Sunday, December 13, 2015

In My Mailbox (169)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:


Bought:

N/A

I'm back.  Let's hope for the long run (But not making any promises so far ).  NaNoWriMo is done for this year.  So I hope to be getting back into reading and doing some reviews and other things in the coming weeks :)

What did you all get in your IMM?

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (159)


Wednesday was created by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post for you to share what upcoming books you can't wait for!

Absolutely loved reading Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine and was super excited when she revealed the next book in The Great Library Series, Paper and Fire.  The expected publication date for this is 5th July 2016.


Synopsis
With an iron fist, The Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.

Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower and doomed to a life apart.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess’s home isn’t safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or the Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control…

What are you waiting on?

Monday, September 28, 2015

Brisbane Writer's Festival Recap


 Brisbane Writer's Festival was an awesome week of Authors, both published and upcoming, writers finding their feet, students who enjoy a good read.  It was a mix of everything I love about the festival!!

I did a couple of masterclasses during the week.  An editing class with Gavin Grant, and a Supernatural masterclass with Mike Jones.  Both were incredibly informative and fun!

On Saturday I went to see the panel This Sucks: Why we Will Never Tire of Vampires with  Holly Black, Kelly Link and Trent Jamieson.  It was amazing to hear each Author talk about this!

I had a bit of time spare before Cassandra Clare and Holly Black talked on Love YA so I sat in on David Burton, Eliza Henry Jones and Kristina Schulz talking about the pathways to publication.  It was a very interesting chat and I definitely took a lot away from this.

On Sunday, I went to Shadow Hunted. Ask me anything with Cassandra Clare.  There were so many questions and a lot of secrets revealed.

After Shadowhunted we got to listen to Trent Jamieson talk about his latest release Day Boy.  I bought this from his book release and had it signed then.  Loved the book.

At the end of the day we got to hear Holly Black and Cassandra Clare talk about their latest book Magisterium. 

Admittedly, I haven't finished reading Magisterium but it is pretty good so far, and from what I heard at the chat it's only going to get better!!


My partner met me after the panel and we had dinner.  It was a rather long day but definitely an enjoyable one.  The walk back to the car was very pretty.

Definitely looking forward to going to next years Brisbane Writer's Festival. 
In November the Toowoomba Writer's Festival will be happening.  I can't wait for the timetable to go up for this.


  

Sunday, September 13, 2015

In My Mailbox (168)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:
N/A

Bought:

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

 
These are the books that I got from the Brisbane Writer's Festival.  I've been a bit slack.  I had hoped to have up my photos of the Authors we seen this week but it looks like it might happen this week coming. 
 
What did you get in your IMM?
 

Thursday, September 3, 2015

MBOB: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey


Synopsis:
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.


Friday, August 21, 2015

Afterworlds Book Trailer

I've read this book and it was pretty awesome.  Check out the trailer!!



And shortly after I found the book Trailer.  I came across this one. Absolutely brilliant!!

Sunday, August 9, 2015

In My Mailbox (167)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:


N/A

Bought:

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid
Definitely looking forward to starting this one.  I've loved everything Adi has brought out so far!!

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

What did you get in your IMM?

Thursday, July 23, 2015

MBOB: Goosebummps



I had to share this one, because, as a kid growing up.  I read my fair share of Goosebumps books.  So this looks like it is an absolute must see!!

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Way Down Dark by JP Smythe

Author: JP Smythe
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction / Fantasy
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date: 2nd July 2015
ISBN: 9781444796322
Stand Alone/Series: The Australia Trilogy #1
Pages: 288pages
First Lines: The story goes taht Earth was much older than the scientist thought.

Synopsis:  
The first in an extraordinary new YA trilogy by James Smythe, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.

There's one truth on Australia: You fight or you die. Usually both.

Seventeen-year-old Chan's ancestors left a dying Earth hundreds of years ago, in search of a new home. They never found one.

The only life that Chan's ever known is one of violence, of fighting. Of trying to survive.

But there might be a way to escape. In order to find it, Chan must head way down into the darkness - a place of buried secrets, long-forgotten lies, and the abandoned bodies of the dead.

Seventeen-year-old Chan, fiercely independent and self-sufficient, keeps her head down and lives quietly, careful not to draw attention to herself amidst the violence and disorder. Until the day she makes an extraordinary discovery - a way to return the Australia to Earth. But doing so would bring her to the attention of the fanatics and the murderers who control life aboard the ship, putting her and everyone she loves in terrible danger.

And a safe return to Earth is by no means certain.

My Thoughts:
Thanks to Hachette Australia for sending this to me.  I must admit that the first few pages in, I struggled.  Not with the writing because it was amazing, but the scene that it painted.  Of a life that you had to fight tooth and nail for survival and there being no escape.  A life where children die for something as simple as getting in the road, or for being in the wrong gang, or for just existing.  So this was hard, being the mother of a six year old, and reading about the struggles that Chan and the people on Australia had to face just to survive.

In saying that, It's been a while since I've picked a book up that has contained so much grit and drama as Way Down Dark had, that I struggled to put it down.  Chan is a strong willed and determined character to do what's right, not just what's selfish and not just 'staying alive'.  Because she believes there to be a better way.  

JP Smythe paints a bleak atmosphere for the occupants of Australia.  On one half of the ship are the lows.  A gang that is violent and cruel doing whatever it takes to claim more of the ship.  They encroach on the free area and this spurs Chan into action, against the warnings from her dying mother and that of her mother's friend Agatha.

The one thing I'm the most happy about is that you find out right at the beginning that this is part of a Trilogy.  In all honesty after reading other books about people in space, I'm not sure what it was about those, but I've never gone for anything that has been space related.  The synopsis on the back of this did suck me in though.  Once I started reading, it's not that you forget that they are on the ship, because it's there in the description but it's so wonderfully done, that it feels real and it feels legit.  So I can't wait to go looking for more of this Author's writing.

Overall I recommend this read to others to try.  Be aware that it is graphic at times, in both it's words, and what it doesn't say, so you have been warned, but in saying that, don't pass up on this.

I look forward to reading what happens next for Chan and the characters of Way Down Dark.

Book received from:  Hachette Children's Book



Sunday, July 19, 2015

In My Mailbox (166)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:


N/A

Bought:

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
The Great Library #1
I'm definitely looking forward to reading this one!  Anything Rachel Caine writes is just brilliant!

What did you get in your IMM?

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

MBOB: Need by Joelle Charbonneau

Synopsis:

Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature.





Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (158)


Waiting On Wednesday was created by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post for you to share what upcoming books you can't wait for!


I'm looking forward to reading The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes which will be out July 7th.

Synopsis
This thriller YA is Scandal meets Veronica Mars.

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

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

Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and Heist Society, readers will be clamoring for this compelling teen drama with a political twist.

What are you waiting on?

Sunday, June 28, 2015

In My Mailbox (165)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:


Way Down Dark by JP Smythe

Thanks to Hachette Australia for this review book.


Bought:

Day Boy by Trent Jamieson
-I have read this and highly recommend giving it a go!!

What did you get in your IMM?

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Day Boy Book Launch

Hi all!

Just wanted to let you all know that Isobelle Carmody will be launching Trent Jamieson's new book Day Boy!  Don't miss out!

You can find more information here:  Avid Reader!  I'll certainly be going!

Just to let you all know, parking is limited so if you can get someone to drop you in, you will be thankful for it!!

See you there :)

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (157)


Waiting On Wednesday was created by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post for you to share what upcoming books you can't wait for!


I used to read alot from Karin Slaughter and Tess Gerritsen back in the day.  I guess I needed a change of scene for a little while as all the crime in their books sometimes actually gave me nightmares lol.  The books were that good!  But I'm itching to get my hands on Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter which is out in September this year.

Synopsis

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.
More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia's teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed.
The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.
Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.

What are you waiting on??

Sunday, June 21, 2015

In My Mailbox (164)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:


Zarkora: The Fyrelit Tragedy by Nicholas Lochel & Alison Lochel
Thank you to Hachette Children's books for sending this out to me

Bought:

Haunted and Mysterious Australia by Tim The Yowie Man

Writing The Paranormal Novel by Steven Harper

In the process of doing some research on a story I'm hoping to get written up in the next month or so.  Fingers crossed it all pans out :)

What did you all get in your IMM?

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Guest Post: Danny and the Three Monsters - Andrew Joyce

My name is Andrew Joyce and I write books for a living. Melissa has been kind enough to allow me a little space on her blog to promote my latest book, MOLLY LEE. It’s averaging 4.9 stars on Amazon and for the next few days it will be priced at 0.99 cents. It is also available in paperback. Please check it out. Here’s the link . . . http://geni.us/molly


I would love to tell you all about it, but instead, I have to turn the writing duties over to my dog whose name is Danny. You see, he can be pretty insistent at times. We recently had some excitement in our lives and he can’t wait to tell you about it. For what it’s worth, this is a true story. And when you are finished reading it, please click on the link to my book and check it out. Danny is not the only genius in our household.

Danny and the Three Monsters

Hello dog fans, it is I, Danny the Dog! I haven’t been writing much lately because I’ve been helping my human, whose name is Andrew, look after three Labrador retrievers. What a nightmare! There is Chloe, who is fourteen months old, and then there is Beau and Hank. They are both four months old and they are holy terrors. They live on a boat down at the end of the dock. Their human was going out of town and he asked my human to look after them and Andrew, being the idiot that he is, said yes.

First of all, I want to say to Jeff, the human that lives with the three monsters, don’t ever leave them in Andrew’s care again. I wouldn’t trust him to look after a taco, much less three dogs.

The trouble started right away. Jeff had two crates (humans call them crates; I call them cages) for Beau and Hank because, as I’ve said, they are holy terrors. Andrew went over to take them for their first walk after Jeff left, and of course, he has to take me along to help out. Anyway, Andrew gets them out of the crates and is getting them off the boat when clumsy Hank falls into the water.

Let me paint the picture for you. It was nighttime. It was dark. The water was dark and Hank is black. Andrew and I could see nothing of Hank. We could only hear him splashing around. The dock is about five feet above the water so Andrew couldn’t get him out by standing on the dock. Being the genius that he is (just kidding), Andrew got on the swim platform, which—for you landlubbers—is attached to the back of a boat and is only a foot above the water.


Now this is where Andrew’s “genius” comes into play. He took off his glasses and placed them on the transom so they wouldn’t slip off while he was bending over to pull Hank out of the water. He called to Hank. Hank swam over and Andrew got him onto the boat. Then Andrew went to get his glasses and they were not there or anywhere else on the boat. It looked as though Beau knocked them into the water because he had his paws up in that general vicinity while he was watching Andrew rescue his brother (they’re twins). All this in the first five minutes of Andrew looking after the monsters. And it only got better, and by better, I mean worse. I had a ball watching Andrew trying to cope for four days.

On to the next disaster, but first a side note. For some reason Beau is enthralled with me. The damn dog wouldn’t leave me alone. He put his snoot in my face, ran around me, bounced around me; he was a royal pain in my rear end. Finally, I had to growl at him and give him a little nip on his snoot to get some peace.

Now back to Andrew’s genius. We got the dogs back on the boat without further mishaps. Andrew fed them and all was well. But then Andrew decided not to put Hank and Beau in their crates. He felt sorry for them being cooped up like that. Big mistake!

The next morning when we went to get them, there was poop everywhere. The whole floor was covered in it. The babies had gotten into the dog food bag, ripped it open and ate it all. Then they pooped everywhere and walked in it. They got it on the couch, on the sliding glass doors, on everything. I think even on the ceiling. Needless to say, after spending two hours cleaning it all up, Andrew changed his mind about the crates.

Last night we were hanging out. Andrew was staring into space because he did not have his glasses and could not read a book or see the computer screen. I was on the computer starting this story when Chloe came onto our boat. She’s always coming here and stealing my water bowl! To date, she has taken five. But she should have been locked up on her own boat! Andrew got up, looked out, saw Jeff, and said, “Thank God! Thank God!” I barked the same thing. Our days of taking care of the monsters were over. Thank God!

P.S. This morning Jeff came over with Andrew’s glasses. Beau had taken them and hidden them in his stash place. And by the way, I have my own Facebook page and it’s a lot cooler than Andrew’s. Here’s a link: http://geni.us/dannythedog

Molly Lee
Synopsis:
It’s 1861 and the Civil War has just started. Molly is an eighteen-year-old girl living on her family’s farm in Virginia when two deserters from the Southern Cause enter her life. One of them—a twenty-four-year-old Huck Finn—ends up saving her virtue, if not her life.

Molly is so enamored with Huck, she wants to run away with him. But Huck has other plans and is gone the next morning before she awakens. Thus starts a sequence of events that leads Molly into adventure after adventure; most of them not so nice.

We follow the travails of Molly Lee, starting when she is eighteen and ending when she is fifty-six. Even then Life has one more surprise in store for her.

Molly Lee is the sequel to the best-selling novel REDEMPTION: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. It is the story of a woman who knows what she wants and starts out to get it. Molly is about to set off on the quest of a lifetime . . . of two lifetimes.

Amazon ... http://geni.us/molly 
Barnes and Noble ... http://geni.us/P2X
iTunes ... http://geni.us/TH1
Kobo ... http://geni.us/2EHU

Smashwords ... http://geni.us/1ZNZ  

About Andrew Joyce

Friday, May 22, 2015

Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

Title: Day Shift
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Date: 5th May 2015
ISBN: 9780575092891
Stand Alone/Series: Midnight Texas#2
Pages: 320 pages
First Lines: It isn't the rumbling of the trucks that seizes Manfred Bernardo's attention; it is the silence that falls when their ignitions die.

Contains Possible Spoilers if you haven't read Midnight!
Synopsis: 
There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.

Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular—and very wealthy—clients dies during a reading.

Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…

My Thoughts:
Day Shift is the second book in Charlaine Harris' new series Midnight, Texas.  I thoroughly enjoyed Charlaine's Sookie Stackhouse series and the Midnight series does not disappoint!

 The series begins with Manfred Bernardo a psychic, moving to Midnight, Texas.  There he finds and unusual close-nit group of residents with their own closet of secrets.

I found Day Shift jumped into the action a little quicker than Midnight, and it certainly hooked me from the first chapter.  An unusual event occurs in Midnight and it has the residents on edge.  A mysterious company has resurrected the boarded up hotel and it is bringing traffic to Midnight.  Not something that they want at all.

Another mysterious guest appears roughly the same time as the opening of the hotel and takes up temporary residence in the Rev's chapel.  What really gets the story going, is when he is out on a working weekend to Dallas and a long standing client of his dies.  Which sets the dominoes falling.

I really enjoyed the secrecy of each character.  I won't give up any secrets there but there were a few surprises amongst the group and I am curious to see where  Charlaine takes this in the third book.

Manfred as usual is the favourite for me but in these novels Charlaine has given multiple viewpoints told in third person omniscient, which could get confusing if you read too fast.  There were a couple of times I had to reread a paragraph to pick up who was telling this particular part of the story.

I loved how Charlaine makes reference to characters from her other books in this series, including one character that I know of that shows up in the Sookie Stackhouse novels.  If you know those books you have a fair idea of this particular person's skills and background.  Another nice tie in I think!

All in all I love Charlaine Harris' writing style and her stories! I'm definitely going to look into the other series she has created for my next lot of reading material.  I just can't wait for Night Shift to be published.

Book received from:  Bought this one!!



Sunday, May 17, 2015

In My Mailbox (163)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:
Bought:

 Day Shift by Charlaine Harris (Midnight, Texas #2)

What did you get in your IMM?
 

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Mind Games by Teri Terry

Title: Mind Games 
Author: Teri Terry
Genre: Young Adult / Sci Fi
Publisher: Orchard Books
Publication Date: 5th March 2015
ISBN: 9781408334256
Stand Alone/Series: Stand Alone
Pages: 448 pages
First Lines: A school shouldn't be quiet.  I slip down the stairs, Hex a shadow behind me, matching my exaggerated careful, slow steps

Synopsis:  
Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late?

Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer.

The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing...

My Thoughts:
This took me a little while to get through this book as a few personal things popped up and ate away at reading time.

I have to admit, I was a tad bit confused at the beginning of Mind Games with the incident and the shoe.  I couldn't work out to begin with why Luna had left it until a bit further along when it became more clear.  I'm not sure whether I was just feeling a bit slow when I read it or what it was.

I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the characters.  Luna was definitely an enjoyable character and I liked that she tried her best to stick to her guns when it came to being a refuser.

I liked Hex and Gecko but were a little sus on both of these characters.  I didn't really warm up to them until towards the end, and I took to one more so than the other, for obvious reasons.

I also really enjoyed the little surprise gem when reading through and one of the worlds at Pare Co linked up to Slated, another of Teri's books that I really enjoyed as well.

For me there were some really good twists that i did NOT see coming at all and when they were revealed I was shocked!!  One or two I had anticipated but certainly not where the book ended up going.  Thumbs up for that!!

I'm looking forward to reading some more of Teri's work, as I like the world building and the characters!

Book received from:  Hatchette UK



Sunday, May 10, 2015

Happy Mothers Day

Wishing all the Mum's out there a memorable and Happy Mothers Day!!  

Sunday, April 26, 2015

In My Mailbox (162)


In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:
 
 
Thanks to Hachette Books through Netgalley :)
 

Bought:

N/a

What did you get in your IMM?

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (156)


Waiting On Wednesday was created by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post for you to share what upcoming books you can't wait for!


I read through first three books so quick.  I'm looking forward to reading The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater on 29th September 2015.

Synopsis

The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

In a starred review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Kirkus Reviews declared: "Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering close."

What are you waiting on?

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