#AmReading: Crown of Ice by Vicki Weavil

Thyra Winther's seventeen, the Snow Queen, and immortal, but if she can't reassemble a shattered enchanted mirror by her eighteenth birthday she's doomed to spend eternity as a wraith. Armed with magic granted by a ruthless wizard, Thyra schemes to survive with her mind and body intact.

Unencumbered by kindness, she kidnaps local boy Kai Thorsen, whose mathematical skills rival her own. Two logical minds, Thyra calculates, are better than one. With time rapidly melting away she needs all the help she can steal. A cruel lie ensnares Kai in her plan, but three missing mirror shards and Kai's childhood friend, Gerda, present more formidable obstacles. Thyra's willing to do anything – venture into uncharted lands, outwit sorcerers, or battle enchanted beasts - to reconstruct the mirror, yet her most dangerous adversary lies within her breast.

Touched by the warmth of a wolf pup's devotion and the fire of a young man's desire, the thawing of Thyra's frozen heart could be her ultimate undoing. 

As cold as the power’s she possesses, Thyra Winther is the most recently crowned Snow Queen and desperate to carry out her task of restoring a magical mirror back to its original state. Crown of Ice is a fantastic interpretation of Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen, breathing new life into a classic fairy tale, but keeping it true to itself. Weavil writes with beautiful poetic prose, creating vivid imagery and lines that will stick with me long after reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this epic fantasy.

Find out more about Vicki on her website: http://vickilempweavil.com/

#AmReading: Scardust by Suzanne van Rooyen

Dead Rock, Texas, 2037

Raleigh Williams made a promise to his brother before he died, that he’d scatter his ashes on Mars. Desperate to leave a life of bad memories behind and start over in the Martian colony, Raleigh fully intends to keep that promise. But his plans are thwarted when a meteor near-misses him in the desert, and Raleigh finds in its crater not debris or even a spacecraft, but a man covered in swirling scars and with no memory of who he is. At least he looks like a man—a man Raleigh can’t seem to keep his eyes off of—but whenever they touch it ignites a memory swap between them.

Raleigh agrees to help Meteor Man piece together his life through their cosmic connection. But the memory share goes both ways, and Raleigh becomes inexplicably entangled with a guy who is everything he needs—everything good that Raleigh is not—but might not even be human. As their minds and worlds collide, reality unravels and Raleigh must face a painful truth, one that could shatter his dreams of finding love, reaching Mars, and fulfilling his brother’s last wish.

This intense sci-fi comes with prose as dark and poetic as only a futuristic Texas can be, where a boy who waters a roadkill garden hopes to escape his messed up life and run away to Mars. Suzanne van Rooyen draws us in to the world of Raleigh and Crow, and their attempts to find answers to Crow's past. Through tiny flashbacks we're shown each character's past struggles to find where they fit in this world, and watch as they grow together. But in a twist as good as an Orson Scott Card plot, accepting change may be as harder than overcoming Raleigh's old life. A great read.

Find out more about Suzanne on her website: http://suzannevanrooyen.com/

#WO2016: This week in cover reveals

This weeks cover reveals are: Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall, Facsimile by Vicki Weavil, & Fjord Blue by Nina Rossing

Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall: 

Find out more information about Louise Gornall here.

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Facsimile by Vicki Weavil:

Find out more information about Vicki Weavil here.

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Fjord Blue by Nina Rossing:

Find out more information about Nina Rossing here.

wereadyabooks we read ya underrosetaintedskieslouise gornall facsimile vickilweavil yalit nina rossingfjord blue

#AmReading: Alice Kuipers needs to stop making me cry!

I just finished my second Alice Kuipers novel, Life on the Refrigerator Door. For those of you looking at a 2016 Reading Challenge, add this one to your “Read in one day” section. Not only will you read this book in one evening, you will bawl your face off like a little baby almost the entire way through.

Originally posted by blueeyes-and-love

Then I see Globe and Mail’s comment on the cover: “Funny yet poignant….a pure pleasure.” Funny. Yes. Poignant. Yes. A pure pleasure…if you like crying until your eyes turn red and tiny little red spots from broken blood vessels burst all over your face from the sobbing…then by all means yes, a pure pleasure. I would have said: “Funny yet gut wrenching. A must read, but keep a roll of toilet paper nearby. Kleenexes just won’t cut it.” And a must read it is. 

Another Alice Kuiper novel I completed was The Worse Thing She Ever Did. Yes I bawled in that one too. So you must be asking yourself why oh why would I ever submit myself to the heartbreaking torture and add two more of her books to my list? Because she’s awesome. She writes awesome. Her stories are awesome. And I’m a better person having read them. 

So here’s to the next two novels by Alice Kuipers that I have on my #TBR list: 40 Things I Want to Tell You &The Death of Us. I’d pretty much be kidding myself if I thought these were feel good, smiley books by their titles alone, but Alice writes so well that I can’t help but keep coming back!

You can find out more information on Alice's webpage: http://www.alicekuipers.com/

#AmReading: Lifer by Beck Nicholas

As for reading, I’ve just started on Lifer with Beck Nicholas. I’m only one chapter in and I am already pulled into the mystery of Asher’s world. I cannot wait to read more! Find links to buy your copy through Beck’s site at: http://www.becknicholas.com/

Asher is a Lifer, a slave aboard the spaceship Pelican. A member of the lowest rung of society, she must serve the ship’s Officials and Astronauts as punishment for her grandparents’ crimes back on Earth. The one thing that made life bearable was her illicit relationship with Samuai, a Fishie boy, but he died alongside her brother in a freak training accident. Still grieving for the loss of her loved ones, Asher is summoned to the upper levels to wait on Lady, the head Official’s wife and Samuai’s mother. It is the perfect opportunity to gather intel for the Lifers’ brewing rebellion. There’s just one problem—the last girl who went to the upper levels never came back. On the other side of the universe, an alien attack has left Earth in shambles and a group called The Company has taken control. Blank wakes up in a pond completely naked and with no memory, not even his real name. So when a hot girl named Megs invites him to a black-market gaming warehouse where winning means information, he doesn’t think twice about playing. But sometimes the past is better left buried. As Asher’s and Blank’s worlds collide, the truth comes out—everyone has been lied to. 

This book was amazing. If you liked Matched by Ally Condie or The 100 by Kass Morgan you will LOVE Lifer (OMG it's so good). The elements of sci-fi are carried out wonderfully, the YA romance is just right, and the mystery is timed perfect with the plot. Two POVs allow for the reader to see the two worlds as they get closer and closer into melding into one. The story leaves you on an upturn, so you're left excited to see what happens next, and not bummed that you have to wait. I cannot wait for a sequel to see what happens with Asher and Davyd! 

#TrailerTuesday: The Mortal Instruments Series

Movies have trailers. Books have trailers. Heck, even trailer parks have trailers. What’s great about all the above? They’re nice, compact, and just enough substance to give you what you need.

This #TrailerTuesday we’re going to look at three trailers. First, one of the first Mortal Instruments book trailers; second, one of the more recents ones; and, third their newest counterpart, the Shadowhunters TV series trailer (which yes, I posted earlier this week – relax – there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing when it comes to books).

Book trailer (City of Glass):

Yes, a little corny, but keep in mind this trailer is 6 years old. A lot has changed in the realm of book trailers. It takes care of the basic book trailer requirements back then: keep the visuals to a minimum and give people the book blurb.

Let’s see what changed in book trailers five years later. Same series. New software.

Book trailer (City of Heavenly Fire):

Here we are pulled into the story with cinematic elements. Like a movie trailer, the book trailer shows us what happens in the book. As a viewer I feel much more pulled into the action. *Sigh* If only we all had a Simon & Schuster budget to produce a video for our book trailers.

Last but not least, we are again peeking at the Shadowhunters TV series trailer. Note the full use of cinematic elements: action, suspense, great videography. If only book trailers attracted enough attention to warrant a budget like this (in my dreams).

Shadowhunters TV series trailer:

So as you can see, there’s a lot to think about in creating a trailer. YA is a great niche to create book trailers - who doesn’t like exploring around YouTube! But in today’s market a book trailer needs to be a little more. Whether it’s just a teaser, or something more, a little video goes a long way.

And I know I said only three trailers, but how can we end without seeing the movie trailer! Take care everyone, and if you have some fav book trailers to share, tell me about them below or at We Read YA!