30 Apr 2015

APRIL GIVEAWAY WINNER! Arc Copy of Cleo




CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER

LAURA BANKS

I have sent the winner an email and book will be sent out as soon as possible.

Thank you all to enter.  Look out for the May giveaway coming soon!!!


29 Apr 2015

Waiting on Wednesday / Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.

Expected Release Date: 16th June 2015
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.




If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to the Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

27 Apr 2015

Author Interview / Tori de Clare

WHAT IF THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE TURNED INTO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE?

When nineteen-year-old Naomi Stone is snatched from her husband at knifepoint on the night of their wedding and taken to a deserted cemetery, she knows her life is finished. Drugged and disorientated, she loses consciousness as she lies in an open grave with a gun to her head.

But the following day, she mysteriously awakes to find herself unharmed and secured to a bed. She's in a beautiful bedroom in a secluded cottage in open countryside. Only one person knows she’s there – the man in the balaclava who’s holding her, feeding her, revealing nothing. Naomi senses the unfolding of a plan. She should be on honeymoon in the Caribbean. Instead, she’s trapped with an emotionless psycho with no hope of escape . . . And his voice is chillingly familiar.

Who is he? What does he want? What's happened to her husband? Where is she? Will anyone find her before it's too late?







  1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?
That’s a tricky question. My favourite authors are those who are particularly gifted with words. Ian McEwan and Sebastian Faulks spring to mind, though there are many others. Working with them would be awesome because I’d learn so much. On the other hand, I’d feel very small and inferior, so maybe I’m best working alone.

  1. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?
There is no typical working day for me really. I teach piano for a living, so I generally teach a couple of lessons first thing, then I set about the housework (doing the bare minimum as it really doesn’t excite me) and try to create some space for my writing before my teaching resumes late afternoon. The days are very short. A chunk of time goes into promoting and social networking, so precious little remains for actual writing which can be frustrating sometimes. I have to carve out some time for writing which often involves late nights. I don’t know how people write in cafés or even with background music. I met one author at a festival who does his writing on the bus on the way to work. That wouldn’t work for me. I need absolute silence and solitude, hence the late nights. My thoughts need to be still; my house (ideally) empty. When I do write, I find a comfortable sofa, (choice of 4 in my house. We don’t do chairs) put my feet up and sit with my laptop on my knee and attempt to press on. My eyes can roll and I can drift sometimes. Did I mention my sofas were very comfy?

  1. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?
Well the beginning is difficult. The middle can be excruciatingly challenging, and the least said about the agonies of the ending the better. It’s all difficult. Authors give birth to their books. There’s the conception of an idea, then the struggle through a long period of development which is a labour of love essentially, and culminates in the birth of a creative piece of literature. It’s all worth it in the end. You forget about the pain and dwell on it not at all because you have a little bundle of love in which you have so much hope, having invested a great deal of love and time. That’s how authors see their books. But – not to dodge the question – if I had to pinpoint the most difficult part, I suppose it is the plotting and planning. For me, I can only get so far with that before a) I get bored (I’m not the world’s greatest organiser. I’m quite impulsive and more likely to dive into the creative process prematurely) and b) I’ve gone as far as I can go with the planning part. The plot always changes once I start writing. I know instinctively if something is not working, and also, many great ideas occur to me once I’ve started the writing process that never would come to me with all the planning in the world. I have to get inside the heads of my characters by writing scenes. THEN I know what they would do in those circumstances and, sometimes, not before.

  1. When and why did you first start writing?
I started writing six and a half years ago. Why? It was the right time in my life. I’ve had four children. Parenting began at age 18 for me. I never regret my lost youth because I gained my children, which means that I didn’t lose anything. My children have been my life. I adore them. I stayed at home with them and taught piano for a few hours a week, increasing my lessons only as my children got older. The youngest one is fifteen now, so my life is more my own these days. I’m a creative sort of person I suppose. Music is a language and a creative form of expression. My abilities lend themselves to creative language. Words come as naturally to me as music-making, so writing was the one thing I had a desire to do. In their 40s, some women take up keep fit (I’d rather be trapped in a lift with an angry wasp than go to the gym – and that’s saying something) or gardening or cross-stitch. I took up writing and got completely hooked. To escape into a world of one’s own creation and spend time there every day, manipulating events, is a special kind of magic.

  1. How did you come up with the idea for your book?
I came up with the plot for Either Side of Midnight in ten minutes. Literally. Without giving away spoilers, I thought, What if a bride is abducted on the best day of her life. And what if . . . and then what if . . . ooo and then what if it ends up like . . . That would be fun to write. And Either Side of Midnight was conceived. It turned out to be a fairly complex plot in the end. I had only the sketch of an idea in the beginning, and with that, I plunged right in as I did in those days when I didn’t have a readership and had no one to please but myself. But the interesting part is that my own feelings at that time mirrored the feelings of my protagonist. It’s taken hindsight for me to realise this; it wasn’t conscious. My first book at that time (ESoM is the second book I wrote) was in the hands of literary agents in London. 3 separate agencies read my book in full, one after the other (agencies demand exclusivity if they’re willing to go to the trouble of reading your entire manuscript). The total waiting time for me was 9 months. My future was in the hands of other people – faceless people I didn’t know. I felt unsettled and nervous and powerless. During this time of waiting, my subconscious mind threw up a plot where a girl is abducted and held by a masked man. She doesn’t know who he is, what he wants and what the future will bring. And so I wrote ESoM while I waited. You have to see the parallels.

  1. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?
I would be a big reader if I had the time. As things are, I’m a binge-reader. If I go on holiday (I went on 3 short-ish breaks last year), I do nothing but read. My husband tries to talk to me. Just rude; he really should know better!! I can get through 4 books in a week on holiday. I love reading, but – I hate reading poor books and I give up without any guilt at all if I’m not enjoying a story. Life’s too short. My favourite book of last year was Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. Fabulous. It did what all good books should do: reel you in on a large hook and not let go until the very last line. I wasn’t even on holiday when I made the mistake of thinking: I’ll just see what the beginning is like. Sucked right in. Finished in 24 hours when – between sniffs and snivels – I became aware of a messy house, starving children and a mountain of washing. The last book I read last month was called The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman. Another great book. Five richly-deserved stars.
 
  1. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?
Attend classes. Learn how to write from a technical point of view. You can’t guess how it’s done. Don’t write for money. Generally, for self-published authors, it isn’t lucrative. Be honest about your ability. Do you have a talent for writing and a way with words? Is this something that can be developed? In my experience, the most important thing a person can develop is their own unique writing voice. It took a long time for me to find my ‘voice’ – MY way of putting things. Don’t write well-used phrases. Don’t try to copy the style of others. Stay well away from clichés. Add humour to your writing, but with subtlety. No one wants to see a gag coming from four miles away. Surprise your reader. Get in a scene late and leave it early. Get readers turning the pages.

26 Apr 2015

My Week in Books / 18th to 24th April 2015

What a mixture of a week in books.   I read a couple of good books this week.  One of them (California) I enjoyed but it was a slow read for me and the other (The Liar) had me on the edge of my seat right until the very last page.  OMG!  That book was so good.  I had never known that a Nora Roberts book could be so action packed!




California by Edan Lepuki
The Liar by Nora Roberts








24 Apr 2015

Book Review/Blog Tour - California by Edan Lepucki

The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable despite the isolation and hardships they face. Consumed by fear of the future and mourning for a past they can't reclaim, they seek comfort and solace in one other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant.

Terrified of the unknown but unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses its own dangers. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.

A gripping and provocative debut novel by a stunning new talent, California imagines a frighteningly realistic near future, in which clashes between mankind's dark nature and irrepressible resilience force us to question how far we will go to protect the ones we love.


Published:     August 2014
Publisher:  Little Brown
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand Alone

Source:  Review Copy from Publisher




My Review

What I loved about this book...
I am not entirely sure but this book definitely seems like adult fiction (do correct me if I am wrong but that is the vibe I got from this book) so what made this exciting for me is that this is the first adult fiction book which is post-apocalyptic.   I liked following Cal and Frida as they try and survive this new world where they are 'rationed' and if they want anything in particular they have to trade something for something else - such as a bra for a medicine pill...  and especially when Frida finds out she is pregnant and following what they decide to do next.

What I was not fond of with this book...
Although I really did like this book, I did feel that there could have been more description on the circumstances rather than what was happening in the moment.  I would have loved to have learned more about that.

About the Author
From Goodreads

Edan Lepucki is a graduate of Oberlin College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her short fiction has been published in McSweeney's, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Narrative Magazine, Meridian, and FiveChapters, among other publications, and she is the winner of the 2009 James D. Phelan Award. She is a staff writer for The Millions and lives in Los Angeles, where she was born and raised.

She likes cooking, reading and filling out forms.

22 Apr 2015

Author Interview / Ace Varkey

Ace Original Cover(1)
When June Warner arrives in India to visit her sister Thalia, a trip to take her mind off her jilted engagement, she is greeted by the bright hot chaos of Mumbai but not her sister.
She goes to the YMCA where Thalia is staying, only to find that she is not there.

Convinced that Thalia’s no-show is a sign that she is in danger, June begins a desperate search for her younger sister.

Police Commissioner Oscar D'Costa, scarred by the tragedies of his past, swears he will never again ignore his gut instinct when it comes to a missing girl. And with more and more dead foreign women being found in his precinct, he becomes convinced a conspiracy is at play.

Through the two worlds of American naiveté and Indian chaos, they must find the girl who went missing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I adore travel and adventure and have lived, for years at a time, in both India and America, as well as other countries. I always wanted to be a writer, and was inspired by Helen MacInnes, who wrote spy thrillers set in various European countries. It sounded like such a marvelous life; travel during the summer to a new country, then spend the year writing about an adventure set in that country. I decided to use my knowledge of India to create stories filled with the colors and sounds of that magical country. But I also wanted my writing to have meaning, and so I decided to write a mystery series featuring Commissioner Oscar D’Costa, with each novel highlighting a pressing social issue. I want my readers to enjoy the read, but I also want them to learn something new.
  1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?
Writing for me, by definition, is a solitary act. So if I had to choose an author to work with, I would want someone not to write with, but to write alongside of. I would choose someone who would make me laugh and who would be willing to let me bounce ideas off him/her. Shakespeare would have me howling and I would learn a lot by watching him pen so much in so little a time. More realistically, Arundhati Roy. She is an amazing writer, she knows India, and she fights for the rights of others. All of which makes her a good companion when the writing isn't going well.
  1. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?
I typically write in the mornings, in my office at home. I am a stay-at-home Mom and my children come first, which means I write while they are at school. I always set a target when I sit down at the computer. I start with 500 words and for 'The girl who went missing,' I gradually increased that to 1000 words per day. One banner day had me writing 2000 words. I make sure to have paper and pen handy in case I get an idea when I am out and about. I recall making notes about temple dancers while I was shopping. I later incorporated that into "The girl who went missing."
  1. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?
The hardest part is when I am stuck in the story, ie, when something does not feel true,or when I have no idea how to go on. My aim is to write an honest story in the way that Aristotle noted, so long ago, that 'drama is more probable than history.' I want readers to think that my story could happen. In 'The girl who went missing,' I grappled a bit with the character of June. I wanted to show her searching for her sister, yet being overwhelmed by India and all the setbacks she faced. It took me a while to achieve that balance; at least I hope I got it right. I got a bit stuck with the William angle; he wasn't that easy to weave into the story.
  1. When and why did your first start writing.
I wanted to write from a very young age, but kept postponing it by telling myself I had to study more, read more, etc. One day a friend told me: "Stop talking about writing and just do it." I admit I was rather shocked by my friend, but the advice resonated. I also got very sick and decided there was no time like the present because it is, really, a present, a gift. I sat down at my computer, looked at the blank screen and told myself that whatever I wrote would be mine, that no one else would have written that sentence before, or after, for that matter. For some reason that got me very excited. To this day I love the unfilled screen of my computer because it makes me feel both excited and responsible.
  1. How did you come up with the idea for your book?
I have lived in India and was aware of the abuse perpetrated on women. Let me add that while it does happen, it does not define the people or the country. I have traveled a fair amount and I liked the idea of an ordinary young woman arriving in India and then, unexpectedly, having to do something extraordinary. We humans often do amazing things in our daily lives; I simply pushed that to the extreme. I also wanted to highlight the horrible fact of human trafficking. When I am being perfectly hopeful and whimsical, I imagine someone reading my book and, when they are done, feeling they know more about both India and human trafficking.
  1. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?
I was the sort of reader who left books all over the house. I used to drive my father crazy because he could not fathom how I could read 4 books at one time. I dreamed of a bathroom with a bookcase, of a two-level house where the wall against the staircase was lined with books so I could grab one as I went up and down. Right now I am reading "The Ocean at the end of the Lane" so I can discuss it with my children.
  1. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?
I think writing is as subjective as reading. I would feel very awkward imparting any advice to someone else. But if you really want me to say something, I would repeat an edited version of  what my friend told me: Write.






21 Apr 2015

BooK Review / Blog Tour - The Liar by Nora Roberts

Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions …

The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed.

Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning …



Published:     16th April 2015
Publisher:   Piatkus
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand Alone
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher





My Review

OMG I loved this book!!!  Did I mention that I loved this book?  I have to be honest and say that in the past I had thought that all Nora Roberts books were all steamy erotic love stories but I was wrong.  The first book I read of hers was The Reef (adored that one too!) which was more thriller style with a bit of romance mixed in.  With this book it was another thriller with a bit of romance mixed in and I really loved that mixture.  You have poor Shelby who finds out her husband has died and then finds out that he was an adulterer and liar...  What could be worse.  Shelby is forced into a new life and has to deal with a lot of things following those revelations.  What made the story great for me was when she moves back home to live with her parents.  There she rekindles old friendships and makes new ones, including meeting Griff.  LOVE the character of Griff.  Such a down to earth guy who will do anything for the people he loves.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this story; just when you think something is the truth something else happens which puts a massive question mark over it again.   I just had to keep reading until I got to the end because I couldn't wait any longer to find out how the story would end!

This book definitely gets the full five stars from me, LOVED it!  Can't wait to pick up more books by Nora Roberts - the sooner the better!!!!

About the Author
From Goodreads

Eleanor Marie Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. She was the youngest of five children, also the only girl, of a marriage with Irish ancestors. Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of discipline. During her sophomore year in high school, she transferred to a local public school, where she met Ronald Aufdem-Brinke, her future first husband.

In August 17, 1968, as soon as she had graduated from high school, Eleanor married, against her parents' wishes; the couple settled in Keedysville, Maryland. Her husband worked at his father's sheet-metal business before joining Nora's parents in their lighting company, while she worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast but couldn't spell; I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After their sons, Dan and Jason, were born, she stayed home. Calling this her "Earth Mother" years, she spent much of her time doing crafts, including ceramics and sewing her children's clothes. The couple ended up separating; they divorced in January 1985.

In February 1979, a blizzard forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three- and a six-year-old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate. During the now famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of her stories. It was then that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981 under the authorship of Nora Roberts, a shortened form of her birth name Eleanor Marie Robertson, because she assumed that all authors had pen names.

Eleanor wrote, under another pseudonym (Jill March), a story titled "Melodies of Love" for a magazine.

Eleanor met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Bruce owns and operates a bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland called "Turn the Page Books". Since getting married, Eleanor and Bruce have expanded their home and traveled the world.

In 1992, she adopted another pseudonym so as to publish a futuristic-suspense novel series. She first decided to use the pseudonym D.J. MacGregor, but discovered that this pseudonym was used by another author. In 1995, her first "In Death" serial novel was published under the pseudonym J.D. Robb. The initials "J.D." were taken from her sons, Jason and Dan, while "Robb" is a shortened form of Roberts.

Eleanor has also been known as Sara Hardesty, because when the "Born In" series was released in U.K. it carried that name instead of Nora Roberts. She has since changed publishers.

Eleanor has been plagiarized by another best-selling romance writer, Janet Dailey. The practice came to light after a reader read Nora Roberts' Sweet Revenge and Janet Dailey's Notorious back-to-back; the reader noticed several similarities and posted the comparable passages on the Internet. Calling the plagiarism "mind rape," Eleanor sued Janet Daily. In 1997, Janet admitted to repeatedly plagiarizing from Nora Roberts' work and that both Aspen Gold and Notorious lifted heavily from Roberts' work. Both of those novels were pulled from print after Janet's admission. She acknowledged the plagiarism and blamed it on a psychological disorder. In a settlement, Janet paid Eleanor an undisclosed sum, which Eleanor donated to the Literacy Volunteers of America.

A founding member of the Romance Writers of America (R.W.A.), Eleanor was the first inductee in the organization's Hall of Fame. She also is a member of several writers' groups and has won countless awards.




16 Apr 2015

My Week in Books / 12th to 17th April 2015


This is a reasonably new post to me, I have seen a few bloggers and booktubers do a ‘Week in Review’ post/video and I though that was a fantastic idea.  Last week was the first time I did this post and it really motivated me.  Last week I read two books, both Cassandra Clare books and both really long books (one was over 400 pages long and one was over 500 pages long).   So, without further delay, here is my week in books…

Books Read





City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare Review
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare Review





Book Review / City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

8755776Below is the description to book one in this series, City of Bones (so as to avoid spoilers)...
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Published:     8th May 2012
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Author Website: 
Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 5, Mortal Instruments
Source:  Bought


My Review

What I loved about this book...
This was a very interesting book for me.  I have loved the first four books in this series and was looking forward to getting into this book but at 535 pages long I knew it would take me a while to read.  This story is split between two views and two places mainly.  I won’t go into more detail than that because it is book 5 in a series but what I will say about this is that the first part of the book I enjoyed and the last part of the book I really loved.  The middle part of the book I will talk about below. 

In this book I could see the characters progressing as they face different choices and scenarios and this is the first book where I can actually see the ‘bigger picture’ and maybe have a bit of a feeling of what is to come in the final book but I may be wrong. 

What I did not like with this story...
Let’s talk about the middle of the book.  As I mentioned above, the first half and last half of the book I really enjoyed but for me the middle half just felt a bit dragged out and longer than necessary.  There is a lot of back and forth between two different perspectives and some of it I didn’t feel was necessary and could have been made shorter.  That was a bit of a struggle for me in the middle of the 
book but I am glad that I persevered because the ending was well worth it!

After reading several reviews, I understand that book 6 in this series, City of Heavenly Fire, contains characters from the Clockwork series and its better to read that first so I have decided to take a break from this series for now until I had read that series first. 

About the Author
(from Goodreads)

Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books.
Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction.
She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.












15 Apr 2015

Waiting on Wednesday / Hello I Love You by Katie M Stout

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.

Expected Release Date: 9th June 2015
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.




A teen escapes to a boarding school abroad and falls for a Korean pop star in this fun and fresh romantic novel in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss.

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.

13 Apr 2015

Book Review / City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

6752378Below is the description to book one in this series, City of Bones (so as to avoid spoilers)...
 
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the
Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Published:     5th April 2011
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Author Website: 
Click here
Goodreads :  Click

Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 4, Mortal Instruments
Source:  Bought


Stars 4

My Review

What I loved about this book...
I am really into and loving this series.  It’s like I am under its spell and cannot stop reading until I get to the very end of the series.  What I liked the most about this story is the interactions between the characters and how they cope in different scenarios.  Of course, as this is book 4 in a series I won’t go into too much detail of the how, why and when but all I will say is that there are some relationships between characters that I particularly enjoyed following and one in particular I found very surprising!

What I did not like with this story...
I feel this is a common theme in this series and that is the fact that I felt the story was too long.  The copy that I read was over 424 pages long but I felt that it could have been less than that.  I felt that some of the scenes were a bit drawn out and didn’t need to be that long.  Apart from that, I am very much looking forward to getting stuck into the next book in the series! 

About the Author
(from Goodreads)


Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books.
Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction.

She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.











Author Interview / Megan Tayte

IN SEARCH OF THE MEANING OF DEATH, SHE’LL FIND THE MEANING OF LIFE.

Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Blake is haunted by death. Her estranged sister has made the ultimate dramatic exit. Running away from school, joining a surfing fraternity, partying hard: that sounds like Sienna. But suicide? It makes no sense.

Following in her sister’s footsteps, Scarlett comes to the isolated cove of Twycombe, Devon, with grand plans to uncover the truth. Alone. But she hasn’t reckoned on meeting two boys who are determined to help her. Luke: the blue-eyed surfer who’ll see the real Scarlett, who’ll challenge her, who’ll save her. And Jude: the elusive drifter with a knack for turning up whenever Scarlett’s in need.

As Scarlett’s quest for the truth unravels, so too does her grip on reality as she’s always known it. Because there’s something strange going on in this little cove. A dead magpie circles the skies. A dead deer watches from the undergrowth. Hands glow with light. Warmth. Power.

What transpires is a summer of discovery. Of what it means to conquer fear. To fall in love. To choose life. To choose death.

To believe the impossible. 

Once upon a time a little girl told her grandmother that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer. Or a lollipop lady. Or a fairy princess fireman. 'Write, Megan,' her grandmother advised. So that's what she did.

Thirty-odd years later, Megan writes the kinds of books she loves to read: young-adult paranormal romance fiction. Young adult, because it's the time of life that most embodies freedom and discovery and first love. Paranormal, because she's always believed that there are more things in heaven and on earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy. And romance, because she's a misty-eyed dreamer who lives for those 'life is so breathtakingly beautiful' moments.

Megan grew up in the Royal County, a hop, skip and a (very long) jump from Windsor Castle, but these days she makes her home in Robin Hood's county, Nottingham. She lives with her husband, a proud Scot who occasionally kicks back in a kilt; her son, a budding artist with the soul of a paleontologist; and her baby daughter, a keen pan-and-spoon drummer who sings in her sleep. When she's not writing, you'll find her walking someplace green, reading by the fire, or creating carnage in the kitchen as she pursues her impossible dream: of baking something edible.


1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?
Meg Cabot. I love her style, and very much admire her versatility in writing across different genres and her work ethic – I’d love to be as prolific as she is. I like the sassiness of her heroines, and the humour she injects into everything she writes.

2.  What would be a typical writing day for you? When and where do you write?
I write for as many hours as I can around work and family commitments. I’m an early bird, so I try to start by 7.30 a.m., and I go through solidly until lunch. Then I’ll go back until the school pick-up at 3, and then try to do some editing in the evening. Occasionally, I take a writing sabbatical and do a ‘writing binge’ for a few days. Before my daughter came along I spent every Sunday night for a couple of months at a local hotel, writing from check-in at 2 p.m. until midnight, and then 6 a.m. to checkout at 12. It was a very productive time for me, away from distractions.

At home I write in my writing room, which has a big desk overlooking the garden. But sometimes I need a change of scene and a bit of a buzz – and coffee! – so I decamp to a local cafe. My other favourite writing spot is in the arts library on the university campus near my home. The smell of old books there is intoxicating.

3.  What is the hardest part of the writing for you?
The way it consumes me. When I’m in the concept, first draft and rewrite stages, the story takes me over. I love the feeling, but it can make focusing in other areas of my life tricky. The day job becomes more challenging, and at times I find I’m washing up/cooking/building Lego towers/finger-painting with the kids in a dreamy haze. At its worst, that can mean slightly charred dinners and Technicoloured children. Thankfully, my family is very understanding!

4.  When and why did you first start writing?
I’ve been writing for as long as I could write. In my ‘treasures’ shoebox I have my very first story, written aged six. Reading it now, I assume my school was offering a Most Adjectives Crammed Onto a Page Prize – I can’t fathom why else I felt the need to be quite so descriptive. From there, I wrote many stories through my childhood and teens, but I didn’t quite get the courage together to write a book until adulthood. I’d written a lot of non-fiction books before I took a stab at fiction, and then I was hooked. When I write fiction, I feel like that six-year-old again, totally enchanted by writing. I think that’s the crux of why I write - it’s the most ‘me’ I can get; it’s what I always knew I wanted to do. So it takes me to a really happy, calm, fulfilled place.

5.  How did you come up with the idea for your book?
Death Wish – and the Ceruleans series – began life as four discrete ideas that I planned to make into four discrete books. Then one day as I was walking (something I do when I’m looking for inspiration) the ideas knitted together, and from there the overall story arc of the series took form.
There are many inspirations for the book. The story is quite personal to me, based on a mix of experience and fiction woven from my imaginings and ponderings. The setting – in a part of coastal Devon where I spent every summer as a child – was a key inspiration. But the story, about love and loss, light and darkness, good and bad, is based on my own efforts to make sense of a world in which people close to you can die; in which being true to yourself can be incredibly difficult; and in which love – for people, for places, for a way of being, for a passion and an ethos – is the only reason to hold on.

6.  Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?
Oh yes! I don’t cope well with being ‘between books’, so I always have a stack of paperbacks and a few novels lined up on the Kindle ready. I have to read a lot of books for my day job, but I also make time to read according to my personal preferences. At the moment I’m reading an early Richelle Mead novel called Storm Born. I only recently discovered Richelle, and as I always do when I find a new author whose work I love, I get hold of the entire back catalogue. This edition of Storm Born is pretty battered, as I bought it second hand on Amazon, but I think I’m enjoying it all the more for that – I love ‘loved’ books.

7.  Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?
Have fun and keep writing! I’ve worked with plenty of authors who risk killing the joy of writing by getting bogged down in the business of being an author (and, consequently, give up after one book). I try not to take myself too seriously. I love to write, and if others enjoy reading what I write, that’s a brilliant bonus – but either way, I’ll still write.

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12 Apr 2015

Week in Review / 4th to 10th April 2015





I have seen a lot of posts that do 'week in review' blog posts summarising what they have read/done etc each week and I thought I would give it a go.  I am not sure if there is a 'meme' that I should follow, but if there is please let me know...








City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare - My Review Blog Post - Click Here
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare - My Review Blog Post - Click Here











11 Apr 2015

APRIL GIVEAWAY - ARC of Cleo by Lucy Coats

Her precious mother is dead - and it isn't an accident! The young Cleopatra - Pharaoh's illegitimate daughter - must flee the royal palace at Alexandria or die too. As her evil half-sisters usurp the throne, Cleo finds sanctuary at the sacred temple of Isis, where years later she becomes initiated into the secret Sisters of the Living Knot. But now Isis's power is failing, Egypt is in danger, and Cleo must prove her loyalty to her goddess by returning to the Alexandria she hates. She must seek out the hidden map which is the key to returning Isis's power - on pain of death. But will she be able to evade her horrible sisters? And will she find dreamy Khai, the über-hot Librarian boy she met as she fled Alexandria years before? Cleo's powerful destiny is about to unfold...

Gorgeous and evocative, this captivating new YA novel imagines the life of the teenage Cleopatra before she became the icon we think we know.


 UK Only Giveaway

Giveaway ends on the last day of April


10 Apr 2015

Book Review / City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Below is the description to book one in this series, City of Bones (so as to avoid spoilers)...

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.


Published:     24th March 2009
Publisher:  Walker Books
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click hereClick here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 3, Mortal Instruments
Source:  Bought



My Review

What I loved about this book...
Now this book was very interesting indeed.  If you have read my review of book two in the series (City of Ashes) you will know that I had a bit of an unsure feeling about this series.  It was good and it called to me to keep going but I had moments were I was not sure.  I had seen some reviews that said that the real story for them started in book three so that was one of the reasons why I stuck with it and continued on to this book.  The other main reasons I have stuck with this series is the fact that I like mostly all of the characters (apart from the evil ones of course lol!) and I have a feeling this story and the characters have a lot of history and secrets left to tell...

The second half of this book was what made me really enjoy this book. The first half I will explain below but once we got to the real action and some history and secrets were revealed and/or hinted at I really saw the potential of this series for me.  I am now a 100% convert to this series.  The slowness for me from the first two books was well worth the read and build up to get to this point although I do suspect that I still do not know the full story with some characters...

What I did not like with this story...
It is mainly in the first half of the book that I really did not warm to a particular popular character.  I felt that this person was being very one minded and only looking after number one and not really seeing the bigger picture.  I could see why this person would want to do that but I still felt it was a bit selfish in places but that did not spoil the story in any way.’’

About the Author
(from Goodreads)

Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books.

Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction.

She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.

8 Apr 2015

Musical Theatre Book Tag



Original Video: SomethingLikeLydia:




1. Wicked - Favourite fictional friendship
This one was really easy to choose, it has to be Bella and Jacob from Twilight.  Not only was Twilight one of those series that really brought me back into reading and seeing characters who stay friends even though there are fights and unrequited love is really uplifting to read.



2. Sweeney Todd - Favourite villain
Now you might think that a Nicholas Sparks novel would be quite unusual for a favourite villian question but there is a particular character in this story, Richard Franklin, who meets our main character Julie and quickly becomes a very nasty character, certaintly one to keep your eyes on that's for sure!



3. Phantom of the Opera - Favourite love triangle
This is a very interesting love triangle.  You have the two sisters, Alice and Natalie, who are the main focus of this story and you one one other character which I won't say who as that would spoil the story




4. The Lion King - Favourite sidekick
Now this is a fairly recent read for me and I have to say that Jace in City of Bones is a great sidekick to the main character of Clary.   But then again so is the character of Simon!



5. Grease - Least favourite ending
I am really really sad to say that this book holds my least favourite ending.  Despite the fact that I felt the main character in this book did not so nice things to get revenge I felt that the ending was not one that I would have chosen for the main character.



6. Matilda: The Musical - Favourite adaptation of a book
Of course it has to be a Nicholas Sparks book to movie adaptation!  This is my favourite of them all and is the first Nicholas Sparks movie I had ever watched.