In my Mailbox (dieci-seis)

In My Mailbox explores the contents of my mailbox on a weekly basis. It is hosted by The Story Siren. Go HERE to participate.

This covers the past two weeks, I think.

Bought
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
The Idiot by Dostoevsky
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

For review
Blood Ransom by Sophie McKenzie- Thanks to Simon & Schuster for this!

Glee: The Beginning: An Original Novel by Sophie Lowell

Description

Calling all Gleeks!
Get more of your favorite characters in this official Glee prequel!
All great performances deserve a warm-up! Enroll early at McKinley High--before New Directions was even a glimmer in Mr. Schuester's eye. When did Rachel first decide Finn was more than just a jock? When did Puck and Quinn start their secret romance? And how did the fledgling Glee Club fu ...more Calling all Gleeks!
Get more of your favorite characters in this official Glee prequel!

All great performances deserve a warm-up! Enroll early at McKinley High--before New Directions was even a glimmer in Mr. Schuester's eye. When did Rachel first decide Finn was more than just a jock? When did Puck and Quinn start their secret romance? And how did the fledgling Glee Club function without a fearless leader? Hint: It wasn't exactly a perfect melody.

Break out the gold stars and refill the slushies: It's time to find out what happened to all your favorite characters before the show-mance began.

Review

Glee: The Beginning describes the lead-up to the pilot episode. It is a glance into the minds and lives of Rachel, Finn, Quinn, Puck, Artie, Tina, Mercedes and Kurt before Mr Schuester became director of the glee club. We really do get the know the characters better and their personalities mostly stay true to the television series.

However, there are a few continuity errors. I had always assumed that Rachel, Tina, Artie, Kurt, Mercedes hadn't been in the glee club prior to the pilot. I just thought they were complete strangers and eventually became friends. Conversely, in Glee: The Beginning, the four excluding Rachel are very friendly with each other- Artie even speaks of harbouring feelings for Tina, and Mercedes and Kurt are BFFs! Maybe I haven' t been watching the series close enough but I was so certain that they had never been members of the Glee club before. After all, they do have to audition to be members.

Regardless of those, I did enjoy the book very much. It really was like watching the TV programme- the characters were written that well! I could just imagine the Sue Sylvester of the prorgramme delivering the one-liners Lowell came up with for her in the novel. I would have liked to see a bit more of Sue but I hear there is a sequel so hopefully there should be more laugh-out-loud moments due to her wit, in that.

Lowell is obviously a huge Gleek since she can get into the characters' heads so easily! Rachel, Finn and Quinn were probably the most developed characters while Tina and Artie were a little nondescript. There were a lot of references to things we have come to know about the characters, showing how well Lowell knew each individual's personality. For example Rachel remained very positive and strong, Tina's desire to emulate Lady Gaga started, Artie started to crush on Tina and Emma Pillsbury was as mysophobic as ever.

To appreciate and enjoy this book you have to be a die-hard Gleek. Luckily, I am. So my opinion of Glee: The Beginning? It was awesome.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to Headline for sending it!
Who else can't wait for Season Two to start?

If you would like the chance to win not only Glee: The Beginning: An Original Novel, but the first season on DVD as well, then go here.

Scarlett Dedd Trailer

Hi everyone. School's just started so I'm as busy as ever hence why I haven't posted in quite a while. Review of the Glee novel coming soon though- it was awesome!

For now, here's a trailer for Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett.

Enjoy!

In My Mailbox (quince)

In My Mailbox explores the contents of my mailbox on a weekly basis. It is hosted by The Story Siren. Go HERE to participate.

Bought

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex

For review

Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett, along with an awesome poster! Thanks Headline!

Jealousy by Lili St. Crow

Before I review solely ‘Jealousy’, the third book in the Strange Angels series, I believe there is something very important to say about this series: it is excellent. It is action-packed and never boring with so many well-rounded characters. The prose is tight and concise, and once you start, you literally cannot stop reading. You are immersed in the world of Dru, Graves and Christophe- the Real World with variations of vampires, werewolves, fairies, zombies and a lot of other supernatural creatures.

One of my favourite aspects of the series is that Dru is like any other human being, who has a bladder, who has hair that frizzes and sometimes breaks out, and who needs to cough in the most inappropriate situations. Many books often skip the mundane things like showering and brushing teeth but these things are what make the characters seem human and not superhuman beings who never seem to get the urge to pee while they’re off doing romantic things/saving the world/learning how to be a witch/vampire/werewolf.

So read Strange Angels and the subsequent novels. It is unlike any other series I have ever read before.

Description

Dru Anderson might finally be safe. She’s at the largest Schola on the continent, and beginning to learn what it means to be svetocha–half vampire ...more Dru Anderson might finally be safe. She’s at the largest Schola on the continent, and beginning to learn what it means to be svetocha–half vampire, half human, and all deadly. If she survives her training, she will be able to take her place in the Order, holding back the vampires and protecting the oblivious normal people.

But a web of lies and betrayals is still closing around her, just when she thinks she can relax a little. Her mentor Christophe is missing, her almost-boyfriend is acting weird, and the bodyguards she’s been assigned seem to know much more than they should. And then there’s the vampire attacks, the strange nightly visits, and the looks everyone keeps giving her. As if she should know something.

Or as if she’s in danger.

Someone high up in the Order is a traitor. They want Dru dead–but first, they want to know what she remembers of the night her mother died. Dru doesn’t want to remember, but it looks like she might have to–especially since once Christophe returns, he’ll be on trial for his life. The only person who can save him is Dru.

The problem is, once she remembers everything, she may not want to…

-Goodreads.com

Review

Jealousy is the third novel in the series. The novels seem to improve as you progress through the series- well that was what happened with Betrayals, and Jealousy is no exception. There is more action, more intrigue, more, er, romantic liaisons. Plenty of new, interesting characters providing further entertainment- I particularly liked Benjamin and Leon, a couple of Dru’s new bodyguards, and the kinder members of the Order such as Hiro.

Characters we have met in previous books are also included in this novel- Dru, Graves and Christophe are a given, of course, but we are also able to internally say ‘Aww’ whenever Dibs appears, and enjoy Shanks’ snarky comments. Anna, the other svetocha has a very important role in this book, and becomes even more despicable than she was in that one encounter in Betrayals.

The love-triangle is further developed as well. I have to say, in Betrayals I hugely preferred Christophe over Graves. But Graves matures in Jealousy, and we are constantly reminded by his actions that he cares about Dru and really would do anything for her. Christophe is as hot and mysterious as ever but also shows a softer side in his novel. However, it is a teensy bit creepy that he used to be in love with her mother, which Dru thankfully acknowledges herself.

Dru is honestly one of my favourite YA protagonists. She is such a huge improvement over passive characters presented YA Supernatural novels, always going on and on about the hot, mysterious boy but not really caring about anything else. Dru cares a lot about the more important things at hand. She is determined, strong, brave, smart and very, very human.

Something I admired about the book was that while you did have all this drama, tense action scenes, overwhelming emotions, Lili St. Crow was able to interject humour into many scenes. For example, a particularly amusing scene is one that involves Dru and Graves shopping for clothes and Target to the horror of Benjamin, one of Dru's bodyguards. Another example is Dru belching loudly after a very horrific, very bloody battle. This just made the book more entertaining, more enjoyable to read and, well, how can you not love a protagonist who isn't afraid to burp in public?

Jealousy is, simply, an awesome addition to the Strange Angels series and the revelation at the end has made me extremely impatient to read Defiance.

Rating: 5/5

Thanks to Quercus books for sending the series for review.

Giveaway: Glee Goodie Bag!

Thanks to Headline Publishing, one of you can win a Glee goodie bag, containing:

Glee: The Beginning: An Original Novel by Sophia Lowell

Glee: Road to Sectionals is available on DVD now. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Gleebook posters

If you're a Gleek and would like to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment with your name and e-mail. The giveaway is international.

+1 for following and +2 for leaving a comment on one of my reviews!

In my Mailbox (catorce)

In My Mailbox explores the contents of my mailbox on a weekly basis. It is hosted by The Story Siren. Go HERE to participate.

I spent this week volunteering with disabled children which was tiring but extremely rewarding. This is why I haven't been able to post- I've just been so exhausted!

Bought
The Glass Demon by Helen Grant
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan
The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric