Book Review / The 100 by Kass Morgan

In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. 

No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. 

But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. 

Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again.

Published:     3rd September 2013
Publisher:  Little Brown
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, The Hundred
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   3 out of 5

My Review

What I loved about this story...
I really loved the idea of this story.  Something horrible happened on Earth forcing humans to live in a spaceship in space.  Obviously, there is only so long that you can live in space without running out of supplies etc so it was interesting to see how they dealt with that situation.  They send juvenile delinquents (people who are 18 or just coming up to their 18th birthday) where they would normally be convicted when they legally become an adult they get a chance to escape from that.

There were a few characters in this story but the way the author has written the chapters to shift from different characters' perspectives made it really easy to get to know each of them and find out about them.  There are also really helpful flashbacks into certain character's pasts to find out more about how they got to where they are now.    

With the way this book finished, I am definitely intrigued to find out what happens next...

What I was not fond of with this story...
Although this book does a great job with introducing characters and their surroundings, I didn't really connect with any of them and that did affect how I read this book. It could be a number of factors that caused it and maybe it might have been my particular frame of mind when reading this book but I wished I had connected.  That being said, I am definitely looking forward to finding out what happens next and will be checking that out...

About the Author
(from Goodreads)

Kass Morgan studied literature at Brown and Oxford, and now resides in Brooklyn, where she lives in constant fear of her Ikea bookcase collapsing and burying her under a mound of science fiction and Victorian novels. Kass is currently working on the sequel to The 100, which she’ll finish as soon as she finds a coffee shop that allows laptops on the weekend.

Author Interview / Rachel Manija Brown (co-author of Stranger)

 Many generations ago, a mysterious cataclysm struck the world. Governments collapsed and people scattered, to rebuild where they could. A mutation, "the Change,” arose, granting some people unique powers. Though the area once called Los Angeles retains its cultural diversity, its technological marvels have faded into legend. "Las Anclas" now resembles a Wild West frontier town… where the Sheriff possesses superhuman strength, the doctor can warp time to heal his patients, and the distant ruins of an ancient city bristle with deadly crystalline trees that take their jewel-like colors from the clothes of the people they killed.

Teenage prospector Ross Juarez’s best find ever – an ancient book he doesn’t know how to read – nearly costs him his life when a bounty hunter is set on him to kill him and steal the book. Ross barely makes it to Las Anclas, bringing with him a precious artifact, a power no one has ever had before, and a whole lot of trouble.

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

Collaboration isn't only a matter of who you most admire as an author; it's also about who you enjoy working with, and if you can get your working styles to mesh. Both Sherwood and I have successfully collaborated with others, but have also had unsuccessful collaborations with people whom we liked, but couldn't manage to find a working style that was good for both of us.

So I have no idea who else I'd enjoy working with. I couldn't know until I tried. 

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

Sherwood and I develop the story together, then literally sit down at the computer and type together, alternately speaking the dialogue, like an improvised play. We usually work at her house, or at a writing retreat. We enjoy visiting author Judith Tarr's horse ranch, riding and writing. It's a wonderful retreat.

I also write solo. I am currently in the middle of the third book of my "Werewolf Marines" series, which is urban fantasy for adults written under the pen name Lia Silver. I write that at home and on my lunch breaks at work. (I'm a PTSD therapist.)

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

Beginnings, when I don't have the voices and tone down yet, and early middles, when I am convinced that it's all terrible.

4. When and why did you first start writing?

At age seven, I wrote my first "novel" in a notebook. It was the lightly fictionalized adventures of my actual pet rat, Ratsy, and was called "The Adventures of Ratsy." (There are cute mutant rats in Stranger; I like rats. They are so smart and fuzzy!)

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

Sherwood and I wanted to write a fun adventure story for everyone who normally gets left out of the fun books - for the readers who aren't normally seen as heroes, because they're racial or ethnic or religious or sexual or gender minorities. It probably originally comes from me being a little Jewish girl who wanted to read books about girls being heroes, and stories about Jews having adventures rather than facing anti-Semitism. 

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

I read constantly! Right now I'm in the middle of a wonderful book called Santa Olivia, by Jacqueline Carey. It's about a genetically engineered lesbian boxer after the apocalypse, and it's terrific - fun and juicy and completely engrossing. 

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

Don't give up. There's someone out there who really wants to hear the stories you have to tell.

Stacking the Shelves / 7th December 2014

Book Review / The Crash by Krystyna Kuhn

Mount Ghost looms high above Grace College, and holds as many secrets as the valley itself. 

Secrets of missing students, lies and betrayal.

Julia has barely scratched the surface of what the valley has hidden and she's determined to discover what connects her father to the mysterious Grace College.

The answer, she's sure, lies on Mount Ghost, so when her friend Katie suggests that they investigate the students who went missing there forty years ago, Julia jumps at the chance.

But Julia can no longer hide from her past in the valley. And she's not the only one . . .


Published:     4th October 2012
Publisher:   Little Brown Books
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2 Das Tal
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:  2 out of 5

My Review

What I loved about this story...
I liked the premise of this story.  You have a college/school based story with lots of secrets and adventure.  I really enjoyed learning more about each of the characters and finding out a little bit about them (although not too much was given away in this book). 


What I was not fond of with this story...
Unfortunately, there is a bit more to put in this section than the section above that I would have wished I could write more about.  First off I am just going to mention that when I had finished reading this book and went to look up about the next book in the series, I discovered that not only was this book 2 in a series but that it is a translation so it made it more difficult to figure out on Goodreads what the series was and what was book 1/2 etc....  

The other thing I was a bit disappointed with is that in the description it mentions secrets of missing students  and answers that can be found on Mount Ghost.  More than three quarters of the book were about the students at the College and travelling up to Mount Ghost.  The bit that I was more excited about when starting this book was finding out what would happen when they got up to Mount Ghost.  Yes there were a few things that happened and you did find out something major but I felt it was very rushed and would have loved that part to be a bigger part of the story. 

About the Author

Krystyna Kuhn lives near Frankfurt with her husband and her daughter.

Waiting on Wednesday / The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

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

Expected Release Date: 13th January 2015
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

Book Review / Honeyville by Daisy Waugh

A hooker. A mistress. A murder. This town was built on sin.
The town of Trinidad, Colorado was a tough place to be a woman in 1913. But it was the best place in the West to find one, if you had the cash.

Honeyville, they used to call it.

A murder throws Inez and Dora together – two women from opposite sides of town, in a town built for men. Against all odds, the well born girl and the high class hooker are drawn together in friendship…

But this is a town that is rotten to the core, and beyond the rustling of silk skirts, the dancing and laughter, deadly unrest is building…

Welcome to Honeyville – a town living by its own rules, where nothing is quite as it seems

A STORY INSPIRED BY A LOST CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Published:     20th November 2014
Publisher:  Harper
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand Alone
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   5 out of 5

My Review
 
What I loved about this story...
I just love it when you try a new book from a new author to you and absolutely love it!  This was definitely one of those for me.  I am not sure how much of this story is based on historical fact but I just loved the way that the author managed to pull me into this world and not let me go until the very last page.  I have to say that there was no one particular character that really stood out in this story, they were all equally interesting to follow.  For me, this was more about the story and what was happening in the town of Trinidad n 1913.  You definitely got a feel for the era, particularly how man and women were treated differently.  

What I also loved about this story is the fact that it kept me thinking for a very long time afterwards, especially when it comes to the divide between men and women and what they could and could not do when there's trouble in the neighbourhood. 



About the Author

(from Author website)

Daisy Waugh is a novelist, columnist and journalist. She has published seven novels and a travel book, A Small Town In Africa, about her time working as a teacher in Northern Kenya. She has worked as an Agony Aunt, a restaurant critic, a property reviewer, and a general lifestyle columnist for many years – most recently for the Sunday Times. She writes a monthly column for the magazine Standpoint, and has worked for radio and TV.

Her last two novels, Last Dance With Valentino and Melting the Snow on Hester Street are set in silent era Hollywood and so is the novel she is currently working on. She has also written a non-fiction book (to be published in June 2013) about the absurdities and indignities of modern motherhood, called I Don’t Know Why She Bothers (Guilt Free Motherhood For Thoroughly Modern Women).

She lives in London with her film producer husband and her three children.

Waiting on Wednesday / The Rebel Next Door by JS Cooper

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

Expected Release Date: February 2015
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

Sometimes the rebel next door can surprise you.

When hunky Brody Hunter moved next door, Kyla Richards knew that her quiet dreamer life was going to change. Only she never imagined just how much. Brody Hunter was the sort of guy that girls had posters of on their walls. Only Kyla sensed that there were hidden depths to his beautiful surface; depths that she would give anything to explore.

Book Review / The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell

Every bookshop has a story.

We’re not talking about rooms that are just full of books. We’re talking about bookshops in barns, disused factories, converted churches and underground car parks. Bookshops on boats, on buses, and in old run-down train stations. Fold-out bookshops, undercover bookshops, this-is-the-best-place-I’ve-ever-been-to-bookshops.

Meet Sarah and her Book Barge sailing across the sea to France; meet Sebastien, in Mongolia, who sells books to herders of the Altai mountains; meet the bookshop in Canada that’s invented the world’s first antiquarian book vending machine.

And that’s just the beginning.

From the oldest bookshop in the world, to the smallest you could imagine, The Bookshop Book examines the history of books, talks to authors about their favourite places, and looks at over three hundred weirdly wonderful bookshops across six continents (sadly, we’ve yet to build a bookshop down in the South Pole).

The Bookshop Book is a love letter to bookshops all around the world.

Published:     2nd October 2014
Publisher:  Constable and Robinson
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here 
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand Alone
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   5 out of 5

My Review

What I loved about this book...
Ask any book lover and they will tell you that there's nothing better than reading a book about books.  That's the ultimate reading experience.  This book took me on the ultimate book shopping experience from my own living room (and without buying any books which was the sad part lol!).   This book has introduced me to so many interesting book shops that I have definitely added to my list of 'places I want to visit'.  

What I also liked about this book is that you had interviews with authors such as Tracy Chevalier etc talking about their book experiences.  Its probably the equivalent of someone who is an organiser reading a lifestyle magazine just to see the pictures of people's living rooms to see how they decorate etc...

This book was so good I read it in one sitting, could not put it down...  There were so many places that I had to Google to find out more after I had read the book, it's definitely addicting.

About the Author
(from Goodreads)

Jen grew up in a small village by the sea in the north-east of England. After studying English Literature at Edinburgh University, she moved to north London to sell books and write stories. She works part-time at an antiquarian bookshop.

Jen's first book, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops, was published in 2012 and was a Sunday Times Bestseller. The sequel, More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops, was released in 2013. 'Weird Things...' is available in seven different languages, and was a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards.

Her new non-fiction book The Bookshop Book was published October 2014 by Constable/Little, Brown, and is the official book of the 2014 Books Are My Bag campaign. www.jen-campbell.co.uk/the-bookshop-book

Jen is also an award-winning poet and short story writer. Her poetry pamphlet The Hungry Ghost Festival is published by The Rialto., and she is currently writing her first novel.

She is represented by Charlie Campbell at Kingsford Campbell. 

Book Review / A Proper Farmily Christmas by Chrissie Manby

Annabel Buchanan has it all. A privileged life. Pots of cash. Looks and manners born of generations of fabulous breeding. At least, that's what she likes people to think. But Annabel's carefully created image is about to come crashing down.

With her beloved daughter Izzy in need of a kidney transplant, Annabel is desperate to find a suitable donor. That's how she comes to admit that before Annabel Buchanan there was Daisy Benson, given up for adoption by her teenage mum and dad.

Hoping her biological family will be able to help, Annabel traces the Bensons and is horrified by the embarrassing, chavvy bunch she discovers. They're definitely not her kind of people. And she is equally baffling to them.

But as Christmas approaches and Izzy's situation brings the Benson and the Buchanan families closer, will Annabel discover at last that blood is thicker than water?

Published:     6th November 2014
Publisher:  Hodder
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2, Proper Family
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:  4 out of 5

My Review

What I loved about this story...
I really enjoyed the fact that you had two completely separate families; one 'well off' family who acted very posh and quite snobby like and one family who are more 'down to earth' and quite opinionated and loud.  Following both of these families when their worlds collide was very entertaining.  The two characters that I liked the most were Izzy and Sarah who strike up a friendship through all the rivalry and fighting between the families.  Another two characters that I found particularly funny was Jack and his grandfather.  Jack is a young boy and the grandfather is much older (obviously!) and is suffering from Alzheimer's.  When these two get together, the results are really quite funny, particularly how much fun they have.

What I was not fond of with this story...
If I was completely honest, I was a bit disappointed by the ending.  I won't spoil the story for you here but the conclusion to something that happens throughout this story was not the one I was expecting. 


About the Author

Encouraged my by English teacher, Mrs. Pocock, I published my first short story in Just Seventeen when I was fourteen years old. The story was called ‘Whatever happened to the wonderful boy I fell in love with’ and I published it under the pseudonym ‘Carolyn Lane’ because it largely consisted of a transcript of an argument I’d had with my boyfriend. I bought a black denim jacket from C & A with the proceeds.

I continued to contribute short stories to Just Seventeen to help pay my way through university. I studied Experimental Psychology at St Edmund Hall in Oxford. Alas, I devoted rather too much time to my social life and staggered away with an unimpressive 2:2. In retrospect, that 2:2 saved my life. It meant that none of the graduate training schemes I had hoped to join would have me. I wouldn’t become an accountant after all. I moved to London and took a series of temp jobs to support myself. It was while I was working at Prelude Audio Books, a company which took erotic ‘classics’ and put them on tape, that I met my first real novelist: David Garnett.

David is a very well respected science fiction writer, who once dabbled with writing erotica under the name Angelique. Prelude was recording the Angelique novels. One afternoon, David spent a couple of hours sitting on my desk, waiting for my boss to come back from a very long publishing lunch to discuss some unpaid royalties. I told David I’d always wanted to be a writer. He dared me to write a novella like Angelique’s. A few weeks later, I handed him my first full-length manuscript. David cast his experienced eye over my scribblings, helped me tweak it and then passed it on to his editor at Little Brown. Incredibly, she made an offer on it. My dream of becoming a proper writer was reborn.

That first book was called ‘Inspiration’. It centred on the sexual shenanigans of a group of artists in St Ives. Wary of embarrassing my parents, I published ‘Inspiration’ as Stephanie Ash. Four more Stephanie Ash novellas followed, helping me to pay my rent and attract the attention of a literary agent. In 1997, I published my first Chris Manby novel, ‘Flatmates’…

Thirteen novels on the single life as Chris Manby later, I’ve just published ‘Getting Over Mr. Right’ as ‘Chrissie Manby’ (apparently too many people are under the impression that I am a bloke!). 

Cover Reveal / The Lighthouse Pylon by Jeffrey Perren

     

   

     
   

 

 
 
    
 CURL HOYER WAS A MAN WHO COULD NOT BE FOOLED… EXCEPT THIS ONCE.

1955. An unstoppable sea and an immovable tower hold the key to several lives, past, present, and future.

Approaching middle-age and desperately lonely, Lighthouse Keeper Curl Hoyer is pining to find a wife, the unique partner just right for him.

When alluring photo-journalist Henne arrives to do a story on him and the romantic coastal facility, his prayer seems answered at last. Seductive and intriguing, she soon makes him fall in love with her — all according to plan.

What is that plan?

At first blush, it appears nothing more than a desire to corral a man of unusual character: a rare blend of passion, curiosity, and tenderness. Soon, it’s revealed to be a demonic scheme for revenge, payback for wounds festering since adolescence.

Why? What is the mysterious connection between the pair reaching back 20 years? And can Curl uncover the plan in time to save himself and the vital lighthouse?

A haunting seaside tower brings them together again for one final showdown.

“The Lighthouse Pylon is dramatic suspense harkening back to the golden age of Gothic romance, when a shoreline structure could be as menacing as the villain. Jeffrey Perren’s latest is surely his finest novel yet, with a twist at the end we challenge any reader to guess!” - ClioStory Publishing

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeffrey Perren wrote his first short story at age 12 and went on to win the Bank of America Fine Arts award at age 17. Since then he has published at award-winning sites and magazines from the U.S. to New Zealand.

His debut novel was "Cossacks In Paris," an historical adventure set in Napoleonic Europe, inspired by a real soldier of the Battle of Paris in 1814. His second, “Death is Overrated,” a romantic mystery, is the story of a scientist who must prove he didn't kill himself. His third is “Clonmac's Bridge,” an archaeological thriller and historical mystery set in contemporary and 9th century Ireland. “The Lighthouse Pylon,” a novel of romantic suspense is expected to be published on December, 2014.
He was born in Independence, MO right around the corner from Harry Truman's house. But then, at the time, everything there was right around the corner from Harry Truman's house. He now lives in Sandpoint, Idaho with his wife, an economist.

Amazon profile - http://www.amazon.com/Jeffrey-Perren/e/B00B7PTTKO
Goodreads profile - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6851798.Jeffrey_Perren

Stacking the Shelves / Book Haul - 23rd Nov 2014

Blog Tour / I Want to be Baptized by Annalisa Hall

Help your little ones recognize the joy, responsibility, and importance of being baptized. 

"I Want to Be Baptized"—from the same author and illustrator who brought you "The Holy Ghost Is like a Blanket"—depicts what baptism really means for children’s lives by comparing it to objects they remember and relate to. 

Turn to these heartwarming illustrations and meaningful analogies next time a child asks you about baptism.
  

GOODREADS LINK - CLICK HERE

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why? There are plenty of authors I admire. Bob Staake, David L. Harrison, Julianne Donaldson, Kelly Milner Halls, and Merrilee Boyack to name a few. I think collaborating with Josi S. Kilpack on a children's mystery book would be fun -- cooking up something yummy in the process would be a special treat. And definitely Sheri Fink -- her whimsical world is something I'd love to be part of one day. My daughter loves her books which encourage and empower children to do good and be good. Also, when it comes to children's books, the illustrator has a big role. Corey Egbert was my pick for "The Holy Ghost is Like a Blanket" and it was only natural for him to illustrate "I Want to Be Baptized" And yet with a new children's storybook in my head, I've been conjuring a new style which has allowed me to venture into the art world again -- David Habben is currently a new favorite artist.

2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write? The family is up by 6am and we're out the door to school and work by 7:30am (if I haven't forgotten to feed them or read the scriptures – it’s a good start). At 5pm we're back home together for dinner, family prayer, and bedtime routines (which may or may not include eating dessert first). By 8pm the kids are tucked into bed, and that's when the real day begins -- the reading & writing routine. First, I write in my journal (it’s my data dump). Then, I edit the previous days’ work (the clean, clear & concise method) and press forward with new work. I alternate days between writing children's books and other genres. But at pumpkin time, I go to sleep (as in, I need my beauty rest & that starts at 10pm). I write in journals, on magazines, and in Google Drive. My favorite is still composition notebooks though.

3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you? Knowing when to submit the work to a publisher is the hardest part for me. Polishing work can take an eternity, but it’s important to remember that no amount of refining or editing will help if it doesn't meet the publisher's needs at that time. At some point, I realize that I've addressed all the major issues and the publisher needs to decide what happens next. Then, it just takes a lot of courage to find the right publisher -- weeding through the rejection until you sprout up and find the publisher that will help your book blossom. For these children’s books, it was Cedar Fort Inc. [Thanks to an intro by my friend, Merrilee Boyack].

4. When and why did you first start writing? I daydream. I write snail mail. I write short stories. I write poetry. I write more. I read. And I write again. My 8th birthday, with a children's illustrated dictionary and an "About Me" journal, launched me into the writing world. Words and stories have filled my mind ever since and I continue to see the world for what I imagine it should be not necessarily what it is. My friend, Julianne Donaldson, author of "Edenbrooke" and "Blackmoore" suggested I submit one of my true stories to the Friend magazine. I did and it was published in Sept 2010 - "Garbage Can Graffiti". It was an exciting event that propelled me to continue writing and submitting to publishers my fiction and non-fiction works.

5. How did you come up with the idea for your book? "I Want to Be Baptized" is the prequel to "The Holy Ghost is Like a Blanket" and both are the result of a parent's need to teach their young children about Gospel principles and ordinances. It took a lot of prayer and patience to decide what are the main goals were - what do children need to know and feel while reading the book - and I'm grateful these LDS Non-fiction children's books came together so well.

6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now? Yes, reading books is a huge part of perfecting the storytelling craft and I read multiple styles (YA, Picture Books, Love Inspired, Comics…) at the same time. I just finished "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. My nightstand currently has the series of Latter-day tales by Rebecca H. Jamison, "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Suess, "Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka, "Bluebird" (wordless) by Bob Staake, and "The Rancher and the Schoolteacher" by Judith Bowen. [You can see my 'shelfie' pic @helpfulannalisa with many of my favorite children's books.]

7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers? (A) Write and write and write, (B) Join the national book / writers’ club for your genre(s) and be a member of the corresponding local chapters [i.e. SCBWI ], and (C) Please your readers [meet their expectations] -- give them a great story.

Waiting on Wednesday / The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

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

Expected Release Date: 10th February 2015
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

There's death all around us.
We just don't pay attention.
Until we do.

The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.

Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.

As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.

Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.

Book Review / I'll be Watching You by Beverly Barton

Ella, sweet Ella, you were meant to be mine. You can’t begin to imagine all the things I want to do to you. When the time is right, I will come for you . . .

A series of hand-delivered letters leaves Ella scared for her life. Someone is watching her. Wanting her. Someone promising revenge.

Desperate for the nightmare to end, Ella will do anything to discover the truth. Even join forces with a man who comes with his own danger warning . . .

Published:     9th October 2014
Publisher:  Avon
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   4 out of 5
 

My Review

What I loved about this book...
I have to admit that crime style stories have not been my favourite genre in the past but this year I had decided to push my reading limits and read outside my comfort zone and crime style stories is one of those that I wanted to read more of.  I am so glad that I picked up this story and I will definitely look into the other books that are out from this author.  I really enjoyed the vast array of characters in this story and trying to figure out who was good and who was bad. 

What I was not fond of with this story...
There was a point near the middle of this story where I felt it did drag along a little bit but I am really glad that I pushed through that because the ending was well worth the wait!

About the Author
(from Goodreads)

Beverly Marie Inman was born on 23 December 1946 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. Daughter of Doris Marie and Walter D. Inman Jr. A born romantic, she fell in love with The Beauty and the Beast epic at an early age, when her grandfather bought her an illustrated copy of the famous fairy tale. Even before she learned to read and write, her vivid imagination created magical words and fabulous characters inside her mind. Movies fascinated her, and by the time she was seven she was rewriting the movies she saw on television and at the local theater to give them all happy endings. By the age of nine she'd penned her first novel. She wrote short stories, TV scripts, poetry, and novels throughout high school and into college.

After her marriage to Billy Ray Beaver, the "love of her life", and the births of her two children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers. At every age of their lives, from infancy to adulthood, the children had been a true joy to her. She devoted herself to her husband and children and considered herself one of the many selfless "supermoms" who put their family's needs first. She believed she had had it all, just not all at the same time.

In her mid-30s, Beverly returned to her former passion — writing — as a hobby, but before 40, she decided that she wanted to make writing a full-time career. And when she rediscovered an old dream — of becoming a published writer — no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. Her children were her greatest cheerleaders and her husband was her biggest supporter. After writing over 40 books and receiving numerous awards and nominations, as well as having books on the USA Today list and consistently on the Waldenbooks bestseller list, her career was indeed a dream come true. Having a fantastic family and fabulous friends, as well as making a living doing the one thing she had loved doing since childhood, she considered herself truly blessed. Beverly died suddenly of heart failure on 21 April 2011.

Book Review / The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.

So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

Published:     7th September 2014
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Author Website:  Cassandra Clare: Click here & Holly Black:  Click Here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, Magisterium
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   3 out of 5
 

My Review

What I loved about this story...
I really enjoyed the mystery and history of this story.  At the beginning of the story, you have a flashback to a 'great war' and out of that survives a baby.  Flash forward and you have the main character Callum who finds himself  going through the Iron Trial go get into the Magisterium and wanting to fail.  I really enjoyed him trying to fail at the different tests he is given and the way he chooses to try and fail, I found it so funny.  The unknown in this story was the big pull for me in this story, I  am definitely intrigued to find out more about Callum's past and also the history of the Magisterium.

What I was not fond of with this story...
Although I enjoyed reading this story, I did find it very predictable and there were very few things in the story that surprised me.  


 About the Authors     

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.

Holly Black is a best-selling author of contemporary fantasy novels for kids, teens, and adults. She is the author of the Modern Faerie Tale series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), and The Good Neighbors graphic novels (with Ted Naifeh) The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, and The Curse Worker series (White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart). She is also the co-editor of three anthologies, Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her most recent works are the middle grade novel, Doll Bones, and the dark fantasy stand-alone, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.

Waiting on Wednesday / The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

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

Expected Release Date: 10th March 2015
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

Book Review / The Witch of Salt and Storm by Kendall Kulper

You don't know what you must give up to become a witch.

Avery Roe wants only to claim her birthright as the witch of Prince Island and to make the charms that have kept the island's sailors safe at sea for generations, but instead she is held prisoner by her mother in a magic-free life of proper manners and respectability.

Avery thinks escape is just a matter of time, but when she has a harrowing nightmare, she can see what it means: She will be killed. She will be murdered. And she's never been wrong before.

Desperate to change her future, Avery finds a surprising ally in Tane—a tattooed harpoon boy with magic of his own, who moves her in ways she never expected. But as time runs out to unlock her magic and save herself, Avery discovers that becoming a witch requires unimaginable sacrifice.

Avery walks the knife's edge between choice and destiny in Kendall Kulper's sweeping debut: the story of one girl's fight to survive the rising storm of first love and family secrets.

Published:     4th September 2014
Publisher:  Orchard Books
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1,
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   3 out of 5

My Review

What I loved about this story...
What I loved the most about this story was the history of the island and the history of the Roe witches.  I liked the fact that there is one 'main' Roe witch and when the time is right its the daughter who takes over next.  I liked the fact that in this story it is the witch who 'holds all the cards' in the island and controls a lot of aspects of the island.  Most stories that I have read with witches in it they are usually the victim and are being hunted so it was nice to see witches in a different light with this book...       

What I was not fond of with this story... 
For me, this book was very slow paced and I had a hard time keeping my concentration on this story because of that.  There was also a particular character (Avery's mother) that I really took a dislike to for the entirety of the story and whenever she was part of the story I really got annoyed with her views and how she tries to control Avery.


About the Author
(From Goodreads)

Kendall Kulper is the author of SALT & STORM, a Young Adult historical fantasy to be published by Little, Brown in September 2014. 

She grew up in the wilds of New Jersey and currently lives in Boston with her economist husband, Dave, and Abby, her chronically-anxious Australian Shepherd.