Waiting on Wednesday: Half Bad, by Sally Green

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine to spotlight upcoming book releases that we're excited about.

This week's pick:

Release date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages

Goodreads description:
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.

What attracts me to this one is mostly the idea of being trapped between two extremes with nowhere to go. What are those gifts Nathan is to receive from his father? How does this society work? Also, I haven't read many books about witches that had male protagonists.
I know this one has been around quite a bit, but what are your thoughts? And what did you pick this week? 
Also, I'm currently giving away 3 swag packs, many items signed! Check the left sidebar ;) Open internationally.

Book release spotlight & Giveaway: Discovery, by Brina Courtney

Hey guys :) Today I'm shining a spotlight on Discovery, a YA paranormal with witches that's releasing today! Below you can find more info on the book and author as well as some quotes and a giveaway :)

Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews' boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it's time to get on with her life. A new home, new job, and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer...

 ...until a young girl's body shows up one night in town, wearing a pentagram necklace exactly like Teagan's.

Now a guy, looking remarkably like her missing boyfriend, has arrived in Salem along with a mysterious stranger, who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It's a matter of life... and her death.

Purchase on Amazon

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Discovery Brina Courtney is giving away a pentagram bracelet.  Please note: this giveaway is for US residents only.  Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Brina Courtney

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She’s spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Links:
Website    Facebook    Twitter    Goodreads

Cover reveal: The Midnight Spell, by Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye

I'm happy to be part of the cover reveal, hosted by Giselle Cormier from Xpresso Book Tours, for The Midnight Spell, a YA Paranormal by Rhiannon Frater and Kody Boye. I love the description and can't wait to read this book when it comes out in February 2013!

Look at this wondeful cover designed by Phatpuppy Art:

I love it! It looks so mysterious with the lighted caldron and the foggy windows and the cat staring directly at you! The color scheme is beautiful and so are the characters. The cover promises a truly magical read.

What is the book about, you might wonder? Well, check out the description from Goodreads and don't forget to add the book to your shelves!


The Midnight Spell - Publication date: February, 2013
Best friends since kindergarten, Adam and Christy have always been the perpetual outsiders in their small town in Texas. The other kids call Adam gay and Christy a witch.

On both counts the bullies are right.

Their junior year in high school seems destined to be the same old same old until Christy decides to cast a love spell for Adam at the midnight hour. The next day an alluring and mysterious boy enrolls at school and sets hearts a flutter, including Adam’s. Meanwhile, Christy’s mad crush on the handsome football player Ian seems to be going nowhere fast and her witch puberty is making her life miserable.

When a great evil arrives in town that threatens everything they hold dear, the best friends realize that finding a boyfriend is the least of their worries. Soon Adam and Christy will have to battle a force of darkness that has killed in their town before, and will again.

Find out more about the authors:

Rhiannon Frater:

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

Website    Goodreads    Facebook    Twitter

Kody Boye:

Kody Boye was born and raised in Southeastern Idaho. Since his initial publication in the Yellow Mama Webzine in 2007, he has gone on to sell nearly three-dozen stories to various markets. He is the author of the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunrise and the dark fantasy novel Blood. His fiction has been described as ‘Surreal, beautiful and harrowing’ (Fantastic Horror,) while he himself has been heralded as a writer beyond his years(Bitten by Books.) He currently lives and writes in the Austin, Texas area.

Website    Goodreads     Facebook     Twitter

What do you guys think of the cover and description? Will The Midnight Spell go on your TBR? Let me know in the comments :)

Review: Demonglass, by Rachel Hawkins

Published: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Hyperion
Format: Paperback, 384 pages

Goodreads description:
The critics have spoken--this New York Times best-seller is "impossible to put down " Teens and reviewers alike have fallen in love with Demonglass' humor, forbidden romance, suspense, and delicious paranormal fun.
Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch, which was why she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered she's a "demon," and her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping her kind off the face of the earth. What's worse, Sophie has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is why she decides to go to London for the Removal, a risky procedure that will either destroy her powers forever--or kill her. But once Sophie arrives, she makes a shocking discovery: "someone" is raising new demons in secret and planning to use their powers to destroy the world. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they're using Acher to do it. But it's not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?


Review (no spoilers):

It’s been more than a year since I’ve read Hex Hall and I admit I don’t quite remember everything about the ending, but Demonglass sets in pretty soon afterwards. Sophie’s dad, head of the Prodigium Council, wants Sophie to stay in England with him for the summer. By spending time with her and teaching her about her demon powers and heritage, he’s hoping to change her mind about going through the Removal, a ritual which would strip her of all her powers – if it doesn’t kill her, that is. Her father doesn’t want her to undergo it because the threat of L’Occhio di Dio is greater than ever after Archer’s betrayal has been revealed and the organization has struck an alliance with the Brennans, another set of Prodigium enemies. Also, he wants to show her that it’s possible to be a Demon without being a monster.

Then there is, of course, Sophie’s love life. she knows she should forget about Archer but she’s having a hard time. going to England, where he’s allegedly been sighted, evokes conflicting feelings. Oh , and did I mention that her dad betrothed her to Cal years ago? To be honest I didn’t even remember there was a character called Cal ^^’’ He’s Hex Hall’s groundkeeper and has the strangest healing powers of anyone around. He’s a bit hard to read but a genuinely good, caring guy. After her initial shock of being fiancéed without a say in it, Sophie grows to actually like him.

Then there’s England itself, and Thorne Abbey where Sophie and her friends are staying with part of the Council members. Very strange to Sophie & co. Very British – a little too clichéd sometimes for my taste. And imagine Sophie’s surprise when she meets two other demons there! Nick and Daisy don’t remember anything from their lives before they were forcibly changed into demons, and their attitude to their powers is very different from Sophie’s denial. Sophie begins to use and control magic again but still fears to turn into a monster the way Alice did. When a conspiracy is revealed after multiple attacks and things start going to hell in a handbasket, can Sophie protect those she loves? And does that include Archer after all?

Sophie shows quite a bit of character growth and learns from her mistakes in this installment, which I liked. So does her father and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. Also we learn more about Prodigium organization and law as well as Sophie’s faily history. Her feelings for Cal and Archer don’t quite turn into a love triangle but I liked the loyalty conflict they cause for her.

The pace is a bit slow at the beginning but picks up quickly with plenty of mystery and action to keep the reader entertained. The book is very hard to put down near the end, which leaves many questions open and makes me want to pick up the concluding book as soon as it’s out in paperback.

My problem, both with Demonglass and Hex Hall, is that I can’t quite get into the writing, or the voice I should say. The whole teen thing seems a bit forced to me. Yes, there are witty comments and some sarcasm, which I usually love, but here it just doesn’t quite ring true or hit the mark for me. That makes me aware of being a bit above the target audience age, which I’d put at 13-18. I don’t know, maybe younger teens are more into it and it’s just me.

Also, part of the plot was a little predictable, though I didn’t foresee everything and there were some nice twists and unexpected revelations.

All in all, Demonglass is a solid read for teens and takes everything in Hex Hall up a notch. There’s character development and a focus on greater-scale conflict rather than drama, which I liked. There’s action, suspense, and some romance. I liked the novel, it just wasn’t outstanding or one of those books that linger in my mind and truly make me think.

What did you think of this one? I'm really curious whether I'm the only one having a problem with Sophie's voice. Do you like the book/series?