Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: City of Lost Souls

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

This week we had a big cover reveal with Cassandra Clare's City of Lost Souls, the fifth book in the Mortal Instruments series.  I have to say that is is my favorite cover so far for the series.  You all know how I feel about  no face covers, so I'm very glad to see them stepping away from that trend.  I really love the colors on the cover, all of the muted grays really make Clary's hair and dress pop.   I've only read City of Bones, so I didn't have any expectations of who I wanted to see on the cover.  Plus I gotta give it up to my fellow ginger, I love seeing red haired people on covers!

The rest of the series

The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn

Published in 2009 by Emilie Autumn Ent. LLC
5 Stars

Goodreads Review
Presenting Emilie Autumn's long awaited autobiographical, reality-bending thriller, "The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls." This beautifully bound hardcover volume measures 8" x 11.5" and clocks in at a massive 274 fully illustrated pages. Positively packed with hand-written memoirs, photos, and paintings, this profoundly empowering epic not only deserves a place on your tea table, it is also one of the most complete accounts of bipolar disorder ever penned, and will take readers behind the doors of both modern day psych ward and Victorian insane asylum in this true life horror tale of madness, murder, and medical experimentation.
But reader beware: It's much easier to get into the Asylum than it is to get out.

Review: I don't think I've ever read anything like The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. It is amazing, horrifying, and both a work of magical fiction and brutal honesty. I felt like for the first time I had found someone who could understand how I feel. I identified on so many levels with this book, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. I appreciate Emilie as an artist so much more now because I realize just how much of herself she puts into everything she does. This is one of a kind, and is well worth every cent I paid and more.  


The Asylum is a book, I think above all else, about women's rights.  Women's rights to do whatever they want and have freedom over their bodies, minds, and lives.  This includes the right to harm their bodies and to even end their life.  Emilie is all about fighting like a girl and being a total bad ass, and I love watching Emily-with-a-y grow into a Victorian warrior queen.  It's just totally awesome.  


I also totally loved Emilie's story as well.  I think it was such a perfect blend of fact and fiction that I really couldn't tell what was true and what was bleeding over into Emilie's story.  The decent into madness was so slow and subtle that I found myself thinking very odd things were perfectly normal and destructive behaviors were really the only option available.  And the ending?  Amazing beyond belief.  


On a more practical note I loved the overall presentation of this book.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Every page is glossy and full colored with photos, drawings, and cut outs from journals.   It really adds to the story and makes it more than just a book.  


I cannot recommend the Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls enough.  It has so many fascinating topics.  Abuse, mental illness, historical fiction, self mutilation, suicide, friendship, women's empowerment, music, photography, art, and of course muffins, tea time, rats, and leeches.  So spread the plague little rats because, as we all know, dead is the new alive!

Friday Face Off: Cryer's Cross

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  I don't know if Misty's already done this book, but wow I'm super confused now.  This for the hardback vs. paperback covers of Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann.

These covers are super confusing.  Like, I'm just befuddled.  They aren't just different covers for the same book, they look like totally different genres!  Is this a horror book or a romance?  I thought I had a good impression of the book from the hardcover image but now with the paperback I just don't even know what this book is about.  I really love the hardcover image, it makes me think this book is a creepy ghost story, which is right up my alley.  But now after seeing the paperback cover I just don't know anymore.  The paperback is a huge step backwards in my opinion, it looks like every other PNR out there and makes me question the story and how much I would like this book. 

So let me know, which do you prefer?  Also, for those of you who have read it, which cover do you think fits the book more?

Faves of 2011: The Covers

So I decided to skip day 3 and 4 because they were a little too specific and I could really only think of a couple good answers, so I'm just skipping ahead to the covers.  Because I can do that :)  So here are my top 10 covers!

The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Feed by Mira Grant

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

This week the cover for The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross was revealed.  This is the second book in The Seampunk Chronicles series, with the first book being The Girl in the Steel Corset.  I haven't read anything in this series yet, but I love the covers.  I like the Clockwork Collar's cover more because it features a minority race, which is rare.  I love her purple dress with her black hair, it's so pretty!  What do you all think?

Wrapping Up 2011 Read-a-Thon

I'm doing another  read-a-thon !  This one runs from today (December 22) and ends midnight December 31st and is hosted by Remarkable Reads.  I plan on using this read-a-thon to reach my 100 book challenge for the year.  Here's I plan on finishing.

The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa

Deadline by Mira Grant

Re-read A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Faves of 2011 Day 2: The Characters

It's time for Day 2 of the faves of 2011 survey hosted by inkcrush! Today I'll be talking about the most memorable characters I met in 2011.

1.  Favorite Female Main Character

I am going to pick Bridget from Possess by Gretchen McNeil.  I loved her sense of humor and determination.  She's very well rounded and makes mistakes but then LEARNS from them, which is something female MCs sometimes don't seem to do.  

2.  Favorite Male Main Character

I would choose Sean from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I absolutely love Sean's story and can really related to his conflicting feelings of duty and desire for independence.  I also just adored his relationship with Corr, it brought me to tears.

3.  Best Couple <3

Dash and Lily are a definite second place, but no one can beat Rose and Dmitri from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.  They are both sexy, smart, funny, and totally head over heels for each other.  I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop and I also loved they more playful moments.  Excellent characters!

4.  Who I So Want to be Best Friends With

This is the same from June.  I would SO want to be friend with Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.  He is just so fabulous, we could fan girl over musicals all day!

5.  Who I Fell Completely in Love With (New Literary Crush)

This is still totally Varen from Kelly Creagh's Nevermore.  I have a secret love of goths, and Varen sounds SO hot, I love it!  (Man I need to re-read this book, it's been too long!)

6.  Best Character Twist (Who You Loved and then Hated or Vice Versa)

Ok I loved this character throughout, but I'm going to pick Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.  Not because my feelings about her changed, but because of all of the crazy plot twists that were revealed about her.  It had my mind reeling!

7.  Best Kick-Arse Female

I read so many books about girls that kick ass, instead of picking just one, here's a summary.  

Katniss from The Hunger Games

Tris From Divergent

Taylor from Beauty Queens

Saba from Blood Red Road

Rose from Vampire Academy

Gretchen from Sweet Venom

Scarlet and Rose from Sisters Red

Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone

8.  Best Kick-Arse Male

Still Dimitri from Vampire Academy.  So hot.  So awesome. So Russian.  He beats so much ass, it's ridiculous.

9.  Broke Your Heart the Most

I read a couple of extremely sad stories this year, but the one that stands out in my mind is Shine by Lauren Myracle. My heart just aches for Cat and Patrick in this book, it's completely unfair what happened to them and it's completely unfair how no one in their community could care to help.

Some Honorable mentions are Liesel from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Alice from Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott, and Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.  

10.  Favorite Pet/Animal Character

Grim from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.  He is so freaking awesome, he reminds me of this cat. 

Here's a quote from Grim, just to showcase his awesomeness.  “I was minding my own business long before you and the princess started humping like rabbits.” 

11.  Best YA Parents Award

Tris's mom from Divergent.  I don't want to spoil anything, but she does some pretty cool things.  I love the stuff that is revealed about her.

12.  Favorite Sibling Relationship

That would be Shaun and George Mason from Feed by Mira Grant.  I loved their relationship and how they adapted to a world with zombies.  They totally trust each other and had a crazy emotional moment at the end of the book that really took me on an emotional roller coaster.

13.  Favorite Best Friends/Friendship Award

I'm giving this to Karou and Zusana from Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  I loved these girls because of their super funny banter and the fact that Karou doesn't just drop her friends the moment a hot guy comes along.  I really hope Zusana will continue to be a big character in the next book because she is seriously freaking awesome.

14.  Best/Worst Character Names

Best Girl:  Alaska Young from Looking for Alaska by John Green

Best Boy:  Varen Nethers from Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Worst Girl:  Aine DeRis (because I have NO CLUE how to pronounce that) from Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Worst Boy:  Patch Cipriano from Hush, Hush  by Becca Fitzpatrick