But, I have so much to tell you guys and I know this is going to take some time (and I have been playing on my phone/YouTube for over several hours and stressing about being a grown-up so I need to focus and get this done).
Saturday just gone was my second blogger event of the year - and I had to make plans with my work so I can go (I work some Saturdays - hence why I was staring at my phone most of the day as even though I muted WhatsApp, I could sense the messages piling up and I don't know how to remove that little red circle that pops up on the corner of the app!). So, after driving to train station near my work (work was borrow my mode of transport till I can afford a car and because my regular train line is a replacement bus service for the next few weekends), I was whizzed to London one cold, wet Saturday. And after going "OOOH!" over Tower of London (it was right next to Fenchurch Street station - plus am audiobooking Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness!) and taking my time to get to event, I got to Scholastic and MY BLOGGER FAMILY WERE THERE!!!
Oh, blogger family, I missed seeing you. And for some of you, it's been too longer!
I should go and reference them, shouldn't I? But there was too many - but more on that and them a little later as I have plans with one or two of them and am planning to steal some of their instagram pics.
Anyway, once we were all in the conference room, the lovely ladies at Scholastic started the presentations of some of their titles that are coming out this year. And most/all of them caught our attention in one form or another and made us go "We need to buy this as soon as it comes out!". Now, I'm not going to reference them all (there is going to be a load of pics/blog posts/vlogs about this, me thinks) so I am going to talk to you guys about the titles that caught my attention and made me sit up a little straighter (even though my TBR is currently hating my guts and going "WHY AREN'T YOU READING ME YET?! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!")
The first title is Shell by Paula Rawsthorne. Now, I have the proof for this since the end of last year and it came wrapped in bandages so I know it's going to be interesting. Lucy is diagnosed with terminal cancer. You don't survive that. Expect Lucy does. She wakes up one morning to find herself cancer-free. But there's a big catch. She's no longer in her own body. While she slept her brain and eyes were removed out of her body into someone else's, and now she is no longer Lucy. In this modern nod to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (published 200 years ago this year), Lucy begins to wonder how far you go for the people you love? And if there's a line you must never cross...
Second is State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury. This is the first book in her new duology and I have already got this on preorder (and Scholastic knows that nearly every blogger in the room wanted to read this) so this is going to be fun. Deliciously dark with complex fantasy world-building, we enter a kingdom which is still grieving for Sorrow's older brother who died days before she was born. She has the govern this kingdom and, when it gets too much, find comfort in the arms of the boy she's in love with. But when a stranger comes forward and claims he is her dead brother, Sorrow is taken aback. This boy wants to claim the throne, but is he really her brother or an imposter? And what is she going to do - stand aside or fight for the throne, even though it's the last thing she wants to do?
Another preorder book that was talked about here was Noah Could Never by Simon James Green. Sequel to Noah Can't Even, I was bouncing when this popped up on the screen and tried not to bully Simon since I finished reading Noah Can't Ever with tweets such as "There's going to be more kissing, right Simon?" or "If you hurt my babies, I swear to Lucifer!". (There is more kissing in the book, Simon said there was in the presentation and practically pointed me out by going "Him! Blame him!"). Taking place around two months after Noah Can't Even, Noah and Harry are dating (hooray!). But Noah is struggling to see what Harry sees in him. He's nothing compared to the sexy French exchange student, Pierre Victorie, who has his eye on Harry. Plus, the police are monitoring Noah, but he's not exactly sure why. Because of his dad and his secret half brother trying to steal his Gran's fake diamonds? Because of his PE teacher who's getting mysterious payouts? Or because drag queen Bambi Sugapops is hiding out at Noah's house while in the midst of a bare-knuckle, knock out drag feud? And when you throw in the mix Noah wondering if he's ready to take the next step in his and Harry's relationship, it's going to be a funny, cringey and warm story (it's better be!)Your Turn to Die by Sue Wallman. Ok, I haven't read her last thriller (IT'S ON MY TBR!) but Sue is a wonderful author and I adore her, so I have to mention this. Plus, this book sounds AMAZING! A dark and twisty thriller, this follows the teens of three families who, every New Year, go on holiday together in an old countryside house. But the teens discover a terrible secret - a deathbed confession led the police to a body of a teenager who went missing 50 years ago. As the teens begin to dig up the past, strange accidents happen round the house. If they're not careful, this new year will simply be their last...
Speaking of thrillers, Night of the Party by Tracey Mathias is getting a lot of buzz as the "Brexit thriller of the year". Set in the near future when the UK leave the EU, we meet Ash who is grieving the lost of his sister. When he meets Zara, he falls her fast and hard. But Zara has secrets. Secrets she can never tell. Not only is she an "Illegal" - a person who wasn't born in the UK, meaning her and her family would be arrest and deported without question - but she knows the truth about how Ash's sister died. To tell would put her and her family in danger, but staying quiet could ruin everything between her and Ash. With an general election looming, it will either save them or bring disaster in its wake...
I have another thriller for you. Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl is a hard one to explain but it sounds so messed-up, I'm going to try. Five friends reunite a year after graduation, but during a night out, they narrowly avoid a collision with other car. When they get back to one of their houses, a mysterious man knocks on the day and tells the something that shatters their world. The friends must make a choice: one of them will live and others must die. And it must be unanimous. Then the mind games of Neverworld Wake begin...
Let's chat one more book as you all are probably screaming at me "WHY HAVEN'T YOU MENTIONED THE SURFACE BREAKS BY LOUISE O'NEILL?!". So, The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill is the feminist reimagining of The Little Mermaid. There's not much else I can say. I think most of us are intrigued over how Louise is going to write this and what she does... Will have to wait till May to find out...
And, of course, I could go on and mention the other jaw-droopingly yummy books I think you guys will love: The Light Jar by Lisa Thompson (a hopeful middle-grade touching on some dark issues), Tender by Eve Ainsworth (who I am ashamed to admit I have never read, but her books are topical and this is no exception, tackling the issue of young carers), Spark by Alice Broadway (sequel to Ink, which I haven't read yet! I only just got a copy of it today!), Twister by Juliette Forrest (mainly because of the cover. It's divine!), Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood (imagine I Capture a Castle meets The Great Gatsby and you got it!), the sequel to Hayley Barker's Showstopper (I can't remember if the title was revealed or not but I haven't read Showstopper - you can blame me DNFing another fantasy book set in a circus for putting me off reading this. But I feel ready to hunt down a copy again) and A Storm of Ice and Stars by Lisa Lueddecke (prequel to A Shiver of Snow and Sky - again, another book I have but not read. Wow, I suck at this book blogger lark, don't i?!) And there is probably a ton more that I missed or I can't read my appalling handwriting to
And after that, it was time to leave (though I was dragged out. I was trying to make Simon James Green and Eve Ainsworth co-author a comedy horror together and trying to hide in the corner, going "Shhh. If they don't know I'm here, Scholastic will have to give me a job!"), and once was given a goodie bag (which I always feel odd about taking. I feel like I just turn up to steal books!) which contained a beautiful new edition of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights and a proof of Neverworld Wake (and I was kindly given a copy of Alice Broadway's Ink and Juliette Forrest's Twister as well).
And once we were kicked out of the building, a bunch of us bloggers decided to have lunch at a nearby Nandos (we're a classy lot. But, if you ever want us, bribe us with books and food, and we'll love you). If I can find photos on other bloggers's Instagram, I will embed in this post.
I can't explain the pout in that photo. I was trying to be funny and I look like a camp goldfish...
Now, before I go, I just want to thank everyone at Scholastic for the event. It was wonderful and I had such fun. Plus, it's always a lovely thrill/honour to be invited. Thank you - and I am sorry for the email you're going to get in the next few days...
