Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone! 

We hope you all have a fantastic day!
 We are enjoying our bank holiday weekend here in the UK, the weather is gorgeous! Oh, and don't forget all the chocolate eggs we've been eating too :) 

We have decided not to do a weekly update today mainly because we're so busy. We hope you won't be to disappointed but we will be back to normal next Sunday.


 Also, we will be visiting all your blogs over the next few days. Tut tut we have slacked a little the last few days but we can't stay away from your blogs for to long. :)

A review for Winter's Passage (Iron Fey 1.5) by Julie Kagawa

Posted by Donna
Published Date: June 1st, 2010
Finished Date: April 23rd, 2011
The Blurb: Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl...until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

The Review: Winter's Passage takes place straight after the events in The Iron King. The short story follows Meghan & Ash's journey to the Winter Castle but making a quick stop to visit Puck along the way, leads to something terrible hunting them on their journey. 


I really enjoyed this short story. It was a great addition to the series as we get to see how Puck is doing but mostly, we get to see Meghan and Ash, who spend quiet a bit of time together through out the journey. We finally get to see a little more romance happening between them but as much romance there is, there are some frustrating times too. As Ash is battling with his feelings for Meghan and his duty as the Winter Prince, you can really feel what he's going through and can't help but feel for him. I'm so hoping this work out for them.


Overall, a great read :) I'm really looking forward to starting The Iron Daughter. 

US vs UK (#2)

Welcome to Book Passion for Life's second US vs UK book cover battle.

We've seen this posted on a few other blogs, and thought we'd jump on the band wagon!

The idea of this battle is once a week we'll post 2 sets of books of our choice, one US cover and one UK cover, and we'll just give our opinion on which one we love the most. Which cover captures the story, which one would catch our eye if we saw it on the shelf in a shop. The US cover will be on the left, and the UK cover will be on the right.

US vs UK Round 2

Awakened (House of Night #8) by P.C & Kristin Cast

vs 

Jess says: Okay, this is one of my fave series. Some of the books lacked what others gained. I haven't read this one yet, but I will. As for the covers, well this one is an easy choice for me. Personally when the covers were reveled by the Cast's I automatically fell in love with the US cover, and its been my favourite ever since. I just feel its more striking than the UK cover, I like that the UK have kept the girl theme to their covers, but the US takes this one for me because not only is it beautiful with the blue, but we all know I'm partial to a hot guy and I'm sorry but I will happily choose a hot human Rephaim over an annoying Zoey ANYDAY! 

Donna says: I'm with Jess on this one. The US cover actually shows characters from the story rather than a girl.

I loved this series to start with but it slowly started to lack around book 6 but thankfully, Awakened went straight back up there to a great read :) So happy for Rephaim that I'm that I'm excited to see what the next book will bring. 

Which do you prefer?

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Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

vs

Jess says: Okay, I haven't read this book yet but its on my list of 'OMG I must read this!'. Anyway moving on to the covers. The UK takes this one for me :) I love that its all dark but with the red dress and writing as the focus of the book. I think that the UK has used a cover that completely catches the eye. It was because of the red dress and dark background that I bought this book. I just feel that the US has used a cover for a book more along the lines of a child abuse themed book? (no offence honestly) just in my opinion the UK has probably captivated the idea of a 500 year old vampire in her struggle to become human again.  So this one totally goes to the UK. 

Donna says: I loved this book! I can't wait for the next one. After reading this story, I completely understand what the US cover means BUT I love the UK cover. The red dress completely draws you in and I feel this person on the cover looks more like Lenah than the US cover. So... UK gets my vote. 

Okay guys, this weeks US vs UK goes to...............

Neither! Its a draw! 

Tune in next week for more :) 

A review for The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Posted by Donna
Published Date: February 1st, 2010
Finished Date: April 21st, 2011
The Blurb: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

The Review:  Wow! I'm so glad I started this series. I loved every minute of it! 

The Iron King follows Meghan Chase, a school girl who has always felt strange since her father disappeared when she was six years old. When Meghan turns sixteen, her little brother is kidnapped and replaced by a changeling aka a faery. She would have never believed that faeries existed until she finds out that she is the daughter of a faery king and her whole world begins to changes over night while trying to rescue her little brother from some dark evil. 

I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Don't get me wrong, I've read a few Fae books before and they've been........okay! (Nothing special other than Wings by Aprilynne Pike) Anyway, again, this story was great. Ms Kagawa has created such a magical world that sucks you right into the story and you can't help but imagine your there. The creativity in this book is just so amazing. This has to be my favourite Fae book so far! 

When I found out the some of the characters were based on A Midsummer Nights Dream, I was a little put off by it, but I found I really enjoyed them. I loved Puck. I loved Meghan and.....of course, I LOVED Ash! Oh Ash! Where have you been hiding! Lol As you can guess, I'm Team Ash! Puck is such a funny guy and I really love him but I found his character to be more of a friend to Meghan, although this story doesn't touch on Puck and Meghan's relationship, there are a few hints that he may feel differently to her than she does. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how that plays out even though I'm batting for the other team. 

Overall, this was a fantastic read. Its a book I've been waiting for, that has showed me that the Fae are just as good as all the other mythical creatures out there and I'd like to thank Ms Kagawa for creating such a beautiful and imaginative book. Its left me picking up the next book....NOW!!!

____________________

Posted by Jessica

Published Date: February 1st, 2010
Finished Date: June 21st, 2011
Source: Brought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363

The Blurb from Goodreads: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

The Review: What to say about this book? The Iron King, was fabulous. I've wanted to read it for some time. I heard RAVE reviews about the series, and in the end I bought the first 3, and I'm glad I did.

The Iron King is a mix of faery tales and mythology, two of my favorite things in the world. Julie Kagawa creates a fantastical world that pulls you in. Just by Julie Kagawa's writing, all her descriptions, I was able to imagine this world and truly feel like I was apart of it. The characters are witty, mysterious and totally believable. You instantly like Meghan Chase, she's pretty strong all things considered. All the side characters are awesome especially Puck, who just turns a serious situation into a funny joke, and it just lightens the atmosphere. Grim the cat is fantastic with his one liner of "I am a cat", which basically says "I don't give a f*ck". Nice. The relationship between Ash and Meghan was beautifully written, it wasn't dragged on (in this book), and it didn't happen as fast as most books did. All their scenes are wonderful. And yep, I'm partial to the dark, brooding bad boys. I loved the concept that she is Summer and he is Winter, that created a nice friction between the two, but still managed to see their relationship grow into some sort of 'starcrossed lovers' affection. 

The story line was well thought out, and pretty much had me from page one. It was written well, and the introduction to all the different faery creatures was wonderful. Goblins, dragons, rat packs (those guys ROCK), piskies etc...all wonderfully written and well thought out. 

The ending was great, not what I was expecting but hey a faery contract, is a faery contract. 

Overall this was a wonderful read, I'm so glad I read it. It's a fabulous story, and I recommend it to everyone. 

On with The Iron Daughter!

What is this? 20 questions? No it's actually just 3! (#5)

What is this, 20 Questions? No Its actually its just 3! 

This is a weekly meme created by us:  Book Passion for Life. We created this so you could get to know us a little better. If you want to join in....all you have to do is create three questions for yourself each week and answer them, OR to make things fun, ask your followers to ask you a few questions each week!

Jessica's Q & A's 

1) Favourite Movie?

This has always been a hard one. But if I had to choose out of so many? I would pick Avatar. I just love the idea of another world. The name Pandora just screams 'Paradise'. Lovely.

2) When you were little and a grown up asked you "What do you want to be when you grow up?" What was your answer?

Haha this is an easier one. I always said I wanted to be a vet. Like most children vet is the ultimate job for us. Getting to be around all the kitty's and doggy's. Then I grew up and didn't do as well in school as I should have done, so now I aspire to get out of the travel business and become a freelance photographer.

3) What's your favourite read for 2011?

Oooo another hard one. I definitely have to give this one to The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Amazing books, and totally opened my mind to the Urban Fantasy genre. Its very closely followed with Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. TEAM REN!  

Donna's Q & A's

1) Favourite thing to do at the weekend?

Sightseeing. I love taking a drive and looking around different towns. For my birthday a few years ago we went to Stratford-Upon-Avon, had a walk around because it was such a nice day, vistied Shakespears house, went boat rowing on the canals and had a picnic. It was one of my favourite days :)

2) If you could write a book, what names would you give your lovers?

Well.....For the male, I love the name Finn! *Wink Wink Jess* and female, that a little harder, I like a lot of names but Peyton stands out to me right now. If I had another daughter I'd try and convince my partner to call her Peyton.

3) What sequel are you most looking forward to reading this year?

I can't pick JUST ONE!! :( lol But I'm really looking forward to Vanish by Sophie Jordan and Fins for Forever by Tera Lynn Childs.

______________________

That's it for this weeks Q & A's, don't forget to stop by next week. 

Happy reading

A review for City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Posted by Jessica

Published Date: 5^th April, 2011
Finished Date: 19th April, 2011
The Blurb: City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. 

The Review: After some slugging on my part I managed to finish the book last night. Now it took me a while, not because it wasn’t good. But mostly because it’s been hot here in England and I haven’t wanted to read a lot.  Putting that aside I managed to get through it.

Anyway, I liked this book. It wasn’t as good as the previous three in the series so far, but I still enjoyed it. City of Fallen Angels takes place 2 months after the aftermath of City of Glass. Jace and Clary are finally together, but Jace is acting weird and seems to be distancing himself from Clary, which becomes clear in the end of the book. This book mostly revolves around Simon, and how he’s dealing with being a vampire-not just any vampire a ‘Daylighter’-a vampire who can walk around in daylight thanks to the angel blood that he has within him. Not only that, he’s trying to figure out how to juggle two girlfriends. So typical 16 year old then? Anyway, things take a turn for the worst and Simon starts to get hunted buy creepy hooded figures, which all becomes clear towards the end of the book.

I felt City of Fallen Angels was slow to build up, which I didn’t mind so much but after having SO MUCH happen in the previous three books I was hoping for a little more…..umph to it? Don’t get me wrong, Cassie did an amazing job, and it was nice to read it, and be reunited with the characters, which are so familiar to me now that I felt like I was with friends.  Nicely done Cassie.

Moving on to the villain. Well to be honest I preferred Valentine but I can work with Lilith she’s pretty much the embodiment of evil anyway. I just think she lacked something (not sure what) all I know is Valentine was better. That’s all I have to say.

I love the entrance of Kyle to the series, this was a great turn and I’m looking forward to see how this pans out with the Simon, Maia, Isabelle fiasco. Interesting.

I was soooo pleased to see Alec and Magnus back again (Malec). Alec in the beginning really pissed me off after finding out about Magnus and Camille back in the 1800’s (See Clockwork Angel for full details on that). BUT he got over himself and became the Alec we all know and love. Yay! Either way, Cassie IF you read this….I’d like to request more Malec please. Thanks!

Right moving on to the ‘supposed’ cliffy at the end?

***Little spoiler coming up. Sorry***

Not so much a cliffy as an ‘I kinda suspected that, so I’m not overly shocked or surprised’ which is true. I wasn’t. After Sebastian was revealed by Lilith, I wasn’t shocked at the end that TA DA Sebastian lives! Of course he does! Anyway it was a nice turn of events; I suspected from the end of City of Glass that Sebastian would make his re-grand entrance. We sort of see him in a glass coffin, kinda dead, but not dead. He was like Snow White with the eternal sleep thing. Except to wake Sebastian the kiss of true love wasn’t going to work. Nope he needs angel blood mixed with Shadowhunter blood. Enter Jace Wayland-Herondale-Lightwood. So yeah angel blood + Sebastian = dum dum dummmmmm!

Nice turn of events on that bit and I really think that January 2012 is wayyy tooo long to wait for City of Lost Souls!

Anyway, I think that’s about it for this review. Hope it didn’t suck too much. *shrug*

_______________________________

Posted by Donna

Finished Date: April 9th, 2011

The Blurb: City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. 

The Review: I read this book over two weeks ago and I'm still struggling to find the words to write. So..all I'm going to say is.........AMAZING! LOVED everything even the cliffhanger at the end! READ IT! and can't wait for the next one. 

Everlasting (The Immortal Series) by Alyson Noel

Morning Everyone,

I recently posted the first chapter of Everlasting by Alyson Noel on the blog that came from St Martin's Press a few weeks ago. Well.....guess what....I've just had another email with.......CHAPTER TWO! How exciting. 

Pop over to Alyson Noel's website and have a read Everlasting Chapter

I'd love to hear what you all think. It's not long until the US release date, I'm thinking I may have to order it so I don't have to wait until the UK release date. Lol. 

The Release date for US: June 1st, 2011  & the Release date for UK: July 1st, 2011 

Here's the blurb for you: Ever and Damen have spent centuries facing down bitter rivals, jealous friends and their own worst fears—all in the hope of being together forever. Now in EVERLASTING, their destiny is finally within reach. Will they be united . . . or torn apart forever? Readers will finally discover the truth in this anxiously awaited conclusion!

Enjoy! 

Posted by Alyson Noel @ www.alysonnoel.com

Author Interview with Lauren Shaw and giveaway.

Welcome Everyone! 

Today we have a special guest on Book Passion for Life. As you all know I recently read and reviewed a book called 'The Advice Girl'. 

So.....Please give a big welcome to author Lauren Shaw. Lauren has kindly agreed to do an author interview and a FAB giveaway. Before we start though, we'd like to say massive Thank You to Lauren for taking the time to answer our questions. 

1) When did you first realise you wanted to become a writer?

I’ve never really thought of becoming a writer professionally until recently. But I’ve always loved writing. I wrote my first poem when I was five years old. I think it was about kings, queens, and castles… and it was silly. I kept journals all through school and wrote poetry. But I never attempted to write a book until a couple years ago when “The Advice Girl” was born.

2) How long did it take you to write 'The Advice Girl'?

I wrote the rough draft for the book in about a week. Then it sat on my laptop for about two years. I never really thought I’d do anything with it. It was just something I felt like doing at the time. I picked it up again a couple months ago and began trying to edit it and revise parts I thought needed more description. But all of that was a much longer process, and took me about three weeks.

3) What is your work schedule like when writing?

I’ve always been an insomniac. So I usually work my job during the day, and at night I write. If I have the next day off I stay up sometimes until five or six in the morning. If I have to get up and go to work, I try to be in bed early… but it never works out. There is just something about the night time that goes perfectly with writing. I very rarely write during the day.

 4) What inspired you to write 'The Advice Girl'?

Sometimes I just feel like there is something “off” about the world, and it needs to change for the better. That was the inspiration for the book. I was in a rough place in my life, and was quite miserable. I obviously couldn’t change the world, but I made a character that could. “The Advice Girl” was kind of like my personal fantasy made manifest through my writing.

5) Kira & Sophia are the main characters  - How did you come up with their names?

I’ve always loved the name Sophia, and it means wisdom in Greek. I thought it tied into my character and her “abilities”. When I was trying to think of a name for her best friend, Kira just stuck out. I liked it, and I thought they went well together so it stayed.

6) Who is your favourite character out of the book?

My favourite character has to be Markus. I know he’s like the epitome of evil, but he is so much fun to write! He was also my biggest challenge. I really had to put a lot of thought into him. I tried to make him as believable as possible.

7) How many books are you planning to write for this series?

So far there are only two, “The Advice Girl”, and the sequel which I’m working on now. I am going to release a companion book titled “The Journals of Sophia”, but it will not necessarily be in the series. I am thinking about making it a trilogy, with a book following the sequel. But it really depends on how much more material I think is needed for the story to be complete.

Three Random questions

1) What's your favourite book?

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

2) What type of Movies do you like?

I like all kinds… I don’t really have a favourite genre. As long as it has a good story that makes me think and I can relate to the characters. Action is good, romance is also good, and I really love 80’s movies.

3) Who is your favourite fictional character from a book and why?

I would have to say Jack Torrance from “The Shining” by Stephen King. I know it’s a dark character to pick but looking at it from a writer’s standpoint… the character is simply amazing and awe inspiring to me.The character himself is an aspiring writer, and becomes “possessed” which frustrates his desire to write. There is just so much depth to him, and so many layers to the story, and I very much want to write a character like that.

Once again, thank you for taking the time with us today and thank you for the fab answers Lauren! :) 

If you'd like to show your support to Lauren then follow her on: Lauren Shaw Goodreads Page / Lauren's Blog / Lauren's Twitter and her book is available from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes and Nobles and Smashwords .

Giveaway! 

Yes! That's right guys, Lauren has kindly donated TWO paperback copies of her book for us to giveaway....and yes, it will be an INTERNATIONAL giveaway. :) 

Want to enter? All you need to do is the following:

Be a follower of Book Passion for Life 

Be a follower on Lauren's blog: L.A Shaw Blogspot

and fill out this Entry Form

Extra Entries are available too but of course they are optional. 

The giveaway will finish on May 11th, 2011! Winners will be announced on the blog and by email. 

You will have 48 hours to reply to the email or a new winner will be picked, please don't forget to check out Book Passion for Life's giveaway policy details too.

Good Luck :)