2015 Most Anticipated ........... Giveaway!

Now that I've teased you with these amazing sounding books for 2015, I thought it was only fair to give you the chance to win a copy!

The winner will get to select any book from the event that they wish. The prize will be shipped when the book is released. Since I will be using Book Depository the giveaway will be international (as long as they ship to your country).

If you missed any of the titles, here is what made my 2015 Most Anticipated list...

1 Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
2 Vendetta by Catherine Doyle
3 Finding Paris by Joy Preble
4 Damage Done by Amanda Panitch
5 The Witch Hunter by Virgina Boecker
6 Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul
7 Joyride by Anna Banks
8 Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
9 Anne and Henry by Dawn Ius
10 Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett
11 Drowning Is Inevitable by Shalanda Stanley
12 Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn
13 Never, Never by Brianna Shrum
14 The Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee
15 Proof Of Forever by Lexa Hillyer
16 Truly, Madly, Famously by Rebecca Serle
17 Fans Of The Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
18 Lock and Mori by Heather Petty

These link to the post if you wanted more details about the book and include an interview with the author in most cases.

Enter using the Rafflecopter below. As always, if you are under the legal age please have parental consent  before entering. Your address will not be stored or shared with anyone and is solely for the purpose of shipping your prize.

Good luck everyone! Happy Holidays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2015 Most Anticipated ..... Fans Of The Impossible Life

This next book is one that sold me just from the first line of it's synopsis. It seems like a character driven novel that will be amazing.

Kate Scelsa's Fans Of The Impossible Life has a synopsis that truly grabs you. Check it out and you'll be immediately adding it to your 2015 wishlist!

This is the story of a girl, her gay best friend, and the boy in love with both of them.

Mira is a pessimistic, chronic fatigue syndrome-suffering, vintage dress enthusiast who stopped going to her old school when she and her best friend Sebby decided to run away together, just for a little while. Ten months ago they stole her father’s car, set the GPS for Provincetown (“the gayest beach town north of Fire Island”) and set off on a two day adventure with a fateful vow to each other - that life would be different now that they were together. That their friendship would be enough to keep them both safe.

Now Mira’s starting over at Saint Francis Prep, where she promised her parents she would at least try to pretend that she could be normal, not a girl who sometimes can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby.

Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Mira’s new school who sees Sebby for the first time across the Saint Francis school lawn as if he’s been expecting him - a blond, lanky boy with a mischief glinting in his eyes.

As Jeremy finds himself drawn into Sebby and Mira’s world, he begins to understand the secrets that they hide in order to protect themselves, to keep each other safe from those who don’t understand their quest to live for the impossible. 

That first line, right? *wants*. It intrigues me, and basically made me desperate to read this. I love character driven novels, and they definitely seem to be the driving force for this one.

Kate kindly took the time to spill a few details about this book, and I approve of her choice of ice cream!

1 Describe Fans of The Impossible Life in three words.

Love is complicated.

2 If someone were to make an ice cream flavour in honour of your book, what might be included?

Coffee and chocolate swirl, with some kind of whiskey glaze. And rainbow sprinkles. So it’s more of a sundae, really.

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either it's world, it's characters, or something that helped inspire the story)?

Mira, one of the book’s main characters, shares a hobby with me, which is thrifting. Unlike Mira, who’s been thrifting since middle school, I didn’t start until I was an adult, and I only discovered it when I was touring with the theater company that I performed with for twelve years. Whenever we had time off in whatever city we were in, I would go looking for the closest goodwill or vintage store. I discovered that something about the experience of thrifting was really relaxing for me, and the result was that I often came back from tour with a much heavier suitcase than I Ieft with. Thrifting has helped me define my own style, and both Mira and I use it as a form of personal rebellion and also celebration. She and I agree that some days it can feel hard to love your body unconditionally, so the next best thing you can do is love what you put on it.

4 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel? 

It’s a toss up between The Dom on St. Mark’s Place in 1966 to see The Velvet Underground play Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable and 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris in 1930 to hang out in Gertrude Stein’s salon and watch her argue with Hemingway.

5 What three things do you need while revising?

Headphones that allow me to alternate between white noise and very loud music, friends and loved ones who don’t mind endlessly talking about the book with me, and my very large cat who provides psychic guidance and models peace of mind by napping on my arm.

6 If possible, please share the first line of Fans of The Impossible Life. (only answer if not too spoilery).

You have been here before.

Her description of the book (love is complicated) is amazing. It fits the synopsis and makes me want to know these characters, their connections, and see what happens. I need this book.

Fans Of The Impossible Life is set to be released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but do keep an eye out for it! You can add it to Goodreads in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win a copy of Truly, Madly, Famously (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Kate Scelsa on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

This concludes our event! Make sure you enter the giveaway going up tomorrow! Let me know in the comments what you think of this (or any) of the books mentioned!

2015 Most Anticipated ........ Truly, Madly, Famously

This next book is one that we know almost nothing about. It's a sequel to one of my favourite books of 2014. A book whose title was JUST revealed the other day.

Rebecca Serle's Truly, Madly, Famously is the sequel to Famous In Love. Since it does not have an official synopsis yet I am going to share the synopsis for Famous In Love instead

The romantic story of a girl who gets plucked from obscurity to star in the next major feature film franchise based on a book and the ensuing love triangles she gets entangled in on—-and off screen.

Meet Paige Townsen, Rainer Devon, and Jordan Wilder…

When Paige Townsen, a young unknown, gets cast in the movie adaptation of a blockbuster book series, her life changes practically overnight. Within a month, Paige has traded the quiet streets of her hometown for a crowded movie set on the shores of Maui, and is spending quality time with her co-star Rainer Devon, one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive. But when troubled star Jordan Wilder lands the role of the other point in the movie’s famous love triangle, Paige’s crazy new life gets even crazier.

In this coming-of-age romance inspired by the kind of celeb hookups that get clever nicknames and a million page views, Paige must figure out who she is – and who she wants – while the whole world watches.

I loved the first book, so much. After reading it you'll immediately want more Paige, Jordan and Rainer. Rebecca knows Hollywood, and she gets this triangle exactly right.

Rebecca kindly took the time to spill a few details about the next book for me.

1 What three words describe the sequel?

Fame. Sexy. Lights.

2 Can you reveal anything about the sequel (a location it takes place
for example)?

I can tell you that we will be spending a lot of time in LA, but that we probably haven't seen the last of Maui, either...

3 How would Paige describe Rainer and Jordan at the beginning of the novel?

Without giving too much away I'd say she is very close with one of them and very removed from the other.

4 What three things do you need while revising?

Coffee, coffee, coffee.

5 If you could travel to any place, anytime when and where would you travel?

Edinburgh, Scotland. I wrote a large portion of Famous in Love there and I hope to return for all subsequent books. It's the most creatively inspiring place in the world to me.

An L.A. setting will definitely make this feel even more 'Hollywood' than the first book. I have been dying over the teasers that Rebecca has been posting on her Twitter and this interview has only increased my need to read this book.

Truly, Madly, Famously is set to be released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but do keep an eye out for it! You can add it to Goodreads in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win a copy of Truly, Madly, Famously (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Rebecca Serle on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Are you a fan of Hollywood romances, and love triangles? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated - Melissa @ Raincoast Books

Today I have Melissa from Raincoast Books stopping by with her Most Anticipated titles of 2015! Pretty sure there are more than a few you're already excited about.

Most Anticipated 2015

Hi Kathy! Thanks for inviting me to share my 2015 Most Anticipated titles. As you know, since you kindly participated in the event, we just held a Spring Preview about upcoming Spring 2015 titles that we’re most excited about (you can check out some of the ones we’re anticipating with the hashtag #TeensReadFeed. This was a shameless promotion, yes. Oops?). You’d think that preview would prepare me for this, but I’m still not ready. How do you only choose one!? Therefore, I’ve decided that I’m going to talk briefly about a bunch of titles I’m super excited for, instead of going in depth about just one. Sound good? Good.

One of my absolute favourite YA series that I have read so far is The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski.  Plus, after the brutal cliffhanger that The Winner’s Curse ended with, obviously one of my most anticipated titles has to be The Winner’s Crime.  If you haven’t checked out The Winner’s Curse yet, do so now! You won’t regret it. I’ve had the pleasure to already read The Winner’s Crime, and let me say, it was just as gorgeously written as the first. I really love this series, and I highly recommend reading this one!

Fairest by Marissa Meyer is also on my list of Most Anticipated books of 2015.  Originally, when I found out the final installment of The Lunar Chronicles, Winter, was being postponed until November 2015, I was horrified. But then I learned the reason for the delay in publishing Winter is because the wonderfully prolific Marissa Meyer had written a prequel for the series from Levana’s point of view. I’ve had the opportunity to read this, and let me tell you that it’s just as brilliant as you’d expect! 

Another one of my most anticipated books is written by a Canadian! There’s a 

brand new Janet Gurtler book coming out this spring, called The Truth about Us.  We’re such big fans of Janet here at Raincoast, and although I haven’t yet read this one, I’m so excited about it.  It sounds like a great contemporary read, and you can take a look at the description here:

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie… until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart - and no one seems to care.

But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences—not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world… might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

If you’ve never read anything by Beth Kephart, you need to rectify that immediately. I love Beth Kephart’s writing, which is why my next most anticipated pick is One Thing Stolen. She has such stunning prose, and I was blown away by the last book of hers I read called Going Over. While I haven’t yet had a chance to read an advance of this one, I’m really looking forward to it. Plus it’s set in Florence. And it has the most interesting premise. So seriously, everyone should try reading this! Not to mention, are you looking at that cover? So gorgeous.

And finally, one of the books I am most looking forward to is a bit of a departure from YA, and fiction for that matter.  The Last Love Song by Tracy Daugherty is a biography on one of my favourite writers, Joan Didion.  (Side note, if you’re looking for a good nonfiction book or collection of essays, read Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Didion. I am in awe of her prose.) I have always been so in love with Joan Didion’s writing, and I am excited to have the opportunity to learn more about her life with this biography. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m really looking forward to reading this one!

So that’s just a handful of some of my Most Anticipated titles of 2015! It’s so hard to choose, but it had to be done.  Thanks again, Kathy, for the opportunity to talk about some of my most anticipated upcoming books!

I want to think Melissa for taking the time to write up this post. There are some exciting books (and I can confirm the amazingness of The Winner's Crime) coming our way in 2015!

2015 Most Anticipated - From Vikki @ Penguin

Today I have the lovely Vikki from Penguin Canada stopping by to share some of her 2015 Most Anticipated titles. There is a little something for everyone here so I am pretty sure you'll be adding at least one of these to your wish list in the new year.

In the midst of all the 2014 best of lists, I’m already looking ahead to the next year in books and getting excited to share some of my most anticipated reads. First up is ROLLER GIRL. Remember the movie Whip It, in which Ellen Page learns all about life, love and girl power when she joins a roller derby team? Take that premise, make it age appropriate for a 10 year old, and then give it a bright, graphic novel treatment and you have one of my most anticipated middle grade reads of 2015. Middle grade graphic novels with female protagonists are having a moment, given the popularity of Raina Telgemeier’s SMILE, DRAMA, and SISTERs, the GG-award winning THIS ONE SUMMER by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, and 2014 favourite, EL DEAFO by Cece Bell. ROLLER GIRL is about the time in your life where you realize that maybe you and your best friend have different interests, and that it’s okay to branch out. It’s also about tenacity, female empowerment, and the importance of a good roller derby name. Mine would totally be Alice Munroad-Kill.

I’m also pumped about Susan Juby’s return to contemporary YA fiction. I could not be more exited for THE TRUTH COMMISSION, the very funny, often gut-wrenching story of Nanaimo-based art student Normandy Pale. The story is presented as Norm’s final assignment for creative writing and Juby has a lot of fun with footnotes, illustration, and asides. Fans of Maria Semple’s WHERE’D YOU GO BERNADETTE and E. Lockhart’s THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU BANKS will appreciate Juby’s dry sense of humour, vivid characters and deft handling of moral ambiguity.

Fans of breakout fantasy hit THE GLASS SENTENCE by S.E. Grove will be happy to know that the follow-up book, THE GOLDEN SPECIFIC, is just as rich with unique maps, secrets, and adventure as the first book, and those of you who like your historical fiction steamy with a side of feminism will love MAD MISS MIMIC from debut Canadian author Sarah Henstra.

I want to thank Vikki for taking the time to write up this post for me. 

Any Penguin titles you're dying to read in 2015? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated ......... Proof Of Forever

My next selection is filled with summer, friendships, and secrets. It's a perfect book to kick off your summer reading and certainly has the potential to be bittersweet.

Just check out this Goodreads synopsis and you'll immediately wish it was June so you could read this by the pool.

BEFORE: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends.

AFTER: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories.

THEN: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed.

NOW: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again.

ALWAYS: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.

I love novels about friendships. Add in this secret that could tear them apart and I am sold. I hope the friendship aspect is really strong and that romance is minimal because it's been far too long since I've read one of those.

I got Lexa to share some details about Proof Of Forever, as well as what ingredient would be in an ice cream based off her novel.

1 Describe Proof Of Forever in Twitter format (140 characters or less)

Four estranged friends are given a second chance to make things right, by reliving the summer they were 15... the summer everything changed.

2 If someone were to make an ice cream flavor for your book, what might be included?

Swirls of cotton candy that taste like memories.

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either it's world, it's characters, or something that helped inspire the story)?

Beyond being a friendship story, the book is really about growing up and learning that sometimes the only thing you can actually change is yourself and how you see things.

4 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want to travel? 

Perhaps I’d have tea with Chekhov in late 1800s Moscow and talk about his early ideas for The Seagull or some such. I’m not sure we’d really get along. The tea would probably be too smoky and he would pontificate a lot about how the world is going to crap, but then we would drink vodka and chase it with pickles and that would be fun.

5 What three things do you need while revising?

Caffeine, confidence, and a friend to help me see the big picture.

6 If possible, please share the first line of Proof Of Forever.

Just do it.

I want to think Lexa for taking the time to answer these questions for me. If possible, I am looking forward to reading it even more now.

Proof Of Forever is released June 2nd, 2015 but you can pre-order it now

Amazon USA/Canada // Chapters // Barnes and Noble // 

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win a copy of Finding Paris (or any of my featured titles).

You can follow Lexa Hillyer on Twitter, visit the Paper Lantern Lit website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Where is your favourite place to read in the summer? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated .... From Suman @ Harper Collins

Today I have the lovely Suman from Harper Collins offering up her choices for books that should be on your radar for 2015. There are definitely some amazing sounding books on this list. 

Okay, so, before I get started I need to say that there are so many amazing books coming out next year that my heart honestly cannot even handle it. My list originally included 25 books, but I figured it was cruel to make you read something that long, especially when so many of you are still studying for exams (ETA: Good Luck!!). I also only included books coming out during the first half of next year because otherwise there would be well over fifty titles, and, again, I'm not cruel.   

So, here we go!

1. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (February 10, 2015)

I'm tempted to just leave a bunch of exclamation points here. We're SO excited for this book. Everyone we know is SO excited for this book. 

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood-those with red and those with silver. Mare's a Red, destined to serve the Silvers, whose supernatural abilities have granted them god-like status. A twist of fate leads Mare to the royal palace, where, she ends up discovering a power of her own-an ability that shouldn't be possible for a Red… 

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Read the first chapter of Red Queen here. 

2. Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver (March 10, 2015)

A new book by Lauren Oliver! What else do I really need to say? Vanishing Girls follows two sisters whose relationship is altered by a terrible accident, a missing nine-year-old girl, and the shocking connection between the two. My coworkers and I are huge fans of Lauren's previous books and we cannot stop raving about this latest one! It's beautifully written and full of so much suspense, we guarantee you'll be on the edge of your seat the entire time. 

3. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (April 7, 2015)

If you follow me on Twitter, you've heard me talk about this book for months. I got to read the manuscript early this year and it's been on my mind ever since. 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is an incredibly funny and poignant coming-of-age, coming-out story. When an email falls into the wrong hands, sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier's secret is at risk of being exposed. Now Simon is being blackmailed: if he doesn't help class clown Martin get a date with his crush, he'll tell everyone Simon's secret. Also at risk of being exposed? The privacy of Blue, the boy Simon's been secretly emailing (and definitely falling for).

Read this book, you guys. You won't regret it. 

4. 99 Days by Katie Cotugno (April 21, 2015)

From the author of How to Love, one of our favourite books last year, 99 Days follows Molly Barlow as she faces one long, hot summer-99 days-with the boy whose heart she broke and the boy she broke it for…his brother. As expected, Katie's writing is stunning and the chemistry between her characters is just wow. I stayed up until 3 am reading this one on my laptop and may have fallen asleep at my desk the next morning. Totally worth it. 

5. Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley (April 28, 2015)

Maria Dahvana Headley's debut is an intelligent, multilayered fantasy that follows Aza Ray Boyle, a teenage girl who's caught between two very different worlds, and two destinies. Aza's journey pulls her deep into the question of home, of love, of self, and what it means to find them all. Magonia has impeccable world-building, perfectly alternating POVs, and one of the most original storylines we've ever read. We can't wait for you guys to read it. 

What books are you excited to read? Let me know on Twitter @HCCFrenzy or @suman_says!

-Suman 

A huge thank you to Suman for taking the time to write this up! You can check out more from HCC Frenzy via their website. Any of these titles catch your eye? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated ..... Lock and Mori

This next book is one that plenty of people will be buzzing about. Sherlock Holmes has had many adaptations, and plenty of liberties have been taken with the character, and the premise in various retellings. This one, however, jumped onto this list not because of anything to do with this take on Sherlock, but rather it's take on Moriarty.

Read this all too brief synopsis and you'll be immediately sold and adding it to your own 'to be read' wishlist for 2015

Debut author Heather Petty's Lock & Mori trilogy, in which a female Moriarty teams up with her classmate Sherlock Holmes to solve a mystery in modern-day London, until the answers lead him too close to all that she's been hiding.

A female Moriarty. A FEMALE MORIARTY! Is it wrong that I want to ship them? I want kissing and angst! I also cannot wait to see what role Watson will take in this adaptation.

Heather Petty took the time to answer some questions about adapting an iconic character, why plain tea would suit her novel, and much more.

1 Describe Lock and Mori in Twitter format (140 characters or less)

LOCK & MORI is a Sherlock Holmes origin story told from the perspective of a 16-year-old, female Moriarty, who lives in modern London.

2 If someone were to make a tea flavour in honour of your book, what might be included?

Depressingly underwhelming answer to a super cute question: PG Tips? Boring, but reliable when you just need tea with milk and your brain is too preoccupied with the problem at hand to give much thought to tea flavors. :)

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either its world, its characters, or something that helped inspire the story)?

I can’t share any secrets yet! But I think I’m always most inspired by gaps in history or folklore and “what if” questions. The idea for this novel came from both. We don’t know a lot about Moriarty from the original stories, which gave me free reign, for the most part, in crafting the character. I also thought it was super interesting that Watson never actually meets Moriarty. He just relays what Sherlock told him as if it were true.

When the main idea for the book finally coalesced for me, I thought, “What if Sherlock lied about Moriarty? What if Sherlock has always known that Moriarty is out there? What if they knew each other before Sherlock met Watson? What if they used to be best friends?”  Obviously the concept morphed even more from there to become what it is in the book, but those were my starting points.

4 Your novel is inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Were you at all nervous about creating something inspired by a beloved classic? 

Definitely! Writing derivative work is always scary, because there is an existing readership/fanbase who probably knows the original material as well, if not better, than I do. That readership and the fans of the various television/movie adaptations all come to anything Sherlock-related with a certain set of expectations, which can be really hard to meet. 

I was really lucky to have a Sherlock super-fan read and do a critique of the book for me when it was in its early stages. When he said he liked the book, I was so incredibly relieved! My literary agent is also a really big Sherlock Holmes fan, so her love of the book gave me a lot of confidence that the story would appeal to people who love the characters.

5 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel? 

I’d maybe like to sit with Dorothy Parker at the Algonquin Round Table meet-ups in 1920s Manhattan. Jazz Age New York might be really cool.

6 What three things do you need while revising?

Coffee, Swedish Fish, and someone who will listen to me whine. That last one is probably the most important. I’m really lucky to have an amazing group of writers who let me talk through/argue out logic issues and other rough patches while I edit and revise.

7 If possible, please share the first line of Lock & Mori. (Only answer if not too spoilery).

I wore a hat with a feather plume the first time I met Sherlock Holmes.

I love that basic tea is what she selected simply because Sherlock has got too much going on to worry about tea flavours. It totally fits the character. If you are not from England/do not know already PG Tips is a brand of tea there.

I LOVE that this is told from her perspective. The fact that Sherlock fans have read and loved this makes me incredibly excited.

Lock and Mori is set to be released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but do keep an eye out for it! You can add it to Goodreads in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win a copy of Lock and Mori (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Heather Petty on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Are you a Sherlock fan? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated ....... This Monstrous Thing

The next selection for This Monstrous Thing, a Frankenstein inspired tale of a brother who uses clockwork to revive his murdered brother. Yup, clockwork. Basically this is going to be amazing.

Read this brief synopsis and you'll be wishing you could read it immediately. Particularly if you're a fan of the classics!

Pitched as a reimagining of Frankenstein set in an industrialized 1818 Geneva, where a teenage mechanic must rediscover the line between man and monster after he uses clockwork to bring his murdered brother back from the dead.

Love that this will mix clockwork with the Frankenstein tale. It really lends itself to this sort of blending and I fully expect it'll be an emotional, slightly unsettling story. You can certainly tell it's taken inspiration from the rich and iconic tale.

Mackenzi Lee took the time to answer some questions about her book, design some tea that is perfect for the season, and share her novel's killer first line.

1 Describe This Monstrous Thing in Twitter format (140 characters or less)

Boy uses clockwork to resurrect his dead brother. Brother comes back monstrous. OH NO PANIC. And it all happens in a steampunked Switzerland
  
2 If someone were to make a tea flavour in honour of your book, what might be included?

The book takes place in December and several key scenes are set in and around Christmas markets, so it would probably be a Christmas-y tasting tea. Apples and oranges and cloves and cinnamon, like wassail. It would smell festive while brewing. The aroma alone would probably make you start caroling.

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either it's world, it's characters, or something that helped inspire the story)?

I visited Geneva, the city where most of the book is set, a few months after I turned in my final manuscript. It was exciting, but also sort of terrifying—what if I got everything wrong?! While I was there, I spent a few hours wandering around the old town, and ended up going to the square where my main character, Alasdair, lives. I was delighted to find that what is actually there is a restaurant called La Clémence—which is also the name of one of the book’s main characters! It felt like a sign. A Frankensign, as my agent would say.
While in Geneva, I also creeped through a hedge for a better view of the house where Mary Shelley lived while she wrote Frankenstein. But that’s another story.

4 What about the Frankenstein tale inspired you to create This Monstrous Thing?

Oh man, what doesn’t inspire me? Frankenstein is such a fascinating book. It asks so many difficult and complicated questions and doesn’t offer easy answers for any of them. There are no clear heroes or villains, and even the best characters do terrible things. 

Because my initial access point to Frankenstein was a stage version told mostly through the lens of the Creature, I became very interested in the questions it asks about the nature of monstrousness. What makes a monster, and are any of us born to be one thing or another? I was also swept up in the idea of Frankenstein as a science creation myth that was born from the anxieties of an enlightenment age. That got me curious as to what the book might have looked like in an industrial setting. What did a steampunk creation myth look like, and what would make a man monstrous in a mechanical age?

5 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel? 

This is HARD. Mostly because history is awesome, but also disgusting. Whenever I think of a time period I’d like to go back to, I immediately follow it up with, “But disease and filth and sanitation….and also internet….” I would miss internet.

But if hygiene and wifi were not concerns, I would probably go back to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

6 What three things do you need while revising?

Diet Coke, Diet Coke, and Diet Coke.
I might have a problem.

7 If possible, please share the first line of This Monstrous Thing. (only answer if not too spoilery).

“My brother’s heart was heavy in my hands.”

That opening line, right? Shivers. I cannot wait to read this one. Her tea sounds amazing and is something I would love to drink as the time before Christmas grows short.

This Monstrous Thing is set to be released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but do keep an eye out for it! You can add it to Goodreads in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win a copy of This Monstrous Things (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Mackenzi Lee on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Do you like retellings of classic tales? Are you a fan of steampunk/clockwork novels? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated ....... Never, Never

The next selection for my 2015 Most Anticipated Event is going to surprise nobody. Featuring a boy who wouldn't grow up, and a certain Captain, this novel was an easy addition to my list.

Read this brief synopsis and you'll be just as intrigued as I am, particularly if you're a huge Peter Pan fanatic.

Brianna Shrum's NEVER NEVER, a retelling that starts when James Hook, the boy who only wanted to grow up, meets Peter Pan, the only boy who didn't, and follows their journey from innocent friends to the fiercest rivals in all of Neverland.

Brianna took the time to answer some questions for me. She's made some amazing sounding ice cream (and that name!!) and tantalizingly teased a darker, more sinister Peter for her story.

1 Describe Never, Never in three words or less.

Three words. Oh man….I’m tempted to just panic and pull a Dumbledore and shout out “Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” But I won’t. Three words: Dark. Romantic. HOOK.

2 If someone were to make an ice cream flavour for your book, what might be included?

That’s an awesome question. Let’s see. Rum, it would definitely include rum. And probably some sort of multi-flavored stripe of berries running through it (it’s about the only thing kids can eat in Neverland when they’re with Peter). Add in a ribbon of extra, extra dark chocolate, and a smattering of pixie dust. ;) Pixie Rumberry.

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either its world, its characters, or something that helped inspire the story)?

Hmmmm, a secret about a character: So I’ve written 5 manuscripts, 1 before Never, Never, and 3 since. Lots of baddies. But Peter Pan in Never, Never is the character I hate the most, unequivocally. More than ANY other character I’ve ever written or probably will ever write.

And a nice one about the book itself: A portion of my earnings on this book are going to the Greater Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, which is the exact hospital that J.M. Barrie left all his earnings from the original to after he died. So, kind of a fist-bump to Barrie :)

4 Your book draws inspiration from Peter Pan. Can you tell me something that particularly inspired you from the classic tale?

The thing that inspired me the most was definitely this line from J.M. Barrie’s original: “When they [the Lost Boys] seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out…” I’ve always been fascinated with good and evil and the myriad of shades in between, and when I read that line, I thought, “Holy what? Did Barrie just say…Peter legit MURDERS Lost Boys?” Pan is supposed to be this guy everyone loves, everyone roots for, but in that line, I think Barrie is letting us know that this kid is not all he seems to be. What if someone *cough* James Hook *cough* was drawn into this world of Neverland, and then realized it was not at ALL what he'd expected it to be, but there was nothing he could do about it? And my mind just kind of twisted everything out from there, to create this evil vs. evil world where, yes, Hook is wicked, but Pan brings a new meaning to the word.

5 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel? 

This question would be more difficult if I wasn’t SUPER into Outlander right now. So I’m gonna go 1700’s Scotland. But I require a Jamie to be there. Can I have a Jamie? (Or at LEAST someone similarly kilted and Scottish accented and swoon-worthy.)

6 What three things do you need while revising?

Arizona Diet Green Tea. (I’m as addicted to it as Hook is to rum.) Some awesome movie soundtrack, preferably without any words (Revised this one to the 2003 Peter Pan soundtrack, Braveheart, and Gladiator.) And Pop Secret homestyle popcorn, baby.

7 If possible, please share the first line of Never, Never. (only answer if not too spoilery).

All children, except one, wish to stay young. James Hook, however, wanted to grow up.

I want to thank Brianna for taking time to answer these. Bonus points for using a Harry Potter reference, and teasing my (not so) inner Peter Pan fangirl to insanity. I cannot wait to get my hands on this. A dark Peter is super intriguing and that first line brings to mind the classic story all too perfectly.

A special mention of the fact that a portion of the sales will go to a children's hospital in honour of J.M. Barrie! That is amazing!

Oh, and I would very much like for PixieRumberry to be a thing, please.

Never, Never is set to be released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but do keep an eye out for it!

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win a copy of Never, Never (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Brianna Shrum on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Are you a huge Peter Pan fan? If not do you love retellings? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated ...... Delicate Monsters

The next selection is from an author who I've heard nothing but amazing things about. This particular novel caught my attention because of it's synopsis, and the potential for gut wrenching, full on ugly crying mixed with some incredibly twists.

Read this Goodreads synopsis you'll see that there is more than a hint of a crushingly sad ending, and some intense sounding elements that basically result in you NEEDING to read it.

From the Morris-Award winning author of Charm & Strange, comes a twisted and haunting tale about three teens uncovering dark secrets and even darker truths about themselves.

When nearly killing a classmate gets seventeen-year-old Sadie Su kicked out of her third boarding school in four years, she returns to her family’s California vineyard estate. Here, she’s meant to stay out of trouble. Here, she’s meant to do a lot of things. But it’s hard. She’s bored. And when Sadie’s bored, the only thing she likes is trouble.

Emerson Tate’s a poor boy living in a rich town, with his widowed mother and strange, haunted little brother. All he wants his senior year is to play basketball and make something happen with the girl of his dreams. That’s why Emerson’s not happy Sadie’s back. An old childhood friend, she knows his worst secrets. The things he longs to forget. The things she won’t ever let him.

Haunted is a good word for fifteen-year-old Miles Tate. Miles can see the future, after all. And he knows his vision of tragic violence at his school will come true, because his visions always do. That’s what he tells the new girl in town. The one who listens to him. The one who recognizes the darkness in his past.

But can Miles stop the violence? Or has the future already been written? Maybe tragedy is his destiny. Maybe it’s all of theirs. 

I got Stephanie to share a few details of her novel, and she adds something to her "novel inspired" ice cream that definitely makes me want some!

1 Describe Delicate Monsters in three words.

Love and cruelty.

2 If someone were to make an ice cream flavour for your book, what might be included?

Sonoma Valley wine.

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either its world, its characters, or something that helped inspire the story)?

There are three narrators: a teenage girl (Sadie Su) and two brothers (Emerson and Miles Tate).

4 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want to travel? 

I don’t think I’m built for time travel, but I’d love to visit present-day Italy.

5 What three things do you need while revising?

Noise-canceling headphones. Endorphins. Self-doubt.

6 If possible, please share the first line of Delicate Monsters.  

A ropes course was a shitty place for self-discovery.

I want to thank Stephanie for taking the time to answer these questions. I find it interesting that she'd like to stay in present day, and this novel sounds soul crushing in the best way. I am also hoping for a few surprises along the way.

Delicate Monsters is set to release on June 9, 2015 but you can pre-order it at the following links

Chapters //  Amazon // Barnes and Noble

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win Delicate Monsters (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Stephanie Kuehn on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Have you read a book by this author before? If so, let me know in the comments what books you read. Will you be checking out this new novel?

2015 Most Anticipated ..... Drowning Is Inevitable

The next pick doesn't come out until Fall 2015, but it's limited synopsis/teaser has me beyond excited to read it. A group of teens on the run after they accidentally kill someone?! So danger and a road trip?! Yes, please.

Read this Goodreads synopsis and tell me it's not already on your 2015 wishlist

Drowning Is Inevitable, about four teens who flee to New Orleans in the wake of an accidental homicide where they hope to find a solution to an unfixable problem. 

I am looking forward to learning more about this book (what they decide to share, this one seems twisty and filled with secrets) as the release date comes closer.

Shalanda took the time to answer a few questions, whip up some ice cream, and dishes on hanging out in graveyards!

1. Describe DROWNING IS INEVITABLE in three words. 

Haunting, a bit dark, hopeful.

2. If someone were to make an ice cream flavor for your book, what might be included? 

If someone were to make an ice cream flavor for my book they would need unsweetened blackberries, heavy whipping cream, and sugar syrup.

3. Can you share a secret about your book (either it's world, it's characters, or something that helped inspire the story)? 

I was walking in a graveyard in St. Francisville, Louisiana, when I found a tombstone that inspired the story. The tombstone was one of a girl who died on her eighteenth birthday. I thought the odds of that being coincidental were pretty rare and that is how the story took shape.

4. What type of research did you have to do for this novel? 

Other than spending time in graveyards, I studied maps of back roads in Louisiana and researched different routes from Central Louisiana to New Orleans. My characters are on the run in this story and it was important to know which way they would go and why.

5. If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want to travel? 

I want to see Greece in any time period. 

6. What three things do you need while revising? 

When revising I need isolation, snacks, and music.

7. If possible, please share the first line of DROWNING IS INEVITABLE. 

St. Francisville, Louisiana, where I was on suicide watch, hid between green bluffs and the Mississippi River.

A big thank you to Shalanda for taking the time to answer these questions. I totally got shivers reading about the grave that inspired the story (the girl who died on her 18th birthday). I cannot wait to see how this story unravels.

Drowning is Inevitable is schedule to release in Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but you can add it to your Goodreads account in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win Drowning Is Inevitable (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Shalanda Stanley on Twitter, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Do books of the genre appeal to you?  Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated ...... Blood and Salt

The next selection for my 2015 Most Anticipated Event is one that's been on my radar for quite a long while. Blood and Salt has been called Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn and I basically want to read this immediately.

Read this Goodreads synopsis and you'll be rushing to add this to your own 'to be read' list. It sounds dark, sexy, romantic, and (did I already mention) DARK.

“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”

These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.

Kim was kind enough to answer some questions about the book, design some ice cream, and explain why she thinks Romeo and Juliet and Children of the Corn pair well together.

1 Describe Blood and Salt in Twitter format (140 characters or less)

Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn.

2 If someone were to make an ice cream flavour for your book, what might be included?

I'll let the title speak for itself. But for decency sake, let's say-- red velvet cake and sea salt.

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either it's world, it's characters, or something that helped inspire the story)? 

The setting is loosely based on the place I grew up in rural Kansas (Quivira). I couldn't wait to get out of there, but it's in my blood--my soul. It's possible to hate something and love it all at once. That's the main theme of Blood and Salt-- the destructive force of love--on every level.

4 "Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn" is an unusual pairing. What prompted you to mix those two together?

I love horror and romance, especially together. I find in all great horror there's an element of seduction and in all great romance there's a whiff of death.
  
5 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel?

I'd like to wander the plains of the midwest in the summer of 1541--just like Coronado when he traveled to Quivira,Kansas. The prairie grass was so high and vast, people got lost in it-- lost their minds. I probably would've died in the first twenty minutes-- my eyesight is godawful-- I would've walked right up to a herd of buffalo thinking they were cute little doggies. But it would've been thrilling-- the sound of the wind moving through the crops--the scent of wild honeysuckle and fertile earth--not knowing what was around every corner. 

6 What three things do you need while revising?

1) Vats of iced green tea. 2) A restroom-- see answer #1 (lady bladder) 3) Advil.
I can easily lose an entire day revising. That never happens to me when I'm drafting.

7 If possible, please share the first line of Blood and Salt. (only answer if not too spoilery).

The dead girl hung upside down over our kitchen table.

I want to thank Kim for taking the time to answer these questions. It's made me even more excited to read this book! The opening line already sets a particular tone and I cannot wait!

Blood and Salt is released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but you can add it to your Goodreads account in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win Blood and Salt (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Kim Liggett on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Do you scary stories? What about ones that mix in a little romance? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated ...... Anne and Henry

Next up is a modernized version of a real life tragic romance. Everyone knows the story of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn...and it's ending. This next pick sets the iconic story in highschool and I am officially dying to read it.

Read this Goodreads synopsis and you'll be itching to read this one as well. If you're fascinated by The Tudors you'll definitely want to add this one to your watch list.

Anne
Wild, brazen, mischievous, bewitching

Henry
Driven, haunted, charming, magnetic

Apart, they are bound to destroy themselves. Together, they are bound to destroy each other.

Henry Tudor's life has been mapped out since the day he was born: student president, valedictorian, Harvard Law School, and a stunning political career just like his father's. But ever since the death of Henry's brother—perfect, high-achieving Arthur—his family has been twice as demanding. And now Henry's trapped: forbidden from pursuing a life as an artist or dating any girl who's not Tudor approved.

Then Anne Boleyn crashes into his life.

Anne is wild, brash and outspoken. She is everything Henry is not allowed to be—or to want. But soon Anne is all he can think about. His mother, his friends, and even his girlfriend warn him away, yet his desire for Anne consumes him. Henry is willing to do anything to be with her. But once he has her, their romance could destroy them both.

Inspired by the true story of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, Anne & Henry reimagines the intensity, love, and betrayal between one of the most infamous couples of all time. 

I got Dawn to spill some secrets, design some amazing sounding tea, and dish on bringing the historical into modern times.

1. Describe Anne and Henry in Twitter format (140 characters or less)

Inspired by Tudor history, Anne & Henry reimagines the intensity, love & betrayal between one of the most infamous couples of all time. (YA)

2. If someone were to make a tea flavour in honour of your book, what might be included?

I love this question! The base ingredient would have to be cacao, not only because chocolate is delicious, but also because it’s soothing—and this story is a rollercoaster of emotion. The “tea chemist” (is that a thing?) would then add a heaping teaspoon of nutmeg (known for it’s ability to attract love and increase desire), cinnamon (for its aphrodisiac properties), a hint of cumin (for its ability to strengthen relationship bonds), and of course, a dash of deadly nightshade.  Though, in retrospect, the “tea chemist” should probably have added a lot more cumin ;-)  

3. Can you share a secret about your book (either it's world, it's characters, or something that helped inspire the story)?

This book began as a development project initiated by D4EO Literary super agents Mandy Hubbard and Bree Ogden. Both were on my “most desired agent” list, and so when Mandy put out the “audition call” I leapt at the chance, not knowing at the time that the super secret project would be a reimagining of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII as a high school romance. How lucky!

After I was selected as the “winning” writer (I may have cried…a lot), Mandy and Bree gave me a loose outline—and all of the creative freedom I could imagine. I was inspired by several factors: a) Anne Boleyn holds a very special place in Bree Ogden’s heart, and I was driven to do justice to this character for her, b) Mandy Hubbard is a brilliant agent and writer, and I wanted to show her that she had made the right choice by taking me on as both the writer for this story, and also as my agent, and c) My stepfather is obsessed with Anne Boleyn. I grew up listening to his love for her, and so, I wanted to capture not only his love—but the world’s love—for this person. I am amazed by how passionate people are about Anne Boleyn.

I loved researching for this book, and then fell deeply in love with the characters I’d created. I knew I would need to dig deep to bring to life the intensity of their relationship, and honestly, every chapter of this book was an emotionally draining experience. But I couldn’t be more proud of the end result.

4. This is a modernization of historical events. What challenges did you face while bringing it into current times?

The question I am most asked is: So—this is a thriller, right? Because everyone knows Henry chopped off her head. True—he did. But Anne & Henry is definitely not a thriller. (Though, I admit, I toyed with that a bit…because thriller is near and dear to my heart…)

Obviously, some of those historical facts were tricky to replicate, but I had so much fun drawing parallels to the modern world. If anything, my fabulous editor, Sara Sargent, had to reign me in. I may have gotten a little carried away with “royal” references in the first draft.

For me the most challenging part was actually re-envisioning Henry. I knew exactly what I wanted from Anne—flawed, but also strong and redeemable. Whatever version of history you believe, this is something that always resonates about Anne. But in real life, Henry wasn’t the most likeable guy, and in my opinion, not the most handsome. I always thought I would love Anne more—but now, I’m not even sure myself. I really love this Henry, and I hope managed to keep his essence.

5. If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel? 

Before writing this book, my answer may have been slightly different—but now, I’d loved to witness first hand the dynamics of the Tudor Dynasty. It’s not enough to have read the (many) books about this whole period in time or to have watched the (many) movies and TV adaptations. I feel a connection to the era, and would love to see what it was really like. 

6. What three things do you need while revising?

Diet Coke

Chocolate

Thesaurus

While these may seem incredibly cliché, the revision process is both exhilarating and overwhelming for me. I have always associated Diet Coke with my personal creativity (as in, I’m useless without it), and chocolate with calming my nerves. But the thesaurus is new. As my editor notes, I tend to have a lot of breathing, smirking, laughing, blushing, heart racing, and giggling moments in my first drafts. Going through Anne & Henry with my thesaurus at the ready was life-changing.

7. If possible, please share the first line of Anne and Henry. (only answer if not too spoilery).

The Tudor ballroom glitters like we’re backstage at a Vegas burlesque.

I want to thank Dawn for taking the time to answer these questions. I am so glad that so many people who adore Anne Boleyn shaped this novel. I adore her, and it makes me happy to think she'll be treated fairly in this novel.

I have to admit that I am SUPER curious about Anne's fate in this novel. Historically we know what happens, but obviously that cannot happen in this modern adaptation. I wonder what the modern equivalent will be?! If anything, finding out makes this novel worth picking up. It also sounds like one of those novels that surprise attacks you with the sheer amount of feelings you end up having.

Anne and Henry is released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but you can add it to your Goodreads account in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win Anne and Henry (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Dawn Ius on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Do you like novels that take inspiration from real events? Do you like stories that modernize those events?Let me know in the comments.

2015 Most Anticipated .......... Red Queen

My next selection is one that I've talked about plenty of times before. It's one that has seen the surge of buzz grow as the release date nears, and one that may even get the Hollywood treatment in the not so distant future.

Just check out this Goodreads synopsis and tell me that this isn't making it's way to the top of your 'to be read' list for 2015? Because, it sounds completely captivating.

Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal. 

This spotlight is going to be a little different than the previous ones. Since I have something else in the works for the release of Red Queen, I am going to use this as a chance to highlight the top reasons I am anticipating this novel. Be on the lookout for an interview with Victoria Aveyard (and other things!) closer to publication date.

Here are the top five reasons I am dying to read Red Queen.....

1. The YA community is buzzing - It seems like everyone I know who has already read this really enjoyed it. The buzz is growing, and rather than decreasing my excitement, it's only served to make my pining for this novel even worse.

2. The ladies from Harper Collins Canada have raved - The ladies who run the Harper twitter accounts (Suman, in particular) have told me how wonderful this novel is, and how much they enjoyed it. They've hyped this one up and have made it almost impossible for me to wait to read it. I trust their opinion implicitly so I am pretty sure I am in a thrill ride.

3. A love triangle that (apparently) works - People who have read it have said that the "love triangle" works and that it adds to the plot rather than devouring it. This intrigues me because I do enjoy a well done love triangle. I hope the boys involved have a complicated relationship with each other, and exist in the story outside of their role in the triangle.

4. The writing - I've read a few teasers. Seen some people tweet lines from their ARC. Read the first chapter that was unveiled. Victoria's writing style seems to lend itself to this 'fantasy-ish' setting perfectly. I anticipate using a bunch of Post-It notes marking my favourite passages and lines.

5. THAT COVER - let's be honest.. it's going to attract plenty of attention all on it's own. This cover is one of the best that I've seen in a long time. Luckily this book seems to have more working for it than just it's pretty cover (but it certainly doesn't hurt to have it wrapped in such a stunning packaging).

Red Queen is set for release on February 10, 2015! In the meantime you can pre-order it at the following

Chapters // Amazon // Barnes and Noble

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win your own copy of Red Queen (or any of my featured titles).

You can follow Victoria Aveyard on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Are you a fan of novels that blend together different elements? Are you a fantasy fan? Let me know in the comments.