Showing posts with label YA Fear Factor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA Fear Factor. Show all posts

Saturday, November 2, 2013

YA Tricksters & Treats

YA Tricksters & Treats is part of my YA Halloween Fear Factor special this week. Today's post was originally named 'Villains You Can't Resist'. But when I thought about the YA boys who had to be on my list, I couldn't exactly think of them as villains, more as bad boys. So here are my Top 5 YA bad boys to go on a Halloween date with + candy supplies. Be careful what kind of Halloween dates they have planned for you though!


Top 5 YA Halloween Date Ideas

Psychiatry, Torture Chamber, Birds, Tunnel, City of Bones


 # 5 City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - Meet the Silent Brothers in their City of Bones.

# 4 The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson - Go on a hunt for the Ripper in the underground tunnels of London.

# 3  Divergent by Veronica Roth - Let your inner fears overwhelm you in your very own fear landscape.

# 2 The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa - Spend some time with psycho vampire Sarren in his torture chamber

# 1 The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - Visit an old psychiatry at night.



Top 5 YA Bad Boys To Date


# 5 Cole - Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Mathias Lauridsen as Cole, Licorice Lollipop

"I was in the neighborhood," he said, answering the question I was about to ask. His lips twitched. "You know, wandering around, trying to be a hero." 

Cole is set on becoming the new king of the underworld. Very ambitious and absolutely sure of himself. He's not my type, but once he works his rockstar charm he has every girl falling at his feet. He'll surprise you with an underworld treat, Homemade Licorice Lollipops



 
# 4 Ren -Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Model, Butterscotch Walnut Truffle

"The smoke of aged wood lingering beneath a chilled autumn sky, the smooth burn of well-worn leather, the seductive ribbon of sandalwood. I closed my eyes, letting his scent pour over me, filling me with memories." 

Butterscotch Walnut Truffles seem to be a good choice of sweet treat for someone who's always on the move, ready to throw himself into battle. Ren's a warrior, an Alpha wolf. He is a powerful fighter and has a strong will. He always knew that his love for Calla was true and from page one I wanted her to pick Ren over Shay. He's gorgeous and passionate, hard to resist.
 



# 3 Kaidan - Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins 

Rob Wilson as Kaidan, Candy Apples

 “He was smoking hot. As in H-O-T-T, hott. I’d never understood until that moment why girls insisted on adding an extra t. This guy was extra-t-worthy.” 

Wendy Higgins' SWEET EVIL and SWEET PERIL are two of my favourite YA books. As the son of the Duke of Lust Kaidan was born into a world of sins, crime and hate. He's been trained to be the perfect seducer, and seducing he does in SWEET EVIL. He's bad news, but so irresistible! Only think of being fed Candy Apples by Kaidan...




 # 2 The Darkling - Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Model, Black & White Candy Canes

"The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak."

SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo was a very surprising 2012 read of mine. That's because I didn't think that I'd like the story when everyone kept recommending Leigh's debut novel. I fell head over heels in love with Mal,  Alina's best friend and never really considered the Darkling as a possible love interest. He is a very secretive and dark character, who has worked his magic on many YA readers. He'd bring Black & White Candy Canes to your date. Maybe there's some love magic in them, too.




# 1 Warner - Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
 
 Arthur Sales as Warner, Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

"It's hard to believe there's blood on the hands of the person I'm staring at. He looks soft and vulnerable-so human. His eyes are squinting from all his grinning and his cheeks are pink from the cold.
He has dimples.
He's easily the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
And I wish I'd never seen it." 

Here he is, my little Toffee Crunch Cupcake. What do you think, would Warner be okay with that pet name [laughs]? When I read SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi I knew I just had to be Team Adam. Because who would want Juliette to end up with this disturbed guy who wanted to use her as his weapon? Okay, stop screaming, I know there are actually many readers who have been shipping for Warner from the very beginning. And Tahereh made me like him so much better in UNRAVEL ME, the sequel to SHATTER ME. He fast became one of my favourite characters in the series and when you read it and you know about the steamy scenes he's involved in, you know why I voted him as my number one book bad boy to go on a Halloween date with.



Q! Which one is your favourite YA bad boy or villian? And which date would you go on?

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Cover Costume Candy

Happy Halloween guys! Hope you are having a spooktacular evening. My night will be spent watching The Walking Dead Season One. Or attempting to. The first time I wanted to watch the series I had to quit after only about five minutes. Yes, I'm very easily scared. 
I haven't picked out a Halloween costume to wear, but can't wait to see what (possibly bookish) characters you will be embodying. When I started to collect post ideas for my YA Halloween Fear Factor special I wanted to do something with costumes. I thought of all the beautiful book covers on my shelves and knew I had to compose a list of my favourite YA book cover inspired costumes. I selected pieces of clothes, accessories and beauty products and put together looks for a fancy costume party.
And what would a party be without a great cocktail? Of course every YA cover costume heroine or hero gets her/his appendant drink.

For larger versions of the pictures below, click here to visit my Cover Costume Candy Pinterest board.



A Darkness Strange and Lovely - Deadly Chic




Picture & Recipe
Blueberry Mojito

8 blueberries (fresh or frozen and thawed), plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
8 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup (2 ounces) white rum
1 cup ice
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) club soda
lime slice for garnish
 




Through the Zombie Glass - Zombie in Wonderland




Picture & Recipe
Black Vodka Ghost Martini

1/3 part black vodka
1/3 part Chambord
1/3 part cranberry juice
Club Soda
Blackberry for garnish
Dry ice pellets








The Selection - Dystopian Princess




Picture & Recipe
Cotton Candy Champagne Cocktail

1 fluff of cotton candy
Champagne to top












Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Monster Princess




Picture & Recipe
Blue Hawaiian Jelly Shots

3 oz box of Berry Blue Jello
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup Malibu rum
1/2 cup Blue curacao
1/2 cup pineapple juice









Asunder - Flowery Soul




Picture & Recipe  
Raspberry Rose Fizz

1 1/2 oz gin
3/4 oz liqueur framboise
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz raspberry syrup
3 drops rosewater
1 egg white
1 1/2 oz sparkling water
rose petal for garnish
Raspberry Syrup:
1 cup raspberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar




The Girl In The Steel Corset - Steampunk Warrior




Picture & Recipe
Blood Orange Mimosa

1 bottle Prosecco
1 1/2 cups fresh blood orange juice
1 tablespoon super-fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)









 Tiger Girl




Picture & Recipe
Peachy Orange Cream Cocktail

2 slices fresh or frozen (thawed) peaches
1 slice fresh orange
1/4 oz Vanilla Simple Syrup (1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 oz vodka (2 tablespoons)
4 oz lemon-lime soda (1/2 cup)








Everneath - Underworld Goddess




Picture & Recipe
Pomegranate-Ginger Prosecco Cocktail 

Ice 
2 oz gin 
2 oz pomegranate juice 
1 oz ginger simple syrup (above) 
2 oz prosecco 
1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds







Vixen - 20's Seductress




Picture & Recipe
Cranberry Champagne

1 ounce cranberry juice (sweetened)
1 wedge lime
Champagne or sparkling wine
Cranberries (frozen)
 










Victorian Gentleman




Picture & Recipe
The Blackthorne Cocktail

1 oz Sweet Vermouth (M&R Rosso)
2 oz Irish whiskey (Jameson 12, Redbreast)
3 dashes Angostura bitters
absinthe wash









Con Man




Picture & Recipe
Kamikaze Cocktail

1 1/4 oz Smirnoff  Red Label Vodka
1/4 oz triple sec
1/4 oz lime juice or sour mix










Ice Prince




Picture & Recipe
Whiskey Lemonade

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
2 tablespoons whiskey 
2 tablespoons Simple Syrup 
Ice 
Lemon zest









Q! Which costume do you like best? Would you dress up like a YA cover model and which one would it be?

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Your Top 13 YA Halloween Reads of 2013

Still looking for a good Halloween read? A few days ago I asked you about your literary Halloween plans this year and here's a list of your Top 13 YA reads in no particular order. Background images for each book were taken from their book trailer if not stated otherwise. Among the mentions were a few Stephen King novels like Carrie and Coraline by Neil Gaiman as well. Get inspired. Get reading!



Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS make the perfect Halloween read with their dark caster magic and the atmospheric Southern town of Gatlin. I still haven't read the third book in the series, but I should get to it very soon!

Watch the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES book trailer.



The Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black

What would Halloween be without vampires? Holly Black's latest book came out in September 2013 and I so have to get my hands on a copy in the next weeks. Its book trailer is really whetting my appetite for a little blood-sucker action. 

Watch the THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN book trailer



Anna Dressed In Blood & Girl of Nightmares by Kendra Blake

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD tells the story of a ghost girl who kills everyone who disturbs her. So creepy!

Watch the GIRL OF NIGHTMARES book trailer.



Ten & 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil
 
A house party on an island gone terribly terribly wrong. Now ten teens have to fear for their lives. And 3:59 could be even scarier with a parallel universe and doppelgängers! I used the TEN cover for this background image. 

Watch the TEN book trailer.



Find Me by Romily Bernard

Romily Bernard's debut novel is a gripping thriller with a murder case and the hacker girl Wick who gets involved in the case when her sister seems to be the murderer's next target. This could be one of the lighter Halloween reads, more thriller than horror.

Watch the FIND ME book trailer



Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Pick up a copy of WARM BODIES to read a zombie book of a different sort. 'R' is a zombie and when he decides to save a girl instead of eating her, a love story of a kind is put into motion. I bet someone gets eaten, too.

Watch the WARM BODIES book trailer.



Asylum by Madeleine Roux

The title of Madeleine Roux' novel is a pretty good clue at what we can expect the story to be about. I haven't picked it up until today, because I was too frightened to visit the asylum. Just look at the picture above and you know why. The image was taken from the book's back.



The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Until today THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER and its sequel are the creepiest books I've read. So many scary things keep happening and Mara is drawn into a tangle of lies, intrigues, delusions and evil intentions. These are two of my favourite YA books and if you haven't read them yet, now's exactly the right time to do so.

Watch the THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER book trailer




Ransom Riggs' and his home for peculiar children is another book that I couldn't bring myself to read so far. The idea of a bunch of children with very unusual talents is freaking me out. I find them even scarier than an evil creature of the night on the loose!

Watch the MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN book trailer.


 
 The Rift by Andrea Cremer

In the wolf category you named RIFT by Andrea Cremer, the prequel to her bestselling NIGHTSHADE series and SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater. If you liked Andrea Cremer's NIGHTSHADE series this should definitely be on your radar. Who can resist the shape shifters?

Watch the THE RIFT book trailer



 Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

The SHIVER trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater isn't exactly scary, but it's one of my favourite reads and I was surprised to find it on your Halloween reading list. It has a great romance and a bunch of very hot werewolves. Good choice! Shiver background source

Watch the SHIVER book trailer.



 The Host by Stephenie Meyer

An alien read shouldn't be missing from this Halloween reads list, and you named THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer as one of your picks. I really liked both book and movie. Background image source.



The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Your Cassandra Clare Halloween picks were CITY OF ASHES and CITY OF GLASS from the THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series and CLOCKWORK ANGEL from Cassandra's THE INFERNAL DEVICES series. Werewolves, vampires faeries, angels, demons, Cassandra's books have them all.

Watch the CITY OF LOST SOULS book trailer.




My Halloween Reads


I picked three books for this year's Halloween reading. UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia, ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendra Blake, which can also be found on your Halloween reading list and THE KILLING WOODS by Lucy Christopher. Dangerous spirits, ghosts and demons and a murderer on the loose are promising one or two sleepless nights for me.




Q! What are reading on Halloween? Are you throwing a Halloween party, perhaps a bookish themed Halloween party? Tell me all about it in the comments or link me to your Halloween posts.

Monday, October 28, 2013

YA Halloween Fear Factor



This week, October 28th - November 3rd is dedicated to my Halloween feature named YA Halloween Fear Factor. I will be reviewing spooky books with paranormal influences, murder mysteries and thrillers. Among them are TEN by Gretchen McNeil, LITTLE WHITE LIES by Katie Dale, THE SOUND by Sarah Alderson, DANGEROUS GIRLS by Abigail Hass, UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia and the seven-book VAMPIRE ACADEMY series by Richelle Mead.
Another post is reserved to your Top 13 YA Halloween Reads of 2013. On October 30th I'm displaying a bunch of YA cover models and their looks that could make for fabulous costumes. And at the end of our Halloween week there'll be a Tricksters & Treats post with some of the darkest YA minds that are irresistably sexy and date ideas you should give a wide berth. Here's a list of my planned posts for the next seven days.


October 28th Book Review: The Sound by Sarah Alderson

October 29th Your Top 13 YA Halloween Reads of 2013

October 30th Mini Reviews #14 with Ten by Gretchen McNeil,  Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas and Little White Lies by Katie Dale.

October 31st Cover Costume Candy

November 1st Book Review: Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

November 2nd YA Tricksters & Treats

November 3rd Book Review: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia



YA Pumpkin Carving Patterns

And now to get in the full YA Halloween mood, you just need to grab a pumpkin and start carving these absolutely drool-worthy YA book cover patterns. I found them at Kate Hart's blog and there are many more fun pumpkin carving patterns for you. Click on the links for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions.


The Fault In Our Stars, Fangirl & Paper Towns

The Curiosities, Sweetly & Paper Valentine


Q! Which YA cover design would you carve into your pumpkin? I'd pick the Sweetly design because the gnarly branches forming a woman's face is the creepiest of them all.