In My Mailbox [27]

Brought to you by Alea & Kristi, Lucid Conspiracy presents In My Mailbox #27...

So this week I got Impossible by Nancy Werlin and a bunch of really sweet Hirobot stickers (from T-U-G) which were purchased with a giftcard won from a contest over at LiyanaLand! Thanks, Liyana. Hope everyone's holidays are going well!

So there you have it, my mailbox. Your turn - what was in yours this week?

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Also, don't forget to go enter the swag giveaway here~

The Dark Divine Review

The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
*December 22nd, 2009 EgmontUSA

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul.

Bree Despain's debut The Dark Divine is, simply put, quite divine. Wholesome with a fulfilling plotline, there's something very satisfying about this book. "A prodigial son. A dangerous love. A deadly secret." (Synopsis) Mystery, drama, intrigue, danger, secrets, lies - The Dark Divine has a little bit of everything for everyone.

Grace Divine, leading lady extraordinaire, is conveyed beautifully through Despain's writing style. Simultaneously simplistic and unique, there's something very raw and earnest - and real - about [Grace]'s voice, making it very distinctive. Grace's innocent naivity and kindheartedness simply makes her the likeable girl-next-door who seems very relatable (albeit with a paranormal twist). The letters from the past could have had the periodic diction and voice tuned a bit further to seem more in time, though.

The best part of The Dark Divine is definitely the way Despain made it different. The major catch of the paranormal aspect - it's amazing that it's been kept under wraps so well. Which makes the adventure readers embark on trying to discover it all that much more exciting. Despain shows intricate foresight and planning with the little clues dropped through foreshadowing and red herrings throughout the course of the novel. From those, readers may or may not be able to figure it out before the characters themselves - and the race and potential for dramatic irony simply adds to the fun.

Daniel, Jude, the Divine parents, Pete, April - again, all very interesting characters. It's great to see Despain's little twists to make them truly her own. For a novel that chronicles a struggle of sorts between good and evil, so to speak, it's wonderful to see that the lines between the two sides have become blurred, which adds to the credibility. There were moments here and there that were sort of sappy and were close to bordering on corny. However, that does seem to be part of the draw of The Dark Divine - all in all, it's a very sweet, hope-inspiring read.

The way an ages-old myth was taken and incorporated in a modern way with a unique twist that's all Despain's own is what makes this novel stand out. The contents are as achingly raw and beautiful as the cover. With captivating writing and a unique plotline, Bree Despain's The Dark Divine is a very enjoyable read.

Goodreads IndieBound Bree Despain

100th Post Contest

Alas, I've been a little absent around the YA blogosphere lately - and I guess you could say that Lucid Conspiracy has been on an unofficial hiatus of sorts. But - it's the holidays now (yay!), so hopefully it's time to get caught up on things. (Apologies if you're still waiting on e-mail replies - will get to them asap :)

I know you guys were all very concerned ;) This also happens to be the 100th post, so what better way to doubly celebrate than by giving away some swag?

A bookmark pack consisting of the following are up for grabs:

^All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
^Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog
^Give up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
^Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Shroeder (autographed)
^Supernatural Rubber Chicken

Before we get to the good stuff on how to win, a linkage love is probably in order. Give up the Ghost was reviewed here, and author Megan Crewe was interviewed here. Fairy Tale's author Cyn Balog was interviewed here, and look for a review of All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab early in the new year. You can also pop by Lisa Shroeder's to say hi.

After all that, let's get to the good stuff. Contest open to US of A & Canada. Must be a follower. Please put each entry in a separate comment. If you don't feel comfortable leaving an e-mail, a distinctive name is fine as well. Contest ends December 30th. You get one entry for each of the following:
~Comment (1st one is a freebie entry)
~Twitter followers (@lucidconspiracy)
~Promotion (+1 for each place you link the contest)
~Signing up for SwagBucks through here

Thanks, guys. Unfortunately, it's just a swag prize pack, but it'll help get the holiday spirit going, hopefully. Happy holidays, and enter away :)

LIGHTS

Today's musical feature is pretty special for a number of reasons. LIGHTS (also known as Valerie Poxleitner) is a Canadian synthpop artist. Her music has won a number of awards so far, most notably a Juno. She's been on tour around the States and Canada, and recently I was able to see her perform live in concert!

It was a pretty amazing show - Lights definitely has that extra little something, that charisma, that stage presence that makes for a wonderful performer. The little episodes of comic-esque extra-terrestrial plotline, the beautiful singing live, the vibrant energy... it all made for an amazing event.

There's an aspect of originality with how the little cartoons were intersperced, and the recurring theme of her music being "out of this world". I like it. Basically, she seems like a very fun and friendly person.

One of the other cool moments of the night was when one of the members of Jets Overhead (her opening band - also Canadian and amazing!) told my friend and I that we were "rocking our Lights t-shirts".

IAmLights / Lights MySpace / Lights Youtube / Lights Twitter

I'll share two of her music videos as a sampler. The first is Ice, and the second is February Air (which another friend of mine recently covered - you can check it out here). (The FA video is an old unofficial one - but this version is really cool)

Hush, Hush Review

Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick
*October 13th 2009 - Simon & Schuster

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush is like a caressive whisper laced with dark allure, painting a deliciously paranormal picture. With an enchanting cover and a captivating synopsis, Hush, Hush ensnares the prospective reader and creates an atmosphere of temptation - which fits in with its contents of fallen angels.

The setting of Hush, Hush is definitely one of its fortes. Modern and immediate, there's a sort of credibility to it, like this could very well be scene-next-door. And then - shhh, shhh - the paranormal aspect kind of sneaks into it subtly, melding in believably. The places this book goes, the locations described - they all add an air of daring danger of the delicious variety. The atmosphere at times is dark, murky, but simultaneously seductive. Tossed in with the prickling sense that something is wrong is the desire to find out what happens next.

For the most part, characterization was interestingly done. The main protagonist Nora Grey is certainly different, but at times some of her reactions were a little odd and unreasonable. (Personally, I wonder if it would have been better to situate her as a junior, rather than a sophomore.) Her sudden turn of affections for Patch was a little sudden - found myself flipping back to see if I had somehow missed a chapter (nope), which seemed to steer more in the direction of lust than love. Patch has been receiving much attention as a bad boy of YA - and in that aspect, it is definitely conceivable why.

The interactions between Patch and Nora are one of Fitzpatrick's more impressive successes in Hush, Hush. The emotions, the tensions, the restraints - Fitzpatrick creates a lovely atmosphere by playing with these. It really comes alive off the page. Once these started occurring, the draw of the book becomes that much stronger. As the plot progresses, it becomes harder and harder to put down. The last paragraph of the synopsis, "ancient battle, etc. etc." sounds like a bit of a melodramatic overstatement in retrospect, but nevertheless, the way it plays out does not disappoint. It'll definitely be interesting to see how the sequel, Crescendo, plays out.

Like its stormy cover, Hush, Hush has "Grey" (Nora) and dark allure (Patch). (Hush, Hush, Crescendo - what brilliant titles!) With lush writing and an intriguing premise, Hush, Hush is a tempting read.

Goodreads | Becca Fitzpatrick | Indiebound

In My Mailbox [26]

Brought to you by Alea & Kristi, Lucid Conspiracy presents In My Mailbox #26...

So this week I got the following:

`Gone by Lisa McMann
`The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
`Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
`The Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer

And I must say, this week's haul was pretty exciting for a number of reasons. First off, I had no idea that these were coming, so it was definitely a little befuddling when the package showed up and lo' and behold, these gems were inside. And of course, the fact that it contained these books - all by such acclaimed authors with great feedback thus far - merely added icing to the cake.

Your turn now though - what was in your mailbox this week?

MBLAQ

By the looks of it, music is turning into a bit of a regular fixture on Lucid Conspiracy - but it's all good. Today I want to hype a fairly new Korean band, MBLAQ. (The peak of my infatuation with them was probably about a month ago now, as people who know in person have heard about ceaselessly ;) Kind of wearing off now, but they're still awesome, so I figured I'd share regardless.)

MBLAQ stands for Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality - and you gotta admit, it's a pretty cool acronym. The members consist of (clockwise from top left) Thunder (who is 2NE1's Sandara Park's younger brother), Mir, G.O., Joon, and Seung Ho.

From the release of their mini album Just BLAQ and their already sky-rocketing fame and reality tv shows, these boys are going to be pretty huge. Plus, by the looks of live recordings on Youtube, they seem pretty decent live too, which is always crucial.

Their first song I was exposed to is Oh Yeah, which is really catchy. (And Lee Joon has one of the most adorable smiles ever in it!) It's weird, the whole translation factor takes on a whole new meaning. After listening/watching the video numerous times and finally seeing the translated lyrics a week later, it definitely wasn't what I would've expected.

From interviews and shows, etc. overall they just seem like a pretty fun group of people! And considering that they're under Rain's umbrella, it seems reasonable to expect great things from them in the upcoming days. I'll leave you guys off with videos of Oh Yeah and GOOD Luv. Thoughts?

In My Mailbox [25]

Brought to you by Alea & Kristi, Lucid Conspiracy presents In My Mailbox #25...

Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal
life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that.
But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills,
Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among
freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is
buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the
guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes.

Unless she's with Colin, the
gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the
most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally
older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life
is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that
something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to?
Will she even know herself?

So only one book since the last IMM post (and one resultant of a mailing mix-up to boot), but still. On the plus side, it's always easier to make a dent in the TBR pile when it's not growing at the same time. ;) But your turn now - what was in your mailbox this week?