The Story Siren

Cover Reveal: Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

The Story Siren — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:00:59 +0000

Today I am revealing the (GORGEOUS) cover for Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone (October 8, 2012 |Hyperion)! In addition to the post, I encourage you to head over to Tamara’s blog and read what she has to say about her cover too! And you can follow Tamara on Twitter or “like” her Facebook page. And don’t forget to add The Time Between Us to your Goodreads lists!

Before we get to the cover… here’s what Time Between Us is all about:

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna’s life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility. As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate—and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.

Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning and spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new talent in YA fiction.

And THE COVER:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Story Siren — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:00:43 +0000

Release Date: January 3, 2012
Author Info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Age Group: Young Adult
Shelfability: Covet
Pages: 387
Format: Advance Reader Copy
Source: NetGalley
Interest: Debut Author
Challenge: 2012 Debut Author Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon
Get the Audiobook: Audible

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading Cinder. I thought it sounded really cool, but at the same time I was like “cyborgs” seriously? Then I watched a video over at Interrobang YA, where I, when I actually remember to do a video, and several other bloggers talk about books, reading, YA, and really whatever we want. Well, Cat from Beyond Books did a video about how awesome Cinder was. Cat has really good taste in reading, so I decided to move this one up in my reading pile. And I’m SO GLAD that I did.

Cinder is a futuristic retelling of the fairy tale Cinderella. Cinder is obviously Cinderella. She lives in a world called New Beijing, inhabited by humans and the androids like Cinder. There is a bit of discrimination between the humans and androids, so Cinder tries to keep her mechanical side a secret.

Cinder is a kick-butt mechanic and runs a booth offering her services to the people of New Beijing. And who would happen to stop by one day than the Prince himself. He needs Cinder’s help fixing one of his droids and so their two worlds become intertwined.

There were so many plot twists in this one. I figured out a major one fairly early on, but I still really enjoyed reading this one. I remember being about four or five pages into the story and turning to J (my husband) and saying “wow, this is really good.” That doesn’t usually happen to me. I think it may be a curse of reading so many books, but it takes a awhile for a book to really suck me in. Cinder did that right away.

The one thing that impressed me the most was the story. I absolutely loved it. I loved the world that Meyer created and the characters, I loved how she took one of my favorite fairy tales and MADE IT BETTER! And after that ending, wow! I am dying for book two, literally dying!

This book has a little bit of everything and I think readers will truly enjoy it! I know that i did.

Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard

The Story Siren — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:00:23 +0000

Release Date: January 19, 2012
Author Info: Website | Twitter
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult
Shelfability: Acquire/Borrow
Pages: 272
Format: Advance Reader Copy
Source: Publisher/Author
Interest: Author
Challenge: Sophomore Reading Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

I loved Jennifer Hubbard’s first novel The Secret Year! While I enjoyed reading another of Hubbard’s works, I didn’t enjoy Try Not to Breathe as much as I did her first book. It was really well written, which I was expecting, but I didn’t connect with the characters nor the story as much this time around.

Ryan has just returned home from a stint in a facility, after he tried committing suicide. He’s not only dealing with the whispers and stares from the kid’s at school, but is still battling with himself internally. Trying to figure out how and why he got to the point that he did.

To make matters worse he has befriended a girl Nicki, who is dealing with the suicide of her father. She is struggling with her father’s death and is hoping that Ryan might be able to give her some answers.

In the end it seems to be Nicki who gives Ryan the answers that he needs.

I really enjoyed Nicki and Ryan as characters. They couldn’t have been more different, but I loved Nicki’s personality and how she’s not afraid to push Ryan and make him uncomfortable. I think perhaps I problem I had with the story was that I didn’t make a strong connection with Ryan. Although we learn about him and his history, I still felt a distance from him.

Suicide is never an easy subject, but I loved and appreciated how Hubbard treated it. It was honest and heart-wrenching. Yet at the same time I’d say that the story was hopeful.

Cover Reveal: The Mapmaker and the Ghost by Sarvenaz Tash

The Story Siren — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:00:28 +0000

The Mapmaker and the Ghost has a new cover!

This is a 2012 debut for those of you participating in The DAC! And it’s a Middle Grade title too, for all you that are MG fans! Personally, I think it sounds like a really fun book!

Now, this is a recently redesigned cover. You’ve probably seen a cover that was previously released on bookseller sites and bookish sites like Goodreads. (It probably looked like this one I’m including here to the left.)

Here’s a little bit of information about the book. (This description was taken from the book’s Amazon page.)

Goldenrod Moram loves nothing better than a good quest. Intrepid, curious, and full of a well-honed sense of adventure, she decides to start her own exploring team fashioned after her idols, the explorers Lewis and Clark, and to map the forest right behind her home. This task is complicated, however, by a series of unique events—a chance encounter with a mysterious old lady has her searching for a legendary blue rose. Another encounter lands her in the middle of a ragtag gang of brilliant troublemakers. And when she stumbles upon none other than the ghost of Meriwether Lewis himself, Goldenrod knows this will be anything but an ordinary summer . . . or an ordinary quest. Debut author Sarvenaz Tash combines an edge-of-your-seat adventure, a uniquely clever voice, and an unforgettable cast of characters to prove that sometimes the best adventures of all are waiting right in your own backyard.

But we’re here to see the NEW cover…. so without further ado…

The NEW cover for THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST!

So what do you think about the new cover?

In My Mailbox (163)

The Story Siren — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:38:35 +0000

Welcome to In My Mailbox! You can find official information like how to participate, why it was started and other goodies about IMM on the IMM Page.

Books mentioned in this IMM:

Fingerprints of You by Kristen-Paige Madonia (Goodreads | Amazon)
Balthazar by Claudia Gray (Goodreads | Amazon)
Wicked Jealous by Robin Palmer (Goodreads | Amazon)
Keep Holding on by Susane Colasanti (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges (Goodreads | Amazon)
A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton (Goodreads | Amazon)
Torn by Amanda Hocking (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers (Goodreads | Amazon)
Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby (Goodreads | Amazon)
Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein (Goodreads | Amazon)
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (Goodreads | Amazon)
Someone Else’s Life by Katie Dale (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Nightmare Garden by Caitlin Kittredge (Goodreads | Amazon)
Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani (Goodreads | Amazon)
Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser (Goodreads | Amazon)
A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young (Goodreads | Amazon)
Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer (Goodreads | Amazon)
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (Goodreads | Amazon)
Arise by Tara Hudson (Goodreads | Amazon)
A Touch Morbid by Leah Clifford (Goodreads | Amazon)
Starters by Lissa Price (Goodreads | Amazon)
When a Scot Loves a Lady by Katharine Ashe (Goodreads | Amazon)

Giveaway: A BEAUTIFUL EVIL & FAERY TALES & NIGHTMARES

The Story Siren — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:59:20 +0000

I have a FABULOUS giveaway for you readers of The Story Siren! I am going to be so jealous of this winner! Theses are two books that I’ve been dying for and one lucky winner… will get them SIGEND & PERSONALIZED!!

Myth and mayhem inhabit a richly reimagined New Orleans in this sequel to Darkness Becomes Her.After the epic graveyard battle at the end of Darkness Becomes Her, Ari and her friends know what they’re up against: Ari is facing the Medusa curse and is haunted by the image of what she will become. To make matters worse, the heinous goddess Athena has kidnapped young Violet and is threatening to destroy Ari.

Ari, along with the superhot Sebastian, is doing everything she can to learn more about Athena and to get Violet back. But the battle of good and evil is bigger than she realizes, and she’s about to be pulled into a world more horrific than she could ever imagine….

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments, dark and light, by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from under the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

From the gentle tones of a story-teller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with . . . or to fear.

Official Contest information:

to enter, please fill out the form below
entrants must be 13 years of age or older
contest open to US Only
the winner will be announced on this blog post at the conclusion of the contest
the winner will be notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
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