Review: Requiem - Lauren Oliver

Battling against a society in which love has been declared a disease, Lena now finds herself at the centre of a fierce revolution. But the Wilds are no longer the haven they once were as the government seeks to stamp out the rebels. And Lena's emotions are in turmoil following the dramatic return of someone she thought was lost forever...

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Lena and her best friend Hana, Requiem brings the Delirium trilogy to an exhilarating end and showcases Lauren Oliver at the height of her writing powers - emotionally powerful and utterly enthralling.

Delirium Series:
Annabel (Short Story)
Delirium
Hana (Short Story)
Pandemonium
Raven (Short Story)
Requiem

Visit Lauren Oliver's website for more information

Review:
Please note that while this review does not contain spoilers for Requiem it will talk about major events in Delirium & Pandemonium so please don't read any further if you're new to the series. Consider yourselves warned!

Requiem picks up Lena's story right after the ending of Pandemonium, she is still living in the wilds and helping plan the rebellion but life is becoming more and more difficult for the rebels. The society is becoming more organised in their plans to kill the resistance and they have started to bring the war into the wilds. With soldiers killing anyone they come across in the wilds and burning down any remaining buildings they find it isn't going to be easy for Lena and her friends to survive, let alone for them to plan future attacks. At the same time we also get to follow Lena's best friend Hana's story. Hana has been cured and is living a life of luxury inside the city while she prepares to marry the new mayor. Hana's life should be perfect but she is worried that the cure hasn't been fully effective. She also has questions about her future husband and whether he is really the man she thought he was.

I absolutely loved Delirium, I'll admit was a little upset with the direction the story took in Pandemonium but the shocking ending more than made up for that so I couldn't wait to read the final book in the trilogy. Now that I've read it I find myself left with mixed feelings about Requiem. I'm not really sure why but the first half of the book felt incredibly slow moving, it was only Lauren Oliver's beautiful writing that kept me reading. The last third of the book was fantastic though, once Lena and Hana's stories started to merge together things really took off and I was holding my breath in anticipation of what was going to happen. It isn't enough to tell you I was gripped, I just don't even have the words to describe how caught up in the story I was.

I was so excited by Alex's return, that was something I prayed for throughout the whole of Pandemonium so I couldn't have been happier with his shock appearance. What I wanted to see most in Requiem was more of Alex, I was never a huge fan of Julian so I wanted Lena back with Alex and for the pair of them to work things out. Alex was understandably going to be upset to see that Lena had moved on while he was gone but it was obvious that her feelings for Julian were nothing like her feelings for Alex. It's funny because I think I actually missed Alex more in this book, where he was there but not really there because he was acting so cold and distant, than I did in the last book where he only appeared on a couple of pages! Lena doesn't spend much time with Alex because he pushes her away but she doesn't really spend much time with Julian either. A lot of the time Lena is just sitting around trying to decide which boy she likes most and who she should be with which I found frustrating and a bit boring if I'm honest. I'm just so over books with love triangles, especially ones where it is so obvious who the main character really wants to be with.

I did find it interesting to have the two completely different points of view though (although I would have loved a few chapters from Alex's POV thrown in for good measure!). It allowed us to see both what was happening in the wilds and inside the city and it made it clear that neither side was completely right in their actions. I have never been a big fan of Hana because I felt she was spoilt and selfish, especially after the way she betrayed Lena, but I actually started to understand where she was coming from a little better through reading her POV. I still don't think her actions were excusable but at least she tries to make up for it and I think she has come to realise that she shouldn't have behaved in the way she did. I even found myself feeling quite sorry for her at times, as much as her life looks perfect from the outside it really wasn't as good as it seemed and she was surrounded by some very nasty characters who made it quite clear that if she didn't act in the way she was supposed to then they considered her expendable. I felt she was quite brave to investigate what was going on in spite of the risk to her life.

Overall I have to say that Requiem wasn't my favourite book in the trilogy but it is still full of the beautiful writing that I've come to expect from Lauren Oliver and I'm glad to know how the series ended. Lauren has left things quite open which I know some fans will love because it will allow them to decide in their own minds what happens next. Personally I prefer a more complete ending, possibly because I lack the imagination to create my own in as much detail as I would like, but I do have a very clear idea about how I would tie up a couple of situations! If you're a fan of this series then you won't want to miss this one and if you buy the UK hardback it also includes a short story from Alex's POV at the end. I'm never going to complain about spending more time with Alex even if it was hard to hear about all the things he went through after he was shot and locked up in the Crypts! I'm still a huge fan of Lauren Oliver and I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review, I was also sent a print copy by Hodder & Stoughton.

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Kindle:

News: Penguin Chats Reminder & Your Chance to Meet Lauren Oliver!

I wanted to give you a reminder that the first ever Penguin Chat will take place later on today. If you want the chance to chat with Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and ask them any questions you have about the Beautiful Creatures books and upcoming movie then make sure you're on Twitter at 8pm GMT tonight! You can find all the details on the Penguin blog but here are some accounts you might want to make sure you're following on Twitter so you're ready to join the party: @PenguinUKBooks @kamigarcia @mstohl. You'll need to follow the #PenguinChats tag to make sure you don't miss anything.

Beautiful Creatures

********************

Lauren Oliver is heading to the UK!

Now I know there are a lot of Lauren Oliver fans out there! I love her dystopian series: Delirium (read my review here), Pandemonium (read my review here) and can't wait to read the final instalment Requiem when it is published in March. I have some very exciting news to share with you, to celebrate the release of Requiem Lauren is heading to the UK which means that my fellow British fans are going to get a chance to meet her!! How exciting is that? I was lucky enough to meet Lauren a couple of years ago when she came over to launch Delirium and she was absolutely lovely. I'd love to meet her again and get my copies of Pandemonium and Requiem signed!

So, if you want to meet Lauren she will be at the Waterstones branch in Piccadilly, London on Tuesday the 19th of March at 6:30pm. The tickets cost just £3 each and you can find all of the details about the event and how to buy them on the Hodder website here. I'm guessing there will be limited tickets so you might want to reserve your place as soon as possible to make sure you don't miss out!

Requiem

News Roundup: Teaser Trailer, Cover Reveal & New Book Deals

Since I included the first teaser trailer for The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead in my last news roundup I thought it was only right to include the second one today. I literally can't wait to get my hands on this book!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you seen the cover for the first book in Darren Shan's new 12 part serial? The first book Zom-B will be published by Simon & Schuster on the 27th of September and the remaining eleven instalments will be released once every 3 months until 2015. I have to confess that this cover scares me so I don't think it's one I'll be reading but then I'm not much of a horror fan. I have a feeling this will be massively popular with Darren Shan's fans though!

What do you think? Is this a series you can't wait to start reading?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you see the news that Lauren Oliver will be writing her first novel aimed at adults? HarperCollins have purchased the book which will be called Rooms and will be publishing it in 2014. (I'm assuming this is the US publication date). For more information check out the article on the NYTimes website. I love Lauren's YA books Delirium (read my review here) and Pandemonium (read my review here) so I can't wait to see what she writes for the adult market!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last but not least I was really excited to find out that Simon & Schuster will be publishing Kresley Cole's first YA novel Poison Princess on the 2nd of October. I love Kesley's adult series (the Immortals After Dark) so this was on my wish list before I'd even read the synopsis! Now I've read the blurb I just want to read it even more and I love the cover too:

Sixteen-year-old Evie Greene thought her horrific apocalyptic hallucinations were a sign that she was slowly losing her mind. But when her visions come true, decimating the world around her and killing everyone she loves, Evie is forced to accept that she was seeing the future.

Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she turns to wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate, the gorgeous and dangerous Jackson Deveaux for help. As Jackson and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have got the same call and discover that Evie is not the only one with special powers. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and as the battle between good and evil intensifies, it is not always clear who is on which side…


What do you think? Have you read any of the Immortals After Dark books? Are you looking forward to Poison Princess?

That's all the news I have to share today so I hope you've found it interesting!

Review: Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.
It kills you when you have it.
And when you don't.

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Pandemonium is a poignant, explosive, recklessly romantic and utterly heartbreaking novel. Like Delirium, the first in the compelling trilogy, it will take you to the very edge. That's all you need to know. We'll let Lena do the rest of the talking . . .

Delirium Series:
Annabel (Short Story)
Delirium
Hana (Short Story)
Pandemonium
Raven (Short Story)
Requiem

Visit Lauren Oliver's website for more information

Review:
I'm going to assume that if you're reading this review you have already read Delirium - if you haven't then whatever you do don't keep reading because I can't talk about Pandemonium without mentioning a major spoiler for the first book! If you are new to the series then it's one I'd definitely recommend though so make sure you check it out.

OK so now we're down to the people who've read Delirium (last chance to look away if you don't want spoilers!) can I just say how much that cliffhanger ending killed me! It feels like I've been waiting forever to find out what happened to Alex after he was captured. I'm not going to give you any hints about that though so you'll have to read the book for yourself to find out if he survived or not. Now as much as I enjoyed Delirium I did find the first half of the book was a little slow while Lauren Oliver set up the world for us explaining the amor deliria nervosa disease and how people were cured. That wasn't the case with Pandemonium though and the story was action packed from beginning to end.

Throughout the book we are following two separate story threads:
- "Then" which is set just after Lena escaped into the Wilds, she is taken in by a group of Invalids and has to learn to live in a world that's very different to the one she grew up in. Lena has to toughen up, learn hunting and survival skills and we really get to see her grow up as she settles in and starts to make friends.
- "Now" is set several months later, Lena has joined her new friends in the resistance and has infiltrated the DFA (an organisation called Deliria-Free America who are campaigning for the cure to be administered on people who are under 18). It is her job to find out as much as she can about the DFA's plans and report back to the resistance.

I really enjoyed following each story and discovering more about life in the Wilds and the resistance movement. Pandemonium was certainly a page turner and I didn't want to put it down for a minute until I reached the end. As I'm sure anyone who has read Delirium will expect there were some shocking twists and turns as Lena learns who she can and can't trust amongst her new friends. I have to admit I wasn't too keen on the new love interest in Lena's life though. Julian did grow on me as I got to know him but I didn't really feel a connection between him and Lena and he definitely can't compare to Alex (in my books anyway!). Once again Lauren Oliver leaves us with a killer cliffhanger (although I'll confess I spent the whole book keeping my fingers crossed that something like that would happen!) and has left me desperate to get my hands on Requiem. It's going to be another long wait for the next instalment to this series but I'm sure it will be worth it.

Source: Received from Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
Forever Reading
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

News Roundup: World Book Day, A Message from Lauren Oliver, Short Story Competitions & Much More!

It's time for another news roundup post but first I want to say happy World Book Day!  I hope you have something bookish planned to celebrate and help spread the love of reading.

You can find out more about World Book Day and the fabulous books that are available for just £1 on the World Book Day website.  You should also make sure you check out the FREE World Book Day App that works on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.  It includes short stories by Malorie Backman, Neil Gaiman, Charlie Higson, Anthony Horowitz, Sophie McKenzie and Rachel Vincent so there should be something there to appeal to everyone and it also includes extracts from some fabulous 2012 releases.

While we're on the subject of World Book Day you might want to head over to your nearest Waterstones store and see if you can grab a bargain.  They are selling copies of both Department 19 by Will Hill and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson for just £1 each!!  These are both fantastic books (read my Department 19 review here and my The Name of the Star review here) so if you haven't already read them make sure you grab a copy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now today is the UK release date for Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.  It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of Delirium (read my review here) so I can't wait to read this sequel!  Unfortunately Lauren isn't coming to the UK for the launch but she has recorded a special message for her UK fans which you can watch below:



Do you want to know if you're ruled by your heart or your head?  Find out by taking the interactive quiz on the Delirium facebook page here and you could even win copies of both Delirium and Pandemonium!  I'm going to be reading Pandemonium this week so keep an eye out for my review which will be coming soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now if you're between 10 and 16 years old and want to have a go at writing your own very short story have a look at Bloomsbury's new competition:

Bloomsbury’s VERY short story competition for young writers is back
LOVING FICTION TWENTY-FOUR-SEVEN. CREATING STORIES IN 247 WORDS.

247tales.com is the online writing competition from Bloomsbury that challenges young writers to create stories using only 247 words or less. Now in its fourth year the competition is set to challenge even more young writers.

In 2012, the competition returns with a blog-style website, a dedicated Facebook page www.facebook.com/247tales  and nine more inspiring themes. Each month a different Bloomsbury author will pen a 247tale on a given topic. It is then over to the UK’s budding young writers aged between 10 and 16 to create their own miniature masterpiece.

One winner will be chosen each month and they will have their 247tale featured on the website as well as winning a selection of books and a framed copy of their story. Ten runners-up will get a signed copy of the latest book from that month's featured author, and their story will appear in the 247Library section of the website.

The competition launches at 2:47pm on Thursday 1st March 2012 (World Book Day) with a 247tale from bestselling author Tony Bradman on the theme of The Ship. Details on how to enter can be found at www.247tales.com. Authors taking part include Anne Cassidy, Jim Eldridge, Sarah Crossan, A.F. Harrold, Laura Powell and Sue Limb.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're a fan of Michael Grant and are free on Saturday the 17th of March then you might want to head to the Foyles store on Charing Cross Road where he will be signing copies of Bzrk, Fear and the whole Gone series from 2-4pm.  This is one of my favourite London book stores - they host some fantastic events and always have a fantastic selection of signed books and US imports so it is well worth paying them a visit and what better chance are you going to get to meet this best selling author?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now I have a cover reveal for Luminosity by Stephanie Thomas.  This is Stephanie's debut novel and will be published by Entangled Publishing on the 11th of September 2012.  I don't know about you but I think it sounds fantastic and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

My name is Beatrice. When I was born, I was blessed with the Sight. I was immediately removed from my parents and enrolled in the Institution. At the age of twelve, I had my first true vision, earning my raven’s wings. And when I turned seventeen, one of my visions came true. Things haven’t been the same since.

The Institution depends on me to keep the City safe from our enemy, the Dreamcatchers, but I'm finding it harder to do while keeping a secret from everyone, including my best friend Gabe. It is a secret that could put us all in danger. A secret that could kill me and everyone close to me.

But the enemy has been coming to me in my dreams, and I think I’m falling in love with him. He says they’re coming. He says they’re angry. And I think I’ve already helped them win.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you live in the UK and are 18 or over then you might want to have a go at entering the FutureScapes Short Story Competition.  Stories must be no more than 3,000 words and the deadline is the 15th of March, here are the details:

FutureScapesGuardian.

Inspired by new stories by best-selling authors Michael Marshall Smith, Marcus Sedgwick, Kate Harrison and Lesley Lokko, readers can submit their own short stories, imagining the world in 2025. It’s part of a project called FutureScapes, which aims to get everyone thinking about what the world might be like in 2025. The competition winner will be published alongside our professional authors and win a Sony Tablet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're a fan of Paul Hoffman's The Left Hand of God then you might want to have a look at the new interactive game Penguin UK have created on Facebook (click here to play) to celebrate the release of sequel The last Four Things.  You could even win yourself an iPad2!  Here is a bit more info about the game:

The Facebook minisite features an interactive map of Thomas Cale's world, with embedded videos that take the reader on a tour around places including Tiger Mountain, Transvaaland and The Sanctuary. There is also an embedded game where users must build 3D equipment from the book. As readers progress through each 'level' within the map, they post to their Facebook wall to encourage all of their friends to participate too! Readers must complete all levels to unlock an Augmented Reality printout of the map which will result in a 3D version of character Thomas Cale, swinging his sword and talking to the reader. Thomas then says a word which will then need to enter to be in with a chance of winning an iPad2 preloaded with a copy of the The Last Four Things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I think that's probably more than enough news for one post but hopefully something here will be of interest to you!

News Roundup: New Covers and a couple of Publisher Contests

It's time for another roundup post to share some of the bookish news that has come through in the last week or so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First I have a quick reminder about the Faber & Faber Glimpse contest.  I haven't been online to share this sooner and the closing date is tomorrow so you don't have much time left to enter but here are the details just in case you want to do a last minute entry!

ONE DAY LEFT TO ENTER THE GLIMPSE COMPETITION - COULD YOU BE TAMSIN?

Calling all young aspiring actors!

Our first project is for 13 -18 year olds, we’re looking to find a young actor to play one of the characters in Claire Merle’s debut YA novel, THE GLIMPSE, in a series of web films. Entrants are invited to film themselves performing one of two audition scripts available at www.facebook.com/theglimpse and all entries will be showcased on THE GLIMPSE You Tube Channel.

Competition closing date is MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY. The winner will be announced in March 2012 and the web films will be broadcast online around publication of THE GLIMPSE in June 2012.

Look out for more competitions on THE SPARK www.facebook.com/thesparkpage - Take part in an exciting new online community where books provide the inspiration for your talent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you seen the cover for Michelle Harrison's next novel yet?  Michelle is known for her children's 13 Treasures series but Unrest will be her YA debut.  I really enjoyed The 13 Treasures (read my review here) so was already looking forward to Unrest but having seen the cover and blurb I'm now even more excited!  Unrest is being published in the UK on the 26th of April by Simon & Schuster.

Seventeen-year-old Elliott hasn’t slept properly for months. Not since the accident that nearly killed him. Sometimes he half-wakes, paralysed, while shadowy figures move around him. Other times he is the one moving around, while his body lies asleep on the bed. His doctors say sleep paralysis and out of body experiences are harmless - but to Elliott they’re terrifying.

Convinced that his brush with death has attracted the spirit world, Elliott secures a job at a reputedly haunted museum, determined to discover the truth. There, he meets the enigmatic Ophelia. But, as she and Elliott grow closer, Elliott draws new attention from the dead. One night, during an out of body experience, Elliott returns to bed to find his body gone. Something is occupying it, something dead that wants to live again . . . and it wants Ophelia, too . . .

A chilling new novel for teen readers from the best-selling author of the widely-acclaimed 13 Treasures sequence.  (Description taken from Goodreads)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may remember me mentioning a new Delirium short story called Hana by Lauren Oliver that was released as an ebook exclusive in December.  I loved Delirium (read my review here) so it was nice to see some of the story from Hana's point of view (read my review of Hana here).

To celebrate the fact that it is only 2 weeks until the release of Pandemonium (book 2 in the series) Hodder & Stoughton have announced a very special competition.  Here are the details:

We know that lots of you have read and loved Lauren Oliver's short story HANA on ebook, but those of you without access to an e-reader have so far missed out. SO... we are going to print FIVE COPIES ONLY - super, super exclusive bound manuscripts - and are ...offering them to you as competition prizes.

All you have to do is answer the following question:
What is the first name of the main (female) character in Delirium?

Just send your answer to competition@hodder.co.uk  putting HANA in the subject line.

Visit www.facebook.com/lovedelirium for more information about the series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm a massive, massive fan of Jana Oliver's Demon Trappers series I loved both Forsaken (read my review here) and Forbidden (read my review here) so can't wait to read Forgiven which is released in the UK in March.  I'm not sure why but I was convinced that this series was a trilogy so I was incredibly excited when the press release for Forgiven mentioned that a 4th book - Foretold - is being published in August!  Thanks to the lovely Laura at SisterSpooky: Book Fangirl I've now seen the Foretold cover so I thought I'd share it with you here.

What do you think?  It's fab isn't it!  If you haven't started this series yet then trust me it is one you need to pick up now!

So that's all the news I have to share today, I hope you found some of it interesting!  Good luck if you decide to enter either of the contests & let me know what you think of the covers.

News Roundup: Cover Reveals, New Book Deals & a Movie Trailer

It's been a while since I did a news post but I've had quite a few exciting emails over the last couple of weeks so I thought I'd do a roundup post and share it all with you.  You've probably already seen at least some of this on other blogs but hopefully there will be something new here for you to discover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First I want to share the cover for Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.  Pandemonium is the second book in Lauren's Delirium series and will be released in the UK on the 1st of March by Hodder & Stoughton.  I absolutely loved Delirium (read my review here) so I can't wait to read this one and I love the cover.

Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS SIGNS DIRECTOR CHRIS COLUMBUS FOR NEW BOOK SERIES

DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER TO PEN MIDDLE-GRADE SERIES WITH BESTSELLING TEEN AUTHOR NED VIZZINI

New York, NY/ London (January 5, 2012)—HarperCollins Publishers announced today that it has preempted rights to a three-book middle-grade series, House of Secrets by iconic Hollywood director and producer Chris Columbus, co-authored by acclaimed young adult novelist Ned Vizzini. This is Columbus’s debut series for young readers with the first book slated for global publication in Spring 2013.

The three-book North American deal was negotiated by Alessandra Balzer, Co-Publisher of the Balzer + Bray imprint at HarperCollins Children’s Books, with Dorian Karchmar at William Morris Endeavor. UK & Commonwealth rights were acquired by Rachel Denwood, Publishing Director from Cathryn Summerhayes at William Morris Endeavour. Rights have been sold in twelve foreign territories so far.

“Master storytellers Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini have created a high-stakes fantasy,” said Balzer. “From the very first page I knew we had to publish this series. It’s an incredibly imaginative adventure with clever plot twists and nonstop action—not to mention a family that readers will immediately fall in love with. House of Secrets has all the hallmarks of a new classic."

Denwood added, “Combining classic adventure with sublime offbeat humor, and with three brilliant siblings at its heart, this has the potential to be the next big series. It's going to be epic.”

“The opportunity to write this novel is a dream come true," said Columbus. "I have lived with the characters of this novel and their world for many years, and was saving them for something very special. Working on House of Secrets with Ned has been a thrill.”

The Pagett kids had it all: loving parents, a big house in San Francisco, all the latest video games . . . But everything changed when their father lost his job as a result of an inexplicable transgression. Now the family is moving into Kristoff House, a mysterious place built nearly a century earlier by a troubled fantasy writer with a penchant for the occult. Suddenly the siblings find themselves launched on an epic journey into a mash-up world born of Kristoff's dangerous imagination, to retrieve a dark book of untold power, uncover the Pagett family's secret history and save their parents . . . and maybe even the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the 1st of May HarperCollins will be publishing the much anticipated sequel to Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Divergent was one of my favourite reads of 2011 (read my review here) so I can't wait to get my hands on Insurgent!  I absolutely love the Insurgent cover and I have to say I much prefer the new paperback cover for Divergent than the hardback one.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DFB Storyblog

by David Fickling Books

Do you know who Candy Gourley’s favourite monsters are? Which famous author John Dickinson failed to recognise at a book launch? SF Said’s favourite hobby?

The DFB Storyblog is just that – a blog full of STORIES, written by David Fickling Books’ authors and illustrators! Every week, a range of DFB creators take it in turns to share their experiences and discuss a topic which coincides with the publication of a new DFB title. For example, the recent topic ‘Retelling Classic Stories’ celebrated Kenneth Oppel’s This Dark Endeavour, which tells the story of young Victor Frankenstein. The current topic unveils influence and research behind the authors' work - Linda Newbery, author of Set in Stone, talks about trying her hand at stone-carving, and Neill Cameron explains how he recreated (and then destroyed!) his old school, in order to write and draw the graphic novel Mo-Bot High. The Storyblog includes posts from debut authors and emerging illustrators alongside more familiar names, so watch out for some author legends such as Margo Lanagan and Philip Pullman!

David Fickling, Publisher, comments: “I am the last person who should be recommending a blog. I hate blogs. I hate tweets. I hate bleats. And I particularly hate TWOGS. But then I took a look at our own blog and... WOW! I was blown away by it. This is something different. It is written by our very own DFB AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS. And they know how to write. I feel very proud of it and hugely grateful to all our great authors and thank them so much for contributing. They have made something new. I still hate blogs. But I love STORYBLOGS”

http://www.davidficklingbooks.co.uk/blog/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last but not least I thought I'd share the movie trailer for One For the Money. I absolutely love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, the books are just so funny and are great when you're looking for a light hearted but hilarious read.  I realised a couple of weeks ago that I've not read any of the books since before I stared blogging so I re-read One For the Money last week and will be posting my review soon.



Are you a Stephanie Plum fan?  What do you think of the trailer?  I have to say it looks like the film is going to stick fairly closely to the plot of the book.  I'm not too sure about Morelli - he isn't at all how I pictured him but I'll reserve my judgement until I've seen the film.  I think I'm going to like Stephanie though and I already love Grandma, Lula and Ranger (from what we've seen of them anyway!).  I can't wait to go and see the film when it comes out over here in February!

Quick Review: Hana - Lauren Oliver

In the world of Delirium, love is a disease. And like all eighteen-year-olds, Lena and Hana must take the cure.At the start of their last summer of freedom, they were the closest of friends. Until Hana made a decision that tore them apart . . . In Delirium, we heard from Lena. Now, Hana gets to tell her side of the story. And nothing is what we first thought. Hana is a powerful, moving and beautifully told original eBook short story, with a shocking twist that will leave you with your heart in your mouth.

Delirium Series:
Annabel (Short Story)
Delirium
Hana (Short Story)
Pandemonium
Raven (Short Story)
Requiem

Visit Lauren Oliver's website for more information

Review:
As a massive fan of Delirium I couldn't wait to get hold of Hana's story.  In this novella we see some of the main events of Delirium through Hana's eyes giving us a different perspective on things.  The story is beautifully written as I would expect of anything from Lauren Oliver and there is a surprising twist at the end but I would have liked it to be longer.  We don't really learn much in this story that we didn't already know from the first book apart from the ending which I can't say more about without giving spoilers.

I wouldn't recommend reading this story before Delirium as it would definitely give you spoilers but this is a nice short story to keep you going until Pandemonium comes out in March.  It also contains the first few chapters of Pandemonium so you can get a sneak peek of what happens to Lena next.  If you haven't already read Delirium it's a book I'd highly recommend it was one of my favourite YA dystopians of 2011.

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Can We Get Lauren Oliver to the Number 1 Spot?

As a special Christmas treat for us all Lauren Oliver has written an exclusive Delirium short story called Hana to give us something to read while we're waiting for the release of Pandemonium in March 2012.  The story is available on Amazon now for a limited time only and is a bargain at just 99p.

Hodder are hoping to give Lauren the best Christmas present ever by getting Hana to the number one spot in the ebook charts on Christmas Day.  To do that they're going to need our help so if you loved Delirium as much as I did and are as excited as I am about Pandemonium buy your copy of Hana today and let's get Lauren to number one!

Description (from Amazon):

In the world of Delirium, love is a disease. And like all eighteen-year-olds, Lena and Hana must take the cure.At the start of their last summer of freedom, they were the closest of friends. Until Hana made a decision that tore them apart . . . In Delirium, we heard from Lena. Now, Hana gets to tell her side of the story. And nothing is what we first thought. Hana is a powerful, moving and beautifully told original eBook short story, with a shocking twist that will leave you with your heart in your mouth.

If you're hoping Santa might bring you a kindle tomorrow then Hana would make a perfect first story to read on it!  You don't have to own a kindle to read it though, you can read kindle ebooks on your computer, iPhone or iPad too (Find out more here).

Publisher Spotlight: Hodder & Stoughton - September 2011 - March 2012 Releases

I thought it would be fun to start spotlighting new releases that different publishers have coming up over the next few months for us to look forward to.  I'm constantly looking for new books to add to my wish list and thought it would be a nice way of spreading the bookish love with other bloggers.  So stepping into the spotlight today we have . . .

Hodder & Stoughton have a fantastic range of YA titles over the next few months (and I'm going to mention a couple that are already available too!).  For more information check out the Hodder & Stoughton website.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor was published back in September but I had to include it in the list because I absolutely loved this book (you can read my review here).  If you haven't already picked this one up it is definitely a must read and I'm already dying to get my hands on the sequel!  You can find out more on Laini Taylor's website.

Errand requiring immediate attention.  Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it.  Karou read the message.  'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.  When Brimstone called, she always came.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance.  On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family.  Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping.  She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

Next we have the highly anticipated third book in the Tiger Saga series - Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck.  This was released a couple of days ago on the 10th of November and I've already started reading my copy.  I loved the first two books in this series Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest (click on the links to read my reviews) and it feels like I have been waiting forever for this one.  If you've not started this series yet then it's one I would highly recommend for paranormal romance fans!  Check out Colleen Houck's website for more information.

With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is.  As the trio continues their quest by challenging five cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections - leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.

Fraught with danger, filled with magic, and packed with romance, Tiger's Voyage brings Kelsey and her two tiger princes one step closer to breaking the curse.






On the 5th of January you can look forward to the second book in Cate Tiernan's Immortal Beloved series - Darkness Falls.  I haven't started this series yet but have heard great things about the first book Immortal Beloved and will be reading my copy soon, I also have to mention how much I love the covers of these books - they're so pretty!  You can find out more at Cate Tiernan's website.

He was the thorn in my side, nightmare of my past, destroyer of my family, source of all my troubles, and the most beautiful guy I had seen in 450 years.

Are you dizzy from being flung into my world like this?  I feel the same way every morning when I open my eyes to find I'm still me, still here.

Still immortal.

Desire, death and painful secrets are revealed in this additively compulsive sequel to IMMORTAL BELOVED.








On the 2nd of February we have British author James Treadwell's debut novel Advent to look forward to.  I love stories about magic and am really looking forward to Advent, the description doesn't really give many clues to what the story will be about but gives just enough to raise my curiosity levels.  I really like the cover too!  For more information check out James Treadwell's website.

For centuries it has been locked away
Lost beneath the sea
Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight.

But now magic is rising to the world once more.

And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall.

When he arrives, there is no one there to meet him.









On the 1st of March we have the release of one of my most anticipated books of 2012.  I loved Lauren Oliver's Delirium (read my review here) so have already been waiting months for the sequel Pandemonium.  I literally can not wait to get my hands on this one!  You can find out more about the series on Lauren Oliver's website.  There is no UK cover image available yet (I'll be sure to post it as soon as I can) but here is the blurb to whet your appetite:

Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.
It kills you when you have it.
And when you don't.

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Pandemonium is a poignant, explosive, recklessly romantic and utterly heartbreaking novel. Like Delirium, the first in the compelling trilogy, it will take you to the very edge. That's all you need to know. We'll let Lena do the rest of the talking . . .

Last but not least we have Gemma Malley's new book The Killables which will be available on the 29th of March.  This is the first book in a new trilogy and Gemma is currently working on the second book, visit her website for more information.  I love dystopian stories so this one looks like just my kind of thing and has been added to my wish list.  Again there is no cover image currently available but here is the blurb:

THE KILLABLES is set in the year 2065 and follows Evie and Raffy who work for the government in a society where evil no longer exists. After a war on terror that almost destroyed the world, The City has been established, where brain surgery removes the potential for evil thought and citizens are labelled on The System according to how 'good' they are. Evie and Raffy are both System operators and discover a mistake when an academic has been labelled a K, the label given to dangerous criminals. But as they investigate further they discover that it wasn't a mistake; that The City has secrets and a dark side that the government will hide at all costs. They are horrified to discover that 'K' stands for 'Killable' - the state's mark of death. And then Evie gets another K report to change on the System. Only this time it's for Raffy...

So what do you think?  I told you Hodder & Stoughton have some exciting books for us!  Which of these is at the top of your wish list?

Book Trailer: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Have you seen the new interactive trailer for Delirium by Lauren Oliver?  I loved this book so if you've not read it yet now might be a good time to get hold of a copy!  If you missed my review back in March you can read it here, definitely a highly recommended read :o)

If love was a disease would you take the cure?

Fool for Books Giveaway Winners: Before I Fall & Delirium by Lauren Oliver

With the help of random.org I am very happy to announce that the winners of my Fool for Books Giveaway.

First winning a signed copy of Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver along with a selection of Delirium posters & postcards is commenter number 110:

Kirsty at the Overflowing Library

Secondly winning a signed copy of Delirium by Lauren Oliver along with a selection of posters & postcards is commenter number 50:

Dovile

Congratulations to you both!  If you can email me at sarahsreviews at ymail dot com with your full address I will get your prize in the post for you.  If I don't hear from you within 48 hours then a different winner will be chosen.

Fool for Books Giveaway Hop - NOW CLOSED

* UPDATE - THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED - Winners announced here *

Since today is my birthday (yes, I admit it I'm an April fool which I think happens to be the most appropriate birthday ever lol) I couldn't resist joining in the Fool for books Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Bookish Snob.  There are currently over 230 blogs taking part in the giveaway, each giving away a selection of fantastic bookish prizes so make sure you check them all out using the linky list below for more chances to win prizes.

I have signed copies of Before I Fall and Delirium by Lauren Oliver to giveaway.  There will be 2 winners, each winner will receive one of the books and a selection of signed posters and postcards for Delirium.

Signed Posters:

Signed Postcards (they're signed on the back):

To enter all you need to do is follow my blog using Google Friend Connect (found on the left sidebar) and leave a comment on this post. The giveaway closes on the 2nd of April 2011 at Midnight EST (which is 5am on the 3rd of April GMT) and is open internationally. The winners will be announced on my blog by the 5th April and you'll have 48 hours to contact me with your address or a new winner/s will be chosen.

Extra Entries:
I'm keeping this giveaway really simple so the only way to get extra entries is by spreading the word about this giveaway.  Tweet, Blog or post on Facebook (or any other social network you use) about this giveaway and leave a seperate comment on this post (including a link so I can check it) each time you spread the word.

While you're here make sure you check out my 2 giveaways (1 UK only & 1 international) for books from the Earth's Children series too, details can be found here.

Also don't forget to have a look at the other blogs taking part in the giveaway hop for your chance to win even more prizes:

Review: Delirium - Lauren Oliver

They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever.  And I've always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed.  Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie.

There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world.  People would go to the end of the earth to find it.  They would tell lies for it.  Even kill for it.

Then, at last, they found the cure.

Now, everything is different.  Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen.  Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured.  A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But then, with only ninety-five days until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable...

Delirium Series:
Annabel (Short Story)
Delirium
Hana (Short Story)
Pandemonium
Raven (Short Story)
Requiem

Visit Lauren Oliver's website for more information

Review:
Lena lives in a world where love has been classified as a disease called amor deliria nervosa and by law everyone must be given the cure when they are 18 years old.  Lena is only weeks away from getting the cure herself and she can't wait, she is terrified of becoming like her infected mother who committed suicide after several attempts to cure her all failed.  Everything starts to change when she meets Alex, her feelings for him make her start to question everything that she has ever been taught about love.  Can something that feels so good really be so bad?  Is Lena willing to risk everything for the chance to be with Alex?

Delirium is one of those books I was nervous about reading because of all they hype but I ended up loving it and can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.  The story is a little slow at the beginning while you are being introduced to the world and getting to know the characters and I didn't find it very easy to like Lena at first but she did grow on me, especially when she starts to question her blind faith that after the cure everything will be fine.  By the time I was halfway through the story completely hooked me and I didn't want to put it down until I'd finished.

The society that Lauren Oliver has created is a scary one, the people who have been cured have not just lost their capacity to fall in love with a partner - they have also lost the ability to feel love and compassion for their children, families and friends.  They are emotionless and robot like and it made for a horrific world to live in.  While Lauren did a fantastic job of describing the symptoms of love and how it could be thought of as a disease I would have liked a little more information about how the world she created came about.  What made them decide that curing love would make for a perfect world and how did they come up with the cure?  Hopefully those questions will be answered in future books in the series.

I'm sure anyone who has ever had a broken heart can relate to Lena's wish to have the cure - there have been times in my life that I would probably have jumped at the chance! - but in order to experience the highs that love can bring you have to be prepared to deal with the lows.  That is quite a powerful message and one that shines through as you are reading the novel. 

For me it was the second half of the book that completely captivated me.  There were so many twists and turns that you couldn't be sure what secret Lena and Alex would uncover next and the story builds to a climax that will leave you breathless.  I couldn't read the last few chapters fast enough and the cliffhanger ending just about killed me!  I am eagerly waiting for the release of Pandemonium to find out where the story will take us next.  If you're a fan of dystopian fiction then I would definitely recommend checking out Delirium, I haven't read many dystopian stories but this is one of the best I've come across.

Source: Initially received for review from publisher via NetGalley but I also received a hardback copy from Hodder & Stoughton

Other reviews of this book:
Read Me, Bookmark Me, Love Me
The Great, The Good and The Bad
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hodder Launch Party for Delirium by Lauren Oliver - 21st March 2011

On Monday the lovely Lynsey (from Narratively Speaking) invited me as her plus one to the launch party for Delirium by Lauren Oliver that had been organised by Hodder & Stoughton.  I've heard nothing but good things about Lauren's first book Before I Fall and I absolutely loved Delirium (I'll be posting my review soon) so I was incredibly excited when Lynsey invited me to the event.  We met up in the afternoon and travelled to the event together stopping for something to eat on the way but we were both so excited that we ended up arriving really early.

The event was held in a design shop, cafe and bar called Drink, Shop & Do which I'd never heard of before but will definitely be visiting again.  Not far from Kings Cross station Drink, Shop & Do is a fantastically kitsch place selling both vintage and designer products.  The cafe come bar in the back room is like a wonderfully old fashioned tea room with mismatched furniture and best of all everything you see is actually for sale.  The Hodder and Drink, Shop & Do staff had gone to a lot of effort to create a cozy atmosphere for the event and everywhere you looked were tables piled high with copies of Lauren's books and plenty of cakes and nibbles.  While we were finding somewhere to sit the staff were busy making cocktails in fab little tea cups - cocktails and cake, my favorite kind of tea party!

I had a great time chatting with the other bloggers while we were waiting for Lauren to arrive.  As you can see from the pictures below we were all quite excitable!

When Lauren arrived she was so lovely and friendly, she made a great effort to make sure she went around and spoke to everyone and spent quite a bit of time sitting at our table with us.  We played a fun introduction game where we all had to share our favorite animal.  Lauren's was a teacup pig which she would love to own as a pet one day, we were all laughing out loud at her description of how it would sound clip clopping across her wooden floors.  If you'd like to play guess the bloggers favorite animal the bloggers playing were Lynsey, Jo, Vivienne, Michelle, Lauren, Becky, Kay & me and the animals picked were dolphins, butterflies, koalas, penguins, tigers, elephants and wolves. Feel free to make your guesses in the comments and I'll let you know if you're right or not

When it was time for the more formal part of the evening Lauren was introduced by her editor Kate (who has fantastic taste in books!) and then Lauren gave a lovely speech about how much she appreciates bloggers and how they really helped make a success of Before I Fall.  It was so sweet of her and I think we were all touched. Apart from meeting Lauren the big highlight of the evening was getting to listen to the folk group Minnie Birch.  One of their songs was used for the Before I Fall trailer so when it was time to create the Delirium trailer Hodder sent them a copy of the book and they actually wrote a song especially for the trailer.  Delirium is a beautiful song and the room was in silence as we all listened to them singing it.  You can find out more about Minnie Birch on facebook here and if you'd like to listen to the beautiful Delirium song you can download it for free here (this link was posted by Minnie Birch on their facebook page and isn't a sneaky way of stealing the song!)

Before I Fall Trailer:


Delirium Trailer:


Before the end of the evening we were given fantastic goodie bags by Hodder containing Delirium posters and postcards and we were allowed to take copies of the books from the tables so we could get them all signed. Lauren took time to chat to everyone while she was signing and wrote lovely personalised messages for each of us. It really was wonderful to meet her and she was one of the loveliest authors I've met.

I would like to say thank you to Lauren and Minnie Birch for making it a night to remember.  Also I have to say a massive thanks to everyone at Hodder for arranging such a fantastic event and for letting Lynsey bring me with her!

If you'd like to watch the official Hodder video of the evening I've included it here for you.  You can spot all of us on there if you look carefully enough!

Who Was There:

Leni, Kate, Katie, Laur & Oriel - Hodder & Stoughton
Lauren Oliver - Website - Event Report
Minnie Birch - Facebook Page
Becky - The Bookette
Carla - The Crooked Shelf - Event Report
Jenny - Wondrous Reads - Event Report

Jo - Once Upon a Bookcase
Kay - Dead Book Darling - Event Report

Lauren - I Was A Teenage Book Geek

Lynsey - Narratively Speaking
Michelle - Fluttering Butterflies
Tara - Hobbitsies - Event Report
Vivienne - Serendipity