Come Cheer Me On, For The Once Upon A Read A Thon!

Like what I did there? I'm such a poet! So some of you may know that I’ve signed up to take part in my first ever read a thon! Once Upon a Read-a-Thon is hosted by Lori at Pure Imagination, Angela at Reading Angel and Candace at Candace's Book Blog and you can find out more about it by clicking on the image.

The books I want to read over the three days are…

Hunting Lila and Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson
Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
Kindle Books

Hunting Lila and Heist Society are both books that I *had* to have as soon as they came out but got pushed aside for review copies. Since I recently got both books sequels for review I wanted to take the read a thon as an opportunity to read these fab books! I’m a fairly average reader neither fast nor slow so I in no way think I’ll read all of these in three days. On an average week I’d probably read one book in three days so my goal is to read two books or more if I can manage it! I’ve added my Kindle as an option as I find reading on it less strenuous on my eyes and it may be ideal if the books I’ve chosen aren’t grabbing my attention as much as I need them to, or if my eyes get tired and I want to switch over to an e-book.

Ideally I’d like to do an update post every day on how much I’ve read, how I’m feeling, what I’ve been eating (because no read a thon is complete without snacks right?) and all that good stuff. And I’ll also be updating on Goodreads and Twitter so if you want more updates you know where I’ll be! There should be some fun challenges that I’d like to take part in as well!

My overall plan of action is to read, read, read! But I also have some activities prepared for times when I need a pick me up. The first obvious choice is blogging, updating, and generally seeing how everybody else taking part is getting on. These will be the times when I need cheerleading so if you see me around the web a quick morale boost would be lovely! I also plan to break off from reading at meal times, to sleep (although I do plan to cut down my sleeping hours to fit in more reading!) and when I have to get on with y’know normal day to day stuff. And for times when I really need a break from books I have some short and fun Youtube videos to watch and Friends episodes which are usually only around 20 something minutes long and never fail to perk me up!

What I want to get out of this mainly is to read some fantastic books, find some lovely new bookish people to follow, and have loads of geeky awesome fun!

If you’re taking part good luck and have fun! And if you’re not then, well, I’ll see you on the other side…hopefully ;)

Letterbox Love (8)

Letterbox Love is a new meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.

 Review Books

The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill This book has such a pretty cover! I love how the light shines off the charms. I adore Melissa Hill she's probably my favourite chick-lit author so needless to say I'm really looking forward to this one!

On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves (Proof Copy) I've already read this book and it was a total surprise for me, wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did but it was great! A review for this will be coming soon.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (Proof Copy) I've heard amazing things for this book and you guys know how I love my contemps so I should be reading and reviewing this sometime this summer.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas This book has to be the highlight of the week for me, I've been looking forward to reading this one ever since I first heard about it a few months back, since then I've heard so many rave reviews, Cinderella, meets Fantasy, meets The Hunger Games? Er yes please! *Strokes book and mouths I can't wait to read you!* Oh, and this cover? Totally gets a fist pump from me *pumps!* 

Gift/Swap

The Secrets Between Us by Louise Douglas Last month I took part in Random Acts of Kindness and this was very kindly sent to me from Jenn Renee, I really enjoyed Louise Douglas' novel The Love of My Life and this sounds like a modern day Rebecca a book I really love so I've got high hopes for this one!

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally Another gorgeous sounding contemp that I can't wait to get stuck into this summer, this was a fab swap I did with Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies, I really want to read this before Stealing Parker comes out in October so you can expect a review for this sometime before then!

 Bookmarks

If you've been following the blog for a while now you may know that I have quite the obsession with bookmarks and actually collect them! And so every so often as a treat the people in my life will pick me up some new editions. My best friend Rachel recently went on a trip to Paris and so brought me back these lovelies as a gift! Thanks Rach! Three beautiful new bookmarks to add to the stash!

So that was everything that I got over the past week, I was expecting a book I ordered from Amazon but Amazon failed and it is now officially late! *Le sigh* I'm looking forward to showing you what it is next time, I'm really excited for it, and there are some other books on my wishlist coming out so there may be another Amazon order placed soon, sorry Mr Postman! As always huge thank you's to the lovely people who I was lucky enough to get books and goodies from this week, and I hope you've found some new books to add to your wishlist I'll leave a link to each books Goodreads page in the book titles so all you have to do is click on the link for more info on the book that interests you! If you’ve read or are looking forward to any of the books I got feel free to let me know what you thought about them or request reviews and such in the comments. And if you decided to do a Letterbox Love, Book Haul, IMM, Showcase Sunday, Mailbox Monday or whatever else featuring the books you got this week leave me a link as I’d love to check out your books too! ^_^

 Happy reading till next time folks!

Interview with Bestselling Author Jodi Picoult and Her Daughter Samantha Van Leer on Their New Novel Between the Lines

Jodi Picoult, for many years now, has been my favourite author of adult fiction so to say that I was excited to hear that she was coming out with a new book, this time co-written with her teenage daughter Samantha, for Young Adults (which just so happens to be my favourite genre) would be a huge understatement. I was fortunate enough to read and review a copy of Between the Lines early and really enjoyed it so I was thrilled to have the chance to interview both Sammy and Jodi about the book and have some of my questions answered. In case Between the Lines isn’t on your radar yet here’s a little bit about what it’s about...

Synopsis 
Delilah knows it's weird, but she can't stop reading her favourite fairy tale. Other girls her age are dating and cheerleading. But then, other girls are popular.
She loves the comfort of the happy ending, and knowing there will be no surprises.
Until she gets the biggest surprise of all, when Prince Oliver looks out from the page and speaks to her.
Now Delilah must decide: will she do as Oliver asks, and help him to break out of the book? Or is this her chance to escape into happily ever after?
Read between the lines for total enchantment...

Interview with Sammy and Jodi 

Sammy 

First of all how did it feel to write with your mom a world-wide bestselling author? Was there any pressure to appeal to her fans?
To me, she’s not famous – she’s just my mom. So the challenge was really in staying focused, and doing the work. I wasn’t thinking about her fans, really; just THIS book. It was REALLY hard to sit for hours at a computer and just WRITE. I sometimes wanted to get up and burst through the window – and I’m sure there were times she wanted to kill me because I got distracted. But then there were times it was really amazing to work together. Sometimes we tripped over each other’s sentences just to get to the next line – it was sort of like we were having the same dream and seeing exactly the same images in our heads, so that when we were writing we were telepathic.


Between the Lines was originally your idea, how did you come up with the story?
I was daydreaming in French class (I know, I should have been focusing…) when I started to wonder what happens when a book is closed. What’s it like for the characters? Can they see us? What does it feel like for them, when we read? Through the rest of that period, I tossed around the idea of what would become our book. When I went home I called my mom, who was on book tour, and told her I had an idea for a story. She was intrigued and started adding her opinions – and suggested we write the book together.


How does it feel to be a published author so young? How did you find the time to write on top of school and everything else? 
We wrote during school vacations, on weekends, over the summer. It was really hard to find the time. But it turns out it’s even harder to find time to do the interviews leading up to the publication of the book, because I’m a junior now and taking lots of standardized tests to get into college, and also playing varsity softball. So the publisher has to set up phone calls with newspapers and magazines for me at 8PM! As for being a published author – it doesn’t feel “real” yet. I’m more worried about getting a good grade in Chemistry class!


Is writing full time a career path you want to go down? And can we expect any more books from you any time soon? 
I love to write, and I write poetry all the time, but I don’t know if I’ll be a full-time writer. I feel like I have a really good sense of how hard that career path is after writing this book, but there’s a lot more I want to explore too – like psychology. I’ll be pretty busy at college so I don’t know when I’ll have time to write another book! 


Lastly did your mom give you any good writing tips? Did you learn anything from her during this experience? 
I learned to respect my mom’s profession. It’s hard work! And I also learned how similar we can be, when we’re writing.

Jodi 

Between the Lines is very different to your other books, how did it feel to write a YA novel? 
It wasn’t that different to write, really. The characters still have to ring true – even if one of them is a fairytale prince. Plus, the themes in BTL – like to whom does a story really belong – are very adult concepts. Add to this the general unease Delilah and Oliver feel about not fitting in and frankly, it’s very similar to the things I address in my adult books. The difference was the humor. Although I write humor into my grownup novels, it isn’t as broad as some of the jokes in here, and I rarely have characters like Socks, whose job is purely to lighten the mood. 


How did you find co-writing with Sammy instead of alone? Was it a big adjustment? 
I have collaborated before – when I wrote Wonder Woman for DC Comics. But this was very different because there were times I felt like Sammy and I were two halves of the same brain. We’d be writing together and we’d finish each others sentences, as if we were both seeing the same image of what was supposed to be on the page. I’ve never had that sort of experience before –and it wasn’t an adjustment; it was really a pleasure! 


Between the Lines began as Sammy's idea, did anything significantly change or develop as you wrote the book together? 
Yes. We had a few arguments, some of which she won and some of which I won! She was insistent that the fairytale bits sound like a traditional gothic fairytale; I wanted it to be tongue-in-cheek. She fought me and she was ultimately right. I wanted Oliver to be dark-haired; she wanted him blond…I won that one. We also made some significant edits to the book in subsequent drafts. Delilah’s friend Jules didn’t exist in the first version; neither did Frump’s backstory. I think they’re both incredibly important additions to the story. One thing that DIDN’T change – the last line. Sammy came up with that very early in the writing process, and we put it at the bottom of the Word document, and just kept writing toward it. 


Is writing for Young Adults or any other genre for that matter something you might explore again in the future? 
I think a lot of my grownup novels are appealing to YA because I often include a narrator from that age group. I will probably continue to explore some major themes of growing up through those characters in my adult novels. Then again, it was great fun writing this book with my daughter and I’d love to do another one with her! 


What's been your favourite part of creating this book with your daughter? 
How many moms get to spend hours with a daughter, creating something that lets you feel incredibly proud of her intellect, her creativity, and her determination? I couldn’t be more proud of Sammy for tackling this and for putting her heart and soul into the writing of the story. And I am SO looking forward to touring with her in the US, UK and Australia. There will be some major shopping, I’m sure!

END 

Between the Lines is published by Hodder & Stoughton and is released today! For more information on Between the Lines you can visit my review here, add this book to your goodreads wishlist, or buy the book from Amazon. 

Many thanks to Kerry at Hodder for arranging this interview and to Jodi and Sammy for taking the time out of their busy schedules to be on the blog today!

June Round-Up and Book of the Month!

June's BotM is The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo 

The Gathering Dark (also known as Shadow and Bone in the US) was not only my favourite book read in June but my favourite book read in 2012 so far! I’m usually quite picky with my fantasy but this one completely swept me away into another magical fantastical world, this book has a gorgeous romance, vibrant characters, and a literal battle between light and dark I can’t begin to recommend it enough, even if fantasy’s not usually your preferred genre I’d really recommend stepping out of your comfort zone for this one. For more info on the book and more of my thoughts my full review can be found here.

Books Read in June
42.) The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (4.5*)
43.) What I Did On My Holidays by Chrissie Manby (4*)
44.) Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate (3.5*)
45.) The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo (5*)
46.) Rapture by Lauren Kate (5*)
47.) I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella (3*)
48.) Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout (3.5*)
49.) My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (4.5*)

Total Books Read = 8 
Thoughts: This month was a really scattered month with ratings ranging from 5 star all-time favourites to 3’s it has to be said that even the 3 stars I enjoyed reading this month and there were no bad books with them ranging from average to fantastic! I was a bit gutted that I didn’t make it to 50 books this month with the end of June being half way through the year it would have been exciting to get to 50 books, half way through the year, half way to a hundred books read! It’s always been a lifelong ambition of mine to read 100 books in a year and even though I’m not taking part in any reading challenges it would still be great to reach that goal! 

This Months Book Awards 
Best Plot: Rapture by Lauren Kate 
Best Writing: The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo 
Best Cover: Rapture by Lauren Kate 
Best Characters: The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead 
Best Ending: Rapture by Lauren Kate 
Best Romance: Rapture by Lauren Kate 
Most un-put-down-able: The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo 
Most Memorable: The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo 
Best Moral: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick 

Top 3 Most Recommended Books: The Gathering Dark, Rapture, My Life Next Door 

Books I’m Looking Forward to Being Released in July 
Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols 
The Long Weekend by Veronica Henry 
Dreamless by Josephine Angelini (eek!) 
This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers 

Honourable Mention to Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor which I read in hardcover last year and was my favourite book of 2011, on July 5th it will be out in paperback and I’d fully recommend you checking it out.

(Links lead to books Goodreads page for more info) 

Have you read any of the books I’ve read this month? What were your thoughts on them? Do you want to see a particular review for any of the books I’ve read this month sooner rather than later? Leave me a comment and let me know and I hope you’ve found some interesting books to add to your wishlist and don’t forget to treat yourselves to The Gathering Dark – you won’t regret it! Here’s to another month of fab reading ahead!

Review for Unrest by Michelle Harrison

Unrest by Michelle Harrison
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 26th April 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance
Rating: 5/5 stars 
Source: Received from the publisher for review 


Amazon Summary: 
"Seventeen-year-old Elliott hasn't slept properly for six months. Not since the accident that nearly killed him. Now he is afraid to go to sleep. Sometimes he wakes to find himself paralysed, unable to move a muscle, while shadowy figures move around him. Other times he is the one moving around, while his body lies asleep on the bed. According to his doctor, sleep paralysis and out of body experiences are harmless - but to Elliot they're terrifying. Convinced that his brush with death has opened up connections with the spirit world, Elliott secures a live-in job at one of England's most haunted locations, determined to find out the truth. There he finds Sebastian, the ghost of a long-dead servant boy hanged for stealing bread. He also meets the living, breathing Ophelia, a girl with secrets of her own. She and Elliott grow closer, but things take a terrifying turn when Elliott discovers Sebastian is occupying his body when he leaves it. And the more time Sebastian spends inhabiting a living body, the more resistant he becomes to giving it back. Worse, he seems to have an unhealthy interest in Ophelia. Unless Elliott can lay Sebastian's spirit to rest, he risks being possessed by him for ever, and losing the girl of his dreams..." 


Review 
I’d heard a lot of praise for Michelle Harrison’s The Thirteen Treasures series for younger readers and so was excited to hear that she planned to venture into YA with this standalone novel Unrest and it only took me until the end of chapter one to realize what all the fuss was about. The first chapter completely sucked me in, Michelle Harrison has this atmospheric way of describing what’s happening that sent a chill down my spine. Her writing is suitably creepy and suspenseful and I became absorbed in this book from the start longing for the next chilling scene to get my next terror fuelled buzz and to find out exactly what was going on with Elliott and what happened to give him his strange abilities. 


When Elliott is in an accident that actually clinically kills him for all of two minutes and is resuscitated by paramedics and brought back to life he finds himself somehow newly connected to the spirit world. Elliott’s experiences with sleep paralysis chilled me to the bone. Sleep paralysis is a sleeping disorder I hadn’t heard of prior to reading this book and I found it a fascinating albeit terrifying illness to read about. The way that Michelle Harrison connected the condition to a ghost story made Unrest something new and exciting to read. Whilst at its heart this book is a ghost story it also reads as part contemporary romance and part mystery too. When Elliott wasn’t fighting off spirits trying to enter his sleeping body he also has a budding romance with his co-worker Ophelia developing, and had to learn the history and ghost stories of Past Lives the living museum where he’s recently started to work. There are also the mysteries of the ghosts that haunt Elliott that he has to solve in order for them to move on. There was always something exciting going on making Unrest totally gripping. 


I really loved the characters in this book, Elliott wasn’t a perfect character and had a past and reputation with the ladies before his accident. I liked that in the beginning Elliott wasn’t perfect because as the book goes on he takes the horrible things that have happened to him and lets his experiences shape him into a better person. I loved watching him grow as a character and by the end of the book he was such a lovely guy who I really wanted the best for. I also really liked Elliott’s love interest Ophelia she’s feisty, smart, and doesn’t take any crap from anyone least of all Elliott. She has an interesting back story too that gets revealed as the book goes on and again, like Elliott, she’s flawed but not in a way that makes her unlikeable only more relatable and real as a character. 


Unrest if the kind of book that does exactly what it says on the tin and more. Yes it’s scary and creepy which is exactly what I was after when I picked this book up but it was also rich with history, romantic, and addictive with plenty of page turning mysteries surrounding the plot. It was a flawless read that ticked all the right boxes and that I couldn’t bear to part with until I’d turned the final page. I loved everything about this book and look forward to seeing what Michelle Harrison writes in the future.