SMILE - Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?

My thanks goes to TheMarySue.com, and the video is in connect with the new app, Love Book, where 10% of the profits go to the charity, Save The Children.

But thought you guys might want to hear the voice-porn.

GoodRead - Infinityglass

I was actually planning to read this in November (come back next Tuesday to see my weird plans for the next 2 months) but I changed my mind. The lovely Emma from Book Angel Booktopia (who is probably a bigger fan of the series than me!) asked that, in the near future, she could borrow my copy of Infinityglass. And because it's Emma (who is brilliant/thoughtful/kind and one of my favourite book bloggers), I said of course. So, because of this, I decided to read it. Plus, this had been calling from the depths of my To Read pile for a while so, actually, Emma did me a favor. Thanks, Emma!

So, Infinityglass. Because of the events that happened in both Hourglass and Timepiece, time is now in flux. And it's fracturing. People from other times can slip through into the present, rips are getting bigger. If this isn't fixed, the world is in danger. And, because of this, the only solution is finding the legendary Infinityglass, an object that can fix this. Expect it's not an object. It's a person.

Dune, the only guy at Hourglass who knows enough information about the Infinityglass, is sent to New Orleans to find the Infinityglass. Expect he meets the headstrong Hailey...

Before I go any further, I wanna talk about the covers in the series. They are beautiful, aren't they? And Infinityglass's is probably my fave out of the three but, at the same time, is the most freaky.

Ok, now I have that out of the way, let's talk about this, the third and final in the series and, because of this, let me get the cons out of the way. I only have two and one isn't a con, if that makes any sense. The first con is more a worry for you guys. I fear that some of you guys will read this and go "Oh, dual-narrative" and will see the similarities in the voices of Dune and Hailey. I never truly saw that, but I worry that some of you guys will.

My second con is length. Out of the series, so far, this is the tiniest! My copy is less than 300 pages. Maybe it's the fact I don't want to leave this world but I could have so easily had another 25 or so pages. There were some revelations that I wished we explored more [not saying anything - spoilers!], but like I said, I think it's because I'm not ready to say goodbye.

Ok, pros. Myra's writing. I love this woman's writing style. Her writing made me read the pages faster and I easily stayed up late on more than one occasion, going "One more chapter won't hurt". And no matter how confusing the plot got, Myra made sure it still made sense. And if you did lose the plot for a few pages, you were reading because of the characters and their relationships (oh, Dune & Hailey relationship was so sweet and so different to Emerson & Michael's in Hourglass [which was kickass] and Kaleb & Lily's in Timepiece [which was hot]). And the snarky humour/one-liners! This series has humour and that's always a bonus.

I still find it baffling that this series hasn't got a UK publisher, seeing as the UK is the home of Doctor Who and this series would be perfect for you Doctor Who fans! And with Fox getting the rights for the movie (now I think of it, I can really see this fitting a TV format better [can you imagine the hot actors this series could have?]), I haven't really said goodbye to this world, just yet. But I hope Myra returns and writes something (even a novella - I would happily take that!). But, if not, I want to read what Myra writes next. Like, as soon as possible.

Maybe I should reread Hourglass again, just to pass the time...

GoodRead - Last Groom Standing

Oh yes. Yes, I went there. I read... a Mills and Boon novel! Are you all shocked?! Are you all going "Wait! Are you feeling well?" at your computer screen and baffled over how/why one became into my hands as... well... I am not the type to read this type of novel. And you are all right. This isn't my normal read. But I won it randomly on Goodreads and, seeing as I joked that I would read one of these one day, I decided to dive in!

So, this is the last book in the Wedding Season quartet and, with all the drama of her past and watching all her friends getting married, Marnie decides to do something reckless. She sleeps with Dylan Brookes, a man who makes the wedding tux sexy. And is sexier without it. And Dylan always doing the sensible thing, a night with Marnie is as far from sensible as he could get. But in the cold light of day, where does this leave them?

This isn't my cup of tea. I am going to admit that right out. I like reading YA and when I read stories that have romantic feels to them, there is always something that is my main focus: fantasy, action, thriller. So this is pure romance and, so, because of that, I always feel indifferent to it. But that's a me thing. I admit this. I am not a romance reader.

So, why did I read it? Because I wanted to read something new. Something outside of my comfort zone. I feel that, sometimes, we readers pigeonhole ourselves with what we read. You know what I mean? "I only read the classics", "I prefer reading crime", "I read exclusively YA". We do this to ourselves without realising and, sometimes, we need to brave and try new things. We do this with new authors, why not new genres? So, I decide to try and read something new.

It was a fast read. If I had more time on my hands, I would have read this within one day. And this is what Mills and Boon are good at. Romance that you can read quickly, easier and have a happy feeling at the end. And as this is the last book in the Wedding Season, this is for those who have read the series as there is a lot of names and back story.

But this wasn't for me. But at least I tried.

#re3 - Glass Houses

Another day, another #re3. And today, I am starting my first book in my Morganville Challenge, Glass Houses. I first read this last year (review's here if you wanna read it) but here is my reread of it, so... here we go!

WHY DID YOU REREAD GLASS HOUSES?
I reread Glass Houses as I won the near-complete Morganville Vampires series and I decided it would be fun to try and read the series. But this would mean rereading Glass Houses. I was planning to read it at the end, but decided to read it first.

WHAT WAS YOUR HONEST OPINION WHEN YOU FIRST READ THIS BOOK?
I liked it, but I didn't love it. I didn't like how the issue of bullying was tackled and, I think at the time, I had my fill of vampires so I liked it less than I think I would have been.

WHAT IS YOUR HONEST OPINION NOW THAT YOU HAVE REREAD THIS BOOK?
I much prefer reading Glass Houses this time round than when I read it last year. I'm not sure why, but I think I'm ready to read vampires again so reading Glass Houses is a nice step back into the fanged world. It felt more gripping to read it this time round.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY?
The last 50 or so pages were fast-paced. I lost sleep reading those pages. And the last chapter! That last chapter!

I still get Shane and Michael mixed up. Hopefully, reading The Dead Girls' Dance will help me get them straight in my head.

BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK, WILL YOU READ ANY OTHER BOOK WITHIN THE SERIES?
Yes, I will. After reading that last chapter (that last page! I remembered this ending halfway through this book, but I forgot how tense it was when I reread it!), I'm pretty certain I will be reading Dead Girls' Dance sooner than I thought.

SMILE - When You Read A Book As A Child...

I read this line on tumblr and fell in love with it (because it is very true!). My thanks to the tumblr of theashleyclements (tht's right, the actor who played Lizzie Bennett in Lizzie Bennett Diaries.)

#re3 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hello again! My second #re3 of 2013 (yes, you can laugh as I decided to start this so late in the year). And today, I am going to chat about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. So, let's get busy and answer the #re3 questions!

WHY DID YOU REREAD HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN?
I always wanted to reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but when I decided to reread Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (#re3 chat of Order of the Phoenix is here), I knew I was going to read this. Plus, when I decided to reread Order of the Phoenix, I bought the white signature edition (just because) and with it under the "Buy One, Get One Half Price", I knew I had to buy Prisoner of Azkaban.

WHAT WAS YOUR HONEST OPINION WHEN YOU FIRST READ THIS BOOK?
This is my favourite Harry Potter book. I loved how this introduced to Lupin and Sirius, two characters that I love, and introduced to, what I still think is one of the creepiest/frightening creatures in children's literature, Dementors.

WHAT IS YOUR HONEST OPINION NOW THAT YOU HAVE REREAD THIS BOOK?
I loved rereading this. I still love this book as much as I did before, but I did noticed that, after reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, that JK's writing style has changed and grown, saying her growing more confident in, not only her writing style, but showing her grown-up and dark the series is becoming. This is the last book where it has a "childish" feel to it.

And Crookshanks - I LOVE this cat! It's snarky, even more so for a cat!

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY?
I was cheering the moment Hermione slapped Draco. Need I say more?

BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK, WILL YOU REREAD ANY OTHER BOOK WITHIN THE SERIES?
I kinda want to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I'm not 100% sure why I want to reread (because am listening to the Harry Potter ReadALong podcast, Alohomora) or because I was thinking of writing a blogpost about the "Circle Theory" and wonder why Goblet of Fire is a standalone in this theory. But I think it's because I wanna reread the first chapter - The Riddle House - as that's one of my fave chapter within the Harry Potter series. And, because of the new JK Rowling movie news (read the news on her website here or BBC News) , I am going to reread Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them before the year is out.

(PS - if you are a fan of Remus Lupin, his backstory was revealed on Pottermore. However, I listened to the special edition of the podcast, Alohomora. If you want to listen to the episode, click here.)

SMILE - If You See This Woman...

My thanks to the random/scarily addictive tumblr of What Would Jessica Do?

CONTEST TIME!!!

I feel like I'm not giving you guys much love with contests of late. So, here I am, doing a small giveaway with thanks with HarperCollins.

5 lucky winners will win the paperback edition of Cathy Kelly's The Honey Queen!

And for those of you who haven't heard of The Honey Queen, here is a quick synopsis taken from the press release and GoodReads:

To discover the sweetest things in life, you sometimes have to lose your way…

It’s easy to fall in love with the beautiful town of Redstone – the locals wave and chat to each other, the shops and cafes are full of cheerful hustle and bustle. And amidst all this activity, two women believe they are getting on just fine.

Francesca’s boundless energy help her to take everything in her stride, including a husband who has lost his job and the unwelcome arrival of the menopause, which has kicked in – full throttle.

Peggy, on the other hand, has always been a restless spirit. But now, focused and approaching thirty, she has opened her own knitting shop on the town’s high street. It’s a dream come true, but she still feels adrift.

When Australian-raised Lillie finally makes it back home to Ireland, she is drawn right into the heart of Redstone’s busy, close-knit community. But what she thought would be an ending is actually just a beginning – all is not quite as it seems in the picturesque town.

Soon, Lillie’s hard-earned wisdom will be called into play as she helps new friends navigate unchartered territory…

Has this wet your appetite? If it has and you want a chance to win 1 of the 5 copies I'm giving away, all you have to do is fill in the form below!

The competition ends on Friday 20th September at 7pm and winners will be selected by Random.org. This is a UK-only contest (sorry you International guys, but I have plans for you in the next few months) I will email the winners for their address so HarperCollins can send your winning copy!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!