Explore This! Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

This week, we travel back to the United States to visit Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is the capital city of the state and lies on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Other claims to fame for the city include it playing large roles in the American Civil War and the Industrial Revolution. It is also only 10 miles away from Hershey, Pennsylvania, home of the chocolate makers…..yum!

How does it relate to books? Well, it’s a frequent haunt for the characters in Megan Hart’s novels, which I’m sure alot of you are aware of. I wasn’t, until The Geeky Lover suggested it. Now, I’ve started reading Megan Hart’s Dirty in an attempt to get some background information I will admit being disappointed to discover that The Slaughtered Lamb is not an actual pub in Harrisburg, though I found one in …

Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Format Read: HardcoverNumber of Pages: Pages: 288 pagesRelease Date: September 7th 2010 Publisher:  Little Brown/PoppyFormat Available: Hardcover, Ebook, Audio BookPurchasing Info: Goodreads, Book Depository UK, Book Depository US, Amazon, Chapters Indigo

Book Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “Duffy,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley …

New Releases Sept. 27-Oct 2, 2010

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect number one.

But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge—and Cerise’s life. William, a changeling soldier who left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation’s spymaster.

When William’s and Cerise’s missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly—but they’ll have to work together if they want to succeed … and survive.

Explore This! Castles of Wales and England

I dislike being redundant, but all of the other books I’ve read lately gave me no inspiration for this post, so it seems we remain in Great Britain for this weeks post. But I am heading in a different direction, so hopefully you enjoy

I have just finished reading The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, a master of historical fiction. In her most recent novel, we follow the life of Lady Margaret Beaufort/Tudor/Stafford/Stanley, which may not mean anything to those of you not big on historical fiction, but she may be better known to you as Henry VII’s mother and Henry VIII’s grandmother. How’s that for lineage?

I’ve included here what I’m sure is a small portion of castles to be found within Wales, where Lady Margaret lived for a short time during her marriage to Edmund …

Review: Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink

Format Read: HardcoverNumber of Pages: 340Release Date: August 1, 2010Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young ReadersFormats Available: HardcoverPurchasing Info: Amazon, Book Depository US, Book Depository UK, Chapters Indigo Canada, Goodreads

Book Blurb:

The ultimate battle between sisters is nearing, and its outcome could have catastrophic consequences. As sixteen year-old Lia Milthorpe searches for a way to end the prophecy, her twin sister Alice hones the skills she’ll need to defeat Lia. Alice will stop at nothing to reclaim her sister’s role in the prophecy, and that’s not the only thing she wants: There’s also Lia’s boyfriend James.

Lia and Alice always knew the Prophecy would turn those closest to them against them. But they didn’t know what betrayal could lead them to do. In the end, only one sister will be left standing.

My thoughts:
This …

New Releases: Sept. 12-19, 2010

Reckless by Cornelia Funke

For years, Jacob Reckless has been secretly disappearing to another world, a world behind a mirror, a world for which his father abandoned his family. The mirror world is Jacob’s escape from reality. It’s a place for treasure hunts and magnificent quests. A world where witches haunt the forests and giants and dwarfs roam. A world locked in a deadly war.

Jacob’s secret seems safe, until one day his younger brother Will follows him, with disastrous consequence. Faced with a curse that is quickly turning Will to stone, the Reckless brothers are thrust into a race against time to find a cure before Will is lost forever.

Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, master storyteller Cornelia Funke introduces a lush, enchanting world where fantasy meets reality. Reckless is a thrilling adventure, a tale of heroism and …

Explore This! Avebury, England (with a pinch of London)

This week, I’m whisking you all off to Avebury, which looks very much like it’s in the heart of farming country in England. It is, in fact, only 32 kilometres away from the more famous stone circle, Stonehenge, though Avebury appears to be older (I got this information from the Wiki entry that I’ve linked below). What I also discovered while looking into Avebury is that there are solstice festivals celebrated there and it seems to still have ties to the old philosophies of witchcraft or pagan religions. For me, this is very cool. I went a little bit geeky researcher on this one because Stonehenge has always been on the top of my “places to visit” list, since reading a Hardy Boys mystery that featured these standing stones. It’s my current read of The Guardian of the Gate by Michelle …

New Releases August 30-September 3, 2010

Sacrifice by Dakota BanksA demon’s enslaved executioner–a ravager of lives and souls–Maliha Crayne has been reborn, willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom … and salvation. Now she has an opportunity to prevent the death of thousands to help balance the countless lives she has obliterated over the centuries. To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power–and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood. But it means reverting to the old ways and surrendering once more to the darkness.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Chosen by Jeanne Stein
Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Explore This! Grand Rapids and Holland, Michigan

This week’s tour takes us to Grand Rapids, Michigan, more specifically East Grand Rapids (I couldn’t find much of a distinction pictorially, but I’m sure that those who live there know the difference) and to Holland, Michigan. My inspiration comes from reading a cute YA book called I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan. Here’s a little about the book:

Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She’s really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That’s the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can’t wait to get away from her “family” for good.

Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He’s sweet, funny, everything she wants — and he has the family Bronwen has …