The "All You Left Me" Contest

Where has the month gone?!

Anyway, while we wonder what on earth happened to the month of January 2017 and avoid the news like heck, who fancies a small contest? If you do, you are in luck!

With thanks from Hannah from Simon and Schuster, I have 3 copies of History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera to give away!

History Is All You left Me follows OCD-afflicted Griffin who discovers his first love - Theo - died in a drowning accident. Unable to copy with this, he forges a friendship with Theo's new college boyfriend, Jackson. As the two bond, Griffin tries to learn every detail of Theo's new life and his death. But the facts that come to light, Griffin begins to question his version of the truth...

Like I said, I have three copies to give away. And all you do is fill in the form below. The contest will close this coming Saturday (4th February) at around 3pm. This contest is for UK addresses only (sorry!).

For those who are going to enter, GOOD LUCK!!!

A Day In The Life of L.A. Larkin

It's rare I post anything on Sundays, but I would like to welcome L.A. Larkin to the Pewter Wolf! L.A. Larkin is thriller writer who has written Thirst and The Genesis Flaw and her latest, Devour, has just come out.

The first book in the Olivia Wolfe series, it's follows the investigative journalist who's life seems to be always in constant peril. Hunted by enemies from all sides, Olivia must unravel a complex web of lies to uncover a terrifying truth and, soon, she will be forced to make a choice: save one life or the lives of millions. Because something has been contaminating a hidden Antarctic lake and the catastrophe it can cause is beyond words...

Now, before I hand over to L.A. Larkin, I just want to thank her for finding time to write this post for the Devour tour. I know you must be busy. And I always want to thank Leanne for asking if I wanted to be involved. Am always in the mood to discover a new thriller that will keep me on the edge of my seat!

Also, if you want to check L.A. Larkin out online, you can check out her website lalarkin.com or check her out on Twitter @lalarkinauthor. Now, over to you, L.A. Larkin!

Fantastic Beasts Audiobook Press Release

As you guys know, I don't often put press releases up on the blog. It's for a mix of reasons. Main reason is it doesn't appeal to me. And I want to put stuff on here that excites me in one form or another.

Now, as you guys know, I am a bit of a Harry Potter nerd (though I have met Melinda Salisbury and she's a bigger Potterhead than me!) so hearing this excites me greatly. Plus, with me going through a audiobook binge at the moment, this news comes at the perfect time! So, POTTER!!!

eBook Review - What I Know For Sure

This is a bit of a weird review to write. Normally, I would read a book/ebook/audiobook and, within 48 hours, I would have the review written and scheduled within the coming few weeks. But with this, it's been a busy few days that I have been a bit behind on writing blog posts. So, bear with me...

In this collection of articles Oprah wrote for O: The Oprah Magazine (Oprah has a magazine!?), Oprah writes articles, trying to answer one question: what does she know for sure?

Now, I have mixed feelings about this. I like Oprah. I respect her. And some of the articles she wrote I find really insightful. A few of them I read and I went "That makes sense."

However, there were times, for me, this felt a little preachy and a little heavy-handed. There was a few things I got a little annoyed over religion - she never referenced it outright, but whenever Oprah mentioned "the Creator", I felt uncomfortable. I didn't like the idea of religion being touched upon in a self-held style book. Also, there was one section when I started reading, but I had to skip as I found it a struggle and, if I didn't, I wondered if I would have finished this or not...

If you are a fan of Oprah, you will love this. If you are a fan of her articles within O Magazine, you will enjoy this as this is a collection of her best essays. But some of you might find it a bit heavy-handed on certain themes and ideas.

Sorry for the shortness of the review. This is why, for me, making notes and writing these reviews quickly are so important. I can schedule them whenever but I need to write them quickly. Because of this shortness, please have this gif.

The Witch Tears - Second Book Syndrome

Today is the first stop on the The Witch's Tears blog tour (check out the side to see the rest of the stops!). And so, because of this, The Pewter Wolf is thrilled to welcome sister writing duo, Katharine and Elizabeth Corr.

The Witch's Tears is the sequel to The Witch's Kiss that came out last year and follows almost immediately after. Merry is juggling textbooks, being a witch and rules of the coven and trying to heal herself from the events of Witch's Kiss. Her brother, Leo, is falling apart and Merry doesn't know what to do. And all this make her ache for revenge. So when strangers offer both her and Leo not only friendship but another way to the lives their leading, they wouldn't be foolish not to take it, right...? Be careful what you wish for, for you never know where they will take you...

As a nice way to kick off the tour, Katharine and Elizabeth wrote a piece about the dreaded second book (aka SECOND BOOK SYNDROME!). Insert tense dramatic music here! So, before I hand you over to Katharine and Elizabeth, I would like to thank them both for finding time to write this (know how busy they must be!) and a big thank you to Jess at HarperCollins for asking if I wanted to take part in the tour!

If you wanna check Katharine and Elizabeth out, follow the tour for the rest of the week or check out their website - https://corrsisters.com - or check them out on Twitter (@lizcorr_writes & @katharinecorr).  With that all said and done, over to you guys!!!

Scholastic #BloggersBookFeast 2017

Yesterday, while most of you were on a Women's March (YES!!!), I was very kindly invited to Scholastic to hear about some of their future YA releases for this year. So, up early and into London a cold morning. After getting into London a bit earlier than expected (and snooping round quickly in Foyles) and meeting a few bloggers early for pre-Scholastic Cafe Nerro (hi Chouett, Dark Dictator and Reader's Corner), we went into Scholastic with a bunch of other bloggers and vloggers (and I had chance to say hi to a few - sorry. It's been a while since I been to a blogger event and... well... this is me we're talking about. Of course I was excitable and trying to contain it!).

Before the event started, we had to do a lucky dip from a goldfish bowl. And we told that if we pulled out a piece of paper with a goldfish drawn on it, we had won a signed copy of Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson. And I had a goldfish! I forgot to thank Lisa when I spoke to her later (more on why later!) but what a nice and unexpected start to the event!

The event was split into 4 sections: upcoming releases, two Scholastic panels about editorial and cover design, two more panels from authors (contemporary and fantasy) and a pop quiz about Fantastic Beasts (Scholastic is pushing a few of the movie tie-in books, hence the surprise pop quiz).

Now, I have made notes but my note taking is kinda bad. They are mostly one sentences. I will take photos and put them up on my Twitter/Instagram (I have an Instagram now! TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH!!!) so you can see the notes and the titles in questions. But am going to talk about a few as they stuck out the most with me and got me going "I need to read you!"

So, let's start with Goldfish Boy. This is getting a bit of hype already and somehow, it has completely missed me. This is a middle grade which follows Matthew who suffers from OCD, likes to live in his bedroom where it's safe and clean and watch his neighbours through his window. But when a toddler staying next door goes missing, Matthew is the last to see him. Because of this, Matthew feels responsible to finding the truth - and with every neighbour a suspect. But can Matthew figure it out what happened and overcome what's holding him back?

See How They Lie is Sue Wallman's second novel, following Lying About Last Summer. And it screams thriller. Hummingbird Creek is a wellness retreat where rich teens go to get help for their psychological problems. Mae feels lucky to live there with her dad being the Creek's prominent psychiatrist. But the Creek has rules, and Mae breaks the rules, the punishment is severe. Because of this, Mae can't help but ask questions about the Creek and her highly-controlled life. But asking questions at the Creek can be dangerous... This sounds right up my street! You guys know I love a good thriller and this just sounds perfectly edge of your seat reading!

This next book I didn't know existed till this event but I want it as soon as I can. Noah Can't Even by Simon James Green is part coming of age story, and part coming out story. Noah just wants to survive school - that's not too much to ask. But when your mum is a Beyonce tribute act (and not a good one at that) and everyone at school finds out, let's say Noah's school days are hell. He thinks if he dates Sophie, he will have some normalcy, but when his best friend, Harry, kisses him at a party, his life goes into utter chaos. This sounds heartbreakingly funny and with a cover like that, I can not wait to get my hands on this and find out why, oh why, is there a banana on the cover!

The third and final book in the Sin Eater's Daughter trilogy, The Scarecrow Queen, is coming out in a few months time (and I still haven't read it! But not for long!!!). There's not much to say without completely spoiling the first two books but the stakes are high and the Sleeping Prince will stop at nothing to keep the throne forever. Brace yourselves, everyone, and fear for your fave characters...

Penultimate book to chat about is Show Stopper by Hayley Barker. Best way to describe this debut is imagine The Hunger Games set in a circus and up the blood factor. The poor are forced to sell their children to the travelling circus, the ruling class come to watch the bloodthirsty entertainment and the demonic ringmaster enjoys the cruelty. So when a son of a government minister comes to the circus and comes face-to-face with a young performer, they join come together to escape the circus and ed the brutal sport. Roll up, roll up! The circus is in town...

Final book to chat about is A Shiver of Snow and Sky by Lisa Lueddecke. Another debut (a lot of debuts on show yesterday), this is set on the frozen island of Skane, where the sky speaks in colour. And with each colour comes meaning. Green means all is well and the Goddess is pleased, blue means a snow storm is coming and red... red means danger. The last time the sky went red, Ósa was born and a plague claimed hundreds of lives from the village, include her mother. Now the sky is red again, and Ósa must find out what it means before more lives are taken...

Don't they sound yummy?! Other books sounded just as good, but the books I mentioned are very high on my TBR lists (plus, I have little to no notes on them! SORRY SCHOLASTIC!)

After that, we had panels. The first was about cover designs who chatted about creating the covers for The Goldfish Boy and Noah Can't Even. And they revealed Noah Can't Even in that moment. Now, you think as mature people in our late teens/20s/30s, we would be more collected and mature over our reaction to seeing the cover. NOPE! We saw the cover in stunned silence and then burst into laughter and clapped happily. YA book bloggers - we have the dirtiest minds in the blogging community!

We then had a small panel chatting to two editors and that was fascinating. But too shy to ask any questions (my questions would be stupid. Like "Why do editors use red pens?" or "When lightening strikes the sea, why don't all the fish die?")

We, then, had panels from the authors - one from contemporary authors and the other from fantasy authors. And after that, we had a Fantastic Beasts pop quiz and it went very serious. You have no idea how seriously we all took that quiz. Failure was not an opinion. Each team had an author (my team had Lisa Thompson and I feel sorry for her due to us getting out Potter game-on. Sorry Lisa if we overwhelmed you!)

After that, a nice informal chat with the authors and each other, asking if we can take some books (we were. So I have a lot of series to start. Quite excited!), we left. It was a lovely event! Nice to meet old faces in the blogging community and make some new friends as well. And say hi to authors. So, thank you Scholastic for inviting me. Very kind of you.

Although, I have got into trouble. Before the event, was asked if I had read the Sin Eater's Daughter series yet (I said I would last year). And the answer was no. The gasps of horror, dear readers. I was told off and ordered to read them ASAP! When Scholastic offered us books, I firstly grabbed Sin Eater's Daughter and Sleeping Prince and was chatting to people that I needed to read them as Melinda Salisbury's books. And she heard, as I think I said this TO HER FACE! OH, WHY DIDN'T THE GROUND SWALLOW ME?! But Melinda was lovely. She didn't use her powers of darkness to hurt me. She just signed my copies and then "borrowed" my phone to Hogwarts Sort a blogger who didn't know her house (THE HORROR!!! She was sorted into Ravenclaw, much to my Hufflepuff and Melinda's Slytherin dismay!). She did write a threatening note in my books, though. But, I AM PLANNING TO BINGE READ these before Scarecrow Queen comes out. I tweeted it and everything so it's LAW now...

Always, heads up. I promised everyone (including @MESalisbury - TO HER FACE!) that will start SIN EATER'S DAUGHTER before end of month! pic.twitter.com/IF53MfWr40

— Andrew Hall (@PewterWolf13) January 21, 2017

Plan is to binge @MESalisbury so am ready for SCARECROW QUEEN in March. *eyes @scholasticuk nervously & whispers* she won't hurt me, right? pic.twitter.com/H1uTQOOvFH

— Andrew Hall (@PewterWolf13) January 21, 2017

Book Review - Carve The Mark

I CAN TALK ABOUT CARVE THE MARK FREELY NOW!!! HOORAY!!! (Back in November of last year, I went to a Carve the Mark event at HarperCollins HQ [write-up for that is here] where I was very honoured to receive a very early Advance Reader Copy of Carve The Mark. With this, I had t sign a Do Not Disclose Agreement - basically, I couldn't talk about the story. I can say I had a copy and was reading it, BUT NOTHING ELSE! But, now it's book's out, I CAN TALK ABOUT IT! HOORAY! [And yes, am a few days late as wanted to post on Tuesday/release date but hey-ho!])

It's hard to explain this duology so bear with me.

On a faraway planet split by war, in a galaxy ruled by the current and by the fates, people receive currentgifts, a unique power that should help shape the future. But this isn't always the case...

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant leader, Ryzek, of the Shotet people. He exploits her currentgift - she can bring pain and death with a single touch. But Cyra isn't just her brother's blade. She's much more than her brother gives her credit for...

Akos is from the peace-loving Thuvhe and his love to his family is limitless. When his brother and he get kidnapped by Ryzek's people for reasons unknown, Akos vows to save his brother at whatever cost. And then he is thrown into Cyra's life...

Honour has no place in survival.

Ok, now, where to start? (I say this as I have been reading this since November and over finished it a few days ago. This book took a while for me to read - thanks Christmas, work, reading slump!). Plus, I went into Carve the Mark a little wary. I suspected that I would like it, but with Divergent getting the fandom and the hype around it (and oh, the horror of the Allegiant movie!), I was worried this wasn't going to live up to the hype and the attention.

Well, this book isn't Divergent rehash. I think a few of us were quite worried that this is what would happen. Instead, we got a space opera that had a Star Wars meets X-Men vibe to it, a mix of characters that were new and fresh, told in a unique writing style (Cyra's chapters were told in first person and Akos was told in third person) and with the intensity level a little higher. Plus, the writing felt stronger and the world building felt more in place compared to Divergent which, at times, felt as if Veronica made it up as she went along...

Also, this felt more character-driven. Yes, there was action, but this book wasn't driven forward by action. It was driven forward by characters like Cyra and Akos, and this could be a problem to some of you guys who like stories to be action driven.

Both Cyra and Akos I really enjoyed reading. I loved that Cyra was a badass and Akos was more gentle. Very different to other sci-fi that I read where the men are badasses and the women are the kind givers. I liked how they worked together. I prefer reading from Cyra's point of view but Akos showed different elements which I also enjoyed. I wasn't a complete fan of the other characters, but I enjoyed spending time with Cyra and Akos. Am curious over Akos's brother, Eijeh. He goes through a big character change through this story and intrigued on reading that... maybe a novella or something told from his point of view, maybe?

However, this book does have a few problems. The first is that, because I was thrown headfirst into this story, it did take a while for me to find my groove. Around 100 to 150 pages is when I found it and that's when I started speeding through. Maybe if the information was spread out throughout the book more or some editing was used to keep the pace and rhythm, it would have worked better. But while in those 150 pages, I did struggle and, at one point, did consider DNFing this, even though I was enjoying the writing.

Am figuring out how to write this problem which other people I have seen and written by far better and more informed people than me (this article here might help if you haven't heard/read). There are problematic aspects over race, antagonism, chronic pain and other issues that might make some readers uncomfortable and called racist. Now, I don't believe Veronica Roth did this to offend nor on purpose (which is no excuse). But I worry that some of you guys will be offend by the issues raised and get upset while reading this so, if you are going to read this, be aware or don't read this book.

Normally, I would give you an "Overall Paragraph", summing up my opinions on if you should read this or not. But with this book, I don't feel comfortable saying one way or the other. So, I will leave it open for you to decide if you want to read this or not. It's your decision and don't let us tell you one way or the other. Just be aware of the information given before you make a decision.

#WJPhotoTour - Memory 29

Something a little different in the blog tour world! Well, new for me! To celebrate the release of Wing Jones by Katherine Webber, Walker wanted to do something a little different and, for each blog involved, we show a different photograph from Katherine's life and why it's so important to her. We are using the hashtag #WJPhotoTour so keep your eyes peeled on that hashtag!

Now, for those of you not in the loop on the Twitter buzz, Wing Jones follows Wing who is caught between two worlds due to her two grandmothers - one from China and the other from Ghana. But when a tragedy hits her family, Wing discovers that she has a talent for running. This talent could bring so much to her family, but it could also stop Wing from getting the one thing she wants...

Now, it's time to check out the photo and the memory from Katherine's past. But before we go further, I just want to thank Katherine for being so open with this tour and sharing her memories and photos. And I, also, want to thank Kirsten at Walker Books for asking if I wanted to be involved and for keeping this tour all organised (there is forty bloggers doing this over the course of January. FORTY!!! How did she keep this straight in her head I have no idea!)

Also, if you want to check Katherine out, you can pop over to there website at http://www.kwebberwrites.com and her Twitter at @kwebberwrites.

Now, into the pensieve we go to see the photo and the memory we stole from Katherine...

eBook Review - The Card Sharp

MY FIRST READ OF 2017!!! And because of how I schedule my posts, am only putting it up now! My first read (a novella, truth be told) of 2017! And my first story for the British Book Challenge 2017! GO ME!

Anyway, The Card Sharp. The fourth novella in the Vestigial Tales collection, a collection of short stories set within Laura Lam's Micah Grey trilogy, this follows Drystan before he became the White Clown at R.H. Ragona's Circus of Magic. Here, he's a Lerium addict struggling on the streets of Imachara. But when a mysterious woman gives him a new life, Drystan jumps at it without a second thought. But when he did, he fell into the dark underbelly of the capital, Ellada, where he has to sell Lerium to powerful men and women while battling his addiction. But while at a high stakes card game, Drystan sees something no one else did: a man cheating the cards...

I forgot how much I enjoy this world. It's been a while since I read Laura Lam (though I do have her adult novel, False Hearts, on my TBR) and I forgot how much I like the world of Micah Grey. And this felt like returning to a very old friend. While I don't remember all the details of Pantomime, it was nice to revisit characters (well... a younger version of Drystan).

This isn't a must read if you are reading the Micah Grey trilogy. Like with the other Vestigial Tales, it gives you some behind-the-curtain backstory on characters and stories within the Micah Grey world, but you could read the Micah Grey trilogy (Pantomime, Shadowplay and the upcoming Masquerade) very happily without reading the novellas.

Because this is a novella, it is a fast read (I took my time and read it over a course of three days, starting on New Year's Day). But because it was a novellas, there were elements I wish were exploded further (maybe they are in the novels but I haven't read them yet!) or felt a little too easy. For example, the novella takes place over a course of several months, maybe a year, but Drystan's addiction felt skimmed over. It was there but we didn't look too deeply into it. Maybe this will be looked at in Shadowplay or Masquerade - like I said earlier, I haven't read them (I was going to but the first publisher of the series, Strange Chemistry, went busted and it took some time before the Laura got picked up by her current publisher, Tor, for not only this series but her adult series).

Perfect short for Micah Grey fans to tie them over till Masquerade comes out later this year...

Kindle Samples - Another Sneak Peek

I did this last year (link for that is here!) and I actually liked doing it. It made me actually read the sample I downloaded onto my Kindle iPhone App. So, let me show you some of the samples I downloaded onto my phone and talk to you on why I downloaded and, hopefully, I will read them and, hopefully, buy them or get them out of my library.

So, show and tell time!

WINTER ROSE by Patricia A. McKillip
I discovered this randomly on a podcast I just started listening to called Read This ****ing Book! (Link to the episode in question is here!). I have never heard of this and it sounded up my street. A fairy tale-type story but written in a dream like way. And from what I heard on the podcast, I am going to enjoy the way it messes with fairy-tales.

BAD BOY by Elliot Wake
Randomly discovered this author on Twitter and checked this out. It sounds really intrigued and, at the same time, messed up in a way that I like. A trans vlog star who, at night, is part of a secret social justice vigilante group? SOLD! There's more that makes me intrigued over this book but let me leave you with that titbit...

THE RUBY IN THE SMOKE by Philip Pullman
In one of the Christmas episodes this year, the podcast Adventures with Words did a Xmas special that took place over two episodes (Episode one is here and episode two is here, FYI). On one of the episodes (not sure which one), one of the guest hosts said that he was rereading His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman and wished more people would read his other series, the Sally Lockhart Mysteries. And I haven't read this other series. I know of them but never found time to get round to them. So, downloaded to see if I would like and a reminder to get copy of book once I have finished my His Dark Materials trilogy reread...

GUILTY PLEASURES by Laurell K. Hamilton
Ok, I really dislike the covers for this series. But I keep hearing people on BookTube (aka YouTube) talking about this and am intrigued over it. It's urban fantasy and most people's first book in this genre so am intrigued on why people like this series so much. I sense it's got a Sookie Stackhouse but has a bit more edge vibe to it. But I don't think I would have the patience to read the whole series (it's 25 books so far and, from people's reaction, it should have stopped around the tenth book mark). But am intrigued, but I bet it's very 90s...

BAKED FRESH by Annabeth Albert
A little out of my comfort zone (but I want to be braver on my reading this year) but I randomly requested then read a Christmas novella by the same author (Wrapped Together - review for that is here) and I was curious on what else she wrote. It seems to be gay romance novellas and the world needs a bit of love after the year we've all had. So, curious to see if I click with this (she's written others but this was the story that caught my attention)...

THE FINAL EMPIRE by Brandon Sanderson
Everyone seems to be reading this series. Is it me? Am I the only one not? All the bloggers and vloggers I follow seem to be reading this book or this series and I'm not. Am curious over why everyone is raving about it, but it seems like a long, meaty books and I'm not 100% confident in myself to commit into a series where the small book is over 700 pages-ish long!

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA by Ursula K. LeGuin
This, in most people's eyes, is fantasy at its best. It has a lot of love and respect round this series and I have always wanted to read this. But the fear that I will be the only one going "This is awful" has always kept me back. But I want to see if I could be wrong and I should try to read at least one story set in this world.

...and finally, because this is becoming a long blogpost...

CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge
I'm sorry, but a twisted retelling of Beauty and the Beast? Where the Belle of our story has been raised to not only marry the beast but then to kill him? And with that cover? How could I not download a sampler of this!

And that's all. And am now curious on what samplers you have on your eReaders and what you think I should investigate? Leave a comment or tweet me and let me know!!!

The Bedtime Book Tag

Ok, 10 o'clock at night isn't my bedtime. Let me make this clear. But what a better time to unleash this post upon the internet then at night at most people's bedtime, right?

You can blame the lovely ladies at Bedtime Book Club on YouTube for me doing this. They did a video on this tag and... well... I had to do it. I believe the original creator of the tag is Kelly's BookSpill (but can I find the video in question? Nope! Sorry, Kelly!)

Right, ok. Let's get this slumber party started, shall we....?

Book Review - Fantastic Beasts: Original Screenplay

Another "I Read This Before Christmas 2016 so I can't Count this as one of my British Book Challenge 2017" books. Oh well... I can imagine Michelle from Tales of Yesterday (and person in charge of BBC 2017!) going "ANDREW!!!".

But look, I wouldn't be a good Harry Potter if I didn't read this. Though I admit I felt icky watching the film over the casting of [insert actor name here] to play [insert character name here] but of events that happened last year. Yes, I saw the film and yes, I still feel unsure on if I did the right thing seeing the film and supporting [insert actor's name here]. But I wanted to see if I could separate the actor from his work... Am in two minds over if I can do this or not (seeing as I wasn't a huge fan of the actor before the news broke last year so... not sure...)

I'm not going to review the movie. Because I can't 100% remember it. I did like the movie, but there were problems, which I will touch upon further down.

Set in 1920s New York (set several decades before Harry Potter), we follow Newt Scamander as he entered New York. It was only meant to be a brief stop. But when his case is misplaced and some of his fantastic beasts escaped, Newt has to stay and find them.

But something dark is stalking the streets of New York City... and it didn't escape from Newt's case...

Comparing this to the Cursed Child script, I think I preferred reading this screenplay script more (and while I enjoyed watching this, I think I prefer watching Cursed Child more, though there are huge problems with the story with both. Both aren't prefect, let me make that clear. NEITHER OF THESE ARE PERFECT).

Let's get this out of the way: this does feel like a first-time scriptwriter writing a script. Yes, I know that this is JK Rowling's first script (she admits that she asked a lot of questions to Steve Kloves who wrote all bar one of the Harry Potter films) but the plot felt predictable. We've seen this plot before. (I watched a video review where the movie was compared to the X-Men movies [link to that video review is here]). There were elements that were meant to shock or surprise us but these kinda feel flat. To most readers and viewers, these reveals could be seen coming a mile away.

Also, there's the romantic. Well, one romantic. Newt and Tina Goldstein. This felt awkward and it didn't ring true. I know this is the first in a five movie series so we have time for character and emotional development but this felt off. Now, canon-wise, fans know they get together, but it felt false somehow. And this is problematic because at the same time as we have that romance, we have another romanic playing out which is Tina's sister, Queenie, and the Muggle/No-Maj (really dislike this term), Jacob. Now, Queenie and Jacob's relationship, I was totally on board with. Watching their relationship on film and reading it in script, I was shipping them SO DAMN HARD! So, why did I feel like this with Queenie and Jacob, but felt out-of-sorts with Newt's and Tina's.

And Graves. Oh, the ending of Graves. I think that needs to explained more as it's left unfinished. And we have no idea if we are going to return to this in later movies or not. But yes, there were things that need tying up.

EDIT: Another thing that has occurred to me after I wrote this review and put in my scheduled (working about a week or two ahead of self at time of writing) is that this script is exactly like the movie. There is no deleted scenes or extended scenes that were edited down. We got no extras. What you read is what you saw.

However, saying that, I really liked this. This felt like a Harry Potter work. This felt like a JK Rowling story, and I missed this. I struggle with JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith (so much so, I have decide not to continue reading the series) and Cursed Child caused problems with canon. But watching this and reading this, it felt like I had truly returned to this world (I felt like this at the start of Cursed Child, but that feel left me very quickly while reading).

I like how we are now exploring the wizarding world. Yes, there has be problems with this with Pottermore and some of the information they have revealed, but this felt more inline with what we learnt within the Harry Potter novels.

While I wasn't in board with Newt and Tina's relationship, I did like their characters. I like Newt's awkwardness and I grew to like Tina (but I did struggle with her. She was a hard character to like). Jacob and Queenie I adored. I didn't realise that I would love them as quickly as I did. Queenie took me completely by surprise but I ADORE her! And Jacob is us - a non-magic discovering the world and I liked him very very quickly.

The character I thought I would like but didn't was Madam Picquery, the head of MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America). I don't know why but I always thought I would warm to her but watching her character, I didn't click with her like I hoped. But Picquery isn't Fudge and that I liked. I liked that we had a strong character in charge and I hope we are going to see more of her in future films.

The characters I liked hugely. The Niffler especially. I think everyone is in love with the Niffler. I was given a Funko Pop of the Niffler for Christmas. But I found the beasts we did see fascinating. I want to know more about them (highly unlikely that we will see them in next few movies but a TV Series would be awesome!)

Oh, before I sign off, this is written as a screenplay. It's in script form (like Cursed Child) and it is exactly like the movie. But I liked reading this as a screenplay. It added texture and, plus, I have never read a novelisation of a movie which felt right or true to the movie. Give me the screenplay from now on!

This is a mixed bag but I think I will continue reading the screenplays of future JK Rowling scripts/movie in this series. Or I might start reading more screenplays in future. It's an intriguing medium to read and I would like to dip my toe into this world more often in the coming months/years...

Audiobook Review - The Pale Dreamer

My first review of 2017 and I didn't read it this year. I audiobooked this just before Christmas so I can't count this towards my British Books Challenge for this year.

When Midas PR asked if there was any audiobooks that I wanted to listen to last month, not only did I ask for Lauren Graham's Talking As Fast As I Can (check out my review for that here), I also asked for The Pale Dreamer as well. It's a prequel to the Bone Season series and I have them on my TBR shelf and I REALLY want to try and read them this year (I admitted that I haven't read this series on Twitter and a few people - mainly @Chouett and @empireofbooks - were so shocked that they ordered me to read this series. Chouett even sent me a paperback copy of Bone Season she had spare (thank you!). I will try to read Bone Season. I will try! HONEST!

In this prequel to The Bone Season, we enter the world of the Scion London, where being clairvoyant is forbidden and punishable by death. Sixteen year old Paige Mahoney is a clairvoyant and works with one of the most powerful Mime Lords, Jaxon Hall. When a violent and dangerous poltergeist is let loose, this could be Paige's chance to join Jaxon's gang, the Seven Dials. But the dark clairvoyant underworld play by its own rules and if Paige isn't careful, her first mission might be her last...

Nathalia Suellen Chats RoseBlood Cover Art

Today is my stop on the RoseBlood tour - my first blog tour of 2017! And I am so happy to welcome  Nathalia Suellen to the Pewter Wolf. Nathalia is a well-respected artist who created the cover art of A.G. Howard's RoseBlood. 

RoseBlood is a modern-day reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera. The story follows Rune, who has a voice of an angel but a strange affliction that leaves her sick after every performance. Her mother, out of desperation, sends Rune to a French arts school - RoseBlood conservatory - which connections to Phantom of the Opera. But once there, Rune starts to believe that something otherworldly is afoot. But is it in her head, or is there a Phantom lurking at RoseBlood? And if so, why is watching Rune?

Now, before I hand over to the Q&A with Nathalia, I would like to thank Nathalia for taking time out to answer these questions about creating the cover art. I would, also, like to thank Jessica at Abrams & Chronicle/Amulet Books for setting this up and allowing me to be involved in this blog tour.

If you want to check out Nathalia's work, you should check out her website http://www.nathaliasuellen.com or check out her Twitter at @nathaliasuellen. Now, over to the Q&A!

New Year Contest! (aka BURN 2016 BURN CONTEST!)

BURN THE BRIDGE!!! MAKE SELF 2016 CAN NOT CROSS!!! BUBBLEWRAP CELEBRITIES WE LOVE!!! AND PUT SAILOR MARS ON DUTY TO SAVE US ALL IF 2016 COMES TOO CLOSE!!!

To celebrate the fact that we are in a new year (and surely, 2017 is going to be better than 2016, right? RIGHT?!), I am hosting a contest!

With thanks from the lovely Stevie from Gollancz, I am giving away a copy of Joe Hill's THE FIREMAN! (see what I doing here? No...?)

And one more time with feeling... 

Got it now? Ok...

The Fireman follows the world falls to a virus. A virus where people get beautiful black and gold markings over their skins, and soon after, they burst into flames. One person is Harper, who has these markings and now is trying to stay alive long enough to give birth to her unborn baby. But how far will she go when the world is burning around her...?

So, contest time! I have one copy to give away. All you have to do is fill in the GoogleForm below. That's it. The contest is UK only (sorry international!) and the contest will close Saturday 7th January 2017 at 6pm (yes, this is a flash contest! Like the spark that causes the flames. Again, see what I'm doing here?!)

Anyway, good luck! And may the odds ever be in your favour!

New Year Resolutions for 2017

HELLO 2017! It's so nice to meet you at last! It's been a long time coming so here we are. You lovely lovely today.

Anyway, this is my New Year's Resolutions blog post. Basically, this is me telling you all my goals/hopes/dreams for what I want to do for the blog and my reading for the next 12 months.

Now, some are going to be repeats for previous New Year Resolutions so skip those if you are bored but here there are.

READ FOR PLEASURE

Ok, this might seem like a no brainer, but we bookish people (bloggers/vloggers/podcasters/etc) start this as a hobby and then, somewhere along the way, it becomes a little overwhelming. We put ourselves under pressure (no one is putting this pressure on us. We do it ourselves!) to read EVERY book/ebook/audiobook that we own. And we shouldn't live like this. Reading is a pleasure, it should be fun. So, that is my main rule of this year (hence why this rule is underlined and none of the others are!): read for fun. If I read for fun and for my own enjoyment, you guys will see it in my posts. 

BE MORE RUTHLESS

This one is going to be more tricky but, if I am going to read for my own pleasure, then I need to be more ruthless on what I read, how I read and why I read. Literary agents and publishers have this rule - they read the first three chapters. If these chapters don't grab them, they move on. It's not for them. And that's what I'm going to do more of. If I don't click with a story, put it down and move on. Why force yourself to read something you're not liking when you have something on TBR that you KNOW you will love? So, yes, more ruthless in my reading and why - but I will take about why I DNF something in blog posts. I want to be honest with you guys. 

TAKE MORE RISKS IN READING

I like pushing myself to try new things. Sometimes it works and sometime it doesn't. But I want to keep pushing myself on this, to try new and exciting stories (you might notice I do this via audiobook and NetGalley, FYI) and see if I discover a new story or author that I can love! And maybe read things that might be on everyone's radar... HIGHLY UNLIKELY but try and be brave!

READ MORE DIVERSE STORIES

Do I really need to go into this one? I think it speaks for itself... 

COMPLETE BRITISH BOOK CHALLENGE 2017

I signed up to do this (introduction post for that is here!). So, 12 books (min) by authors who either are born & live in UK, born in UK but live overseas or born overseas but live in the UK. Ok, I know I can smash this anyway, but I want to do this while reading authors from all over the globe. 

REREAD (#RE3) MORE BOOKS

Well, it comes to no surprise to anyone that I want to do some rereads (or #re3 as I call them on the blog!), but I have set a challenge for myself. I must reread all 5 The Old Kingdom series novels by Garth Nix AND all 3 His Dark Materials novels by Philip Pullman (I chat about my plans here). The time is right for me to blitz these reads! I AM SO READY! 

(and I can reread any book/audiobook I want without guilt! That is going to be more tricky, me thinks...)

USE MY KINDLE MORE

Need I say more...?

AND FINALLY... GET MY ARC & NETGALLEYS UNDER CONTROL

*burst into hysterical laughter* I'll try and I will fail! 

Oh, this isn't a resolution but over the course of the year, I will be doing polls on my Twitter (https://twitter.com/PewterWolf13) so you guys pick my next read. I'll give you guys a heads-up on the blog, via the blog's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ThePewterWolf/) or via the lovely people at Bookish Brits or I'll do it on the spur of the moment. The poll will be done in a mix of way - titles, authors, genres, publishers, the cover's main colour, etc. So keep your eyes peeled as for some reasons, you will be in control!

There are a few other things I would like to put as a resolution, but I might keep them quiet for a while as this year might be a trial run over if I can write/do those things. So keep your eyes peeled on them as well.

Yes, that's it. I think. No, that's it. This is most/some/not even a good amount of New Year resolutions for the blog in 2017 but I am going to try and keep to these resolutions and make this an awesome year for the Pewter Wolf!