Secret Santa

Review: Skylark by Meagan Spooner

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Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Title: Skylark (Skylark #1)
Author:Meagan Spooner
Genre:Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Corgi Books (31st January 2013)
Source: Secret Santa
Format: ARC
Blurb:

Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.

Lark did not expect to become the City’s power supply.

Her only choice is to escape; follow the birds into the wilderness beyond.

Into the Iron Wood.

(from Amazon.co.uk)

Rating: ****(4 stars)
Review:

This book was one of my gifts from my Secret Santa. I hadn’t heard of it before, but after reading the blurb I was intrigued. Skylark sounded like it could be a really interesting read. Thank you Secret Santa for introducing me to this book – and series – I really enjoyed it.

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Review: Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

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Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: Vessel
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: McElderry Books (11th September 2012)
Source: Secret Santa
Format: Finished Hardback
Blurb:

Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. She will dance and summon her tribe’s deity, who will inhabit Liyana’s body and use magic to bring rain to the dessert. But when the dance ends, Liyana is still there. Her goddess has not come. Her tribe is furious – and sure that it is Liyana’s fault. Abandoned by her tribe, Liyana expects to die in the dessert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. The desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is stilling to believe the trickster god’s tale.

The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice – she must die so her tribe can live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate – or a human girl can muster up some magic of her own.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

This book was one of the ones I got from my Secret Santa this year. It was one of two books I named on my wish list, so I am very pleased to have got it. I heard of this book several months before its publication and loved the cover, then I read the blurb and I knew I had to get my hands on it. It sounded so different to the usual sword and sorcery fantasy.

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Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

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Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Title: Saving June
Author: Hannah Harrington
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (1st December 2011)
Source: Secret Santa
Format: ARC
Blurb:

If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

This was one of the books I got from my Secret Santa this Christmas. My Secret Santa got this book spot on, because I have been wanting to read this book for a while though for some reason I never did. I thought the premise of this book sounded like it could be an interesting read. I wasn’t disappointed.

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Thank you UKYABB Secret Santa

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I just wanted to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to my Secret Santa, who gave me some fantastic gifts.

My gifts from Secret Santa

My gifts from Secret Santa

  • Saving June by Hannah Harrington
  • Skylark by Meghan Spooner
  • Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
  • A Mockingjay necklace
  • Ferrero Rochers
  • Lindor Chocolates

Thank you Secret Santa!

I hope everyone is having a great day and got loads of fantastic gifts.

UKYABB Secret Santa

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I saw this on the wonderful Lynsey Newton’s blog Narratively Speaking (here) and thought it sounded really interesting, so I’ve decided to sign myself up.

UKYABB Secret Santa is  a Secret Santa set up for UK YA Book Bloggers, if you want to find out more information about it then you can do so by clicking the logo above or by clicking here. Sign-ups end on 8th November 2012. To participate you must by a UK Young Adult Book Blogger who has had their blog for 3 months or more.