Review: Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer

Read the my full review of Arcadia Awakens at Mostly Reading YA.

My Rating: 4/5

"When I first read the synopsis of Arcadia Awakens I knew I had to read it. Then I saw the cover and I was totally convinced. I couldn't wait for my copy to drop through the letterbox and when it did arrive, I wasn't let down..." 

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day #7

6 Favourite Characters Of 2011

Image from: amyr_81

Tom from The Wardstone Chronicles is always a favourite of mine. He's also one of the few characters who has never irritated me at all!

Trista from Wolf Blood. She's strong, courageous and underneath her hard, warrior exterior she's very caring, even if she doesn't show it very much.

Pretty much everyone from The Meek but especially Pinter. I love his expressions and how surly he can be.

Barbara from I Kill Giants. I adore her. I love how she's very tough, sarcastic but very sensitive. I don't want to ruin the story too much through. Read it.

Rosa from Arcadia Awakens. At first I wasn't sure about her, she seemed very typical angsty teenage girl with her gothy clothing (lots of black and spiky boots) but the more you get to know about her past and her family the more you come to understand and love her. You come to realise that she is very clever and very strong, even when her problems seem insurmountable.

Badou from DOGS: Bullets and Carnage. I love most of the characters but there is something special about this chilled, funny and very lucky ginger haired guy who goes crazy when he runs out of cigarettes.

Page Turners: Arcadia Awakens

At the moment I am reading:

Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer

My copy doesn't have this cover because it's a proof copy sent to me by Templar to review for Most Reading YA. But I have to say that I think this cover is amazing. The UK hardback cover  is equally awesome. See below:

They're both so vivid and striking and very good at summing up the story in a clear image. They do exactly what a cover should do. I am tempted to also feature them as Coveted Covers, but I won't do that to you and will have to seek out something else. But if my book was published and this is the kind of cover they gave it, I would be thrilled!

Arcadia Awakens is out in the UK and US in February/March 2012

From Goodreads:

"To Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world of Sicily, with its network of Mafia families and its reputation for murder and intrigue, is just that—exotic and wholly unknown. But when her life in Brooklyn begins to fall apart, she must travel there, to her family’s ancestral home, where centuries of family secrets await her.
 Once there, Rosa falls head over heels for Alessandro Carnevare, the son of a Sicilian Mafia family, whose handsome looks and savage grace both fascinate and unsettle her. But their families are sworn enemies, and her aunt and sister believe Alessandro is only using Rosa to infiltrate the Alcantara clan. And when Rosa encounters a tiger one night—a tiger with very familiar eyes—she can no longer deny that neither the Carnevares nor the Alcantaras are what they seem.
 Hidden caves, dangerous beasts roaming the hills, and a history of familial bloodlust mean that Rosa can’t trust anyone. Torn between loyalty to her family and love for their mortal enemy, Rosa must make the hardest decision of her life: stay in Sicily with her new love…or run as far and as fast as she can."