Posts Categorized: Shannon Hale

Waiting on Wednesday- Dangerous by Shannon Hale

17 Jul, 2013 by in Shannon Hale, Waiting on Wednesday 7 comments

My Waiting on Wednesday is from one of the “go to” authors I have. I can always count on Shannon Hale to write something I’ll love. And, the name Daisy Danger for a heroine?!
Dangerous 
by Shannon Hale
Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication April 1, 2014
by Bloomsbury
Summary from Goodreads: Maisie Danger Brown just wanted to get away from home for a bit, see something new. She never intended to fall in love. And she never imagined stumbling into a frightening plot that kills her friends and just might kill her, too. A plot that is already changing life on Earth as we know it. There’s no going back. She is the only thing standing between danger and annihilation.

From NY Times bestselling author Shannon Hale comes a novel that asks, How far would you go to save the ones you love? And how far would you go to save everyone else?

What books are you Waiting on ?

Book Review- Palace of Stone: Princess Academy #2

08 Aug, 2012 by in Palace of Stone, Shannon Hale, young adult fiction 2 comments

Palace of Stone (Princess Academy #2)
by Shannon Hale
Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected Publication Date: August 21, 2012
by Bloomsbury USA
ISBN: 1599908735
Book source: ALA
5 Stars
Book Summary from Goodreads: Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting . . . until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she “should “help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends’ ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city. Picking up where “Princess Academy “left off, this incredible stand-alone story celebrates the joys of friendship, the delight of romance, and the fate of a beloved fairy tale kingdom.
Cathy’s review: Miri is back to living her regular, old, boring life after the Princess Academy. She thought that things would have changed when the price of linder had been made more fair, but life has gone on as normal for the people in Mount Eskel. Miri is soon summoned to the capital city to help her best friend and Princess to be, Britta, with the wedding preparations. Miri is also to attend school, something she’s yearned to do for a long time. As she attends school, Miri begins to notice the chasm between the royals and the common people that they rule. She makes some new friends, including a boy named Timon, these friends seem to want to make things better for the common man, and they would really like Miri to join them. But Miri is confused, she is unsure whether she should help in the fight for the common man with Timon, or learn all she can and go back to her life in Mount Eskel with her love Peder. She begins to see that she must make a choice and soon, before that choice is made for her, but just what should she choose?
This book was so great! I love Miri, she is such a strong young woman, she wants to do what’s right, but she’s unsure of just which way she should go. I loved the feel of this book, you can feel the tone of revolution from the very beginning. I love reading the letters that Miri writes to her sister Marda, you can tell just how Miri feels and how much she is learning, including about herself, and changing. I love that this book can be read as part of a series, but it’s great to read just by itself too. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve read the original Princess Academy, but I didn’t feel lost at all. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read books by Shannon Hale, and anyone who loves to read about Princesses!
Content: Clean
About the Author: Shannon Hale is the New York Times best-selling author of six young adult novels: the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy, multiple award winner Book of a Thousand Days, and the highly acclaimed Books of Bayern series. She has written three books for adults, including Midnight in Austenland (Jan. 2012), companion book to Austenland. She co-wrote the hit graphic novel Rapunzel’s Revenge and its sequel Calamity Jack with husband Dean Hale. They live near Salt Lake City, Utah with their four small children, and their pet, a small, plastic pig. 
Find out more about author Shannon Hale: Goodreads/ Website/ Twitter

Books For JAPAN Auction #4-Signed River Secrets

05 Apr, 2011 by in river secrets, Shannon Hale 4 comments

River Secrets
by Shannon Hale
Paperback, 290 pages
Published September 16th, 2008
by Bloomsbury USA
Children’s Books
ISBN 1599902931
series: The Books of Bayern, #3

Razo has never been anything but ordinary. He’s not very fast or tall or strong, so when he’s invited to join an elite mission escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern’s great enemy, he’s sure it’s only out of pity. But as Razo finds potential allies among the Tiran, including the beautiful Lady Dasha, he realizes it may be up to him to stop a murderer and get the Bayern army safely home again.

You are bidding on an author signed paperback of River Secrets by Shannon Hale. 100% of the proceeds form this auction will go to Japan relief efforts. Bid by commenting below with the amount you are willing to contribute. Auction ends April 18, 2011.

In My Mailbox #18

11 Oct, 2010 by in m stohl, rachael renee anderson, Shannon Hale, sheralyn pratt 6 comments


In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by the Story Siren. Got some really yummy goodies these last two weeks!!
  • Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and M Stohl– ARC, borrowed from my friend Laura, currently reading
  • Penitence by Jennifer Laurens- bought from The Books Depository for review
  • Forest Born by Shannon Hale- bought from local Indie bookstore Fire Petal Books
  • Divinely Designed by Rachael Renee Anderson- bought from Half.com- for review
  • City Limits by Sheralyn Pratt- new release, author signed copy- bought at Deseret Book ladies night book signing
  • Blink of An Eye by Gregg Luke-received from author, signed copy-for giveaway and interview, currently reading
  • The Silence Of God– bought for author interview and review, met author at Ladies Night
  • Mistwood– bought from Fire Petal books, already read, 4 stars

600 Follower Contest

08 Sep, 2010 by in book giveaway, Shannon Hale 23 comments

We are swiftly approaching 600 followers which is so hard to believe. For all of you who regularly check in here comes a super giveaway! Up for grabs are:
  1. An author signed copy of Freshman for President by Ally Condie
  2. An author signed copy of River Secrets by Shannon Hale
  3. Hardback copy of Fire by Kirstin Cashore
  4. Hardback copy of Nocturne by L.D.Harkrader
  5. Paperback copy of Speak- Platinum Edition by Laurie Halse Anderson
  6. ARC of Middleworld by J&P Voelkel

Click here to fill out the entry form. Giveaway ends October 8, 2010….Good Luck!

Mom’s Monday-Shannon Hale Series

07 Jun, 2010 by in river secrets, Shannon Hale 36 comments


Today’s Mom’s Monday book choice is a series by Utah author Shannon Hale. I first picked up The Goose Girl about a year ago at our local library and haven’t put down her writing ever since. The Books Of Bayern take us through the journey of peasant to princess and into the forest where the commoners of the kingdom live. They are full of fairy tale themes and laughs a plenty. Shannon Hale has a gift for spinning stories and has become one of my very favorite authors.

” Shannon’s mother says she was a storyteller from birth, jabbering endlessly in nonsensical baby-talk. Once she could speak, she made up stories and bribed younger siblings to perform them in mini-plays until, thankfully, an elementary school teacher introduced her to the wonder of written fiction. At age 10, she began to write books, mostly fantasy stories where she was the heroine.

She continued to write secretly for years while pursuing acting in television, stage, and improv comedy. After detours studying in Mexico, the UK, and a year and a half as a volunteer missionary in Paraguay, Shannon earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Utah. She was finally forced out of the writers’ closet when she received her Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Montana.

The goose girl, her critically acclaimed first book, is an ALA Teens’ Top Ten and Josette Frank Award winner. enna burning, river secrets, and forest born continue the Books of Bayern series. princess academy is a Newbery Honor winner and a New York Times best seller. book of a thousand days received a Cybils award and is featured on several best of the year lists. austenland, a romantic comedy, was her first book for adults, followed by the actor and the housewife. She and her husband Dean co-wrote the graphic novels Rapunzel’s revenge, which was selected by Today’s Al Roker for Al’s Book Club for Kids, and cal
Calamity jack. ” Shannon makes her home near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, with her super-human husband, their young son and daughter, and their pet, a small plastic pig. -Taken from Shannon’s Website

To start off your reading we are giving away book number three in the Books of Bayern…
River Secrets


Razo–short, funny and not a great soldier–is sure it’s out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission–escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern’s great enemy.

But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, it’s Razo who discovers the first dead body. He’s the only Bayern able to befriend both the high and low born, people who can provide information about the ever-increasing murders. And he’s the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive.

Newbery–Honor winner Shannon Hale returns the reader to the intrigue and magic of Bayern, introduced in her critically acclaimed novels, The Goose Girl and Enna Burning. In River Secrets, readers revisit a world where even those with no special magical skills find in themselves something they never imagined.

To Enter to Win River Secrets: leave your name and email address below

Contest ends July 7, 2010 and is open internationally

Austenland by Shannon Hale Giveway

24 Mar, 2010 by in Shannon Hale 10 comments

Hardback: 208 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; Reprint edition (May 27, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1596912863

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—Thirty-three-year-old Jane Hayes, who has a fairly serious addiction to the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice, inherits a trip to Pembrook Park, Kent, England, the location of a resort where guests dress, talk, think, and act in ways that Jane Austen would approve. Refusing to lie about her age, even on vacation in a place right out of Austen’s England, Jane finds herself quickly overcoming the obsession with Mr. Darcy that may very well have jeopardized her 13 “relationships” over the years. Left to walk in last to dinner, mildly obsessed with one of the hotel’s gardeners, and annoyed by another guest’s overeager attempts to bag a man, Jane is eager to return to Manhattan. Then she decides to give it all one more chance, since Great-Aunt Carolyn did see fit to pay for the entire vacation. Hale does a lovely job with the tale of a single woman who would appreciate a genuine shot at love. The book is well written, quite readable, and the myriad characters, especially those working at the resort, are quirkily funny. Given the immense popularity of Jane Austen’s novels among teen girls, this book definitely has cross-over appeal.—Sarah Krygier, Solano County Library, Fairfield, CA

Shannon has done it again, Austenland was one of my favorite reads of 2009. I absolutely loved this book! It is refreshing and without any questionable filler. Makes me want to rent Pride and Prejudice with Collin Firth! Hale’s plot had me guessing until the end. Austenland is a gem. Thanks so much to Shannon Hale @haleshannon for tweeting this 🙂 You are the best… I gave this soon to be movie Five stars!

To Enter to win the hardback: leave your name below+3 entries for each dollar donated to our Chile relief fund via Paypal to heatoddgardner@yahoo.com

Winner will be drawn Monday March 29th and it is open to International Entries.