Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman

Source: Publisher


On the surface, Emily Meckler leads the perfect life. She has three best friends, two loving parents, and the ideal setup at the Connecticut prep school where her father is the headmaster. But Emily also suffers from devastating nightmares about fire and water, and nobody knows why. Then the enigmatic Del Sugar enters her life, and Emily is immediately swept away—but her passionate relationship with Del is just the first of many things that aren't quite what they seem in Emily's life. As the lies she's been told start to unravel, Emily must set out to discover the truth regarding her nightmare; on a journey that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about love, family, and her own idyllic past.

When I finished this book, I didn't know what to think about. It had really captivated me and I waited a while before I sat down to write this review. Where the Truth Lies is a very powerful story about how one girl thought she knew everything, but she actually didn't.

Emily is a character who when you first take a glance at her, you know she has a perfect life, but underneath the surface, she's actually suffering from nightmares. She's the daughter of the headmaster, but later on in the book, you find out she's not as perfect and her life isn't the best. She suffers lies. She evern meets Del and at first she thinks he's the best person and he loves her and she loves him. Both there descriptions and dialogues were exactly how a teen would act and talk. Jessica Warman really stayed true to who her characters really were.

The book had a sort of mysterious plot which I enjoyed a lot. Also, the cover is amazing. Bloomsbury always does an amazing job with their covers and all I can give them is 5 stars every time.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will be reading more books by Jessica Warman in the future.

♥♥♥♥ 1/2

-Ana

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to take this moment and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. First of all, my parents who have always been there for me, my best friend Rissa who is like a big sister to me and someone I can actually talk to and she'll understad me. My little sister whom I love dearly and couldn't ask for a better sister, the wonderful authors and publishers whom I've befriended. It's only been less than a year and I've become close to them all. They're all so great! And last, but not least, my wonderful readers here on the blog. Thank you for visiting me here everyday. You mean so much to me and I want to give a big thank you to all of you!

I wish everyone nothing but the best!

♥ Ana

The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz - Logsted

Source: Publisher


Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day... a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?
Filled with shocking twists and turns, The Twin's Daughter is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets that will keep you guessing to the very end.

The Twin's Daughter is a very intriguing book and mysterious. I loved the English used in this book. It made me feel as though I was living in England, which I want to do a lot. Lucy was a fun character. When the book started, I didn't know how much I was going to like her, but I was suprised to see how well developed she was. She's a very caring girl who truly cares for her mother and her Aunt Helen, but the situation makes her think twice.

The book has a lot of details. Maybe if some of the details were cut off, the book would have been not as long and much easier to read. I did find myself skipping some details because it went on for a while, but other than that, the book is exciting and you get trapped in it.

I absolutly love the cover for this book. It's so eye-catching and it resembles the plot so well. The pink and the two shadowy - dark figures do represent mother and Aunt Helen very creatively.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who wants to read something a bit different with a mystery involved.

♥♥♥♥

-Ana

A Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls

Source: Publisher


Vampires are hot right now, especially among teens, and The Vampire Diaries in a few short episodes became the CW’s most-watched show.

The Vampire Diaries brings together today’s best YA writers of the supernatural to talk about the show’s first season: the characters, the storyline, the magic, the town. From a history of the Salem’s witches from whom Bonnie is descended to family therapy for brothers Stefan and Damon, the anthology is guaranteed to keep Vampire Diaries viewers entertained—and make them see Mystic Falls, and the rest of the show, in a whole new way.

And the webmasters of Vampire-Diaries.net, a popular fansite for both the books and show, also provide a primer on what viewers should know before picking up the books.

If you know me, you know that I absolutly LOVE the Vampire Diaries. And when I found about about this book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It's the perfect book and gift for any Vampire Diaries fan. I loved it how so many authors teamed up and expressed their love for the show and delved into it and I've been waiting for something like this for a long time.

I absolutly love the cover of this. I mean it can't get better than having pages from diaries, and vervain on the cover. That to me screams out Vampire Diaries. I don't know how more I can express my love for this book! Go out and buy it if you're a fan of the show. It won't disappoint.

♥♥♥♥♥

-Ana

Feather by Abra Ebner

Source: Author


Estella's magical life as an orphan was never easy, and at eighteen, she is finally free. In her desperate attempt to leave the city behind and unravel her strange talents, she flees to a secluded college nestled deep in the forests of the North Cascades. It is here that she hopes to escape her painful life, and forgotten past.
As classes begin, Elle struggles to find her place, until she meets Professor Edgar. Young, handsome, yet terrifying, Elle is suddenly intrigued. Despite her fear of him, she finds the strange attraction mesmerizing, dangerous, and somehow familiar. As their acquaintance grows, she is suddenly drawn further into a life she never knew she lived, in a place that finally feels like home. As her happiness returns, so do the demons of her forgotten past. It is here that she finds herself faced with the sacrifice of her life, and the beginning of a journey deeply rooted in our existence.
Feather takes us into the darkest regions of our soul, into a world where we only dream to exist. Book one of the series introduces us to this new world, a place closely rooted in our dreams, and a place we ve all been. Begin the journey your soul craves, in a world where warrior's spring from the earth and magic is all around us.

FEATHER is a book I've never read before. When I first heard of Abra Ebner's books, I immediatly wanted them. They sounded so good and I kept wondering, where has she been all my life? But once I started FEATHER, I knew Abra Ebner had talent.

I loved Estella's character. She's not obnoxious and she's not the type who hides away from everything. She's strong and courageous. Being an orphan was hard for her, but she was making her way through and met her friend Scott. Scott oh Scott. He was so adorable. I thought it was so cute how much he loved being around her and the secret crush he had for her. And then we meet Edgar. At first, I hated this guy's attitiude. I thought he was just plain rude and kept saying to myself, Estella can't fall for this guy, but as Ebner delves more into this guy, you begin to like him more. Ebner has amazing character development in this books.

The plot was very mysterious. I had no clue what Edgar was. At times, I kept asking myself if he actually was anything 'paranormal'. But to not ruin the suprise, you'll have to read the book to find out about who this mysterious Edgar is. But I'll tell you, you won't be disappointed.

I loved the cover. Ebner is an amazing artist to come up with it and this cover gets 5 stars!

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and can't wait to read more of Abra Ebner's work!

♥♥♥♥1/2

-Ana

Interview with Eilis O'Neal

Hey everyone! So, today I have for you an interview with Ms. Eilis O'Neal, the author of The False Princess which will be out in bookstores on January 25, 2011. Link to the review; http://anarissachron.blogspot.com/2010/09/false-princess-by-eilis-oneal-review-by.html

So, without further ado, Ms. Eilis O'Neal!

How long have you been writing?

I started telling stories before I could actually write them down. Starting at about the age of three, I would tell my mother stories, and she would type them out. The first one I ever told her was about a frog who cried frozen tears because winter had come and he couldn’t swim in his pond anymore. It was all of three sentences long. But gradually, I started telling/writing longer stories on a regular basis. Then my mom would type them up, I’d illustrate them, and we’d give them out to my relatives as Christmas presents.



Who or what was your inspiration for becoming an author?

In general, my desire to become an author stems from the fact that I’m a total bookworm and have been since before I could talk. I’m one of those people who can’t go anywhere without a book, because there might be five minutes where I could be reading. So it wasn’t much of a leap to realize that I wanted to be able to write books that affected people the way that many books affect me. More specifically, I read Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet when I was twelve, and those books cemented in me the idea that I wanted to write YA fantasy novels.



What inspired you to write about this particular time period?

I’m a medieval/Renaissance nut. I would love to live somewhere where I could see castles on a daily basis, and my husband and I love to dress up and go to Ren faires. A lot of the fantasy books I read are set in that general time period. So, basically, I just like!



What did you have to research to properly portray the land of Thorvaldor?

One of the things I had to do some extra research on is the dyeing of cloth. Sinda’s Aunt Varil is a dyer, and at the beginning of the book, Sinda tries—fairly unsuccessfully—to learn this trade. I knew that I wasn’t going to be writing a handbook on dyeing, but I wanted the little snippets that I did include to be realistic. So I got books and poked around on the internet until I felt like I had enough basic knowledge that anything I said wouldn’t—hopefully—be too far from the truth.


How long did it take you to write this book from start to finish?

It’s been a few years, so it’s hard to remember exactly. But I think I started the first draft in early January of 2007 and finished it in October of that year. Then I revised for a long time. I think I was shopping it around for an agent by November of 2009. So, quite a while!



What was the publishing process like?

I got my agent the old fashioned way—a query letter and the first five pages of the book. Once he’d decided to represent me, he said there was a new (in the US) publishing house whose first list would come out in the fall of 2009, and that he thought it would be a good place to start. And, to our shock, Egmont USA accepted it! Which is, of course, something that totally does not normally happen, though I’m certainly glad it did. And I’m so glad that Egmont will be publishing the book, because everyone there is great.



How did you come up with the characters of Sinda and Kiernan? Were they inspired by anyone?

I knew that I wanted my false princess to be someone who never quite fit into the “normal” idea of what a princess should be. Someone quiet and bookish, a little shy. And once I had that, I also knew that her best friend would be someone who was very opposite—outgoing and witty, someone who could pull her out of her shell. They weren’t inspired by anyone in particular, though Sinda is probably more like me than anyone else in the book is, so I was able to write her pretty easily.



Who was your favorite character to write?

Of course, I love Sinda. Like I said, she’s the most like me. But I think that the two characters I had to the most fun writing are Kiernan and Philantha, because both of them make me laugh. Kiernan gets to be droll and witty and silly, and Philantha goes off on these weird bunny trails of conversations that are a hoot to follow. Whenever I had to write them, I ended up smiling.



Who was the most difficult to write?

There are several characters in the book who have ulterior motives. I’m not going to name names, because that would give things away, but it’s always hard to write people who are giving one face to your main character, but who you know will make a shift later. You have to not tip off the reader too much, but also lay the groundwork for making that shift plausible, and it can be a dance.



Do you have any future projects you can tell us about?

I do have some future projects, but right now they’re under wraps. Still, stay tuned!


Thank you so much to Eilis for a wonderful interview and, again, remember to look for The False Princess in stores 1/25/11!

Jump by Ginger Rue

Source: Publisher


High school junior Brinkley Harper is beautiful, wealthy, admired, and powerful—until the day she wakes up in the body of a classmate she wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with.

Goth girl Miranda is everything Brinkley isn’t: she won't leave the house in anything but black, her family life is in tatters, she’s practically invisible at school, and she’s hiding a dark secret. As Brinkley experiences Miranda’s life from the inside out, she’s forced to consider the world from a very different point-of-view. But this won’t be Brinkley's last “jump,” and each time she lives a day in another classmate’s body, Brinkley not only begins to feel empathy for others, she also begins to glimpse the fears, vulnerabilities, and disappointments behind her own perfect façade. By experiencing the world as somebody else, Brinkley may finally learn to understand herself.

JUMP is a book that shows that if you walk in someone else's shoes, you'll see the true person and might feel more compassionate about them. Brinkely Harper was the most popular girl in school, but also the meanest and Miranda was the goth who Brinkely didn't like. But as Brinkely literally goes into Miranda's shoes and other girls', she begins to think differently about them because she's going throuhg what they are as well.

I loved the transformation of Brinkely throughout the novel. She started out snotty, but changed. Also, the characters in this book had personality. They weren't boring. They actually jumped out to you. At times, I would find myself in people's shoes as well as Brinkely was.

The cover of this book is absolutly gorgeous! It captures the entire essence of the book and even Brinkely and Miranda.

Overall, if you enjoy chick-lit and a book that shows people changing, this books for you.

♥♥♥♥

-Ana

iDrakula by Bekka Black

SOURCE: Author



The classic vampire story that started it all gets new life for a generation of connected teens

18-year-old Jonathan Harker is diagnosed with a rare blood disorder after visiting a Romanian Count. His girlfriend Mina and a pre-med student named Van Helsing team up to investigate the source of the disease. The teenagers discover a horrifying truth: the Count is a vampire. The harrowing events unfold through emails, text messages, web pages, Twitter feeds, and instant messaging-the natural modernization of Bram Stoker's original Dracula, which was written in letters, diary entries, and news clippings.

iDrakula was a book I didn't know how it was going to turn out, but I found myself finishing it very quickly. I loved how Black took the classic DRACULA and turned it into modern day. I was always waiting to see what was going to happen to Jonathan in the castle in Romania and reading this book in text and emails, made the book very fun. This is the first book I've read in sich form and I'm already liking it.

The characters were great. Even though the book was in text and emails, the characters still had personalities and I could hear them in my head talking. I loved the cover of this book. I would so pick this book up if I were at the bookstore. It's so creepy, but yet luring.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone who wants to try reading a new writing style and who is in love with vampires.

♥♥♥♥

-Ana

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

A mysterious jewel holds the key to a life-changing secret, in this breathtaking tale of love and art, betrayal and redemption.
When she decides to auction her remarkable jewelry collection, Nina Revskaya, once a great star of the Bolshoi Ballet, believes she has finally drawn a curtain on her past. Instead, the former ballerina finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed the course of her life half a century ago.

It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of the theater; that she fell in love with the poet Viktor Elsin; that she and her dearest companions—Gersh, a brilliant composer, and the exquisite Vera, Nina’s closest friend—became victims of Stalinist aggression. And it was in Russia that a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape that led Nina to the West and eventually to Boston.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But two people will not let the past rest: Drew Brooks, an inquisitive young associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor of Russian who believes that a unique set of jewels may hold the key to his own ambiguous past. Together these unlikely partners begin to unravel a mystery surrounding a love letter, a poem, and a necklace of unknown provenance, setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

RUSSIAN WINTER was a book that I didn't know what to expect. I had never read anything like this before, but I was excited to delve into it. But once I began, I couldn't stop. This book was haunting, mesmerizing, and it took me into the past. Kalotay's writing flows.

Right on the second page, we begin to find out about Nina, a ballet dancer, and as the book goes along we learn about this necklace. Nina was a very different character from others I've read. First of all, she was an adult and I usually read YA books, but the pace this book had and the thrill ride it took me, I kept making time for myself to read it.

Now, I'm not going to say too much since I don't want to spoil anything, but I am going to mention how pretty thre cover is. When I first saw this cover, I immediatly thought of a ballerina and it had something to do with the necklace around her neck. And I was right. I found the cover perfect and it looks old, making the feeling of traveling to the past in Russia more real.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend you to read it if you want something different and exciting.

♥♥♥♥1/2

-Ana