Half Life Trilogy #1
Sally Green
Paranormal Young Adult
Releases from Penguin on March 25th, 2014
From Goodreads:
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?
Confession: I've read shockingly few books about witches. I almost always pick another paranormal entity over them, and I have absolutely no reason for it, it just seems to work out that way. This, for many reasons, sounds like a book I cannot miss though:
1. That cover. It's simple yet bold and interesting, and I kind of have the urge to go around claiming I designed it to anyone who will listen, as though laying claim to it would somehow make it true. But of course I won't, because that would be wrong. WRONG! Instead, I'll just stare at it:)
2. Male protagonist. A beaten, tortured male protagonist. Yes, please. (It's important to note that in my head, Nathan is actually age 30, that way it's not so creepy that I'm yes please-ing him)
3. Romance. What? I can't help if I crave it, okay? Don't judge me ;-) It sounds like this romance will play a minor role in the overall story, but I kind of like that about it.
4. England. Hopefully there will be accents. That is all.
That cover alone piqued my interest. But to be honest I'm not a fan of witches in fictions, mainly because most of the books I read with witches as main characters are not that good. Hopefully I found one that will makes me love them more.
ReplyDeleteI have high hopes for this one, I hope it puts witches on the map!
DeleteI agree that the cover is fascinating and alluring. I want! And he's being held in a cage? Plus, he's a HE?
ReplyDeleteHowever did he find a girl to fall for when he was being beaten and imprisoned? I'm curious.
This sounds fantastic, Jenny. You always find the best ones.
Right? I want to know all about him Maja! Especially these gifts he's supposed to get:)
DeleteJenny you hiding books from me again? I cannot believe I haven't heard of this one before. It sounds so different that I must read it. Thanks for putting this on my radar, on to GR I go! :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe I have ;-) I'm just so excited for this one. I saw the cover and immediately added it to my list!
DeleteI have yet to find an AMAZING book about witches. Hex Hall was great, but that was more about other paranormal beings rather than witches. I hope this one steps up! I do love that cover.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Hex Hall as well and Once Upon a Witch, but I can't recall if I've read any others dealing with strictly witches. I'm excited to see what this one is all about:)
DeleteI haven't heard of this one before, but now I'm excited. I think witches in YA wind up being so much more romanticized than I want them to be, so I have high hopes that this will be better. Plus, male protagonists are so rare that this one just must be read. Great pick, Jenny!
ReplyDeleteYeah for a male protagonist! So excited:)
DeleteOoh intriguing! Hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteHere's my WoW
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
I hope so too!
DeleteOoh! I didn't know this had a male protagonist. And it's about witches, so it's bound to be cool.
ReplyDeleteAlso, ha! You're not the only one who loves her romances in her books, Jenni! ;) ;)
Thanks for sharing! :)
ROMANCE FOR THE WIN NICK! We need it:)
DeleteWhoa. Sounds great and different. Nice pick.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the cover though.
I love the cover, I have a thing for covers with smoke though. Especially smoke that makes a shape I might not have recognized at first:)
DeleteI got this at BEA and had NO IDEA what it was. No clue. So it's been sitting on my shelf chillin'. Now I kinda wanna go read it. Good pick, Jenny!
ReplyDeleteYou did? DAMMIT, WHERE WAS I? We were practically glued together, I have no idea how I missed it. Fail.
DeleteHope you like it, Hannah. The final version is changed a little from the BEA copy - improved and tweaked.
DeleteThanks for putting this on my radar, Jenny! The cover really captivates me and that synopsis makes me want to pick it up now! I don't think I've ever read a book about witches and I love that this is set in England! Yay for us Brits! And I am yes pleas-ing the male protagonist too... books with POVs from the opposite gender are always welcomed by me!
ReplyDeleteAnd before I go, just wanted to say sorry for not stopping by in SO LONG. I've been so busy but I have missed everyone and hopefully can get back into the swing of things soon :)
You're welcome Beverley! I'm so glad you stopped by, I hope things for you slow down a bit soon, you are missed!
DeleteOhh witches, sounds like a good premise :D
ReplyDeleteColor me excited:)
DeleteLove that cover and love witches! Thanks for bringing this one to my attention.
ReplyDeleteHappy to do it! I'm very ready for it to be March so I can read this one!
DeleteSo much to be curious about! I love that this has the male POV, too few books out there do! That cover is very eye catching!
ReplyDeleteRight? I'm loving everything about this one at the moment:)
DeleteI love how this one sounds different that than the other books and a male protagonist is very rare with books featuring witches. For that alone I'd love to pick this one up to see what it's about.
ReplyDeleteI'm super curious Rummanah, I really hope it's as awesome as the cover and synopsis make it seem!
DeleteOhh, it's a book about witches? I never would have guessed based on the cover. Now that I look at it, it does hold something wicked in it though. Hahaha. Your three points made me laugh out loud. My thoughts exactly, my friend!
ReplyDeleteI feel icky swooning over the teenage boys in YA, so I have to make them appropriately aged in my head:) I think that's why I like the casting of Four in Divergent so much. He's much older than the character is, and that makes him perfect for me:)
DeleteI haven't read too many witch books either...at least ones that are really awesome. Usually I am a bit disappointed by them. I love the idea of a male protagonist too. I will be adding this one to my TBR list. Great pick!
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping this puts all other witch books to shame and gives us a real standout story!
DeleteHi Jenny.. i'll also confess that i haven't read any witch books apart from the Harry Potter series. although i'm not inclined to read this type of book in the near future, i would love to hear about what you think of this book once you've read it. :) Also, thanks for dropping by my WoW earlier.
ReplyDeleteI will certainly be posting a review as soon as I can get my hands on it Camille!!!!
DeleteLove the cover, it's really unique and like you said simple. :) Being a Brit myself I have to say it's tiring read books set in England using terminology the author thinks we use, but in actual fact we don't. So I hope this is not one of them. Anyway, lovely cover aside the premise had definitely grabbed my attention. *adds to GR*
ReplyDeleteWhat kinds of things appear in books that aren't really part of the terminology you use? I'd be curious to know:)
DeleteI'm English and the hero/narrator, Nathan, is English too. My biggest challenge was making him male (obviously I'm not that) and teenage (alas that was a long time ago for me).
DeleteFor the US the book will be Americanised, but there aren't many differences.
I agree, though, it grates and becomes unbelievable when a character uses words which are just wrong.
Yes to both Felicia. Yes to both.
ReplyDeleteWitches, actually, is one of my all time favorite supernatural creatures...them and ghosts. So, this one sounds cool. I absolutely believe you designed that cover...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I have a thing for accent too! Soo adding this to my tbr pile.
ReplyDeleteI never realised accents were so important in books *makes note for books 2 and 3*.
DeleteOMG the cover is so gorgeous. It's simple but so interesting. I hope you enjoy Half Bad when you get the chance to read it!
ReplyDeleteAly @ My Heart Hearts Books
My WoW
I am completely for reasons #2 and #4!:DDD
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard about this book so far, I'll add it.
Glass @ Way Too Hot Books
...or it's your inner teen self attracted to that teen? Does that help? LOL
ReplyDeleteThis does sound interesting. I can see a lot of growth potential for this character!
Nice pick. I've not heard of this one yet, and it does sound interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm a HUGE fan of that cover...and I'm really kind of excited about this story. Plus, always good when there's romance. Face it, Jenny, you're an addict.
ReplyDeleteThe UK publisher are calling this their 'YA debut of 2014' and 'next phenomenon in YA publishing'. Apparently it's already had its film rights bought and translation rights sold in 27 different territories... Which is VERY exciting, but I still can't help but be a little bit worried! Rarely do these things live up to the hype for me. Hopefully we'll actually have some special here though. :) I love the sound of it and look forward to giving it a try. Great pick, Jenny!
ReplyDelete35 already :)
DeleteGlad you're giving HB a chance. I agree it's hard to live up to hype, and I'm a little nervous myself because everything has gone a bit bonkers. Yes, HALF BAD is now sold into 35 languages/territories and the film rights have been sold.
DeleteStill, I hope you can forget all that and just read it and enjoy it!
Oh yes, hopefully there are accents. I'm not really the biggest fan of the cover but the story sounds fantastic! I LOVE witch books!
ReplyDeleteit sounds good. im not sure about england since the wirting style is a bit different than if ti was set in america. however i will check it out.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my WoW
I haven't heard of this one, and I was just saying that I need a new paranormal today O.O I think it's a sign. I must have this.
ReplyDeleteI love this. It IS a sign!
DeleteI love that cover, too, Jenny! It reminds me of a exhibition I've seen and two different science museums. It's called Body Works and it's dead bodies displayed in all sorts of interesting ways. One is just the arteries laid out with all the flesh gone. Still in human shape like the face above. Yes, I know, incredibly creepy, but fascinating.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice, Jenny! :)
Tortured male protag + romance + ACCENTS = OMG YES PLEASE! Such a lovely cover too! Great WoW choice, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete1. That cover is fabulous!
ReplyDelete2. YAY! Male protagonists are so rare in YA.
3. As long as it's not instalove, I'm game.
4. I know, right?! Accents are always fabulous. There better be accents.
Great WOW choice :)
Relax Lea, it's not instalove (great expression). And I hope the love triangle is different enough for you - I think you might like it.
DeleteThis book sounds great! But I'm already sad for this tortured boy. Though it seems to me that his powerful father should be able to get him out of this situation - perhaps he has something to do with it. But I'm also a sucker for male POVS and romance. ALWAYS romance, Jenny. I agree.
ReplyDeleteGosh, you're already sad for him - don't know how you'll cope with the rest he has to go through! I'd love you to read it.
DeleteAnother vote for the male POV - I love them too - why aren't there more out there?
Hello Jenny and Everyone else,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say thanks for the great review of HALF BAD. There are some great comments, questions and so much enthusiasm here that I had to join in - hope that’s O.K.
Yes, male protagonist and yes he's English (so am I - though I am female and haven’t been a teenager for some time).
Romance - well, let's say love not romance, and a triangle of course, but hopefully a different one to those you’ve come across so many times before.
BookExpo America book - my wonderful US publishers (Viking) printed my original manuscript for the BEA. These books are quite rare! The final version to be published in March 2014 is slightly different (honed/tweaked/polished/improved).
Film - yes the film rights have been sold to Fox 2000 with Karen Rosenfelt as producer. Karen produced the Twilights amongst many other films. I can't wait!
I'm currently working on book 2 of the trilogy.
Thanks again,
Sally Green
Oh, I forgot to say that the blood in water cover was designed by the US team. I love it.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I have included a few different British accents in the book. As for food - hmm - there's tomato soup and porridge and later some coffee and croissants. I hadn't realised food would be so important (makes note for book 2).
ReplyDelete