Believathon 2019 - Le Belle Sauvage

• Title And Author: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
• Publisher: Penguin/David Fickling Books
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 546 Pages and 13 Hours 14 Minutes

It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it? With me finally, FINALLY, getting my rear in gear and reading/audiobooking La Belle Sauvage, seeing how much I love the His Dark Materials trilogy and bought this as soon as I could. 

But I held off reading this. For the same reason I’m holding off watching the BBC/HBO adaption of the series - The Fear! I mean, we have been waiting for these FOR YEARS! What if, after all this waiting, they don’t live up to our exceptions?!

So, how/why did I decide to do it now? Well, the audiobook is the main reason. Plus, The Secret Commonwealth for another. OK, let me explain. The Secret Commonwealth has just come out in hardback and I would like to read that as Lyra is an adult in this and I want to return and see what’s happened to her and her daemon, Pan. Now, the audiobook. I returned an audiobook after an hour’s listening on Audible and they, very kindly, gave me a credit as a refund. So, I decided to grab this (as well as activate a Black Friday deal of getting an Audible Subscription with 4 months being only £3.99 [The offer is still going. I think it ends on Thursday 12th December aka UK General Election Day or Friday 13th, so go go! Just remember to cancel it before the price goes up to £7.99])

Anyway, La Belle Sauavge, the first volume in the Book of Dust series is a little different from what everyone was expecting. We thought this was going to follow after His Dark Materials. Nope. This takes place years BEFORE, when Lyra is only six months. 

Malcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta, lives in the pub in Oxford by the river Thames. His life is fairly ordinary, even uneventful. But this winter, the rain won’t stop. Rumours of a flood are everywhere, and Malcolm finds himself near the centre of a battle between religion, science and politics, when he goes to the priory across the river and discover they are looking after a small six month baby called Lyra, daughter of Lord Asriel...

Hey Sherlock! Extract

I have a murdery extract for you guys! I know, an extract from a crime/mystery novel within Murder Month? Shocking! But am kinda excited and intrigued on this one and want to know your thoughts on this series. Plus, when Vicki from David Fickling Books emailed me about this, I had just started watching Elementary so it's a sign!!!

Hey Sherlock! by Simon Mason is the third in the award winning Gavin Smith series (the first, Running Girl, was shortlisted for Costa Children's Prize Award 2014 and the second, Kid Got Shot, won the CrimeFest Best Crime Novel for Young Adult 2017), and Gavin is lazy, school dropout but utterly brilliant and beyond smart.

Amy Roecastle has gone missing. She's beautiful and utterly selfish. But why would she go missing? And why would her best friend lie to the Police? Inspector Singh has no leads, no clue, no idea. Cue Gavin who might be one step of the investigation, but who might be getting in over his head as nothing is ever simple when it comes to Amy Roecastle...

Not sure if I am going to have time to read this within the month (I know - this was perfect for this month or the coming autumn/winter months as there's something about autumn that makes perfect thriller reading), but I wanted to share this extract with you all!

Before I go, I want to thank Vicki for emailing me after I chatted to her about my themed Murder Month and going "I think this would be perfect for you!". If you are curious on the series or you like what's below, you can check out David Fickling Books's website.

NOW, ONTO THE EXTRACT (sorry about the formatting of extract in advance. For some reason, my laptop wasn't happy the day I was writing this p!!!

GoodRead - The Art of Being Normal

Ok, this book has been in my TBR pile since the beginning of the year. And before that, I was excitedly await this book's release. It got so much online buzz and I wanted to read it. Took me a while, but my local Waterstones finally got them and I bought the last copy they had.

And then, for some reason, I didn't read it. No idea why. I just... well, didn't. Then Bookish Brits made it this month's Book Club group. And, for once, I actually had this book to hand. And I wanted to read it! BONUS!!!

David has secret. People see his as an outsider, a gay guy still hiding in the closet, a freak. Only his best friends know the truth: David wants to be a girl.

On his first day at a new school, all Leo wants to be is invisible. Bit hard when the most beautiful girl in Year 11 sees him. Plus, when Leo stands up for David in a fight, a unlikely friendship between the two begins, which is definitely not part of the plan.

But Leo also has a secret. And the thing about real life is... secrets come out. Both secrets are going to come out... one way or the other...

Now, before I go any further, I want to say that this is an important book. This is the first real book I have read that tackles the issue of transgender, and this has become an important issue in the past few months. So to have a book in easy access that tackles this subject matter and tackles it with care and respect is very important!

The story itself is an interesting one. In other books, this would be a book about "teens who go on a journey of self-discovery". And while this is true here, I have a horrid feeling that some people will go "This is a book about transgender." There will see that one word and won't see the rest of - about first love, friendship, discovering who you are and respecting yourself.

This story was told in dual narrative - David and Leo. Now, with one female author writing two points of view and both male, this is going to be the big thing. But I thought Lisa got it. She got the voices to sound different enough to make the story flow.

Information was a thing that worried me. When some authors write a book and have it tackle a subject matter like this, you are judging it from the word go. You don't want it to be scandalised. You want it to be done right. With care and respect. Lisa did that, I feel. She had worked, in the past, at the Gender Identity Development Service, a specialist NHS service for young people who are struggling with their gender identity. So I felt that she knew this stuff and she was going to get it right.

I had two tiny faults. But these are me things and one of them, I get way Lisa did this.

The first was Leo. For the first 80 or so pages (till Leo stood up for David, actually), I found Leo hard work. I really disliked him. And I get why Lisa did this. Because of Leo's secret and events linked to it, Leo has put walls up. But as the book goes on, we see his walls slowly coming down. Character growth!

The second was language. Again, because of the subject matter, there were use of terms in the this book that aren't pleasant. But, they seemed on the mild side. It wasn't as dark as I thought this book was going to be. But, I get this also. Yes, words like that are used in real life, BUT this is a hopeful and positive books. We saw a character use one of these words and another character, or several, would jump in and go "No. No, that isn't on." and this is great.

While there are a few things that didn't sit well with me, I read this over the course of a long weekend. I devoured this important book and I hope this book helps someone out there. Either to better understand or to make them feel less alone.

His Dark Materials Readalong - Once Upon A Time In The North

As part of the His Dark Materials Readalong, here I am, talking about the last book in this readalong. A book I haven't read before (shocking, I know!). Once Upon A Time In The North is a weird creature. I think I never read it before now because I had read Lyra's Oxford and I think I went away from that going "was that all? Really? That was it?". So, I bought then gave away my copy of Once Upon A Time In The North when the book came out and now, several years later, I went internet hunting for a copy (thank you secondhand!).

Once Upon A Time In The North is a prequel where two characters meet for the first time, around thirty-five years prior to the events of the His Dark Materials trilogy. The Texan balloonist, Lee Scoresby, and the armoured bear, Iorek Byrnison.

When the young Lee Scoresby and his daemon, Hester, land their balloon in a small Arctic town, they find themselves flying straight into a political brawl. The political factions want control of the town and its oil, and the resident bears are treated with contempt and like second-class citizens. It doesn't take long before Lee and Iorek meet and their friendship begins. But with political tensions also at fever pitch, it wouldn't take long before blood will be spilt.

Ok, I admit it, it took me a good 20 or so pages before I found my stride with this story. It's very different from Lyra's Oxford - the book is longer than Lyra's Oxford (almost double) and the type is smaller, so we got more story. But because it has been so long since I read Scoresby (he wasn't exactly a character I remember really well, if I can be truthful with you all), I felt like I had to get to know him again. Which was nice. I feel ready to meet him again when I feel brave enough to try and reread the trilogy again (stupid reading slump).

But once I got into the story, it went into a western-type read and, for this book, I was excited for the change. It fit Lee's character a lot more and I was pleased over how it worked. Setting a western in the Arctic just fitted for some reason.

The illustrations/engravings by John Lawrence fitted the story very neatly and, unless I am mistaken, he also did the illustrations for Lyra's Oxford. I really liked these so I might write a seperate blogpost to show them off.

If I can be honest, the only thing that bothered me was, at times, one of the characters felt out of place. I can't put my finger on why I feel like this.

But I liked this a lot more than Lyra's Oxford. And if you're a fan of the series, this is a must. 

His Dark Materials Readalong - Lyra's Oxford

As part of the #HDMReadalong, I reread Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman. It was an odd experience to reread something I haven't read in a very long time. And with my memory, I knew bits but not all of it.

The book is a collection of things. One short story, a map of Lyra's Oxford, a postcard and leaflet of a cruise ship.

I remember getting very excited when this first came out and devoured it very quickly. This time round, I tried to take it slow. I read it within 3 days.

The story - Lyra and the Birds - was different from what I remember. First of all, it was MUCH SHORTER than I remembered. And when you read it and compare it to the rest of the His Dark Materials trilogy, it doesn't seem to fit. It takes after the events of the series, but Lyra doesn't feel like she's aged and it seems odd to me for some reason.

There are hints to the mysterious Book of Dust that Philip Pullman has been working on for YEARS (pages 46 and 47), and I get the feeling this was meant to be a tease for Book of Dust that would becoming out in a year's time, but Book of Dust took longer to write so, when we get news on this getting published, it might be a good idea to reread this.

The postcard written Dr Mary Malone to one of her nun friend, Angela Gorman, gave tiny details about her, but it was the postcard she picked which was interesting. It showed four locations, which have huge importance to the series as a whole.

The leaflet of a cruise ship is the only thing I don't understand. If someone could tell me it's importance, that would be great as I haven't the foggest.

While this was a lovely book and a nice reread, I'm unsure over how I feel about it. It feels like it's hinting to something that hasn't happened yet. Plus, I feel like it's a tiny bit of a con. When this first came out, it was £9.99 and all it had was a short story of 40-odd pages and some titbits, which seems like a ripoff to the fans of this series. But you can get it secondhand now for not that much so that's ok.

All in all, I'm not sure if this is a worthy addition to the series. Maybe reading Once Upon A Time In The North will change my opinion...

GoodRead - WayLand

This book came as a complete surprise. Jasmine from David Fickling Books/Random House emailed me one day and asked if I would be interested in reading Wayland. This book is very much outside my normal reading. Some people will read this as poetry and others as a retelling of a Viking legend. But I said yes because of Philip Pullman. He called this tale "enthralling" and as I was thinking of rereading one of Philip's novels, I said yes and read this book with a mic of excitement and wariness.

Based on a little-known legend, this tells the tale of Wayland, a blacksmith whose skills have made him know across the land. But also onto the ears of a greedy king who take Wayland into slavery. In an attempt to return to his swan-bride, Wayland must rely on his skills, courage and hope to survive.

You need to read this out loud. I feel like that I need to make this clear. It is written in verse and, while reading in your head is alright, reading it out loud helps a lot to get the heartbeat (as I call it) of the story and Tony's writing. Because of reading it out loud, you fall under he story's spell.

And as for John Lawrence's illustrations, they fit the story perfectly. It has the feel of hand-carved block press and this fits with the story as it gives a feel of the time when this story takes place.

And for those of you thinking "This sounds a bit like a Disney tale", it isn't. There is a few moment of violence and one grown-up moment so... yeah... moving on!

But I really enjoyed reading this. And if you are a fan of proses and/or Viking tales, I think you all love this!

GoodRead - Mistress of the Storm

This is my last review of 2011. Which a weird thing to type. I fear now that I will have to write my New Year's Eve message (might need tissues while I write it, I fear...)

Anyway, Mistress of the Storm. I came across this book via Just Imagine. Randomly, in July, I walked in and got myself a copy of The Knife of Never Letting Go (and I still haven't read that! 2012! I will try!!!) and I discovered that Melanie Welsh was doing a writing group that Monday. I decided to go and, kindly, was given a copy for free. On the Monday, Melanie chatted about how she wrote Mistress of the Storm and she's lovely. I grabbed a second copy and gave it away in a contest! And I said I would read this on my holiday in Portugal with the Person I'm With (the PIW). But yet... I didn't. Fastforward several months and, after reading Fated by Sarah Alderson (next week, children. Next week...), I finally went "If I don't read this now, I never will!".

When Verity Gallant walks into Wellow's library and discover a man reading a red leather book, crying, she had no idea about the events that would unfold. That the man would give the red leather book and a strange wooden ball. That The Storm would come to dock in the little harbour town. That Verity's Grandmother (who she didn't even know existed!) come to stay. That Verity will slowly discover her family history that her father has been desperate to hide. That Verity will discover the tale of the Mistress of the Storm...

This is a little outside of my "YA" comfort-zone (this is, to me, an book within the "8 to 12 years old" bracket) and there's something nice to read something that isn't so teen-driven.

It was a wonderful read. There was something old-fashioned about it and it's nice to read about a soon-to-be-teenager, Verity, who feels out of place with the world. I think everyone feels like that when you're going through those wonderful "Teen Years".

Am trying to write this review without going into "gushy" zone, which is VERY HARD (been trying to write this on and off for the past few hours!)! I just loved this book. I found it enchanting with tales of witches, smuggling, how children see parents and vica-versa. The only fault I can think of is the term "muttered/mumbled quietly" was used quite a bit, but it's a small detail so I will forgive the author.

I just fell in love with this book. I want the sequel, Heart of Stone, as soon as possible!

Mistress Of The Storm Contest!

On Monday of this week, I went to my local indie bookshop, Just Imagine (remember, keep your local independent bookshops alive) as a last minute rush for their Writers Circle. With special guest of Melanie Welsh, aka M. L. Welsh, whose debut novel "Mistress Of The Storm" has recently been published in paperback.

With a small group of us, Melanie chatted about what inspired her to write Mistress of the Storm, advice on writing and editing (made a ton of mental notes on that!) and the top 3 pieces of advice that she wished someone had told her before she got her book published. It was a fun evening and I really enjoyed myself so I have to thank Just Imagine for setting it up (and telling me at the last minute of Saturday!) and for Melanie who had spent the day visiting schools!

Now, for those of you who don't know anything about the book (I must admit I didn't know this book existed till I was told about it. Is going to be a summer holiday read for me...), here is the details:

Verity Gallant knows she'll never be as pretty and popular as Poppy, her perfect little sister. Somehow, she doesn't quite fit in. Then a mysterious stranger hands her an ancient red book, and everything changes. As Verity becomes embroiled in a tale of dark magic and intrigue, she uncovers old family rivalries and discovers new friends. Together she, Henry and Martha explore the secrets that are stirring in the ancient harbour town of Wellow. But what will it take to stop a powerful witch hell-bent on revenge?
Taken From Just Imagine's website

Now, how would you like it if you had a signed copy of this book? Well, you can! Courtesy of our pals of Just Imagine, Melanie has kindly signed a copy of her début novel which I am giving away to you!

If you want to enter in for the chance of winning, just fill in the form below. You have until Wednesday 20th July at 8pm BST to enter and I can, due to lack of funds, only send this to UK-based addresses. GOOD LUCK!!!