The Name of The Star

Author: Maureen Johnson

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Series: Shades of London #1

Genre: YA, Paranormal/Horror

Rating:  4/5 

Recommendation: Ages 15+

From Goodreads:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn’t notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Maureen Johnson is the author of several YA novels including 13 Little Blue Envelopes. For me The Name of The Star was her best to date. When Rory arrives in London there’s a slow build in suspense, we know a murder has taken place, a copy-cat of Jack the Ripper’s first killing, but it takes some build-up before our heroine is connected to the sinister crimes. Rory does have special abilities, but she isn’t necessarily played as a special snowflake, she has the abilities for a reason, and so do lots of others, what makes her important to the Ripper case is a combination of not knowing about the abilities and being in the very wrong place at the utterly wrong time.

Illustrating Thursdays: Howl’s Moving Castle

Illustrating Thursdays is a new meme Created and Hosted here on I’ll Read Anything Once. Along with reading, one of my great loves is art and illustration. Illustrating Thursdays is made to show off both. Favorite picture books or illustrations from a book, illustrations or art based on a book, or art that reminds you of a book you love are all fair game. Make sure to credit the artists and provide info on the books you choose. If you want to participate please do! Leave a link to your posts in the comments and link us in your post. (we’re working on a widget for everyone to use when they participate in the future).

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones; first published in 1986.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Space Between

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights books that we can’t WAIT to be released.

For my first WOW let me tell you about a book I’ve been DYING for. It comes out next week, so I don’t have to wait much longer, but trust me when I say that you should all be surprised that the anticipation hasn’t killed me yet.

The Demon King

Author: Cinda Williams Chima

Publisher: Hyperion

Series: Seven Realms #1

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Rating:  4.5/5 

Recommendation: Ages 15+

From Goodreads:

This novel marks the first giant step in a momentous fantasy journey orchestrated by Cinda Williams Chima, the author of the popular Warrior Heir series. Its two chief protagonists are ex-thief Han Alister, an impoverished commoner, and Raisa ana’Marianna, the headstrong Princess Heir of the Fells. The Demon King brings them together, creating part of a volatile mix of action, magic, and danger. Empathetic characters; wizardly attacks.

The Deal: When semi-reformed thief Han has a run-in with three arrogant young wizards, that ends with him stealing a magical artifact from one of them, he unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that will make him a key player in the tense and multi-layered politics of his once great and now struggling kingdom. Mix in a smart, strong-willed princess who is just beginning to realize that she’s already tangled up in lies and intrigue, warriors, wizards, thieves, and a whole world of players and pawns all with their own agendas and you’ve got The Demon King.

Battle of the Books

 Abandon                                            VS                                 The Goddess Test

Give Thanks for Good Books

Beth Revis (Author of Across the Universe and overall great person) is doing an amazing giveaway. I’m not going to lie, I’m dying to win (19 books!), but it also made me stop and think, what book Am I most thankful for?

I’ve been a reader all my life, since before I really understood the words and just imagined my own stories to go along with the illustrations. There are a lot of books that I can say with all honesty that I love. Adore even. Books that have touched me, made me think, or feel, or examine the world in a new way.But there is only one book that I’ve come back to year after year, since I was 10 years old, that still speaks to me just as much, maybe more, than it did back then.

 

Illustrating Thursdays: Hades and Persephone

Illustrating Thursdays is a new meme Created and Hosted here on I’ll Read Anything Once. Along with reading, one of my great loves is art and illustration. Illustrating Thursdays is made to show off both. Favorite picture books or illustrations from a book, illustrations or art based on a book, or art that reminds you of a book you love are all fair game. Make sure to credit the artists and provide info on the books you choose. If you want to participate please do! Leave a link to your posts in the comments and link us in your post. (we’re working on a widget for everyone to use when they participate in the future).

If you don’t think this is completely stunning then you and I are clearly not looking at the same thing. Hades and Persephone 1, by Sandara on DeviantART, is the kind of art that makes me dream. The emotion that she can wring out of the viewer using light, color, and expression (seriously look at those faces and that body language) is magical.

‘Celebrate BIG’ with the Spooky, Fab, Swag-filled Giveaway over at Word Spelunking

This is Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Seriously, what’s not to love? Candy, costumes, terrible horror movies that remind you that at least you’re smarter than the people who just got chopped to bits. I like my Halloween like I like my life: spooky, darkly funny, coated in sugar and wearing fabulous shoes.

A Long, Long Sleep

Author: Anna Sheehan

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Series: n/a

Genre: YA, Sci-fi

Rating:  4/5 

Recommendation: Ages 15+

From Goodreads:

Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone, and Rose— hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire— is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes— or be left without any future at all.

My love for this book knows no bounds, it is one of the best things I’ve read in a very long time. Don’t be fooled however, it is neither as romantic or quite as action packed as the description would have you believe.I have a lot of feelings.