August

August by Bernard Beckett

Life Is Unpredictable!

Tristan's tale is one of hardship, discipline and learning. Growing up somewhat sheltered his determination and capacity for learning drove him from his home and towards the church, there thought, prayer and higher learning were open to him. His life was all planed out ahead of him, a life full of promise and God. Then one night something happened that made him question all that he believed. One night he met Grace and his life was changed forever.

Grace's tale is a story of misunderstandings, mistreatment and loss. Her childhood was strict and rigorous but also sheltered. As a naive girl Grace was easily led by her heart and an eagerness to please others, and as fate and circumstance conspired against her she was cast out from the protection of her childhood home and left to her own devices. As her life spiralled away from her control she at least could hold on to one thing, her angel.

August is largely a philosophical debate on the soul, what it means to have freewill and what it is to be free. A deeply thoughtful look at the way religion, society and circumstance shape who we are and how at our very essence we are beings of instinct as shown through our actions. Theology, love and life clash in this thrilling tale of chance, destiny and the chaos that is the human mind.

Bernard Beckett @ Text Publishing

On sale: 28 February 2011
Price (AU): $23.95
ISBN: 9781921758041
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Freewill
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Dracula in Love

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

The Greatest Vampire Story Ever Told, Retold!

Mina is a woman on the verge of obtaining all that she has ever wanted. Soon to be married, she and her fiancé Jonathan have already planed out how their future lives together will be, where they will marry, the location of their first home and even the names of their children. Everything was perfect, then the dreams began. But these were no ordinary dreams being as vivid as waking life and Mina begins to question not only her life but also her sanity.

Meanwhile, Jonathan is called away on business and in his absence Mina begins to see all her dreams of a future with him crumble. Slowly, as her dream world collides with reality, Mina begins to see a different future, one that spans not only her present life but stretches into forever. But that is a future not with her fiancé but with another man, a man who had always been with her in one way or another. Mina must discover who she is and what she wants as she descends down a path that will either bring her closer to her hearts desire or to a life unfulfilled.

Dracula in Love from its first pages presents you with a story that promises to be something extraordinary. A story of a woman faced with an ageless love and an inhibiting social conscious, told in a time where woman are seen as either delicate angels or seductive villainesses. Here the supernatural and demonic Dracula is retold in a more realistic but no less fantastic version where the real monsters are not those demonic creatures of the night but the very men who claim heroism through brutal means. Murder, betrayal, scandal and desire all play a role but at its heart this is a story of eternal love.

Karen Essex Webpage

Karen Essex @ Allen & Unwin

On sale: 01 January 2011
Price (AU): $24.99
ISBN: 9781742376134
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Vampires
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Need #3

NEED:

Entice by Carrie Jones

Follow The Rainbow!

Nick may be dead, carried off by a Valkyrie to the mythical halls of Valhalla, but that doesn't mean that Zara is going to let him go. Zara will give anything to get him back, already she has given up her humanity but if her quest is to succeed more will be lost, lives will be sacrificed. Selfishly she risks all to get back her protector, her warrior, her boyfriend, but will he want her now that she has been kissed by a pixie?

What started out as a way for her to gain access to Valhalla and retrieve her soul mate Nick has for Zara become more then she anticipated. Zara had thought it would be simple, kiss Astley, become a pixie, rescue Nick. But now things are more complicated. Zara is a Queen with responsibilities to her pixies as well as Astley, her King. Astley has given all to see Zara's needs filled, even at the expense of his own heart. However, whether she admits to it or not Zara is also loosing a little of her heart to Astley.

Entice is a Pixie Queen turning others to her need, a blind desire to get back what was taken, despite the cost. For Zara, Nick's death was the excuse needed to turn her to her destiny, towards Astley and her future as a Pixie. Zara and Astley have a bond that is undeniable so even if she succeeds in finding Valhahha and rescuing her beloved Nick things can never be the same. The next instalment in this teen romance is a roller-coaster ride of danger, myth and magic.

Top Ten Things To Remember When Dealing With Pixies

Carrie Jones Webpage

Carrie Jones @ Bloomsbury Australia

On sale: 01 January 2011
Price (AU): $15.99
ISBN: 9781408810446
Recommended age: 12-18
In a word: Valhalla
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: to those reading the series
Star rating: three out of five
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The Night Creatures - book one

THE NIGHT CREATURES:
Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres

Beware, Burn Too Fast And You Might Burn Out!

Retra is a girl sealed of from the world living in a guarded and restrictive community where information is withheld, rules are strict and punishments are a common occurrence. With even her thoughts and feelings denied she knew she could survive because she had her brother, but then one day her brother ran away.

Naif is a girl awakening to a new world of pleasure and freedom, uninhibited by parents or rules she is discovering a side of herself she never knew existed. But more then that she is discovering the dangers of Ixion. In the dark all senses are heightened and along with enjoyment comes a very real sense of fear, not just of the unknown but of the dangers that comes only with living in the dark.

Burn Bright is a decidedly dark and decadent story of a utopian paradise layered over a richly delicate and dangerous world of secrets, pirates and dark creatures. A provocative and intoxicating story of a girl breaking through the naivety of childhood and entering the seductive world of adulthood, a world filled with sex, drugs, music and of cause night creatures. An Enthralling read that questions societies morals and individuals actions wrapped in a beguiling cover.

Marianne de Pierres Webpage

Marianne de Pierres @ Random House

burn bright

On sale: 01 March 2011
Price (AU): $18.95
ISBN: 9781864719888
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Ixion
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Stork #1

STORK:
Stork by Wendy Delsol

Winged Baby Deliverers!

The sun, the beach and the shops were all a thing of the past for Kat, and so too was a decent cup of coffee. The cold always was her enemy as was bad fashion sense and this small town with its cold climate and lack of style was looking more and more like a place Kat was to call home, whether she liked it or not.

Divorce, a new school and a persistent group of strange old women in even stranger hats make up Kat's experiences in this ancient small town. Then the dreams begin. But none of that has anything to do with the unknown boy Jack and his insistence that he and Kat know each other, nor dose it explain the bad mood he seems to adopt towards her and, as it turns out, only her.

Stork is a modern fairytale full of dreams, magic and Norse mythology. Although love comes quickly as an act of fate and some aspects are foreseeable, there is enough momentum to keep this tale flowing. This supernatural story may lack vampires, werewolves and angels but its original and fresh mystical beings along with its interesting and quirky characters are a refreshing change from the norm.

Wendy Delsol Webpage
Wendy Delsol @ Walker Books

On sale: 01 January 2011
Price (US): $29.95
ISBN: 9780763648442
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Storks
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
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Castle Book 1

CASTLE:
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Heartless!

In the land of Ingary there exists a powerful and feared wizard named Howl who is well known for his wickedness. Howl devours girls, taking their hearts. He also spends hours at a time in the bathroom. Howl is a brilliant and talented wizard who is charming and charismatic, however he is also messy, vain and a terrible coward. But that is to be expected from one as heartless as Howl.

As the eldest of three daughters, Sophie is domed to a life of mundane boredom, and then the Witch of the Waste appears and curses her. Forced to leave her home Sophie soon finds herself on Howl's doorstep, however, changed as she is she feels quite safe that Howl would not be interested in her heart. But then again she could be wrong.

Howl's Moving Castle is a dreamy story of magic and wonder where friendships, secrets, demons and danger follow Sophie's every move.  In many ways it is a re-imagining of the Wizard of Oz with heartless Howl also searching for courage, a scarecrow looking for a brain and a lost Sophie looking for a place to call home. An intricate fairytale for all ages, but one you should pay close attention to if you are to lift the curses plaguing these colourful characters.

Diana Wynne Jones Webpage
Diana Wynne Jones @ Harper Collins

On sale: 13 May 2009

Price (AU): $14.99
ISBN: 9780007299263
Recommended age: 11+
In a word: Curses
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Need #2

NEED:

Captivate by Carrie Jones

Feeling Blue!

There is a house deep in the woods hidden by glamour, fenced by iron and full of pixies. Everyday as more and more pixies show up in Bedford, Zara, Nick and her friends round up these pixies and trap them in this house. Everyday as more pixies are rounded up the house becomes more volatile, its occupants more deranged and it is only a matter of time till something gives.

Anyone can see how much in love Zara and Nick are, they are devoted to each other and nothing and no one will ever get in the way of that. Then Zara meets Astley, a pixie king. Astley is not like other pixies, at least Zara is hoping very much that he isn't because Zara is about to make a choice to step into her destiny and her only hope of survival, and of saving the one she loves, is put her trust in Astley. But you should never trust a pixie.

Captivate is a pair of green eyes that are really silver, it is a kiss that is filled with need and desire and pain. Zara has long been a normal human girl, a pacifist and strongly against all pixies, now however all that is changing. All hell is about to break lose and Zara has some life changing decisions to make, however an act of love may yet turn against her. A teen story of pixies, weres and romance that is filled with blood, danger and mythology.

Top Ten Things To Remember When Dealing With Pixies

Carrie Jones Webpage

Carrie Jones @ Allen & Unwin

On sale: 01 June 2010
Price (AU): $15.99
ISBN: 9781408807415
Recommended age: 12-18
In a word: Kisses
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: to those reading the series
Star rating: two out of five
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Books of Faerie #1

BOOKS OF FAERIE:
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

'The Faerie Queen's Deception'

It began with a balled, an ancient story of lament, a song of love and death sung with the voice of an angel by a girl who to the world is all but invisible. That is she is invisible to the human world but not to the faeries, not any more. Deirdre has captured the attention of the faeries and that can be deadly.

Deirdre is falling in love with Luke; however Luke is no ordinary boy. Over a thousand years old and assassin to the Queen, Luke is dangerous, a killer, and yet Deirdre cannot help but follow when he calls, putting her life in his hands, which is exactly what the faeries want. Will love be enough to conquer death or are Deirdre and Luke as fated to tragedy as the lover in the balled of lament?

Lament is a tale of love wrought through with heartache, music and magic, only this tragedy is also beautifully threaded with hope. As a modern story of faeries there is a seamless blending of fantasy and magic with the everyday that creates one of the most enthralling and authentic tales that is simply a pleasure to read. 

Maggie Stiefvater Webpage

Maggie Stiefvater @ Scholastic
Books Of Faerie

On sale: 01 January 2011
Price (AU): $19.99
ISBN: 9781407120317
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Cloverhand
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Iron Fey Book 3

IRON FEY:

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Long Live The Queen!

Ash and Megan have been exiled from the faery world of the Nevernever forever. They are now free to be together in the human world until they are separated either by Megan's old age or Ash's fading to non-existence. The future is uncertain but at least they will be together. Or so they thought.

After so long in the land of faery Megan is returning home to her mother, her stepfather and Ethan, her half brother. Returning home has been long overdue for Megan, but before she is even able to step through the threshold of her family home there is trouble from the fey.

Drawn once again into the world of fairies, Megan and Ash are on a mission to stop the false Iron King, it is the only way that Megan will be able to find peace and safety for her family. But it is a mission that is near impossible as both Megan and Ash are exiled from the faery realm. Even if the make it into the Nevernever to face the false Iron King, it is a mission that leaves little chance of making it out alive.

The Iron Queen sees a new monarch take the throne of the Iron fey. As long as the Iron fey exist all other fey are in danger, so can there really be a way for all fey to live side by side or is war the only answer? As fey on both sides raise there weapons and watch those around them fade in death, ultimately the war will only be won or lost by a single person and if Megan can't find a way to stop the all powerful force of the false Iron King all of the Nevernever will fade, her ice prince will die and she will have lost everything.

Julie Kagawa Webpage

Julie Kagawa @ Harlequin Teen

Iron Fey

On sale: 01 February 2011
Price (AU): $19.99
ISBN: 9781921793080
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: War
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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