Tiger Lily by Jodi Lyn Anderson

Title: Tiger Lily
Author: Jodi Lyn Anderson
Published: July 3, 2012 by Harper Collins
Rating: 

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

A Copy of this Book was Provided by the Publisher for Review

My Review:

If you never wanted to be a lost boy after watching Peter Pan you're childhood was definitely lacking. Peter Pan is one of the most imaginative and creative fairy tales and Tiger Lily has just brought a new and captivating twist to this beloved classic. The reader is introduced to Neverland in a way like never before with clever back stories for all the popular characters- Hook, Schmee Peter, the Lost Boys, Tinkerbell, and most importantly Tiger Lily.

Not only does this version of Peter Pan focus on the 'pre-Wendy' days of Neverland, it showcases the relationship between Peter and Tiger Lily told in Tinkerbell's perspective. How insanely genius is that?! Anderson definitely gets major bonus points for originality with this retelling! Tinkerbell provides a fun and pure narrative of Tiger Lily and Peter's friendship turned romance. It's clearly fascinating to read a romance without the fluff of the girl's overactive imagination or the boy's hormonal sex drive. Instead, Think 'tells it as it is' which makes the story all the more enjoyable in my opinion. 

What I love most about this book is Tiger Lily though. Her story is heart-wrenchingly sad, but her character is vivacious and strong which makes it impossible not to love her. After years of watching Peter Pan, never had I honestly been interested in Tiger Lily because she was developed as such a background character. However, after reading Tiger Lily, I'm instantly a fan and want to kick Wendy out of the picture! For an author to successfully make me 'change sides' is amazingly talented!

Most of you know the story of Peter Pan though, and that Tiger Lily doesn't get the staring role in the end. I'm happy that Anderson stuck with the integrity of the story and didn't try to warp the ending just to make it a happily ever after. 

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Title: Girl of Nightmares
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #2
Published: August 7, 2012 by Macmillian
Rating: 

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live--not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

A Copy of this Book was Provided by the Publisher for Review

My Review:

I am continuously being blown away by the level of CREEPINESS that is being flawlessly inserted into YA books nowadays. I consider myself to have a high tolerance for being scared, especially when it comes to books where its the hardest to terrify a reader, but Kendare Blake has once again conquered the fright factor in the follow up to Anna Dressed in Blood. 

In this sequel, we return to Cas' flight to discover the mystery behind Anna's disappearance months ago amidst a terrifying ghostly battle. After falling in love with her ghost, Cas is determined to save Anna's soul from what he believe to by infinite torture with a personal demon. Thankfully, we have returning characters Thomas and Carmel to aid in his paranormal mission as well as add some romantic angst to the drama. 

Girl of Nightmare's lacks the initial scare that captivates readers in Anna Dressed in Blood, but makes up for it in a eerie and well plotted build up to one horrific ending. Where Anna Dressed in Blood was filled with unknowing scares and sometimes gore surrounding a crazed killer ghost, Girl of Nightmares is a much more haunting read as we experience poor Anna's torture through Cas' nightmares and daydreams with much more heart break and darkness. 

Adding to the drama of Girl of Nightmares, readers get to learn more regarding Cas' past and where his abilities derive from. This definitely added to the depth of the read as well as some new fascinating characters- namely a personal favorite in badass Jestine who has a complex interest in Cas and Anna. I loved the purpose of her character and where this story is leading to. 

Overall, Blake blows em away with an equally scartastic read that lives up to the hype of Anna Dressed in Blood. As a sequel, this book has an individual flare that complements Anna perfectly and will definitely bring on the goosebumps!

Cover Reveal: The Violet Fox

Book Name: The Violet Fox
Author: Clare C. Marshall
Publisher: Faery Ink Press (http://www.faeryinkpress.com)
Release date: October 13, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Violet Fox Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14743283-the-violet-fox

There are two kinds of people in the land of Marlenia.

The Marlenians, who live on the surface,

and the Freetors, who are forced to live underground.

The war between them ended two hundred years ago, but the Freetors still fight for the right to live under the sun. Fifteen-year-old Kiera Driscoll embodies the Freetors' hopes as the Violet Fox. In a violet cape and mask, she sneaks around Marlenia City stealing food and freeing her people from slavery.

Then the Elders task her with a secret mission: retrieve a stolen tome that contains the secrets of Freetor magic, something the Marlenians both fear and covet. Kiera must disguise herself as a noblewoman and infiltrate the Marlenian castle.

Before the Freetor-hating Advisor finds out her real identity.

Before her brother is imprisoned because of the secrets he hides.

And before she falls any more in love with the prince she's supposed to hate.

More is happening in the castle than she realizes, and Kiera is faced with a difficult choice. Will she be loyal to her people and their fight for freedom, or will she be loyal to her heart?



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