Into The Mists Trilogy #1

INTO THE MISTS TRILOGY:
Into The Mists by Serene Conneeley

'A Novel'

Every morning Carlie wakes to the same hellish realisation, her parents are dead and it is all her fault. With no family left to take her in, Carlie is sent halfway round the world to live with a grandmother she never knew existed. How terrible must her grandmother be if her mother ran away from her and never spoke to her or of her ever again?

Carlie may not understand her grandmother, or why her mother left her childhood home never to return, but she does understand grief and loneliness. Living with guilt is horrible enough, living with a stranger in a foreign land is even worse. But then something happens, out of the mist Carlie begins to uncover her mother's past and discovers a way to heal.

Into The Mists, on a moon lit night, Carlie will step through the past, glimpsing a life that could have been but for miscommunication, before re-emerging into a life filled with forgiveness and magic. This is a novel of healing, acceptance and the courage to continue after those we love have moved on. A story filled with love, loss, lyrics, and the tenderness of hope.

Serene Conneeley Webpage

On sale: 24 May 2013
Price (AU): $19.95
ISBN: 9780987050588
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Carly
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Shadowfell - Book 2

SHADOWFELL:
Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier

A Land Divided, A Girl With A Calling,

Leading A Rebellion Requires Great Sacrifices!
  

For too long Alban has been a land in turmoil, its people suppressed, the Good Folk shunned. The King has turned on his land and installed fear into his people but now the people are ready to fight back. The rebels of Shadowfell are preparing for a war against the King, a war to bring peace back to the land, a war to save them all and Neryn is the key to winning the war.

As a caller Neryn has the ability to call the other folk forth, without whose help there would be no war. But before she is able to call them to war she must first learn to master her gift. Neryn must travel the four corners of the kingdom in order to find the Guardians and learn from them the secrets of harnessing her power, but it is not an easy road to tread, and as a valuable asset to the resistance, she will not be travelling alone.

Tali, a skilled fighter and fierce loyalist to Alban and the rebellion, is not the easiest person to get along with at the best of times, so having to accompany Neryn on a dangerous journey across the country will bring rising tensions and new found respect. But while everyone is busy fighting and sacrificing for the resistance, Tali is frustrated to see that Neryn is distracted from her quest by Flint.

Raven Flight across a turmoil landscape, a call to the past, a hope for the future. A journey of trials and hardships, of friendships and love, this is a quest to save a land that is crying out to be healed. A beautiful tale that continues Neryn's quest to save her homeland from the hands of a tyrant. A story that is as moving as it is magical.

Kingdom Of Alban - map

Juliet Marillier Webpage

Juliet Marillier @ Pan Macmillan

On sale: 01 July 2013
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781742612249
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Caller
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Secrets of Carrick Book 3

SECRETS OF CARRICK:
Tantony by Ananda Braxton-Smith

The Truth Will Set You Free!

When Mam told her stories of danger and warnings to Mally and her siblings, Mally was the only one to really listen, the only one to take those warnings to heart. While her sibs spent their time in blissful ignorance, Mally saw only danger everywhere. Mally knew she was right to be afraid, but with so much to fear Mally cannot understand her brothers and sisters fearlessness, and while she loved them she hated their carefree ways.

Doyln Craig is a bully, violent and frightening, Mally goes out of her way to stay out of his. But lately, for some reason he is seeking her out, wanting something from her. All Mally wants is to left alone, to feel safe, but soon she is pulled into a journey across Carrick to mend a broken boy, heal a hare woman and finally discover her inner courage that will finally set her free and find her peace and acceptance.

Ghostheart uncovers a hidden tragedy, brings closure to loved ones and mends broken ties all through the courage of one frightened, fearful girl. Mally's fears have kept her isolated and alone, but when forced to confront the frightening, forced away from all that she holds safe, she will find she is not as alone as she had believed, not as powerless as she had felt. A beautifully written tale that will capture your heart and feed your imagination.

Ananda Braxton-Smith @ Walker Books

On sale: 01 May 2013
Price (AU): $18.95
ISBN: 9781742032184
Recommended age: 13+
In a word: Witch-Webster
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Wardstone Chronicles Book6

THE WARDSTONE CHRONICLES:
The SPOOK'S Sacrifice by Joseph Delaney

A Sacrifice For The Greater Good!
  

Despite Alice's training as a witch, she is Thomas Ward's friend. So even after Alice had been banished by the Spook and had returned to Pendle, Tom missed her. The Spook however would no longer tolerate Alice and her connection to the dark, his greatest fear was that Tom would be turned to the dark, therefore giving the Fiend unspeakable power. But not even the Spook can stop the dark from reaching his own home.

Tom's Mam has returned to the County seeking help in her homeland of Greece. After having enlisted the aid of the Pendle witches, Alice among them, Mam seeks out the help of the Spook, Bill Arkwright and her son Tom, who would never refuse his Mam. Although Bill Arkwright also agrees to accompany Mam and the witches to Greece to fight this great evil, the Spook refuses to sacrifice his principles by working with the enemy.

The Spook’s Sacrifice takes Tom to Greece, where lives will be lost, secrets revealed and the dark makes a powerful win. But as Tom is tempted ever closer to the dark through secrets and lies, and even after the greatest battle against the dark has been fought, there will be a terrible price to pay, and Tom will make the biggest sacrifice of all. The dark has never been more frightening in this, the most thrilling tale in the series yet.

Joseph Delaney Webpage

Joseph Delaney @ Random House

THE SPOOK'S

On sale: 02 August 2010
Price (AU): $17.95
ISBN: 9781862303522
Recommended age: 12-16
In a word: Greece
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Brave

Brave adapted by Irene Trimble
 

'Book Of The Film'
 

Once there was an ancient kingdom ruled by a much loved king and queen. The king was a large and fierce man who had fought the great bear Mordu and lost a leg in the struggle. But that did not stop him from his bear hunts and for this he became known as the Bear King. The queen was a knowledgeable and beautiful lady who felt it her duty to pass on all she knew to her daughter Merida, the princess.

As a princess, Merida had many duties, responsibilities and expectations heaped upon her, but it was her mother, the queen who pushed her to be perfect.  Merida knew she could not live up to her mothers ideals and struggled to make her mother understand that she was not like her, that she would never be like her, but her mother, the queen refused to listen. So Merida took drastic action resulting in her mother becoming a bear, a dangerous thing when your father is the Bear King.

Brave, the book of the film, is not your typical Disney princess story. There is no handsome prince rushing to the rescue of a princess in distress. There is only a princess who through selfish actions creates a rift in her kingdom, not to mention turns her mother into a bear, and must stand alone to set things right, saving her kingdom from war and her mother from death.

Those who have watched the movie may note the numerous though minor changes that are present throughout the dialogue and the action within this novel. However despite this distraction, this is a heartfelt, humorous and entertaining tale to enjoy on its own or as an accompaniment to the movie.

Brave

(includes 8-page full-color insert of scenes from the movie)
On sale: 22 June 2012
Price (AU): $8.44
ISBN: 9781445495101
Recommended age: 8+
In a word: Merida
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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