Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Released: August 2010

Publisher: Harper Teen

# Pages: 335

Copy provided by: Bought

Summary: Goodreads

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal. Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. So much for normal.

Evie is a normal human with a special gift. Or is she? Lend is a paranormal who can look like anyone he wants, male or female, but what is he? Reth is a seriously creepy fairy with an obsession for Evie. Put them all together and you have Paranormalcy, a story filled with mystery, intrigue, death, love, obsession, fae and wonderful humour.

'Lend's dad, two werewolves, and a vampire. It was like the setup to a bad joke or something. A doctor, two werewolves, and a vampire walk into a bar. "What'll you have?' the bartender asks. "We were thinking him," the vampire answers, eyeing the doctor.' (206)

Evie is such a loveable dork. She like to wear sparkly pink, her weapon of choice is a pink taser, and her biggest dream is to go to a real highschool and have a locker. Plus, she can kick serious butt. What's not to love about her?

' "I give you - my locker." It was a sickly teal, paint chipping off the corners to reveal a previous tan coat. I reached out and put my hand on the cold metal. "So, is it everything you imagined?" he asked. "Everything I imagined and more," I whispered,' (241)

And the fact that the book is full of swearing, without having one actual swear word - only lots of bleep! So cool!

Lend's father, David, was a rather nice parental role model. There has been a lot of discussion about negative parenting in YA lately, so it was a change to have a father who was concerned about Lend and grounded him for his indiscretions, without going over the top. I liked him. Lend himself - swoon. I am having a serious case of lust. Just can't decide which of his outward appearances I liked best. I just loved the fact that he wasn't too macho to admit he was scared. Another thing I liked was the acceptance of differences, which was aparent in many areas of the book. I love tolerance!

'My jaw dropped. Underneath her glamour her back was hollow like an old tree, and she had a tail. "What is she?" I whispered. "Nona? Oh, she's a huldra. Tree spirit." Watching her and the other paranormals in there, things shifted for me. They were vibrant, happy, not hurting anyone. This was a good place.' (229)

' "So you really are one of a kind, aren't you?" ......... "You are so freaking awesome." ' (226)

Paranormalcy was one of those books where I want to quote from almost every chapter. I loved just about everything about this book. the story skipped along at a nice pace with tension, laughter and sadness in equal measure. It was so much fun to read. My only regret is that I have finished it way too soon and there won't be another one for a while - but at least there will be another one, two even. 'Supernaturally' is due out in the Fall, 2011. I would say 'Paranormalcy' is an absolute must for YA paranormal fans. Lots of what you love, but different. Try it.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Published: May 2009

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 294

Copy Provided by: Purchased

Summary: Goodreads

Summary:

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Review:
I have to admit, this is my first fairy book. I'm not sure why I have never tried reading about fairies before. Perhaps I am more interested in vampires, demons and werewolves but I thought I'd give it a try. Part of the reason why I love this blog is because it pushes me to try new genres of reading. So to give you an idea of the depth of fairy knowledge Curlypow and I have, if we were to be reading about fairies, I would be reading Fairies for Dummies and Curlypow would be writing the Fairy Encyclopedia. I guess that makes me a fairy virgin...so does that make Miss Curlypow a fairy ho? (hahahahaha! Sorry, C, that was such a funny comment....I didn't mean to make it rhyme though!)

OK, back to the book. This was an easy read and at first I felt that it could be aimed at a younger audience (pre-teens). I feel that older teens would like it as well but the reading level was set lower than some of the books I have been reading as of late.

Laurel is such a lovely girl - cautious, careful and always thinking of others. Ms. Pike captured her innocence beautifully and slowly built up her relationship with David. When Tamani steps in, he really throws her for a loop as he is so familiar to her and understands her well without taking the same time to know her as David has. This book gives perspective in growing up one way and then discovering that you belong to a different culture. I can't wait to see how she develops as a character in future books (plus, will she choose David or Tamani?).

The pace of the story was steady and the author took the time to develop the characters well before the real action began. Overall, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to adding Spells to my TBR pile.

Curlypow reviewed the 2nd book, Spells last month so stop by and take a peek. Ms. Pike is coming out with two more books in the series. Book # 3 is called Enchantments (release date is May 2011) and #4 is Illusions. I visited her website and unfortunately, she does not have any appearances planned. I did find out that she is the mother of 3, she just finished a draft of Book #4...now not entitled Illusions, and is also working on a stand-alone title! Busy girl! Learn more about Aprilynne Pike on her website and her blog....she's also on twitter.

Don't forget to enter our contest! We are giving away a copy of Wings + a pair of hand-knit socks. The contest is open to Canada and the USA and ends at midnight on September 2nd. You must be a Google Follower to enter but there are many ways to gain extra entries as well. Good luck!

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

Published: January 2010

Publisher: Point

# Pages: 336

Copy Provided by: Library

Summary: Goodreads

For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone... until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn't just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back. With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses-and two more wishes left. But magic can't solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again. In a breathtaking debut from Alexandra Bullen, Wish asks the question: If you could have anything, what would you wish for?

This was a very sweet story about Olivia trying to come to terms with her sister's death. When she moves to San Francisco she makes new friends and tries to fit in, while learning how to live on her own and become her own person. She becomes friendly with Calla, who is not your usual queen bee, but seems like a genuinely nice person. When Olivia is invited to a fancy gala, she receives a fancy new dress and discovers she can have one wish.

Wish is a little bit of a Cinderella story, with a combination fairy godmother and genie in Posey, who is wonderfully gruff and unfriendly. There is of course a handsome prince, and the development of this story arc was interesting, with a wonderful little twist half-way through. The first kiss was just really lovely and I had a wonderful aaahhh moment. In fact all of the characters were nice - I related to Calla's heartbreak and Olivia's confusion, Mike's disappointment and Soren's tentative flirting.

I personally hadn't seen any advertising for 'Wish', although I'm sure there was some out there. I was going through the new additions at work and I thought it looked interesting. When you read a story that has had a lot of press, you start with certain expectations and this wasn't the case with 'Wish'. I was very pleasantly surprised. It didn't take me long to finish the book and I quite enjoyed it. It was a gentle, thoughtful story, that I think gave the message that it's ok to move on with your life after tragedy.

Spells

Author: Aprilynne Pike
Released: May 4/2010
Publisher: Harper Teen
# Pages: 359
Copy provided by: Library
Summary: Goodreads

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever. When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

Ok, you can call me a dork or whatever else you would like, but I am officially in love with Tamani. Check these out:

"He was leaning against the front gate, a long black cloak hanging from his shoulders, his knee-length breeches tucked into tall, black boots." (p264)
"Tamani stood and offered her his hand. He had relinquished his cloak but still wore the black breeches and boots, paired with a loose white shirt with the string loosened in the front, accentuating his tanned chest. He looked like a hero out of a movie; Wesley from The Princess Bride or Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo. Laurel smiled and took his hand."(p297)
" 'I can't just storm in and proclaim my intentions. I can't 'steal' you away. I just have to wait and hope that, someday, you'll ask,' Tamani said. 'And if I don't?' Laurel said, her voice barely above a whisper. 'Then I guess I'll be waiting forever.' "(front blurb)

I don't know about you, but my imagination was working overtime after reading those. (They just happen to be two of my favourite movies, what can I say?) If Twilight can have team Edward and team Jacob, this series can have team David and team Tamani - me, I'm Tamani all the way!

If you haven't already read the first in this four volume series, 'Wings', do yourself a favour and go and read it now. Then try this one. Without giving away too much of the story, Laurell is still trying to come to terms with her fairy side and goes to spend time in Avalon to learn some of her heritage. When she gets back, her Mum is less than friendly, and there are still nasties - read trolls - out in the world to be dealt with. There are some new characters introduced and Klea in particular raised a lot of questions in my mind - I look forward to her development in the next book. David is such a 'guy' in this book. You'll understand what I mean when you get to the bit about the guns. It was quite funny actually and I enjoyed it.

I grew up reading Andrew Lang's fairy books and I know I just aged myself terribly by admitting that, but it gave me a life-long love of all things fairy. Ms Pike has just added to that love. Her version of Avalon is well crafted and her four tiers of fairy society are really wonderful. If I'm honest, the only thing I didn't like about this book was the fact that it ended! I may just have to go out and buy my own copy of this one.