books in the post

Because time isn’t always on my side when it comes to reading books and writing reviews, here’s a list of some of the awesome books I’ve bought or been sent recently.

Book: Insurgent by Veronica Roth (“Divergent” Series)

How did I get it?: Bought as e-book (partly because I really don’t like the UK covers)

Genre: YA/Dystopian

One choice can transform you–or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves–and herself–while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable–and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

I’m a few chapters in to this and loving it so far, it seems like a big improvement on Divergent. I’ve had to put this to the side while I read through my awesome writing partner’s manuscript, though.

Book: Maus

Genre: Comic/Graphic Novel/Biographical

How did I get it?: Bought

Combined for the first time here are Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale and Maus II – the complete story of Vladek Spiegelman and his wife, living and surviving in Hitler’s Europe. By addressing the horror of the Holocaust through cartoons, the author captures the everyday reality of fear and is able to explore the guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation of survival – and how the children of survivors are in their own way affected by the trials of their parents.

This is a classic graphic novel, and it’s been on my to-read list for a while so I decided to buy it. I haven’t worked up the guts to read it yet, though. I know it’ll be heartbreaking.

Book: Understanding Comics by Scott McLeod

How did I get it?: Bought

Genre: Comic/Graphic Novel/Non-Fiction

This is an exploration of the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning. Using comics to examine the medium itself, the author takes the form of a cartoon character and explains the structure, meaning, and appeal of comics, and provides a running analysis of comics as art, literature, and communication. He reaches back to pre-Columbus picture manuscripts and Egyptian monuments to trace the history of the comics and examines their place in today’s pop culture.

It’s a comic about making comics, and I’ve heard wonderful things about it.

Book: The Spook’s Blood (The Last Apprentice/Wardstone Chronicles, Book 10)

Genre: Children’s Fantasy

How did I get it?: Sent by Random House

 ‘I am Siscoi, the Lord of Blood, the Drinker of Souls! Obey me now or you will suffer as few have suffered.’ 

Time is running out for Thomas Ward. His final battle with the Fiend is drawing near, and the Spook’s apprentice has never felt more alone in his task.

The Fiend is set to send the greatest of his servants against him – Siscoi, a vampire god more ferocious than anything he has yet faced. Isolated and afraid, Tom must risk his life to prevent the evil beast from entering this world, even as he learns that the final destruction of the Fiend may involve a sacrifice more terrible than he can imagine . . .

This is from the middle of a series, which is always a little off-putting. The cover art is fantastic, though.

Book: Rapture (Fallen, #4)

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

How did I get it?: Sent by Random House

I’ve already spoken about Rapture over in this post.

Book: Fallen in Love (Fallen series, #3.5)

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/Short Stories

How did I get it?: Won in a Fiercebook Facebook group competition.

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine’s Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they 
least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce 
will spend a night together like none other.

Book: Rebel Heart (Dust Lands #2)

Genre: YA/Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic

How did I get it?: Sent by Scholastic

There’s a price on Saba’s head.

They call her the Angel of Death. She defeated a tyrant, but victory has come at a cost. Haunted by the ghosts of her past, she needs Jack. His moonlit eyes, his reckless courage, his wild heart. But Jack has left, and a ruthless new enemy searches for Saba across the Dustlands…

I’ve read the first few pages of this, and the voice is fantastic — it hooked me instantly. Imagine a cross between Stephen King’s “The Gunslinger” and Fallout 3. This book seems a bit like that.

Book: The Raven Boys 2 Chapter Sample (Raven Cycle)

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal

How did I get it?: Sent by Scholastic along with an awesome ‘Love Maggie’ keyring! Scholastic send brilliant things to their book bloggers.

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

This isn’t out until September 2012, and I’m already excited about it! So it was lovely of Scholastic to send over the first two chapters, though I know they’ll make me pine for the full book.

What’re you reading? I’d love to hear what books you’re excited about, so feel free to let me know in the comments. :)