I don’t want to write a long review for When The World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson. Mainly because I fell in love with this. I knew I would within the first few pages of read that this was going to be a 5 star read and am so happy that I was proven right (I remember a few years I read another Jandy Nelson novel, I’ll Give You the Sun, and I gave it three stars but I think, if I reread it, I would change my thoughts on it).
But When the World Tips Over, I fell in love with. I think it helped that I didn’t rush reading this (the original plan was the read it over September, but it spilt into October [very similar to last year when I read Cassandra Clare’s Sword Catcher. I didn’t rush reading it and I need to do this more!) and I savoured.
Anyway, let me tell you a little about the book and this post as it’s different from my normal.
Title and Author: When The World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Walker Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by the UK publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction
The Fall siblings live in the town of Paradise Springs, where you can get drunk on the air, the devil winds blow so hard that it can blow sense out of the head, and the Fall family is a family divided.
The eldest, Wynton, is a powerhouse on the violin and is on track for fame or self-destruction of himself and his family. His brother, Miles, is smart, beautiful, perfect, but he feels lost and alone, and not even his dog whispering gift can pull him out of his darkness. And the youngest, Dizzy, can see ghosts, bakes beautiful soufflés and wishes to be a lead in her own romance.
But when a mysterious girl with rainbow-coloured hair saves Dizzy from a car accident, the Fall family finds their world tipping over. Is the mystery girl an angel? A normal girl? Whoever she is, she becomes important to each of them and soon, her stories of family curses, betrayals, love stories within love stories within love stories might bring the Fall together.
You know that feeling when you randomly discover a book and you go “I need to read this as soon as I can”? It’s almost a physical reaction. Well, that was me when I first heard of Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite. It just ticked all the boxes for me: a standalone fantasy with deep inspiration of Nigerian mythology. And as soon as I got an Advance Reader Proof copy front the publisher, I practically dropped what I was reading and started this.
Title and Author: Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite
Publisher: Walker Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction
Kalothia has grown up in the shadow of the her kingdom, hidden away after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. But when assassins attack her home and kill her guardians on her sixteenth birthday, Kalothia is forced to flee and finds herself in the king’s court.
But the king’s court is no safer. Men think they are entitled and someone is plotting against her. How far will Kalothia be willing to go to keep herself and the kingdom safe?
I've been sitting on writing this review for several reasons. The first is I really needed to think about how I was going to write this. This book was SO GOOD, and yet, point out that there are trigger warnings to you guys. The second was time. I just didn't seem to have the time since I finished this book to actually write a review down. And the third was the recent news in the UK about ... yeah ...
Title and Author: Where The Light Goes by Sara Barnard
Publisher: Walker Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by Walker Books in exchange for an honest review/reaction.
I know I’ve done mini-reviews already this year for my Christmas and New Year reading. And with everything happening and With lockdown and reading/blogging fatigue, I need to get back in the rhythm of blogging again. And, while I do plan to post at least two review/write-ups a month (and take more breaks and use Goodreads more - this is when I should turn round to you and go “BEFRIEND ME ON GOODREADS at goodreads.com/pewterwolf!” Or ask you guys for what other bookish social media do you use as I am tempted to try something new?), I felt like I could do that with these two titles, my first in 2021.
And they are curveballs. I think you might like them both...
HAPPY FIRST BLOG TOUR OF 2021! I know! These first few weeks of 2021 are strange times (and after the horror that was 2020, we are all hoping 2021 will be better. Goodness, I hope so!!! Spoke too soon! on that front, haven't I?), so why not do a blog tour for the second book in the Shadow Skye trilogy, The Broken Raven by Joseph Elliott!
Hopefully, I will have read or am currently reading the first in this trilogy, The Good Hawk (last year really screwed up my reading plans, you guys!), so let me see if I can get this write-up right. After the events of Good Hawk (no spoilers!!!), Agatha and Jaime return to their clan as heroes. But when Agatha discovers a threat to their people, she unwittingly releases a power that could easily kill every living thing on the island. Her and Jaime must call on allies, old and new, to fight against this new threat.
All the while, Sigrid, a Norwegian girl with a strange gift, journeys to the court in Ingland where King Edmund is waiting...
I am thrilled to welcome Joseph to the Pewter Wolf Reads, where he has written this has found time to write this guest post for the tour about world-building! I can't wait for you guys to read it and then get on board and read the trilogy (don't break my heart like Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is currently doing! I CAN'T!)
Now, before I hand you over to Joseph, I just want to thank him for writing this post (I know you are super busy at the moment, so thank you!) and I want to thank Rebecca at Walker Books for allowing me to tag along with this tour. If you want more info on Joseph or just say hi, you can visit him on joseph-elliott.net or @joseph_elliott on Twitter. And if you want to know more about The Broken Raven, you can check out Walker Books.
Ok, over to Joseph and the world of Broken Skye!!!
One of the the weird things about self-isolation over the Easter Weekend (yes, I know this is going to go live on the Pewter Wolf a few weeks after I read it and write up this review) is that the amount of free time I have to read. Am trying to keep a daily routine but, with a normal working-day, I can only grab snatches of reading here and there but I rely on audiobooks and podcasts the most. But what I mean is that reading a book of this size would normally take me several weeks and yet, the past few weeks, I have been reading books of this size at a pace and I’m not sure how my reading is going to cope when I go back to work…
But we’re not here to talk about work, we are here to talk about Nightshade, the twelfth Alex Rider novel. I have read Alex on and off since my college days (starting with Eagle Strike) and, earlier this year, I audiobooked/reread Ark Angel, a bit of a “jump the shark” in the series and, after that, I went “I’m going to read Nightshade. I mean, what is the mysterious Nightshade that was referenced at the end of Never Say Die?”. So, I preordered it and, unlike the other preorders I made while in self-isolation which I start then DNF/put on hold, I powered through this at quick a speed.
After the events of Never Say Die, the criminal organisation Scorpia is truly dead and all 15 year old Alex Rider wants to do is go back to school, study for his GCSEs and not be a spy anymore for MI6. But MI6 have other ideas. According to intel they have recently discovered, a new and far more dangerous criminal organisation has come on their radar: Nightshade.
And they seem to be using children. MI6 want Alex to go to a high security prison in Gibraltar to befriend a boy who, without hesitation, killed an MI6 agent, several policemen and will happily kill without question. As Alex tries to get involved with this boy’s involvement with Nightshade, he finds out an attack will hit London and must, somehow, stop it. But this time, he’s on his own…
Title And Author: Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical & eBook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Length: 617 Pages
I’m not sure how to start this write-up about Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare as I have a bit of a weird relationship with the world of Shadowhunters.
I came into this world when City of Glass was about to come out and the Mortal Instruments was a planned trilogy, and I fell quickly and hard into this world. After devouring the trilogy, I jumped into the Infernal Devices trilogy and loved that (I, like most readers, think the Infernal Devices is one of Cassandra Clare’s best). I planned to read the latter Mortal Instruments books but always lose my nerve plus I liked how City of Glass ended and didn’t want to ruin it. And, after a bit of oohing and ahhinh, I read the first two books in the Dark Artifices trilogy, Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows and while I did like them and I did go out and buy the third and final book in trilogy, Queen of Air and Darkness, but I never felt a need to read them. There was no real pull to finish that trilogy.
So, Chain of Gold is a bit of a weird animal for me. It’s the first book in a sequel trilogy to Infernal Devices, that follows the children of the main characters from Infernal Devices. So, the children are in the forefront, and yet, the characters in Infernal Devices are there and older, but a little more in the background.
And then I have the drama of getting the damn thing. So, after ooh-ing and ahh-ing, I preordered a physical copy via one well-known online bookseller, which promised to get my copy sent to me on the day of release. Wasn’t in a rush to read it at the time, but ok. Was cool with that. So, on day of release, got an email at ten o’clock in morning that book won’t be dispatched today and my physical copy wouldn’t get to me between end of March or late May. Now, seeing as I know people got their copy from other online and physical retailers ok, I knew this wasn’t the publisher’s fault so I made a complaint. A long complaint. After an hour raising questions and pointing out one or two things, I was told they were going to look into why physical copies are being delayed and will try and push my order up. In the meanwhile, was given the eBook version for free. Several days later, was contacted back and said my physical copy would be with me by end of the day.
Cordelia Carstairs and her brother are Shadowhunters, training to battle demons. When their family comes to 1903 London, Cordelia is throw into glittering ballrooms and supernatural salon and encounter childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and their friends, who call themselves the Merry Thieves. When demons attack Shadowhunters in the middle of day, Cordelia and her new friends and family find themselves trapped in London, trying to figure out what is happening and, all the while, keeping their hearts protected as love can cut deeper than any blade…
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
Length: 344 Pages or 8 Hours 21 Minutes
Reread Time! I did warn you guys that this year, seeing as 2020 will be my tenth year of book blogging (October, I believe), I did want to do some more past reads, whether that be something I chatted on the blog before or something from my youth. And I have been failing that. Oh well… but not for long…
I first read Ark Angel when it first came out in April 2005 (NO ONE DO THE MATHS TO FIGURE OUT MY AGE!) and I remember very little about it. But I always had plans to go back into the series and reread some of the earlier books in the series and read the books I skipped. Been thinking this on and off since I read Never Say Die back in 2017 (Really? 2017?!). So, this year, on a random moment, I looked at my BorrowBox app and saw the series on there, I went “Oh, I really want to relisten to the second Alex Rider, Point Blanc, as it’s my fave and the TV adaption is based on this”. And then, one day after I DNFed another audiobook (wasn’t in right mindset for it. Am planning to go back to it one day), I was skimming it as none of my audiobooks I bought appealed to me and I saw Ark Angel was available to download instantly (the others I had to request and wait). So, on impulse, I requested and listened.
After the shock ending at the end of book 5 in the series, Scorpia (I REALLY need to reread this. It’s such a goodie!), Alex is recovering in hospital. But he’s not going to recover for long as the body in the hospital room next door is going to get kidnap, Alex does a switch and gets himself kidnapped instead. Eco-terrorists Force 3, led by Kasper, are gunning for the boy’s father, Nikolei Drevin, one of the world’s wealthiest developers and the man who is single-handedly funding the first luxury outer-space hotel, Ark Angel. Alex manages to escape and, as a thank you for saving his son’s life, Nikolei offers Alex a holiday to rest, relax and becoming friends with his son, Paul…
But the more time Alex spends with Nikolei, the more he feels uneasy around him. Something’s not quite right, and Alex might not be out of the spying game like he hoped…
Ok, I must admit that I did want to read The Good Hawk before I welcome the author, Joseph Elliott, onto the Pewter Wolf. But, alas, real life got in the way and so did my reading speed. I slowed down A LOT! But I really want you guys to know about this book as it sounds so good. Perfect for you Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver fans (another series I'm slowly working my way through. Will start book 3 soon. Honest!)
For those of you who don't know the book, let me explain. The Good Hawk is the first book in a new series set in the Stone Age Scotland. Agatha is a Hawk, protecting her clan by patrolling the sea wall, even though her people whisper about her and her condition. Jamie is a reluctant Angler, full of self-doubt and anxiety. And worse, he has been forced into a position that hasn't happened in generations: to marry.
But when disaster and betrayal strikes, the two are bound together and must embark on a journey to save the clan. But can a girl with Down's syndrome and a boy with anxiety be a match for a land where forgotten magic and dark, dangerous secrets that lurk in every shadow...
WHAT MORE CAN I ASK FOR IN A FANTASY BOOK?!
So, I am thrilled that Joseph has found time to write this as he's super busy. Teacher, author and actor (most of you might know him from CBeebies's Swashbuckle). So, before I hand you over Joseph to chat about one of the leads, Jamie, I just want to thank him for finding time to write this for my tiny little blog & to thank Rebecca at Walker for going "Sure, why not" when I asked if Joesph fancied writing a guest post.
Oh, if you want to say hi to Joseph, you can via his website - joseph-elliott.net - or you can say hi via his Twitter (@joseph_elliott) and Instagram (@joseph_elliott3). Oh, and if you want more info on Good Hawk, you can check out Walker Books.
Welcome to my stop on The Hand, The Eye and The Heart blog tour! Yes, it's me and am back to doing something I haven't done in quite some time: putting music to the book I was reading. And it was such a joy to do! When asked by John at Walker if I wanted to be involved in this tour, I jumped at the chance! So, thank you John for asking me to be involved. For those unsure of what The Hand, The Eye and The Heart, it's a reimagining of Mulan in a fantasy world. Ok, I was using that to grab your attention, but OH, this book is much more than that! Zhilan was born a girl. Despite the rare gift of illusions, she is destined to live her life in the confines of what is expected for a women. But when a civil war breaks out in her empire, one man from every family is called to fight. With her father being disabled from the battlefield of his youth, Zhilan is desperate to save him and takes his place, becoming a boy called Zhi to survive army training. But that’s the first challenge as love and betrayal can be two sides of the same coin and soon, the weight of the country is on Zhi’s shoulders. But to win, they have to decide where their heart truly lies as, sometimes, the greatest battle is to be who you are… I told you there was more to it than my awful elevator pitch. Anyway, as part of the tour, I was asked to create a playlist via Spotify. Now, I love reading to music and the playlist below has a nice mix of songs I listened to while reading and a few others that I went "This is perfect!" and added on to give it a good mix. But, this is subjective and because these are my music choices doesn't mean they will be yours and I would love to hear your playlists for this book, as well as everyone at Walker and Zoë herself.
Before I throw my music at you, I want to thank Zoë and if you want to check her out, go say hi to her on her website - zoemarriott.com - or via her Twitter at @ZMarriott. And if you want more info about the book, check out Walker Books or Book Depository. (Special thanks to Luna at Luna's Little Library for going through my playlist and making some suggestions on placement and a few other songs she thought might be good for playlist.
Title And Author: The Hand, The Eye and The Heart by Zoë Marriott
Publisher: Walker Book
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction
Length: 448 Pages
Backstory time. A few years back, I was at Walker Books HQ at a blogger event to celebrate the cover reveal to the final book in Zoë Marriott’s urban fantasy trilogy, The Name of the Blade, Frail Human Heart. At the event, Zoë mentioned an idea for a novel she was researching. When she was chatting about it, myself and a few book bloggers got hugely excited and went “You have to write this!” then looking at her editor and people at Walker, going “You’re going to buy this, right?”
And this is the book in question. So, you have no idea how excited I have been for this book…
No pressure, Zoë.
Zhilan was born a girl. Despite the rare gift of illusions known as banner-breaking, she is destined to live her life in the confines of what is expected for a women. But when a civil war breaks out in her empire, one man from every family is called to fight. With her father being disabled from the battlefield of his youth, Zhilan is desperate to save him and takes his place, becoming a boy called Zhi to survive army training. But that’s the first challenge as love and betrayal can be two sides of the same coin and soon, the weight of the country is on Zhi’s shoulders. But to win, they have to decide where their heart truly lies as, sometimes, the greatest battle is to be who you are…
Title And Author: Joe Quinn’s Poltergeist by David Almond & Illustrated by Dave McKean
Publisher: Walker Books
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction
Length: 80 Pages
Ok, I asked for this when Johnny at Walker emailed because it’s illustrated by Dave McKean. I don’t know much of his illustration work, but I loved what he did in the movie, MirrorMask (imagine Alice in Wonderland but on drugs and with a script written by Neil Gaiman [which it was, FYI]) so when I saw this, I went “Yes! An it’s kinda like a graphic novel (it’s not) and I want to read outside my comfort zone”. Plus, I knew the name David Almond but never read him so I thought this would be a good introduction.
Joe Quinn is telling everyone about the poltergeist that is in his house. And no one believe’s him. No one, that is, expect Davie. Davie can’t help but feel that there’s something there and see random objects flying through the air. But there’s something more… memories of his sister and a feeling deep down that maybe, just maybe, ghosts exists…
I am excited to have Kim Culbertson on The Pewter Wolf today! Kim is the author of The Wonder of Us, a summery read that I think some of you guys will devour by the pool or on the beach with a cocktail in your hand.
The Wonder of Us follow two friends - Riya and Abby - two best friends who been friends ship preschool. But when Riya and her family move to Germany and Abby stays in California, their friendship comes under strain so when Riya proposes a two week, six country adventure to save their friendship, they both jump at it.
But they haven't spoken to each other in weeks and both girls are keep secrets. Can this holiday really save their friendship or does growing up really mean growing apart?
It feels like a fun read, and because it feels very summery, when Kirsten from Walker asked if I wanted to do something on the blog, I jumped out it. I need a bit more fun on this blog, me thinks.
And what I got back from Kirsten is this yummy post from Kim, chatting about summer reads, which I think some of you guys will love! So, before I hand it over to Kim, two small things. First, thank you Kim for writing this post - I know you must be busy but thank you! And thank you Kirsten for emailing me and me going "Did I email you about this? My memory is ruined!"
And if you want to find Kim online, check her at kimculbertson.com or on Twitter at @kculberston. Now, over to Kim to talk her summer reads!
A mini-review of sorts from when I was on holiday in Cyprus (yes, am still on that! I don't want to overwhelm you with write-ups this month. Next month might be a different thing but am easing you in!). This came as a surprise from the lovely John from Walker. A few months back at the #WalkerYA Blogger Event (write-up here if you missed it), Walker announced that they will be publishing the Ghosts of The Shadow Market, an anthology set in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters world. I remember going "Oooh" over this and didn't think anything much from it till just before my Cyprus holiday when John emailed, asking if I wanted to read this. I went yes and, when I was on holiday, I got a iBook code for this and, once I got myself on wifi, I download this and read this as quickly as I could.
Quick background dump. This will be published in the same way as The Bane Chronicles and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. A novella will be published in ebook form, once a month. All the novellas, plus two unpublished novellas will be published in one collection, sometime in 2019. And, like before, Cassandra Clare is co-writing this with a mix of authors: Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Robin Wasserman and Kelly Link. And with connections to all of Shadowhunter series - Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices, Dark Artifices and Last Hours, though the series follows Brother Zachariah throughout the years as he visits the Shadow Markets round the world, trying to find a mystery item...
The first novella in this collection is Son of the Dawn. Set several years prior to the events of The Mortal Instruments, the Lightwoods of the New York Institute is expecting a new member to join their family: Jace Wayland. But when Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah, is in the Shadow Market, he meets vampire Raphael, he hears something that throws ghosts from the past into the danger of the present...
I like the Shadowhunter world. I'm not as up to date with the world compared to other Shadowhunter fans (I haven't read the latter three Mortal Instruments books [out of fear/me thinking those characters's stories are done for me] nor have I read Lord of Shadows. Not yet but hopefully will read before Queen of Air and Darkness is published at the end of the year), and this was a nice story to read. I read it in two sittings (the first before I went to bed and the second when I woke up the following morning). It felt like returning to an old friend. Fans for Jem, Jace, Alec and Isabelle will enjoy this nugget of what their lives was like the years before City of Bones.
The little jem that I enjoyed hugely was the bonus material, Not for Humans, written by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. It's only a few page longs and set a few days prior to City of Bones but I devoured this and just wanted more. If this is what Holly and Cassandra writing together is like, I need to get my rear in gear and read their co-author series, Magisterium.
But I had a niggle with this. Maybe it's me, but as I was reading this, I couldn't get away from the feeling that this didn't feel like Cassandra Clare writing, but this was Sarah Rees Brennan. I understand this is a co-authored story, but it feels a bit like Cursed Child in a sense where these are the characters created by the main author, yet someone else is using them and it feels off. I think I have this problem in the past when Sarah Rees Brennan co-writing a Shadowhunter novella. I think it's her writing and I don't click with it. It's not her problem, it's mine.
For fans of the Shadowhunter world, you will enjoy this. And I hope to read the next novella in the series, Cast Long Shadows, when that comes out next month...
Or, as it's subtitle, Chicken Kiev or (my fave at the time of writing this) "WOLF!!!"
Tuesday night, I attended a blogger event for Walker Books and hear some upcoming YA titles that will be publish sometime this year. I wasn't 100% sure I could come to this due to my recent job change but I figured out very quickly that I could go so HOORAY!!!
Anyway, after getting to London a little earlier to snoop round Tottenham Court Road (mainly Foyles [I bought a book, EVEN THOUGH I AM ON A BOOK BUYING BAN! And for those of you wondering, Eragon by Christopher Paolini - not a grown-up fantasy that my recently book buying has taken me but I'll take it] and drool over some West End shows I would love to watch or rewatch - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Aladdin, The Mousetrap, Wicked - it's probably a good thing am going to see Hamilton in the coming few months), I made my way to a pub in near Farringdon for wine, books and a good ol' catch-up with bloggers and vloggers. I have been very out of the loop.
And my sense of direction kinda failed me a little. I got to Euston/King's Cross and thought "I'll walk there. It won't take that long..." OH, PAST ANDREW, YOU ARE STUPID. Walking and you are not friends...
Side-tracked, but once I got there (after getting a Pret Hot Chocolate), caught up with the lovely bloggers, vloggers and peeps at Walker (who are beyond wonderful. I love our little community and how positive and hopeful we try to be with this passion of ours) (plus, It's been a while since I've been to a last blogger event as Dani from Dani Reviews Things wondered when we met last. We think it was around 2 years ago [real life sucks at times] and met some new bloggers and vloggers (one came up to me - Amy from YA Under My Skin - and said "Due to you and my passion/hyperness with Laura and Michelle when we did a panel at YALC in 2015, I started my own blog" - which is a lovely but surreal. Plus, I discovered new bloggers that I've started following but didn't realise I was chatting to them till a few minutes into the conversation [Olivia from That Fiction Life is a good example. How did I didn't go "OH MY GOD, IT'S YOU!" to her face is anyone's guess!)
But you don't want me to talk about us book bloggers and vloggers chatting about books and the looks of shame I got when I said I STILL haven't read Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy or The Hate U Give (one of these I said to an EDITOR OF WALKER without realising it - but Chaos Walking has a huge following and am scared of reading it, only to not like it! I DON'T WANT TO BE THAT GUY!), you want to know the titles they mentioned. Well, I'm going to mention a few as these caught my attention and made me go "OOOH!"
The first title is How To Hang A Witch by Adriana Mathew. Ok, this doesn't grab me in the way I hoped, but I think you guys might like this. Having a feel of Lauren Kate's Fallen series (no idea why), this book follows Sam who moves from New York to Salem with her stepmother after her dad is hospitalised. But her homecoming is far from warm. Sam is related to Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for the Salem Witch Hunts and some teens in her new school won't let her forget it. As their bullying tactics being to unnerve her and begin to parallel the witch hunts, Sam finds herself in a weird love triangle, between the boy next door and the angry ghost who haunts her bedroom. And now, with a centuries old curse now being rekindled, Sam find herself at its centre. History is going to repeat itself if she doesn't try and stop it...
Scythe by Neal Shusterman has been doing the rounds on US Booktube and, I don't know much about it, but I love the cover. So, when Walker announced that they going to publish the first book next month and the sequel in August, I was excited. Plus, the idea behind it is good. Dark, but good! Imagine a world where disease, crime, homelessness has been cured, the only way to die is to be "gleamed" (randomly killed) by a Scythe, a professional grim reaper if you will. Citra and Rowan don't want to be scythes - which makes them perfect to be apprentices and learn the fine art. But the Scythedom is corrupt and with only one of them going to become Scythe Apprentice, Citra and Rowan discover that whoever becomes the apprentice must gleam the runner up...
Earlier on, I admitted that I still haven't read Chaos Walking trilogy. Hopefully, this might changed as Walker is going to rejacket the series to co-inside with its ten year anniversary and the movie being filmed (starring Tom Holland and Dairy Ridley). We will have a black cover and sprayed edges. I hope that I will try and attempt to read this trilogy later this year/next year. I feel ready! Plus, with Release coming out in paperback this year and with his newest, And the Ocean Was Our Sky, rumoured to come out later this year, you are going to be busy if a Patrick Ness fan!
This is a little clean-teen for me but Flying Tips for Flightless Birds by Kelly McCaughrain does yummy and I will pop this on here and I sense I will need something light compared to my heavier reads. Debut set in Northern Ireland, we follow twins Finch and Birdy who are stars of the flying trapeze at their parents's circus. But when Birdy is hurt, Finch teams up with new kid, Hector Hazzard, to save he circus. But along the way, they have to high wire friendship, homophobic bullying at school, finding themselves and falling in love for the first time... all under the big top.
I still haven't read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I'VE PYSHED MYSELF OUT OVER IT! I mean, I have been so excited for this book for so long but since I have the advance reader copy, I've been terrified to read it in case it doesn't live up to my unnaturally high expectation. But I know I will read it in the coming months as Angie's second novel, On the Come Up is coming out in June. Set in Garden Heights, we follow an aspiring teen rapper who goes viral online. Record labels want to sign her up, but people are also ready to abuse her success to get what their want. What happens when you get everything you thought you always wanted?
And now, the big mama! The reason for the blogger event - White Rabbit Red Wolf by Tom Pollock. Now, I was planning to go into this book knowing nothing, but a few elements of this story was revealed and I still want to read it. Maybe more. It's a thriller - with maths. STAY WITH ME HERE! Peter is a math prodigy and suffers from crippling panic attacks. But when his mother gets stabbed at an award ceremony and his sister disappears, Peter finds himself being dragged into the world of espionage where state and family secret emerge and blur...
And Tom Pollock was at the event. You might know him because of his Skyscaper Throne trilogy, but this is his first YA book. He chatted about what made him want to write this (the three stool legs for this book were "Spy novel inspired/fear/maths". He also read a tiny snippet from the start of White Rabbit Red Wolf (which was both funny, gripping and also a little heartbreaking). And some of us drooled over his arms (don't just us!). I mean, HAVE YOU SEEN THEM?!
Am saying nothing. Also, it didn't help that while I was doing some tweeting, Tom was talking about mental health (he is an ambassador for TalkLife) and he yelled "WOLF!", making me jump out of skin, think there was a wolf in the bar and then wonder if this was a gay term I wasn't aware of (You have bear, otter, daddy, DILF... maybe wolf was a new one. Or what Tom was calling his arms. Ok, will stop that now...)
After all the book were talked about, there was more chatting, more wine and food. Which was good as book bloggers/vloggers are a hungry lot. And once all that was done. I had the joy of trying to get home before midnight...
Anyway, I did get home (only to have my cat be super hyper and find my foot was a great toy for his very sharp claws! Hence why I have plastics on my right foot) and I want to thank everyone who was at the event. It was a wonderfully fun evening and I can't wait to sink my teeth into these stories and to see you all soon!!!
I'm not 100% certain how to write this review without spoiling it? This is one of those books (very much like E. Lockhart's We Were Liars) that it's best if you go into the book as blind as you can.and just dive in.
But, I have to say something so you guys understand what this book is about and why I decided to read it after read two adult LGBT+ romanic novels.
Ok, let me explain why I decided to read this. There are a few reasons. First, I have wanted to read this for what feels like AGES. A bunch of you guys got early copies of this at YALC. And you guys SCREAMED (well, tweet-screamed) at how good this book was! So, when the lovely people at Walker asked if I wanted to have a copy for review, I jumped at the chance. But when I got my copy, I suddenly realised that I had a lot of books on my TBR and as I planned to read a lot of quick reads throughout September so I can tackle big, chunky reads throughout October so I wasn't sure when I was going to read this. That was until I asked Twitter. When in doubt over what to read next, TWITTER!
So, I read this because of you guys. You only have yourselves to blame. Now, where to begin...?
Romy is the only survivor on a spaceship bound for a new Earth-like planet. She is the loneliest girl in the universe (hence the title), until she hears that a spaceship has launched from Earth. Then she gets email from the spaceship from a boy called J. Is it possible for her to fall in love with someone she's never met, who's light years away...?
I'm trying to keep it vague. Am using the blurb on the back of my copy as outline (but they go much further than I am).
Ok, my thoughts. Well, this an addictive little thing. Fast, gripping, edge of your seat and very We Were Liars. If you have read both books, you understand why I keep comparing the two. Because, in the best way I can describe it, both books are paranoid reads. Well, for me, they were. I read them both with the huge sense of uneasy and mistrust. Maybe it's because I enjoy reading crime and thriller stories or maybe because I am a hugely suspicious reader (I trust the author, but never the story nor characters), but I would read something and an alarm would ring in my head...
I do like this book because it tackles some really interesting themes. Space travel, science (there's real science in here!), isolation, paranoia, mental health. Plus, with Romy being a strong, yet flawed character, reading her and what was happening to her made me turn the pages faster.
I do have one or two things. The first is length. I wish this book was a fraction longer. I could very easily read an extra 50 or 100 pages. But mainly because I was so sucked in, I just wanted it to keep going for just a little longer.
My other thing is more a me thing than anything else. There were one or two things I did see coming quite early on. Now, I don't think 13/14 year old me would have seen them coming, but I would have been suspicious.
An addictive read. Now, to backtrack and read The Last Beginning! Like I have said loads of times, very behind on my reading!
I've been a weird reading slump the past few weeks and, last week during some days off, I seemed to suddenly hammered the books out (hence why this week is more booky than normal). Maybe if I did more blog/book breaks more often - when was the last time I did a RSM? Well, I need to do one soon - heads up, y'all!
And, out of randomness, I wanted to do some rereads, but seeing as I couldn't pick up and reread Artemis Fowl books one and two just yet (I have current reads to finish and some books for Penguin Platform's #PrideBookClub and try and tie that into #LGBTQIARead that Faye and George are hosting...), I picked this up and thumbed through it super fast.
Yes, it's the picture book that I bought at New York Public Library last year and yes, I still loved it. I was just happy to read this and remember my time in New York City and I still think this book is what I said in my review last year: utterly charming, an instant classic and I love it! And it still feels a bit like The Tiger Who Came to Tea - and it was nice to reread something and still have that warm fuzzy feeling I had when I first read it.
After a weird reading slump (that's the only why I can discover the past few weeks) and then me trying to read 3 books on the go (because that's going to help me SO MUCH after crawling my way out of a reading) just so I can read/reread some books that will make me happy (have you not watched the news?!).
And this seems the perfect place to start. Truth be told, I didn't know Anthony Horowitz was bringing back Alex Rider in Never Say Die till I got the email from Walker Books, asking if I wanted to go to the book's launch party. You can read my writeup about that here. While I was there, I bought a copy and started reading it on the way home that night.
After the shocking and heartbreaking events of Scorpia Rising, Alex Rider is recovering. He's fifteen and he's done. Done with MI5. Done with risking his and the people he cares about lives all the time. And with what happened to Jack... he's done. But when he get a cryptic email, Alex finds himself in something much bigger. Scorpia might be finished, but there are still bad people who will do anything to achieve their ends. Alex must stop whatever he's found himself involved in and he must find the truth: is Jack Starbright really dead?
Am going to admit this, it's been a while since I read Alex Rider. The last book I read was Ark Angel. So returning to this world was a bit of a risk. Would it live up to how I remember the book series being? I mean, I haven't read this series for over 10 or so years.
Best way to describe my read of this is nostalgia. The first hundred or so pages, I had this very happy feeling about returning to this world and getting sucked back into this world. The writing and pacing was fast (perfect for a spy thriller like this) and the plot was interesting to read. It wasn't as huge a scale as Ark Angel (nothing can be as huge [or maybe a bit bonkers] as Ark Angel) but this felt realistic. It could happen and Anthony always have a habit of writing a fast story where the story could happen. It might seem a bit out there but it could happen.
I'm not going to gush over this book too much as this isn't flawless. No book is ever flawless with me - even my beloved Harry Potters aren't - but there's one or two things that felt off. Even though you can read each Alex Rider book separately and you have no real need to read the others, I did feel like I should go back and read Scorpia Rising. There were little references to what happened in that book and as this book involves a huge moment from Scorpia Rising, I felt like I should go back (and yet, I didn't really have a need to. Odd blend). The reason for this is, I think, because Never Say Die feels like a start of a "new, more grown-up series" within the Alex Rider series. Alex is less gadgets and more grown-up compared the the original Alex Rider novels when he was fourteen. Because of this, Anthony needs to tread a fine line where we're starting a new book in a new series (the last chapter definitely hinted that more books are to come) but, at the same time, being respectful to "original series" and respectful to the fans who have been with Alex since Stormbreaker and Point Blank.
Yes, I get some of you will go "it's unrealistic" and "how stereotypical" but it was fun. I forgot how much I enjoyed this series and I haven't read a YA spy thriller that comes anyway near Alex Rider. And with the world as it is at the moment, I think we need a bit of fun. So, hearing that ITV is going to turn this into an "older family series" gives me hope that this series could react new readers (as long as ITV doesn't mess it up!). But, as someone returning to this world, all I can say is: welcome back Alex.
Let me tell you a story. Are we all sitting comfortable? I first discovered the Alex Rider series back when I was in college (in around 2003 - work the mental math of how old I am!). It was Eagle Strike, the fourth book in the series. I remember reading and enjoying it. So I backtracked to Stormbreaker then attack the books from there. I got to Ark Angel a few years later and went "He can't top this so am going to stop while ahead" (plus, I was going "Where the hell is Anthony going to take this now? WE WENT TO SPACE AND EVERYTHING!!! He's going to kill Alex and nope. NOPE! Or he's going to do a evil twist involving the ending of Point Blanc [FYI, which is my fave out of the series]").
But I liked this series and am very fond of them. So, when I got an out-of-the-blue email from Walker Books, asking if I wanted to come to the launch party of the latest Alex Rider book, I emailed "Yes!" almost as soon as I read it, then went "HANG ON! I thought Anthony had finished the Alex Rider series with Scorpia Rising... I know there's a prequel - Russian Roulette. Is this a prequel? Is Alex back in a new book? What is this?" And I decided to go into this as blind as I could. Little to no information WHATSOEVER (oh, that's a brave/stupid idea when you're going to an event where you think you might be meeting the author, dear readers...)
So, last Thursday, after a long day (up at 5am to do work from 6am till 2pm only to go to London and knew I was going to be up late due to train journey home), I rushed to London and made my way to the launch party (which was only a few minute walk from my train station - THIS NEVER HAPPENS!). And I almost didn't go in as the venue looked very swish (and I'm probably not cool enough to enter the building). But after going "I'm probably at the wrong place, what's the worse that could happen?" and discovering I was in the right place (by, I didn't realise till I got home, JR Moore who was doing an internship at Walker!), I slipped into the venue and did what all book bloggers do - I saw that there were people there and went "ARGH! PEOPLE!! FIND A DARK CORNER AND HIDE!!!"
This event was filled with people in connection with the book. Book publishers, TV peeps (well, ITV are in the early stages of turning Alex Rider into a "older family series" [PLEASE DON'T MESS THIS UP, ITV!]), friends, family, author... Oh yes, Anthony Horowitz was there. THE ANTHONY HOROWITZ!
You guys have rock stars, actors, musicians to get starstruck over. I go starstruck over authors. Plus, Anthony is a big author of my teens and early twenties so it's kinda a big deal, ok?
After a small speeches from Anthony's editor and Anthony himself, people got food, drink and got their copies of Never Say Die signed. I was too terrified to go over - do I need to remind you who he is [plus, I saw from a distant his sons - both very attractive and I didn't want to go "Whoa! Your sons are fit!" (I have the habit of putting my foot in it when I feel out of my element - as you are about to find out in the next paragraph or so!)
And then, out of nowhere, Jane from Federation of Children's Book Groups (who I met at the Noah Can't Even launch) appeared. We chatted and she asked if I had my copy of Never Say Die (which I bought that evening) signed. "No," I replied. "It's Anthony Horowitz. I can't go over there and ask. He -" I didn't get to finish that sentence. Jane and Rosi from Walker (who, also, just appeared - both are ninjas!) practically frog-marched me over to Anthony and went "This young man is a fan of yours! Sign his book as he's slightly imitated by your awesome!" [Ok, am para-phrasing, but you get the idea[. He signed my copy and we chatted - Rosi created a boomerang of us as Anthony wondered how you make a gif (if I can find it, will share in post!)
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOGPOST TO BRING YOU A BOOMERANG!
Now we're back! Now, for the awkward "ahh..." moment. While chatting to Anthony (and with Rosi and Jane in earshot!), I mentioned how, earlier that day, I mentioned to my friends/other half (can't remember which) that was going to even and said "He writes the Alex Cross books". Anthony looked at me weirdly. "Apparently, in that moment, you are James Patterson in disguise" I now explained/backpedalled/blabbed. "We've never seen you in the same room together!"
[insert cringe here]
After that, Anthony had to go and chat to other people who came and I got chatting to Anthony's publicist/author pal, Justin Somper (via Jane. Thanks Jane!). He writes the Vampirates and Allies & Assassins series. It was really cool to chat to him about books, politics (is that a wise thing to chat about with a snap election in a few days time, one wonders?) and a few other things before it was time to go.
Before I wrap this up, I want to thank the people at Walker Books for inviting to this event. It was an honour and, once I found people to talk to (I need to be more outgoing to go to people I don't know and chat at these events), I have such fun. Thank you Anthony for signing that slightly hyper 30-something fan's book - and dealing with my tweets going "What the actually hell?!" and "I blame you for listening to Sheryl Crow's Tomorrow Never Dies" and now, am going to get that stuck in you head now!
I know! I know am meant to be reading stories that won my "Pick my Next Read" polls on Twitter and elsewhere. I know this. But when this came through my letterbox via the lovely people at Walker Books, I knew I had to read it. There was no discussion over if I should wait. I was going to read this as soon as I was book-free!
Adam Thorn has to go get the flowers himself. That's how his Saturday starts. He has to go buy new flowers for his mother. After that, he has things to do: go for a run, go to work, spend some time with his boyfriend (though his existence isn't known to his religious parents), help his father at the church and go to a farewell party. It's a Saturday. Nothing is going to happen to him today...
Across town, a ghost has risen from the lake. A ghost who is searching for something. Yearning for something. And could leave a trail of destruction in her wake to find this... something...
Two stories. Two characters. But will they find their release at the end of the day?
Inspired by Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway and Judy Blume's Forever (books I have never read but feel like I should investigate), it was a book I forced myself to take my time over to read. I had to make myself read this slowly. I'm glad I did but I think I didn't have to force self as this book made me slow my reading down with me mentally going "Take your time, Andrew. Take your time!"
I liked this. I didn't devour it within 3 days like I did with The Rest of Us Just Live Here, and I adore TROUJLH (blogpost for that is here). But, saying that, I seem to enjoy this book a lot more compared to my time with More Than This, a book that chilled my blood every now and then (blogpost for that is here). I prefer this book more than More Than This, but just not enough to destroy my love for The Rest of Us Just Live Here. (Noticed I haven't mentioned A Monster Calls. This book hit me in the feels so the less we say about that, the better...)
I found this a strong coming-of-age story. Adam's story just worked. And I found the sections in here about him spending time with his boyfriend refreshing. It's rare to see that in books (this is Judy Blume's influence, me thinks) and am very happy to read it. But Adam's story is more than him being gay, it's him growing up and going "That's it" over who he is. It's a coming-of-age story that, I think, nearly every teen reading this will get. And many adults as well. And it takes place over the course of one day - and that is all it takes for something to click in our brains and for something/everything to change - one day.
It's the second story - the one about the ghost - that might throw people a little. Yes, it follows them throughout the course of the day and this story does follow some of the themes that Adam goes through - but this story is told in a different way. There are hints of magical realism and when you're reading Adam's story, only to jump to these sections, it's a little jarring and you might wonder "ok, how does this fit in?".
But this, for me, works a good chuck of the time. Yes, I did have moments where I went "Ok, how is this going to interlink with Adam's? Because it has to", but there were moments in Adam's story where I needed a break, I needed a break so these sections worked for me. And visa-versa, 'cause when I found my reading beat, it felt effortless to read. But there were moments I would read these sections and be thrown out. I preferred Adam's story but I get why this story is here and, at times, just as important.
This isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea (which book is?), but I enjoyed reading this hugely! And I can't wait to go back to this in the future and reread it. Once I find time to read Mrs Dalloway and Forever, me thinks. But soon, I will reread this. And I can't wait!