"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

The Eighth Guardian

May 6, 2014

Amanda Obermann. Code name Iris.

It’s Testing Day. The day that comes without warning, the day when all juniors and seniors at The Peel Academy undergo a series of intense physical and psychological tests to see if they’re ready to graduate and become government operatives. Amanda and her boyfriend Abe are top students, and they’ve just endured thirty-six hours of testing. But they’re juniors and don’t expect to graduate. That’ll happen next year, when they plan to join the CIA—together.

But when the graduates are announced, the results are shocking. Amanda has been chosen—the first junior in decades. And she receives the opportunity of a lifetime: to join a secret government organization called the Annum Guard and travel through time to change the course of history. But in order to become the Eighth Guardian in this exclusive group, Amanda must say good-bye to everything—her name, her family, and even Abe—forever.

Who is really behind the Annum Guard? And can she trust them with her life?

Goodreads 

I finally went searching for 2014 prospects and wow did I find many awesome books coming out. However there was one the shone the brightest.

The Eighth Guardian looks like just the perfect book to fill up the gap left over from Champion by Marie Lu. A prodigy protagonist, secret organization and epic cover. Yes please!

-MARI 

Cover Wars is a weekly showdown of two beautiful covers. The winner, as voted by you, goes on to face a new cover, and wins bragging rights. This is basically a fun way to discuss what we like in covers.

Lover Letters was almost dethroned last week but it's fans kept it seated. As always, it's back to face a new competitor. This week it's Nil by Lynne Matson.

Nil has one of those covers that are not only appealing but also relates to the story. Right of the bat one can tell that Nil is a deserted island survival story. The bright contrasting aqua of the water and the yellow of the horizon is a nice eye catcher and the ticks add an element of mystery and intrigue.

So, which'll it be?

Which cover should win Cover Wars?
	Nil
	Love Letters to the Dead
pollcode.com free polls

I'm noticing a descending trend in the number of books I'm reading but thankfully that's not the same with the number of books I'm enjoying. 2013 wasn't the best reading year but it was a year in which I read some of my all time favourite books.

5th: Champion - Marie Lu

I'm a big fan of this series. It's fast paced, action packed and contains two of my favourite characters, Day and June. It's not everyday that one reads about characters as intelligent and compatible as them. In my whole reading career, I've only read one other so it's a treat when books like this come along!

4th: Crown of Midnight - Sarah J. Maas

Something I've come to notice about myself is that I have a fascination with assassins. Crown of Midnight is a perfect example of the kind of assassins stories I like. I love this series.

3rd: Scarlet - A.C. Gaughan

Retellings! To be honest, I tend to ignore retelling despite their reappearance in popular reads. The only one I remember reading is one of Mulan and that's because Mulan is irresistible!

Scarlet on the other hand, is a retelling of Robin Hood with a twist. Robin's band includes a spunky crossdressing girl named Scarlet! Now that I think about it the resemblance to Mulan is probably why I enjoyed it so much :)

2nd: Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare

The stunning finale to Cassandra's Infernal Devices literally left me reeling. I'm still a little scarred by this one. Nonetheless, it was fantastic.

1st: The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons

Eek! I've talked about this one quite a lot these past few months. It's different, set in Russia which was automatically a whiff of fresh air after the never ending supply of books set in North America. This one really opened my eyes to the fact that I could enjoy books outside of YA, I haven't found any besides this one but I think it's fun to branch out every now and again :)

P.S. Think man in army suit, now think perfect 20th century gentleman. Do you have the image in your head? Now go read this book!

Conclusion:

It's been an interesting reading year. I've read more fantasy and historical fiction, which are quite like me. I read to escape and to travel and these books are the best at doing that!

The Weekly Progress is a type of wrap up post that happens every Sunday on The Sirenic Codex looking on the week that was.

Over the past few weeks, I've been in this terrible limbo regarding university applications. They were always on my mind, but I was too terrified to press submit. That changed a few days ago, and I happily got one early acceptance. Woohoo! I still have to write essays and stuff for three other universities, but I guess I'm not freaking out as much anymore. Baby steps.

Books Read

The first book was REALLY GOOD. That was written in all caps because Hyperbole and a Half got 5 stars from me. Unbreakable on the other hand disappointed me. I have reviews written for both, so stay tuned. 

Currently Reading

I started this series a while ago and I have little to no recollection of it. Ah well. I may as well finish it, right? 

Blog Recap

It started with my review of The Burning Sky. I was a little disappointed. 

Mari and I also had a discussion on Blurbs.

Mari then posted her next Bookish Vacation, this time based on The Bronze Horseman.

Next, it was my turn with a trademark rambly post, The New Hotness.

In general, we had an extremely balanced week. I think we'll try to post more reviews in following weeks.

The Week That Was

Beyond university, what was cool about this week was yesterday when my mom fixed one of our broken laptops, which means I have a laptop now! It's not specifically mine, but it's mine to use because she'll take the Sony, leaving me with the Dell. I feel like I can be around the blog so much more now. This will be awesome. 

Song of the Week

Another song I really love, it's called Flute by New World Sound and Thomas Newson. It's a mix of classical and electronic sounds and it's just so catchy. Give it a try. 

Hope you guys all had a great week!
-P.E.

Marketing is an incredible force. We know that in blogging. While we don't have a vested interested in selling a particular book, Mari and I do our best to share what we like.

Every once in a while, a new book explodes into the blogosphere and sends wave after wave of hype. This is probably carefully orchestrated by publicists; cover reveals, blog tours, giveaways, review copies, all strategically given to create the perfect storm.

When it clicks, it's amazing. These books become must reads not just because they sound cool, but because they are cool. Everyone is reading them and everyone wants to talk about them. When you haven't read the book, you feel left out.

If the book is good enough and released at the right time, and pretty much everything goes right, it reaches Twilight or The Hunger Games iconic status. The ceiling for most books is probably City of Bones or Divergent type fame. However, most books don't have that type of staying power. There is very rarely that much hype for the next books, unless it's the end of a beloved series.

What I notice ends up happening is that the first book is read by everybody. Maybe more dollars are invested in marketing it, but it's the one that gets all the focus. The sequel that comes out the next year still has some hype, but not near as much. I've seen it happen with Delirium, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Die for Me, etc.

It's no wonder that, in the year I read a crazy amount of books, most of the books I read were the first in a series. It's a problem I think most book bloggers have: we start series, but we don't finish them. I haven't understood why, until I noticed all the hype a book like All Our Yesterdays got just a few months ago, and how now it's barely out there. It's not because the book is not good, but because there is an absence of active marketing the book.

The marketing skews towards the new hotness. If you read the first in a series, if you like it, it's likely you'll end up reading the sequels. I read Wither, and although it took me a very long time, eventually I read the sequel, Fever. The hype the first book gets is to attract as many readers as possible, and hopefully many of them will stay around for the entire series.

It's not a bad idea. It seems to be very profitable, but I think it affects blogging even more than we think. The blogosphere gets all caught up in some very hot title that is ignored later on- that doesn't seem right. Some books just don't have staying power.

Maybe the best way to judge a series isn't by how successful the first book in the series was. The hype is honestly irrelevant for the entire series unless it continues. If the second book can generate hype even with reduced marketing budgets, because bloggers genuinely love the book, that's a book that will sell well.

This idea of "the new hotness" as a blogger also reminds me not to get too far into the game. Sometimes, it feels like there needs to be new posts about new books every single day, but perhaps just posts about what books I can manage to find in the library are just as valuable. The problem with the new hotness is that it's absolute, and everyone is so focused on staying top of what's hot that some books end up slipping the cracks, and months later I realize how amazing a book is and I'm shocked at how little press it got.

Patience is a virtue, and there is never enough time to read all the books I want to. However, what's the rush in reading what's new? There are so many cool books I haven't heard of, and one of my reading goals is to get to as many of them as possible. So while I'll totally get caught up in the hype of the newest hot book, it's also important to look at what sequels people are still reviewing because consistency says a lot more, in my opinion.

-P.E.

Paris is every girls dream. What's more romantic than having some macaron while sitting in a chic Parisian cafe with the Seine flowing behind you? Surrounded by ancient waters and stunning architecture.

How about a place that has been home to numerous Kings and Queens. The land that is half in Europe and half in Asia. A place of immense culture and beautiful architecture. That mystical place is Russia.

I've always had a fascination with Russia. I love the language and culture, Privet! (my meagre attempt in spelling "Hi") It also has a long and intricate history. All the same, I love it and have always known that I wanted to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg. Two of Russia's most well known cities, the past and present capitals.

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simmons is a not so well known book that is set in St. Petersburg, Russia during the Second World War. Nevertheless, the places it mentions are timeless and unsacthed.

First on the list is the beautiful Summer Gardens. It's located on an island in the middle of the city flanked by canals on either side. The garden is home to many sculptures and fountains. It also shares the island with the Summer Palace of the Czar Peter with which it shares it's name.

This beautiful garden is home to many sculptures, including the sculpture of Saturn eating his own child. This one clashes with the theme I'm painting but bear with me. Sometimes unpleasant statues bear pleasant memories as it does in The Bronze Horseman.

All those who've seen a picture of the magnificent churches in Russia would agree that it's a crime to visit Russia and not visit one of them.

St. Isaacs is an aesthetically pleasing building that holds some great memories to fans of the series. Also, lovers of architecture can't miss this one. Built in the 19th century, it is the largest church in the city and in front of it is the famous Statue of The Bronze Horseman!

The statue is of Peter the Great, the founding king of St.Petersburg from whom the city got it's name and the names of many gardens and palaces. This statue is more well known due to its being the subject of one of Alexander Pushkin's poems. 

The Brazen Horseman rides him after –

On his steed of the ringing hoofs.

And all the night the madman, poor,

Where’er he might direct his steps,

Aft him the Bronze Horseman, for sure,

Keeps on the heavy-treading race. (source)

Palaces, gardens, fountains, statues, churches, all beautifully made and presented. St. Petersburg is the ultimate destination for a romantic or historical read. After all what makes a book, if not culture, architecture, setting, atmosphere and a hint of Versailles in Russia?

-MARI

A discussion with P.E. and Mari.

On Twitter, I saw Kelley Armstrong share this fascinating policy Margaret Atwood has when it comes to blurbs. She basically doesn't accept any blurb requests any more and made a really cool poem to express that. So, let's get the ball rollin' here. What do you think of blurbs? 

It's great that you brought up this topic because I've never really thought about blurbs. Over the past few year they've definitely become more obvious and abundant, especially in YA fiction. Blurbs now a days, remind me of when I go to the library and for some reason the librarians have decided to stick the barcode sticker smack dab in the middle of the synopsis/cover/place that you don't want to see it. What I'm trying to say is, they are not the most desirable things on a cover. I love J.K. Rowling, but I could care less about what she thought about *insert book name here*. Then again, that's just me. What your take? They are obviously present for marketing, I'm not charmed, are you?

I think they can definitely help. One part of me wanting to try Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is because two of my favourite all time authors, Veronica Roth and Rick Riordan, both recommended the book. I trust both these authors and it created excitement. I originally read The Hunger Games before it became big because Stephenie Meyer, my favourite author at the time, blurbed it. It's always encouraging to pick up a book and see one of your favourite authors likes it too.


That's a fair point and I can understand that. I find that people have different tastes in books and just because they wrote a book that is to my taste doesn't mean they read books that are to my taste. Also, there is the fact that everyone processes things differently and what works for them doesn't for me. I'm not sure exactly why but I've never been one to care much about the blurb. How do you feel about blurbs that aren't done by an author, like the on Raging Star? 

The whole pull behind a blurb is "ethos". The person blurbing must have some credibility. For me, some select bloggers and authors have that. There's no guarantee that I'll like the same book they do, but I have enough trust in them to at least try. I don't read much MTV so I can't comment on the credibility of that writer. That being said, I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little when I read "Better than The Hunger Games". I know this will probably help the book sell, but I don't like comparing stories. The Hunger Games has reached pop icon status- what could compare to it? How do you feel about comparisons? 

To be honest, comparisons really get the job done. I remember being new to YA and looking for the next good read without knowing what to read. So I would read whatever that was supposed to be like or better than my favourite book. However, as I've become more familiar with YA and my likes and dislikes and as I've read more of these books with blurb comparisons, I notice that they don't actually stack up. I especially don't believe them if the blurb is by some company. MTV, great, but who in MTV is saying this? 

I also take them with a fair grain of salt. The way I see it, all the comparison does is tell me if the book is in the same ballpark as the more popular book. It's easy to find books I'd be interested in. However, I never genuinely believe the blurbs.

What Do You Think?

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

The Winter People

July 1, 2014

An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.

Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn't forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 


Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she'll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

Goodreads 

Initial thoughts:

1. Lots of blue, I like blue.
2. Cold
3. Winter is coming!
4. Kristin Cashore, WHAT? I need.

This one sounds great. I'm really open to any fantasy and now that I think of it, not many books are set in the winter so that would be interesting to read. Especially as P.E. and I are so well acquainted with it, we might as well be living north of the Wall (GoT!)

Canada

-MARI 

Cover Wars is a weekly showdown of two beautiful covers. The winner, as voted by you, goes on to face a new cover, and wins bragging rights. This is basically a fun way to discuss what we like in covers.

Lover Letters prevails once again. It's been going on a spree lately, however this week it's facing the beautiful cover of The Legend of Me by Rebekah L. Purdy.

The Legend of Me has a very captivating cover with the stark contrast between the pale turquoise of the background and the bright red that seems to be enveloping her. The red was interpreted to the cover quite well, almost like blood splatter. A cool little twist I noticed is that wherever the bloodspalater is the bones are revealed.

Both covers have a theme of death but they are executed quite differently. Love Letters is very contemporary and dreamy almost like an illusion while The Legend of Me is very bright and vivid.

Which do you prefer?

Which cover should win Cover Wars?
	The Legend of Us
	Love Letters to the Dead
pollcode.com free polls

Author: Sherry Thomas
Date of Publication: September 17 2013
Pages: 464
Source: Complementary ARC

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.

Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to avenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.

But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

Review:

The Burning Sky is one of those books that take a while to get going. It is undeniably entertaining, especially the last third, but I was hoping for more.

I think the biggest problem is world building. The world is complex and creative, and I'm utterly confused about how it works. The parameters are unclear and I still don't understand what Atlantis is, or how the different worlds are connected.

This need for more explanation also extends to the magical parts. The idea of wands made some sense, but there were more confusing parts like what is the difference between a mage and a witch? I read an ARC so I'm not sure if the final version does build the world a little more. This was a pretty big issue because the world sounded cool, but not complete. It could have been one of my favourites but it instead read underdeveloped, even though I don't think it was. I think the author came up with some great ideas and put a lot of thought into her work but they weren't communicated clearly enough.

For most of the story, the plot didn't help either. So much set up was needed and that wasn't too fun, and by the time the action came around it felt a little too short. That being said, the story was fun. The plot had lots of really cool elements and it managed to hook me in once it got going. The end was much better than the beginning, and some of my favourite parts were Titus and Iolainthe's training sessions.

The villains were pretty villainous and also interesting. I loved reading about The Inquisitor. Her bickering with Titus in particular was fascinating, especially the power struggles.

The characters were lots of fun. Iolainthe was a sensible girl and I grew to like her. However, I think Titus stole the show. There's something about this tragic prince who is trying to save the world that is adorable. I couldn't help but sympathize with Titus and his presence in the book was huge.

I loved that there were dual perspectives. The story wasn't just about the special, chosen one. It was about the person that helps this chosen one, sometimes thought of as a sidekick but just as heroic. Titus brought life and conviction to the story.

I even enjoyed the budding romance, which is very strange for me. It was a slow burn with some step forwards, backwards, and sideways, with some angst in it too. Having insight into both the characters meant I could see how each of them fell for the other a little more. By no means was this romance perfect- sometimes there was too much telling, as in, "She's amazing because she does this, this and this, and not many other would do that, and that's why I love her" which I suppose isn't too bad, except I'm a big proponent of subtlety. Either way, the romance and the main characters were likable.

Maybe The Burning Sky isn't the epic story I was hoping for. That doesn't mean it wasn't a good story, and that doesn't mean it doesn't have the potential to become even better! I hope it does. Till then, 3 hearts.

-P.E.

The Weekly Progress is a type of wrap up post that happens every Sunday on The Sirenic Codex looking on the week that was.

I want to blog. I crave it so badly. I want to have time on the internet to write and edit posts. I want to comment on other peoples' posts. I really need a laptop because I'm sick and tired of waiting for people to get over browsing Facebook for the billionth time or watching some type of soccer game at my expense. 

Books Read

Two really good books. I may be in a bad mood, but I read these books within twenty four hours and they both impressed me. I'm still so sad to see that it's the ending of Soul Screamers though. 

Currently Reading

So far, so great. In a rare spurt of Starbucks induced excitement, I walked into a store, saw this book, and desperately felt like I needed it. Beyond the fact that it's by Allie Brosh, whose depression post on her blog was one of the best I've ever read, aesthetically it's stunning with gorgeous colours and images.  

Blog Recap

My review of Rot & Ruin!

And then a trademark really long post about guilty pleasures.

Mari reviewed CHAMPION which I'm dying to read. I'm glad to hear it was good!

Next, we had a discussion post on how much of an impact the author has on the book and vice versa. I'm curious to see what people think. 

The Week That Was

Twas a very busy week. Beyond school's extra work, Wednesday was the night of  our Catching Fire event at the library I volunteer at. I was running the Cornucopia challenge, and the whole event featured trivia, a fashion show, bow and arrows, and cupcakes! I think it was a successful event, but we just need to get more older teens to come. I also visited a courtroom for the first time with a field trip. It was fun, I guess, but a little too scary for me. 

Song of the Week

I pick Martin Garrix and Jay Hardway's wizard because it's energetic and exciting. Plus, I just love the melody. I haven't listened to either of them a lot, but I really like this mix so I'll probably try some more. 

Have a great week everyone!

-P.E.

A discussion with P.E. and Mari.

With the change in Goodreads' reviewing standards prohibiting a reader from reviewing a book with mention to the author, and with the controversy of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, I've begun to wonder about the impact of an author on their book. Let's begin with Goodreads: should a review ever mention the author? 

I don't know about others, but I do mention the author every now and then. How can one not mention the author? In my opinion, the book is the author in many ways. It's their genius or sometimes not so much, but either way, by critiquing the book you're critiquing the author's work, their writing and their skill. What's your take?

This was probably a stupid question to begin with because I'm not a person of absolutes. I think it's okay to mention the author; we've both established that. Now, to what extent? Should personal feelings of an author be part of an honest judgement of their book?

I would say moderation is key. It's really important to focus on the word honest. It's not very honest if one reviews a book based on their preconceived notions of the author. That defies the point of an honest review. You can read a book with a horrid cover, but once you start reading, the cover shouldn't bug you and neither should your feelings on the author. I guess what I'm trying to say is, review their work not what you read in the gossip column about them.

Okay, so I'm assuming you know all about the Orson Scott Card situation. (If not, Google is your friend :) ) If I were to read a book by him, should I mention how I feel about his values? Would that have any place within the book? And is it legitimate to refuse to read a book because of the author? I'm not asking whether you can or can't do that- obviously, everyone can do whatever they want; it's none of my business. Reading pieces like this (h/t to We Heart YA for the link!) emphasize two things in my mind. First, we are people and people change. I can have one very strong opinion about and issue and I can change it later on. That's my prerogative. Second, a book doesn't have to necessarily preach the author's values. What if it's preaching a good message? How do you reconcile that?

As you said, I cannot tell you what you can and cannot do, which is one of the problems with the Goodreads situation. If you feel like talking about Card's values halfway through your review then all the more power to you. I haven't read or really plan on reading any of his books (has nothing to do with the present situation) but I would say that the art is not always the artist. Many struggle with appreciating Hitler's art due to the horrible person that he was and that's fine. Not everyone can separate the artist from the art, I know sometimes I can't. There are book that I wont read because of their authors, but as long as I don't type up a long review on why the book stunk due to its author I think I'm doing my part as an honest reviewer. 

I also won't read certain books because of the author. Some authors have let me down too many times for me to ever want to read another book of theirs. I'm not sure however how an author acts has the biggest influence on my reading habits. In general, I don't stay up to date with all the author gossip and I don't really want to. I think the most my opinion can be influenced by an author is in positive ways. Lauren DeStefano is so cool on Twitter that she got me to read Fever. I'm forever a fan of Sarah Rees Brennan just because she's so hilarious, so these authors affect their books positively. Have you ever purposely boycotted a book because of an author's behaviour? 

Maybe unconsciously. Like if the author is racist or openly advocates hate, things that I'm morally against then I think I would naturally gravitate away from them and their work. But, this would require me to be very knowledgeable about the current author gossip, which I'm not. Overall my stance as a reader and reviewer is do what you enjoy and what you can live with. If I enjoy a book I will respect the author for it despite the person they are. Or at least I would like think so, since this hasn't been put to the test :) What's your stance?

I separate books and their authors, for the most part. A book does not represent an author's views and I won't be ashamed to read it. However, I have no problem with people consciously deciding to not read a book by an author they don't want to support. Undoubtedly, they have their reasons. At the end of the day though, the author doesn't really influence my opinion on books too much. 

What do you think?