Review for The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 
Publisher: Headline
Release: 30th August 2012 (Paperback Edition)
Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Fairy-tale, Family
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review



Goodreads Summary: 
"Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart—he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season’s first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone—but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place, things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them."

Review 
Following the roaring success of The Snow Child last winter I knew that I had to make it a priority read this Christmas. From the synopsis it sounded like the perfect book to get me into that magical childlike frame of mind, and I’m so glad that I finally read it because this book was, in a word, enchanting.

The start of the book is really quite heart-breaking with one half of our beloved couple Mabel attempting suicide. Mabel and Jack are so utterly alone in their relationship and are still grieving for a baby they lost years ago and with it their one chance of being parents. The first few chapters are really gutting to read in a beautiful yet fragile kind of way, until in a rare act of tenderness and joy they build a snow girl together during the first snow fall of winter.

The book reads as part adult fairy-tale, part historical fiction on life in rural Alaska during the 1920’s. I have to say that I enjoyed the fairy-tale aspect to this story the most but can see how the setting created the perfect backdrop for this story. At times the solitude and snowy landscape of a wintery Alaska made the place read like a magical land itself.

I think that what I loved most about this novel was how you never really know exactly what Faina is or how she came to be. Throughout the book you’re not quite sure if she is the little snow girl Jack and Mabel built come to life, if she belongs to someone else, or if she’s simply a figment of the couples imagination. I loved the mystery and magic surrounding Faina and although some things are cleared up as the story goes on there is still a lot of room for the reader to interpret the story in their own way.

Reading The Snow Child had the same effect on me as the fairy tales I read and loved growing up did and will be sitting proudly next to the classic fairy tales on my bookshelf. In turns heart-breaking, magical and beautiful this book will awaken the inner child in adult’s worldwide.

Review for Easy by Tammara Webber

Easy by Tammara Webber 
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 3rd January 2013
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Abuse
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review



Goodreads Summary:
"Jacqueline seems to have a knack for making the wrong choices. She followed her boyfriend to his choice of university, disregarding her preference. Then he dumped her. She chose a minor she thought she could combine with her music studies, but she's falling behind. And then, leaving a party alone one night, she is attacked. If it wasn't for the timely intervention of a stranger, she would have been raped. Now she must make a choice - give up and give in, or toughen up and fight on. Only the support of the man who is tutoring her and the allure of the guy who saved her from the attack convince her that it's worth fighting on. Will Jacqueline now have to make a choice between them too? And can she make the right decision? It's not easy..."

Review 
New Adult is a genre that is receiving a lot of love lately and so being this genre’s target audience I figured it was high time I gave one of the genre’s big guns a read and was recommended to start with Easy. Because this is my first New Adult book I’m going to talk about my experience with the genre as well as my thoughts on this book.

Easy starts off with an attempted rape scene which is pretty much like jumping into the deep end of the pool! This could have been too much too soon but as this book is set around the subject of abuse it sets the story up well, is tastefully handled, and important to the rest of the novel.

One of the things I loved about Easy is how it sets an excellent example for young women. In my opinion there are too many books out there at the minute that glorify abusive relationships not just the physical kind but the mentally unhealthy ones too. All too often absolute psychopaths that I’d want a restraining order against are portrayed as misunderstood irresistible bad boys who simply need love to save them. After being in an abusive relationship myself I can’t help but wonder what kind of example these books are setting? A potentially dangerous one if you ask me with these sorts of relationships on the rise. I feel like Easy sets the world back to rights with women telling somebody, learning self-defence, standing up for one another, and perhaps most importantly of all calling abuse by its name.

Our heroine is Jacqueline and I really liked her voice. It’s much more mature than a YA character but just because she’s older doesn’t mean she’s perfect, she still makes mistakes and grows throughout the book. At the start Jacqueline is getting over her three year relationship. I feel like this will be something I enjoy about NA books. Getting over your first serious relationship is something I’ve always wanted to read about but is never offered in YA as the characters are usually at the stage of finding that first big love. It was interesting to watch Jacqueline go from high school romance to her first adult relationship and was something I could really relate to as a twenty something reader.

Jacqueline’s love interest Lucas was such a swoon-worthy guy. Not only is he intelligent, gorgeous and artistic but he also teaches self-defence class and is all for women knowing how to protect themselves. I adored Lucas from the start and only loved him more when we find out what skeletons he has in his closet. I also loved how Jacqueline and Lucas’s stories tied together nicely creating a strong message to this story. Their romance not only has substance to it but is also incredibly hot and steamy without being full out erotica, another thing I think I’m going to love about New Adult Fiction.

Overall my first experience with this genre was definitely a good one and thanks to Easy I have already bought some other New Adult titles to try! If you’re new to this genre I’d definitely recommend giving this book a go. Steamy, romantic and empowering this is a book about things not ending up as you might have originally planned, only to find that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

Giveaway Winner!

The Winner of my Merry Christmas Giveaway for a January 2013 Pre-Order is... a Rafflecopter giveaway Congratulations Hanna! An email has been sent to you :) Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway and spread the word and for those who didn't win this time round there will be more fabulous giveaways from me in the coming year so stay tuned and better luck next time. Happy reading everyone!

Love Hurts Blog Tour: Teasers from New Adult novels Reason to Breathe and Easy!

To kick off 2013 I’m very excited to be bringing to you for my post in the Love Hurts Blog Tour some teaser lines from two upcoming New Adult titles releasing this month in the UK Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan and Easy by Tammara Webber. I adored Easy and my review for it will be up very soon and I’m really excited for my copy of Reason to Breathe to arrive in the post as I have heard fantastic things about it! If you haven’t heard of these two novels yet they should definitely be on your radar and I think that teasers are a perfect way to get a taste for a book and what the authors writing style is like, so here they are chosen by the authors themselves!

 Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan

Click on the cover to add to Goodreads!

ONE 
I wasn’t embarrassed by my grades or what other students thought of my high marks. I knew I earned them. And I also knew that they were going to save me some day. What no one understood, besides Sara, was that all I really cared about were the days I counted down until I moved out of my aunt and uncle’s house to go to college. So if I had to put up with the whispers behind my back as I received the highest marks in the class, then so be it. They weren’t going to be there to save me if I did anything but succeed, so I didn’t need to get involved in the gossip and typical teenage tripe. Sara was the closest I was going to get to any semblance of the high- school experience, and she definitely kept it entertaining. She was admired by most, envied by many, and could discreetly seduce a guy with a grin. What mattered most to me was that I trusted her with my life – which was saying a lot, considering the unpredictability that awaited me at home each night.
TWO 
I noticed his presence so much more than I had before. Every time he brushed past my arm when we walked down the hall or leaned in close to whisper to me in Anatomy, it sent thousands of sparks flying through my body. I found myself smiling more and caught up in his gaze longer. It was like I was noticing him for the first time, all over again. But this time, I knew he noticed me too. Evan sat closer, walked nearer and looked longer. He started storing his books in my locker in between classes, placing his hand on the small of my back when reaching over me to retrieve them. These subtle touches would ignite a warmth in my chest, and release tingles up the back of my neck. He didn’t hold my hand in school, but he always found a way for the backs of our hands to lightly touch when we were near enough. We were engaged in a very intricate dance of touching without touching, knowing without saying, and feeling without expressing. We were friends walking along a ledge, a very thin ledge – and I was too caught up in my heightened awareness of his existence to realize how close the ledge was to crumbling beneath my feet.
THREE
In the uneven balance of my life, I experienced love and loss, more loss than I thought I could handle. But the love was unexpected. I almost missed out on it, too afraid and uncertain to give it a chance. Love helped me live life instead of just survive it. It challenged my resolve, proving I was stronger than I ever thought possible. The comfort of it healed my wounds and caressed my scars. It gave me the confidence to stand taller than the inches within my body. In the dark I searched for it, yearning for its reprieve, only finding that I was alone.

 Easy by Tammara Webber

Click on the cover to add to Goodreads!

ONE 
I shook off my reverie and looked across the counter, prepared to give my usual order, and there stood the guy from Saturday night. The guy I’d avoided sitting next to this morning in economics. My mouth hung open but nothing came out. And just like this morning, Saturday night came flooding back. My face heated, remembering the position I’d been in, what he must have witnessed before he’d intervened, how foolish he must consider me. But then, he’d said it wasn’t my fault. And he’d called me by my name. The name I no longer used, as of sixteen days ago. My split-second wish that he wouldn’t recall who I was went ungranted. I returned his penetrating gaze and could see he remembered all of it, clearly. Every mortifying bit.
TWO 
‘Hey, Jackie.’ Buck’s piercing gaze roamed over me and my skin crawled. ‘Lookin’ good, as always.’ His words gushed flirtation, but all I felt was the threat underneath, intended or not. The bruises had faded from his face, but weren’t entirely gone. One yellowish streak ringed his left eye, and another brushed along the right side of his nose like a pale smear. Lucas had given him those, and only the three of us knew it. I stared back, mute, the coffee clutched in my hand. I’d once thought this boy handsome and charming—the all-American veneer he wore fooling me as thoroughly as it fooled everyone else.
THREE 
I’d barely let anyone else touch me at all tonight, adamantly refusing all slow dances. Dizzy from weak but plentiful margaritas, I closed my eyes and let him lead, telling myself that the difference was the alcohol in my blood, nothing more. A minute later, he released my fingers and spread his palms across my lower back, and my hands moved to his biceps. Solid, as I knew they would be. Tracking a path, my palms encountered equally hard shoulders. Finally, I hooked my fingers behind his neck and opened my eyes. His gaze was penetrating, not wavering for a moment, and my pulse hammered under the close scrutiny. I stretched up toward his ear, and he leaned down to accommodate my question. ‘S-so what’s your major?’ I breathed. From the corner of my eye, I watched his mouth pull up on one side. ‘Do you really want to talk about that?’ He maintained the closeness, our torsos pressed together chest to thigh, ostensibly waiting for my answer. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so full of pure, unqualified desire.


I hope you enjoyed the teasers! Just click the covers to read the synopsis, add to a wishlist or read reviews on Goodreads! Thank you to the authors and publisher for putting this tour together and be sure to stop by Once Upon a Bookcase for the next tour stop tomorrow!

The Books and Bookish Gifts I Got For Christmas!

Hey guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I said that my giveaway was going to be the last post of the year but I thought it might be cool to share with you some of the things I got for Christmas that are either books or books/blogging/reading/writing related in an informal chatty style vlog. I decided to separate them into parts. Part One is purely books and Part Two bookish gifts in case any of you are just interested in watching one or the other and to save it from being one long video. I personally love being nosey at stuff like this so hopefully you’ll enjoy being nosey too!

The Books I Got For Christmas (Part One) 

 Bookish Things I Got For Christmas (Part Two)

 

I hope you enjoyed the vlogs! Happy New Year everyone and I’ll see you in 2013!