2011 Debut Author Reading Challenge

2011 Debut Author Reading Challange (DAC) is a year -long challenge hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren!
The goal of DAC is to read at least 12 YA/MG debuts in 2011 (to learn more about it, visit this post)!
So, here is the list of books that I plan to read in 2011:

1. The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
2. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
3. Timeless by Alexandra Monir
4. Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5. XVI by Julia Karr
6. Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris
7. Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic
8. Angelfire (Angelfire, #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton
9. A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford
10. Dead Rules by Randy Russell
11.  The Demon Trapper's Daughter (Demon Trappers #1) by Jana Oliver
12. The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

This list will probably change during the year!

The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Mandigan

                                                          


Title: The Mermaid's Mirror
Author: L.K. Mandigan
Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Realease Date: October 4th 2010
Summary: Lena has lived her whole life near the beach — walking for miles up and down the shore and breathing the salty air, swimming in the cold water, and watching the surfers rule the waves — the problem is, she’s spent her whole life just watching.
As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena vows she will no longer watch from the sand: she will learn to surf.
But her father — a former surfer himself — refuses to allow her to take lessons. After his near drowning years ago, he can’t bear to let Lena take up the risky sport.
Yet something keeps drawing Lena to the water . . . an ancient, powerful magic. And one morning Lena catches sight of this magic: a beautiful woman — with a silvery tail.
Now nothing can stop Lena from seeking the mermaid, not even the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.
And soon . . . what she sees in the mermaid’s mirror will change her life forever.

(details above from Godreads)

Review:I really enjoyed this book! As a sea lover I’m fascinated with all myths and legends related to it!
One thing that I really enjoyed in this book was that mermaids are seen in a different way than the clichés beautiful creatures that enchant the sailors with their angelical voices and other worldly appearance. No, in this book mermaids are much more than that. They are creatures who live in a structured world, where there are rules, and hierarchy, where they have traditions.
The characters are well developed and they are not flat, so they seemed believable to my eyes. But I think that other characters could be more developed, as Nyx for exemple.
The plot was interesting and I loved the sense of mystery and fantasy that was very present in it.
I liked the fact that this book showed instead of telling because it made it easier to me to enter  Lena’s day-to-day life, which was very important, since that life that is shown to us in the first part of the book will dramatically change.
The end was the thing that I least enjoyed!
Overall it was good book, full of magic, mystery and fantasy.

10/10

Worldwide Monday - Harry Potter Special Edition

Worldwide Monday is a new feature at Fragments inspired by all the book blogs that do cover judge features (they are to many for me too list).
As a blogger based outside USA, UK  or any other country with a large number of book bloggers, most of my books (and I believe that this happens to other bloggers from other countries too) have different covers from the UK, USA, (insert a country name here) versions. 
 I decided to start this feature to show the different covers that the books have in different countries.
With all the excitement because of the new Harry Potter movie (IT'S GREAT)  I decided to dedicate this World Wide Monday to a few cover of the Harry Potter seventh book. Most of the countries have the same Harry Potter cover, so today the "battle" will be between different editions of the UK cover.

What cover do you prefer? Decisons... Decisions...

In my Maibox (6)

In my Mailbox is a weekly meme host by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie:


 For Review:

      From Netgaley:
                    

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa - I'm so excited to read this!
Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton - This has lots of Irish mythology and as I'm going to Ireland with school in a few months I want to know all about Irish mythology!
Mystify by Artist Arthur - is the second book in a series about a girl that hears ghost, think! I love paranormal novels!


     From the Library:

                       
Triskelion by Will Peterson - It's set in a small town in England where the habitants try to hide to hide terrible secrets.


What's in your mailbox?

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

                                 


Title:Pretty Litle Liars
Author: Sara Shepard
Publisher: HarperTeen
Releae Date: October 1st 2006
Age Group: Young Adult
Summary: Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.
Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.
But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.
How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.
(details above from Goodreads)

Review:This book gave me different feelings. At first I didn't like it very much: I thought the characters were too frivolous and too fake but through the plot they gain a little bit more substance.
When I finished reading it I actually liked the book. Sure the characters were the stereotypical rich, daddy girls but they also had flaws and weaknesses. And of course, the plot made me breathless!
The problems that the girls deal with are ordinary, and many other books deal with them too, but I enjoyed the way Sara Sheppard approached it!
I think that the setting is appropriate to the type of characters that are in the book. To me Rosewood felt truly real.
 I loved the way that the "clues" were written: as by accident the narrator had said too much and then quickly ended up the chapter and moved to another POV, to avoid doing the same again! Those just made me continue to turn page after page.
The plot is interesting and I couldn't guess practically any of the upcoming twists!
Overall it was an exciting book, with an average writing that made me turn page after page!
8/10

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

Wainting on Wednesday is a wekly meme hosted at Breaking the Spine.
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
                                               
Title: Angelfire
Series:Angelfire,  book 1
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Realease Date: February 15th 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Age Group: Young Adult
Summary:This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

(Details above from Goodreads)


My thoughts: One word: angels. Also the plot sounds really good, the summary is intriguing and I love paranormal books so I can't wait to read it.

Teaser Tuesday (4)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is:
Ali knew more about them than anyone else did, including the bad stuff they wanted to bury - just like a body.
 Pretty Little Liars, Sara Shepard, page 18, TV Tie-in Edition

I hope you liked it.
What's your teaser?

Worldwide Monday - Germany vs Spain

Worldwide Monday is a new feature at Fragments inspired by all the book blogs that do cover judge features (they are to many for me too list).
As a blogger based outside USA, UK  or any other country with a large number of book bloggers, most of my books (and I believe that this happens to other bloggers from other countries too) have different covers from the UK, USA, (insert a country name here) versions. 
 I decided to start this feature to show the different covers that the books have in different countries.



 This week pick is CITY OF GLASS by Cassandra Clare:

                                              

              

What cover do you prefer? The blue and cold German cover or the yellowish Spanish cover?
Decisons... Decisions...

Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

                                         




Title: Betrayed
Series: House of the Night (book 2)
Auhors: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Publisher:St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date:October 2nd 2007
Age Group: Young Adults
Genre:Paranormal, Vampires, Horor
Summary: Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night.  She’s come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, Zoey finally feels like she belongs--like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world

(details above from Amazon and Goodreads)

Review:

This book was much better than the first one (you can see my review here) and I really enjoyed reading it.
The characters were much developed and I was able to relate to them in a way that I couldn't in the first book.
As any series book this one shows us new facets from already known characters, unfortunately some of these revelations were sometimes  easily excpected.
The plot is better than in Marked (the first book of the series) but some of the twists are very predictable. This book was much more exciting to read than the first because there is more mystery and strong feelings.
In this book Zoey's life becomes more complicated which allowed the authors to create funny moments and sad moments.
Overall I liked this book and I can't wait to read the third one, but I would enjoyed it much more if I could not guess the next event.
 8.5/10

The Society of S by Susan Hubbard

            Portuguese Cover


Title: The Society of S (Ethical Vampire #1)
Author: Susan Hubbard
Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: May 1st 2007
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Horror, Vampires, Family, Mystery
Summary: If you ever want to hide from the world, live in a small city, where everyone seems anonymous."
That's the advice of twelve-year-old Ariella Montero, who lives with her father in Saratoga Springs, New York, in a house haunted more by secrets than by memories. The Society of S traces her journey south, to Asheville and Savannah, and on to Florida, as she learns that everything she knows about her family is a lie.
When she finds her mother, she learns the truth: Ariella is a fledgling member of the Society of S.S stands for Sanguinists: a sect of environmentalists concerned with ethics and human rights -- although they happen to be vampires. S also stands for synesthete: a person able to see words and letters in colors. The letter S is lucky for Sara, Ariella's mother, who gravitates to cities such as Savannah and Sarasota. But will it be lucky for Ariella? Susan Hubbard's novel is an intricate literary mystery that raises provocative questions about the way we live now. Ariella's voice will lure you into a world where you'll meet the others among us: vampires who cope with their special nature and need for blood in a variety of ways, ranging from the savage to the mundane to the scientific

(details above from Amazon and Goodreads)

Review: This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. When I read the summary I imagined more suspense and horror but that didn’t happened much: with a few exceptions the story didn’t gave me any strong feelings.
The writing was too simple, even for a Young Adult novel.
I liked to read the story from Ariella point of view: she’s an interesting girl, with a strong personallity.
The other characters are intriguing and they’re not flat but I just couldn’t relate to them.
The novel is settled in the small town of Saratoga Springs and many events from the plot occurred in the old and strange Victorian mansion where Ari and her father live, which create a great atmosphere.
Until today I still can’t understand the title because in this book the Society of S is only referred once or twice!
Overall this book isn’t the best that I read about vampires but the end let me with some curiosity so I’ll probably read the second book in the series.
7/10