Browse Inside The Selection by Kiera Cass

Browse Inside The Selection by Kiera Cass

Textbooks available at Literati After Dark!

Literati now has 3 textbook affiliates for you to choose from!  I am so excited to announce that we have partnered up with BookByte, eCampus and Campus Book Rentals.  If you are in need of textbooks or know people who are in need of textbooks, please help us build our presence on-line and shop through Literati's link.  Our textbook affiliates have free shipping options, you can buy, sell and rent textbooks.  Feel free to scroll around our site at www.literatiafterdark.com.

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March

Author/Book Spotlight

Jennifer L. Armentrout - author of The Covenant Series and upcoming Lux Series.  Click on the link above to see what's in store.

February Book Spot Light

Fever (The Chemical Garden #2)

by Lauren DeStefano 

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms #1)

by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.     When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.      With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more. 

Fire (The Seven Kingdoms #2)

by Kristin Cashore

      

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she has the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City. The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

Time Riders by Alex Scarrow Review

This is a good rainy day read. A bit slow to start, but once the story got going it was pretty good. I enjoyed the concept of the story line, an unknown agency who calls themselves "Time Riders" travels through time to protect history. The only time machine made was destroyed by the inventor because he did not want anyone to be able to alter "time". But did he really destroy it? Why would there be an agency to protect history if the only known time machine was destroyed? Not enough to get you to want to read the book yet? Well then add people from the future who travel back to Hitler to take over the world. That could end badly.

F2F Book Club

Today’s book club meeting was a smash!  It’s been a couple of months since we had such a boisterous crowd.  The book talk turned into personal talk which turned into awesome girl talk!!! Not to mention our peek into the male psyche.  That was fun.  Most of us needed to remain open minded to be able to process the new information, but I think it was a success! 

We have agreed to conquer Graceling by Kristen Cashore for next month.  Book 2, Fire is already published, so I am sure we will be including “Fire” by Kristen Cashore into next months meeting as well.  I hear Graceling is a mix between “Twilight” and “Hunger Games”, do I hear an “ah-ma-zing!

Happy reads everyone!

Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson Review

What a beginning! I got caught up in the book immediately. 

Elisa’s adventure is about to begin, and part of the joy of The Girl of Fire and Thorns is how she triumphs, despite the hardships and challenges she faces: everything from kidnapping to sand storms, from war to death. I loved Elisa, loved how she transformed herself into a person of action.

At its heart, The Girl of Fire and Thorns is about a girl becoming a woman because she realizes her actions have consequences, that life is more than sitting back waiting for things to happen, and that she has choices.  But along with every choice there is a consequence.  I have to add without giving anything away, I loved the romantic elements in this book.

Overall, I would say this is an epic fantasy adventure with a smart, strong and unconventional heroine that made for an interesting and exciting read that kept my interest throughout. There are surprises and the fact that anything can happen to these characters kept me on my toes. I also liked the message behind the story. This is the first book of a trilogy, but the book has a satisfying conclusion on it’s own while leaving Elisa’s path open to new opportunities. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Crown of Embers, due out in October 2012.

What was the last book you judged by it's cover?

Book Spot Lights - January

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

When Richard Mayhew stops one day to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London pavement, his life is forever altered, for he finds himself propelled into an alternative reality that exists in a subterranean labyrinth of sewer canals and abandoned subway stations. He has fallen through the cracks of reality and has landed somewhere different, somewhere that is Neverwhere.

Switched by Amanda Hocking

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.

The Iron Fey Series:

The Iron King Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.