Book:               Hero

Author:            Mike Lupica

Publisher:        Philomel|Penguin

ISBN/ASIN:       9780399252839

Release Date:    November 2, 2010

Read an excerpt of Hero.

Find out more about Mike.

Ms. Fiendishly is currently devouring Hero by Mike Lupica out in November and for those of you that loved “Heroes” or are eternal comic book fans (like myself) this book will be hard not to pick up! So far, its pretty slick.

I have been carefully selecting what I review, especially in Y.A., trying to go “beyond” paranormal to see what is out there-what are authors being drawn to?

Over the course of the past couple of months, I have discovered pubs have picked up some great treats, out-of-the-box treats. Amazing reads for fall release about time travel, sci-fi, steampunk, super-heroes (like Lupica’s book) that I find I am gravitating towards.

Right now, on top of Hero, I am also devouring Time Riders by Alex Scarrow, Dreadnought by Cherie Priest (not YA) and Hold Me Closer Necromancer by Lish McBride. All are super delish so far.

So now onto the blurb about Hero (courtesy of Penguin):

“In Hero, fourteen year-old Billy Harriman’s father was a hero-a savior to America and a confidante of the president. After his father dies in a mysterious accident, Billy notices that he is going through some changes: his senses are sharpening, he has bursts of incredible strength, and he can move. What Billy never new before was that his father was no ordinary hero; he was a superhero, battling the world’s evil. Now it’s Billy's turn to take up the fight, and suddenly, it’s difficult for him to know who he can trust…”

Book:                 Bloodthirsty

Author:              Flynn Meaney

Publisher:          Poppy/Hachette

ISBN/ASIN:         9780316102216

Release Date:    October 5, 2010

Rating:   3.5 Stars

Buy: | Amazon | B&N | Border’s | Powell’s | Indiebound |

Find out more about Bloodthirsty and Flynn Meaney

Bloodthirsty is a hilariously funny book of one pale dude’s journey through the ups and downs of high school, and Flynn Meaney has spared not one agonizing scene. One, or all of us, has experienced at least one of the excruciating issues that Meaney depicts. And that is what makes Bloodthirsty so hysterically funny. It’s honest, and believable.

With a neurotic and germaphobe mom, an equally strange dad, and a brother whose popularity surpasses his own, is it any wonder that Finbar Frame is well…very much a wallflower? Despite his incredible spooky eyes, Finn has enjoyed none of the popularity his jock brother has experienced, hasn’t had his first kiss, and virtually has no friends. In fact, Finn is very much the opposite of his brother.

Until the Frame family moves from Podunk, Indiana to New York and then the metamorphosis begins…

Riding the wave of popularity of a recent vampire novel, Finn realizes he has all the characteristics of the most popular vampire heart-throbs. And he even has a built-in allergy to sun. Deciding that this could work for him, dropping a few hints here and there, soon those in the “know” at Pelham Public think Finn is a vampire. And he works it.

But the realization that his brother Luke might not be as perfect as he appears to be, throws Finn for a loop. Luke’s grades begin to drop and his moodiness soars to new heights. It seems for the unlikely twins, that when one is up, the other is down. When Finn’s popularity soars at Pelham complete with vampire groupies, Finn reflects that popularity might not be all that its chalked up to be. Especially when Kate Gallatin swoops in and seems to like Finn…just as he is.

Bloodthirsty is a humorous mix of Bridget Jones meets Twilight, and reminds one of a teen version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid as well. You can’t but help root for Finn. If you are into lighthearted fare, with a plenty of chuckles then Bloodthirsty is your bag, baby!

A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat!)

Book:                 The Darkest Edge of Dawn

Author:               Kelly Gay

Publisher:          Pocket Books

ISBN/ASIN:        9781439110041

Release Date:    Out Now!!!

Rating:                4.5 Stars

Buy: | Amazon | B&N | Borders | Powell’s | Indiebound |

Check out Kelly Gay’s page and blog. Read an excerpt of The Darkest Edge of Dawn. 

The Darkest Edge of Dawn steams with a ferocious intensity as Kelly Gay outdoes herself in this remarkable sequel to The Better Part of Darkness. She has pulled out all the stops this time, capably molding her world with a sense of certainty that can only come from fully realizing the hurdle of a first novel and deviously plotting a strategy to surpass it.

Gay has infused Dawn with more desire, conflict, history and whetted our appetites for more. Definitely more. And she has done it with a steady hand, and confidant plot building. Tasty morsels are rampant in this worthy sequel. Get ready to bunker down and lick your lips as you start flipping each and every delicious page.

When we last left off with Charlie Madigan, she had a few startling revelations to deal with…her half Charbydon and half Elysian DNA, the ushering in of the darkness over Atlanta, the destruction of the ash lab and Mynogan. Emma’s rescue, and the formation of a sub unit of the ITF on the mysterious fifth floor.

This time in The Darkest Edge of Dawn, two months have elapsed. Charlie and Hank are up against a group determined to wrest away the Charbydon darkness that was cast over Atlanta, and instead, bring Elysian light to its skies. If it were a simple spell casting, then they’d have an easy time of it. But the foes they face and the entity they plan to raise from the dead will force Charlie to plumb the depths of her new power and reveal her genetic legacy to her enemies.

It has now turned into a full-scale tug of war over the elements and powers as the two rival forces battle it out. Hank and Charlie have to get to the bottom of the latest string of Adonai deaths fight off Llyran and they only have a week to do it or war will break out between Pendaran, The Druid King and Grigori Tennin. Will darkness or light reign over the skies of Atlanta? Adonai bodies are piling up-fast and that biting suspense keeps the pages turning.

Gay has allowed us to peer further into the looking glass of her creation-the elusive history of both Charbydon and Elysian races…their intriguing history, the myths of the Old Lore and the followers of a sect determined to bring back the old ways. The stunning truth of the origin of all three races is revealed.

The pull between Hank and Charlie’s can only be described as gravitational force that has gone off the charts…and Gay has written a scene between the two of them that had my jaw dropping and my pulse racing. I had to pick my jaw off the floor! That teaser alone is definitely worth five stars in my book. Enough to have me making cartoon dust trails to the bookstore when #3 hits the shelves!

The best part about Dawn is the realization that Charlie is much more than half Charbydon and Elysian. With her ancestry straddling both races, and her genes manipulated to some unknown end, it appears that Carreg and Mynogan had more in mind when they brought her back to life. Could they have been intent on resurrecting an entity or deity to be reckoned with? Perhaps. To what purpose? One wonders.

Gay has rich content in which to weave #3 and with the myths of the Old Lore now firmly in place, Gay has hinted at a few possible avenues to take, and has further laid the foundation for her next book. I anticipate that it will be even more exciting and riveting than the previous two-especially with the cliffhanger we’ve been handed with Hank and Charlie. Phew! Scorching!

A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat!)

Book:             Mockingjay

Author:          Suzanne Collins

Publisher:      Scholastic

ISBN/ASIN:    9780439023511

Release Date:   Out Now!!!

I'm not going to insult anyone with a back cover blurb. If you don't know about the hottest book of the year, then please walk on over to Borders, Barnes & Noble or your friendly neighborhood indie book shoppe and pick up The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and then Mockingjay.

Then make sure that you have plenty of  Pirate's Booty and fizzy soda, your binky (including squishy pillow) and snuggle up for the best series that you will have read in a looooong time.

I'm almost at the end. I've bitten my nails off. Wondering how they will bring Peeta back to his senses...and yes I desperately want a T-shirt emblazoned with the gold Mockingjay logo with the caption: "If We Burn, You Burn With Us!"

For those of you just picking up the book, rest up, keep your eyes open, down the munchies and Enjoy!

-Ms. Fiendishly (with shorter nails)

Book:              Bloodthirsty

Author:           Flynn Meaney

Publisher:       Poppy/Hachette

ISBN/ASIN:    9780316102216

Release Date:    October 5, 2010

Find out more about Bloodthirsty and Flynn Meaney

From the back cover blurb:

“Pale skin? Check. Strange-colored eyes? Check. Lanky body and brooding demeanor? Check and check. Paranormal abilities? Not quite.

Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame is the sensitive guy who never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his new school are obsessed with the vampire book Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to exploit his lack of pigmentation and become a vampire. Or at least fake it…to get a date.

Bloodthirsty is a hilarious send up of today’s pop-culture infatuations and a pitch-perfect portrait of a loveably neurotic teenage guy on a quest to be cool.” (courtesy of Poppy/Hachette).

Let’s just say that since I am nearly through with the book, its hysterically funny, kind of like a Twilight spoof of a Wimpy Kid (ahem teenager). Finbar will make some laugh out loud and others shake their heads. But you know that some guy is going to eventually try this!

Ms. Fiendishly!