RSM

So, you're all probably (or hopefully) wondering what RSM is... and if you follow me on Twitter, I might have mentioned this but... I'm taking a month off blogging. I am going radio silent on my blog And it's during he month of May. Hence, Radio Silent May (or RSM for short). Now, I imagine you're all reacting like this:

But I'm pretty certain you guys are reacting like this:

So, the story (yes, there is a long-winded story). Last year, I was reviewing books for the blog and I thought I was being... well, quite negative. I wasn't. I was going through a patch where all the books I read/review (whether I bought them in real book form/Kindle or review copy) in which none of them made me happy/bouncy. And I wanna read books that get me excited or make me continue reading into the wee hours of the morning. Those are the reads I want. So, I decide to take a month off reviewing books. And of course, sod's law happened and a read a ton of books I loved. So I changed it to being March or May that I would take my break for reviewing. And then I remember Clockwork Princess was coming out in March so I decided that my month off will be May. Which is perfect as it's my Birth Month so... I CAN RELAX! But then, in January of this year, I decide to take the whole month off from blogging. The plan was to keep the Smile posts up and do a theme week to keep you guys on your toes. But I thought "I want a break. I don't want to visit my blog every Monday to tweet/facebook what I'm doing.." so it became the month off from ALL BLOGGING!

Now, I sense some of you guys going "THIS IS IT! HE'S QUITTING BLOGGING!" and will do this to my Twitter/this blog post:

I AM NOT QUITTING! I'm not. Sometimes, a break does wonders (from school, work, life, etc) so why should a blog be any different? I'm afraid that, if I keep going, I will end up hating the blog and will stop altogether. And I think you and I (and this blog) have got a few more miles in us, haven't we?

So, my time off will be spent reading and I am going to review these books in June (oh, you are going to hate me by the end of June!). I just want to ENJOY reading the books without this fear of deadlines. And one or two of them are LONG reads so... yeah... So I disconnected my Twitter to my Goodreads so when June comes, all the reviews shall be surprises!

So, yes...  Sorry to spring this on you! Sorry for the shock. I wasn't sure I could write this posr without it going gushy (hence the GIF attack!). But, I am going to make it up to you now. This should cheer you up and, hopefully, make you forgive me when I return in June. Hopefully.

Now that I made it up to you, there's nothing more to say but...

SMILE - Authors Are ...

Source: bookfessions.tumblr.com via Andrew on Pinterest

DAMN RIGHT!!! 

My thanks goes to Pinterest (again). For the whole list of From Book Confessions, here's the link on Pinterest and here's the link to their tumblr. Enjoy the booky madness!

Books And Their Theme Songs - Volume 17

Yes, it's back again. Just when you thought I was going to kill this, another Book and Their Theme Songs post pops up. For those of you new to this, while I read books, I usually listen to music so this is my way of showing you what I was listening to while I was reading. I do hope you enjoy the songs.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green
"Enjoy The Ride" by Morcheeba and "Breaking the Ice" by the NewNo2. 

WILD BOY by Rob Lloyd Jones
"The Spell That Left A Curse" by TheNewNo2. 


DEMON EYES by Scott Tracey
"Lies", "Living Dead" and "Power And Control" by Martina and the Diamonds & "Lena Run to Ethan" by TheNewNo2.





CLOCKWORK PRINCESS by Cassandra Clare
"Not Now But Soon" & "Lifeline" by Imogen Heap



FOLLOW ME DOWN by Tanya Byrne
"Follow Me Home" by Sugababes and "End of Night" by Dido

GoodRead - Follow Me Down

As you guys know, I kinda love Tanya Byrne. She's one of my fave authors from last year. And with her debut, Heart-Shaped Bruise, it was one of those stories that got under your skin and made you question the book long after you finished it. And after meeting Tanya twice (once last year at Foyles and the other a few weeks ago linked to the Essex Book Festival), I'm surprised she hasn't put a restaining order against me.

So, of course, when the lovely Sam from Headline told me at the Essex Book Festival event that she had sent me an ARC of Tanya's second novel, Follow Me Down, you can imagine how excited I was. And after reading my secret read (review for that book coming soon-ish), I dived into this...

When Adamma Okonma move from New York into England, she's a bit unhappy. She's moved away from her friends, her boyfriend, all because her father is Nigerian diplomat. So when her family put her in Crofton College, a boarding school in the middle of nowhere, you can guess her reaction. So when she meets Scarlett, she begins to think things are looking up. But Scarlett is secretive, wants to be center of attention, runs away without warning. Their friendship becomes destructive. And then something comes between them, tearing them apart.

Told in two timelines - Before and After - we see Adamma become friends with Scarlett and their friendship grown then destroy itself and then we see Adamma after something unspeakable happens.

So, you're probably wondering: is this book as good as Heart-Shaped Bruise? Or is it, as Tanya feared when she was writing this, a one hit wonder?

Oh, Tanya. Why did you worry? This book is just as dark, twisty and as addictive as Heart-Shaped Bruise. And, at the same time, it is very different from Heart-Shaped Bruise. Adamma is so different to Emily Knoll, as is Scarlett. Follow Me Down is very different from Heart-Shaped Bruise as Follow Me Down has two mysteries slowly intertwine together while Heart-Shaped Bruise is a dark revenge plot. The two mysteries - what happened to Scarlett and who is Adamma romantically involved with - will have you turning the pages and will have you guessing to the last page.

I loved this. I loved how this thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, staying up late at night and guessing till I closed the book. I think you guys, who love dark contemporary thriller, need to get your mitts on this. And when you do, NO JUMPING AHEAD TO THE END!

GoodRead - What Really Happened In Peru

When news was revealed that Cassandra Clare was writing a collection of tales of fan favourite, Magnus Bane, with two of her writer friends (aka Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson), the Shadowhunter fandom explode. Plus how the stories will be released to the fan was interesting (if you are a book publishing nerd): the stories would be released through the course of the year (sometimes, two stories per month) as an eNovella and, at the end of it, the stories would be put together in one volume and released as an actual book (well... that's the rumour. Am pretty certain this is the plan for the US. Not sure of Walker Books [the UK Publishers] plans as of yet.)

So, What Really Happened in Peru. The first in these eNovella, co-authored by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan, tells us of Magnus's adventures in Peru. It also hints at why he's banned from Peru.

Now, I need to talk honestly about this so, be warned dear readers, spoilers will fly in this. If you don't want to know spoilers, then stop reading this review.

It was a fast fun read. We got a slight insight into Magnus's life before the Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments series. We see him playful, at his most drunk (which gives us readers the best lines - "Magnus, you were flirting with your own plate.") and him enjoying life. Very much a summer read, fun and fluffy while you're lying by the pool or at the beach.

Which, brings me to this part of the review where most of you guys will hate if you're fans of Cassandra's world. Sorry, but I have issues. Well, three, mainly.

1. Writing - I know this is co-authored. I get that, but I found the writing slightly off. It was cheeky and fun, like Magnus. But as someone who has recently read Clockwork Princess, the writing felt different. As if Sarah wrote most of the story and Cassandra read it over, added a few details and that was it. This is my problem. It felt odd for me to read a character created by one author and yet written by another.

2. The story. It felt glossed-over. Which is odd for me to say that as there are times when reading I wish for more glossy read but this felt too slick, too rushed. We saw Magnus in Peru 4 times and these took place at different times and over last different lengths - one story was one mortal summer and it lasted only five minutes reading time and a second took several months/year and it took most of the eNovella. Why couldn't we have 4 eNovellas, each going more in-depth over his adventures? 

3. The ending. Right, this is why I warned you of spoilers. This point, and here is where my main issue is. The title of this eNovella is What Really Happened In Peru, which means fans should be be getting an answer to a question that has been bugging them for months/years: "Why is Magnus Bane banned from Peru?" The eNovella didn't answer this question. It gave a paragraph at the end, saying Magnus was banned for "crimes unspeakable" and he didn't know what these crimes were. So, the reason why he is banned is a mystery to himself and to us. Sorry, but... no. No, I am not happy about this. I feel... kinda lied to. And I hate it when authors LIE to their readers. Authors, do not lie to your readers!

So, with this, I kinda tempted to say avoid. But I won't. I am going to say this instead: if you want to read this, go for it. Here's something light and fun. However, if you are going into this expecting answers, don't hold your breath. If you are expecting answers, then hold onto your money for the time being.

The Book Sacrifice YouTube Tag

I saw this #Tag on YouTube as I follow GingerBookNerd (aka @JeffreyWest as I know him on Twitter), and after watching this video, I went and watched the original and a few of the people who replied (videos will be below this paragraph) and I knew I had to put this on my blog. I just knew. So, watch the videos to understand what I am about to do...

Watched them? Ok. So, basically, we all have books we hate. Yes, even us book bloggers. We are only human. So, we have 4 situations and we have to sacrifice a book to save ourselves.

Please note that this is meant to be fun and sharing our dislike over certain books as we ALL have a book that we CAN NOT STAND! So, please, don't take this serious and if I answer with a book you adore, don't bash me as this is MY OPINION.

We good? Ok. Let's do this!

1) An Over-Hyped book: Let's start this off with a Zombie Apocalypse! Let's say you're in a book store, just browsing, when BAM! ZOMBIE ATTACK! An announcement comes over the PA System saying that the military has discovered that the zombies' only weakness is over-hyped books. What book that everyone else says is amazing but you really hated do you start chucking at the zombies knowing that it will count as an over-hyped book and successfully wipe them out?!

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Just... I don't know how to explain why this book would save me from zombies. But it would. I mean, breathable gel. BREATHABLE GEL! And then, after the whole book, we don't get the answer to what the lost symbol/word is! (and all I have now in my head is a scene from the Waking Dead but in a library. ZOMBIES READING!)

2) A Sequel: Let's say you've just left the salon with a SMASHING new haircut and BOOM: Torrential downpour. What sequel are you willing to use as an umbrella to protect yourself?
Out of all the question, this is the toughie! I don't want to go to my Goodreads and look up sequels that I give only one or two stars over, because that's cheating and I want my answers to be my first answer. The book that pop into my head straight away. And, after a lot of thought, my answer to this is Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix. This is the third book in the series and why I really like the series (I think my review of the final book in the series, Lord Sunday, is on the blog somewhere deep in the past when I was just making this up as I went along), I pick Drowned Wednesday because of one reason and one reason alone. I never finished the book. I got a few chapters in and I just lost interest. No idea why. I just fell out of it. I am planning to read it sometime this year but yeah.. this would be my choice. But I doubt it would save my new haircut as, the UK publication is quite small (that or I have a very fat head/brain). 

3) A Classic: Let's say you're in a lecture and your English teacher is going on and on about how this classic changed the world, how it revolutionized literature and you get so sick of it that you chuck the classic right at his face because you know what? This classic is stupid and it's worth detention just to show everyone how you feel! What Classic did you chuck?

As some of you are aware, I don't really read classics. And I have this "fear" of classics (let's not go there, shall we, dear reader?). So am torn over this answer between my answer and another classic I recent read a few months ago. But my answer for this is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. It's just the Christian overtones. It feels like it's been forced down your throat. And let's not go anywhere near the sexism issue I have...

4) Your least favourite book of life!: Let's say that you're hanging out at the library when BAM global warming explodes and the world outside becomes a frozen wasteland. You're trapped and your only chance for survival is to burn a book. What is the book you first run to, your least favourite book of all life, what book do you not fully regret lighting?

I don't even need to think about this one! Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell. I know this is a fairly thin book so this won't keep me warm for long (I really should grab The Complete Works of Shakespeare or Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke as they are THICK!) but oh, this book! The main issue I had with this book (as some of you are aware) is the overuse of the word says. He says this. She says that. There are other words than says!

That, in a weird twisted way, was fun. I think we should be more open about books we dislike or don't get along with (wihout bashing it to Kingdom come). If you want to do one of these your own, please do so. You can blog it or vlog it (I would say vlog it so we see your beautiful faces! I didn't as my camera scares me!) and link it to any of the vlogs above or my blogpost.

There's one other YouTube Tag I wanna do for you guys. Not sure when I'll do that, though, as it needs patience and time for it. I wanna show a LOT of photos in that one...

WILD BOY Launch Party!

Last Thursday, I was very kindly invited to the launch party to Rob Lloyd Jones's Wild Boy. And, like the true pro I am, I didn't take any pictures of the invite! In fact, the only pic I have is a photo of Saint Paul's on my way back to the tube station (because after two small glasses of white wine and a pint of beer on a stomach lined with no real food since 2pm, this seemed like the most sane thing to do!)

So, in a small lovely bookshop near St Paul's Cathedral (Daunt Shop, if you want to know), a group of family, friend, publishing people and bloggers join together to celebrate the publication of Wild Boy. And as you know from my review, I loved this book (if you haven't read my slightly gushy review, here you go!) and kinda want a sequel/need the BBC to turn it into a family evening TV show (come on! It'll be so good!). So, yeah... I loved this book.

And I got invited. Which is awesome so thank you Rob and Hannah for Walker. Thank you! It was so nice of you to invite me to this evening. Even though on the day in question, I was in work clothes/shoes so you had no idea who I was as my Twitter picture is of converse trainers....

So, the event itself was so much fun. It was nice to meet people I have chatted to on Twitter/email and meet them face-to-face. It was cool to finally meet Rob and try not to act like a stalker and beg him to sign my ARC (I didn't so you guys can breath a sigh of relief as he hasn't put a restraining order on me). And I met new people!

I FINALLY met Hannah from Walker Books who is always lovely when I email her questions and I remet Sean from Walker and they talked/ordered me to read Patrick Ness soon (PROMISE!) and chatted about Doctor Who, Firefly (a show I have never seen but *SHHH!* don't tell anyone!) and a few random TV shows from the past (what happens in Daunt Books, stays in Daunt Books). I met the lovely Kim Curran, author of Shift for Strange Chemistry, and we chatted about her book and I realised that I have completely got the book wrong (basically, I thought it was one thing when, actually, it's something cooler so guess what I'm going to buy on my next paycheck?) and she said how long it took to write her first draft of Shift's sequel, Control, and... OH MY GOODNESS! I met Non, Catnip Books editor, and we chatted very briefly about music (we both LOVE music!) and Stephanie from Usborne, who said she loves my tweets (are you feeling alright? You love my random tweets of cats wearing hats and me sobbing over Fictional Boyfriends?) and I met fellow blogger, Hannah from My Book Journey and our chats about books must have got us some looks (because we are that awesome). I, also, met James Dawson again (but it was a flying visit as... well... [should I really be telling you this?] he got off the wrong stop and accidentally gatecrash another event...)

This is a small "thank you" post. I'm not that awesome to write about Rob's very warm and very funny speech (because I have completely forgotten what he said). Although, Rob, we might need you to tweet a pic of the T-Shirt... please!

So, thank you. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU for a wonderful time. I feel very lucky and honored to go to these events and if I acted like a chihuahua, it's because all book people (authors, publishers, other bloggers, etc) are my rock stars so I was trying to "fit in" and "be cool", which must be a weird sight for you all so, for that, I apologise.

Now, for those of you, the wait is over. The only photo I took that Thursday night!

SMILE - That Feeling When You Finish a Book...

Source: lol-sotrue.tumblr.com via Andrew on Pinterest

You have no IDEA how many times in the past 12 months I've had this feeling!

My thanks to whoever uploaded this on Pinterest. Now, for the final time, if you are on Pinterest and want to follow me, click the link in the side bar and it will take you to my Pinterest boards!