One of my favourite books from 2012. And no, I’m not killing any fairies.

Karou is a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague, leading a double life. She runs errands for Brimstone, a monster-like creature who collects teeth in his store in the Elsewhere, half in this world, half in the other. She has no idea how she came to be leading this life full of secrets, but that’s changes when her life is interrupted by someone attempting to close the doors to Elsewhere and she must find out what is going on, who she is, and what that means to her.

Every wonderful thing you’ve read in a review about this book is true, I promise. I fell in love with the lyrical prose, the well-crafted world building and the creative wordcraft and characters. Like every teenager, Karou feels like both in place and different to others at the same time. There are things about herself that she doesn’t understand, like she’s trying to grow into herself and figure out who she really is.

The difference from your typical teenage novel and this one is, of course, that Karou was raised by monsters and goes around the world collecting teeth for reasons she is never told. She seems to like her life, despite the secrecy, until one day the door to Elsewhere is attacked by … angels. One in particular, who can’t bring himself to kill her.

Read the rest of this post.

I’ve made up my mind. This is my favourite Melina Marchetta book. If my house caught fire, I’d probably grab it on the way out.

We have a signed copy of The Piper’s Son to give away. We’ll post details of the giveaway this week, so watch this space!

Last year I declared Saving Francesca as my favourite young adult book, but that’s not totally accurate. It’s my favourite teen novel. The Piper’s Son is a little more grown-up, and in this book, Melina Marchetta moves more firmly into young adult territory.

I was crying before I got to the end of chapter one, right through to the end, and I loved every minute of it.

Read the rest of this post.

Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres (Night Creatures, Book 1)

A lyrical, sensual and fascinating story let down by a disjointed plot and vague world building. Your mileage may vary.

There’s something seductive about the way Marianne de Pierres writes, and although I hesitated to pick this book up—not another young adult dark fantasy novel!—once I did I couldn’t put it down…until I got to the middle.

Retra escapes her closed community to search for her brother, who ran away to Ixion two years ago. It’s a mysterious place, where everyone lives for pleasure and newcomers are urged to ‘burn bright’. It’s a place where Retra, conditioned to be silent, calm and obedient, finds herself caught up in the politics and jealousies between the Ripers who promise to guard the young revellers, the various gangs in the city, the dreaded Night Creatures, and rebel factions who know that Ixion is not, after all, just about pleasure.

De Pierres sets the story up beautifully, taking the reader on the same journey as the bewildered Retra, for whom Ixion requires a complete reassessment of everything she knows (or has been taught) thus far. But as the story progresses, De Pierres falls into the common trap of keeping details thin in order to maintain various mysteries of the world she’s creating.

Read the rest of this post.

A moving story about heartache, anger, grief and love that was very hard to put down.

We normally don’t publish reviews before the release of a book, but due to next month’s focus on Australian authors, I’ve pushed the date forward for this book. If it’s not yet available in your bookshop, I hope you check again next week.

I won’t lie. I read the ending first. And it’s a good thing I did because Where She Went is an emotional, tear-jerking delight of a read, and it would have been a shame if I’d passed it up.

Twenty-one year old Adam Wilde is at the peak of his career—multi-platinum rock star, stalked by press, half of a celebrity couple—and he’s on the brink of a breakdown. He’s popping anti-anxiety pills, he loses it in front of a tabloid reporter and he barely even talks to the rest of the band.

Three years ago, his childhood sweetheart, Mia Hill, dumped him without explanation. A gifted cellist, Mia survived a horrific crash that killed her parents and younger brother, and although Adam was an integral part of her recovery, one day she just let him go.

Read the rest of this post.

Torment by Lauren Kate (Fallen, Book 2)

A page turner that raises more questions that it answers—just the kind of torment to reel Decadence right into another series.

Lauren Kate’s Fallen series is about a girl who falls in love with a fallen angel before she dies at the age of 17 and is reborn. In every incarnation, Luce Price’s life draws her to the immortal Daniel Grigori, but the ending has always been the same. Until now.

In this incarnation, Luce is plagued by the sinister-looking shadows (I picture them resembling the Dementors from Harry Potter) that no one outside the supernatural world seems to be able to see. Also, she has not been baptised, so this is her last life. She will not be coming back after she dies,

Read the rest of this post.

In keeping with Halloween, this month’s Mixed Bag is a mix of (mostly) otherworldly books by (mostly) Australian authors.

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Fallen #1)

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Fallen, Book 1)

When Luce starts senior year (year 12 for us) at a boarding school for troubled teens, she discovers that her classmates aren’t, well, normal, and that the reason the school hottie is avoiding her at all costs has something to do with her destiny—until for some reason her destiny doesn’t happen on schedule.

I might have enjoyed this story more if I hadn’t already read the many—oh, so many—teen urban fantasy books with similar characters and conflicts. The brooding, I’m-no-good-for-you-so-I’ll-turn-down-your-advances-by-being-rude-and-offensive hero just doesn’t work for me anymore. At least, not unless the heroine calls him out on it—and Luce doesn’t do it enough. It got interesting towards the end, but the main characters didn’t have enough shades of grey for me.

Read the rest of this post.

It’s a mix of genres this month in the Mixed Bag, which includes Deborah Locke’s memoir—a must-read for fans of Underbelly.

Don’t Bargain With The Devil by Sabrina Jeffries (School For Heiresses #5)

Dont Bargain With The Devil by Sabrina Jeffries (School For Heiresses, Book 5)

When Lucy Seton discovers that famous magician Diego Montalvo plans to build a pleasure garden next door to Charlotte Harris’s finishing, she’s determined to thwart his plans. But he’s sneaky and charming and continually makes Lucy forget her vow to be the paragon of propriety. Diego has ulterior motives, however. He intends to return Lucy to her long-lost grandfather even if he has to kidnap her.

Don’t Bargain With The Devil is the kind of book I might have enjoyed when I was just discovering historical romance, with its over-the-top dashing hero and the heroine who tries to be a good girl but can’t help herself in the hero’s presence. But I’ve been reading historical romance for a long time, and this one didn’t stand out above the rest. I skimmed bits of it, and while Jeffries comes up with some good lines here and there, the most interesting bit about the book is the mystery of who the hero in the final book of the series will be.

Read the rest of this post.

This month’s Mixed Bag features wildly different stories by Aussie authors, which have left me with…well, mixed reactions.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Micah Williams is a compulsive liar, and Liar is Michah’s attempt ‘to tell you my story…No lies, no omissions. That’s my promise.’ Zach, Micah’s friend, has gone missing and Micah’s story is a non-linear narration of events leading up to and following from Zach’s disappearance, interspersed with her family history.

You may have heard of this book due to the US cover controversy (a non-issue for Aussie readers because we got a different cover), but it’s  just as likely you’ve heard of it from the many great reviews it’s received. The praise is well deserved. Larbalestier has created an original and compelling if notoriously unreliable narrator in Micah—something the story depends on for its success.

If you know me at all, you know I almost always peek at a book’s ending. I have no problem with spoilers

Read the rest of this post.

I managed to read 7 books for the challenge (total of 8 for the month), when for the past 5 months I’d only managed 2-5 a month, so I think I achieved what I set out to do and that was to get over this slump and read more.

The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison

This was a book I had in my TBR box for a while, mainly because someone had spoilt something in the previous book, For a Few Demons More, so I was a bit put off reading that one and not about to jump ahead. I finally read For a Few Demons More before the challenge and decided to forge ahead with The Outlaw Demon Wails while the details of the last book were still fresh in my mind.

Rachel Morgan is determined to squash her inner adrenaline junkie and make wiser decisions that won’t land her and her friends in so much trouble. But a request for her help in obtaining an elf DNA sample from the ever-after leads to a revelation of Rachel’s true origins and changes her perspective on family and risk-taking.

Read the rest of this post.

Romance authors in the media

Australian romance author Anne Gracie was interviewed on the 9am show with David & Kim (click on Entertainment, then Books).

Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, the women behind popular romance blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and authors of Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels, were interviewed by Alan Brough on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Hilarity ensues.

Coming not so soon

I’ve been told that the Australian release date for Anna Campbell’s next novel, Captive of Sin, is December 16. Just in time for Christmas, but still so much longer than the US date. I don’t know if I can wait that long, to be honest. I haven’t seen any images of the cover yet.

Parallel import restriction debates continue

The Productivity Commission was due to hand in its report regarding restrictions on the parallel importation of books to Australia on Wednesday, but they’ve asked for and have been granted an extension until June. Until then, I expect we’ll hear more about the issue in the media. For some good arguments from both sides:

Read the rest of this post.