Waiting On Wednesday (10): Gods and Mythology

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which an upcoming, eagerly anticipated release is highlighted on the blog.

Due to time constraints, I am only going to be taking part in this meme once a month. Each month, I'll post a compilation of books that I'm "waiting on" that fall under a theme.

This month, I'm "waiting on" books with Gods and Mythology:

Title: Wildefire
Author: Karsten Knight
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: July 26, 2011

Every flame begins with a spark. 
Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

Title: Fury
Author: Elizabeth Miles
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: August 30, 2011

The first book in a paranormal teen trilogy featuring three beautiful, mysterious girls wreaking havoc on a small New England town. 
Sometimes sorry isn't enough.... 
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems... 
Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend. 
On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed. 
In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay. 

Em and Chase have been chosen.

Title: Sweet Venom
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Publisher: HarperTeen
Date: September 6, 2011

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.
Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.
Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.
These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Title: Half-Blood
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Date: September 15, 2011

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure-bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:

Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

I've read Fury already (based on the myth of the vengeance deities called the Furies) and loved it. Other than that, I'm not terribly familiar with YA and MG books featuring Gods and Demigods, like Half-Blood. Nope, I haven't read The Percy Jackson Series yet (though I plan to remedy that soon hopefully). But of course, I love reading about Greek mythology. I am super excited for Sweet Venom (who wouldn't be with that gorgeous cover?), which is based on the myth of Medusa. What intrigues me about Wildefire is that it is based on Polynesian mythology, which is very unique.

How about you? Are you waiting on any of these books with Gods and Mythology? Are there any upcoming books featuring Gods and Mythology that aren't included here that you feel I should know about?

Muggle Monday (13): Review: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

It's time for Muggle Monday, in which I post a quote, a video, or a significant piece of news from the Harry Potter franchise. This is somewhat inspired by the Mundane Monday posts by The Mundie Moms.

But let's be real as to why I made up this meme: I just want the opportunity to post something about Harry Potter.


This week, I'm posting my completely unbiased review of The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling:

Publisher: Children's High Level Group

Published: December 4, 2008

Pages: 180

Source: Bought, Collector's Edition

Rating: 6 STARS

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger’s new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter.

What an absolutely brilliant showcase of Jo's talent. This woman is a genius. Jo has crafted Wizarding fairy tales that could pass for actual fables, like the ones written by Aesop or the Brothers' Grimm. Not only was she able to create enlightening, witty, and moral tales, she did so based on the titles alone! For those who don't know, when Jo wrote Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, she only wrote "The Tale of the Three Brothers" in full within The Tales of Beedle the Bard. She randomly made up four other strange and silly titles that make up the other tales in the book ("The Wizard and the Hopping Pot," "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," and "Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump").  When she decided to write The Tales of Beedle the Bard, with all royalties going to Children's High Level Group (which has since changed its name to Lumos), she used her insanely brilliant imagination to make up fables for those nonsensical titles.

Not only does The Tales of Beedle the Bard contain these wonderful five Wizarding fairy tales, but Jo also wrote commentary for each story as Dumbledore. Dumbledore's commentary offers amusing anecdotes, intelligent insights, and interesting tidbits of Wizarding history. We also learn that, just like Muggle books that are deemed unsavoury by parents for their children, The Tales of Beedle the Bard has been challenged by many people, for different reasons. Beatrix Bloxam rewrote the stories in her book "Toadstool Tales" as she felt the tales were too mature for children and they needed to be protected. And Lucius Malfoy requested the tales be modified or banned from Hogwarts shelves for their themes of tolerance towards Muggles. Amusing to read, considering how many times the Harry Potter books have been challenged for ridiculous reasons as well.

I bought the special Collector's Edition from Amazon (pictured above) for much more money (but who cares when the proceeds are going to such a great cause). It's pretty dang cool. It looks like an actual Hogwarts textbook! It also includes ten full page illustrations. Did I mention that The Tales of Beedle the Bard is illustrated by Jo herself?! I highly recommend The Tales of Beedle the Bard to any huge Potter fan. It is truly a special gem of a book, absolutely spellbinding in its brilliance.

Review: Fury (Fury #1) by Elizabeth Miles

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: August 30, 2011

Pages: 352

Source: For Review from Simon and Schuster Canada (Thank you!)

Rating: 4 Stars - I Loved It!

Sometimes sorry isn't enough....
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems... 
Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.
On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed. 
In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay. 
Em and Chase have been chosen.

In short: Fury by Elizabeth Miles is an engaging and thrilling debut with realistic characters and a chilling storyline.

Karma is a bitch, and it comes in the form of three gorgeous deities from Greek mythology called the Furies. Fury follows Em and Chase, in alternating chapters, and the typical high school drama surrounding their lives. But both Em and Chase have done something reprehensible. Chosen by the Furies for their wrongdoings, they have to learn the hard way that what goes around, comes around.

From the start of Fury, Em and Chase were not likeable characters; I don't believe they were supposed to be. After all, they had to be guilty of a transgression for the Furies to want to take revenge. They were both obsessed with popularity. Em contemplates cheating with her best friend's boyfriend and Chase nonchalantly treats girls as though they're worth nothing to him.

Rather than be turned off by their faults, I found I could at least appreciate the fact that they weren't saints. They were definitely no Mary Sue and Gary Stu. They were authentic teens with authentic teen feelings and immaturity. It was strangely a breath of fresh air from main characters that are instantly likeable, if that makes any sense. As they realize and feel genuinely sorry for what they did and how they'll have to pay for it, you can't help but sympathize with Em and Chase and forgive them for their stupid mistakes.

A large portion of Fury was taken up by high school drama with only some paranormal occurrences happening in the background. It read like a contemporary novel at times and I would have preferred had it focused a bit less on the regular drama and more on the paranormal aspect. But once more and more creepy incidents start to affect Em and Chase's lives about halfway through the novel, it took me by surprise how involved with the story I became. I went from not liking the characters and high school drama in the beginning to being sympathetic towards the characters and totally caught up in the chilling and freaky storyline as it unfolded.

Overall, though I did not expect this when I first started reading Fury, I really ended up becoming engaged in the characters and storyline as it became creepier and more horrifying. The ending especially was so intense and filled with so many shocking twists that I hadn't been expecting. I eagerly look forward to how the story will unfold in this planned trilogy. Fury will be released August 30, 2011.

Other Review:
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*Read as part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge

Pottermore

It's just past 5:00am for me but I needed to see Jo make her announcement live. And what an announcement it was. A free online reading experience like no other. eBooks finally. Some additional information that Jo has been hoarding from us (more than 18,000 words). Interactivity: we'll get to have a wand choose us in Diagon Alley (one of 33,000 possible combinations) and be sorted into a Hogwarts House. Freaky cool figures coming out of books. Forgive me if I'm not thinking straight as I'm very tired. She also confirmed that she will never write another Harry Potter book (Aw! But understandable). According to Pottermore.com, a lucky few will be selected to enter the experience early starting on July 31 (Jo's and Harry's birthday). Everyone else has to wait until October 2011. The Chamber of Secrets storyline will debut 2012. I must follow the owl.

(Click to enlarge pictures)

Review: The Girl who Played with Fire (Millennium #2) by Stieg Larsson

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2006

Pages: 724

Source: Borrowed (Thanks Auntie!)

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government. 
But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire. 
As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

In short: The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson maintains the same general layout as its predecessor but as a bonus, Salander's backstory is detailed extensively.

Uh, can I just say ditto? I have pretty much the exact same comments to make on this second installment that I had in my The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo review. Again, this book was an intelligent murder mystery cloaked in a bevy of unimportant details that were completely unnecessary to the plot. Why is it necessary that the reader knows about every single item that Salander buys from IKEA to furnish her new apartment? I just don't understand why things like this weren't edited out. It takes the entire first half of the book to set up the plot and action in the second half.

At least I wasn't as horrified by the plot this time around, now that I know what to expect and have become a bit more accustomed to the terrible and graphic abuse and violence that takes place. The Girl who Played with Fire still had the same disgusting, women-abusing type of bad guy as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I found that I could be - if still a bit horrified - very satisfied to see those sadistic pigs, perverts, and rapists get their comeuppance.

I am also extremely satisfied with the answers we got regarding the backstory of the one-of-a-kind Lisbeth Salander. I stated in my The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo review that she was the only character I developed any investment in and she was the main reason I wanted to continue with the trilogy. In fact, now that I've gotten a good understanding of her (well, as much as anyone can really understand Salander [in other words, not really]), I almost don't feel the need to continue on with The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Still, The Girl who Played with Fire ended with a bit of a cliffhanger that most definitely makes me want to read on to find out whether all the characters made it through that intense final sequence. But it can wait for a while. I'm suffering from some serious YA withdrawal and I need to get me my fix.

*Read as part of the Into the Old World Reading Challenge
*Read as part of the Book Series Completion Challenge