Remembrance by Meg Cabot

Happy Monday, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Meg Cabot's latest, Remembrance. And guest what?! It's a Mediator novel!

It's been sixteen years since Cabot debuted the Mediator series (as Jenny Carroll) - the books about Susannah Simon and her ghostly abilities. We met her when she moved to California in Shadowland and followed her through high school and all that entails (with ghosts) until 2005's Twilight. And now she's back! And all grown up! And getting married! To Jesse!

Note: You don't have to have read any of the previous books to enjoy Remembrance.

Susannah has made it safely into adulthood and is working on a degree that will (hopefully) earn her a paying job as a therapist. But while she finishes classes she's taken a temp position at her old high school alongside Father Dominic (because having friends in high places helps with the whole job thing these days). And sure, she'd love a paycheck but the experience will look oh, so good on a resume one day. 

But she's worried the experience may not be worth it when she comes into contact with the particularly malicious and deceptively cute Lucia, a young NCDP (Non-Compliant-Deceased-Person) hell bent on "protecting" a student at Mission Academy. Lucia is none too pleased when she begins to view Susannah as a threat to the student and makes it her mission to handle the situation as violently as possible. It'll take all of Susannah's Mediator and budding therapy skills if she's to have any hope of calming this ghostly threat and helping her cross to the other side before Jesse handles it his own way. 

As if that weren't enough, Paul Slater has popped up again. His informative (harassing) email warning her of the impending demolition of her old house comes with a threat to Jesse that he claims is straight from the Book of the Dead. And while Susannah knows she can't ever really trust anything Paul has to say, especially since he's using this to blackmail her into seeing him again, the possibility of even a kernel of truth here is enough for her to risk everything to save the man she loves.

Again you do not have to have read any of the previous books to thoroughly enjoy Remembrance. Trust me, my memory is so shot that I recall very little of the early books at this stage. Fans of the series, however, will be particularly pleased to see the return of these characters. All of Cabot's signature wit and charm are present and Susannah is as stubborn and sarcastic as ever.

This and a new e short are (at least so far) the only planned adult installations in the series. Rumor has it (I have no idea how long this rumor has been floating around) that the Mediator series is in talks to become a tv show, something I'd most definitely welcome. Given this latest, though, (and my age) I think I might actually like to see the adult Susannah as a tv show instead.

If, by chance, you missed out on this fabulous series when it was first released and are coming to it now with Remembrance, I know you'll want to go back and start from the beginning (they're totally bingeworthy reading!):

Shadowland
Ninth Key
Reunion
Darkest Hour
Haunted
Twilight
Proposal: A Mediator Novella
Remembrance

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Meg Cabot and her work you can visit her website here. You can also check out her blog, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Purchase Links: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

We Interrupt This Program For... A Giveaway

Hey there, folks! I know I'm doing thriller recs this week, right? But the lovely Katrina is offering up two (2) copies of Meg Cabot's latest, Insatiable.

Here's some info on the book:

Vampires. This isn’t the first time they’ve taken a bite out of popular culture. And with INSATIABLE (June 8), #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot blends trend with tradition as only she can to create a fresh, funny, pulse-pounding and poignant update of our darkest eternal Gothic romance, Dracula.

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper. But as a writer for Insatiable, the second-hottest daytime soap (thanks to her burdensome if lucrative psychic ability to see into the future and determine how people are going to die), Meena’s being forced to use a vampire story line to boost ratings. But, just as Insatiable is switching to a vampire theme to attract a younger demographic, a spate of chilling murders-by-exsanguinations grips New York City.

Enter Lucien Antonescu, a sexy, melancholic Romanian history professor / vampire who recognizes that the murders are the work of rogue vampires who have broken away from his order (Lucien happens to be the son of Vlad the Impaler, whom Bram Stoker gave such a bad rep). Lucien's opposition: Alaric Wulf, a sympathetic detective from the Palatine Guard, who hopes to use Meena and her prophetic gift to stop the murders and track down Lucien. Unfortunately for Alaric, Meena is a little in love with Lucien.

Meg Cabot winningly applies her trademark likable fallible protagonists and breezy storytelling. With INSATIABLE, she injects some much needed Gothic romance (and humor) back into the vampire oeuvre, and once again stakes her claim as the “master of her genre.”

I love Meg Cabot. Seriously everything she touches is gold. I'm a huge fan of her Lizzie Nichols and Heather Wells series and am super excited that she's diving into the vampire world here.

For more on Meg Cabot and her titles, visit her official site at: www.megcabot.com

Now for contest dets: Leave a comment here (with your email) before midnight Tuesday, June 22. I'll announce the winners that morning and contact them via email as well. These will be coming direct from the publisher, so no PO Boxes and US only, please.

Good luck!

It's Summertime!

I know a lot of readers are looking for lighter fare for the summer - me, my moods change so quickly and without any rhyme or reason, I can read whatever. I do enjoy fun and silly reads, though, and they are undeniably more popular over the summer months. In fact, I hold to the thought that fluff is a necessary part of life - you need something to help you get through all the stress of real life!

In just a couple weeks, some of the newest fluffy reads from the biggest hitters in the subgenre will be hitting shelves, including:

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot - continuing the hilarious saga of my favorite big mouth, Lizzie Nichols

This Charming Man by Marianne Keyes - Irish chick-lit, although I have heard that this one is a bit more serious. We'll see.

And, of course, Janet Evanovich's Fearless Fourteen

I'm heading out for the weekend and will be taking some plane reads (review books) with me so I stay on track, and two of the above will be in my bag. Personally, I've been waiting to find out who Lizzie chooses since last summer so this is going to be good!

If you thought Meg was only for teens (i.e. you HAVEN'T been reading either the Heather Wells or Lizzie Nichols books) you are so mistaken. Queen of Babble is quite possibly one of the funniest books I have ever had the pleasure of reading (I mean, Bridgette Jones funny).

Here's my bookbitch review from way back when it first hit shelves. Hopefully you'll check it out and then you'll be just in time to join me in finding out which guy Lizzie will end up with!

The first in this new series for adults by Princess Diaries author, Meg Cabot, finds Lizzie Nichols in a bind. Lizzie has an awful habit – she can’t keep a secret. That’s the least of her problems when she finds herself broke and sleeping above the washing machine in her English boyfriend’s parents’ house. She quickly realizes that this relationship is not meant to be. Could it be the hideous Michael Jackson style jacket he insists on wearing? Or maybe it’s the fact that he lied about his job, lives with his parents and expects Lizzie to loan him money to pay his debts! Lizzie hops a train to France where she spills her own mortifying secrets the hottie sitting next to her. Normally, this would not be a problem. What are the chances that she’ll run into him again, right? Unfortunately, the hottie just happens to be her best friend’s boss! This hilariously sweet and cute novel is a refreshingly light and easy read.