The Mall

The Mall by S. L. Grey

 

Shop Till You Drop, Literally!
  

It was supposed to be a quick trip to the mall, make the deal, score a hit and get back before anyone noticed that she, and the kid she was looking after, were missing. But after returning from her dealer to Only Book, the store she left the kid waiting in while she made her transaction, she discovered the kid had disappeared.

A run in with mall security should have been just what she needed, they would find the kid and she could leave, however they are not as helpful as she hoped. Worse still they are threatening to call the cops and with the stash in her pocket there is no way she is going to risk getting taken in. To find the kid she is going to have to take matters into her own hands.

When he left for work that morning he never imagined his day would end being held at knife point by a drugged up girl, forced to search behind the scenes at the mall for a kid that has probably already been found is long home by now. But as the detour through the mall becomes more and more dangerous and surreal, he realises he has more important things to worry about.

The mall became a labyrinth, it shouldn't have been possible, he knew the mall and none of these turns and corridors existed. But here they were being chased by monsters in the dark, stumbling over dismembered mannequins and being confronted by a distorted version of reality. Suddenly getting out is not a question of how by why.

The Mall is a gritty, raw and provocative story that turns society inside out and strips it down to expose its discarded, scared and rotting core. Through drugs, violence, consumerism and days spent in a nightmare world on the run for their lives, Rhoda and Dan discover that the life they once had is no longer the life they wish to lead. A thought provoking and chilling read.

S. L. Grey @ Allen & Unwin

On sale: 01 August 2011
Price (AU): $29.99
ISBN: 9781848878860
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: The Mall
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Sookie Stackhouse - The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

SOOKIE STACKHOUSE:
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris
  

'A Complete Guide To The Sookie Stackhouse Series'
  

Welcome to Bon Temps, a cosy little town where a freakishly high number of supernatural's call home and where life is anything but easy and laid back. For Sookie, a telepath, life has drastically changed since the vamps came out of the coffin a few years back. More specifically her life changed the night she met her first vampire, Bill, and ever since then she has never looked back.

Several years, and books, later Sookie is still solving, plotting and uncovering murders in her own unique corner of the south. However just because Sookie is a mind reader does not necessarily gain her access to every secret hidden within the minds of those she encounters, such as the private dialogues between Eric and Bill that are now revealed. Nor had she any idea that the Chocolate Cake Caroline Bellefleur is famous for is a scandalously easy recipe to follow.

The Sookie Stackhouse Companion is a comprehensive peak into a small southern town and the people who call it home. While Charlaine Harris sits down to a q&a, Sookie gives up all her knowledge on the supernatural beings that have had a great impact on her once simple life. This is a perfect way to rediscover the books, test your knowledge on the events in Sookie's life and enjoy something new in a bonus short story.

Charlaine Harris Webpage

Charlaine Harris @ Hachette

Sookie Stackhouse

On sale: 01 September 2011
Price (AU): $32.99
ISBN: 9780575097537
Recommended age: 18
In a word: Sookie Stackhouse
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: to those reading the series
Star rating: four out of five
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Mommy, Where Do Baby Unicorns Come From?

Mommy, Where Do Baby Unicorns Come From?

by Renee Adams

 

But Unicorns Don't Exist!

It is the one question that she could ever dread coming from the mouth of her daughter, the one question that she was hoping to avoid, and the one question she never wanted her little girl to discover the answer to. But when her five year old daughter asked this question her heart froze, "Mommy, Where Do Baby Unicorns Come From?"

When she first spotted the horse, the horse that had a horn on it head, she was enchanted. It was beautiful and magical and for some reason no one else seemed to notice it there on the other side of the fence; no one believed it to be real. But here it was, the brightest white with a horn on its forehead, and it made her wonder. If there exists a grown unicorn it must have once been a baby. But just where did it come from?

Mommy, Where Do Baby Unicorns Come From? is a short and bittersweet tale of one mothers anxiety to explain, or avoid explaining, to her innocent daughter the dark and heartbreaking truth of where baby unicorns come from. A story of one girl learning just how it is unicorns can exist and how in a heartbeat life can change forever. Not so much a story for children, this powerful and beautifully haunting short story is one that will stay with you.

Mommy, Where Do Baby Unicorns Come From? - click for FREE ebook

Renee Adams Webpage
eBook @ Smashwords

On sale: 28 March 2011
Price eBook (US): $- Free
ISBN: 2940011254734
Recommended age: 9+
In a word: Innocense
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3

THE WOLVES OF MERCY FALLS:
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

The Beginning Of The End Of A Love That Will Last Forever! 

For years he had watched her from afar, waiting for her to join him in the woods as a wolf, but she never did. Years later he finally found her as a human and they thought they could finally be together. Now however, it is she that watches from the woods, torn away from him by winter and a wolf's coat.

His greatest fear was losing himself to the wolf inside, but now he fears he has lost the girl he loves to the woods and is being accused of murdering her. Her life now in the woods is filled with the longing for something more and the waiting for the winter to be over, as her future is lost to the uncertainty of the cold.

Meanwhile a former rock star is rediscovering life and love only now after he has given up on both. And a broken princess, whose brother's death has instigated the hunt for the wolves, will rediscover a meaning to life that was lost when she lost her brother.

Forever is a story of werewolves and love, but more then anything it is a story of Sam and Grace. The heart of this story is a couple who will never give-up on each other and never stop loving each other. A tender, heart pounding and unforgettable end to a series that has been so engrossing it will make you Shiver with longing when it's over.

Maggie Stiefvater Webpage

Maggie Stiefvater @ Scholastic

On sale: 01 August 2010
Price (AU): $29.99
ISBN: 9780545259088
Recommended age: 13+
In a word: Goodbyes
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Imaginary Girls

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

'If You Want Something Badly Enough, It Can Come True'

When Ruby said something I may not have always listened to her, but I always believed her. When Rudy said it was impossible for me to ever drown, I believed her. When Ruby said she would never leave me, I believed her. When Ruby said the impossible, I believed her. I had no reason not too. Everything she said always had a way of coming true. That was the magic of Ruby.

Being Ruby's little sister meant always being seen as Ruby's little sister, but I never really minded. Although everyone loved Ruby, would do anything for Ruby, in the end she only loved me. My sister practically raised me; she was the only one who ever cared for me. But after that night at the reservoir, the attempted swim across, I realised just how far she was willing to go to save me.

Imaginary Girls is a tale of love, sacrifice and the bond shared between two sisters. While the captivating and magical Ruby is the centre of Chloe's world, it is the reserved and awkward Chloe who is the centre of this story. A poignant, raw and fantastic story where girls rise from the dead, people live in underwater towns, balloons bring midnight messages of love and one sister will never stop believing.

Nova Ren Suma Webpage
Nova Ren Suma @ Murdoch Book
Imaginary Girls

On sale: 01 July 2011
Price (AU): $19.99
ISBN: 9781742665221
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Sisters
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Forgotten

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

'I Remember Forwards, And Forget Backwards'

She had no warning for the day ahead and she should have, it should have been in her notes. He should have been in her notes. Instead she was blind sighted by a new boy she has no memories of ever meeting, and since she can only remember the future she has to assume he is not a part of her future.

Reading through her notes she realises she had seen this boy before, both yesterday and the day before. It is evident that she will most likely see him again tomorrow, but for some reason he does not appear in her memories. However the presence of a new memory, one dark and foreshadowing death is about to turn her life upside down.

Forgotten is a past scribbled on notes and a future remembered before it is lived. While her mother is not around, her father is not in her life and her best friend is not speaking to her, the one person there for her is the one person she can't remember. A simple yet touching story of a girl who, although having no past, can see the future bright and clear. However despite her uniqueness she is just an ordinary girl falling in love and finding hope for the future.

Cat Patrick Webpage

Cat Patrick @ Hardie Grant Egmont

On sale: 01 June 2011
Price (AU): $22.95
ISBN: 9781921690624
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Forgotten
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
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When We Have Wings

When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett

'Flight Is A Powerful Dream
But Sometimes Dreams Should Stay Dreams'

When private detective Fowler took a kidnapping case from a flier client, already he realised he was in over his head. But not until he was bugged, followed, ransacked, threatened and maimed did he finally realise just how over his head he really was. What started out as a simple kidnapping, a nanny disappearing with her charge, soon turns into a flight for survival and a search for the truth.

From the start Fowler knew there were secrets being kept from him by his new employer, too many things just didn't make sense. How did a poor girl from RaRA-land end up working for a prominent family in the city? How did a nanny afford the impossibly expensive operation to gain her wings? Why would a girl with everything to lose just up and leave with someone else's child?

When We Have Wings is the story of Peri's determination to obtain her lifelong dream of flight. A dream she gave everything to achieve, only to realise too late just what she really gave up for it. With amazingly vivid imagery and a cast of characters you can't help but care for, this absorbing story will have you dreaming of flight while simultaneously questioning the ethics, morals and evolutionary repercussion of such a dream turned reality. Peri is an extraordinary girl, although you won't know just why until you have experienced her story.

Claire Corbett Webpage

Claire Corbett @ Allen & Unwin

On sale: 01 July 2011
Price (AU): $32.99
ISBN: 9781742375564
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Flight
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Steampunk Chronicles 0.5

THE STEAMPUNK CHRONICLES:

The Strange Case Of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

'Normal Girls Don't Have Something Inside Them That Makes Them Capable Of Remarkably Violent Things'

Being thrown unceremoniously out of a house closely followed by your carpetbag is no way to be fired. Although when you hit a governess so hard she's sent flying across the room without half of her teeth, well one can hardly blame others for thinking her the spawn of Satan and dismissing her without a reference. And so left on the streets with nowhere else to go Finley returns home to her mothers.

Finley is hardly home a day when a job opportunity lands in her lap. However why Lady Morton, a friend of her former employer, is happy to take her on knowing the circumstances of her termination is beyond her. But despite her reservations and the mystery surrounding her new employment, Finley is happy working for Lady Morton. That is until she discovers the sinister reasons behind a Lord Vincent's actions.

The Strange Case Of Finley Jayne is a compact yet feisty story of a girl who is unlike other girls. Finley is intelligent, bold and strong. Incredibly strong. She also has an other self that takes her over in times of stress and anger. As an introduction to the world of automatons, high society and mad scientist, this is the perfect prequel to the Girl in Steel Corset and if it's any indication of things to come, the Steampunk Chronicles should every bit as dark and exciting as this.

The Strange Case Of Finley Jayne - click for FREE ebook

Kady Cross Webpage

On sale: 01 May 2011
Price eBook (US): $2.99 - But Free For A Limited Time
ISBN: 9781459204140
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Finley
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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The Skychasers Trilogy #1

THE SKYCHASERS TRILOGY:
GLOW by Amy Kathleen Ryan

A Destiny Written In The Stars!

Earth has increasingly become uninhabitable, acid rains from the sky, fertile lands give way to barren deserts and people starve. For Kieran and Waverly and the other children aboard the space ship Empyrean they have no recollections of the harshness that Earth has become, but nor have they ever experienced sunshine, wind or the sea. Being born in space headed for a New Earth these children are humanities hope for a future.

Life aboard the Empyrean was simple and apart from living in a metal ship flying through space Waverly was just an average girl. That is until Kieran proposes to her. Waverly knows it is her duty to marry and have children of her own, being almost sixteen many would say she is old enough for such responsibility, but Waverly is not so sure. Although Kieran is kind and in truth she does love him, she can't help being drawn to another.

However when the Empyrean's companion ship the New Horizon approaches, Waverly discovers there are more important things in life besides love, there is survival. Separated from everyone she loves, surrounded by lies, deception and harsh truths, Waverly endures abuse, violence and kindness at the hands of these strangers that have captured her. Kieran, on the other hand will undergo torture, responsibilities and transformation with those who have been left behind.

Glow is just the beginning of this exceptional space adventure that will hold you captive. A brilliantly complex story that allows for heroes to make mistakes and the villains to act with the best intentions. This is a tale of two children growing up too soon, experiencing their world irrevocably changed and learning home will never be the same again. More then a story of humanities quest for a future, it is a dark and unvarnished look at how far people will go to survive. Simply a great read.

Any Kathleen Ryan Webpage

Amy Kathleen Ryan @ Pan Macmillan

On sale: 01 October 2011
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781742610320
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Survival
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Brookehaven Vampires Book 1

THE BROOKEHAVEN VAMPIRES:
Laney by Joann I. Martin Sowles

'This Is Just The Beginning'
  

When she first laid eyes on the hansom new guy she couldn't help but fantasise what it would be like to be held in his arms. However it was not her but her best friend that first had that honour, albeit under the most undesirable of circumstances. She had never felt for anyone what she felt for him and it seems he fells the same way. So why then was her aunt, who is more like a best friend, so against the one person she could possibly love?

The more time she spends in his presence the more time she wants to spend with him. She could happily spend forever staring into his beautiful emerald green eyes and if she had her way she would. However there is more to this gorgeous boy them meets the eye. He is older then her, he never seems to eat, he avoids direct sunlight and makes numerous reference to the past. Luckily for him she has an open mind when it comes to relationships.

Laney is a love story between a mortal human and an immortal vampire. However it is neither his blood drinking nor her desirable blood that is standing in the way of these star crossed lovers, but his family and hers. Although the vampire romance has been done before this story has a way of sucking you in, and along with the romance there is danger, blood and a mystery left unsolved. If you thought Twilight was good then you'll love this series.

Joann I. Martin Sowles Webpage
Paperback @ Brookehaven Publishing
Paperback @ Amazon
eBook @ Smashwords

On sale: 01 January 2010
Price (US): $15.99
ISBN: 9780984486717
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Vampires
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
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