The Weekly Book Round Up and October's Book of the Month!

This is my new weekly feature where I recap a bit of everything, from the latest news stories to what I've been posting on the blog. Because next week's blog schedule is so packed I'm squeezing in my book of the month for October as well.

In the News

Usborne have announced they are to publish Stephanie Perkins' YA novels in the UK. Anna and the French Kiss will be published in January 2014, with Lola and the Boy Next Door to follow in June. Read more over on the Bookseller website. I loved Anna and the French Kiss which you can my review of here.

Sabriel author Garth Nix is now part of Hot Key Books, who will be publishing his next novel Clariel in the UK. Hot Key Books also have acquired the e-book rights to the first three Old Kingdom books. Read more over on the Bookseller.

Several new Vampire Academy stills have been revealed this week. Check them out on FangirlDaily.com, including this one of Rose, Lissa and Christian.

On the Blog

This week I've been posting Halloween themed reviews! I kicked things off with Matt Whyman's The Savages which tells the story of a family of cannibals. Then I dove head first into vampires with a Teaser Tuesday from Frostbite by Richelle Mead and reviews of Department 19 by Will Hill and Dinner With a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs. I also posted my Twilight opinion post in which I share my thoughts having read the book for the very first time and discuss how the reality lived up to my expectations.

What I've Been Reading

So I finished Allegiant! And it was by far my favourite book of the Divergent trilogy. I've been working hard on my review because I always struggle to convey my thoughts when a) I love a book that much and b) a book leaves me that torn up inside. I'm still reading Frostbite with Daisy which has been even more fun over Halloween! And the number of ships I have with this series is steadily growing. I also finished off Tregarthur's Promise by Alex Mellanby.

In the Real World

NaNoWriMo kicked off this week! I've taken part and won the past two years so the pressure is on to reach that 50,000 word target again this year. I am quite terrified. If you're taking part too you can add me as a writing buddy at this link. It was also my birthday last Sunday, woohoo! I didn't get any books because I specifically asked for none (I have too much to read!). My friend and I decorated buns to celebrate which was so much fun. Spot the Harry Potter references!

Coming Up!

The start of November also signals the start of the Project UKYA blog tour! I'm SO thrilled to be a part of it and will be featuring an interview with Eleanor Wood, author of Gemini Rising, on Monday. I also have a review of her new novella, Gemini Falling, to share on Tuesday. This week sees some new releases in the form of The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and 4 to 16 Characters by Kelly Hourihan so keep an eye out for my reviews of both of those books. I'm also hoping to get my Allegiant review up this week. Phew!

October's Book of the Month!

Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve!

I read this back in August so I was so happy to be able to share my love of this beautiful book with the world. The writing was absolutely stunning, the ideas were smart and there were fantastically well developed characters. Check out my full review at this link.

News Round Up! 5th October

Each week I highlight some of my favourite news stories surrounding YA books. For even more news stories about all your favourite books and films then be sure to check out FangirlDaily.com!

Cassandra Clare has released a new snipped from the forthcoming final installment of The Mortal Instruments series, City of Heavenly Fire. The snippet confirms that Tessa Gray from The Infernal Devices trilogy will appear in the series. Read the snippet over on FangirlDaily.

A new UK poster for Catching Fire has been unveiled. The poster sees Katniss aiming her arrow outwards and features the tagline "remember who the enemy is". See the poster over on FangirlDaily. Several stills were also posted on Entertainment Weekly. You can see them on their website at this link.

Julie Kagawa has announced her latest book. Talons will be published in October 2014 and tells the story of a group of dragons who can disguise themselves as humans, as well as the warriors sent to hunt them. Read more in the Kagawa's blog post about the news on her official site at this at this link.

The Silver Chair, part of the Chronicles of Narnia series, has gone into pre-production. Read more about the project over on ComingSoon.net.

New releases:

 

Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

Amazon|Goodreads

 The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

Amazon|Goodreads

Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll

Amazon|Goodreads

 Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Amazon|Goodreads

Haze by Paula Weston
Amazon|Goodreads

Review: Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

 Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

Author: Laure Eve Website|Twitter
Published: 3 October 2013 (Hot Key Books)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 377
Buy the hardback: Amazon|BookDepository

Source: Bought

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
There is a world where gods you’ve never heard of have wound themselves into hearts, and choice has led its history down a different path.

This is a world where France made a small, downtrodden island called England part of its vast and bloated empire.

There are people here who can cross a thousand miles with their minds. There are rarer people still who can move between continents in the blink of an eye.

These people are dangerous.

And wanted. Desperately wanted. 
 
Apprentice hedgewitch Vela Rue knows that she is destined for more. She knows being whisked off from a dull country life to a city full of mystery and intrigue is meant to be. She knows she has something her government wants, a talent so rare and precious and new that they will do anything to train her in it.

My Review:
Fearsome Dreamer was a book I was really excited about, and when I got the chance to buy a copy early and meet Laure Eve at Leakycon I was super happy! The book follows Rue, a hedgewitch who has powerful dreams that transport her to new places. White also has these dreams, and is punished for them. Meanwhile in the capital city, people with the Talent are rounded up and taught to use their abilities.

I started this book whilst I was at Leaky and devoured it on the train home. It was utterly addictive and completely unique and my head is still all in a spin! Fearsome Dreamer is a fantastic mixture of genres and ideas. We meet Rue who's a hedgewitch and the book feels very much like a fantasy novel. Then we jump to White who is living in a futuristic, dystopian style city and you're whisked away to his world. As everything comes together there is just so much to sink your teeth into. Controlling governments, magic, conspiracies and terrorists. It had everything.

Fearsome Dreamer is told from three main characters' POV in alternating third person chapters. I loved Rue, White and Frith and they were all incredibly interesting people to get to know. They start out as very much separate stories, and as the book moves on they suddenly start to interconnect. At the beginning I loved being part of all the different worlds and places and I barely noticed them come together because it was so seamless!

White was the character I was most drawn to with his ability with his Talent and that sense of mystery about him. You get to see him from Rue's point of view where he's this mysterious figure who's a bit rude, but when you read the chapters from his perspective it opens your eyes to his more vulnerable side. The rest of the ensemble were great too. I loved Frith's backstory, the relationship between Rue and her woman she apprentices for - Fernie, and I also found the plotlines with Wren to be really exciting.

The plot revolves around the characters who have the ability to travel to places in their dreams. I thought it was such a brilliant concept, because it really plays on the idea of being able to escape somewhere in our sleep. I love the idea of dreams being able to transport you somewhere. I'm sure we've all dreamed of different places and people and wished for that escape, yet this book takes all of that and makes it into some real and terrifying. The characters with the ability are often vilified, and in White's case imprisoned, for what they can do. There's a real sense of fear from people who don't understand the Talent, and it really helped ramp up the suspense. All the time there's that build up of a resistance movement which is where Frith comes in. I really liked the exploration of his character and his motives for doing what he does.

The writing in Fearsome Dreamer was absolutely stunning. I adored the dialogue and how each character had such a distinctive voice. I could hear them in my head as I was reading and they really came alive. I loved the play on language with the combination of English and French, and how effective the use of simple words was at creating the world, for example the wider world outside the city of Angle Tar is just simply called "World", the virtual reality systems used in World is called "Life" and the ability of Rue and White is called "Talent".

The world building in Fearsome Dreamer was incredible and I loved learning about Angle Tar, a country isolated from the rest of World, and its history. There was a fantastic range of social issues touched upon throughout the story, where characters come from different places, backgrounds, classes and religions. I loved the mix of ideas and the way the world was so richly detailed and layered. Some of my favourite scenes were at the university where the Talents are trained, because it's where you get that mix of characters all thrown together.

The pacing was also completely spot on. You didn't get endless chapters where you were waiting around for something to happen. The book would just jump straight to the good stuff! I think the way it was broken up into chapters with different characters helped that pacing as well.

The ending of Fearsome Dreamer has me jumping up and down for the next book. I can just see so much potential in the world and the characters that I can't wait to dive right back in and explore some more! There's a sneak peak of the sequel in the back which was torture to read because I didn't want it to stop! I think it's one of those books you have to read to really appreciate. Writing this review was so hard because it's just so difficult to do the thing justice. The writing was beautiful, the idea was unique and the plot exciting. Laure Eve is one to watch and this is a book you do not want to miss!

Rating: 5*
What to read next: Fearsome Dreamer is the first book in a planned series.
Books like this: Crewel by Gennifer Albin, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Waiting on Wednesday (#7): Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted over at Breaking the Spine and gives bloggers a chance to highlight future releases we're excited about!

Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

Published: 3rd October 2013 (Hot Key Books)

Goodreads|Amazon

Plot Summary: 

There is a world where gods you’ve never heard of have wound themselves into hearts, and choice has led its history down a different path.

This is a world where France made a small, downtrodden island called England part of its vast and bloated empire.

There are people here who can cross a thousand miles with their minds. There are rarer people still who can move between continents in the blink of an eye.

These people are dangerous.

And wanted. Desperately wanted.

Apprentice hedgewitch Vela Rue knows that she is destined for more. She knows being whisked off from a dull country life to a city full of mystery and intrigue is meant to be. She knows she has something her government wants, a talent so rare and precious and new that they will do anything to train her in it.

But she doesn’t know that she is being lied to. She doesn’t know that the man teaching her about her talent is becoming obsessed by her, and considered by some to be the most dangerous man alive ...

Laure Eve is at Leakycon this week (which is where I'll be too!) so I'm hoping I get to hear her speak more about this book. It sounds so intriguing and magical!

What are you waiting on this week? Feel free to leave a comment but I won't be able to reply straight away as I'm away. Thanks for understanding!