On My Wishlist #14

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It is a list of the books I want but don't yet have. The books can be old, new or forthcoming.

 





 

Title: Hades

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Published: August 2011

By: Atom

 

Bethany and Xavier are even closer since battling Jake Thorn and his evil influence (in Halo) and Beth and her angel siblings must still protect Venus Cove from the Dark Forces.

When a party game – a séance – inadvertently releases Jake from the Underworld, he disguises himself and tricks Beth into taking a ride on his motorcycle. When the highway opens up and swallows them, Beth learns too late that she’s now a prisoner in hell. What happens to angels there? As her archangel brother, Gabriel, her sister Ivy, Xavier, and her best friend, Molly search for her, Beth must weigh Jake’s bargaining for her freedom: one night with him, and she will be released back to Earth.
Can Jake be trusted in this wager? And is he also using Beth to engineer the fall of the archangel Gabriel? Xavier has already lost one love – when Jake tricks him into thinking that Bethany is dead, his grief and anger result in a betrayal that will leave Bethany – and readers – wondering if he is so good after all.

It will be up to Beth to use everything she’s learned about her powers as an angel – and about love – to free herself and those she loves from the clutches of Hades.

 





 

Title: Starstruck

Author: Cyn Balog

Published: July 2011

By: Random House

 

Gwendolyn "Dough" X doesn't think she has much going for her—she carries a few extra pounds, her family struggles with their small bakery in a town full of millionaires, and the other kids at her New Jersey high school don't seem to know that she exists. Thank the stars for her longtime boyfriend, Philip P. Wishman—or "Wish." He moved away to California three years ago, when they were 13, but then professed his love for her via e-mail, and he's been her long-distance BF ever since.
At the beginning of her junior year, though, Wish e-mails that he's moving back to Jersey. Great, right? Well, except that Dough has gained about 70 pounds since the last time Wish saw her, while Wish—according to his Facebook photos—has morphed into a blonde god. Convinced that she'll be headed for Dumpsville the minute Wish lays eyes on her, Dough delays their meeting as long as she possibly can.
But when she sees Wish at school, something amazing happens. He looks at Dough like she's just as gorgeous as he is. But Wish is acting a little weird, obsessed with the sun and freaked out by rain. And the creepy new guy working at the bakery, Christian, is convinced that there's more to Wish's good looks than just healthy eating and lots of sun. He tells Dough that a mark on Wish's neck marks him as a member of the Luminati—an ancient cult of astrologers who can manipulate the stars to improve their lives. Is Wish and Dough's love meant to be—or are they star-crossed?

 

What are you wishing for?

 

Review ~ Tris and Izzie ~

Title: Tris and Izzie

Author: Mette Ivie Harrison

Published: 11th October 2011

By: Egmont USA

Source: netgalley

First line: Mark caught me in a big hug as I closed my locker.
Last line: My magic gave us light and his gave us speed.

Tris and Izzie is a remake of the classic tale Tristan and Isolde and based on that and the stunning cover which I absolutely fell in love with I was eager to get my hands on this book. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much where the enthusiasm ends.

As much I tried to get into reading this book I absolutely failed. I found it hard to connect with the main characters, particularly Izzie who seemed to think she was chocolate and the plot just seemed completely random.

To cut a long story short, Izzie is a witch who lives with her mother. She is in love with the very popular Mark and together they attend high school with Izzie’s best friend, Brangane, the three of them being a really close knit trio. Izzie is desperate for Brangane to have a boyfriend so she takes a love potion that her mother has created to school aiming to get Brangane and Tristan (new boy at school) to drink it thereby falling in love. Things go wrong of course and Izzie and Tris end up drinking it and falling in love. High jinks and emotional struggles ensue for a while and then out of the blue (or at least it seemed that way to me) a two-headed dog appeared...That I’m afraid to say is where I put the book down. I think I was about a quarter of the way through so I have no idea what happened at the end. No risk of spoilers here then!!

I think my biggest issue with this book is the writing style. When I’m reading I like the words to flow off the page or have some kind of punch to them. This had neither. I felt the language used was overly simplistic, almost child-like and I found myself getting more and more frustrated as I turned the pages. The way that the concept of magic is included in the book seems really rushed and lacks credibility as does everyone’s acceptance of the weird creature that just seemed to show up. IT WAS A TWO-HEADED RABID DOG PEOPLE?!

Rant over! As I said the idea behind this story is great and there are other classics which have been re-told that I have enjoyed. I’m sorry to say that this is not among them which is a shame because it had great potential.

2/5 This story has a lot of good ideas behind it – it just didn’t do it for me, sorry!

Artist Interview & Giveaway ~ Lisa Denyer



Don't be scared


Today we have artist Lisa Denyer at Midnight Reads to tell us a little more about herself and her work. Lisa is an ecxiting artist and we are so glad she could pull herself away from her work to join us for some questions!
Let's get started:~

How would you describe your work?

I would describe my art work as contemporary, and heavily influenced by contrasting colours and shapes. I specialise in landscape and abstract painting.

Did you study to be an artist?

Yes, I completed my Fine Art Degree at Coventry University in 2009.



Untitled (Shards)

 What inspires your work?

My latest project 'Crystal Abstracts' is a series of abstract paintings inspired by a combination of crystals and architectural design. Up until recently, I considered myself to solely be a landscape artist, and it is fair to say that landscapes and the natural world continue to play a big part in my work, albeit in a much more subtle way.

The pieces you see on 'Midnight Reads' were inspired by dark fairy tales, natural forms and silhouettes.

What materials/medium do you prefer to work with?

For a long time I made large scale landscapes using acrylic paint on canvas. I would water log the canvas and build up layered washes of colour and detail to create images. Recently, however, I have begun to work on board as I find that I can get sharper details. 

Who is your favourite artist, and why?

When I was in my second year of university in 2008, I went to see Peter Doig's exhibition at the Tate. It remains in my mind as one of the best exhibitions I have seen. It had a vast impact on my work; his large scale landscapes with their jewel like colours inspired me to expand my own scale, and I went from making paintings of around 50cm by 40cm to 152cm by 244cm.

The main thing that struck me from looking at his work was the sinister, dark fairy tale undertones that, to me, made the natural world seem like a place full of possibilities and intrigue. This became something I wanted to capture in my own work.


Milky Way 1989-90
Pete Doig


If you could work with any artist, living or deceased, who would it be?

I think I could gain a lot by working with artists such as Peter Doig, Sydney Nolan and Per Kirkeby.

What is your favourite art work?

One of my favourite paintings is Per Kirkeby's 'Brett-Felsen' (Plank-Rock). I also went to see Kirkeby's exhibition at the Tate, and since then his work has been a particular reference point for me. The aspect I like the most in his work is that, although his paintings are inspired by landscapes, they are extremely abstracted. They are highly emotive pieces, with fantastic use of colour.

Do you have any shows/exhibitions coming up?

Yes, I have a few in the pipeline at the moment:

'The Golden Ratio' - Group exhibition at Nexus Art Cafe, Northern Quarter, Manchester. 30/9/11 - 20/11/11

Didsbury Art Festival - Exhibition at Earle and Ginger, Wilmslow Road, East Didsbury. 24/9/11 - 1/10/11

'No.1 Paint' - Group exhibition at Blankspace, Hulme Street, Manchester. 8/9/11 - 25/9/11

Where can we learn more about your work?

I have a website which I regularly update with new work, and you can also follow me on Tumblr and Twitter:

http://www.lisadenyer.com/

http://crystalabstracts.tumblr.com/

http://twitter.com/LisaDenyer

I am also represented by Mooch Art, and you can buy some of my latest landscape work directly from their website:

http://www.mooch-art.co.uk/artists/lisa-denyer-1821

Thank you so much for stopping by Lisa, we are so pleased you did :) And now for your chance to win on of Lisa's prints. Lisa has chosen to giveaway Under the Stars, which I love (can I enter?). So for your chance to win just leave a comment below.

~Giveaway is international

~Only one comment per person

~Giveaway closes Friday 9th September