Books And Their Theme Songs - Volume 28

FIRST BOOKS AND THEIR THEME SONGS OF 2015! Where have the last 2 months gone?!

Anyway, because I was playing around with my idea of If I Made The Movie Soundtrack For... posts, there might not be as many songs here as I would have liked. Oh well...

I hope you like the songs choices! And, as I want to discover new music, if you read any of the books I mention and have a different song for them, please let me know! I would love to hear you about music!

THE GIRL WHO TWEETED WOLF and RUSH JOBS by Nick Bryan
"What's The Matter" by Milo Grenne


ALL FALL DOWN by Ally Carter
"I Lied" by Nicki Minaj


HALF BAD by Sally Green
"Ten Tonne Skeleton" by Royal Blood & "I'm A Ruin" by Marina and the Diamonds

NetGalley Declined Requests - REVEALED

I did want to write a post about some books in my TBR pile. Just to give you guys a sneaky peek in what I have and to just big up some exciting titles that I haven't had chance to read. But when I tried to start that post, I got a little overwhelmed. But I wanted to do something similar, and this was my first idea that got me very excited!

I mean, I might have got declined these reads but why not show them off? You guys might discover them and go "That sounds perfect for me!" Which is why I am going to link them to GoodReads so if any take your fancy, you can read up about them on that at your leisure)

Now, I know I got my decline requests on NetGalley and, with each one I got, I get weirdly excited. That's weird to admit but yes, I get excited over getting decline requests (so publishers, if you see my name via NetGalley, you can reject my request. I won't take it badly. I probably will go "They decline me? AWESOME!!!").

So, let me pick a few of these (I got 10 so far.) and explain why I requested them...

THESE BROKEN STARS & THIS SHATTERED WORLD by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Disney-Hyperion - GoodReads Link for TBS and GoodRead Link for TSW)
Ok, let's get the requests that hurt out of my system first. But yes... I requested both of these and both were rejected. It was because both these books were getting such hype round them and both were super cool. Titanic in space? SOLD! But I believe both were for US readers only (I lived in hope). Plus, I have read them both (audiobook for These Broken Stars and the lovely Luna from Luna's Little Library loaned me for ARC of This Shattered World) and I am still shocked that this series hasn't got a UK publisher! SERIOUSLY?!

HIS ROOMMATE'S PLEASURE by Lana McGregor (Carina Press - GoodReads Link)
I have no idea why I requested this. I can't honestly remember why. I think I wanted to read more grown up books featuring same sex relationships. But it feels like most of the stories I seem to come across in the LGBT section on Amazon seem to be erotica and have some form of S&M in it. Really? I just want a love story where the couple have a happy ever after, who happen to be gay. Is that too much to ask?

CLOSE UP by Kelly Brook (Pan Macmillan - GoodReads Link)
This was an impulse request. I think Kelly does sometimes get a bit of a bad wrap so I wanted to read her side of the story. Plus, I wanted to read more widely and non-fiction was one of those areas I wanted to start reading. But a few days after I requested it, I had a small panic and went "I'm not sure if I want to read this now". I think some stuff had come out in the news and it made me feel very uncomfortable so I was a little relieved to get declined.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee (Cornerstone/Random House UK - GoodReads Link)
This is one of the only few classics I have wanted to read for YEARS now. It's rare that I want to read a "classic" but yes, To Kill A Mockingbird is one of them. And it was on NetGalley to co-inside with the release of this becoming an eBook for the first time. I got decline for this, but I got a copy of this on my Kindle and I have every plan to read it within the next six months so THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN! Just a tad later than when I was expecting it. But this sounds like something I am going to love and effect the way I view the world...

DIE AGAIN by Tess Gerritsen (Transworld Books/Random House UK - GoodReads Link)
Though I don't read the genre often, I really enjoy reading crime books. And one of my fave authors in the crime/thriller worlds is Tess Gerritsen. So, when I saw her latest on NetGalley, I thought about requesting this for a while. It had been a few years since I read her last and with me watching the TV show inspired by this series, I was unsure if I was going to sink into this world. But I requested it after I read the eNovella John Doe. I forgot how much I enjoy reading about these characters. While I was declined this, I do want to go back and read another of Tess's books, but I don't own any of them now sadly so I will have to go hunting in charity shops or go scare my local library...

THE CONSPIRACY OF US by Maggie Hall (Putman Juvenile/Penguin Group USA - GoodReads Link)
I think I first heard of this on a podcast I listen to call Bookhype. They were chatting about this book and it intrigued me. A teen Da Vinci Code? With hints of glamour, romance, secrets and ancient prophecy? It could be a read I speed through one hot sunny day on a beach. Again, like These Broken Stars, I do think this was for US readers only and I'm not certain if it has a UK publisher, but this sounded like a fun read!

Ok, that's it. Am not going to show any more. Some of them I want to hold back on in case I fancy doing another post in a few months time (fingers crossed for my declined request, people! My tastes in books are going through a weird phase at the moment so... yeah...)

But tell me, have you read any of these books? Did you like them? Should I hunt them down and read them at once? Or, if I see them, should I try and run in the opposite direction? Leave a comment or tweet me and let me know! Am curious on what you guys think....

Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret

Why hello again! Welcome back to me trying to read all seven Harry Potter books within one year. Today, in the second month of this year, I have read (and am typing up) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

My reactions now I have reread this book? I forgot how much I dislike this book within this series. And I mean, really dislike it.

I just forgot how much I cringe when reading Chamber. The first few chapters I just powered through because, while I love Dobby, I just find it hard to read. And then we have Lockhart - the slime known as Lockhart. Every time he appeared, I just wanted to shudder. I forgot/blocked his Valentine's Day plans and when I remembered, I recoiled from the book, going "NONONONO!"

Change the blog post before I said to rant and rave! 

What I found really interesting was that this is (according to the Ring Theory - a theory where each book reflects another [Philosopher's Stone reflects Deathly Hallows, Chamber of Secrets reflects Half Blood Prince, Prisoner of Azkaban reflects Order of the Phoenix, leaving Goblet of Fire standing alone) how the clues hinted at the information we discover in Half Blood Prince. For example, in an early chapter, the mention of an opal necklace and a vanishing cabinet was mentioned (and the vanishing cabinet was mention again in a latter chapter by Flinch several chapters later [chapter 10 or 11]) , both of these are hugely important to Half Blood Prince. 

There is two other points of huge interest. On page 253 of the edition I read, there's a line that says "Harry couldn't explain, even to himself, why he didn't just throw Riddle's diary away." and then on page 357, Dumbledore says to Harry "Unless I am mistaken, he [Voldermort] transferred some of his powers to you the night he gave you that scar." HOROCRUX ALERT!!! DUMBLEDORE KNEW HERE! I guessed he suspected in Philosopher's Stone when Harry asked him at the final chapter, but we know from this little line that Dumbledore knew for certain here. 

Before I go away and figure out when I am going to read my fave Harry Potter book, Prisoner of Azkaban, can I ask you guys a quick question. Can someone explain why Hermione, a huge book lover, tore a page out of a book then wrote the word Pipes on it? She tore a page out of the book, defacing the book, and then wrote on the page, defacing the page. Why didn't she take the book out of the library and bookmark the page with a piece of parchment with the word pipes? Was Hermione just rushing, or was she acting justly, even though (in my honest opinion), this is the book where Hermione acts the most out of character for lack of reason?

Ok, blog post over. I will leave you now. 2 books down, 5 to go and the next book is my fave in the series!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! 

PS - sorry there's no cover of which Harry Potter cover I read. For some reason, Blogger didn't want to show it. Sorry everyone!!! 

GoodRead - Mort

A few years ago, I did a readalong with Stevie of SableCaught fame of Murder of the Orient Express by Agatha Christie on Twitter. We planned to do a video on her channel and talk about our reactions to the book, so we met up, did the video (which has NEVER SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY because of the audio. And hopefully, because of this, we will NEVER SEE IT! EVER!) and chatted about Discworld as I was curious on the series and wondered where I would start. Stevie said this was the book to start, even though it's the fourth book in the series.

Death comes for us all. But when Death came for Mort, he offered Mort a job. What could possibly go on? A lot, is the answer. A lot.

Ok, I am going to start with this point before I go any further. I HATE THIS COVER! HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT!!! I know why this is the cover and I get why you lovely people love it but, in my opinion, it's awful. I trying to understand why Keli is wearing very very little - so much so that her boobs are going to pop out any second. I don't like how Mort is drawn. What is up with his neck. And with up with Ysabell? Where is Ysabell's body and isn't both Mort and Cutwell meant to be in their late teens/early twenties? And don't get me started on Death!

*exhales loudly* Sorry. I had to get that rant out of my system! I really dislike the cover, in case you didn't guess...

Ok, my reactions to the book. I am a tad mixed on this book.

My main reason, I think, is because I had such high expectation over this series - I mean, it's one of those series that everyone who reads adult fantasy read and love. So, the bar was always going to be high and, of course, the book was never going to reach my expectations.

But it's an interesting read. And an odd book.

For me, this is a good book to start with the Discworld series as the first half of the book touches on the weirdness of Discworld and, once the world is explained and the story gets on its feet (around 100 pages or so), I liked it. It wasn't what I was expecting.

Death is a character I love. As weird as that makes me sound, he intrigues me. He's a walking contradiction. He shouldn't meddle in human lives, and yet he finds us fascinating. He likes cats and has a horse called Binky. Oh, and he has an adopted daughter.

Yeah, this is the Grim Reaper as we know him.

I think tht's one of the reasons I liked this book. This book - ok, this series from my chats with "real" Discworld readers - takes fantasy very seriously. And yet, because it does, it knows where the humour lies. Its tongue is firmly in its cheek without making the world seem ridiculous or unreal, even though the Discworld is unreal and ridiculous.

But, like I said earlier on, I had high expectations over this book and it's my own fault that I didn't like it as much as I hoped. BUT I'M NOT GONNA GIVE UP! I won a beautiful hardback edition of Reaper Man and I have plans to read that and maybe one or two more Discworld books. When I feel brave enough to tackle them...

His Dark Materials Read-a-long

When Stephen from Dark Readers and I got chatting on Twitter about His Dark Materials, we both said an idea of doing a readalong would be cool. And before I knew it, a bunch of other book bloggers got excited over this idea too.

So, throughout the course of March, we are banding together to do the His Dark Materials ReadALong, based on the series by Philip Pullman (to celebrate its 20th anniversary of being published! 20TH ANNIVERSARY, PEOPLE!!!) . Each week, one or two of us will take to Twitter and talking about what we have read, whether we are reading the book for the first time or if we're rereading it and discovering new things...

So, what's the plan of action? Well, here it is!

Monday 2nd March till Sunday 8th March 2015 - Tales of Yesterday (@ChelleyToy) and Comet Babes Books (@CometBabesBooks) will be reading Northern Lights.

Monday 9th March till Sunday 15th March 2015 - Bookish Treasures (@Loopy_Lu_) will be reading The Subtle Knife.

Monday 16th March till Sunday 22nd March 2015 - Thirst for Fiction (@FictionThirst) will be reading The Amber Spyglass.

Monday 23rd March till Sunday 29th March 2015 - Dark Readers (@DarkRReviews) and myself (@PewterWolf13) will be reading Lyra's Oxford.

SATURDAY 28TH MARCH 2015 - All of us will be listening to the audiobook The Collectors (it's really short! Only 30 minutes long so we will be tweeting about throughout the day...)

Monday 30th March till Sunday 5th April 2015 - Myself and Dark Readers will be reading the other novella, Once Upon A Time In The North.

If you are following us on Twitter (or fancy taking part), we have come up with a hashtag - #HDMReadALong. It'll be great fun. Honest!

GoodRead - Goddess of the Underworld

I just wanted something quick to read before I start my second installment of my Harry Potter 2015 #re3 Challenge (I really need to think of a catchy title!), so, after quickly flicking through my kindle for a short, fast read, I discovered this eNovella. Didn't seem that long plus I have the second book in Aimee Carter's The Blackcoat Rebellion series on my kindle (thank you NetGalley) so I thought I would get back into Aimee's writing style and read this.

Persephone's story isn't the one we know. Forced into a loveless marriage (for her) to Hades, Lord of the Underworld, against her will, she wonders if she will ever escape or find real happiness...

*intakes deep breath*

A few years ago, I think I would have liked this. A few years ago, when I read The Goddess Test and all the eNovellas I blitzed (The Goddess Hunt, The Lovestruck Goddess and God of Thieves), I think I would have liked this story a lot more than I did.

BUT! But, I didn't. I liked Aimee's writing style and it was kinda interesting to read her take on Greek mythology and why The Goddess Test happened the way it did.

But I had a strong negative reaction to this story. While I do like Aimee's writing, I felt it was too sugary sweet for this story. Plus, all the characters came out so negatively in my eyes, am surprised I finished this without throwing my kindle across the room. No one came out as likeable and it upset me because, while it was been a few years since I have read The Goddess Test, there were a few characters I did like but now... they seem tainted somehow.

Out of the three eNovellas (The Lovestruck Goddess, God of Thieves and Goddess of the Underworld), this is my least favourite. In what I have read from Aimee Carter, this is the same too.

But this is a my opinion, and like I said before, it has been a few years since I read The Goddess Test and the eNovellas that go with it. I have read reviews that disagree with my opinions so, if this appeals to you, go for it! I hope you like/love it!

GoodRead - John Doe

This was meant to be my first read for a themed month I was planning for next month - Murder Month - but something happened (will reveal the news soon) so thought I would throw this at you now, rather than keep it on the back burner. And it's with one of my fave crime authors (and one I haven't read in AGES!), Tess Gerritsen with her eNovella, John Doe.

Dr Maura Isles is at a boring social event. So when a good looking young man chats her up, she's thrilled. And then... nothing. She can't remember anything about that night after he goes gets her a glass of champagne. She's at home, with Jane Rizzoli banging on her front door with two pieces of news. A man is dead - and he has Maura's address in his pocket...

As someone who follows the TV show, Rizzoli and Isles (which the book series is inspired from), this short story sounded very similar to an episode in season 4 called Killer in High Heels. This is one of the main reasons I held off reading this till now.

But once I started reading this, I realised that the two are very different. The TV show pushes Maura into a situation we have never seen her in - a prison. Whereas the book took a much darker turn in questioning how sexual assault is handled by the Police.

I was hooked in reading this - like I said, it's been FOREVER since I read Tess Gerritsen and I haven't got any of her latest books on my TBR pile! - and while I think most crime fans will read this and go "Typical eNovella thriller", I'm quite excited to go back to her again. It's been too long. Maybe I will reread Body Double (my first Tess Gerritsen), Vanish or The Mephisto Club... Or should I try her latest...?

GoodRead - Half Lies

Like I said, I devoured Half Bad (review was up yesterday because of my mini-break with family - review is here), and without a rest-bite, I jumped straight into the eNovella prequel, Half Lies.

Gabriel and Michele is in a new and scary world. They understand that they are Black Witches so the world is cruel to them anyway, but with their mother dead and their father drowning himself with booze, the brother and sister are clinging to each other. They have to find their way when they move to Florida and when Michele begins to fall for a boy that could be seen as unsuitable. Soon, loyalty and love will be tested, but will Michele make a deadly mistake...?

Before I go any further, I have to state that even though this is a prequel, I would strongly advise to read this after Half Bad. I asked on Twitter if I should read this before or after Half Bad, and I was told strongly to read this after but I had to read it before Half Wild.

Now with that out of the way, I am going to be honest with you. I didn't love it as much as I loved Half Bad. I liked it, but there was something about this eNovella that I couldn't warm to and I'm not sure why...

Ok, let's say the good - Sally's writing style is excellent again with this. She write this story in Michele's diary with entries (and small notes written between Michele and Gabriel, showing that Gabriel reads his sister's diary and Michele knows it. I like it alot as it shows their connection and I enjoyed reading this side of the story).

But, like I said, there was something about this story that didn't make me fall in love with it. I didn't warm to the whole "Romeo & Juilet" vibe but this wasn' the problem. There was something about this story that I didn't like and I can't put my finger on what the problem is...

But I like it. Just not as much as Half Bad. But I think this has some importance (or some clue) over Gabriel when we meet him again in Half Wild... We shall see...

PS - A few days ago, the lovely Bookish Brits's Twitter asked what we/they should read next and this was the reply and this is an awesome reply and pin-points at an interesting view of the series at a whole...

@BookishBrits @PewterWolf13 Half Lies by @Sa11eGreen ... short story but potent look at society's prejudice and the harm it wreaks.
— Just Me and Myself (@sabriel25) February 15, 2015

GoodRead - Half Bad

I can imagine you all recoiling from me now. I can hear you all shouting "You've only just read Half Bad in the past few days?! YOU CALL YOURSELF A YA BOOK BLOGGER!". And yes, I have only just read and yes, I know I am late to the party but I was scared. The hype/buzz monster scared me and everytime I picked it up to read it, I was always worried over if I would like it and what would happen if I didn't...

Nathan will be seventeen soon. He is living in a cage; beaten, shackled and trapped in a modern London where White Witches and Black Witches are at war with each other. Nathan is a Half Code: White Witch mother and Black Witch father. An abomination. The only way Nathan is going to survive is he has to escape the White Witches, find his father, receive his three gifts and come into his powers. But when he knows that he can't trust anyone, can he keep those he do trust - his family, his friends, the girl he cares deeply for - safe? And if he can't, what then?

Before I go any further, the cover. Doesn't it remind anyone else of Lord Voldermort from the Harry Potter series? Yes, let's get the Harry Potter stuff out of the way first as EVERYONE seems to be comparing the two. Both books have witches and both are set in a world very similar to our own. But that's it. I can't see any other similarities.

Ok, the book. I loved it - it was like read Harry Potter but on acid (ok, last Harry Potter reference. Honest). . I became obsessed with this book when I was reading it. There was a day or two when I had to stop because I was becoming that obsessed with it. I felt scared that Sally Green's twitter feed would be of me going "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!"

But yes, I fell for it. I found the writing so unique and unlike anything I have ever read before. She jumped from first person to second person narrative and back again with such ease and I never found it jarring. The only other book I feel that wrote second person narrative brilliantly was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (and I LOVED that book!). So it's rare, but Sally nailed it!

I felt the world was strong and how Nathan saw the world was interesting. He saw it as harsh (hence why he wrote the characters quite flat, unless he cared deeply for them, then he gave them depth) and his need to find his father - the powerful Black Witch who kills without a moment's thought - interesting. He knew he was a bad/evil man and yet, his need to find and please him made Nathan complex.

Also, is it bad I shipped two characters even though THEY HAVE NEVER MET?! I'm sorry but Gabriel and Arran need to meet, fall madly in love, get married and adopted little Witch children. I will ship this, even if this doesn't happen!!!

The only negatives I think most people will have is Sally's writing on characters. Some characters are quite flat - but I think this is because if Nathan doesn't care for them, he sees them as quite flat, not a person to take qreat detail of.

Another small thing is his and Annalise's relationship. At times, I just didn't see it. I didn't feel happy with it and I couldn't put my finger on why. I think it might have been rushed or maybe Sally wants to have Nathan question himself and his sexuality throughout the course of the series (I read Nathan as straight, but if this is the route Sally is going to go down with Half Wild and the third book in the trilogy, I will be intrigued to see how sensitively she tackles this subject matter)...

But despite its flaws, I loved this book. So much so, I jumped straight into the eNovella prequel, Half Lies, without a moment's thought (and I requested Half Wild on NetGalley so I will be reading this in the next few weeks!). I sense I will become obsessed with this series...

What Did I Miss On My Week Break...?

I have been a tad quiet over the past few days on the wonderful/scary thing we call the Internet. Well, here's the thing. I went away for a few days with my family. So I had to leave my laptop behind. And with that, my blog...

But I thought I could be ok. I thought I could chat to you guys via Twitter briefly. I mean, I did decide that I would call these next few days my "Techno-Free Holiday", but then I discovered that the wifi was bad/awful, and, sod'slaw, this is when I realise I need the Internet. And the idea of talking to my family was... well... 

KIDDING, FAMILY MEMBERS WHO ACTUALLY READ MY BLOG! KIDDING!!! I had a wonderful time with my family and it was nice not to worry about my "real life" job and real life in general. And while I had a lovely time with family and swum and had fun, I read. I finished off one book, read 2 eNovellas (I think) and am about 3 quarters of another book (which Stevie from SableCaught reacted by leaving a comment on my Goodreads, saying "OMG IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!" [she was with me when I bought this book... around 2 years or so ago]) and NONE of them have had me reacting like this:

I KNOW! Am shocked myself! The reviews of these will be coming in the nextish future as... well... one of them is linked to a planned themed-month. 

And what happens when I was away, I discover that I'm ON THE SHORTLIST FOR TWO CATEGORIES IN THE UKYA BLOGGER AWARDS 2015! 

No, wait, I lie... three categories. THREE CATEGORIES?!!?!?! 

There has to be a mistake. Three - three - really, three?! Plus the public vote of the "Vote for the blogger who has been most active in the UKYA blogging community" and the other UKYA Book Blogger Awards nominations as well... I need a lie down...

I mean... wow. Just... wow. Again. I know I wrote a tiny GIF-filled blog post about this on the blog a few weeks ago but -

Thank you. Now, I was going to say "VOTE!" but seeing as I have plans to write a blog post about the general elections in the near future so, I won't. I better get those reviews up! 

Wanna Win "The Darkest Part of the Forest" by Holly Black?

Sorry for my lateness, everyone on this! Sorrysorrysorry!!!

Anyway, I forgot to write this as part of my #bookishWISHES post (if you haven't read it, please go here) and because I was away from all of this week WITH NO DECENT WIFI (will write blog post about this), I didn't realise my mistake till now. You can blame me appalling memory!

Anyway, the lovely people at Indigo had asked if I wanted to give a copy of The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black. I said yes... and then completely forgot I had said yes until today! I know, I suck at blogger! But, here I am, going to ask if you guys fancy winning a copy!

If you do want to win a beautiful hardback edition of The Darkest Part of the Forest (And why not? LGBT characters, dark fairytale that Disney will never make and fay - but not as we know them), all you have to do is fill in the form below...

The winner will be picked at around 7pm THIS SUNDAY (Sunday 15th February 2015) via Random.org. I know it's a short time-frame contest, but I want the winner their copy ASAP! I am very intrigued over what their reactions are over this book...



To all of you that are going to enter, GOOD LUCK! And because I was so... well, me... with this contest, here is gif of Lord Voldermort that you will NEVER GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD!!!

#bookishWISHES

I was asked by the lovely Nina from Orion Books about what bookish wish I would have within the world of books due to the UK release of The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black. And normally, I would have a huge list and could talk about this for a loooooooooooong time.

But I only really want to talk about one of my bookish wishes.

So, my bookish wish is to read more fairytale retellings that feature lead characters who are diverse and LGBT.

I know these books do exist but unless you know where to look, it can be hard to find them. I want to read more stories where you can get your happy ever after, regardless of your sexuality, the colour of your skin, if you are able-bodied or disabled.

Everyone deserves a happily ever after...

If I Made The Movie Soundtrack Of... A MONSTER CALLS

So here we are. The final blog post in my trial in this weird idea where I wondered "If this book was getting turned into a movie, what would the soundtrack be like it I was in charge?". I have done Night School by CJ Daugherty and Broken by AE Rought. And now, the final post - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. 

This idea came very soon after me reading A Monster Calls last year. I was so amazed by the book, when the idea came to me, I was very excited. I was putting songs in my head and was going "Yes! This is a song from Before. And this would fit her and that would fit the grandmother and the Dad!". But a week or so afterwards, I thought "No, those songs won't work. I want something... something... more." And that's when I hit this idea and as soon as I hit it, I get even more excited by it! 

And yes, I know A Monster Calls is being turned into a movie and I know that the soundtrack will sound NOTHING like mine, but it's a fun idea and I want to stick to it! 

I wanted songs that had no singing. I wanted instrumental. Yes, I know that would make it a score but what if it went over all genres? Classic, pop, electronic? What if you used each genre of music to represent something? Can you imagine what the themes of each story would sound like if you had one was in the style of russian folk when the second was indie? 

And each artist only had to do one track and focus on one moment or one idea instead of doing the whole album? Each song would be different because it would be done by a different artist, each person with their own unique view on the story... 

But trying to find a good mix of musicians that "fit" A Monster Calls and the idea I had in my head are two very different things, so it would be an open thing where everyone could submit their track and the best would be chosen (which is how it should be. Not how famous the name is but the music itself). I do have some musicians in mind, but it would be HIGHLY unlikely that they would do it so... LET'S PRETEND!!!

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
I love this man's music. Whenever I listen to him, I always find something new and with each score he conducts, he always seems to do something new and exciting. It's always different from his previous score. I think he would be wonderful in doing a piece about the Yew Tree...



IMOGEN HEAP
I am a sucker for Imogen Heap. I admit this, but she is very talented a musician. And when she releases her albums, she also release what her songs would be like if they were instrumentals. Like Alexandre DeSplat, I can very easily see Imogen doing a song about the Yew Tree...



MURRAY GOLD
Before you all groan and go "No! Not the Doctor Who man!", here me out! Over the course of the modern, the music has always been strong. And when Murray is allowed to flex his music muscles, he can make the audience get more into the scene and get them on the edge of tears... With A Monster Calls, I want to music to do that: suck you into the story and put you onto the edge of tears...




DISPARITION
Some of you guys might know these guys via that wonderful podcast, Welcome To Night Vale. They make and share music which have a creepy and, at times, sinister undertone but you don't notice it until you pay attention. And with A Monster Calls, I feel this is kinda a must.



But what do you think of these artists? Do you think they "fit" A Monster Calls or do you think I am COMPLETELY off base?

Also, what do you guys think of this idea? I did 3 post on "If I Made The Movie Soundtrack Of..." as a trial and I do like it. It was weirdly fun and it's nice to return to music and going "That song goes well with this book!" as I feel I haven't done that in a while...

But do you guys like it? Do you guys want me to do more of these? If so, which books do you think I should try? Leave a comment or tweet me (@PewterWolf13) and let me know!!!

Hobson & Choi - The Girl Who Tweeted Rush Jobs

Hello and welcome to my stop of the Hobson and Choi Blog Tour and I have reviews for you. That and something else that you will have to go to the bottom of this post!

Hobson and Choi starts with The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf, when Angelica Choi starts her work experience with John Hobson's one man detective agency. She only wanted to give a good impression so when she was asked to set up a Twitter account, she jumps on it and tweets "If we get 400 followers, John Hobson will solve that nasty wolf-murder case for free! Fight the thing himself if he has to! #HobsonVsWolf". The follower count shoots up and soon, Hobson and Choi have a mystery to solve... Shame the body count is rising and the campaign keeps getting more and more viral...

Rush Jobs continues with Hobson and Choi. After the events of The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf, they are in demand. But with a kidnapping, playing with fire with corporate crime and drug dealers and deal with the violent backlash from their last case, can the duo solve them all or with Hobson's past come out of the woodwork and cause more harm than good?

Ok, am going to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but both these stories are quite addictive reads. Once I found my footing with The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf (only two or three chapters), I raced through them both.

Both books are very different from each other - like I said up above - The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf focused on one case and getting to know our lead characters - John Hobson who seems to speak before he speaks (and has a mouth of a sailor at times!) and Angelica, a sixteen year old who is having her eyes open to the world of private investigating and dealing with teen life - but Rush Jobs focus on several jobs but we see both Hobson and Choi grow with each other and in themselves.

Plus, the cases all made sense. They were dark but it made sense in the world that Choi (and us) was entering into. It's the dark side of London, but with a nasty edge of humour.

It's not perfect. The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf started life as a serial and there are times you feel like each chapter is reminding you of something and there was one or two phrases characters used that I didn't like and it threw me out of the stories at times (but these are my issues, not the characters).

But these were fast addictive reads. I will be very intrigued to see what happens in book three - oh yes, a book three is in the works. Oh, both the copies I read had short stories in and they were DARK!

Oh, during this tour, there is a contest to win one signed paperback set of the series and three eBook sets of the series as well. So, if you fancy entering...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OH! If you want to backtrack and all at the other blogposts on this tour, you can! here are all the links you need to know!

Monday 19th January

Rain On A Summer’s Afternoon

Tuesday 20th January

Claire Rousseau

Wednesday 21st January

Music, Books and Tea

Thursday 22nd January

Ya Yeah Yeah

Friday 23rd January

A Daydreamer’s Thoughts

Saturday 24th January

Tales of Yesterday

Sunday 25th January

K-Books

Monday 26th January

Nimbus Space

Tuesday 27th January

The Online Novel

Wednesday 28th January

Nyx Book Reviews

Thursday 29th January

Winged Reviews

Friday 30th January

Kirstyes

Saturday 31st January

The Book Moo

Sunday 1st February

Bookish Outsider

Monday 2nd February

Pewter Wolf

I'm Nominated?!

So, I was having a good day today, scaring Twitter like I do when I saw author Holly Smale (author of Geek Girl, a book I haven't read yet), asking where my booky pal, Stevie from SableCaught was on the UKYA Book Blogger Awards Shortlist. As I hadn't seen the list, I tweet hugged her. Only to get a reply back saying, "I voted for you, Andrew." Wait. Wait! Are you... are you saying I'm on this list?

*goes to check shortlist out* Oh crap. I'm on the shortlist. Under THREE CATEGORIES!!!

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! HOW DID I NOT KNOW?! WHO DO I NEED TO SEND MY CHEQUE TO FOR "OFFICIALLY" MAKING ME ONE OF THE SHORTLIST?!

But, seriously, I am shocked and super thrilled to be nominated! I honestly thought I wasn't going to be nominated or considered as... well... let's be honest, shall we? My blog isn't the biggest or the coolest book blog out so to be nominated under three categories is just... I don't know what to feel!

But thank you. Thank you so much.

Oh, for those of you not sure on what the UKYA Book Bloggers Awards are, they are awards (the brainchild of Faye from daydreamerthoughts.co.uk) where members of the public (aka you lot) voted. This is not to be confused with another UKYA Book Blogger Award (set up by author Andy Robb) where nominatees are chosen by people within the publishing industry.

Actually, come to think of it, I don't know who was nominateed within this other UKYA Book Blogger Awards post. Hang on...

Oh crap. OH CRAP! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THIS SHORTLIST HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND I ONLY DISCOVER I'M ON IT NOW!!!

Oh dear God. Ok... mustn't freak out... DON'T FREAK OUT, ANDREW!!!!

*goes away from laptop to make calming mug of tea*

Ok, am back. So, that was unexpected.

Just... wow. wow and thank you.

Ok (I know I'm saying ok a lot in the post but am freaking out and trying not to freak out more than I am!), I need to give you links and lie down.

So, under UKYA Book Blogger Awards (which I originally was writing this blog post about), I am nominated under 3 categories: Best Male Blogger, Most Enthusiastic and Most Fun Blogger.

And under the other UKYA Book Blogger Awards (which I only just discovered now, and I think I'm not actually nominated [thank goodness]), I am up for the "your vote" thingy of "Vote for the blogger who has been most active in supporting the UKYA blogging community". Most active? Wait, you mean, as in doing that awful think called exercise...?

Ok, am going to go now before I panic.

So, if you want to vote for the UKYA Book Blogger Awards (where I'm nominated for 3 categories - my brain still doesn't understand with me writing those words), please go to  http://daydreamersthoughts.co.uk/ukya-book-blogger-awards-shortlist-voting/#more-9204 or if you want to vote for the other UKYA Book Blogger Awards (the one I discovered in the past ten minutes), go to http://ukyabloggerawards.co.uk/?page_id=36.

Vote for whoever you want, please (I'm not going to order you to vote for me. That's not sportperson like nor is it kind).

I believe both polls/awards/I-don't-know-what-to-call-them run out soonish, run. RUN THERE NOW!!!

Before I go, as I am called "fun" (a typo, surely!), I shall leave you with this and I will not hide in the corner and take DEEP BREATHS!!!

Murder She Wrote - The Many Epiphanies Of Jessica Fletcher by Isaac Royffe from Isaac Royffe on Vimeo.

PS - I doubt I will win anything, but I promise to do my best Gwyneth Paltrow crying acceptance speech if I do. I have to. Stevie from SableCaught said she wants to direct me in that video... therefore, I MUSTN'T WIN! I mean, do you want to watch me do this?

GoodRead - All Fall Down

My first review of February! A month has gone in 2015 and WHERE THE HECK HAS IT GONE?! Do you think we can have it back as... well... I want to reset my 2015...

Anyway, All Fall Down.  Let's get back on track. All Fall Down is the first book in the new Ally Carter series, Embassy Row. Grace has come to live with her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. He thinks, as does everyone, that Grace is better. That's she's no longer "crazy".That she's no longer saying that her mother's death three years ago was murder. That the Scarred Man shot her mother in the chest.

But just because Grace isn't saying it, doesn't mean Grace no longer believes it. Coping with her grief, Grace doesn't want to be the good girl, the former army brat where she has to smile and wear dresses and be perfect. Her mother's murderer is out there, and she will stop at nothing to find him.

And because on Embassy Row, where ambassadors of countries live side by side, one wrong move will being the countries down like dominoes and war could easily begin, and with Grace's past coming back to haunt her, Grace might not be the only one who gets hurt...

I have read Ally Carter before. I read Heist Society and Double Crossed, so I knew that I was going to dive into a book where I would speed through and enjoy myself. It was going to be a fun read and, I felt like I needed to read a light, almost beach read as I feel like I have read (or tried to read) quite heavy books.

And this was a light, fun read. I whizzed through it within four/five days. Much shorter than I thought I was going to. It was fun and I enjoyed myself. I lost track of time while reading this and that's always a plus. I had fun.

But - yes, there is a but - I did have problems. My main problem (and there for the root of all my other smaller problems) was Grace. I sometimes had trouble clicking with her. Yes, I got why she was the way she was but after a while, I felt like I was hitting a wall with her. She was hard to like at the start of the book, then she became unreliable as a narrator, she then treats her friends badly and then she started acting in ways that I felt was highly unlikely in that situation. I mean, really? The granddaughter of one of the most powerful ambassadors in this small European country and yet, she can leave the building any time she wants without security?

Speaking of friends, I do like the supporting cast. And I do think as the series goes on, these characters will grow and support Grace who will grow into a more likely and interesting character. My fave character is Ms Chancellor as she was a complex character and she can take the series in an very interesting direction.

While this book wasn't perfect, I am intrigued to see where this series could go. But I think I prefer Heist Society and might go back and see if I can read book 2 and 3 of that series before book 2 of Embassy Row comes out...