Waiting on Wednesday: Mind Games by Kiersten White

US

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways… or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

UK

She never chose her deadly gift but now she’s forced to use it. How far would you go to protect the only family you have left?

Annie is beset by fleeting strange visions and a guilty conscience. Blind and orphaned, she struggles to care for her feisty younger sister Fia, but things look up when both sisters are offered a place at Kessler School for Exceptional Girls.

Born with flawless intuition, Fia immediately knows that something’s wrong, but bites her tongue… until it’s too late. For Fia is the perfect weapon to carry out criminal plans and there are those at Kessler who will do anything to ensure her co-operation.

With Annie trapped in Kessler’s sinister clutches, instincts keep Fia from killing an innocent guy and everything unravels. Is manipulative James the key to the sisters’ freedom or an even darker prison? And how can Fia atone for the blood on her hands?

I loved Kiersten's Paranormalacy series and I can't wait to read Mind Games. It sounds quite different to her previous books. 

The US/UK covers and titles are different, but in this case I think I like the US version better. What do you think?

Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles book 1)
Author: Gena Showalter
Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: October 2012
Publishers: Harlewuin TEEN Aus
Available from: Amazon

The Book Depository
Source: Harlequin TEEN Aus 

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

******

I have a thing for zombies (don't know why, I just do) and I am a massive Gena Showalter fan. So when I saw these two combined I could not pass up the opportunity to review Alice in Zombieland. I can say I'm never disappointed after reading one of Gena's books. She always delivers. There are just some authors that you know you can buy any of their books and know you will enjoy it.

Alice just wants to be a normal 16 year old. Instead her fathers a drunk and crazy; he's always going on and on about monsters and how they're real and will kill you. Except no one has ever seen them. Until the night Alice's life changes forever. She knows the monster are real and wants to destroy them. I loved Alice's voice, some of her lines are hilarious. She's rather innocent and naive in the beginning with a  stubborn streak. I really enjoyed how much she grew throughout the book into this strong, determined, kick-ass, zombie killing chick. She knows her life will never be the same, and she handles everything with a maturity you don't think she possesses. 

At her new school she meets Cole, tall, dark, mysterious and oh so badass, and she's immediately drawn to him. The first time their eyes meet something happens and a connection is made. Neither of them understand it, but it draws them together. Ladies, you will be adding Cole to your long list of book boyfriends. He's quite a mature character, having suffered many losses while fighting zombies. Cole has an edge to him that is slightly dangerous and gives him that sex appeal. He's one of those guys that would rather die than see you hurt. Strong, protective and gorgeous? What more could a girl ask for?

Gena just has a way of telling a story that draws you in and doesn't let you go, even after you've finished the last page. I always feel despondent after finishing any of her books. Alice in Zombieland is a great blend of high octane action and romance. There never seems to be a dull moment, whether it's zombie killing, first kisses or intriguing bits of information about Alice and zombie killers that have come before her. There are some teary moments that had me reaching for the tissues, but overall this is an action packed, fun and entertaining read. Gena has created a new take on the classic zombie myth, and I don't know whether these are just as freaky as normal zombies or not. There are a few loose references to Alice in Wonderland, mostly with chapter titles, but I loved the whole book. This is definitely one of my favourite books of 2012. Book 2 can not get here fast enough.

4/5

Review: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Title: Carnival of Souls
Author: Melissa Marr
Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: September 4th 2012
Publishers: HarperCollins
Available from: Amazon

The Book Depository
Source: HarperCollins Aus 

In a city of daimons, the Carnival of Souls hosts a deadly competition. Once in a generation, every citizen can fight to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

In our own world, Mallory knows that her father—and every other witch—fled the daimons’ city long ago. She trains to be lethal because it’s only a matter of time until the daimons catch up with them.

While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans there for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series, comes a brand-new tale of secrets, love, and the struggle to forge one’s own destiny.

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Carnival of Souls is a rich and delicious world that I got lost in. To me it is like eating dark chocolate; it’s rich, sumptuous, decadent and addictive. The bitter aftertaste always somehow adds to the flavour, making it more complex. I loved Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series so I jumped at the chance to review Carnival of Souls.

The Carnival resides in the centre of The City, a dangerous world full of dark pleasures. Daimons inhabit the city and are ruled by Marchosias. Every 20 years Marchosias hosts a competition for all daimons who want to be a part of the ruling caste and live in the palace. The competition consists of daimons battling each other until the death or one forfeit. Kaleb is a Cur from the lowest caste and is determined to win so he and his pack mate Zevi can have a better life. Aya is from the ruling caste, but she hides a secret that could get her killed. She enters the competition so she can change the city. Mallory lives in our world, but she has been raised by witches to despise and kill daimons. Witches used to inhabit the City as well, but a war broke out, and the daimons almost destroyed them as a species, so they relocated to our world. Both despise the other, with daimons controlling the few witches who are allowed to live in the city.

I loved all the characters in this book. They're all strong and captivating, each making their part of the story come alive. Some authors have a hard time keeping so many characters interesting, but Marr does it with ease. Each of them have their own agenda, but to help them survive they decide it's best to join together and work off each others strengths. I enjoyed how the separate threads of Kaleb, Aya and Mallory intertwine to make it that much more exciting. There are lies and secrets that are binding them together, but could also tear them apart when they come to light.

The world that they inhabit is vivid, every page sparking to life. It was so easy to 'see' each and every scene, that I had a hard time putting the book down. I was sucked in as soon as I started reading. The ending is definitely a cliff hanger, and leaves you going WHAT! that's it? I now have to wait for the next book to come out and I can't wait to see how the characters and story line are going to evolve.

4/5