Books I've read in 2011

I will use this page to list all the books I've read in 2011! All links go to my book reviews (I will try to keep them updated when I can.)

January (7)

Cate Of The Lost Colony by Lisa M Klein
Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin
The Merchant's Daughter by Iris Niven
Annexed by Sharon Dogar
Frostbite by Richelle Mead
A Beauitful Lie by Irfan Master
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson







February:

The Legacy by Gemma Malley
Thyme's End by B.R Collins
Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
The Queen's Lady by Eve Edwards

Georgette Heyer Challenge Review Link Up

This page is for participants in the Georgette Heyer challenge 2011 hosted here to link up their reviews for others to see. I hope that participants will read other reviews to help them decide which Heyer to read next!

 Thank you very much too all those who signed up- have fun exploring the wonderful world of Heyer! For those who want to find out more about the challenge or sign up visit THIS post.

Please write your name or your blog name (whichever you prefer) and link up to wherever you've posted the review e.g blog, Goodreads, Librarything.

Book Review; Crusade by Linda Press Wulf

I really like this cove because it captures
the spirit of the book well. I also
like the glossy and raised up red cross
in the middle on my paperback copy.

Summary (from blurb)

When a dazzlingly handsome boy riding a white charger arrives in Georgette's village she is spellbound- both by the boy and by the crowd that surrounds him. They are all children. The boy is even more entrancing when he speaks. He seeks volunteers to join his Crusade- a perilous mission from which some may not return.

Georgette has never left her village before, but she knows she will follow the boy. And so begins a journey filled with terrible danger, sacrifice and true love, a journey which will take all of Georgette's courage to survive.

My review and thoughts

When a surprise copy of Crusade arrived for review from Bloomsbury arrived through my door, I was very excited as it sounded just up my street. Before, I hadn't read any fiction about the Crusades or the Children's Crusade but I learnt about them at school so I was eager to read the author's interpretation of these events.

Crusade tells the story of one of many Children's Crusade through the eyes of  fictional characters Georgette and Robert, two very different young teenagers who are united on a quest to reach the Holy land. Robert is an orphan who was left on the church steps as a baby but he never stole food like the other orphans in his village. As he grows older, it became apparent that he is extraordinarily intelligent and by the time he is five years old he knows all the Latin prayers and hymns by heart. The Church Abbot notices his talent and takes him in as the Abbey's ward to be taught as his protege student. Georgette is a peasant girl whose mother died in childbirth. Finding her home life dull, she befriends the elderly village priest who teaches her more about her faith. When a young thirteen year old prophet who is no older than herself arrives in Georgette's village looking for new children to she is drawn to the prospect of seeking glory for God, unlike many of the other children who just want a chance to travel and see the world. Along with her brother, who is known for his fiery temper, she leaves her village and everything she has ever known along  to join the Crusade.
Later in the journey, when the Crusade stops at Robert's abbey to ask for food, Robert joins too. He has become dissatisfied with his life in the Abbey where everything is governed by routine and the Abbot and wants a different life purpose.

The journey is more difficult than expected and the children must face every hardship imaginable from starvation and sickness to death. For months, they must rely on the kindness and goodwill of the inhabitants of passing villages, towns and cities but with thousands of children with empty stomachs, food becomes extremely scarce and Georgette and Robert have no way of knowing when their next meal will be. The things that they had to endure are heart wrenching and emotional to read about because many of the children are very young at only eight. I am glad that the author did not try to shy away from the realities of what the Children's Crusade would have been like.

They were both really likable and strong characters and my heart went out to them in their struggles as they were very easy to warm and relate to. What I loved most about them was how despite all the terrible things that are happening around them and the realisation that the Crusade isn't as focused on their holy mission as they first thought, they both remained true to their beliefs and faith.
I really liked how the story was told from the point of view of a boy and a girl, especially as it makes the story more appealing to both genders. It was also really clever how the stories of Georgette and Robert began to come together and entwine towards the end. However, my only disappointment was when the book came to an end when their story together began to pick up. It did pick up all of the loose ends but it also left a lot to the imagination so if the author wanted to, there is room for a sequel.

I learnt a lot about the Children's Crusade through this fictional retelling of events and found the fate of these children very interesting. I think that it has just the right amount of action and history for younger readers to enjoy the story too and learn more about the Crusades must have been like by following the story of characters near their own age who it is easier to relate to.

Verdict: Linda Press Wulf has created a wonderful and beautifully evocative story based loosely on what little is known about the events of the Children's Crusade. I really recommend it!

Thank you to Bloomsbury UK providing a copy of this book for review.

Vampire Academy/Last Sacrifice Giveaway Winners!

The three winners of my UK Vampire Academy/Last Sacrifice giveaway are (chosen by Random.org)....... :

     Silver Thistle- chose Last Sacrifice

Jodie chose Last Sacrifice

Mel S- chose Last Sacrifice

Congratulations!- I will be sending out emails to the winners, which must be replied to within 5 days. Penguin UK will be sending out the prizes.

Thank you very much to everyone who entered and a huge thank you to Penguin UK for generously providing me the giveaway copies! :)

If you are looking for more UK and international giveaways check out the new blog created especially for them HERE. Thank you to Jodie of Books For Company for her hard work in setting it up!

Coverlicious: Beautiful Cover Dresses #1 - The Luxe and Rumours by Anna Godbersen

Coverlicious is a feature that I post here spontaneously where I feature anything to do with covers from covers I love and cover trends to look-a-like covers and cover reveals. I haven't done a Coverlicious post for a while but now Christmas is over and it is the start of 2011, I wan

Over the past few months I have noticed some beautiful dresses on the covers of books, so I thought would feature some over a couple of weeks in several different posts here.

Today's spotlight:

                 The Luxe and Rumours by Anna Godbersen

I adore these covers- they are just simply gorgeous! Anna Godbersen is so lucky to have such amazing cover art as I have known many fans of the series to have originally picked them up because the covers are so eye catching. I would just love to try on one of these dresses and go to a ball in it for one night. Wouldn't you just feel like a princess in one of them? I have to admit that they would be pretty hard to walk in though let alone dance in but a girl can have her dreams!

I have since found out that the dresses are actually inaccurate to the time but even though I think it historical detail is important, especially inside the book, their beauty gives it a good excuse.

Summary of the Luxe series (from the publisher's (Penguin) blog: 

 Glittering with jewels, brimming with secrets and loaded with eligible young men, The Luxe is the most delicious, tantalising and completely addictive read. Think The O.C. meets 19th century New York. High society, beautiful debutantes, buckets of scandal – in short, it’s just completely irresistible!

I read the series very quickly around Easter time and the divine covers didn't disappoint me. The summary above describes it very well, it really is addictive with characters that I grew to care about. It might not be historically accurate but it's a fun romp in the past and I really enjoyed it.



The Luxe-  To the left is a full picture of the cover without the back blurb and you can really see how large the dress really is. This dress is my favourite because I'm quite a big girly girl and I love the soft pink colour. The way the lace ruffles over each layer and the dainty rosebuds sewn subtly between give it a very feminine and pretty look but the massive size of the dress makes it more of a statement. The dress also tells you a lot about the character of Elizabeth in the book who it is supposed to be depicting as that is the type of character she is. If you look at the top picture, you can see that there are a lot of swirls and some writing at the top. Whilst I usually love these on covers, I think that they are a bit much on this cover and detract from the impact of the dress. I love the shiny gold writing though.

Whilst searching for cover photos I discovered some photos that the publisher used to promote it of seventeen year old Faye Edwards, who won a competition in a similar replica  dress reading the book around London. The dress she is wearing looks much easier to walk in than the one on the cover!  She is a very lucky girl! I also found out that the dress was on display at the Foyle's Department of Selfridges in London.

Rumours- This dress is distinctly different to the one on the cover of Luxe. It's deep, rich ruby red colour made of plain satin silk is simple but that is what makes it so bold and eye catching.  Again, it suits the character of Penelope Hayes as she is a very bold, stylish but backstabbing social queen. I prefer the swirls on the top cover picture on this one because the dress is simpler and so it makes it look less busy than it did on the Luxe.

Look out for my next Coverlicious post about the other cover dresses of of Envy and Splendour coming soon:)

I'd love to hear what you think in the comments!

 If you've read the books, did you like them as much as the cover or was the story disappointing? If not, would you pick them up because of the covers?

Book Review: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Thank you very much to the publisher for providing a copy of Bright Young Things for review. This does not influence my opinion in any way.

Goodreads Summary

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star…

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

 
My review and thoughts

I read Anna Godbersen's first series, the Luxe very quickly over the Easter holidays this year and I loved them! I featured Bright Young things in a Waiting on Wednesday post in the early days of blogging and have been excited about it ever since. As it was released in September in the US, I really enjoyed reading other blogger's reviews so I was very happy to be offered the opportunity to read it before the UK release by Penguin.
 

The story switched between the point of view of two best friends Letty and Cordelia who have escaped from their small hometown in hope of pursuing their dreams: Letty dreams of seeing her name in bright lights and Cordelia hopes to find her father in the big city although she hides this from Letty.  Despite their close friendship, the girls soon go their separate ways once in New York, which I found was a little implausible considering they had been best friends all their life. I would have liked to see them having adventures in the city together.

At the other end of the social scale is the glamorous New York socialite Astrid Donal, who is dating Cordelia's new found brother and quickly befriends Cordelia. I really liked the way we got to see the different sides world of New York through the eyes of each of the three girls: a flapper, an heiress and a starlet. Their voices were unique and each had their own interesting story of struggles and ambitions to tell. However, although the girls weren't unlikable, I didn't care about them as much as I usually do for other characters.

 My favourite of the three girls was Letty because despite being abandoned by Cordelia she tried to make the best of finally being able to chase her dreams in the city. She had a very likable innocence to her personality but a determined streak too that made her continue to aspire to her dreams even when she realised there was only a small chance of that happening. Her story was the most interesting for me too because she was alone in the world and had to try to survive by making new friends and getting a job. I also enjoyed seeing the rougher side of New York for those who are not rich. By the end of the book I cared about what happened to her character and I really hope that she achieves her dreams!

The love interests in the story seemed a little dull to me but they definitely had good potential and I hope to see them in the sequel. Although I didn't feel I knew enough about them to make a judgement on if they are right for one of the girls or not. My favourite boy was Cordelia's brother Charlie because he had such a protective nature with both Astrid and Cordelia. There is one boy who is very mysterious and we are left on a cliff hanger about, who I want to know more about.

As in the Luxe series, the description is wonderful and brings the city and life in the 'roaring 'twnties'  to life as each page is turned. The descriptions of beautiful dresses, luxurious houses and lavish parties really captured the period feel and were my favourite part of the book by far. This was enhanced by seeing this era through each of the girl's eyes because they are in different situations. Anna Godbersen's writing style is also really unique to her, like it was in the Luxe and she really knows how to pull readers into a story right from the beginning. The prologue for Bright Young Things was amazingly cryptic and hooking. It had me trying to figure out its meaning for a long time!

Verdict: I think that Bright Young Things sets up the era, characters and plot really well for the next books in the four part series and despite some of the small issues I had with it, I enjoyed it overall . I would recommend it to all fans of the Luxe series. It is a fun way to escape into the glittering world of New York in the twenties!

Quotes from Bright Young Things:

'Love is all right, as things go, but lovers can be a terrible waste of a girl's time'

'New York was more extraordinary than a girl from Ohio could possibly have imagined, that it was a place of wonders where the citizens used the sky as their tablet and airplanes for pens. '

The UK release date is January 6th 2011.