Friday 30 December 2016

2016 Wrap Up

Ah, yes, it's that time of year when everyone wraps up their reading totals, their challenges and brag about how they've done. Well, now I'm going to do the same! 

A to Z Challenge
Nearly completed - I know I wasn't going to manage any X's or Z's and I didn't but also, weirdly, I didn't have a K. I'm not going to list them all - can anyone say boring? - but it was a good mix of YA, adult and even a few non-fiction. 

British Books
Boom! 28 total over the year. Mostly YA but a couple of adult fiction, which I'm happy with. All very good books.

Classics Challenge
I struggled with this one, my reading habits were all over the place in the second half of the year but I managed to read one classic every month, from Northanger Abbey to Charlotte's Web. 

Goodreads 
I do this every year, set myself a target, see how far I can beat it. I always use Goodreads to keep track of my reading, the books on my TBR and release dates. At time of writing, I just finished my 130th book! I can see myself finishing maybe one or two more before New Year but I think with everything that's been going on, I'm quite proud of that total!

Behold photographic evidence of my best books of the year!



Me As I just mentioned, my reading habits have changed this year. With two jobs and at times, three locations, reading was way down on my list of priorities and near the beginning of summer I was actually getting worried about how slow I was reading. Luckily it did pick up, partly because of the summer holidays - yay for working in a college! - and partly because one of the three locations ended in October. 

I'm not sure if I've actually told you all this but I work in a public and a college library. The public one I've been at for a year and a half now and that's just weekends. The college job I got initially as maternity cover and then more hours were available at another site. Which was great, because the other site is my local college, literally right round the corner from me.

Anyway, all of these changes back and forth means that my reading, blogging and online life has taken a bit of a back seat and I can only apologise for that. One of my resolutions is to update and plan my blogging and, probably vainly, to take more and better instagram photos. I really do adore the book online community and lately blogging has almost felt like a chore and I don't ever want it to come to that. So, here's to a brighter, better and book filled 2017! 

Let me know how you all have done with reading challenges and if you have any reading resolutions for the new year. 

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Charlotte's Web by E.B White


Charlotte's Web

"I don't want to die!
Save me, somebody!
Save me!"


The tale of how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider, saved her pig Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat little pigs.

An affectionate pig named Wilbur befriends a spider named Charlotte, who lives in the rafters above his pen. In this story of friendship, hardship, and the passing on into time, White reminds readers to open their eyes to the wonder and miracle found in the simplest of things.


Don't hurt me but I've never read this. I know, even my own mother was shocked when I told her. Which is precisely why I chose it for my final Classic of the year, as something nice and easy to read before I broke up for Christmas. 

For those who have been living under a rock and haven't read this, like me, basically a little girl looks after a piglet and watches him grow up in a barn. Wilbur the pig likes being looked after by Fern but when she leaves, he is alone. Until a spider in the corner talks to him, called Charlotte. 

So, here are my thoughts: I know it's a children's book but it seemed really simple. Like, three word sentences simple. And yet, it used words like "perspiration"! While the story was pretty basic, I liked the message it gave, about friendship in all shapes and forms. It was also about growing up and being brave, which Wilbur was not, but Charlotte was. Charlotte is the one who comes up with the "miracle" of tricking the farmers and saving Wilbur. 

I read this in three short sittings, just slipping into the old-fashioned and easy world of barn life and Wilbur's story. Definitely should have read it when I was younger but I'm glad I could see what all the fuss was about and finish this Classic's Challenge on a high. 

Published 3rd July 2014 by Puffin Classics. First published 1952.

Friday 16 December 2016

New To Me Authors of 2016

Once again I'm late to the party, this time in more ways than one! I rarely do Top Ten Tuesdays but this is a great topic and of course it should have been up a week ago. Anyway, here are some authors that I read for the first time this past year.

Debut:
The Next Together (The Next Together #1)Lauren James - I actually read both of her books this year but specifically I'm talking about her incredible debut: The Next Together. The science, the use of time, the completely original look at reincarnation, the epic love story, all of it was amazing. 
Alwyn Hamilton - everyone should have heard about Alywn by now, her debut Rebel of the Sands totally rocked the blogosphere and was justified! 
Louise GornallUnder Rose-Tained Skies gave such a heart-felt and accurate description of mental illness that had me nearly in tears. 

Oldies:
Gwenda Bond - I hadn't really heard of Gwenda before Curious Fox sent me her Lois Lane books but I am glad I started with them because I am all about the superheroes lately and hearing more about a strong supportive woman in the DC universe was right up my street. 
Jane Austen - I read Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice for the Classics Challenge this year and really enjoyed both of them. I have technically read Northanger before but it was A- years ago (in school!) and B- before I was on Goodreads so it doesn't count. Ha. 
Passenger (Passenger, #1)Marie Lu - I've been aware of the Legend trilogy for ages - duh, I haven't been living under a rock - but just haven't had a change to pick it up. That is until I found it cheap and complete in The Works and sped through it. 
Alexandra Bracken - everyone goes on about how great her The Darkest Minds books are but I only picked this author up because of Passenger, a time-travelling pirate story. Do I need to say more?Daphne Du Maurier - another Classics Challenge catch-up. I'd heard of Rebecca, her most famous novel, before but only read it this year and oh boy! So damn good!
Emery Lord - I really don't know why it's taken me this long to read an Emery Lord book, her contemporary romances are beautifully written and tend to include some amazing real-life issues as well. This is especially true in When We Collided which is her latest novel and I read this year. 
Jay Kristoff - now, Jay I'd heard of but wasn't all too fussed about his books. Until Illuminae came along last year, co-authored with Amie Kaufman. One of my new all-time favourite books, it blew me away and then his new solo book, Nevernight, came out this year and I gobbled that up too! 

There you have it! My top ten list of author's I really should have read before but now consider them up there in my favourites. Do you share any authors or books on my list? What's on yours? 

Tuesday 13 December 2016

Mafiosa by Catherine Doyle

Mafiosa (Blood for Blood, #3)A blood war rages on the streets of Chicago.

Protected by an infamous mafia family, Sophie is living a dangerous lie, pretending to lead a normal life. But the deceit can’t last for ever. Her heart belongs to a killer and Sophie’s the prime target of a rival clan. She’s determined to seek revenge on her mother’s murderers, but can she pay the price – can she be a mafiosa?

What a brilliant finale! I admit, it’s been a year since I read Inferno so details were foggy but it’s amazing how things came flooding back when I started reading. Things are heating up and getting seriously deadly as the blood war between the Marino’s and Falcone’s escalated. Sophie has been sworn in to the Falcone family but still needs to prove her loyalty by taking her first life. 

The family and crime politics was interesting, especially as the families were practically frothing at the mouth to take each other out. You just know that life is never going to be safe again, especially when even a school dance is threatened and dragged into the danger. 

On the flip side, Luca was being his typical passive-aggressive self, protecting Sophie but not letting himself get too close. Meanwhile Nic was intent on winning her back, showing her how to aim a gun and completely ignoring Sophie’s insistence that there was less than no hope for them to be anything other than friends. I loved this normal lovers’ drama in amongst all the blood lust; it was refreshing and just as important to Luca and Sophie as revenge. And I can’t not mention a certain moment when Sophie is brave and my heart burst with happiness but then Nic came home… it was both awesome and terrifying at the same time!

All in all, this was a purely fantastic finale to what has been a wild ride of a retelling; it was dangerous and hilarious, it made me laugh and cry, especially the ending. I cannot recommend this enough, it’s one of those books that has you holding your breath and steals your heart. 

Published 5th January 2017 by Chicken House. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Friday 2 December 2016

A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

A Quiet Kind of ThunderSteffi doesn't talk, but she has so much to say.
Rhys can't hear, but he can listen.
Their love isn't a lightning strike, it's the rumbling roll of thunder.


Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's 
 to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. 

I adored Sara's first book so was very much looking forward to this. Plus I cannot resist a contemporary romance!

This is one of my new favourite love stories; it built slowly, the two of them starting as friends and getting to know each other, overcoming the awkward shyness of admitting feelings and a first kiss. It was all just so damn cute! It also had such an interesting set of characters, from Steffi and her selective mutism, her chronic shyness and anxiety, to Rhys and his deafness and his adorable confidence. The story dealt with a lot more than just first love. 

Another thing I absolutely loved was the depiction of an incredible support system, for both of them. Steffi had her dad, her mum didn't always know what to say but loved her anyway, and her best friend Tem was her complete opposite but they complimented each other. Rhys had an amazing family, and his old school friends all knew exactly what he had to go through every day because they dealt with the same. As we get to know both of them, it becomes clear that without meaning to, Steffi and Rhys push the other to be better, for themselves and for each other. I think that is what makes great relationships, wanting to be better for your partner but because you know it's the best thing for you. 

Can you tell yet just how much I loved this? Because I really did! I had a massive grin on my face for most of the book! I think it was perfect in its imperfections because life doesn't always go the way you want it to, but if you care about someone then you have the support to do better. 

Published 12th January 2017 by Macmillan Children's Books. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday 29 November 2016

The Dunwich Horror by HP Lovecraft


The Dunwich Horror and Other Stories

In the degenerate, unliked backwater of Dunwich, Wilbur Whately, a most unusual child, is born. Of unnatural parentage, he grows at an uncanny pace to an unsettling height, but the boy's arrival simply precedes that of a true horror: one of the Old Ones, that forces the people of the town to hole up by night.

This is quite a difficult review to write, partly because it's a collection of short stories and partly because I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

The first story was the longest and also the title story, about a strange boy growing at an unusual rate and with unnatural powers. I really liked the beginning but the ending, with the professors and doctors trying to decipher the messages and stop some sort of alien uprising, got a little weird. Even for Lovecraft. Having said that, they were all enjoyable in their own way, very clever and well written from a master of the genre.

I liked the shorted ones, especially the one about a man having nightmares about an old witch and creepy rat-man; that one was surprising and so atmospherically terrifying. This is definitely one to read if you're a fan of old-school horror.

Published 2nd October 2008 by Penguin. First published April 1929.

Friday 25 November 2016

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes


All In ((The Naturals #3))

Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days. 

After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team's unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any security feed. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code-and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes. 


Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, there's been a break in her mother's case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds-and impossible choices.


This is the third in The Naturals series, which I adore - like a teenage Criminal Minds. Honestly, it's been a ridiculous amount of time since I read the first two books so details were basically non-existent but it's surprising how easily I slipped back into Cassie's world. Cassie has found her place in the Naturals, her family of like-minded weirdos who understands how difficult life is, how hard it is to stop your brain from over-thinking and analysing.

It was quite an impressive case this time, a serial killer working his or her way through the Las Vegas casinos, with apparently no pattern as to who they are targeting. As always, the threats and the profiling went hand in hand as the team worked on who was doing it and why. It got quite complicated but once a certain detail was discovered, Sloane was in her element. Also, Lia... just, Lia should not be let anywhere near a casino.

The story was a bit more personal as Cassie's mother's body has been found, and her work in Vegas suffers a little because of her, rather obvious, distractions. And as more details were uncovered, it turns out that her mother's case and the Vegas case could be related. It all led up to an incredible and horrible cliffhanger, which makes me desperate for the final book! All in all, another fantastic crime/thriller story from our lovely band of strange geniuses.

Published 1st November 2016 by Disney-Hyperion. 

Tuesday 22 November 2016

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)Hanna Donnelly is the station captain’s pampered daughter and Nik Malikov is the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. Together they struggle with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, blissfully unaware that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall with news of the Kerenza invasion.

Gemina is the incredible sequel to Illuminae, which rocked my world! It picks up almost exactly where its predecessor finished but on a different ship, this time on the space station Heimdall that the Hypatia is anxiously running towards. Unfortunately, so is Beitech and its assault teams.

Hanna is the captain's daughter, a spoiled little rich girl who also happens to be trained in martial arts and have a mild addiction to party drugs. This is where Nik comes in; the ultimate bad boy and drug dealer in a crime family, Nik is tough as nails but only because he has to be. As shit hits the fan and we get closer to Hanna and Nik, we see that the facade they show the world is very false. 

As with its predecessor, Gemina is told through IM's, emails, transcripts, even Wikipedia-like entries. It adds up to an amazingly detailed and broad display of the characters and the story, especially cutting between Hanna and Nik, and the assault team as they try to track them down. 

I really don't want to say much more about the plot without giving anything away! So I'm going to leave it there, say that it is just as good as Illuminae if not better, and that you won't be disappointed!

Published 20th October 2016 by Rock The Boat.

Tuesday 15 November 2016

The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts by Annie Darling

Once upon a time in a crumbling London bookshop, Posy Morland spent her life lost in the pages of her favourite romantic novels.

So when Bookend’s eccentric owner, Lavinia, dies and leaves the shop to Posy, she must put down her books and join the real world. Because Posy hasn’t just inherited an ailing business, but also the unwelcome attentions of Lavinia’s grandson, Sebastian, AKA The Rudest Man In London™.

Posy has a cunning plan and six months to transform Bookends into the bookshop of her dreams – if only Sebastian would leave her alone to get on with it. As Posy and her friends fight to save their beloved bookshop, Posy’s drawn into a battle of wills with Sebastian, about whom she’s started to have some rather feverish fantasies…

Like her favourite romantic heroines, will she get her happy ever after too?


This was actually recommended to me by Sarra Manning at YALC (you know, as you do!) and I am a bit of a sucker for sweet romantic contemporaries like this, especially ones centred around books. 

On the surface, this is a proper cutesy story, and it was a brilliant love story, but it had surprisingly deep undertones, specifically grief. Posy inherits the bookshop after her boss and friend dies, and Lavinia bought it after Posy's parents, who ran it and its neighbouring tea room, died. Did that make sense? Basically Posy and her younger brother has dealt with a lot of loss and keeping the bookshop in the family, so to speak, meant a lot to them all. And even though Posy had no clue on how to run a successful business, she had a great team around her and a real passion for books. That, I could immediately support!

Sebastian was a great antagonist/love interest. He was gorgeous but unfortunately knew it - we all know the type. He was a fantastic character for Posy to cross swords with, having practically grown up together they shared a history with Lavinia and the bookshop. Speaking of, it was a surprisingly brilliant idea to turn it into a specialised romance bookshop but of course Sebastian can't have that - the nerves and cringe of him trying to turn into a crime shop was equal parts awful and hilarious!

I totally flew through this, it was just a light-hearted and heart-warming love story, set in a bookshop - who could ask for more!

Published 16th May 2016 by Harper.

Friday 11 November 2016

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

The Sun is also a StarNatasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?


This story.... ah, this story was amazing! Set over the course of a day, we see Daniel and Natasha meet, fall in love and get cruelly torn apart by fate. While reading it, you know they are going to have to separate, Natasha is being deported after all, but you hope for an happy ending against the odds. It was completely perfect for a sappy romantic, like me. 

I fell hard for both characters, even though they are total opposites. Daniel believes in fate and even though he is doing what his parents want of him and going to Yale to become a doctor, he desperately wants more out of life. So he looks for a sign from the Universe and finds Natasha. Natasha was amazingly cynical but in a way that has developed through tough-skin and disappointment. She believes in science, things that can be seen and labelled and just laughs at Daniel's assurances that they were meant to be. But the scientific test of asking personal questions and getting to know someone so different from her gives Natasha pause. I'd actually heard of this test before, it featured on an episode of The Big Bang Theory so it was interesting to see it unfold with new characters.

It was also so very diverse, between Daniel the Korean-American, and Natasha the undocumented immigrant from Jamaica, and the huge incredible city of New York. The main story was interspersed with little side stories that illustrated how we touch lives without realising and all the people we come into contact with aren't just side characters in our story but their own protagonists. It took a bit of getting used to but it was clever and emotive and pulled together this overarching power of fate. Also, the ending totally made me cry. In fact, so did the epilogue. Just... tears. Like I said, sappy romantic. 

Published 3rd November 2016 by Corgi. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday 8 November 2016

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes


The Fixer (The Fixer, #1)

Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.

And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.


Tess's grandfather is ill with Alzheimer's. He raised Tess after her parents died and her sister left her with him, so when Ivy puts Gramps in an assisted living facility and uproots her to Washington, Tess blames her for everything. With 17 years between Tess and her sister, they are worlds apart in terms of feeling like a family, even without the brooding and the secrets.

So new school, new territory and new problems, but Tess finds herself trying to live up to her sister's mysterious reputation as the best fixer in DC. And it wouldn't be a great story if Tess didn't end up caught up in her sister's drama!

Very much like the TV show Scandal if it were set in a high school, Tess is dragged into a power play like no other when her friend discovers a secret worth killing for. It took a little while to get all the names straight in my head, political dramas can be so blinking complicated, but really got into it. The delicate balance of power, the lengths some will go to in order to gain it, the magnitude of the secrets that people keep, all of it was incredibly gripping and Tess was an amazing heroine to be dealing with it all. She also had a suberb supporting cast, from her first friend Vivie, the one with the secret, to Henry who had a part to play as it was his grandfather's death that had started this whole thing. Then there's Asher. Just... Asher. The brilliantly insane comic relief that he is, but also a sharp mind and as on the political pulse as the rest of them.

I am quickly learning I will read anything by Barnes, she is that good! A sharp, funny and witty story that combines the big drama of the White House with the family troubles of sisterly love. An amazing story and a great start to what I believe is a series - definitely something to keep an eye out for!

Published 7th July 2015 by Bloomsbury.

Friday 4 November 2016

Dracula by Bram Stoker


Dracula

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries about his client and his castle. Soon afterwards, a number of disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked at Whitby; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman’s neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the imminent arrival of his ‘Master’. In the ensuing battle of wits between the sinister Count Dracula and a determined group of adversaries, Bram Stoker created a masterpiece of the horror genre, probing deeply into questions of human identity and sanity, and illuminating dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire. 

My October classic is a re-read from university, and I'm glad I did because I'd forgotten a lot of the details, especially Dr Seward and his patient Renfield - the inspiration for Igor if I ever saw one. Mostly told with journal entries, a few newspaper articles and letters, Stoker paints a wide picture of traditional Gothic horror, from Jonathan's treacherous journey into rural Romania to Mina and Lucy's inexpiable troubles in England and their final encounter with the formidable Count Dracula. It was very interesting to read it after having had lectures on the subject - brought back memories of discussions on femininity, sexuality, Victorian history and religion, all of which Stoker brings into the story. 

Mina and Lucy are total opposites in terms of womanhood: Mina is a modern woman, wanting to better herself, wanting to be part of the team fighting the Count, she's soft and brave and clever. Lucy on the other hand is naive and gullible and oh so sweet, it's no wonder Dracula was able to manipulate her! She is also used as the epitome of "evil feminism" when she changes, as she physically and mentally becomes a monster. In the 1890's, there's only so much a good woman should be able to do!

The men were mostly all typical Victorian men: smart and brave and typically masculine in their strategies and professions. Van Helsing comes to rescue them with his vast knowledge of apparently everything, but it isn't until they see what has become of Lucy that they even consider the supernatural. The way it is built up until only the impossible exists is very typical of a Victorian sensation novel and Stoker definitely knew what horror story he was creating. 

I adore this story. I admit, I did struggle, the Victorian novel is very dense and takes a lot of concentration, but the short chapters, the gripping plot and the variety of characters makes this the incredible story that it is. 

Published May 12th 1986 by W.W. Norton & Company (first published May 26th 1897)

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven

Holding Up the UniverseEveryone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed 'America's Fattest Teen'. But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to see who she really is. Since her mum's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the art of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his own brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game which lands them in group counseling, Libby and Jack are both angry, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world - theirs and yours.


I love a good romantic contemporary with a twist, and this one had that twist and did it wonderfully. Here are two people that could not be more different on the surface but both have hidden depths, fears and hopes that they can't share with anyone else. And all it took was a punch in the face to bring them together! 

First off, it was really interesting to see a different perspective with Jack's prosopagnosia - something that isn't seen very often in a lot of media but is apparently more common than autism. Jack's narrative was all kinds of adorable and nervous; he had this innate confidence about him but he couldn't recognise anyone. Even in his own home, it was 'the woman who is probably my mum'. Which is daft because I can tell who is coming up the stairs with my eyes closed (my dad has particularly heavy footsteps) but I can see his point: he doesn't see people for their faces but their characteristics, their attitudes, even their hair styles, and that must be very difficult. 

Libby, I immediately loved - I could completely understand her grief and how her hurt warped her relationship with food. It all just sucked but she had managed to turn it around and had come so far, she was just incredibly brave for facing her demons. 

Jack I took a bit longer to warm to - he had a swagger about him that was proper cool but also a a distraction and defensive mechanism. That brave face he put on did nothing to warm me to him, as that was its purpose: to prove to the outside world he was normal, really, but all it did was distract from his insecurities. With Libby, her insecurities were obvious and her brave face was different, she almost played up to them, to show her bullies that they couldn't hurt her.

Even though I had my little issues with it, Niven has once again knocked it out of the park and given a greatly realistic love story while bridging the gap between obvious differences.

Published 6th October 2016 by Penguin. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday 30 October 2016

Weekly Highlights: the 'November TBR' edition


Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things!

Guys, what can I do other than apologise? You may have noticed my radio silence on the blog and on most of social media recently (then again, you may not have - I'll try not to be hurt) and unfortunately I don't have a great reason for disappearing. Work had been pretty hectic but nothing I couldn't handle; my reading had slowed after being stuck on Empire of Storms for over a week and that nearly sent me into a reading slump. It did however bring on a blogging slump, something I haven't experience in quite a while and couldn't find the energy to break. 


On The Blog
Review of Haunt Me by Liz Kessler (4 stars)
Review of The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud (5 stars)
Review of The Last Beginning by Lauren James (5 stars)

Currently Reading

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - picked this up at work and am really enjoying it, it has a Scandal feel to it with DC political drama.

On My Bookshelf
Harley Quinn, Vol. 1: Hot in the CityHarley Quinn: Hot in the City by Amanda Conner
Fresh from BATMAN: DEATH OF THE FAMILY and SUICIDE SQUAD, Harley Quinn returns to her first solo series in the New 52! The writing team of Jimmy Palmiotti (ALL STAR WESTERN) and Amanda Conner (BEFORE WATCHMEN: SILK SPECTRE) unleashed Harley on an unsuspecting DC Universe, as she encounters various heroes and villains ... and leaves no one unscathed in her wake!

The one book I got for my birthday (because apparently I have too many)! My fiance is amazing and also got me a Harley and Katana pop vinyl, from Suicide Squad. 

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
The Sun is also a StarNatasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?


A Quiet Kind of ThunderA Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
Steffi doesn't talk, but she has so much to say.
Rhys can't hear, but he can listen.
Their love isn't a lightning strike, it's the rumbling roll of thunder.


Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. 


These two I am super excited about; I loved both of their first books so I'm really interesting to see what comes next. Thank you Netgalley!

November TBR
First up is The Sun is Also a Star, which is being published on the 3rd, I might also try to get to A Quiet Kind of Thunder even though it isn't published until January. The classic of the month will be the collection of HP Lovecraft short stories I picked up from the library. Apart from that, I'm keeping it fairly open so suggestions please!

Tuesday 25 October 2016

The Last Beginning by Lauren James

The Last Beginning (The Next Together, #2)Sixteen years ago, after a scandal that rocked the world, teenagers Katherine and Matthew vanished without a trace. Now Clove Sutcliffe is determined to find her long lost relatives. But where do you start looking for a couple who seem to have been reincarnated at every key moment in history? Who were Kate and Matt? Why were they born again and again? And who is the mysterious Ella, who keeps appearing at every turn in Clove's investigation?

For Clove, there is a mystery to solve in the past and a love to find in the future.
 


Both a sequel and a prequel to The Next Together, as it ties up all the loose ends, telling things from Clove's perspective as well as going back to the original story - ah, time travel makes me head hurt!

Seeing Clove all grown up after hearing about her briefly in The Next Together was very sweet; she was a particularly adorable and terribly smart teenager but was prone to acting impulsively and that made mistakes, sometimes costly ones. Her whole journey was spurred on by the natural urge to find her biological parents and protect her family. But she was only 16 and messing with the fabric of time so obviously things don't go according to plan. 

Enter Ella: now she was damn cool. Quite the opposite to Clove and that made her interesting and irritating in equal measure! But she challenged Clove and that made her better. A great friend and a huge fangirl of Clove's - again, time travel is confusing! - Ella pushed her to be better, to live up to the future's expectations of her. I totally ship these two, they are the most adorable time-travelling couple!

Very much like the first book, the story included brilliant little snippets of IM conversations, newspaper clippings and the like, that pieced together both Katherine and Matthew's original story line and Clove and Ella's future together. I kind of wish I had read these two books back to back because I'm sure quite a few references went over my head, but it was still absolutely incredible, from its pure romance to bounding-heart action. Definitely one of my favourites. 
Published 6th October 2016 by Walker. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Friday 7 October 2016

The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud

The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co. #4)
Lucy has left Lockwood & Co. A freelance operative, she is hiring herself out to other agencies – agencies that might value her ever-improving skills.

But now Lockwood needs her help.

Penelope Fittes, leader of the well-renowned Fittes Agency wants Lockwood & Co. – and only them – to locate and remove the ‘Source’ for the legendary Brixton Cannibal.

It’s a tough assignment. Made worse by the tensions between Lucy and the other agents – even the skull is treating her like a jilted lover!

What will it take to reunite the team? Black marketeers, an informant ghost, a Spirit Cape that transports the wearer, and mysteries involving their closest rivals may just do the trick.

But not all is at it seems. And it’s not long before a shocking revelation rocks Lockwood & Co. to its very core . . .

Returning to the team, Lucy understandably feels torn; it feels like home but she is worried about Lockwood. Not to mention George feels hurt and abandoned, and Holly thought it was because of her. Actually everyone thought it was because of Holly! But before long, Lucy is back at it again, running off with Lockwood into thrilling danger and defeating ghosts and bad guys alike. We started with the notorious Ealing Cannibal (really shouldn’t have read that bit before bed!). This case was incredibly scary, just a dark atmosphere and super creepy feeling, plus, you know, bones in the basement and stories of bits of flesh in the fruit bowl… urgh.

Lockwood then pulls the team to a tiny village that appears to be the epicentre for a hell of a lot of ghost activity – it also happens to be right next to a Rotwell research institute so while they are there… might as well investigate! Between the multitude of hauntings in this village and the secrets behind what the institute are actually researching, we suddenly had a conspiracy feel to the storyline. Which was fantastic, as we sacrificed individuals cases like previous books for threading details together
and adding into the story behind the Shadow.


What I adore about Stroud's books are the hugly character driven plots; a lot of this story was the tension between Lucy and the rest of the team and that all melting away as they work together again. Plus I am a huge Lockwood and Lucy shipper and the few moments they get in this installment just makes me heart melt, as well as feel like my stomach has dropped out because it was utterly terrifying! Finally, I can't not mention the Skull. As witty and hurtful as ever, the Skull actually becomes a major character as he is stolen and part of the conspiracy plot to learn more about ghosts.


A brilliant story and amazing developments both to the characters and the overall plot, Stroud always leaves me a little breathless from the thrills and secrets (sometimes literally) exploding within the pages. There are few secrets left, but after the massive cliff hanger right at the end, all I can say is: bring on the finale!

Published 15th September 2016 by Corgi.

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Haunt Me by Liz Kessler


Haunt Me

Joe wakes up from a deep sleep to see his family leave in a removals van. Where they've gone, he has no idea. Erin moves house and instantly feels at home in her new room. Even if it appears she isn't the only one living in it. Bit by bit, Erin and Joe discover that they have somehow found a way across the ultimate divide - life and death. Bound by their backgrounds, a love of poetry and their growing feelings for each other, they are determined to find a way to be together.

Joe's brother, Olly, never cared much for poetry. He was always too busy being king of the school - but that all changed when Joe died. And when an encounter in the school corridor brings him face to face with Erin, he realises how different things really are - including the kind of girl he falls for.

Two brothers. Two choices. Will Erin's decision destroy her completely, or can she save herself before she is lost forever?

You know when you are really excited for a book but honestly so scared you won't like it? Yeah, I had that reading this. I saved it for autumn even though I got a copy in July because ghosts are perfect for Halloween reading. And I might have read it at the wrong time, right after the latest Lockwood and Co which has very different kind of ghosts! But I still really liked it; the writing was quite soft and flowy, built up this traditional romantic atmosphere but had this undercurrent of issues.

It was a slow start, not a lot happens but get a very good sense of the characters, especially Erin. And yet, the love story felt rushed. Time lapsed a little to skip ahead to the good parts which means we didn't really feel Erin and Joe fall in love, it just... was. 

Joe’s monologue as he struggles to come to terms with what he is now, not being able to touch or feel anything, not remembering how he died, was pretty amazing. How one of the first things he remembered was his relationship with his brother, and then the therapeutic way he wrote poems but kept them hidden, 
revealed a lot about his character and what sort of person he was before he died. I didn't always like the way he was with Erin but I really appreciated the difficulties he had with his identity without his memories; very interesting.

Like I said, the insta-love almost ruined things for me but I really liked the different style love triangle, as Erin is drawn to Joe's brother Olly. Now their love story I really supported; it was adorable and tender and tentative. They really got to know each other without previous baggage and I think did them both good.

Alongside the super-cute romance, Kessler dealt with quite heavy issues – bullying, self-harm, drugs among others – accumulating into that finale where Erin feels so hopeless that she doesn’t see any other way out. All the drama was in the second half and it was a really unique coming of age story with first loves, death and grief, and true friendship. Definitely one to remember and my new favourite of Kessler's. 

Published 6th October 2016 by Orion. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday 2 October 2016

Weekly Highlights: the 'October TBR' edition




Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things!


Ah, October - orange leaves, a nip in the air and most importantly: my birthday! September has been pretty full on, as I expected. Work has been manic with new students and the sudden increase in hours has nearly killed me. Never mind, it's nearly my birthday and then it's half term!

On The Blog
Some of my favourite posts from the last month:
Review of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (4 stars)
Review of Double Down by Gwenda Bond (4 stars)
Review of And I Darken by Kiersten White (5 stars)
Review of I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith (4 stars)

Currently Reading
As mentioned in my Friday Reads, I'm reading The Last Beginning and Empire of Storms.

On My Bookshelf
Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas
The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?



All I can say is: ahhhhh!

The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud
The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co. #4)Lucy has left Lockwood & Co. A freelance operative, she is hiring herself out to other agencies – agencies that might value her ever-improving skills.
But now Lockwood needs her help.

Penelope Fittes, leader of the well-renowned Fittes Agency wants Lockwood & Co. – and only them – to locate and remove the ‘Source’ for the legendary Brixton Cannibal.

It’s a tough assignment. Made worse by the tensions between Lucy and the other agents – even the skull is treating her like a jilted lover!

What will it take to reunite the team? Black marketeers, an informant ghost, a Spirit Cape that transports the wearer, and mysteries involving their closest rivals may just do the trick.

But not all is at it seems. And it’s not long before a shocking revelation rocks Lockwood & Co. to its very core . . .



I have been looking forward to this all year. I read it almost immediately and finished it in 3 days - it was so damn good!
The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act
The Wicked and the Divine by Kieron Gillen
Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. The team behind critical tongue-attractors like Young Avengers and PHONOGRAM reunite to create a world where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods. But remember: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forever.


I picked this up as a non-Marvel or DC graphic novel and I've heard great things about it so can't wait to dive in to this world. Speaking of graphic novels, my friend Alyce has got me into the new DC Rebirth of Harley Quinn, so for the first time ever I'm collecting comic books!

October TBR
So I've got Empire of Storms before the Lit Fest, I'm planning on reading Dracula and possible The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins for Halloween classics, and I've got a review e-copy of Holding Up the Universe which is due out on the 6th. Anything else I should be keeping my eye out for this month? And what are you guys hoping to read in October?

Friday 30 September 2016

Friday Reads: The Last Beginning


The Last Beginning (The Next Together, #2)Work has been taking over my life recently so my reading has slowed somewhat. So in lieu of some more reviews, have an update!

Right now, I’m reading The Last Beginning by Lauren James, which I am beyond excited about! It’s being published next week, on the 6th; I was lucky enough to get a copy from Walker which arrived Wednesday and I started it immediately! I was a little lost at the beginning; it's been a while since I read the first book, but I'm loving it so far.

Earlier in the week I read Haunt Me by Liz Kessler, another book coming out on the 6th, and I quite liked it. I had some minor issues with it but a lot of that might have been because I’d just finished the latest Lockwood and Co which has a whole different sort of ghost! Reviews of both of these titles will be up soon. 

This weekend I’m hoping to finish The Last Beginning and start Empire of Storms, which I can’t believe I haven’t read yet! But I need to get right on that, because me and a friend from work will be going to see Sarah J Maas at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival on the 9th! 

Tell me what you’re planning on reading this weekend and if you could meet an author at an event like the Kids Lit Fest, who would it be and why?