Owl Tell You All About It - September 30, 2012

Long time, no see!  I haven't done one of these since July.  JULY!  Can we say burn out?  That pretty much sums up the past two months for me.  I had taken on way too much and now I'm paying for it.  Some good has come of it, however.  I've been able to spend more time with my family, decorate my home for the fall season, attend the SCBWI Midsouth conference, make a fresh start on my book, and realize that I needed a co-blogger.  Now Nikki from Books Most Wanted is here to help and I'm starting to feel up to reading and reviewing again.  There just may be hope for me yet.  ;-)

Previously, Owl Tell You All About It was a weekly feature.  From this month forward, it will be a monthly feature and will serve as a recap of everything that goes on at StNC during any given month.  You can look for these posts on the last Sunday of each month to catch up on anything you may have missed.  For now, however, it's time to move on the the business of summarizing the month of September.  It won't be very detailed since it's been slow around here, but there were some fun things, nonetheless.

Books Read in September

To Read in October

Reviews Posted

The Dark Unwinding (reviewer: Marla)

Nerve (reviewer: Marla)

Anew (reviewer: Marla)

Covet (reviewer: Nikki)

Cold Fury (reviewer: Marla)

Other Posts

Throne of Glass Blog Tour - Interview w/ Sarah J. Maas

The Dark Unwinding Now on Shelves!

Owl's Eye View #5 - Meet Sharon Cameron!

Stormdancer Blog Tour - Interview w/ Jay Kristoff

StNC Has a New Team Member!

Pre-Publication Book Spotlight - When the Stars Throw Down Their Spears

New to the Nest

 (August - September)

Bought

Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan (see my review HERE)
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Defiance by CJ Redwine
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (see my review HERE)
Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong ($1 find, baby!)
Pure by Julianna Baggott

From Publishers

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Nevermore by James Patterson
Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Thanks to Little, Brown for all of the above books!

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake (see my review HERE)
Ironskin by Tina Connolly
(Thanks to Tor Teen/Tor Forge for the above books!)
The Infects by Sean Beaudoin
(From Candlewick via LibraryThing Early Reviewers)
Whispers at Moonrise by CC Hunter
(From CC's publicity team as part of the Shadow Falls Street Team)
God Save the Queen by Kate Locke
(From Orbit via LibraryThing Early Reviewers)
Anew by Chelsea Fine (see my review HERE)
(Thanks, Acacia!)


From Awesome Peeps

Invisible World by Suzanne Weyn
Breathe by Sarah Crossan
Anastasia Forever by Joy Preble (signed)
(All of the above from Amy @ Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes.  Thanks, girl!)
Wake by Amanda Hocking
(Thanks to the SBB ARC Tour and the original owner who let me keep it.  Thanks!)


From the Library

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
The Nightmarys by Dan Poblocki


Netgalley

Doomed by Tracy Deebs
Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George
(12/11/2012 from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books)
Splintered by A.G. Howard
(1/1/2013 from Amulet Books)
The 13th Sign by Kristen O'Donnell Tubb
(1/8/2013 from Feiwel & Friends)

 Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick
(2/5/2013 from Roaring Brook Press)
The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle
(9/25/2012 from HMH)


Kindle Books

Enclave by Ann Aguire
The Weepers: The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs
Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

Partials by Dan Wells
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Darklight by Lesley Livingston

 Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston
Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett
Ruby Red by Kiersten Gier

 Mistwood by Leah Cypess
Iron's Prophecy by Julie Kagawa
A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

Pre-publication Book Spotlight - When the Stars Throw Down Their Spears

In case you didn't know it, I really, really enjoy The Goblin Wars series by Kersten Hamilton.  I really liked the first book, Tyger Tyger, and absolutely loved the second, In the Forests of the Night, so when I got an email showing off the cover for the third installment, When the Stars Throw Down Their Spears, I was beyond excited and am more than ready to get my hands on it.  Just take a look-see at the cover and description!

“People will die.”

Locked doors are opening, and uncanny creatures are tumbling through mysterious portals from Mag Mell, the world-between-worlds, into the streets of Chicago. The Dark Man has marked Aiden with a new song that’s scared him badly, and a frightening new group of sídhe is lurking nearby.

Teagan knows this is war, and she must protect her family. She leaves her flesh and bones behind to join Finn in hunting the evil beings across the city. Meanwhile, their relationship is heating up—almost faster than they can control. But he is still bound to fight goblins his entire life . . . and by blood she is one of them now.

Then the gateway to Mag Mell cracks open again, and the Wylltsons find themselves caught in a trap. As her loved ones begin to die, Teagan realizes that she must destroy the Dark Man and his minions once and for all in order to save those who remain . . .

. . . before it is too late.

Don't forget to add When the Stars Throw Down Their Spears to your Goodreads TBR lists.  In the meantime, I'm going to share the awesomeness with a giveaway!  I'm going to give away 1 copy of Tyger Tyger (or In the Forests of the Night if you already have it) to 1 lucky US reader.  You know the drill.  Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below and good luck to you all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review - Cold Fury

by T.M. Goeglein
publisher: Putnam Juvenile
date of publication: July 24, 2012
format: ARC
pages: 313
source: from the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers

From Goodreads:

Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos in this breathtaking adventure

Sara Jane Rispoli is a normal sixteen-year-old coping with school and a budding romance--until her parents and brother are kidnapped and she discovers her family is deeply embedded in the Chicago Outfit (aka the mob).

Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family. It's a quest that takes her through concealed doors and forgotten speakeasies--a city hiding in plain sight. Though armed with a .45 and 96K in cash, an old tattered notebook might be her best defense--hidden in its pages the secret to "ultimate power." It's why she's being pursued, why her family was taken, and could be the key to saving all of their lives.

Action packed, with fresh, cinematic writing, Cold Fury is a riveting and imaginative adventure readers will devour.

  
Upon first meeting Sara Jane Rispoli, one might think they aren't going to be treated to such a gutsy character.  Such a misconception is not bound to remain for long, however, as Sara Jane's past is recounted, revealing a girl tougher than anyone around her can possibly know.  In this action-packed thriller, perseverance is everything as one teenage girl takes on a shadowy band of corrupt authority figures, a jealous uncle, and quite possibly the eeriest villain I've encountered in a book this year.  I can only say that I was wrong to think that Cold Fury would be a slow, convoluted book.  It turned out to be anything but!

If I were to sum up Sara Jane in one word, that word would be "backbone."  Beneath her quiet exterior lies a fiery core that is capable of more than Sara Jane herself even realizes.  As she takes on all those who would seize or harm her, the full extent of not only her strength, but her intellect shines through, making her a very intriguing character to follow.  She isn't perfect by any means, but her strength makes her a compelling character, nonetheless.  Such an intelligent, determined, and loyal main character is one well worth reading about.

The pacing of Cold Fury worried me in the beginning as I slowly waded through the narrative of Sara Jane's early years.  However, things soon picked up and the information learned during that narrative proved to be very useful in understanding all that was going on throughout the rest of the book.  In addition to pacing, Cold Fury has some exemplary settings.  The numerous Capone doors (a really clever means of escape) and the unpredictable streets of Chicago made for such a fantastic backdrop.  Each one fit the actions and tones of the story perfectly.  I couldn't wait to see where Sara Jane would find herself next.

Cold Fury is one of the more action-filled books I've read this year and I'm very glad to have had the chance to read it.  It made for a perfect change of pace from my typical fantasy/dystopian/supernatural reading habits, a very important thing for someone in a bit of a reading rut.  If you have a fascination for spy or mob movies, you should definitely check out Cold Fury.  With its imposing main character, action, and unique settings, you're sure to find something you like in the pages of Cold Fury.  Trust me when I say that you won't be bored.

Buy Cold Fury at the Following Locations

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Library Thing Early Reviewers. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.