butler. Meanwhile, Izzy is being blackmailed by her mother to commit to regular blind dates with promising professionals – an arrangement that doesn’t thrill Connor, Izzy’s soon to become Ex-boyfriend No. 12. At Spellman headquarters, it’s business as unusual. Doorknobs and light fixtures are disappearing every day, Mom’s been spotted crying in the pantry and just when it looks like things can’t go more haywire, little sister Rae’s internship researching pro bono legal cases leads the youngest Spellman to launch a campaign that could spring an innocent man from jail – or land Rae in it. It just goes to show, however many Spellman Family Rules are put in place in an attempt to hold the family together, Izzy will never be able to follow Rule No. 1: Act Normal.

Entangled by Cat Clarke
Released 6th January 2011
Published by Quercus
Website: http://www.catclarke.com/

I’ve been hearing lots of good things about this on Twitter. It has a really intriguing plot and a great cover too.

‘The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?’

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper – and no clue how she got there.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she’s tried to forget. There’s falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there’s something missing. As hard as she’s trying to remember, is there something she just can’t see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?
A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction.

The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean
Released 6th January 2011
Published by Hodder
Website:http://www.dressaday.com/

I love fashion history and this sounds like such a lovely book. I can’t wait to read it!

‘Every dress has a story.
Let me tell you mine…’

Dora is in love with a man who barely notices her, has a job she doesn’t care about, and dresses entirely for comfort, not style. All a far cry from her vivid, eccentric childhood, growing up with her beloved grandmother Mimi.

However, when disaster strikes, Dora knows she has no choice but to return to her childhood home and take over running Mimi’s vintage clothing shop. And there she makes a surprising discovery – Mimi’s been writing stories to accompany every dress she sells. Romantic, heartbreaking tales about each one’s secret life before it got to her shop…

Dora starts to matchmake these lonely frocks with new owners, but will the stories help her as well? Trading her boring high street clothes for vintage glamour is one thing. What she needs to know is whether she can trade her safe old life – and love – for something better too?

That’s my wishlist – let me know what’s on yours. I’m always looking for recommendations!

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.

Two for me this week  – I’m working hard at keeping the ‘to read’ pile down

For Review

Dream Machine by Will Davis

This one was sent to me by Bloomsbury and sounds just the thing for fans of the X Factor!

Thousands of wannabes are auditioning to be part of mega-girlband Purrfect in a new reality TV series. Among them are ice-queen Louise, who thinks she’s got god on her side, foulmouthed Joni, desperate to hide the fact that she’s got a baby, mousy teen Ella, obsessed with her stepmother’s boyfriend, and cocky Riana, a stripper with a naughty penchant for coke. Each one is determined to be the new Purrfect girl. But as the show progresses it seems someone has a very different sort of agenda in mind – someone who’s not afraid for things to get deadly.

Bought

The Fledgling Handbook by P.C. Cast with Kim Doner

I’ve been looking forward to this being released and was very excited when Amazon emailed to say it would be dispatching early. I’ve already had a quick look through it and it’s a gorgeous book!

Merry meet, fledgling. I trust this guide will serve you well…

Every vampyre fledgling who arrives at the House of Night receives a copy of The Fledgling Handbook 101, and now, fans can have one, too, with this gorgeous must-have edition. Inside you’ll find original stories, the complete vampyre history, inside info into rituals, vamp biology, and the Change, and much more.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else got.

(From the UK House of Night website) It seems that (un)life is going pretty well for Zoey Redbird. She’s settled in at the House of Night finishing school and is coming to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her. She even has a boyfriend … or two. Best of all, Zoey finally feels she has found somewhere she belongs. Then the unthinkable happens.

Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the vampyres at Zoey’s school. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s past life, she begins to realise that the very powers that made her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night. Zoey finds herself facing a betrayal that could break her heart and jeopardise the very fabric of her world.

Spoiler alert! I try to keep spoilers to a minimum in my reviews but as this is the second book in the series, you might not want to read on if you haven’t read the first.

Betrayed picks up just after the end of  Marked with Zoey Redbird still in her first month as a pupil at the House of Night.  All is going well with Zoey getting to grips with life as a fledgling vampyre and her new powers and responsibilities until a human teenager (a footballer from Zoey’s old high school) goes missing and is later found dead very near to the House of Night. As a second teenager goes missing, Zoey’s intuition, coupled with some very strange and ghostly encounters tells her that there is more to this than a drunk teenager wandering off and being attacked by animals. She just has to work out what!

I was pleased that this book carried the story straight on from Marked and as I was reading them one after the other, they really flowed into each other. There were a number of ‘mysteries’ left at the end of Marked and in Betrayed, these are developed in more depth although we still don’t have the full answers at the end of the book – a very clever ploy by the authors as it definitely made me want to keep reading the series!

As you would expect, Zoey’s new friends are all back for Betrayed and we get to learn a bit more about the main supporting characters; Stevie-Rae, Damien and The Twins. There are also a couple of excellent new characters and Zoey’s love life is almost as much a focus of the book as her attempts to work out what is happening to the missing teenagers with three (yes three) guys vying for her attention!

As I’ve said previously, I really like the way that the story combines elements of the everyday and magical and mythical. I also like the way that these books address real issues like falling out with family members, love and relationships and dealing with loss and grief. Although the first book touched on the topic of loss and death, this book goes into more depth and I thought the topic was treated very sensitively.

The pace of the book was just as gripping as the first in the series and I’m looking forward to reading the third, Chosen, soon.

5/5

You can find out more about the House of Night series at: http://www.houseofnightseries.co.uk/

As regular readers will know, I imposed a book buying ban on myself for most of September and I have been very good but the result has been a very full wishlist for October.

I’ve whittled it down to six books that I really, really want that are released next month and here they are:

Angel by L.A. Weatherly
Released 1st October
Published by Usborne
Website: http://www.usborne.com/angel/

I’ve been hearing so many good things about this book that I’m now dying to read it!

Willow knows she’s different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people’s futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where she gets this power from…

But Alex does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows Willow’s secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Released 4th October
Published by Bloomsbury
Website: http://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/

I thought ‘A Gathering Light’ by Jennifer was brilliant and her new book sounds just as good.

Andi lives in New York and is dealing with the emotional turmoil of her younger brother’s accidental death. Alex lives in Paris and is a maid to the royal family as the French Revolution rages. They’re both struggling with their responsibilities and their places in the world. When Andi is sent to Paris to get her out of the trouble she’s so easily enveloped by in New York, their two stories collide, and Andi finds a way to reconcile herself not only to her past but also to her future. This is a wonderful and evocative portrait of lives torn apart by grief and mended by love.

The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
Released 14th October
Published by Simon and Schuster (Pocket Books)
Website: http://www.christmascookieclub.com/thenovel.html

I absolutely love Christmas and each year I like to have a collection of Christmassy reads to take me through December and this book sounds like it will do the trick!

What would we do without one another? It was a statement, not a question. Each of us knew the answer for herself. Every year on the first Monday of December, Marnie and her twelve closest girlfriends gather with batches of beautifully wrapped homemade cookies. Everyone has to bring a dish and a bottle of wine and, as they eat, they take turns telling the story of the cookies they have baked. Stories that, somehow, are always emblematic of the year that has just passed. This year, the stories are especially important. Marnie’s oldest daughter has a risky pregnancy. Will she find out tonight how that story will end? Jeannie’s father is having an affair with her best friend. Who else knew about the betrayal? Rosie’s husband doesn’t want children, but can she live with his decision? Each woman, each friend has a story to tell. The Cookie Club is about the passion and hopefulness of a new romance, the betrayal and disillusionment some relationships bring, the joys and fears of motherhood, and above all, it’s a celebration of the friendships between women.

The Birthday Party by Veronica Henry
Released 21st October
Published by Orion
Website: http://www.veronicahenry.co.uk/

Veronica Henry’s last book, The Beach Hut was one of my favourite books of the summer so I’m really looking forward to reading her new one.

Delilah Rafferty has lived out her tempestuous marriage to hell-raiser Raf in the full glare of the media spotlight. Now, from the luxurious comfort of her beautiful kitchen, Delilah is planning her birthday party, a night that will see a star-studded gathering of friends and family celebrate in traditional Rafferty style. But she has more on her mind than just invitations… Raf has been offered a part in a movie he can’t refuse. But will that mean he’ll succumb to the temptations he’s struggled so hard to resist for the last ten years – beautiful women and too much wine? And Delilah’s three daughters, Coco, Violet and Tyger, are building careers of their own, only too aware that the press are waiting for them to slip up. For although the Rafferty girls might look like angels, they are only human. As with all families, there are secrets and rivalries bubbling away, and on one gloriously starry night, it’s all going to come spilling out This is your invitation to a birthday party of the year…

Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz
Released 26th October
Published by Atom
Website: http://www.atombooks.net/

This is the fifth book in the Blue Bloods series and I’m seriously addicted to the adventures of Schuyler and the gang so 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.

The Fledgling Handbook (House of Night) by P.C. Cast and Kim Doner
Released 26th October
Published by Atom
Website: http://www.houseofnightseries.co.uk/

I’ve now read the first two books in the House of Night series and this sounds like the perfect accompaniment as the series progresses.

Merry meet, fledgling. I trust this guide will serve you well…Every vampyre fledgling who arrives at the House of Night receives a copy of The Fledgling Handbook 101, and now, fans can have one, too, with this gorgeous must-have edition. Inside you’ll find original stories, the complete vampyre history, inside info into rituals, vamp biology, and the Change, and much more.

So that’s my shortlist – what are you looking forward to reading in October?

When sixteen-year-old Zoey gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny – with a little help from her new vampire friends.

Marked is the first book in the House of Night series and it really took me by surprise. I’ve had six of the House of Night series sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of months now, having bought them in a BOGOF offer from Waterstones but I kept putting off reading them. Having read quite a lot of chick lit in the last month, I wanted something a bit darker so grabbed ‘Marked’ off the pile to take away with me last weekend. I settled down on the train and after only a couple of pages, I was hooked!

Marked tells the story of Zoey Redbird as she is ‘marked’ by a Tracker, meaning that she is a Fledgling vampyre and must join the House of Night – a boarding school where fledglings are trained to become adult vampyres.  The story starts straight into the action as Zoey is visited at her High School and marked by the Tracker and is very fast paced – I literally did not want to put it down! We learn that Vampires and Humans coexist in the modern world but that Vampires prefer the night as sunlight makes them uncomfortable (but not sparkly!).  Each vampyre gets a ‘Mark’ which denotes their status and as they progress towards adulthood, the marks become more filled in and they acquire other tattoo-like markings on their faces and bodies.

I love school based stories, so the book appealed to me on that level and I really enjoyed the mix of the normal (dorms, friendships, lessons such as drama and references to current TV shows) and the magical, mysterious and mythical at the House of Night.  I also loved that this book is all about strong women/girls – Vampires in the House of Night series worship the Goddess Nyx and although there are male characters, it is the females who tend to have the special powers or ‘afinities’ granted by the Goddess.

Marked only actually covers the first couple of weeks of Zoey’s experiences at the House of Night but I liked this as I felt that I really was there with Zoey as she discovered the House of Night and what it means to be a vampyre. The fact that not all fledglings make it to be adult vampires and that a fledgling can die at any time adds an interesting twist to the plot.

Zoey soon makes friends … and enemies. I thought the character mix was very good and Zoey’s new friends felt very realistic and varied – I love Zoey’s roommate Stevie Rae and the things she comes out with. It doesn’t take long for Zoey to realise that she is something a little bit different, even in the Vampyre world and for the drama to really get going. There are lots of smaller mysteries hinted at throughout the book and although the book  doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, I had enough questions to launch straight into book two.

I found this a hugely enjoyable read and am so pleased that I have the rest of the series so far waiting for me on the bookshelf. One note of caution, there is adult language and content in the book so it is not suitable for younger readers (my copy actually came with a warning sticker and it is printed on the back).

And finally, a little bit of praise for Atom (the UK publisher); I chose to buy the editions of these books with the with the coloured page edges and loved the fact that my book had bright pink page edges – a brilliant idea

5/5

You can find out more about the House of Night series at: http://www.houseofnightseries.co.uk/