eBook Review - Played!

I have to admit this: this was an impulse request read. I was snooping on NetGalley over the past few months to read things a little out of my comfort zone and spied this and went "Why not?". Yes, it is an adult gay romance and I want to read more LGBT reads. Plus, one of the leads in this suffers from dyslexia, I thought that this would be interesting to see how this was tackled.

Tristan has one last summer of freedom before he moves to New York and work for his father's finance company, giving up his acting career. But he has one summer and while he visits the small country town of Shamwell to set his recently deceased Danny's affairs in order, he can't help getting involved in the town's local dramatics version of Midsummer's Night Dream.

Con like to hide behind his staging. With his late diagnosed dyslexia, he doesn't even think about acting. But when an incident at a local cricket match means he has to fill a role last minute, he is thrown into Tristan's orbit, who offered to help Con learn his lines.

The more time they spend together, they begin to fall for each other, but a slip of the tongue could easily ruin them...

This is an easy, fluffy read. It was easy to read and was nice to read something that I could switch off to as I have been worrying that the last few weeks, I have been on the verge of a possible reading slump. So this was perfect for me.

HOWEVER! There is so many problems to this.

This felt very insta-lust between Tristan and Connor (Con for short) and as for the characters, primarily and secondary - oh, the characters! Most of the characters in this aren't exactly characters I cheered for. I mean, this is a romance, so we want the romantic leads to be characters we want to cheer for! We want them to be together at the end...

... but Tristan... oh, Tristan. There was potential here for character growth! I like Con (I can count on one hand how many characters I liked), but Tristan was arrogant, self-centred and a bit mean at time. And he learnt nothing. Maybe the reveal of the "slip of the tongue" was sooner (not 85-90% in the story), we had longer for them to get some resolution and it wouldn't be so rushed and so fake. Con deserved better - and there was a moment I wonder if this was going in a different direction with another character - I think I would have preferred that compared to how it went.

I think the problem with this whole story is that it had potential but it failed to reach it. I had low hopes so I wanted some fun to read, and while it was, it's hugely problematic.

eBook Review - The Tower Is Full of Ghosts Today

I have been in two minds about doing a write-up over this. But I am thinking of reading this series (I do have the second book in the series, which follows Anne Boleyn, on my kindle due to NetGalley) so I wanted to read this to see if I could click with the author's writing style.

In this (very) short story, we join Jo at modern day Tower of London where she takes a group of tourists round the Tower. But she becomes enchanted by the tour guide, who knows with accurate historical knowledge about Anne Boleyn's time in the Tower...

This is a free eNovella so I knew it was a marketing ploy. But what annoyed me about this was the length of the short story. The story itself was only 12% (only a few pages in total). So, the rest (88%) was either copyright, content, information about the author and the opening chapter of the three novels within the series (Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, Anney Boleyn: A King's Obsession and Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen).

I decided that I wasn't going to read the opening chapters as I am going to read at least one novel within the series so, what are my thoughts on the short story.

Truth be told, it was ok. But it was very short and quite abrupt. There was no resolution and even though it featured/hinted at ghosts, it wasn't that spooky. I think this would have been better if there was more padding to it, more resolution and less marketing.

#re3 - The Sunday Philosophy Club

Ok, I have to admit this before I go any further. I have read this once before, many many years ago. I vaguely remember liking it, but I can't for the life of me tell you what happened. It was an easy, cosy read. I must have liked it back then as I am certain I read the second book in the series, Friends, Lovers and Chocolate afterwards (again, no idea what the mystery was. I only remember really one detail).

So, when earlier this year (Spring), I saw this and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency on NetGalley for review, I jumped at the chance to reread them both. I wanted to see if I would still hold them to my memory of them. I reread The No. 1 Detective Agency back in February (review/#re3 for that is here), but I held this one off as I wanted the time to be right. And, with my job at the start of the month being all over the place with shift work (6am to 2pm for me), it screwed up my reading of La Belle Sauvage so I picked this one up instead. I wanted something light and easy and thought this would do the trick.

Oh, dear reader, how very wrong I was. But more on that later!

When philosopher and amateur detective Isabel Dalhousie saw a man fall from the gods at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, her instincts are telling her that the man didn't fall, but was pushed. With this in mind, Isabel decided to find out the truth...

Out of the two, I much prefer Precious Ramotswe over Isabel Dalhousie. Precious is much more a warmer character, a character I related to very easily and I wanted her to succeed. But Isabel isn't warmer. She's more spiky and prickly, so it makes it harder for me to relate to her.

Plus, as she is the philosopher, there were times were she would go off on a philosophy trail of thought. And this dragged. There were times, the whole chapter would be philosophy and ethics, and because of this, I felt the story slowed to a grinding halt and struggled to care about the mystery Isabel was trying to solve or about her and her family/friends.

I know I like reading crime/thriller books that have a bit of pace to them, so I am not use to much gentler, cosier crimes, but this was a struggle, whereas The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency was a joy to read.

The writing is good, don't get me wrong. Fans of Alexander McCall Smith will enjoy this book and will enjoy the series. But this isn't my cup of tea, I'm afraid. And, if I decide to go back to his books, I think I will go toward Precious and read Tears of the Giraffe.

Book Review - Grave Matter

As you guys know, I was away the past two weeks on holiday/blog holiday. So when I came home from the Lake District and getting ready for the second week of holidaying, I got this book through my letterbox and got excited. A creepy/ghosty story by Juno Dawson and it has illustrations by Alex T Smith. Sign me up to put down Dan Brown for an hour so I can read this!

Since the crash, Samuel is lost. Eliza is dead and he wants her back. Overwhelmed by his grief and his need to see her again, Samuel remembers his Aunt Marie and her healing powers. But remembering this takes him down a dark path of Hoodoo and making a pact with the Milk Man. A pact he might live to regret...

I'm going to admit something to you guys right now: I'm not sure how I feel about it. Am torn over my feelings.

On the one hand, this is a fast, addictive read. I read this in practically one sitting. I couldn't put this down. I liked that this book tried to tackle issues such as grief and, very VERY briefly, feminism. I like that this written and laid out in a dyslexia-friendly way. I liked the illustrations by Alex T Smith, which added something extra to the story.

And yet... And yet, I can't help but feel a tiny bit disappointed. It just wasn't creepy enough for my tastes. I know, I am a huge wuss so me saying that is a bit of a contradiction, but bear with! I have read Juno's other works and I know she can crank up the creepy factor. But with this, we had hoodoo and the dead so I expected something to creep me out or gasp, but it never came. It felt like it always just missed being creepy and spine-tingling. Maybe it's because I was expected so much from a 140-ish page novella and it was never going to deliver - maybe reading Juno's other works have spoilt me a little...

While this wasn't creepy enough for me, I hoovered this book and I expect several of you will devour this on dark, snowy, moonless nights....

Book Review - The Loneliest Girl...

I'm not 100% certain how to write this review without spoiling it? This is one of those books (very much like E. Lockhart's We Were Liars) that it's best if you go into the book as blind as you can.and just dive in.

But, I have to say something so you guys understand what this book is about and why I decided to read it after read two adult LGBT+ romanic novels.

Ok, let me explain why I decided to read this. There are a few reasons. First, I have wanted to read this for what feels like AGES. A bunch of you guys got early copies of this at YALC. And you guys SCREAMED (well, tweet-screamed) at how good this book was! So, when the lovely people at Walker asked if I wanted to have a copy for review, I jumped at the chance. But when I got my copy, I suddenly realised that I had a lot of books on my TBR and as I planned to read a lot of quick reads throughout September so I can tackle big, chunky reads throughout October so I wasn't sure when I was going to read this. That was until I asked Twitter. When in doubt over what to read next, TWITTER!

Ok, Twitter Hive, pick my next read!

— Andrew Hall (@PewterWolf) September 7, 2017

So, I read this because of you guys. You only have yourselves to blame. Now, where to begin...? 

Romy is the only survivor on a spaceship bound for a new Earth-like planet. She is the loneliest girl in the universe (hence the title), until she hears that a spaceship has launched from Earth. Then she gets email from the spaceship from a boy called J. Is it possible for her to fall in love with someone she's never met, who's light years away...? 

I'm trying to keep it vague. Am using the blurb on the back of my copy as outline (but they go much further than I am). 

Ok, my thoughts. Well, this an addictive little thing. Fast, gripping, edge of your seat and very We Were Liars. If you have read both books, you understand why I keep comparing the two. Because, in the best way I can describe it, both books are paranoid reads. Well, for me, they were. I read them both with the huge sense of uneasy and mistrust. Maybe it's because I enjoy reading crime and thriller stories or maybe because I am a hugely suspicious reader (I trust the author, but never the story nor characters), but I would read something and an alarm would ring in my head... 

I do like this book because it tackles some really interesting themes. Space travel, science (there's real science in here!), isolation, paranoia, mental health. Plus, with Romy being a strong, yet flawed character, reading her and what was happening to her made me turn the pages faster. 

I do have one or two things. The first is length. I wish this book was a fraction longer. I could very easily read an extra 50 or 100 pages. But mainly because I was so sucked in, I just wanted it to keep going for just a little longer. 

My other thing is more a me thing than anything else. There were one or two things I did see coming quite early on. Now, I don't think 13/14 year old me would have seen them coming, but I would have been suspicious. 

An addictive read. Now, to backtrack and read The Last Beginning! Like I have said loads of times, very behind on my reading! 

eBook Review - Foxglove Copse

This isn't my normal read. I know that. I fully accept that this is a little out of my comfort zone, but I liked the sound of the blurb for this so requested it on NetGalley. I didn't think I would be approved nor did I think I would have read it yet. But as I plan to try and read two or three eProofs this month so I can focus on big, meaty books next month (and get myself ready for La Belle Sauvage), I thought I would hammer this out.

After suffering a huge anxiety attack six months ago, Sam has left his high-powered job, his emotionally-bullying family and has been living in his van. But with his savings running low, Sam is beginning to run out of opinions.

So, when he decides to park up in a copse and goes for a walk, the last thing he expected to find was a murdered sheep. And when he's found next to the body, he has a lot of explaining to do. Especially when it looks like it was a ritual killing.

Ruan, who finds Sam with his aunt, doesn't believe Sam did it. When he first saw Sam, he felt some kind of connection and when he sees how Sam has been living, Ruan decides that he needs to save Sam. But when the killing escalate and it looks the killer could be the same person behind some nasty cyber-bullying, the two need to work fast on stopping him before they can figure out their feelings for each other...

This book is part of a series - the Porthkennack series (which is split into two sections - contemporary or historical) - so while you can read them in order, you can read each novel as standalone as they are written by different authors (it looks like there are four authors involved). And the fact that each book tackles an issue in one form or another, it appealed to me when I requested this as this tackled LGBT characters, a mystery involving someone pretending to practice the occult and having a character sugaring from anxiety - something I'm not well read in nor do I see often tackled in books.

Anyway, reactions to this. I read this within three/four days earlier this month when I was super lazy and very tired (I had several late nights with friends/neighbours/family/etc) so, when I started this, I thought it was going a light, fluffy, LGBT love story with a mystery twist to it. Oh, how wrong I was. And, in a weird way, am kinda ok with that. Up to a point.

It was a fast, addictive read. I would sit and whizz through, surprised at how involved I got and wondering if I should investigate the rest of the series (the only title within this series that caught my eye at the moment is House of Cards, though I will keep eyes peeled for upcoming titles). It was much darker than I was expecting and, as someone who does like to read a good crime novel, this appealed to me.

Like I said, I am not well read or well-informed on how the subject of Sam's anxiety and his panic attacks was handled. So, I'm not going to go too in-depth with that. If someone knows more information and has read this, could you let me know your thoughts and opinions.

Like I said earlier, I was kinda on board with the fact that this book was darker than I expected. But up to a point. There were issues I do have with Foxglove Copse. I wasn't a fan of the instalove between Ruan and Sam. It was just too fast for my taste. Plus, Sam does suffer for anxiety, so I did find it a little hard to believe that Sam would fall for Ruan as quickly as he did.

I suppose this lends itself into the pacing. I get why the pacing was a little faster than expected, but for some reason, it felt off. The off-ness felt the same with some of issues raised - the cyber-bullying, ritual killing and a the possible suicide that could be linked to the cyber-bullying. To me, these are quite dark issues, but with the writing's tone, it didn't sit right with me. Plus, the climax felt like an anticlimax. It felt too easy. I can't put my finger on why, but I'm not a fan of how these issues were tackled.

It felt like, even though this is written for a more grown-up audience, this was written for a New Adult audience. And, if it was, it feels a bit disrespectful to the subject matter and to the reader.

Maybe I am being a bit harsh. I did whizz through the book and I might return to this series and try another author and this probably is a good airport/beach read, but along the way, it misses the mark on certain subject matters.

eBook Review - Songs About Us

I have been waiting for quite a while to read the sequel to Songs About A Girl (review for when I read it last year is here!), so when I get my hands on a eProof/NetGalley edition, I had to wait a few weeks to clear my reading out (BOOKS EVERYWHERE!).

It's two months after the events of Songs About A Girl and Charlie is trying to get normal back into her life. She's rebuilding a relationship with her father, try and hang out with her best friend and worry about GCSEs.

But soon, she is taken back into the world of Fire&Lights, the hottest boyband on the planet. But things are different between the four now. Aiden is in a relationship, but is uncomfortable with it. Yuki is drinking and no one can understand why. And tension between Gabriel and Olly are running at an all-time high and they are close to coming to blows with each other.

When you're as successful as Fire&Lights, there is two ways you can go: up or down. And either way, they're going to take Charlie and everyone around them with them. Whether they want to or not...

Am going to say it: out of the two, I think I prefer Songs About A Girl over Songs About Us. But Songs About Us is still a really good read.

It's a sugary, fun summer read. You can whizz through it and not come up for air for a while. You get sucked in. Plus, with some of the elements Chris tackled (LGBT+, mental health, etc), it was good to see it and go "YES!" over it. It's nice to have these characters and have them and their problems fleshed out.

But, at the same time, I didn't fly through this book as quickly as I did with Songs About A Girl. Some of the darker elements added to this annoyed me and slowed my reading down. Like I said, some elements I was for and most/all, I completely got why the book was taking us in that direction. But there were one or two elements/chapters/moments, where I would have to put my kindle down and leave it for a while, but I was getting frustrated over the characters and their reaction.

An example is one character. In the previous book, he was one of my faves because he was fun. I liked reading him. But, in this book, he changed. Of course, I got why at the end of the book, but there were several strong moments while reading, I was getting hugely annoyed over this character and the way their behaved.

While there were moments I got frustrated with the book, I did enjoy it. Maybe not as much as Songs About A Girl, but I am very much going to continue with this series when Songs About A Boy come out next year. Plus, with Songs About Us ending on that cliffhanger, I will be very intrigued how Chris is going to explain everything...

Book Read - My Name is Not Refugee

This has been sitting on my TBR shelves for a while. It was one of those books that, as soon as I read Nina Douglas email about it, I wanted to read it. But when I got a copy, I was a bit hesitant over how, in a picture book aimed for younger readers (aka the tiny humans in your lives) was going to tackle the issue of refugees.

The story follows a small boy who is told by his mother that they have to leave their home, because it's no longer safe. There, we follow their story as they leave, travel, wait and then find a safer place to stay and live.

This book explains the refugee crisis in a simple, very child-friendly way. Almost with an innocent outlook of a young child which shows that, while this is scary and "...a bit sad but quite exciting too" (taken from one of the earliest pages).

On each page, the book asks the reader questions - what would you take? How far could you walk? What's the strangest food you've ever eaten? - while showing images of his journey, simple but powerful.

I get that some parents and teachers won't want to read this to young people, but I think this will help some youngsters understand the very basic of the refugee crisis and should be more readily available.

Book Review - Never Say Die

After a weird reading slump (that's the only why I can discover the past few weeks) and then me trying to read 3 books on the go (because that's going to help me SO MUCH after crawling my way out of a reading) just so I can read/reread some books that will make me happy (have you not watched the news?!).

And this seems the perfect place to start. Truth be told, I didn't know Anthony Horowitz was bringing back Alex Rider in Never Say Die till I got the email from Walker Books, asking if I wanted to go to the book's launch party. You can read my writeup about that here. While I was there, I bought a copy and started reading it on the way home that night.

After the shocking and heartbreaking events of Scorpia Rising, Alex Rider is recovering. He's fifteen and he's done. Done with MI5. Done with risking his and the people he cares about lives all the time. And with what happened to Jack... he's done. But when he get a cryptic email, Alex finds himself in something much bigger. Scorpia might be finished, but there are still bad people who will do anything to achieve their ends. Alex must stop whatever he's found himself involved in and he must find the truth: is Jack Starbright really dead?

Am going to admit this, it's been a while since I read Alex Rider. The last book I read was Ark Angel. So returning to this world was a bit of a risk. Would it live up to how I remember the book series being? I mean, I haven't read this series for over 10 or so years.

Best way to describe my read of this is nostalgia. The first hundred or so pages, I had this very happy feeling about returning to this world and getting sucked back into this world. The writing and pacing was fast (perfect for a spy thriller like this) and the plot was interesting to read. It wasn't as huge a scale as Ark Angel (nothing can be as huge [or maybe a bit bonkers] as Ark Angel) but this felt realistic. It could happen and Anthony always have a habit of writing a fast story where the story could happen. It might seem a bit out there but it could happen.

I'm not going to gush over this book too much as this isn't flawless. No book is ever flawless with me - even my beloved Harry Potters aren't - but there's one or two things that felt off. Even though you can read each Alex Rider book separately and you have no real need to read the others, I did feel like I should go back and read Scorpia Rising. There were little references to what happened in that book and as this book involves a huge moment from Scorpia Rising, I felt like I should go back (and yet, I didn't really have a need to. Odd blend). The reason for this is, I think, because Never Say Die feels like a start of a "new, more grown-up series" within the Alex Rider series. Alex is less gadgets and more grown-up compared the the original Alex Rider novels when he was fourteen. Because of this, Anthony needs to tread a fine line where we're starting a new book in a new series (the last chapter definitely hinted that more books are to come) but, at the same time, being respectful to "original series" and respectful to the fans who have been with Alex since Stormbreaker and Point Blank.

Yes, I get some of you will go "it's unrealistic" and "how stereotypical" but it was fun. I forgot how much I enjoyed this series and I haven't read a YA spy thriller that comes anyway near Alex Rider. And with the world as it is at the moment, I think we need a bit of fun. So, hearing that ITV is going to turn this into an "older family series" gives me hope that this series could react new readers (as long as ITV doesn't mess it up!). But, as someone returning to this world, all I can say is: welcome back Alex.

eBook Review - The Heart Collector

As you guys know, I blitz the whole Sin Eater's Daughter trilogy the early part of this year (Sin Eater's Daughter in January, Sleeping Prince in February and The Scarecrow Queen in March). And I really liked this series, with Scarecrow Queen being my favourite. And I remember chatting to Melinda at one point, going "You should write a small collection of short stories set in this world."

This must have been in the works because, a few months later, a small ebook collection of short stories set in this world was published!

The Heart Collector is a collection of three short stories set in the Sin Eater's Daughter world. We have two that have been released on the Waterstones's website for a limited amount of time - The King of Rats and The Heart Collector - and a third being published for the first time in this collection - Mully No-Hands.

All are prequel stories and you don't need to have read these to enjoy the trilogy. I want to make this clear before I go any further, explain what each story is.

The King of Rats is the story of when rats plague the city of Tallith and what triggers events that will reshape the world in centuries to come. The Heart Collector is a story of the Bringer who must wake and bring a girl to the Sleeping Prince for, one day, one girl will wake him from his slumber... Mully No-Hands is a fairy tale of a boy who has a beautiful mother and a rich father, who is destined to live a fairy-tale like life. But not all fairy tales end happily ever after...

Now, I have already read King of Rats (write-up for that is here) so I just jumped into The Heart Collector and Mully No-Hands. But out of the three stories, I enjoyed The Heart Collector the most. This story, I wished, was written as a standalone novella, almost in the same vein as The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. I feel that this would stand up on its own, but add extra insight into the Sin Eater's Daughter story as this follows a different character.

This collection is very much for fans of the series and it adds an extra layer to the world.

Book Review - The Witch's Kiss

After reading Felix - The Railway Cat (blogpost for that is here!), you guys voted on what I should read next (this is the plan for the next month or so - though I might have to break it now due to getting a book in post and am PUMPED for it!) and you guys voted for The Witch's Kiss by Katherine and Elizabeth Corr.

Now, I've had this book (and its sequel) for a while but never been in the right frame of mind. Hence why these polls are such a good idea. Pushing me to read books I wouldn't normally rush towards unless I was in that mood.

Anyway, Witch's Kiss. Merry just wants to be a normal teenager. Shame that's not going to happen. She's a witch - a witch that doesn't want to be a witch, and her powers either exploding out of her fingertips when she's not in control or not there when she really needs them.

But it looks like she needs to embrace her witchy side and fast. Something dark is slowly waking and when Merry and her brother, Leo, meet Jack and discover he's under a centuries-old curse. A curse Merry must now break.

But Merry and those she love must be careful. Being a witch is dangerous, but so is falling in love and a heart is such an easy thing to break. So easy, in fact, that's true love's kiss might not be enough to save it...

Now, this is an odd book. Because there was faults - oh, so many faults, which I will go into in a bit - but it was a fun, addictive read. I read most of this book in one go (a good chuck of the book I read over the Easter Weekend - most of it on Easter Sunday).

The writing was fast paced and you had to run with the story to keep up. I liked some of the characters - mainly the brother, Leo. I really liked him and wish we saw more of his life outside of magic (he's an outsider, like us. Plus, if we saw his life, it would have been more powerful as the story grew) and I liked the hints towards fairy tales (mainly Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent with hints of the Lady in the Lake) and other things (Grey's Anatomy and Once Upon A Time - I really need to stop watching so much telly!). This is very much a book for fans of fast-paced magic.

But, like I said, this book had faults. A lot of faults. Most of which can be summed up in one way, I think. The story had a good idea and plot, but it felt skeletal. There was no real meat to the story. If there was, it would have given us something extra. See how Merry's magic affected her life in school and with friends, see the mysterious attacks (include the most personal), show us Leo's life with his friends and his romantic feelings towards a character we heard of but never met. But because the book is so focused on Merry's magic and the curse, there was no room for anything else.

While I say this book does have a lot of faults, I enjoyed the reading blitz I went on with this book and looking forward to finding time to read the sequel, The Witch's Tears... 

eBook Review - Felix the Railway Cat

As you guys know, I have started (for this month and maybe next month) to do polls on Twitter so you guys decide what I read next. And this is the first book you guys picked! And the only reason I think you guys chose this book is because CAT!!!

When Huddersfield Train Station decided to get a railway cat for their station, they had no idea how the tiny fluffy kitten will affect their lives and the lives of their passengers. From helping a child come out of his shell to providing comfort to a runaway child, Felix changed everyone's lives. But it's a chance friendship with a commuter that brings Felix into the media spotlight and international stardom. 

I follow Felix the Huddersfield Cat on Facebook (not sure how I discovered this fan page, truth be told!) and love it. So when this was chosen, I was a little thrilled. And it was a fun read - what I expected. It was fun, gentle, candy floss read. Something you can read on the beach during the summer holidays. There is a few sad moments but it feels very heartwarming. 

I do have some issues with this. Mainly, the writing style. I couldn't gel with it. It was as if the author couldn't decide who they were writing for. For an adult audience (on NetGalley, this is under the category of "General Fiction (Adult)") or for a younger, child friendly audience. At times, the writing felt confusing over target audience. 

But cat lovers and fans of Felix will love reading this on a train with their cup of coffee on their morning commute. 

Book Review - Noah Can't Even

I have to make a quick statement before I go any further: I don't like cringe. You know what I mean: those moments that make you cringe. Like watching a TV talent show and having someone on who believes that they really have talent in that field but they don't. Or watching a hidden camera prank show and one of the hosts having to do something as a punishment (not all but a few). Yeah, I can't do cringe well. This is why I haven't (nor probably will never) watch The Inbetweeners. If I can make it through an episode of X Factor or that episode of Friends that make me want to claw my ears off, how am I going to survive The Inbetweeners?!

I state this now because this book has moments of cringe in it. I mean, the cover is a clue (the cover is ace, by the way!) Well, for me, it has moments of cringe. Where I would have to put the book down and leave it alone for a few moment while I go "WHY?!" at it. This isn't a bad thing but still...

Anyway, now I have that out of the way, let me chat about this book. Now, since I first heard of this book back in January at Scholastic's Blogger Event, I have been quite keen to read this. It sounded like fun. I sensed there might be moments I will dislike or go "Well, this is very Hollyoaks for my tastes, but it looks like a laugh". So, of course, when it appear in my letterbox due to Scholastic sending me a copy, I jumped at it without much thought.

Noah is having a bad few years. His dad's disappeared. His mum is a total embarrassment. His gran is suffering from dementia and isn't always there. He has only real friend - Harry. School's hell. But life might be on the up when he strikes up a friendship with Sophie and she invites him and Harry to a party. This is perfect, right?

But the party takes a turn when Harry kisses Noah. What does that mean? From there, things just keep going downhill.

I have to admit this, I am writing this a good week after I have finished this and posting this a few days later so my memory of this book is shot (this is why I write these posts within 24 hours after finishing the book)!

And while I did cringe OH SO MANY TIMES and wanted to grab Noah and shake some sense into him, I did enjoy it. I wouldn't say it was a fun read for me as, at times, it reminded me a little too much of me in my teens. Maybe this is why Noah grated on me at times - because he did things that I could have easily done myself in my youth (though, never to the extreme Noah did!).

At times, this did feel very Hollyoaks. I know some of you guys like Hollyoaks so that's not a bad thing. But at times, was a little overwhelmed with some of the stories that was thrown at Noah. Or maybe it was how Noah reacted to them that felt overwhelming.

I feel like am being mean about this book. I did like this book! Honest! I like Noah's Gran - possibly my fave character, truth be told. She gives Noah a lot of good advice and gave the book an edge of humour (I nearly choked on my cup of tea when reading one section, which was lovely and tender, Gran shouts the word "HERPES!"). And I like Harry and Sophie. They're characters I wanted to spend more time with and hopefully, we do in the next book. Plus, I liked the last 100 or so pages. It tied everything up nicely but gave character development to Noah and this helped me warm to him HUGELY! Plus, these 100 pages give room and new ideas for the sequel (yes, there is a sequel).

Now, not everyone is going to like this. This isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. This coming-of-age/coming out story is madcap, awkward, cringey, yet oddly charming. And I kinda want the sequel. If, for no other reason, just to shout "Just kiss, you morons!" at certain unnamed characters...

#re3 - Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

I have been in two minds over whether I should get this on audiobook or not when it was announced. On the one hand, IT'S AN AUDIOBOOK! With Eddie Redmayne (aka Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts movie) narrating it! But on the other, it's not really adding anything new to this. And I have other reasons, which I will go into later.

But, when Midas PR (people who I chat with for Audible credits - they are very kind and lovely people) gave me an extra two credits a month or so bad by mistake, they said I could keep them and use them for any audiobooks that catch my eye. So, I used one of the credits on this (even though I have a ton of audiobooks I really should be listening to instead). And after the drama of trying to get this onto my iPod (don't ask! It was a nightmare and only with the help of Audible.co.uk's Twitter did I figure it out as this has never happened with any of my other audiobooks!)

In this updated version of the Harry Potter textbook, we discover the magical beasts that live in the Wizarding world that was referenced or we have seen in both Harry Potter books/movies and the Fantastic Beasts movie. Because this is updated, we have a new foreword from Newt himself (with information/hints linking to the Fantastic Beasts movie) and addition of six new beasts (why these have been added have been explained in the foreword).

Now, as a Harry Potter fan and as someone who has read and reread this over the years, what i found so enjoyable is how in-depth this "textbook" goes. Plus, it was cool to go back and go "oh! That was in the movie!" and compare to my old edition of Fantastic Beasts.

There was a bit of drama before Christmas when the movie was released and no bookseller could get a copy as publishers in UK/US were publishing the new, updated version in time for DVD release and Comic Relief (which donates a percentage of money towards this charity as well as the Lumos Foundation). So, while it's a bit of the pricy side for a under two hour audiobook, knowing that some of that money is going to good causes makes me feel warm, fuzzy inside and glad the world isn't such a dark place (have you not seen the news the past week?!)

And as for the new six beasts... I only spotted three to my knowledge. Might have to go back when I have an afternoon free and listen to this with my now "out of date" copy in hand and compare...

Book Review - The Scarecrow Queen

I DID IT!!! I READ THE ENTIRE TRILOGY IN A SPACE OF THREE MONTHS!!! Bit late to the party but I DONE IT!!! (and to that fan who tweeted Melinda that she read the whole trilogy is less than 16 days, shame of you. Melinda kept giving me tweets to say "er... LOOK!")

In this, the third and final book in the trilogy, the Sleeping Prince has taken control of Lormere and with Twylla in hiding and Errin in his clutches, time is running out to them and their band of rebels to stop him taking full control.

But Aurek will stop at nothing to keep the throne and to keep it forever.

Anymore than that and I might spoil a lot of details within the previous two books in the trilogy, The Sin Eater's Daughter and The Sleeping Prince. But it's gonna hit the fan, so brace yourselves...

This is the strongest and my favourite book in the trilogy. Things are put into place and the pay-off worked excellently, characters have grown from when we first met them and we have a climax which left me breathless.

This is how a final book in a trilogy in a dark fantasy trilogy should be: dramatic, badass, tender, creepy as heck (I couldn't stop thinking about the prologue for days after I read it, and those interlude chapters were just ), breath-taking as you want to sped through to the end yet want to savour the writing at the same time. It's been so long since I read a faultless finale, and this ticked every box!

Shame it's taken me so long to discover this trilogy (blame the hype fear and the wrath of nearly EVERY BLOGGER/VLOGGER WHO SCREAMED AT ME TO READ THIS TRILOGY [and Melinda who threatened to send a Dementor at me - I swear she's Voldermort's secret daughter!]) but Mel has a new fan and I await her next book, Floored (which she is co-writing with Sara Barnard, Holy Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood) and her just-announced trilogy with baited breath!

EDIT: Just when you thought I can't mess up the author's name further (have you guys not see me say Mel's surname wrong. I called her a supermarket chain!!!), I then type up her first name wrong! AND IT'S THE AUTHOR WHO TELLS ME ABOUT IT!

@PewterWolf13 @scholasticuk MELANIE?! pic.twitter.com/BYnOni7vEX

— Melinda Salisbury (@MESalisbury) March 21, 2017

MEL, I AM SO SORRY!!! Thanks for pointing it out to me and being very kind and laughing at it (better than my reaction which involved swear words and me blaming auto-correct and a podcast I have recently discovered called My Dad Wrote A Porno [don't ask. Will blog about this in future once all catch up - not sure if that's a good thing or not]). SORRY! 

Book Review - 100 Hugs

Even since I first saw this on Twitter, I knew - KNEW - I had to buy it and read it. It's a small book with a simple idea from the current Children's Laureate: a book filled with illustrations of hugs. 100 hugs in total, hence the title. Nothing else. Just hugs, ranging from people, animals, fairy tales, magic, real, heartfelt and one or two slightly sinister hugs (it's the eyes, people! And you know the illustrations I mean if you've read this).

This isn't going to much of a review. More of a gush. I found this simply enchanting and utterly heartwarming.

There's not much else I can say about it. But this book - perfect for small hands - proves one of the many reasons he is a well-loved and respected illustrator.

If not, check these out. Aren't they wonderful?

Book Review - The Sleeping Prince

I am powering through this series, aren't I? By the time you'll be reading this, I should be a good chuck of the way into the third and final book in the trilogy, The Scarecrow Queen.

But that's not the book we're talking about today.

The Sleeping Prince is the second book in the series and we follow, Errin, sister to a character we met in Sin Eater's Daughter. Errin lives with her mother who is suffering a misery illness. When the village has to be evacuated due to an fairy tale comes to life and begins war in the neighbouring country. But when events take a dark turn, Errin has to fled. But with her father dead, the mother ill and her brother missing, the only person she can turn to is Silas, who's face she has never seen...

But can she trust him?

This is an interestingly odd book. Not in a bad way, but this is a mix of being a first book in a series and the second. Bear with me while I explain why.

This is the second book in the trilogy. There is information and details from Sin Eater's Daughter is reference so reading the first book is important. This is the same with characters. This is a second book in the series and should be read as the second (I did try last year to read this without reading Sin Eater's Daughter and I struggled).

BUT... reading The Sleeping Prince does have elements of first book in a series. We have new characters, new situations and elements that feel very book one of a series. Plus, with this book timeline that overlap ever-so-slightly with Sin Eater's Daughter, you could read them side-by-side and you would be alright, in theory.

Although, I would say that if you are going to read this trilogy, read Sin Eater's Daughter first then Sleeping Prince.

This book I would say is split into two. Part one and part two. Part one is setting everything up. Character development, information dropping, setting things up. While the writing is dark and seductive, this is very slow. It is a bit of a struggle at times to push forward and I think, because of this, it took me longer to read. I don't mind reading slower pace - because this is a new character and we have to get to know them and their situation - and once I got to know Errin, I liked her and her attitude, but there were moments in part one I wished the book would pick up pace.

Part two is when the pace picked up and I whizzed through. This is the strongest part of the story because you go "This is why Melinda did this. This makes sense now. There's a plan!". Plus, like I said, I like pacer chapters. I like it when characters feel like they are doing something - and with Errin, it felt like she was more proactive in part two than in part one (but once you read part one, you understand why).

And because of part two and how it ended, I am excited/worried over Scarecrow Queen. Melinda has put her characters and story in position and now we're going to have to wait and see how she's going to wrap this up...

While I like Sin Eater's Daughter more, once it found it's footing, The Sleeping Prince is a worth sequel. Now, am excited/terrified over how Scarecrow Queen is going to end...

#re3 - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

This, like Northern Lights, was a reread. I wanted to read something completely anti-fantasy before I dive back into the world of Sin Eater's Daughter. I know that, once I start reading Sleeping Prince, I would binge this and Scarecrow Queen so I can finish them before the end of March. And I love fantasy but worried that if I binge-read these after finishing Sin Eater's Daughter and Northern Lights, I would be a little sick of fantasy so, when I saw this on NetGalley, I went "Let's read this. It's a reread, it should be a fast fun read".

Oh, Andrew. Never think "This is will a fun, fast read". I started reading this and, like Northern Lights, I soon realised that there was a lot of things in here that I forgot. I mean, how old was I went I read this? Late teens? So, over ten years ago... Yeah... there is a lot I forgot. 

The first in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, we follow Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's first - and finest - female private investigator. Following her starting up her business and investigating cases such as cheating husbands and wayward daughters. All the while, with warmth, humour and a gentle understanding of human nature. 

Now, it's been so long since I read this that I am going to have to treat this like a review rather than a reread. This is a very different crime/thriller I am use to reading. I like pace, I like action, I like twists. This is a complete gear shift for me as this is a gentle crime. And Precious Ramotswe is probably the Queen of gentle crime within the past two decades. 

There is a cosy, warm feel to this. Perfect reading for the cold months of January/February. It's a bit like Sunday evening TV. You can curl up on the sofa with a hot chocolate, wearing your comfortable, happy clothes and feel happy. It's a feel-good factor to them, something I remember from when I read them YEARS AND YEARS ago. This carried over when the BBC/HBO turned a few of these into a TV series back in 2007/2008 (if I can, I will include a pic from the TV series somewhere in this post!)

Some crime readers might not like this series as the mysteries in this book and within the series aren't exactly thrilling or compelling. They're quite laid-back mysteries and some are quite easy to figure out. But this is more a look at life and human nature - something that applies to me. It's refresh for me to read something that isn't running at a hundred miles an hour. I can just relax and enjoy. 

I might have to get my hands on the second book in the series, Tears of the Giraffe. But, at the same time that I requested No 1 Detective Agency, I requested another of Alexander McCall Smith's stories, The Sunday Philosophy Club (which I think I might have read but I can't remember if I have or not!), so this will be my next Alexander McCall Smith read. 

#re3 ReRead 2017 Challenge - Northern Lights

It's so weird going back to this trilogy. I first read Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass, if you live in the USA) back when I was 16. It's been around 15 years since I first discovered this book. And this book was first published in 1995, making this book over 22 years old!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! And I am going to try, since the year I first discovered this trilogy, to read all three books in one year (along with Garth Nix's The Old Kingdom trilogy... this year is going to be interesting. Stressful, book reading wise).

Because this is a reread/#re3, please be aware there are spoilers ahead. DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE SERIES, OK? This is why there is a page break here. Am trying to protect your unspoiled book eyes/minds...

Novella Review - The King Of Rats

After finishing The Sin Eater's Daughter last Friday, I wanted to jump straight into The Sleeping Prince. But as I'm STILL rereading Philip Pullman's Northern Lights as part of my #re3 Challenge, I decided to focus on that before I return to the Sin Eater world. And, against some people's tweets, I decide to read one of the short stories Melinda wrote for the Waterstones's blog, but I was given by the publisher in a small booklet form, The King of Rats. Now, according to tweets, I should have saved this for after Sleeping Prince... oh well! Too late now!

Everyone in the Sin Eater's Daughter series knows the Sleeping Prince, but the no one really knows why he's sleeping and when/if he will awake. But centuries ago, the kingdom of Tallith was a utopia, filled with proud and privileged people. One of them was Prince Aurek and his twin sister, Aurelia. Both who will lead Tallith into a bright future.

But then the rats came. Desperate, the King summons a rat catcher to get rid of rats. But the rat catcher didn't come along. He came with his son and his beautiful daughter. Upon seeing her, Aurek decides to have her. This decision will set off a chain of consequences that will last for centuries to come...

The writing in this short story is just as dark and seductive as Sin Eater's Daughter. And it's good to see the bases of the Sleeping Prince fairytale. I loved the twisting of the Pied Piper tale and, from what I've heard, we do hear little snippets about the twins and this fairytale within Sin Eater's Daughter and Sleeping Prince.

What's also good is that this is a free story and it's not essential reading. If you only read the novels, that's fine. But if you read this and the other short story (I believe it's called Heart Collector and I think it was on the Waterstones's blog for a limited amount of time) , it gives up an extra layer to the darkly seductive world that Melinda has created.

Fans will devour this within half an hour. I can't wait to find time to start Sleeping Prince in the next few weeks...