Penguin and the iPad

Below is a short video about some really cool things that Penguin is planning to do with Apple's newest device, the iPad. All of these things center around kids' books and learning (which in interesting, because if I had kids, I don't know if I'd let my three-year-old play with an iPad...I'd be the annoying, hovering parent, worried that the kid was going to abuse the device). But, about one minute and forty some seconds in is a Vampire Academy platform that looks interesting--it allows you to read the books, watch author videos, and participate in discussions with other readers. It's like a combination of a book, author website, and social network. Check it out:

I think the Vampire Academy section is especially interesting. Honestly, it never occurred to me that these are the types of things that can be done with all of this new technology. It's thrilling to think about. For the price of a book, you can get so much more than a novel, but all of these web extras that you would normally have to go hunting for on your computer. Granted, you would sacrifice the actual, physical book, but that is an entirely different discussion.

Authors and readers, what do you think about this? Would you be more inclined to get and use an iPad if more books and series had a bunch of special features like the Vampire Academy example in the video? I am definitely thinking it would make it a bit easier to sell books and learn more about authors if with many e-books, you could also instantly access info about the author, their other books, and read excerpts and news and watch videos. It's making me get a bit more excited about eReaders, that's for sure!

Beautiful, Perturbing, and Awesome News

Three major items on today's agenda:

First off, for you fans of Beautiful Creatures by the amazing duo of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, you will be happy to hear that there is now officially a title for BC 2--Beautiful Darkness! Exciting! You can check out this Beautiful Creatures Ning page for more things BC, and stop by next Friday, on March 19th, for the official reveal of the Beautiful Darkness cover!

Second, this interesting article popped up on the "Huffington Post" website yesterday...it seems that Hillary Duff is now going to add YA author to her list of accomplishments with her new YA series beginning with Elixir. I don't know much else about it, except that Simon and Schuster will publish it in October. Now, I don't want to be a downer, but I can't help but wonder and this...and be slightly perturbed by it. Is HD a good writer? Or will her book join ranks with Lauren Conrad's, hitting the New York Times Bestseller list when in reality, it's just not that good? Who knows. Only time will tell.

ETA: There is more about the series of EW's Shelf Life this morning. "Duff’s protagonist is a globe-trotting photojournalist who is attempting to unravel the mystery of her father’s disappearance." And the publisher says it will "[combine] the overpowering allure of a dangerous love triangle with thrilling international adventure.”

And finally, check out this awesome blog post where you can have the chance to win a $25 Barnes and Noble giftcard by answering a question about Julia Hoban's book, Willow (which is now out in paperback!). And while you are at it, listen to her radio interview!

Happy Wednesday!

Another Author Event!

Hey everyone,

Today I am headed to Lauren Oliver's book signing, celebrating the debut of Before I Fall, her first book, which came out this past week. If you are in the Ann Arbor, MI area, come say hi! Lauren will be signing, and a bucnh of bloggers will be there as well!

Here's the address:

Borders Book Store
3140 Lohr Road
Ann Arbor, MI

I hope the see a lot of you there! And be sure to check out Before I Fall, it's an amazing book!

Cover Talk: Grace Cover Reveal!

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you probably already know of my love for Elizabeth Scott's books. I really, really, really, really, really, really love her books. She's already proven herself to be a versatile and diverse author in my eyes, and the release of her Fall 2010 book, Grace, only emphasizes this.

It looks like where she previously hung out in the contemporary, romantic reads with a few forays into some more serious topics, with Grace, Scott is going off in a completely new direction...science fiction.

At first, I thought, "Elizabeth Scott and science fiction? No way!" I love the idea now. I am even more excited about Grace after the cover was revealed recently. Check it out:

Here's what we know about the book:

A fable of a terrifying near future.


Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.


Sounds really fascinating, right? The suicide bomber part of the description makes the cover make a little more sense now. I will admit, when I first saw the cover, I wasn't too keen on it. Now it is growing on me, and I like it. I like the simplicity of the title's font as well. I can't wait.

What do you think (about the cover and ES's new book)?

Willow is in Paperback!

Hey guys,

One of my absolute favorite books of 2009 was Willow by Julia Hoban, and it is out in paperback this week! I seriously love this book, and Julia is so sweet, and the paperback price is easier on the wallet, so there are three good reasons to buy the book right there! Also, check out the trailer:

I really like it, but since I made it, I'm, um, a little biased.

Be sure to pick up your paperback copy now! It's pretty awesome!

Valentine With Bite Tour!

Carrie Jones, author of Need and Captivate, and Alyxandra Harvey, author of Hearts at Stake, will be touring together in person and virtually this month! You can click here to check out their tour schedule, and then check back on Valentine's Day for an interview with both about romance and writing!

The Third Hunger Games Book Revealed!

Today Scholastic has announced that the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy will be...MOCKINGJAY.

It's a far cry from The Victors, which was a rumored title floating around the Twitterverse a few weeks ago, and the cover is quite a bit different from the prequels' as well--but I'm loving the light blue!

The cover is gorgeous, the title doesn't give a hint as to what the book's story arc will be, and there isn't a synopsis to be found...are you dying with anticipation yet? One thing that is nice to know that EVERYONE will get the book at the same time. Scholastic has decided not to distribute any advanced copies.

Do you have any theories? Share in the comments below, but warn us if you're going to talk about spoilers, please!

Edited to add: Also check out the Publishers Weekly article about announcement and some pre-release buzz going around! I'm quoted in it!

Interview with Lisa McMann!

Lisa McMann is the author of the bestselling Wake and Fade, and the trilogy is concluded with Gone, which just came out yesterday! She was kind enough to take a few moments to answer a few of my questions.

I'm sure most of us have heard the story of how quickly the first draft of Wake was written; were Fade and Gone written as quickly?

Heh. No, sadly, they both took longer, about five or six weeks each for the rough draft. I've found my method in that I plan the story in my brain first and maybe jot down a note or two over the course of a month -- not an outline -- and then I set aside about six weeks where my focus is on writing the rough draft. It's a marathon when I'm writing, but I love the feeling of that, really digging deep, immersing myself in it for twelve or fifteen hours a day, and belting it all out almost like it's one sitting. For me, that helps eliminate problems of pacing or inconsistencies of character, because I'm very focused during that time. I recently wrote my next book, Cryer's Cross, in that same fashion -- it'll be out in winter/spring 2011. Once the rough draft is finished, I do one immediate edit, then let it sit for a few months so I can return to it fresh for a few more edits.

Since I was born and raised in Michigan, I love how Janie's books are set there. Are you planning on having any other books set in Michigan, or do you think you might try other settings as well?

I will probably do another book set in Michigan eventually. In GONE, I take Janie and Cabel on a little side trip to a real town called Fremont, over on the west side of the state. I set that chapter at a tiny log cabin resort where I used to go when I was a kid with my family. Now it's no longer a rental resort, but the cabins are still there, owned individually and privately. I had a lot of fun writing that part of the book because it really brought back memories, so I'll probably do something like that again. But it's funny you should ask this, because I have a few more books I've written that readers will see eventually, and they all take place in M states. Cryer's Cross takes place in Montana, and Dead to You (spring 2012) is mostly in Minnesota and partially in Missouri. I guess Mississippi and Maine will have to happen eventually too!

Is there anything you can tell us about some of your upcoming books?


Sure! Next up after GONE is a stand-alone paranormal thriller called Cryer's Cross, about a seventeen-year-old girl named Kendall who lives in a tiny farming town in Montana. The story starts just after a girl in the town goes missing...and then someone else disappears too. The question is, who or what is making them disappear? Those who liked the Cabel part of the WAKE trilogy hopefully will not be disappointed with a stranger named Jacián who moves into the area.

After that, The Unwanteds (fall 2011) is my very first middle grade book, a dystopian fantasy about a society where at the age of thirteen, children are divided into categories. Those who are strong and/or intelligent are rewarded, and those with creative abilities are unwanted and sent to their deaths. I'm really excited about this one -- I wrote it nearly three years ago for my then 10-year-old daughter, who was at the time a reluctant reader. When I finished it, she sat and read manuscript pages for hours one day and finished the book in two sittings, which really gave me a lot of joy, since she just didn't like to read. She still calls it one of her favorite books.

Was it hard to let go of Janie and Cabel as you finished Gone?

YES. It was so hard that I didn't do it right the first time. I had to rewrite GONE because I think I held back the first time around. I hope people like it as much as I do. It really sheds some light on Janie and goes deep into her psyche...and Janie and her ability is really what the trilogy is all about.

You've got an amazing contest going right now on your website--what inspired it?

Yes, it's awesome -- $1000 prize. This is the second contest we've done like this -- last year's was an essay contest. This year, it's a short video blog. I have always been a compassionate person, and as a teen, saving for college was a struggle for me, so I decided that I wanted to help someone else. When I shared that with Simon & Schuster last year, they generously co-sponsored last year's prize with me. This year, S&S wanted to do another contest to celebrate the release of the FADE paperback, and they are covering this prize completely -- I am so proud to be with a publisher who believes in giving back to the teen community. All the details can be found on lisamcmann.com, including details of eligibility (US res, 14-18 yrs old). All you need is some sort of video camera and a way to upload it to youtube or the video hosting site of your choice.

Are there any books that you've read recently that you would like to recommend to your readers?

Sure -- some really great ones:
Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Fat Cat by Robin Brande
Nailed by Patrick Jones
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King, which, incidentally, is a Cybils finalist this year
The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga (and the sequel, Goth Girl Rising)
Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

What are your writing essentials?


A chair, a laptop, complete silence, and a Diet Coke.


Is there anything I didn't ask that you wish I had?

*coughGONETOURcough*
Well, since you asked, I'll be touring a lot this year! And hitting some new cities: Phoenix/Tempe/Chandler, San Diego, Los Angeles area, St. Louis, Decatur GA, southern Florida, Cincinnati/Dayton, and Toronto. Later in the spring I'll visit Pittsburgh and Rochester NY. Please come out to see me if you can. Road trip it! Last year in Cincinnati, we had people from seven different states in attendance -- some drove 7-8 hours. That was the coolest thing ever! Also, if you really want to make a trip out of it, come on down to Vero Beach, Florida for my Saturday, Feb 27th signing. Why? Because that's my birthday. And I'd love to spend part of it with you. Click here for more info:  http://lisamcmann.com/html/tour.php

Thanks, Lisa! Now go get Gone! It's out now!

Libba Bray's New Series!

Thank you, God.

Publishers Weekly announced today the sale of Libba Bray's next series, entitled The Diviners. You can read the article here.

The Diviners will be another historical paranormal (yes!), only less gothic and more jazz. It's set in 1920's New York City, which is a setting definitely not familiar to YA territory and I am squirming in anticipation! I was much less a fan of Going Bovine than I was of her Gemma Doyle trilogy, so I'm happy to see that Bray is moving back toward a more familiar genre.

It'll be a four book series, and the first will come out 2012 from Little, Brown!

Let the ecstatic screaming commence!

Your Voice Can Be Heard

Teenreads.com is again collaborating with the Children's Book Council (CBC) on the 2010 Teen Choice Book of the Year, offering teens an opportunity to share their five favorite books of 2009. The five titles that receive the most votes will serve as the finalists for the CBC’s 2010 Teen Choice Book of the Year.

The deadline is tomorrow, February 1st, but there is still time to pick your top five favorite books from the list of nominees! Click here to do so, and keep checking back to see how you can vote on the final five!

Updates from Jennifer Sturman!

Jennifer Sturman is the author of And The Everything Unraveled, which I read last summer and loved! I liked everything about this book, from its unqie and suspenseful plot to the fabulous cover (which has undergone a slight revision, as you can see on the left. Do you like it? I certainly do!), and I can't wait for the sequel, And Then I Found Out the Truth...which I am happy to offer more info about below, plus the cover! It will be out on Jult 1st, 2010!

And Then I Found Out the Truth

Delia Truesdale is still searching for the truth about her mother, who is in hiding somewhere in South America. But for now, Delia has to make do with her mystery-solving in New York City, alongside her aunt Charley (a funky downtown hipster), her aunt Meg (an uptown ice queen), a detective with questionable taste in neckties, an eccentric young psychic, her brainiac best friend, and Quinn, the wealthy, gorgeous boy at her prep school who—gasp!—actually seems to return Delia’s affections. Too bad Quinn’s shady CEO dad may be involved in the scheme Delia is trying to crack. And a trip to South America may be in order after all….

Yay! What do you think?

Cover Talk: Old Magic Gets a New Look!

I do believe I have already extolled the virtues of Marinanne Curley's books here, but if you missed that post, here is the break down of the books: her YA trilogy, The Guardians of Time trilogy, is about a secret society of time travelers, and is quite fantastic, and her standalone novel, Old Magic, is a romance with some time travel action as well. I've always enjoyed the old Old Magic cover because it seemed romantic to my pre-teen mind (which is when I first read it), and it always seemed like you could just feel the tension between the two main characters by simply looking at it.

Last night, I was wandering through the disheveled book aisle of my local Meijer when I discovered that Old Magic has gotten a dark, sophisticated new facelift!

I do like it. It's quite different from the original, but I also think that it does fit in more with what is popular among YA paranormals, and hopefully it's re-release will prompt more teens to read this awesome book, and Curley's trilogy!

What do you think?

Penguin and a New Year's Update

I'm very glad that you all have been enjoying the lists of 2010 books I'm looking forward to! Just as a reminder, I did do a Penguin 2010 Sneak Peek earlier this year when I received a catalog, so you can see that by clicking here. There are a lot of really great books!

Also, I just wanted to wish you all a safe and happy New Year's Eve! 2009 has been a very great and surprising year for the blog (I managed to blog nearly every day, and I have more than 370 posts this year!) and for me, and I've had lots of fun doing this, as always! Keep safe tonight in the crazy new year and new decade celebrations, and I'll see you in 2010!

~TCR

Little, Brown Spring 2010 Sneak Peek!

Hello once again lovely readers and welcome to the third list of upcoming reads for 2010. While this one is rather shorter than the previous two, if you are a supernatural fan, this list is for you. Here we go:

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafron is one I'm quite curious about. I bought my mother his adult book, The Shadow of the Wind, which I've read rave reviews about (I actually read the first page and am dying to continue; any book with a Cemetery of Forgotten Books must be excellent, right?) Zafron is a bestselling author in Spain, and I've heard nothing but good things about The Prince of Mist, so it shall be interesting.

Patrick Carman is the bright mind behind the movie/book combination of Skeleton Creek and its companion, The Ghost in the Machine. His latest book, 13 Days to Midnight, is another supernatural read about a teen boy with unnatural abilities on invincibility...that he can pass on to other people. Very interesting, eh?

The first time I saw the cover to Guardian of the Dead, I was reminded of The Phantom of the Opera. However, it has nothing to do with it. It's set in modern day New Zealand, and that's about all I could find out about it. Nonetheless, I do like the cover, and since I judge books by their covers a lot, I'll definitely end up picking this one up.

Sisters Red has one of the coolest covers ever. It's a modern day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (woohoo, another retelling!), which I think shall be interesting. The original tale is, of course, told with a very young protagonist, so it'll be fun to see how Jackson Pearce re-writes this one as a YA book. I've only read one other Little Red Riding Hood retelling, and that was Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie, so Sisters Red should be fun.

This next one is a science fiction read--Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi is set 100 years from now and is about a boy named Nailer who dissembles ships in order to live. Very vague again, I know. But I'm always up for a good futuristic read and once again, the cover is pretty cool, so this one looks good.

Sorta Like a Rockstar is the lone contemporary on this list, and is about an optimistic girl named Amber who lives on a school bus. Well, I'd need to be pretty optimistic if I lived on a bus too. This title is pretty darn awesome, and it appears that this book will be quite a laugh.

And of course, another highly anticipated read from Little, Brown is the sequel to Prophecy of the Sisters, Guardian of the Gate. So far there's no cover, though I did see one that got axed a few weeks ago. I'll be curious to see which direction they go with it, if it'll resemble the Prophecy hardcover or paperback (which is quite different, and once again, I couldn't track down the image for that one either).

The list keeps growing...and growing...and growing....can you take any more??

HarperTeen Spring 2010 Sneak Peek

Earlier this week, I shared with you all some books I am looking forward to getting to from Simon and Schuster. It was quite a list, but I'm prepared to do it all again with HarperTeen. Get comfy, and get a pen and paper, you may want to write some of these down!

First up is a book that I actually have an ARC to at the moment, biding its time on my special 2010 shelf (yes, I have a whole 2010 shelf, remind me to post a picture one of these days). It's pretty, pink, feminine and floral, appropriately titled Forget-Her-Nots. I think that it is definitely unique enough (a combination of matchmakers, magic, and Victorian flower power) that I can ignore that it's set at a boarding school, which kinda turns me off of a book. Can't wait!

Okay, forgive my fangirl moment, but oh my word, a fantasy, a fantasy! Mistwood by Leah Cypess will also be making its way into the world, which is fantastic because all of these supernatural books are taking up too much room and pushing away good fantasy books. I've been dying for a great new YA fantasy read since I finished Fire this past summer, and a girl ca only reread Tamora Pierce's books so many times. So, Leah Cypess: welcome. And THANK YOU. It's about time!

Tera Lyn Childs is the author of the cute and funny Oh. My. Gods. which I quite enjoyed, so I am very excited to see her latest book will be coming out soon, and even more excited and pleased to see it will be about MERMAIDS! Kathryn Lasky's first book in the Daughter of the Sea series, Hannah, got me into a very mermaid-y mood, and seeing as there really isn't much out there in mermaid besides Debbie Viguie's Midnight Pearl, I've been pining for some marine adventures. And knowing Tera's work, Forgive My Fins will not only satisfy my yearning, but it will also be very funny too!

(On a side note, how cool would it be for a YA book to come out with mermaids and a human girl involved in marine research, a la Ice by Sarah Beth Durst? You catching my drift there authors?) (Also, no pun intended.)

Okay, is it bad of me that all I could think of was, "So, she's crazy?" when I saw the title of Carie Vaughn's Voices of Dragons? Okay, sorry. But this does sound good, a nice little blend of modern day and myth. I am always curious to see how books like that play out and how realistic they are, so this should be a good one.

This next one wins the Coolest Title Award: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. It's a historical fiction. About children raised by wolves. And the nanny who tries to tame them. (The nanny graduated from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females!) I can just feel the greatness. I love it. Want. Now. (Plus, it's written by Maryrose Wood, who is pretty awesome to begin with!)

Also, Maryrose has been quite busy lately because a few months after Incorrigible Children comes out, Balzer + Bray will be releasing The Poison Diaries as well. I've not been able to learn much of anything about the book, other than it is based off of a real Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle, which you Harry Potter enthusiasts will recognize is the castle used as Hogwarts in the movies. Suffice to say this has to be one of the most appealing books to me, and I can't wait to learn more. I shall be keeping an eye out for this book!

The Thirteenth Princess looks to be another fantasy, a re-told fairy tale (um, YAY!) with a little twist. This one looks to be a little younger, more middle grade than YA, but I'll take it! I do love fairy tale retellings!

Okay, so this next book I've actually already read, and oh my word, it is AMAZING! It's been described as a "Groundhog Day meets Mean Girls", which is a good way of describing it. What it you had to re-live the day you died, over and over, until you got it right? That's what Sam has to do in Before I Fall, and believe me, this hefty book (about 450 pages), will have you tearing through it.

The sequel to Wondrous Strange (which came out in paperback and you should pick up because not only is it amazing and cheap, but I'm quoted on the inside flap!), Darklight, comes out next month, and I am loving how they used another photo with the same model! Gorgeous! I have this one on my 2010 shelf as well, so I am hoping to get to it ASAP. I loved the fairies of Central Park premise!

New from Carolyn Mackler in January is Tangled (another one on my shelf!), in which she explores how tangled four teens' lives can become when on vacation. Very fun cover, and I am eager to get to this one as well. (Confession time: I haven't read a Carolyn Mackler book yet. I am really excited!)

My mother has already read my ARC of this book, but I am excited to get to it. A Golden Web by Barbara Quick is a historical fiction about Alessandra Giliani, the first female anatomist. I love books about kick-butt, convention-defying females (who doesn't?), and I am always hungry for historical fiction, so this should be another great read. Also, the girl on the cover looks a bit miserable to me (don't blame her, life wasn't nice to women back then), so it just seems like one of those books where the girl will actually fight back and take charge.

The Life of Glass is Jillian Cantor's second novel, and it looks pretty good as well. I enjoyed her debut. The September Sisters (and I did a trailer for it).

Also, if you enjoyed Aprilynne Pike's debut, Wings, be sure to look for the second book, Spells! You won't be able to miss it what with the huge flowers on the cover!

Speaking of flowers, The Body Finder will also be coming out this spring and it has a huge flower on its cover. It's release was pushed backed from last fall, so I'm sure many will be glad to finally have it out, and I know a lot of bloggers have read it already. I have an ARC (I'm telling you, a 2010 SHELF) that I am eager to read!

All right, that's all I have, folks. Thanks for sticking with me! Stay tuned for a few more lists!

Simon and Schuster Spring 2010 Sneak Peek

As 2009 is winding down, it's always nice to look back at favorites from the past year, but it's also very exciting to look towards new 2010 releases. By scouring the web and keeping my eyes peeled, I've compiled a massive list of books I'll be looking forward to that come out in 2010, sorted by publisher.

First up, Simon and Schuster. Here's what they have to tantalize us with for the first half of the coming year:

Mercury by Hope Larson first intrigued me by its unusual and bold cover, and then by its promise of a combination of "romance, history, and magical realism". Plus, I am a total sucker for historical fiction, and I like the idea that this book takes place in both the past and present.

Next up is Nothing by Janne Teller. I don't know much about this one, except for it's described as "Lord of the Flies for the 21st century" and that it is already published somewhere in Europe. I know I'm intrigued, how about you? Also, this cover is beautiful and a bit mystic, which makes me shiver a little bit when I recall the whole bit about it being like Lord of the Flies...

This next one I've known about for a little while thanks to Kay Cassidy, who knows the author. The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson: A Most Improper Magick is written by Stephanie Burgis, and takes place in Regency England. Looks cute, huh? I am also very excited to read it as Kay has informed me she and Stephanie will be swinging by Michigan this Spring on tour for both of their books! Hurray!

Teen pregnancy seems to be cropping up in a lot of books lately, and Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont is one of those books, but with a twist. Sydney Briggs finds out she's pregnant, but before she can make up her mind about what to do, she's sent to wilderness camp in Canada. Come on, you KNOW you want to find out how that plays out. This is definitely one I have my eye on!

I read my first Deb Caletti book not too long ago, and lucky for me I have two more of her books on my shelf (MUST get to the over Christmas break!), but that doesn't stop me from pining for her next release, The Six Rules of Maybe. This one has one of those titles that makes you go, "Huh?" and want to know more about the book. Hopefully this title will bear a little relevance to the story than The Secret Life of Prince Charming, because I really am digging it. Also, isn't the cover neat?

And speaking of covers, it looks like all of Deb Caletti's books are getting a face lift. Cool, huh? I liked the old ones as well, but these are nice and fun too. I remember seeing the image on The Queen of Everything on the original cover at my library back when the book first came out, and that was more than a couple of years ago.

I am loving the cover of Jason Myers' novel The Mission--very cool. Also, the whole concept of revealing long hidden family secrets never ceases to catch my attention (I'm predictable like that). I also like that this is one with a male protagonist--I don't read enough books with those. This looks to be a good one.

The Year I Turned Sixteen is said to be a reprint edition of three or four books in one, much like L.J. Smith's Night World books, with each book focusing on a different sister. I've not found a synopsis, but by my masterful powers of deduction, I'm guessing it has to be about sixteenth birthdays. I don't have a sister, though despite the warnings of some of my friends I have always wanted one, so I'll definitely want to pick this one up. And at a massive 720 pages and a cost of only $10, I'm sure it'll be money well spent.

So, I enjoyed the somewhat unique outlook of Eileen Cook's first protagonist in her debut What Would Emma Do?, and the part of me with a twisted sense of humor can't help but adore the cover of her latest book, Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood. Priceless. Want. Now. "This time the mean girl is going down." Yes, yes, and yes.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know what a spaz I am when it comes to fairy tale retellings--I simply flip out over them. They're lovely and wonderful, and Simon Pulse is lovely and wonderful for their Once Upon a Time Series, a series of 17 some fairy tale retellings. I have been talking FOREVER about how cool it would be for an author to write a retelling of The Princess and the Pea, and finally it has happened! Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie! Happy dance!

Also, another addition to the series is The World Above by Cameron Dokey (the most prolific writer in this series). This appears to be a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, and I am most intrigued to see how this one will play out. I've only read a retelling of this once, and it was a short story by Louise Hawes told from the point of view of the stolen harp.

This next book reminds me of The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams just from its description alone. Keep Sweet by Michele Green is the story of Alva, who lives within a polygamist community, and what happens when she's forced to marry a man over thirty years to her senior. I don't really seem how the title Keep Sweet fits in with this, but seeing as I've not read the book, I'll keep my mouth shut.

Raven Speak by Diane Lee Wilson is a cover lookalike (someone tell Alea of Pop Culture Junkie!) to Keep Sweet! It's got Vikings and a strong heroine and Vikings, so I really don't see a reason NOT to get this book. Want.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves resembles the cover of The Dark Divine by Bree Despain! It's about a crazy girl in a crazy town, and I can't wait! Also, Dia is a cool person to follow on Twitter.

The Unwritten Rule by the super prolific rockstar of a writer Elizabeth Scott has one pretty cover as well. This is the third book of hers involving a shot of feet. Elizabeth, however, doesn't write much about feet, so don't worry. This one comes out in April and involves a girl liking her best friend's boyfriend, which you know is going to cause drama. Can't wait. Thankfully, I have an ARC of this one patiently waiting on my shelf, biding its time until the Cybils shortlist has been decided and I can go back to my normal reading schedule.

And of course, we're all dying to know how LJ Smith's epically long Night World series ends! Strange Fate, the tenth and final book in the series, is one that many readers have been waiting over ten years for. I'm guessing it's going to be good. This one hits stores in April, and I cannot wait!

I was quite a fan of Pure by Tera Elan McVoy, so I am very excited to see that her second book, After the Kiss, will be out in May! And isn't that cover just the cutest? I liked the way that McVoy handled some serious issues but still managed to keep her book romantic and light where appropriate, so this will be a fun read!

That pretty much wraps up my list of new books, though Pure got a cover makeover (Thank. Goodness.) that I adore. Much better than the cherry, no?

Thanks a lot, S&S. Let the yearning commence!