Review: Soulstice by Simon Holt

The Vours: Evil, demonic beings
that inhabit human bodies on
Sorry Night, the darkest hours
of the winter solstice.

It's been six months since Reggie first discovered and fought against the Vours, malicious and demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on the eve of the Winter Solstice. The Vours still haunt Reggie, but only in her dreams-until one night, when an unexpected visitor turns her nightmares into reality. The battle against evil continues in Soulstice, the second book in the thrilling The Devouring series.

I received the second book before the first, The Devouring, so I had to read these out of order. I really hate to do that and I just got book #1 so I'll be starting again from the beginning. While I obviously missed out on the background information provided earlier I still was able to follow along in Soultice easily enough. From what I have read in other reviews the background has been established in the first book so this one jumps right into the action.

Reggie fears the Vours are planning more evil. No longer are they limited to attacking only in the winter. Summer Soultice is coming and the Vours will be able to enter humans and prey on their fears. Only Reggie can stop them with her ability to protect others when she enters their dreamscapes. But there is more danger than anyone realized. The Vours have assimilated with humans and there are more than expected. And they could be anywhere, within anyone.

This story has plenty of action, suspense and horror. I was anxious to see what would happen next with the endless possibilities of the dreamscape. There were many twists and turns as details of the Vours emerge. The cliffhanger ending has left me so anxious for the third and final installment. You'll be sleeping with the lights on after you read this one!

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release date: 9/09
Pages: 272
Price/format: $16.99/hardcover
Type: YA paranormal/horror
Ages: 8th grade and up

So, I was wondering…

Have you ever sent an embarrassing email or text? Fortunately, I haven’t done anything too bad but I was reminded of how easily it can happen last month when I was Christmas shopping for me kids. My youngest son wanted to order a sweatshirt online and it had to be done that day by 5:00 to arrive in time for the 25th. I still needed some things for my other two boys so I was sending them text messages to find out if they would like one too. I was trying to hurry and accidentally sent it to the person’s name next to my son’s in my phone’s address book. A message came back asking what I was talking about. I wrote back and explained what I had done and asked how she had been since I hadn’t talked to her in some time. She wrote back and said she still didn’t know what I was talking about and who was I? That seemed kind of strange since she is a distant relative, after all. It took a few more back and forths before I realized that the person who use to have that number had changed it since the last time we chatted. This was a different person! Fortunately I knew who she was so she believed me. After all that, the stupid order from the company never did come in time even though we made the deadline!

That incident wasn’t really embarrassing so I didn’t worry about it. I did accidentally forward an email from a friend many years ago describing her recent visit to the gynecologist. I meant to forward a joke that was next to it in my Inbox and I sent it out to several people. (I really need to be more careful about clicking on the right one) Lucky for me this friend has a great sense of humor and there wasn’t anything too embarrassing in that note. I don’t forward many jokes anymore and she is probably grateful for that. So are the people who received it. My brothers were traumatized by all of that girly stuff.

So, I was wondering what embarrassing story can you share? How have you been traumatized by your own gaffes with modern technology? Go ahead and share. Don’t worry, we won’t tell. I  probably couldn’t forward it anyway. I’d send the one that was next to it!

Review: Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby

From the start of December,
to Christmas Eve night,
one chapter an evening,
wrapped up with delight.

Enter the magical festive world of the Christmas 'Tree-Dwellers', as Larry, a Christmas snowman, wakes up after the long sleep in the Christmas box, to find his brother is missing. Desperate to find him before Christmas, Larry, along with his girlfriend Debbie, a newcomer Splint, and Larry's companion Tinsel, break the laws of the 'Tree-Elders' and escape down the tree and away into the house, to look for clues. Away from the safety of the tree and in an unfamiliar world, the Dwellers stumble upon a dark and sinister secret that threatens their entire world. Can Larry and the group make it back to the tree in time to warn the others, and finally uncover the truth behind the 'Secrets of a Christmas Box'?

With it's colorful cover, 56 charming black and white illustrations on heavy weight paper and entertaining story this book could be a family favorite. There are 24 chapters that would be fun to read a chapter a night for the month of December. While some of the dialogue felt out of place and didn't appeal to me - the parents constantly called each other "Love" and said things like "Goodness", the ornaments had an exciting adventure that kept me interested. Larry the Snowman (my favorite) along with his dog Tinsel, girlfriend Debbie an elf/reindeer and their new friend Splint the wooden soldier go off in search of Larry's brother. The last chapters are a bit scary for younger readers but overall I think this story would really appeal to children. I passed it on to my 5 and 9 year-old nephews and they were thrilled with it, especially the drawings. I think this is a book meant to be shared.

Debut novel for multiaward winning animator Steven Hornby. He is currently working on sequel.

www.SecretsofaChristmasBox.com
www.eckythumpbooks.com

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Ecky Thump Books
Release date: 9/1/09
Pages: 248
Price/format: $18.95/hardcover
Age: 8-12

Contest at Pudgy Penguin Perusuals

Need a pair of reading glasses? Hop on over to Pudgy Penguin Perusals for her giveaway for two pairs of glasses from Reading Glasses Shopper. There so many styles to chose from! Contest ends 1/17.

Curl up with a book...and a Nook Contest!!!

Click for details! Contests from authors Lauren Dane and Anya Bast ends 1/5/10!

Mailbox Monday

It's a new year and it's time for new books! I only got one this week but it's adorable. This will be a new holiday favorite!

Mailbox Monday at The Printed Page is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Christmastime
by Sandra Boyton

won from The Shady Glade - love this book!

CHRISTMASTIME is Sandra Boynton's humorous and compassionate carol to the season of warmth and giving, celebration and tradition. And tradition, to Boynton, is anything that happens every Christmas without fail: like trimming the tree, a fruitcake from the Rossiters, the crunch underfoot of your most precious ornament, and the customary search for scissors at four A.M. Christmas morning.

With guest appearances by Santa and his reindeer, Boynton's familiar menagerie reveals the many joys and satisfactions that make Chrismastime such a universally special season: the thrill of finding the right gift for someone you love, and affording it; the personal gratification of wrapping all the gifts early; and the wonder of Christmas morning, when you realize you forgot to label them.

And, in the spirit of giving, Boynton includes her own Christmas recipes: Santa's favorite chocolate chip cookies (with suggested note urging him to "please stack dishes neatly in the sink and wrap uneaten cookies in tin foil"); plum pudding (well worth someone else's time and money); and Wassail, which seems like a great treat if you happen to have 2,640 blanched almonds lying around the house.

This hardcover book makes a perfect gift for the "staunch traditionalist" and the "santaclaustrophobic" alike. 94,000 copies in print.

Article - decade in books

I read an interesting article in today's paper from USA Today. Decade in books: Writers work magic, delivery has transformed by author Bob Minzesheimer compares the differences in the publishing world in the last ten years. Stephen King was the first brand-name author to experiment in digital self publishing when he launched a serial novel on his website nearly ten years ago. He asked readers to contribute $1 for every installment. While that particular experiment didn't work out because of lack of inspiration it brought up the issue of how this would affect the publishing world. The article goes on to highlight the changes over the last decade, good and bad, and where we stand now. One encouraging comment:
A 2004 report warned that literary reading was fading away, but a 2009 update found reading on the rise for the first time in 25 years; the biggest increase was among readers 18 to 24.

The author also mentions the ten top selling books of the decade (can you guess?), important memoirs, Oprah Book Club selections, books to movies and the explosion of the e-readers on the market. So many changes in such a short time.