Trailer Tuesday: Crusher by Niall Leonard

If you want to see the underbelly of modern London with a noir tint, Crusher is absolutely the book for you. It's dark and tense.

From the publisher: "After he discovers his father murdered, Finn, now the prime suspect, scours the London underworld, exposing secrets and facing danger, to determine the true killer."

Trailer Tuesday: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

I generally look forward to a good fairy tale re-telling. Especially one where the girl sounds as kick-butt as Nyx does in Cruel Beauty.

From the publisher: "Betrothed to the demon who rules her country and trained all her life to kill him, seventeen-year-old Nyx Triskelion must now fulfill her destiny and move to the castle to be his wife."

Trailer Tuesday: Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

What if you killed someone - and got away with it? Would it eat you up inside? Would you find yourself writing a letter to a death row inmate to ease your conscious? That's what Zoe finds herself doing three months after the death (or murder?) of a boy she'd fallen in love with. How did she get there? Find out in the unusually named Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher.

From the publisher: "Zoe, a teenager in Bath, England, writes letters to a death-row inmate in Texas, hoping to find comfort in sharing her guilty secret over the death of a friend with someone who can never tell her family."

Trailer Tuesday: Not a Drop to Drink

So... that's a disturbing opening...

From the publisher: Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water. Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most important, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty or doesn't leave at all. Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand. But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, the nighttime threats, and the gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won't stop until they get it. . . . With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl's journey in a barren world not so different from our own.

Trailer Tuesday: Reboot by Amy Tintera

Well, Reboot is one way to achieve life after death...

From the publisher: "Seventeen-year-old Wren rises from the dead as a Reboot and is trained as an elite crime-fighting soldier until she is given an order she refuses to follow."

Trailer Tuesday: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

I confess the trailer for The Burning Sky makes me want to drop everything and read this one. This is probably because I'm a huge fan of Tamora Pierce, Alison Goodman, Megan Whalen Turner, Kristin Cashore, and Rae Carson and this trailer hits some mental cord that reminds me of them.

From the publisher: " Magic, romance, and intrigue combine in The Burning Sky, the first book in the Elemental Trilogy, for fans of Cinda Williams Chima and Kristin Cashore. It all began with a ruined elixir and a bolt of lightning. Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation--or so she's been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of the Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training. Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission--and her life."

Trailer Tuesday: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

December is the perfect month for a love story. Give How to Love by Katie Cotugno a try!

From the publisher: "Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists. . . until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated--and pregnant--Reena behind. After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to life without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again? In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love--twice.

Trailer Tuesday: Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green

Yikes! This one looks intense!

From the publisher: "Some say the seaside town of Echo Bay is cursed. They may be right. When a game of Truth or Dare spins out of control, three beautiful teen girls start receiving mysterious dares containing hints to dark secrets long buried. For artsy outcast Sydney Morgan; perfect, popular Caitlin "Angel" Thomas; and queen bee Tenley Reed, the truth is not an option. This is no party game-it's do or die. And it's their turn to play."

Trailer Tuesday: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

From the publisher: "Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave. One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.
"
**Warning: This one's got a lot of blood**

Trailer Tuesday: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

This week's trailer is for a wonderful, if dark, historical fiction that takes place in an amazing city: Out of the Easy by Ruta 

 It's 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test. 

Trailer Tuesday: Spellcaster

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray sounds like just the sort of spooky read you want around Halloween!

A boy cursed with visions that lead to madness. A girl granted the powers to save him. As soon as Nadia arrives in Captive's Sound, she knows something is seriously wrong. The town is shrouded in dark magic, more powerful and complex than she has ever seen. Mateo has lived in Captive's Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is "cursed" with insanity. When the mysterious girl he has been dreaming of every night appears (Nadia), he fears the curse may be true. But danger is coming, and Nadia and Mateo must work together to stop this unknown force before it destroys everything in its path.




What are your favorite spooky books?

Trailer Tuesday: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

This week's trailer is for an exciting sequel: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers!


 Sybella's duty as Death's assassin in 15th-century France forces her return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and romance, history and magic, vengeance and salvation converge in this thrilling sequel to Grave Mercy.

Sybella arrives at the convent's doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge--but at a price. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

Have you read Grave Mercy?  Do you plan to now?

Trailer Tuesday: Far Far Away

If you love fairy tales, you are going to love Far Far Away by Tom McNeal, which has been nominated for the National Book Award.

 Jeremy Johnson Johnson hears voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of The Brothers Grimm. Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But Jacob can't protect Jeremy from everything. When coltish, copper-haired Ginger Boultinghouse takes a bite of a cake so delicious it's rumored to be bewitched, she falls in love with the first person she sees: Jeremy. In any other place, this would be a turn for the better for Jeremy, but not in Never Better, where the Finder of Occasions--whose identity and evil intentions nobody knows--is watching and waiting, waiting and watching. . . And as anyone familiar with the Brothers Grimm know, not all fairy tales have happy endings.


Are you a fan of the Grimm brothers' tales?  If so, which is your favorite?

Trailer Tuesday: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd     

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London;working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true. 

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward ;both of whom she is deeply drawn to;Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius; and madness; in her own blood. Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

Trailer Tuesday: The Unremembered by Jessica Brody

This week's Tuesday Trailer is The Unremembered by Jessica Brody, which looks to be quite the thriller!

 
A girl, estimated to be sixteen, awakens with amnesia in the wreckage of a plane crash she should not have survived and taken into foster care, and the only clue to her identity is a mysterious boy who claims she was part of a top-secret science experiment. 

Who wants to read it?

Trailer Tuesday: The Program by Suzanne Young

The Program by Suzanne Young

In Sloane's world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program. Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane's parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they'll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who's been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone-but so are their memories. Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He's promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it's getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Trailer Tuesday: Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum

Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum

Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us. Headstrong seventeen-year-old Nick has spent his whole life in a community in the wilderness, hiding out from the robots that have enslaved mankind. But when the bots discover the community's location, he, his tech-geek younger brother, Kevin, and adopted sister, Cass, barely make it out alive, only to discover that their home has been destroyed and everyone they love is missing. All survivors were captured and taken to one of the robots' Cities. The siblings have been hearing tales about the Cities all their lives: humans are treated like animals, living in outdoor pens and forced to build new bots until they drop dead from exhaustion. Determined to find out if their parents are among the survivors, Nick, Kevin, and Cass venture into the heart of the City, but it is nothing like they've been told. As they live among the bots for the first time, they realize they're fighting for more than just their family. The robots have ruled for too long, and now it's time for a revolution.

Trailer Tuesday: Prophecy by Ellen Oh

The Prophecy by Ellen Oh is the first book in an exciting new fantasy series. It includes a female warrior protagonist, takes place in historical Korea, and looks packed with action. I plan on picking it up. What about you?

From the Publisher: "The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms . . . is a girl with yellow eyes. Kira's the only female in the king's army, and she's also the prince's bodyguard. She's a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she's their only hope. . . . Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King's prophecy, but the legendary lost ruby treasure just might be the true key to victory. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, an evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king. Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy."

Trailer Tuesday: Mind Games by Kiersten White

 Mind Games by Kiersten White is one of those books that switches from past, to present,. to future and often lets the reader into the characters mind in a stream of consciousness kind of way. Its exciting sequel, The Chaos of Stars is coming outin February, 2014. Do you plan on reading it?

 From the Publisher: "Perfect for fans of Sara Shepards The Lying Game series, Kiersten Whites Mind Games, a novel about two sisters trapped in a web of deceit, was called "lightning fast and fabulously fun" by bestselling author Laini Taylor. Fia and Annie are as close as two sisters can be. They look out for each other. Protect each other. And most importantly, they keep each others secrets, even the most dangerous ones: Annie is blind, but can see visions of the future; Fia was born with flawless intuition--her first impulse is always exactly right. When the sisters are offered a place at an elite boarding school, Fia realizes that something is wrong . . . but she doesnt grasp just how wrong. The Keane Institute is no ordinary school, and Fia is soon used for everything from picking stocks to planting bombs. If she tries to refuse, they threaten her with Annies life. Now Fias falling in love with a boy who has dark secrets of his own. And with his help, shes ready to fight back. They stole her past. They control her present. But she wont let them take her future. "

Trailer Tuesday: Pulse by Patrick Carman

Perfect for a summer suspense! If you are still looking for dystopian novels to read this may be for you. Publishers Weekly said it is “[An] impressive take on the postapocalyptic novel.” Would you agree?

From the Publisher: "In the year 2051, who has a pulse? With the help of her mysterious classmate Dylan Gilmore, Faith Daniels discovers that she can move objects with her mind. This telekinetic ability is called a "pulse," and Dylan has the talent, too. In riveting action scenes, Faith demonstrates her ability to use her pulse against a group of telekinesis masters who are so powerful they can flatten their enemies by uprooting streetlights, throwing boulders, and changing the course of a hurtling hammer so that it becomes a deadly weapon. But even with her unusual talent, the mind; and the heart; can be difficult to control. If Faith wants to join forces with Dylan and save the world, she'll have to harness the power of both. Patrick Carman's Pulse trilogy is a stunning and epic triumph about the power of the mind--and of love."