I heard about The Circle for the first time last week and it went straight on to my wish list. A Swedish bestseller, this is the first book in a new paranormal trilogy where seven teenage witches are hunted by an ancient evil. The Circle will be released on 7th June and I can’t wait!

One night, when a strange red moon fills the sky, six school girls find themselves in an abandoned theme park, drawn there by a mysterious force. A student has just been found dead. Everyone suspects suicide. Everyone – except them.

In that derelict fairground an ancient prophecy is revealed. They are The Chosen Ones, a group of witches, bound together by a power, one which could destroy them all. But they soon learn that despite their differences they need each other in order to master the forces that have been awakened within them.

High school is now a matter of life and death. Because the killing has only just begun.

666 Park Avenue featured in my ‘Six most anticipated paranormal romance books of 2012‘ and I’m eagerly awaiting its UK release so I was excited to see the new cover which is very different to the US cover (I’ve shown them both below – UK first then US – and I honesty can’t decide which I like best!). The book will be released by Canvas (Constable and Robinson) on 19th July.

I really enjoyed the first book in the Fairwick Chronicles series, Incubus, which was released last year and have been eagerly awaiting details of the sequel so I was excited to see that the cover for Water Witch has been released. It’s a great cover and I can’t wait to find out what happens next to Callie and the residents of Fairwick. Water Witch will be published on 13th September by Ebury Press.

In the town of Fairwick there is a dark wood, and in the wood there is a stream. And in that stream the Undine live…

Descended from a longline of ‘door-keepers’, Callie McFay has become the guardian of the last gateway between the world of Faerie and mankind.

But unbeknown to Callie there is another door in Fairwick to the world of the Fae – a watery portal that she must now open in order to allow the Undine – juvenile water nymphs – to return to their Faerie world.

If Callie fails in her task, the Undine will die. But they are not the only watery creatures looking for a way to cross the borderlands between the two worlds…

As you probably know by now, A Discovery of Witches was one of my favourite books of 2011 and along with many of you I’m eagerly anticipating the release of the sequel Shadow of the Night in July. I was very excited to see that the cover for Shadow of the Night has been revealed on the official Discovery of Witches website!

So what do you think? I’m loving the blue! There is also a tiny peek at what’s to come with an extract from the new book. Check it out at: http://www.adiscoveryofwitches.co.uk/news.html

Today I’m giving away a copy of possibly my favourite book of the year (I say possibly because there are still a few weeks of the year left and you never know!)  I read this book way back in January and loved it straight away. You can read my review here.

I’ve been lucky enough to end up with two copies of the book so I’m offering one lucky reader the chance to win a copy of the paperback edition which was released at the end of September. A Discovery of Witches was a Sunday Times bestseller and Warner Bros has acquired the film rights. The sequel Shadow of the Night will be out in July 2012 so enter now to find out what all the fuss is about!

It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches.

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it’s an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she’s kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana’s discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels…

To enter just leave a ‘pick me’ comment in the box below and I’ll draw a winner using random.org after the closing date.

UK entries only please. Entries will close at midnight on Monday 5th December. Good luck!

There are lots of fab summer books being released in June but I’ve narrowed it down to six of my favourites …

Love and Freedom by Sue Moorcroft
Released 1st June
Published by Choc Lit
Website: http://www.suemoorcroft.com/

I absolutely love the cover for this book and the story sounds great too!

New start, new love. That’s what Honor Sontag needs after her life falls apart, leaving her reputation in tatters and her head all over the place. So she flees her native America and heads for Brighton, England. Honor’s hoping for a much-deserved break and the chance to find the mother who abandoned her as a baby. What she gets is an entanglement with a mysterious male whose family seems to have a finger in every pot in town. Martyn Mayfair has sworn off women with strings attached, but is irresistibly drawn to Honor, the American who keeps popping up in his life. All he wants is an uncomplicated relationship built on honesty, but Honor’s past threatens to undermine everything. Then secrets about her mother start to spill out … Honor has to make an agonising choice. Will she live up to her dutiful name and please others? Or will she choose freedom?

The Beach Cafe by Lucy Diamond
Released 2nd June
Published by Pan
Website: http://www.lucydiamond.co.uk/

I’ve not read anything by Lucy Diamond before but I’ve heard lots of good things about her books and I love Cornwall so this sounds like a good summer read.

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

The Single Girl’s To-Do List
Released 9th June
Published by Harper
Website: http://www.lindseykelk.com/

The third book on my ‘Most Anticipated Chick Lit Books of 2011‘ list. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time – it sounds like a perfect summer read

Meet Rachel Summers: a twenty-something make-up artist whose life is very much going to plan. She has a job she loves, a lovely long-term boyfriend, a great flat in north London and some fabulous friends. The next phase in her masterplan is to buy a house, have a baby, move to a bigger house, have another baby, get a 4×4. Simple.

Well, not quite as Simon, Rachel’s boyfriend, suddenly decides that they should take a break. Rachel’s convinced it’s just a three-year itch but, four months later, they are still living under the same roof but sleeping in separate bedrooms.

It’s time for an intervention as Emilie and Matthew, Rachel’s best friends, can no longer bear to watch Rachel suffer anymore. As they try to convince her to move out and move on, they come up with the ultimate break-up cure – the single girl’s to-do list. A list of of all the things Rachel should see and do in her newly single life.

But nothing could have prepared them for the hilarious adventures that are about to unfold as the to-do list takes them around London and abroad, and proves to them all that love is out there if you’re willing to take a chance on it…

Witches of the East by Melissa de la Cruz
Released 21st June
Published by Sphere
Website: http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/

I’m a huge fan of Melissa’s Blue Bloods series so was very excited when she announced a spin off adult series about witches set in the same world.

It’s the beginning of summer in North Hampton, and beautiful Freya Beauchamp is celebrating her engagement to wealthy Bran Gardiner, the heir to Fair Haven and Gardiners Island. But Freya is drawn to Bran’s gorgeous but unreliable brother Killian, and sparks fly when the two decide to play a dangerous game, following an ancient story of love, betrayal and tragedy that harks back to the days of Valhalla.

Witches of East End follows the Beauchamp family—the formidable matriarch Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid. Freya, a sexy bartender, has a potion to cure every kind of heartache, while Ingrid, the local librarian, solves complicated domestic problems with her ability to tie magical knots. Joanna is the witch to see when modern medicine has no more answers; her powers can wake the dead. Everything seems to be going smoothly until a young girl, Molly Lancaster, goes missing after taking one of Freya’s irresistible cocktails. As more of the town’s residents begin disappearing, everyone seems to have the same suspects in mind: the Beauchamp women.

About Last Night by Adele Parks
Released 23rd June
Published by Headline
Website: http://www.adeleparks.com/

The plot for this book has me really intrigued – I can’t wait to read it!

For thirty years, best friends Stephanie and Philippa have been practically inseparable. There’s nothing they would not do for one another. Until a few simple words change everything. I need you to say that I was with you.’ Steph, eternally solid, considerate and dependable, is begging her best friend to lie to the police as she’s desperately trying to conceal two shocking secrets to protect her family. Pip, self-consigned to the role of scatty, frivolous hot-head is overwhelmed; she’s normally the one asking for help in a crisis although never anything as catastrophic as this. Both women have always believed that friendship is built on mutual selflessness, compromise and trust. Are those beliefs now to be tested beyond endurance?

Those are my hot picks for June – what are you looking forward to reading next month?

Where did February go?! It seems to have flown by and once again I didn’t manage to read half as much as I wanted to or blog as much as I’d have liked. But despite that, February was a really exiting month and I read some brilliant books.

One of the highlights of the month was interviewing Jill Mansell on Twitter (#Jillmeets) to celebrate the launch of her new book To the Moon and Back. It was the first time I’d done a ‘Twinterview’ and I was so nervous and all fingers and thumbs when I was typing my questions but Jill was a star and it was such a fun thing to do!

In total, I read five books last month, three of which were new releases for February. I read four paperbacks and one book on my Kindle. Three of these counted towards the British Books Challenge that The Bookette is running.

Book of the month February 2011

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell

Marrying Out of Money by Nicky Schmidt

The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell

Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

I’ve been deliberating over which one to pick for my ‘book of the month’ for the last few days. I have to say, it’s a really hard decision this month but I’ve finally decided on A Discovery of Witches which I loved for many reasons including the fact that part of it is set in Oxford and in particular in the library where I worked for a year as a trainee. And then there is Matthew Clairmont who seriously gives Edward Cullen some competition in my opinion!

A Discovery of Witches was also the most popular review on the site last month, closely followed by Ali McNamara’s From Notting Hill with Love Actually. Both books were the top searches that brought people to visit One More Page.

I’m determined to get back into the swing of things this month and as this is my third post in March I’m already doing better. This month I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing Rosebush by Michelle Jaffe, Summer of Love by Katie Fford and the third book in the Secret Shopper Series The Secret Shopper Affair by Kate Harrison.

I’m also currently running two giveaways so please check them out!

Happy reading everyone

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it’s an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she’s kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana’s discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels…

I was drawn to this book for a number of reasons: firstly, the early part of the book is set in Oxford and more specifically the Bodleian Library. The Bodleian holds a special place in my heart as I worked there for a year as a trainee librarian. Secondly, it’s a book about books, libraries and history which are three of my absolute favourite subjects and finally, it promised a combination of all of these elements with a good dose of paranormal romance involving vampires, witches and daemons so I was itching to get my hands on a copy and start reading!

A Discovery of Witches is a tome in itself at almost six hundred pages long and I’ll admit it has taken me longer than I expected to read it. This isn’t for any negative reason but purely because once I started reading I wanted to take my time over it and enjoy every word. With rich descriptions, both modern and historical, an intricate layered plot and characters that are not only strong and intelligent, but have truly well thought out back stories, this is a book to take your time over and enjoy as events unfold.

The story starts as Diana Bishop discovers a bewitched manuscript, Ashmole 782, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; a manuscript that has been ‘lost’ for centuries and soon has a whole host of witches, daemons and vampires trying to get their hands on it. I love that the story of Ashmole 782 has a footprint in fact – the book is actually missing from the Bodleian library and this just adds to the feeling of authenticity that the book gives. The descriptions of the library itself, the books and manuscripts held within it and the mechanisms of historical research are spot on and the attention to detail shows that Harkness is both author and scholar.

We learn that Diana is a witch with a rich lineage but has firmly put the magical elements of her life to the side – or so she thinks. As she draws the attention of mysterious and reclusive scientist and vampire, Matthew Clairmont and witches and daemons begin to congregate in Oxford to try to discover how she was able to access Ashmole 782, she finds that she can no longer ignore her heritage or the magical world she was born into.

Throughout the book, Diana is narrated in the first person which lets the reader get to know her fears, desires and abilities very well. As Diana is forced to come to terms with the power she has, I really enjoyed watching her develop and change.  Her character is incredibly brave and strong willed. She has no hesitation in standing up to Matthew and a number of other powerful creatures that cross her path or in fighting for those she loves.

Diana’ s attraction to Matthew is instant but being a witch and warned from a young age that vampires are dangerous creatures not to be trusted, she initially fights against the feelings she has. Matthew is as complex a character as Diana, perhaps more so because of the numerous ‘lives’ he has lived. His experiences are recounted throughout the book and as his detailed history is revealed so are his true feelings for Diana. The love story between Diana and Matthew will  appeal strongly to those looking for a grown up dose of paranormal romance and the ‘forbidden’ element to their relationship will have readers gripped as the couple are forced to flee a series of safe havens to protect themselves.

As you would expect with a book of this scale, there is an impressive supporting cast of characters to both aid and thwart Matthew and Diana. I was impressed with the depth of back story that Harkness has given each of her charaters. Amongst my favourites were housekeeper and singer of bawdy songs, Marthe; Diana’s aunt Sarah and the Bishop family house which is a fantastic and surprising character in its own right!

Further mysteries are revealed as the story progresses and I thoroughly enjoyed the way events slowly unraveled and layer upon layer of plot built up as elements are intricately linked together so that seemingly insignificant or straightforward details suddenly become a key clue as a new light is shed on them.

As I reached the end of the book I was relieved to see the foundations laid for the next part of the story and I’m so pleased this is only the first in a trilogy. Highly recommended!

A Discovery of Witches was released today and I’d like to thank Caitlin at Headline for sending me a copy to review.

5/5

You can find out more about Deborah Harkness and A Discovery of Witches at: http://www.adiscoveryofwitches.co.uk/ and http://deborahharkness.com/

In the wake of a love spell gone horribly wrong, Sophie Mercer, a sixteen-year-old witch, is shipped off to Hecate Hall, a boarding school for witches, shapeshifters and faeries. The traumas of mortal high school are nothing compared to the goings on at “Freak High”. It’s bad enough that she has to deal with a trio of mean girls led by the glamorous Elodie, but it’s even worse when she begins to fall for Elodie’s gorgeous boyfriend, Archer Cross, and frankly terrifying that the trio are an extremely powerful coven of dark witches. But when Sophie begins to learn the disturbing truth about her father, she is forced to face demons both metaphorical and real, and come to terms with her own growing power as a witch.

I’ve been wanting to read Hex Hall for a while now so I took the opportunity to download it for my new Kindle and read it as my first book of the New Year. Hex Hall is the short name for Hecate Hall; an ‘out of the way’ specialist boarding school aimed at protecting and reforming wayward witches, shapeshifters, fairies – collectively known as Prodigium.

Main character Sophie Mercer is shipped off to Hex Hall after her attempts to use her magic to help a girl at her high school, go drastically (and quite amusingly) wrong. The opening of the book where Sophie tries to cast a love spell to help a classmate who doesn’t have a date for the prom, made me laugh and really sets the tone for the book well. Hex Hall is a lighthearted and witty read with a main character who doesn’t take herself too seriously and is very likeable.

Sophie is sixteen and has lived with her human Mum all her life. She has never met her warlock Dad and having lived her life in the human world, she finds Hex Hall and it’s occupants both amazing and challenging at times. I liked that the book gave Sophie’s perspective as an outsider and I’m sure many readers will identify with the challenges she faces settling into a new place and making new friends.

Sophie immediately makes both friends and enemies. She gets on the wrong side of the schools ‘it’ girls by refusing to join their coven and develops a crush on coven leader Elodie’s boyfriend Archer Cross.  Elodie, Anna and Chaston, the three dark coven leaders were fairly typical ‘mean girl’ types, determined to make Sophie and room mate Jenna’s lives difficult. Jenna was my favourite character in the book. She is the token vampire student at Hex Hall and loves the colour pink! Despite the supernatural setting, many of the trials and tribulations that Sophie and Jenna face are those faced by every teenager; detention, fitting in and developing a crush and I think there is a lot in the book for younger teenage readers to identify with.

The story steps up a gear as Sophie learns that the previous occupant of her room died, mysteriously drained of blood. As further attacks take place, the finger points at Jenna and Sophie is determined to prove her friend’s innocence with the help of her grandmother’s ghost but all is not what it seems and Sophie finds herself in danger with the person she least expected!

Hex Hall appealed to my love of school based stories in a Mallory Towers meets Hogwarts meets Mean Girls way. Although the mythology and background isn’t as detailed as some books, there were enough twists to the story to keep me turning the pages and I found this book a quick and enjoyable read with an ending that left me looking forward to the next book.

4/5

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?

Nightshade is the first book in the Witches War Series and Andrea Cremer’s debut novel. Seventeen year old Calla Tor is the leader of the Nightshade pack. Calla and her pack have the ability to shift into wolf form at will and are designated ‘Guardians’, charged with protecting the secrets and sacred sites of their masters ‘The Keepers’ from their enemies ‘The Seekers’. Calla, as female Alpha, is the leader of her pack and is destined to unite with her opposite number Renier (Ren) Bane, Alpha of the Bane pack bringing their packs together in a powerful alliance.

The book starts explosively as Calla breaks the rules to save a lone hiker who is being attacked by a bear in the woods. Calla thinks she has got away with her crime until the hiker she saved shows up as the new boy at school, the mysterious Shay Doran. Shay makes it clear that he remembers Calla but also marks himself out as different by not having the natural human reaction to the ‘Guardian’ packs (to run in the other direction). The plot becomes all the more intriguing when Calla, Ren and their packs are asked to protect and look after Shay by the Keepers.

Woven into the story, the love triangle between Calla, Ren and Shay provides a brilliant background against which the mysteries surrounding the relationships between the wolves and their masters play out. Calla knows that it is her duty to unite with Ren and lead the new pack and she finds herself strongly drawn to the enigmatic Alpha male that she has been destined for since birth. At the same time though, she cannot forget Shay and as she spends more time with him she finds herself more and more drawn to him raising the question; will she follow her destiny and ‘unite’ with Ren or will she forsake all that she knows to be with Shay? 

I loved that Calla is a strong female character; she isn’t afraid to speak out and stand up to Ren or anyone else for that matter. She has been raised as a warrior and that gives a real edge to her character. The dynamic between her and Ren, who has a reputation as a ladies man, is also very interesting and I enjoyed seeing how their relationship developed through the book. Their respective pack-mates are also well developed and interesting characters; I particularly liked Calla’s younger brother Ansel and her second Bryn and am looking forward to finding out what happens to them next.

Shay and Calla make a series of discoveries that throw everything Calla has been raised to believe into question.  As the book progresses there are so many more questions than answers that I was reading as quickly as I could to find out what would happen next. I was expecting to like this book but I was surprised to find that it gripped me in the same way that Twilight did (dare I even say, more so?!). This is a book that will appeal to young adult and adult paranormal romance fans alike and I would highly recommend it to anyone. The mythology is complex and well thought out with a huge cast of fantastic characters and creatures who move seamlessly through our world; the romantic element is gripping and the plot fast paced. Nightshade is full of mystery and kept me guessing until the end. In fact, having read Nightshade, I’m still guessing as to who is the true enemy and I can’t wait for the next installment, Wolfsbane which will be out in July 2011!

For those who can’t wait that long, there is a prequel novella Shadow Days available to download free from Amazon (in the product details section of the Nightshade page).

Nightshade is out today and I’d like to thank the publisher, Atom for sending me a copy to review. You can find out more about the Nightshade Series, Andrea Cremer and Atom books at: http://nightshadeseries.co.uk/