Sundays In Bed With... The Casual Vacancy

Sundays in bed with is hosted by Kate at Midnight Book Girl.  This week, I'm in bed with...

I haven't had much time for reading, but for The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling, I'm making time.  Plus, I just (finally!) started The Dark Light, which I'm really enjoying so far.  I'm getting a better handle on my schedule and I'm hopeful that I'll finish both of these soon.

Weekend Hops - September 28

Seriously, how is it the end of September already?  I won't be posting tomorrow, because I'll be participating in the Warrior Dash, a 3.5 mile run with 12 obstacles along the course.  If you're interested and I survive, maybe I'll post a pic when I get home tomorrow night.  In the mean time....

Hosting a giveaway? Tell us about it! Write a great discussion post this week? Promote it! This is the week to pick ONE POST from the past week to highlight for the Hop!

 

Things have been a little crazy lately and I've only written one review this week.  But it was of an AWESOME book that everyone is squeeing over and I *think* I did a decent job of actually organizing my thoughts.  Actually... books like this are EXACTLY why I now do structured reviews.  Soooooo... check out my review of The Raven Boys, because the book is awesome and I'm proud that I am reasonably coherent in the post.  I heart Maggie Stiefvater.

Feel free to pimp one of your own posts in the comments, even if you aren't participating in the hop (but, I mean, you totally should).  Or tell me your own awesome plans for the weekend.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races is my favorite book that I've read so far in 2012 (and one of my all-time favorites), so Maggie's new book has been my most anticipated book EVER (except maybe Harry Potter).  I got an ARC at BEA in June, but was terrified to read it.  I had so many expectations.  When I finally read it, I wasn't disappointed.

Book: The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
Published by Scholastic on September 18, 2012

Summary (from GoodReads):  “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.  Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Characters:  There are a number of characters in the Scorpio Races and all of them were epically different from each other and the characters in Maggie's previous books.  Anybody who has read this blog even once before, knows that Maggie's previous novel, The Scorpio Races, is my favorite book and that I kind of want to be Puck Connelly.  Blue, the main girl in The Raven Boys, is tough and interesting.  I loved her and I loved reading about her, even though she is not someone I aspire to be.  Her family is made up of crazy lady psychics and her home life kind of made me feel like I was Harry Potter at the Burrow for the first time.  It was magical.

Blue gets to know four Raven boys from the local prep school and they have an interesting dynamic.  There is Gansey, the rich boy who has everything, but still feels alone.  I've never actually been a fan of rich boys, but I am a fan of Gansey.  In some ways he lives up to the rich boy expectations I have in my head, while at the same time being incredibly human and turning cliches on their head.  His best friend is Adam, a scholarship student with a rough home life.  I won't go into details, but every single thing about Adam, from the first page to the last, broke my heart. 

Then there is Noah, the socially awkward boy who seems almost superfluous until that moment (THAT MOMENT!) and it all makes sense and you love him more.  Finally... Ronan.  He is angry about his father's death, out of control, getting in fights and coming dangerously close to flunking out of school.  He's dark and he is dangerous and reading about him made me nervous.  He is completely unpredictable.  Yet... the more time I spend away from the book, the more he grows on me and I think he may end up being my favorite character when it's all done.

Plot/Pacing: This is a mystery and a quest and I loved everything about it.  There are so many questions: Who is Blue's father?  What is her mother not telling her?  What is so magical about Henrietta?  What does Ronan know about his father that has made him so angry and WHERE THE HELL DID HE GET THAT RAVEN?  Who will Blue fall in love with?  When and how will Gansey die (Blue sees his spirit on the corpse road at the very beginning... so, not a spoiler!) 

Then, there is Gansey's quest to find Glendower, an ancient Welsh King he believes has been brought to the new world and sleeps in Virginia.  Is Gansey crazy or is there magic in the world?  Why does he really want to find Glendower?  Why does Adam?  What is Glendower's power?

There are actually way more questions then I realized when I started writing this section of my review.  However, enough of these are answered or hinted at that I felt the book was satisfying, but at the same time enough of these were not answered or only hinted at that I am DYING for book two.  I love the mystery, I'm invested, and Maggie does a great job of teasing me the entire way through the book.  I never got bored or frustrated and I'm incredibly impressed with how well she balanced everything that was going on.

Moments I Loved:  Blue and her Raven boys find a magical tree that gives them visions (it is cooler than it sounds, I'm just explaining it badly).  We're not sure if it is the future set in stone, a possible future, or something else entirely.  However, Blue's vision... probably my favorite part of the book.  So much tension, love, and heart break all in one scene that has almost no context.  I have no idea how Maggie did that.  I have to know what this vision means.  I have to know if it is Blue's future and how they got there and what comes after.

WTF Moments: The last line of the book.  Ronan, you are going to break my heart and make me love you for it, aren't you?

Also, in the best way possible, that thing with Noah.  I read the last line of the chapter and literally stared at the sentence for five minutes saying, "OMG WTF."

Overall:  A great start to a new series, this book is full of great characters and wonderful mystery.  Waiting for book two is going to be difficult, but this series promises to be one of my all-time favorites.

The Raven Boys gets a FakeSteph rating of...

**I received an ARC of The Raven Boys from the publisher at BEA.  I was in no way compensated for my review and all opinions expressed here are my own.  Feel free to check out my full FTC Disclaimer on my About This Blog page.**

Waiting On Wednesday: Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch

Waiting On Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, lets us book hoarding bloggers highlight a book we're excited for each week.  This week I'm waiting on Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch.

GoodReads Description:  On one side of the Rift is a technological paradise without famine or want. On the other side is a mystery.
Sixteen-year-old Glenn Morgan has lived next to the Rift her entire life and has no idea of what might be on the other side of it. Glenn's only friend, Kevin, insists the fence holds back a world of monsters and witchcraft, but magic isn't for Glenn. She has enough problems with reality: Glenn's mother disappeared when she was six, and soon after, she lost her scientist father to his all-consuming work on the mysterious Project. Glenn buries herself in her studies and dreams about the day she can escape. But when her father's work leads to his arrest, he gives Glenn a simple metal bracelet that will send Glenn and Kevin on the run---with only one place to go.

With MAGISTERIUM, Jeff Hirsch brings us the story of a complex, captivating world that will leave readers breathless until the very last page.   Why I'm Excited: This just sounds awesome.  I got a signed arc of this at BEA and it was one of my top six books to look for at BEA.

Magisterium comes out October 1, 2012 from Scholastic Press.

Top Ten (Tuesday) Series I Haven't Finished

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that combines lists and books. This weeks topic is... Top Ten Series I Haven't Finished. There are so many series I want to finish, but these are the ones that I might have to literally kill someone to make time to read.  As always, covers link to GoodReads.

   

       

   

 

Which series should I work on first?

National Book Festival in DC

On Saturday, I went to the National Book Festival in DC.  It was super fun (and literally RIGHT off the metro) and it definitely lived up to my expectations.  I still miss the LA Times Festival of Books, but this is a reasonable substitute for my east coast life.  Plus, their line up was awesome on Saturday for the Children and Teen tent.

First up was John Green.  I got there about 9:30 and the tent was already packed.   I stood in the back and as always, John was hilarious.  Books he recommended: Every Day by David Levithan and The The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson, which he called a "literal work of genius".  I bought the audio with my new audible credit.

A small portion of people in line behind me.

After the book talk, everyone pretty much ran over to the signing area.  I was nowhere near the end, but it took a good two and a half hours to get through the line.  At this point, he was only signing two books per person with no personalizations.  I was a little disappointed, but I get it.  Also, every John Green Book I own is now signed.

John Green being a rock star.

I got through the signing line with just enough time to make it back to the teen tent for Maggie Stiefvater.  Again, it was standing room only by the time I got there.  As always, Maggie was funny and I loved hearing her stories.  She's right up there with John Green, for me, in being both an awesome writer and incredibly entertaining live.

I snagged a seat when all the Maggie-fans ran off to the signing (all the books I own by her are already signed).  Melissa Marr was up next.  She was the only author of the day who I had never seen live before.  Her session was in a bit of a different format than the other authors, who read a passage from their book, talked about it, then took questions.  Melissa was interviewed on stage before a Q&A.  I found the interview to be a bit awkward, but I really liked Melissa and I'm way more excited to read Carnival of Souls after hearing her speak.



David Levithan

 Next up was David Levithan, talking about Every Day.  Apparently, because of John's recommendation earlier in the day, there was a swarm of nerdfighters who bought his book and the festival sold out.  David is always funny and the crowd laughed a lot.  The most awkward moment of the ENTIRE day came during the question and answer period when someone (a librarian, maybe?) mentioned that the first time she read his book she hated it.... WHAT?  Seriously, I may do a post on how to ask a question during a Q&A, because that should NEVER happen.  What made you think that was a good idea?  I don't walk up to you and say "Dude, your sweater is stupid, but your hair is really pretty."  David handled it better than I would have.  And here are his book recommendations: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCouer and Ask the Passengers by A.S. King.  He recommended another book, but I didn't catch it, so let me know in the comments if you were there and remember what it is.


The funniest, scariest man alive... R.L. Stine.


Finally, last up was a LEGEND: R.L. Stine.  Seriously, the man is hilarious.  And awesome.  And he wrote freaking Goosebumps and Fear Street, which were my favorite as a kid.  He's one of my favorite authors and he's one of the funniest people on twitter.  The Q&A was awesome, with tons of little kids asking adorable questions.  He recommended Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury and said that he reads Dandelion Wine at least once a year, to remind himself what good writing is.

Seriously, they had a great line up.  I am still a little disappointed that I couldn't make it on Sunday, but I'm already excited for next year.

Steph on Saturday: Quotestyle

Today I am attending the Library of Congress National Book Festival in DC.  I'll probably only be able to attend one day, but I'm sure it is going to be one awesome day.  I really missed the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this year, so I'm extra excited to find something similar on the east coast.

Now... on to me.  My goal in life is to be interesting.  I want to try new things.  I want to be someone who says yes.  I don't want to live in fear.  To do this, there are two quotes that I repeat to myself every day.

"Life is lived outside your comfort zone."  That's what I repeat to myself, although I believe that the original quote is by Neal Donald Walsch: "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."

"I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they're gonna do.  I'm just going to do it.  Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia." -Looking For Alaska by John Green.

What quotes have you chosen to help define how you live?

Weekend Hops - September 21

Blogging Question: What is one thing that your blog readers probably do not know about you?

Most people don't believe this, but I think about shaving my head ALL the time.  I totally want to do it, but I'm terrified of the awkward growing out phase.

Q: What hyped up book do you think was worth all the talk?

Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, for sure.  Easy peasy.

Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

I started reading Shannon Messenger's blog a few months before BEA this summer.  She is funny and incredibly entertaining, which is really all it takes to make me want to read your book.  So, Keeper of the Lost Cities was one of my most anticipated titles for BEA.  I was one of the first people in line for her Tuesday morning signing and this was the first book I read when BEA ended (actually, I finished it before leaving New York).  I had high expectations and they were met.

Book: Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (Aladdin, 2 October 2012)

Summary (from GoodReads):  Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.
Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.
Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.” There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.
In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

Characters:  Sophie is the kind of character who can be too much.  She's smarter than average, which I usually find annoying.  But here it is okay, because she is thrust into elf school where she is behind.  She cries a lot.  But a lot of bad things happen to her and she struggles to only cry in private, which makes her feel strong instead of pathetic.  And she is selfless--something that often bothers me, because it seems that the problems usually aren't that important and only exist to show the reader how wonderfully selfless the main character is.  But Sophie understands the sacrifices she makes.  She truly believes it is for the best, the conflict feels real and important, and she struggles with her decision.

All that to say that I LOVED Sophie.  She was strong, funny, adorable, and easy to relate to.  She really struggled to fit into her new world and my heart went out to her as we experienced each new life-changing event together.

The other characters... Just as awesome and well formed.  I don't know how to express my love for them all without making this post unreadably long.  I'll try to go quick.  The boys: There are three.  Fitz is the older boy who finds Sophie and she develops a massive crush on him.  I understand his clean cut, hero-type appeal, but... he is kind of bland next to Dex and Keefe.  Dex is Sophie's best friend and is a big time trouble maker.  He has a crush on Sophie, which is adorable, but he is also an amazing friend to her.  If there is to be romance, I'm on his team.  The only character who gives him a run for his money is Keefe, the kind of boy who is my particular weakness--an older badboy with a deeper side.

However, all of these crushes are just that: crushes.  It's middle grade and there is a bigger story at play.  These kids are friends, first.  Their feelings are handled naturally as part of the story and come nowhere near to being the main conflict.  There is so much more I want to say about the characters, but let me end saying that I loved Sophie's foster parents.  They were complex and real.  They made mistakes and lead their own lives and watching them struggle with the grief they carried for their own daughter was just as heart wrenching as watching them become attached to Sophie.  There were some seriously complex character interactions going on in this book and I loved every one of them.

Plot/Pacing: This book moves along quickly and I was never bored.  The world is magical and fascinating.  We experience it with Sophie instead of just learning about it and it is the kind of world I would love to be a part of.  There is emotional conflict from the very beginning that continued throughout the whole book and added an extra layer to the already complicated and awesome mystery of who Sophie is and what secrets are hidden in her brain.  The book is long, but it reads quickly.  I read most of it in one sitting and I knew halfway through that it was going to take a place among my favorite books to reread.  There is emotional tension and external conflict throughout the whole book that builds up to an action packed end.  I won't say more, because I don't want to give anything away!

Moments I Loved:  The end.  Sigh.  Happy sigh.  I won't say more, but... it was good.

All the moments that broke my heart (because I'm weird).  I especially loved when Sophie heard her mother's thought and she was wishing Sophie could be normal like her sister.  Yeah, that made me like Sophie more than anything else could.  And there is a moment at the end with Sophie's foster parents.  Oh god!

Also, there is a tiny mention of a cake called mallowmelt near the beginning of the book.  It sounds delicious and I am determined to make it.  It has nothing to do with anything, just a wonderful detail that fleshed out the world, but it clearly made an impression on me!

WTF Moments: The world is SO well built and I loved all the details.  Even the one that made me say WTF several times.  Elves code their locks with DNA, so to open lockers and doors... you lick the lock.  It was such a wild detail, one of many that made the world magical and fun to explore, but it gave me the creeps every time.

Overall:  This book is going in my special cabinet with all my Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.  It is one of the best middle grade fantasies I've ever read: A magical world, loveable characters, and an intense and emotional conflict.  I had high expectations of this book and it still blew me away.

Keeper of the Lost Cities gets a FakeSteph rating of...

**I received a signed Advanced Readers Copy of Keeper of the Lost Cities at BEA.  I was in no way compensated for my review and all opinions expressed here are my own.  Feel free to check out my full FTC Disclaimer on my About This Blog page.**

Waiting On Wednesday: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Waiting On Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, lets us book hoarding bloggers highlight a book we're excited for each week.  This week I'm waiting on The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan.

GoodReads Description:  Annabeth is terrified. Just when she’s about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo’s fantastical creation doesn’t appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that’s only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close— the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?
Annabeth’s biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he’s now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare. . . .
In The Son of Neptune, Percy, Hazel, and Frank met in Camp Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Camp Halfblood, and traveled to the land beyond the gods to complete a dangerous quest. The third book in the Heroes of Olympus series will unite them with Jason, Piper, and Leo. But they number only six--who will complete the Prophecy of Seven?

The Greek and Roman demigods will have to cooperate in order to defeat the giants released by the Earth Mother, Gaea. Then they will have to sail together to the ancient land to find the Doors of Death. What exactly are the Doors of Death? Much of the prophesy remains a mystery. . . . With old friends and new friends joining forces, a marvelous ship, fearsome foes, and an exotic setting, The Mark of Athena promises to be another unforgettable adventure by master storyteller Rick Riordan.

Why I'm Excited: Um, I'm obsessed with this series and I have to know what happens next.  Reading this series from the very beginning is killing me, because Rick Riordan is a seriously fantastic writer and he always leaves me hanging... in a good way.

The Mark of Athena comes out on October 2, 2012 from Hyperion.

Steph On Saturday: Why I Don't Comment

I try to comment on a lot of blogs.  Lately, this hasn't exactly been working because I've had so much going on, but when I'm in comment mode, here are the reasons why I'm not commenting.  PS--This idea was shameless stolen from Jenny.



Google Plus has amazingly fun photo editing tools.

 1. You mention in your post that you didn't like The Great Gatsby.
2. Your Waiting On Wednesday has too many books.  This just pisses me off.  Wednesdays come around every week and both blogger and Wordpress let you schedule posts in advance.
3. Snarky for snarky's sake.  Being extremely negative in an attempt at being funny without actually saying anything is offensive to the truly hilarious, like myself.  Be funny.  If you want, be snarky.  But for ****s sake, have a point.
4. You don't have an opinion.  I don't read blogs for objective, literary analysis.  Seriously, I'm smart enough to do that myself.  Yes, discuss character, plot, themes, structure, but also tell me how it made you feel.  I want to learn about the book, but I also want to get to know you through your reviews.
5. It's a review for a book that I'm in the middle of, planning to start soon, or need to write a review for.  I read reviews to get excited about books to read, but when I get to a book in my TBR pile, I want to make sure I'm forming my own opinions.  For example, I haven't recently commented on any Raven Boys or Burn for Burn reviews.

Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dress In Blood #2) by Kendare Blake

Book: Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed In Blood #2) by Kendare Blake
(Published August 7th, 2012 by Tor Teen)

Summary ***Spoilers for book one***:  When Cas realizes that Anna--the ghost he loves who sacrificed herself to save him and his friends--is trapped in hell, he sets out to bring her back.

Characters:  I love Cas.  He is probably one of my all time favorite narrators.  Even though he is constantly told that he is making terrible decisions, I understood what he was doing and never got frustrated with him.  His badass witch sidekick, Thomas, was just as loveable in this installment as he was in the first one, but most of the other characters grated on my nerves.  Cas's mom felt superfluous and I wished she would grow a backbone, while Carmel seriously pissed me off and I never had a moment that made me feel she was worthy of forgiveness.  Newcomer Jestine is hard to explain without giving away major parts of the book, but let's leave it at... Cas is occasionally attracted to her and I hated her for it.  I never felt like the story went deep enough with any other character for me to really understand them, except Morfran, who is (again) hilarious.

Plot/Pacing:  I didn't love the sequel as much as I loved the first one, but I was happy to see Cas deal with some of the unresolved issues from Anna Dressed In Blood.  It took me a while to get through, part of which was because I was busy, but mostly because the plot meandered.  I love Cas, but he rarely has more than a vague goal with little knowledge that he is actually able to act on.  The last 20% of the book really improved for me, though, and I was extremely satisfied with how the book resolved things between Cas and Anna.

Moments I Loved:  When Jestine and Anna meet, it is hilarious.  Even though Anna's spirit has pretty much been destroyed, talking to someone like Jestine forces her to remember what a badass she is.  I love badass Anna.

WTF Moments:  Suicide Forrest.  Wow, what a scary, creepy scene.  I don't know what I would have done if I had been reading at night.  It is an awesome scene, but one that I wasn't expecting.

At one point, Jestine tricks Cas into sending an "innocent" ghost away.  She believes that all ghosts should be sent on using the athame, while Cas only sends on those who kill the living.  She makes a comment about he shouldn't be so close minded about other people's beliefs after setting him up so that he is forced to do something he thinks is wrong and then basically telling him to deal with it, because his beliefs are wrong.  She is beyond closed-minded.

Overall:  This second installment felt slower to me and I had a hard time warming up to any character besides Cas and Thomas.  I love Cas's voice and would love love love to read more books about him, but I don't think that can happen without completely ruining Girl of Nightmares.

Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges:  332 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge and the e-book reading challenge.  Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

Girl of Nightmares gets a FakeSteph rating of...

Waiting On Wednesday: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (September 27, 2012)

Waiting On Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, lets us book hoarding bloggers highlight a book we're excited for each week.  This week I'm waiting on The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

GoodReads Description: When Barry Fairweather dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

Why I'm Excited:  It's dark comedy.  It's J.K. Rowling.  Enough said.

The Casual Vacancy comes out September 27, 2012 from Little, Brown and Company.

Announcing... Bloggers Dressed In Blood

I'm so excited to announce that in October, along with three other awesome bloggers, I will be hosting a creeptastic event honoring scary books, paranormal creatures, and all things worthy of October.  Each week one of us will host the event, giving you a creepy challenge and providing you with chances to enter an awesome giveaway.
Where do you want to be?
October 1 - Kim from On the Wings of Books is going to kick things off, possibly with a knife fight. October 8 - Kate aka Midnight Book Girl will have a bloodbath for you. October 15 - Me, Steph of The Fake Steph Dot Com will be screaming bloody murder... or making out with vampires. October 22 - Danielle from My Mercurial Musings will be the surprise killer in the end. We'll also have a month long giveaway that will have one winner winning lots of scary books, candy, and probably some vampire teeth, because let's be honest... they are totally my favorite part of Halloween.  Start queuing all your scary reviews, because if you review them as part of Bloggers Dressed In Blood, you'll get entries into the monthlong giveaway! 
For now, feel free to grab a button and share the love.  I am so excited for October and can't wait to celebrate the scariest month of the year! <center> <a href="http://www.thefakesteph.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="The Fake Steph Dot Com" src="http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o529/petersonks15/BloggersDressedinBlood4.jpg"width="200" height="200"/></a></center> Credit to Kate for coming up with an awesome event name and big thanks to Kim for making our awesome button, although I'm still disappointed that she wouldn't let me take a picture covered in ketchup for it.... yeah, you should probably thank her for that more than for making the button.

The Diviners by Libba Bray

This book was one of my top six books to be on the lookout for at BEA.  I stood in a long line for it, but lucked out, because I got to wait with Pam, aka Midnyte Reader.

Book:  The Diviners by Libba Bray
(To be released September 18, 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Summary: Evie is a flapper with the ability to sense a person's past from their belongings.  After getting into trouble for knowing more than she should, Evie is sent to New York to stay with her Uncle Will, an occult expert who runs an establishment known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies".  When bodies start showing up, killed in a ritualistic fashion with strange symbols, the police turn to Uncle Will for help and Evie realizes that her gift may be the key to solving the murders.  Intertwined with this is a prophecy predicting great evil and a group of Diviners--those with the abilities to stand against this threat.

Characters: There were a lot of characters, but I managed to love them all.  Evie is a party girl dealing with a supernatural gift.  She is lots of fun, although sometimes so reckless that it made me nervous.  For example, she uses the press to get what she wants and... using the press is just ill-advised.  I actually talked about Evie a few weeks ago when Top Ten Tuesday wanted us to list characters who reminded us of ourselves.  So yeah, I love Evie.

I'm not really sure how much to go into the rest of the characters.  There are so many of them, but they are all distinct with these complicated pasts.  Even Uncle Will has drama he's trying to hide.  I loved getting to know Theta and Henry, especially.  We learn a little bit about their pasts that doesn't really go anywhere in this book, but I expect it to resurface in book two and learning about them became one of my favorite parts of the book.  It is obvious that the story is much bigger than one book and I can't wait to read this whole series.  It's one of those books that gives you a feel for the city and the decade and not just a supernatural story about a serial killer.

Plot/Pacing:  I loved the characters and the mystery, but everything unfolded a lot slower than I prefer.  The story could not have been done any quicker, because of how deep it goes with its many characters.  I wasn't always sure where Bray was going with each bit of information, but I believe she is going somewhere and I am invested in every single character she wrote about.  There is absolutely a lot going on here and it is masterfully woven together.

Moments I Loved:  At one point, Evie decides to go undercover and tells Jericho, a boy who is clearly in love with her, to pretend to be her husband.  She's completely oblivious and Jericho is adorable and that scene is just fun.

WTF Moments:  When you figure out Jericho's story.  Completely unexpected!  I can't wait to learn more about him.

Overall:  At over 600 pages, it is definitely an investment, but one that I think is worth it.  Every character has an intriguing and mysterious past and along with the search for the serial killer, the book is building toward an epic conclusion.  It is definitely a series that I am going to stick with.

Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges: 608 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge.  Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

**I received an ARC of The Diviners from the publisher at BEA.  I was in no way compensated for my review and all opinions expressed here are my own.  Feel free to check out my full FTC Disclaimer on my About This Blog page.**

Sundays In Bed With... The Raven Boys

Sundays in bed with is hosted by Kate at Midnight Book Girl.  This week, I'm in bed with...

This is one of my most anticipated titles of the year and also the one I'm most afraid of.  I thought this was going to be the first book I read after BEA, but it has taken weeks to get to.  My biggest fear is that this book will be awesome, but I won't like it because I wanted a second first time with The Scorpio Races.  So far, I love it and I put it down when I find myself yearning Thisby.  About 75 pages in, I think I'm finally safe from her Siren's call.

Have you ever had a book that scared you?

Looks From Books: The Diviners by Libba Bray

And... it's back.  I knew when I read the Diviners this summer that I had to feature it in a Looks From Books post.  I love the 1920s and putting together 20s inspired looks for these characters... can you blame me?  My review will be up on Monday, but for now here is some fashion inspiration for your next speakeasy.

Evie O'Neill--this look is inspired by a scene where Evie goes out for a night of partying.  She's a party girl and I love her (I posted about her a while ago here).

Evie by fakesteph featuring a velvet eyeliner

The dress is described as "a silver bugle-bead dress that shimmered over her body like rain."  This dress is from the 50s, but I think it fits the bill, plus... sexy!  I modernized her headache band, coat, and Mary Jane heels in a way that I hope still feels 20s inspired.  I added lots of makeup, including that super sexy deep red lipstick, a strand of pearls long enough to double up, and an atomizer.  I love atomizers, so I was psyched that I got to include one in this look.  Finally, Evie has a "tile mesh purse".  This is a vintage mesh purse that makes my heart flutter.  It's so pretty that I kind of want it to ask me out.
Quotations are taken from page 246 of the ARC.

Henry Bartholomew DuBois IV--his look is described as "eccentric" and his hat is "perched on his head at an angle that hinted at mischief--or at least impertinence."  His look is too fun not to attempt to replicate.
Quotations from page 421 of the ARC.

Henry Bartholomew DuBois IV by fakesteph featuring leather suspenders

Now, imagine that vest is open and the man wearing this outfit had a "perpetual smirk of amusement".  Putting together this look, even if it is on the eccentric side, made me really sad that men don't dress like this more often.  I'm going to have to change my dream of owning a coffee shop to owning an upscale bar.

I'm going to make an effort to get some great 20s inspired pieces into my wardrobe.  Do you have a favorite decade for fashion?

Blog Survey Giveaway

Guys, I would love it if you would fill out this survey, mostly about your experience on my blog.

Let me know in comments that you filled this form out.  I'll pick one participant at the end of the month to win a book of their choice that I've reviewed here on the blog (max cost $15 and may I suggest The Scorpio Races).  This contest is open to anywhere that The Book Depository ships and will close at 11:59pm on September 30, 2012.

Oh, and hey, there is a picture of your favorite blogger to break up the monotony.

Click here to open the survey in a new window.

Thanks for sticking with it.... here is my current favorite thing on the internet:

Blog Tour: A Bad Day for Voodoo by Jeff Strand

When Sourcebooks e-mailed me about writing a review as part of their blog tour, I immediately said yes, because this book sounded hilarious.  I'm happy to report that I was not disappointed.

Book: A Bad Day For Voodoo by Jeff Strand (Published June 5, 2012 by Sourcebooks)

Summary:  After a voodoo doll fiasco involving the death of their history teacher, Tyler's best friend, Adam, panics and has a voodoo doll of Tyler made to ensure that Tyler won't turn Adam in to the police.  Once his panic subsides, the two friends, along with Tyler's girlfriend, set off to have the voodoo doll stripped of its power.  But their car is hijacked with the doll inside and it is going to turn out to be a very, very bad day (for Voodoo and otherwise).  They won't get out in one piece, but they might make it out alive.

Characters:  The narrator, Tyler, is hilarious.  He tells this crazy, ridiculous story in a very understated way, which constantly made me laugh.  For example, after his teacher's leg shoots off (and across the room), another teacher comes in to see what the commotion is about.  Tyler comments: "He didn't think we were overreacting."  This is my favorite kind of humor, so I loved experiencing the novel through Tyler's eyes.  The other characters were over-the-top in a very fun way (think Stephanie Plum--Grandma Mazur and Lula).  If they weren't quite real, they were consistent and created a world that was fun to lose myself in.

Plot/Pacing:  A Bad Day for Voodoo is a quick read that had me laughing the whole way through.  While a lot of crazy (Crazy!) things happened, there was always the driving need for Tyler to recover the doll and bring it back to the shop where Adam purchased it, so the story never felt episodic.  I also loved that the author played with the idea of story-telling, pointing out literary devices and commenting on structure within the narrative.

Moments I Loved:  Chapter 28, the climax of the story, is non-traditional and unexpected.  I won't ruin it for you, but the author pulls it off perfectly and I loved it.  If I tried to explain it, it would sound like it wouldn't work, but it does and I honestly can't think of a better way to tell that part of the story.

WTF Moments: At Adam's insistence, Tyler pokes the Mr. Click Voodoo doll in the leg and... his entire leg shoots off across the room.  I had read about this scene in the original e-mail from the publisher, but had forgotten about it by the time I read the book and it was so unexpected that I had to put the book down so I could finish laughing.

It's worth nothing that this entire book is a string of ridiculously hilarious WTF moments.

Overall: Jeff Strand perfectly hit every comic beat using a kind of humor that can be bad on an epic scale if not done well. This book is hilarious and I can't wait to read more from the author. This is dark comedy at its best. 

A Bad Day For Voodoo gets a FakeSteph rating of...

AND A HALF!!!

**I received an e-galley of A Bad Day For Voodoo from the publisher through NetGalley.  I was in no way compensated for my review and all opinions expressed here are my own.  Feel free to check out my full FTC Disclaimer on my About This Blog page.**

Waiting On Wednesday: Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie

Waiting On Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, lets us book hoarding bloggers highlight a book we're excited for each week.  This week I'm waiting on Personal Effects.

GoodReads Description:  After his older brother dies in Iraq, Matt makes a discovery that rocks his beliefs about strength, bravery, and honor in this page-turning debut.

Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps. T.J.’s gone, but Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death. But as Matt searches for answers about T.J.’s death, he faces a shocking revelation about T.J.’s life that suggests he may not have known T.J. as well as he thought. What he learns challenges him to stand up to his father, honor his brother’s memory, and take charge of his own life. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. M. Kokie explores grief, social mores, and self-discovery in a provocative first novel.

Why I'm Excited: I'm a sucker for stories that will make me cry, especially ones about siblings.  I'm also fascinated by the idea of knowing people.  I find it hard enough to just know myself and sometimes it feels impossible to truly know another person.  I love stories that explore this idea.

Personal Effects comes out September 11, 2012 from Candlewick Press.