Book Review / It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

To avoid spoilers, below is the description for book 1 in this trilogy.  A Goodreads link for this book is below.

Belly measures her life in summers. 

Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. 

They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. 

But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.


Published:     27th April 2010
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, Summer
Source:  Owned

REVIEW

What I liked about this book...    OK, so this trilogy is turning out to be a lot more sadder than I thought.  As this is book 2 in a trilogy, I won't go into too much detail as to why but what I will say is that the character development in this book is what made it for me.  There is this event that happened after the last summer and all the characters are now coming to terms with this and watching them try and find their way in this book was the best part for me.  If I had to pick a favourite character, in this book I would have to say Conrad.  The way he deals with issues are more complicated than we are led to believe at the beginning of the story. 

What I didn't like about this book...  Honestly, I would have to say it is that love triangle again as mentioned in my review of book 1 but to avoid spoilers all I will say is that I wished she would make up her mind!

Book Review / The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. 

Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. 

They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between.

But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.



Published:     5th May 2009
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, Summer
Source:  Owned

 MY REVIEW

What I liked about this book...  This book really surprised me.  The weather here in England is getting warm (and yes it does rain a lot too lol!) so I was really in the mood for reading a summery style book and this series had been on my list of things to get to for far too long now.  I decided to pick it up.  I am so glad that I did.  This was exactly what I wanted and a lot more.  

This book is not all it seems to me.  Yes it does have the story of Belly and her two friends who she has known since a child, Jeremiah and Conrad.  Yes there is a love triangle but for me that was only part of the story.  You have other characters as well that made the story for me and those were the parents, Belly's mum and Jeremiah and Conrad's mum both of whom are at the summer house for the entire summer and there's a secret they have been hiding.  That part of the story was the part I was more interested in reading about and following how the characters reacted when they found out this secret. 

What I didn't like about this book...  Although I did really enjoy reading this book I did find the love triangle a bit annoying at times.  It seemed like Belly could not make up her mind what she wanted to do and found that Jeremiah and Conrad were being played at times.  I am very interested to know what is going to happen in the next books.  Does she make up her mind and stop stringing on Jeremiah and Conrad? 

Auithor Interview / Barbara Venkataraman

Books 1-3 of the Jamie Quinn Mystery Series! Including:

"Death by Didgeridoo"-Winner of the Indie Book of the Day award. Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, still reeling from the death of her mother, is pulled into a game of deception, jealousy, and vengeance when her cousin, Adam, is wrongfully accused of murder. It's up to Jamie to find the real murderer before it's too late. It doesn't help that the victim is a former rock star with more enemies than friends, or that Adam confessed to a murder he didn't commit.

"The Case of the Killer Divorce"-Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, has returned to her family law practice after a hiatus due to the death of her mother. It's business as usual until a bitter divorce case turns into a murder investigation, and Jamie's client becomes the prime suspect. When she can't untangle truth from lies, Jamie enlists the help of Duke Broussard, her favorite private investigator, to try to clear her client's name. And she’s hoping that, in his spare time, he can help her find her long-lost father.

"Peril in the Park"-There's big trouble in the park system. Someone is making life difficult for Jamie Quinn's boyfriend, Kip Simons, the new director of Broward County parks. Was it the angry supervisor passed over for promotion? The disgruntled employee Kip recently fired? Or someone with a bigger ax to grind? If Jamie can't figure it out soon, she may be looking for a new boyfriend because there’s a dead guy in the park and Kip has gone missing! With the help of her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, Jamie must race the clock to find Kip before it’s too late.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author, Barbara Venkataraman, is an attorney and mediator specializing in family law and debt collection.

She is the author of: The Jamie Quinn mysteries; "Teatime with Mrs. Grammar person", "The Fight for Magicallus," a children's fantasy; a humorous short story entitled, "If You'd Just Listened to Me in the First Place"; and two books of humorous essays: "I'm Not Talking about You, Of Course" and "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities," which are part of the "Quirky Essays for Quirky People" series. Both books of humorous essays won the prestigious "Indie Book of the Day" award.

Coming soon, "Jeopardy in July"--the next Jamie Quinn mystery!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1.  If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

I don’t know if anyone would want to work with me--my mind works in mysterious ways, lol! I do love humor writers like Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen, and Mary Roach and I’d be thrilled to have a chat with them about writing, maybe trade ideas.

2.  What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

More haphazard than I care to admit. I work at my desk at home with my two lazy dogs sleeping behind me. I write the blurb for a mystery first and then I list who’s who and make a rough outline. I research topics I will be using in the book, like Northern Hairy-Nosed wombats or poisonous plants of Florida, and then cut and paste the research at the bottom of the document so I can refer to it as I write. I find photos online and in magazines of what I think my characters look like and then I paste those into the document as well. I write short chapters and every time I finish one, I email it to my “reading girls” for their input. Knowing they are waiting for the next chapter motivates me to keep writing.

3.  What is the hardest part of the writing for you?

Staying focused. I can find a million distractions and when I run out of those, I go looking for snacks. I need a babysitter...

4.  When and why did you first start writing?

I first started writing in second grade when I wrote a poem about ducks. I have been scribbling down ideas and short stories (and bad poems) ever since.  

5.  How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Funny story—a few years ago, I was trying to learn how to play a didgeridoo (a large Aborigine wind instrument) when I accidentally dropped it and broke the glass top of a dresser. That's when I realized: You could kill someone with this thing. Later on, my husband found me swinging the didgeridoo around like some weird Ninja warrior and he looked a bit worried, but I assured him I was just doing research. From then on, I couldn't stop thinking about how someone could get killed with a didgeridoo: Who was this person? Why would they even have a didgeridoo? How could the wrong person be blamed for the murder? Why would there be more than one person who wanted the victim dead? Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces slowly came together to become my first cozy mystery: "Death by Didgeridoo".

6.  Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

I’ve been through a lot of stages. I went through my sci-fi/fantasy stage, my Russian Lit stage, my South American Lit stage, my chick-lit stage, and my decade of mysteries. I have to admit that I read the Harry Potter series more than once and that my 11-year-old son and I had to buy 2 copies of each book because we couldn’t wait for the other to finish. Most recently, I’ve enjoyed “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline; “Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore”, by Robin Sloan, “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” by Rachel Joyce, and “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves”, by Karen Joy Fowler. 

7.  Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

Everyone has to start somewhere and it’s unrealistic to think that you could sit down at a piano for the first time and play Mozart. Likewise, it’s unrealistic to think you could master the craft of writing without practice, practice, practice. Read books on how to write, take classes, copy a few pages from your favorite book and then try to emulate the author’s writing style as an exercise. Read bad books and analyze what’s wrong with them and, above all, give yourself the freedom to learn. Write copiously, write badly and then try to find the kernel of good writing in the mess and work with it. Sometimes you have to write ten pages to end up with a few good paragraphs. It’s worth it.

Book Review / The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

To avoid spoilers, below is the description for book 1 in this series.  This is book 2. 

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

Published:     27th January 2015
Publisher:  Bloomsbury
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2, The Bone Season
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

There is so much I want to tell you about this series but I just can't as it is book 2 but what I will say is that this series is fast becoming being added to my list of favourite series of all time.  It's on the pending pile as I will always reserve judgment until I have read the final book in a series before making a definitive tick in the box.  I can see for this series the final book is going to be a long way off.  Book 3 is not due to come out until 2017 and it looks like there is a new book every two years, not to mention it looks like there are going to be seven books in this series.  I'm in for a bit of a wait but judging by how much I enjoyed this I am sure it will be worth the wait!

What I liked the most about this book  would have to be the same reasons that I gave for the first book.  In this book we learn a little bit more about this world and how things work.  The descriptions and depths in the characters are so well done and so detailed.  Character progression in this book was really interesting for me in this book as you have the same characters that were in the first book but as the story has moved on so have the characters and so have the way they react to things, living and learning.

If you are a fan of books like the Mortal Instruments series, you need to give this series a go.  It's so addicting!!

Author Interview / Jaime Raven

 Women always uncover the truth . . .

Three years and eleven months. That's how long Lizzie Wells has been banged up inside Holloway prison, serving time for a crime she didn’t commit.

Six months. That's how long it’s taken Lizzie to fall in love with her fellow inmate, Scar.

Now they are both finally free and, together, they are about to embark on a vengeful search to find those who framed Lizzie . . . and to make them pay.

THE BUSINESS MAN. THE COPPER. THE MADAM.


The first of two books for Avon/Harper Collins. The second - THE ALIBI - will be published in January. The second book is set in London and features a female crime reporter

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

I’m actually a huge fan of Jessie Keane. I like her hard hitting, gritty novels and the way her characters really come to life on the pages. Also, I was born and raised in South London and my working class family were familiar with the local villains who ran the criminal operations. I’m sure that if I worked with Jessie we could come up with a few cracking yarns about the reprobates who inhabit the London underworld

What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

I have an office at my home in Southampton but I actually can’t stand writing in there. I much prefer going out to local coffee shops. I really don’t mind the noise around me because I can tune it out once I get going. Most mornings I walk into the town centre and spend a couple of hours writing, drinking Americanos and scoffing cakes – and I always write in longhand first. Then once I get home I’ll type it into the computer. 

 

What is the hardest part of the writing for you?

Firstly it’s coming up with the idea. That’s always the hardest part because with so many books being published every year it’s very hard to identify an original premise. Secondly it’s the title. This is something I really struggle with because whenever I come up with title I discover that one or more authors have beaten me to it. Fortunately, there’s no copyright in titles, but it is nice to have one that isn’t already out there.

When and why did you first start writing?

I first started writing while at school. At the age of fifteen I wrote my first novel about thieves stealing a priceless painting from a museum in Amsterdam. But quite honestly it was terrible and so I never bothered to send it to a publisher. Maybe one day I’ll resurrect the idea and turn it into a novel!

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

I live in Southampton where THE MADAM is set. One day in the local evening newspaper I read about a prostitute who had been arrested in the city. It gave birth to the idea of developing a story around a prostitute. I started to think about how vulnerable prostitutes are and from there I came up the character of Lizzie Wells, a prostitute who is wrongly convicted of a crime she didn’t commit. She spends almost four years in prison and on her release she sets out to get revenge on the people who framed her.

Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

I do read an awful lot. Currently I’m reading the While my eyes were closed, by Linda Green. Before that it was The Missing, by CL Taylor. I enjoy reading crime novels and at the same time I like to see what competition I’m up against. It’s a fact that THE MADAM will have to compete against a lot of terrific, well-written books. 

 

Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

My advice would be to keep at it no matter how many times you’re knocked back. Being rejected by agents and publishers is part of the process. And you should always remember that all views expressed are subjective. What one agent or publisher dislikes another will think is terrific. Just keep writing and with a bit of luck you’ll get where you want to be.