Hello everyone! Sorry about the sporadic posts lately. I've been settling in my new 'job'/ industrial placement project as part of a school module. It's been a crazy fun three weeks full of 14 hour days, including the travelling time, which means I can barely get some sleep, reading time and a tweet or two in -- let alone a whole, nicely worded and thought out post.
But here I am, ready to pound out some intellektual thots. Another seven more weeks to go. I'll schedule some reviews to fill in the gap, and I hope you do comment! :)
Showcasing a load of great books that I didn't expect to get at all -- neither as a gift nor as review books. Here goes!
Everlasting by Angie Frazier
Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty.
On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous—and alluring—magic.
The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who—and what—matters most.
Beautifully written and feverishly paced, Everlasting is an unforgettable journey of passion, secrecy, and adventure.
Tagged by Mara Purnhagen (Personalised!)
Kate Morgan is just as confused as the rest of her classmates when she arrives at Cleary High to find six life-size gorillas spray painted on the side of a building. Could the culprit be one of her friends or classmates? And is the kind-of-amazing creation really vandalism, or a work of art? She's tempted to stay out of it, mostly because, as the police chief’s daughter, she's always accused of being a snitch. But when gorillas start appearing throughout the state, her investigative instincts kick in.
Now Eli, Kate’s favorite co-worker at the local coffee shop, is MIA. With her best friend, Lan, preoccupied with her own boy troubles, Kate needs to figure out some things on her own. Like why she can’t stop thinking about Eli. And what she will do when all clues about the graffiti point to someone she knows...
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken (Personalised!)*
Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.
In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.
Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.
*I didn't know that I won this as
part of a contest. It seems to be the trend lately. Here's my contest entry:
It happened 10 years ago. The wind was howling, and it was audible even through the apartment walls. The walls aren't as thin as you'd think, so it was a big deal. I woke up to the sound of the windows rattling against the bars that held them together. Rubbing my eyes, I joined the solitary soul looking out the window, the black of the night a stark contrast against the white of her nightgown. Her hair swirled around her, occasionally a hank or two snapping in my direction.
Mummy looked down and picked me up. Rain battered our faces. "Look, someone out there must have done something bad." I looked out the window. Sure enough, the swings in the playground were twisted around one another. Cars honked their annoyance in the early morning, eager to get to shelter. Their efforts were hampered by the slippery skin of the road. I hugged Mummy tighter, curling my body around hers. She laughed and ruffled my tangled hair. "It's alright, honey. You don't have to worry, you're my sweet little girl."
A crack of thunder caught my attention. Across the field, a branch broke away from a tree, leaves joining the wind in their desperate dance, their furious hunt. Together we watched the storm make its unrelenting pursuit way across our neighbourhood. "Come, let's go to bed so the wind won't find us." With a small laugh, Mummy shut the windows and locked it, and we made our way to the peaceful realm of sleep.
The news called it a maelstrom, a gale, hail, the end of the world as we see it. I'm too old to believe what my mother said on that dark, stormy night, but even now when there's a storm, I cuddle snug and comfortable in my bed at home, and pray that the wind won't find me.
Disclaimer: Credit for the implementation of IMM posts go to Kristi of The Story Siren and Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Credit goes, and will always go, to them, for this and future IMM posts. I take no credit for this meme, and future IMM posts wouldn't exist without them both. It should be taken note of that there might be times where I won't be writing this for every IMM post. That does not mean that I am taking credit for it. It just means that I'm just too lazy to write it down.
