Cover Craving...AND Anxiously Awaiting!!!!

Trial by Fire
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Raised by Wolves, book two

Publication date: June 14, 2011

OMG!!! Cannot wait for this book. I loved Raised by Wolves...Loved, loved, loved.

Homicide in Hardcover

Homicide in Hardcover
by Kate Carlisle
Bibliophile Mysteries, book one

The streets of San Francisco would be lined with hardcovers if rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright had her way. And her mentor wouldn’t be lying in a pool of his own blood on the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration.

With his final breath he leaves Brooklyn a cryptic message, and gives her a priceless—and supposedly cursed—copy of Goethe’s Faust for safekeeping.

Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to the humorless—but attractive—British security officer who finds her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice… (description taken from Amazon.com)

A fun beginning to a new mystery series perfect for true book lovers! Main character, Brooklyn, is a book restorer and rare book expert. Carlisle does a wonderful job inserting real information about the book restoration processes and materials into the text without detracting at all from the plot. Brooklyn is a very interesting character, herself, and I love her junk food habit!

When her mentor is murdered, Brooklyn finds the body and feels the need to protect someone that she is worried may have been involved. That coupled with the fact that the (Hot!!) security expert is convinced that she was the culprit, means that Brooklyn must do whatever's necessary, including putting herself in danger, to get to the bottom of things.

Full of great book descriptions, interesting plot twists, and just a hint...ahem, maybe more than a hint...of romance, this was a great read. As a book lover, I cannot wait to follow Brooklyn to the British Isles to attend the World Book Fair in her next adventure!!

Across The Universe - Blog Tour

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis

A Story of Love, Murder, and Madness Aboard an Enormous Spaceship Bound for the Future

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

Across the Universe is Titanic meets Brave New World.

Though I enjoyed this book very much, I was a little disappointed after all the great buzz I had been hearing... This is a well done science fiction tale, very reminiscent of earlier science ficiton classics. For me, that was the problem.

I think that YA readers who do not often (or ever, really) delve into science fiction, this will be an exciting eye opener to a new genre. For someone like me, though, who reads science fiction fairly often, and enjoyed quite a few of the genre classics, it was not a startling leap into the unknown.

However, do not let me give you the impression that I did not like this book. I did. I really enjoyed the concept of a society trapped in space, subdued by one leader convinced that he had to do what was best for his people, whether or not it might be ethical. I really liked the blend of science fiction, murder mystery, and thriller that Revis seemed to create in a fluid and flawless way. I really enjoyed the way that through Amy's literal awakening, Elder's metaphorical awakening began. It was a well done story. I just did not have that gut-grabbing, immediate thrall that many readers did...I had to keep reading until about the halfway point before I was fully entrenched.

I definitely enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more from Beth Revis. I love her style. I also think that this book will do great things to help draw teen readers back into the science fiction genre. Kudos to the author!

2011 Debut Author Challenge title
Full Disclosure: Signed ARC received from author, also received review ARC from Book It Forward ARC Tours