by Kay | Apr 3, 2014 | Shelf Absorbed |
To my everlasting disappointment, February and March were mild months with no snow and – tragically! – no excuses to stay home snuggled up with a book and tea! That said, there were still a few things that deserve highlighting – most especially, the conclusion to one of my all time favourite trilogies. 🙂
Horde by Ann Aguirre
This was, alas, my only real standout novel of February/March. Not that I haven’t been reading some great books, but nothing quite as stellar! It was a fantastic, ingenious conclusion to one of my all-time favourite trilogies by an all-time favourite author. Highly, highly recommend the Razorland series if you haven’t read it!
My new layout!
In case you haven’t been on the site itself in a while, I’ve got a whole new look going on! It took me forever to develop something I was completely happy with, but now I can’t imagine going back to some of my older styles. There are still a few tweaks to come – but come on over and take a look!
India
I spent 10 days in India and fell absolutely head-over-heels. This isn’t a travel blog, but two days into my trip I was tempted to make it one. It was such a stunningly beautiful country, with a radically different culture – but one I immediately connected to. I saw such a diverse amount of wildlife and met some of the most unique people. I absolutely cannot wait to return.
That’s all for now – hopefully April will be filled with more bookish goodness! I mean, a new Laini Taylor book? Divergent movie release? It is going to be stellar. 🙂
by Kay | Mar 31, 2014 | Reviews |
Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
Published by Harlequin Teen, MIRA on 2014-03-01
Pages: 256
Genres: Contemporary YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
Add to Goodreads
Rating: Life. Death. And...Love?
Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.
But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.
Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.
Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?
Thoughts: There aren’t many books I’d give the “For fans of The Fault in Our Stars” label to. Actually, before Heartbeat, there were exactly zero. But while reading this fantastically emotional book, I couldn’t help but remember my experience reading TFIOS. This isn’t a cancer book, but it is a book about love, loss and happiness… rather key themes of TFIOS, as well.
Heartbeat is one of those books that hits a little bit too close to home. A girl loses her mother but is forced to keep seeing her everyday. When she loses her mother, she loses the rest of her family too. And while that is all hideous, what’s worst is the shock of it all. Her life changes in less than a second. There was no time for goodbye, no time to prepare.
That she finds someone to love during this tragedy may seem unrealistic, but it is a bond forged with a shared understanding of loss. It felt real and it also felt healthy – so I wholeheartedly approved. Perhaps they weren’t a swoon-worthy couple, but hey. It’s hard to be charming when you are sobbing.
Speaking of which: add Heartbeat to the “Made Me Cry” pile. And, for the record, they weren’t tears of joy. Sometimes life really sucks for fictional characters, and us real-life characters are allowed to cry about it.
That said, I wasn’t quite as enchanted with Heartbeat as I was with Scott’s Stealing Heaven. While Scott is certainly an expert at packing a big punch into a little book, Heartbeat was just a tad too short for its content. At times, I felt like Scott was trying to jump to the next plot point without a proper emotional transition… it was a bit jarring at times, but didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book.
Bottom line? Elizabeth Scott is a fantastic author and Heartbeat is another gem in her treasure-chest of novels.
by Kay | Mar 30, 2014 | Book Haul |
Feed my Reader is my excuse to highlight the latest e-book additions (a-la Showcase Sunday/Stacking the Shelves/Mailbox Monday).
I got quite a few lovely e-books this week. For starters, the gorgeous Poison Dance by Livia Blackburne. This is a novella set before her upcoming novel, Midnight Thief. I also got a copy of White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Not my usual fare, but it’s by such a celebrated YA author, I had to give it a go! Last but not least (heh), The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan. This is one of those crossover-with-lit-fic Urban Fantasy novels that has received a lot of hype. Hope it is great!
That’s all for this week!
by Kay | Mar 27, 2014 | Events for the Bookish |
Today is the kick off of Bloggiesta! I’ve been wanting to participate in this awesome blogger-fest for years, but the timing has never been right. At last, the stars have aligned!
Here’s my to-do-list for the next 4 days:
- write (at least!) two reviews
- update Goodreads reviews
do at least one mini challengesstart my blog journal (<- mine is awesome, FYI!)visit some of the other bloggers participating- take part in at least one twitter chat
clear up my inbox and answer some emails!!update my challenge post
For the first time in EVER, I can’t wait to get started on my to-do list! Wish me luck, people.
Mini-challenge: Productivity/Organization tips
Try out a blogging calendar
I never really liked the idea of these, as it felt too confining. But then I gave it a go on Google Docs and it worked wonders! This was primarily because it gave me incentive to schedule some posts! Now, I’ll admit that it doesn’t work completely perfectly – I find it is too easy to just not CHECK my calendar. So… I am working on making my own printable template. There are a bunch out there if you don’t want to make your own – give one a go!
Don’t force a review
Some books won’t inspire you enough for a review – and that’s OK. Yes, it’s OK even if you got the book specifically FOR review. That’s just life. Besides, if you have to force a review out, your readers will be able to tell! Lose-Lose.
by Kay | Mar 26, 2014 | News |
The bookish world is always a buzz with news, but here are a few stories that have really caught my attention. Read on to find out more!
Sophia McDougall Signing
Sophia McDougall will be launching Mars Evacuees, at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore on Thursday 27 March from 6 – 7pm! The book is a Middle Grade novel published by Egmont – read Sophia’s Mars Evacuees FAQ on her blog for more info about the book.
ALWAYS CARRY DUCT TAPE
The fact that someone had decided I’d be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well. I’d been worried that I was about to be told that my mother’s spacefighter had been shot down, so when I found out that I was being evacuated to Mars, I was pretty calm.
And, despite everything that happened afterwards, I’d do it all again. Because until you have been shot at, pursued by terrifying aliens, taught maths by a laser-shooting robot goldfish and tried to save the galaxy, I don’t think you can say that you’ve really lived. Sophia McDougall lives in London and is the bestselling adult author of the Romanitas trilogy. She was a panellist at the 2012 How The Light Gets In arts and philosophy festival at Hay. She also creates digital art and mentors aspiring writers.
New Editions of Harry Potter – with new content and covers!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my original Harry Potter editions and will never be able to imagine any other covers as “the covers”. That said, the Harry Potter world has morphed significantly since I started reading the books. There’s the movies, the Magical World of HP, Pottermore… I guess, the world has moved on.
As well as new covers, these editions are going to be incorporating the Pottermore world into the novel. As a non-Pottermore person, is going to be super useful for me. I never know where to “start” in Pottermore, so a bit of guidance will be welcome!
Here’s the official blurb from Bloomsbury:
Bloomsbury Children’s Books are to reinvent the children’s hardback and paperback editions of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series. Redesigned inside and out, all seven books will feature covers by award-winning artist Jonny Duddle.
Along with the brand new artwork and an updated author biography, the editions will also be reset to create a child-friendly reading experience for a new generation of readers. The titles will also contain highlights from Pottermore, the digital platform for Harry Potter. All seven titles will be published on 1st September 2014. I am going to have to put aside some space on my shelves for these new editions!
Patricia Briggs’ new Alpha & Omega book
In the world of Briggs fans, any news is good news. I hoard her Mercy-verse novels, as I never know when I will be getting another. So, the news that the fourth Alpha & Omega novel will be out in Spring 2015 was a treat. And that it will be called Dead Heat? Even better news! At last I feel free to read the third book in the series!
