MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDER CONTEST!

I HAVE A CONTEST FOR YOU!!! This is my first in a while and I am SO EXCITED to share with you. It's, also, a tad outside my comfort zone as it's historical but as soon as Ellen from Orion emailed me, I knew I had to do involved in this with this book! 

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is the first book in a new series that is a tad historical, a dah murdery and is a little weird. In the best way. 

London, 1958. Hidden under the 1958's streets of London is the world of Miss Brickett's, a secret detective agency. Here, apprentice detectives must undergo rigorous training to equip them with skills, knowledge and tricks to help them solve mysteries that will stump London's Police. 

But when her friend and mentor is arrest on suspicion of murder, 23-year-old apprentice Marion Lane is tasked to clearing his name. But her investigation will put her and her friends in danger as her investigation takes into the out-of-bound maze of unchartered tunnels that surround Miss Brickett's, and Marion discovered that these tunnels contain something more than secrets... 

See? Now you see why I had to be involved! 

And guess what? If the blurb has wetted your appetite, this is where my contest comes in! I have ONE COPY of the book to give away to ONE lucky winner. All you have to do is fill in the GoogleForm below and, after a few days, I will pick a random winner using a random number generator. 

Now, before I go further, I need to say one or two things (it's been a while since I've done this). The contest is for UK address only as the publisher will be sending the winning copy out once I have the winner's address. Contest will be open till Friday 28th May 2021 at 7pm. Winner will then be selected at random from random number generation and will be announced on my Twitter (@PewterWolf), then will be emailed for address (and don't worry about address being kept on file after the winner get their winning copy. You address will be deleted straight after).

I don't think am forgetting anything... no, wait. How do you enter? Just fill in the GoogleForm below. And that's it. Keep eyes peeled for news of the winner and keep your fingers crossed. Good luck, y'all!!!

What I Read Over Christmas & New Year (Part One)

HAPPY 2021! Please, for the love of everything, can this year be better than last year!

Well, I hope you had a lovely Whatever-You-Celebrated last month and are ready for 2021. The Pewter Wolf Reads has had a tiny changes here and there. You might have noticed. You might not have. But the big thing is I have got rid of all my affiliate links and closed my accounts. Mix of reasons, in case you are wondering. Lack of traffic, Brexit, time and effect to use/create and, the big one, one less thing to worry about if/when I decide to call it a day with book blogging. 

But not yet. Nope. You are stuck with me for a little while longer. Though I might change how I blog for the next few weeks/months, so watch here and most of my socials...

So, what have you guys been reading over the past few weeks? Rather than write long reviews/write-ups on each of these, I thought I would briefly touch on each of the reads so you know briefly what I have read and, hopefully, will be up to speed. Also, just in case you are wondering, you can stay up to date with my reading via my Twitter (@PewterWolf) and my Goodreads (goodreads.com/pewterwolf) as I MIGHT - I stress this as am not sure on this plan as of yet - not review everything on the Pewter Wolf in the next few weeks...

Self-Isolation Blog Tour - Fair Warning

SURPRISE BLOG TOUR REVIEW ALERT! I bet you weren’t expecting this, were you? Well, it’s always nice to keep you guys on your toes! So, before you send off your DNA off to that DNA ancestry site, sit down, have a cuppa and read my review of my first Michael Connelly, Fair Warning!

• Title And Author: Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
• Publisher: Orion
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction
• Length: 416 Pages or 10 Hours 14 Minutes

So, my first Connelly! When I was asked if I wanted to review this, I jumped at it, only reading the first few lines at the press release. Then self-isolation happened and that affected how I audiobooked this so, heads-up that this review might be a tad more clinical than it would have been if life was “normal” and was listening to this a few months ago and a few months into the future. So, this is my first Michael Connelly so forgive me if I make a mistake or question something that is explain in previous novels. 

Anyway, with all that out of the way, let’s get to it! 

Veteran journalist Jack McEvoy is used to tracking down killers - he’s done that with The Poet and The Scarecrow. But he thought that when he started working at non-profit consumer journalism website, Fair Warning, those days were behind him. But when the Police come to his home and question him about a one-night stand he had over a year ago, he’s confused. Till it’s revealed that the woman is now dead, and she believed she was being cyber-stalked and the Police, having little to no evidence, think Jack is a possible suspect. 

Horrified, Jack begins to investigate, against the warning of the Police and his own editor. But when he stumbles on the fact that this death isn’t the other death with the same method of killing. And all the killings have another thing in common - they all send their DNA off to the same cheap DNA testing site. Is there a serial killer out there, using the same DNA profiling to select their victims? Is it the same person who, on the Dark Web, calls themselves the Shrike?

Audiobook Review - The Wreckage

• Title And Author: The Wreckage by Robin Morgan-Bentley
• Publisher: Trapeze
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by the publisher via Titleshare for blog tour in exchange for an honest review/reaction
• Length: 336 Pages or 8 Hours 48 Minutes

BLOG TOUR ALERT!!! Kinda. And it’s a review - SOMETHING I NEVER DO! I always feel very uneasy doing a review for a blog tour because what if I don’t like the book. So, when I was asked to be involved in the Wreckage tour, I said yes mainly as I was in the mood for a good thriller. I craved a something that would get me on the edge of my seat. 

Told from two points of view (though we do have a third reader for one chapter quite late in the story), The Wreckage starts with Ben driving to work, a normal start to the day. Expect Adam jumps in front of Ben’s car, turning Ben’s world upside-down and inside out. 

Wracked with guilty and desperate to atone, Ben meets Adam’s widow, Alice, and her seven year old son, Max, and an unusual friendship develops. But with the consequences of Adam's death weighting on both Ben and Alice, how far is Ben going to go to trying to make amends? And how far is too far?

#re3 Audiobook Review - Shadow and Bone

• Title And Author: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Publisher: Orion
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
• Length: 352 Pages or 8 Hours and 55 Minutes

This is the third time I have read or attempted to read it. The first was back into 2013 and I liked it. But there was something “meh” about it. Something three stars about it and something that held me back from continuing the series. I, then, tried to reread it earlier this year (June?) as I was, very kindly, given by the publisher an eBook copy to celebrate the release of King of Scars. I did try and I struggled. I got to about 38% then went “I’m done”. Rewind to a few weeks ago, I was playing around on my BorrowBox app and, even though I have several audiobooks I really should be listening to or thinking about requesting due to my commitments to NetGalley titles and publishers, I saw this and went “Maybe if I audiobook it, I might fine it easier to get into…”

Hence, that’s what I’ve done. I audiobooked it over the course of 3 days at work.

Alina Starkov is a simple map-maker, an orphan and refuge so when her army regiment is taken into the Shadow Fold to cross Ravka, yes, she is scared. Because the once great nation is torn in two due to the Fold, darkness that is filled with creatures that feast on human flesh. And no-one, not even the powerful Grisha or their leader, the Darkling, can defeat it. 

So when her regiment is attacked in the Fold and her best friend, Mal, is brutally injured, Alina does something no-one, not even herself, expects. She reveals a dormant power of bring forth light. This power could be the key to saving her war-torn country. And because of this, she is snatched away from everything and everyone she knows into the lavish world of Grisha court and the royal court to train and control her power. 

But not everything in this new world is what it seems and Alina must be careful when it comes to the secrets of the Grisha and the secrets of her own heart…

eBook Review - Wolf Brother

• Title And Author: Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver
• Publisher: Orion Children’s Books
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 256 Pages

I’ve been quite excited over the recent news that Michelle Paver is writing new instalments in her Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. I’m not sure why but I had the funny feeling I had read the first book in the series, Wolf Brother. So, when I saw that the collection of the six books published so far was on Kindle for less than £4, I jumped at it and decided to reread Wolf Brother and, if I enjoy it, try and read each instalment every month before the newest, Viper’s Daughter, is published early next April. (FYI, I hadn't read Wolf Brother before so no idea why I thought I had!)

Thousand of years ago in the Stone Ages, in the Forest, 12 year old Torak has just seen his father being murdered. Murdered by a bear, which isn’t a bear at all, but a demon possessing the bear’s body. With his dying breath, Torak’s father makes Torak swear a vow: lead the bear to the mountain of the World Spirit and beg for its help. 

But Torak has no idea where the Mountain is or what he will have to do to get the World Spirit’s help. All he knows is that his Guide will help him. But can a small wolf cub, who’s whole pack died in a flash flood, really be Torak’s guide?

Audiobook Review - Chocolat

• Title And Author: Chocolat by Joanne Harris
• Publisher: Transworld/Orion Audio
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 320 Pages or 9 Hours 48 Minutes

Joanne Harris is one of those authors. You know the one I mean. An author you admire and respect from a distance, but never read any of their books. Joanne was one of mine - I do have a eProof of A Pocketful of Crows on my kindle, waiting patiently for its turn. But I always have been curious over Chocolat. But whenever I try to start and read the sampler, I never clicked with the voice. But I knew I wanted to read this. 

So, when I discovered that this was on audiobook, unabridged and read by the author herself, I knew I had to listen to this. It’s always a special treat when you listen to audiobook when it’s read by the author themselves. 

The quiet life of small French village, Lansquenet, is thrown up in the air when an exotic and mysterious stranger, Vianne Rocher, and her young daughter arrive and open a chocolate boutique. Just before Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. Father Reynaud denounces her and her shop as a serious moral threat to the faith. 

As the community takes sides, passions and conflict flare. How can you balance the solemnity of the Church against the sinfulness of chocolate…?

Where do I start with this audiobook? 

Book Review - Little Eve

• Title And Author: Little Eve by Catriona Ward
• Publisher: W&N (Orion)
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical 
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted at Bloggers Event by Orion & Sarah from Feeling Fictional
• Length: 288 Pages

Like I said a few weeks back (before I decided to go on my Blog Holiday due to real life stuff/House move!), I went to #OrionBloggerBrunch and when I was there, I somehow got my hands on a copy of Little Eve by Catriona Ward. You can blame/thank Sarah from Feeling Ficitional for that as this wouldn’t be my typical Pick Up and Read. Yes, I like creepy thriller/crime, but I’m like more modern setting whereas this is set past First World War and tackles cults and other themes that I usually avoid. 

But because Sarah gave me her copy, I feel the need to read it. I think, due to the stress of real life/house move and me reading a lot of YA recently, I felt the need to read something more grown-up (don’t worry, I will juggle much better between reading adult and teen in future) and having this book made me go “Let’s try this out!” 

On a cold January morning in 1921, a young man goes to the island of Altnaharra with an order of beef. The family who live on the island are strange, and that’s putting it lightly. But when he gets there, he discovers a horrible sight. The family all dead, their eyes plucked out, bar one young woman who is alive and only has one eye. Dinah claims that it was her sister, Eve, who killed her family, driven by her religious freneticism. 

But as the story moves forward, we hear accounts from Eve’s point of view, years before the event happen, and from Dinah who is remembering that terrible night and the events that follow. But the two accounts intertwine and contradict. One woman is telling the truth, the other is not. Who can be trusted and what really on the island?

#OrionBloggerBrunch 2018

So, Saturday was fun. Not only was the England game against Sweden of the World Cup 2018 gripping the nation nor that London Pride was happening (one year, I will go to this!) nor did the UK seemed to be gripped by the fiery thing in the sky (I loathe Summer. Heat, hayfever, lack of sleep, do you really want me to go on? but I was invited to a book blogger event! 

It’s feels like years since I’ve been to a book blogger event (was it the the beginning of this year my last? I miss being with my people!) 

Anyway, after since I had moved house the previous week and managed to get a Saturday off work (sadly meaning I have to do a six-day week the following week…), I decided to go. And wow, I forgot what London was like in summer. Plus, with Pride happening, I kept seeing sickeningly attractive people around… 

I wasn’t staring! 

Anyway, onto the books. Once at the event, there was drink, Pride cupcakes, pizza at the halfway point and books! Delicious and wonderful books. And after Orion chatted some titles (I am going to talk about a handful that sound delicious [to me and I wanna read] and I totally want to read! Stay with me, folks!), two lovely authors chatted about that it was like to write the dreaded Second Novel - Catriona Ward and Ed McDonald (just so you know as I didn’t till they talked about to Catriona wrote Rawblood and her second novel is Little Eve while Ed wrote Blackwing and its sequel, Ravencry. Now I need to go forth and read them as these 4 books sound dark, twisted and I love dark ’n’ twisted! I will touch on both their novels in a tick). After that, quick pizza break (aka snoop into the free books - we bloggers are vultures. But I had to go to the bathroom so I didn’t get my hands on any, till the lovely Sarah from FeelingFictional gave me her copy of Little Eve by Catriona Ward, saying that this sounds more up my street than hers - “It’s more crime and dark and much more twisted than what I’m used to”, and the author very kindly signed for me. Thanks Sarah! After that, Orion talked about two titles that won’t be published till early 2019, both of which sound good. 

Ok, enough of this. We know why we’re here: the pretty books that caught my eye. So, where should we begin…?

GoodRead - Trigger Mortis

If you have read a post I wrote at the beginning of September (click here if you haven't), I have had a bad run with audiobooks of late. It was a number of things, but for one reason or another, I just couldn't click with them. So, when the lovely peeps at Midas PR asked if I want to review some audiobooks for them, I have been quite hesitant because of the audiobook nightmares I have encountered.

But, with Trigger Mortis, I was intrigued. I have tried (and failed) to read James Bond before but I do like Anthony Horowitz and I knew he can write spy novels well - I mean, Alex Rider, anyone? Plus, you have David Oyelowo reading. It can't be that bad... right?

Set after the events of Goldfinger, Bond is on his next mission. He is asked to go to the Grand Prix, driving on one of the most dangerous tracks in Europe, trying to stop the Russians from sabotaging the race. But when he sees an agent of SMERSH with a rich Korean - Jin Seung Sin - who people dub as Jason Sin (because they either can't pronounce his name or are too lazy to learn it), Bond's mission turns a turn that will see him racing against the clock because what started as a car race could actually be the biggest race of them all...

Like I said earlier, I haven't read Ian Fleming's books (only the movies - don't judge me), but I enjoyed myself listening to this. It had the essence of Bond from the books (I'm not sure if this would work if it was movie Bond) where he smokes too much, drinks too much and enjoys women (I am going to talk about this a little later). It was exciting, fun thriller, which made me remember that Anthony is good at writing thrillers.

Also, Anthony wrote a villain - Jin Seung Sin - that creeped the heck out of me, then made me feel sorry for because of his back story (how ironic that his backstory is reflected with the recent events happening in Syria  and refugees in general) then back to "This guy is nuts and doesn't care who he hurts!". I, weirdly, found him a fascinating character.

There is some problems with this book. But I can't decide if they are big problems that would ruin the book for me or problems with Bond as a whole. With two of them, I have a feeling it's Bond that's the problem.

The first is David Oyelowo's reading of Trigger Mortis. Now, I liked it. I could tell the characters apart, David gave the characters depth. But I can understand some write-ups that I have read where they aren't not happy with the pacing of David's reading. At some point, he does reading very slowly and then, in high action scenes, his reading gets faster so the listener has to change how they listen to the story.

Another thing that true Bond fans might have issue is that Trigger Mortis does try once or twice to make Bond more human - a product of our time rather than a product of Ian Fleming's time. Bond has conversations with people about homosexuality (which at the time was illegal - Pussy Galore was a lesbian in Goldfinger but Bond "turned her" straight by the end of the book) and he is still racist at times. But then, there are moments Bond does act a tiny bit out of character. There is a moment when Bond, about to nearly kill someone, decide to let him live after the man pleads for his life, telling Bond about his family. Now, Bond is a killing mission - nothing matters but the mission - so showing mercy is hugely out of character for him.

But my main issue - which is a huge thing I have with James Bond in general - is the way he treats women. We see him treating women badly time and time again in both the books and in the movies. He enjoys the chase, sleeps with them and then discards them without a moment's thought. And in any form of adventure (movie, book, etc), do we see him decide to be safe and use a condom? Of course, this is Bond!

But in Trigger Mortis, we have three "Bond Girls" (I am trying not to use that term. It's a bit degrading, isn't it?). We have Pussy Galore from Goldfinger, who Bond "turned" straight. She came back with him because she was in danger in New York. But the thrill was gone and, after she was in danger, she ends things with Bond after a few chapters. He wanted her gone for a while but she ends it, basically calling him out on being a coward when it comes to relationships. But, barring this, what exactly was the point of her being in this story? Was her appearance a nod to fans of the book series or was it to show us that Bond is a bit of a sexist pig? Whatever it was, her appearance was lacking and it would have been nice if she was more involved in the story as a whole because of the location of where the book ends. I thought she was going to be in the whole story, not for a few chapters... And with the other two, Logan Fairfax and, the main "Bond girl", Jeopardy Lane, Bond uses them and then dismisses them once their use is over. Logan leaves after she teaches him how to drive a Grand Prix car and Jeopardy... ok, that's spoiler territory but you can guess.

Bond treats these women badly - actually, he treats all women badly - and yet, here we are, kinda celebrating it.

Sorry, that is a rant for a later date, me thinks.

But yes, Trigger Mortis. It was a love letter from a fan to the author and it was a lot of fun. I do hope Anthony Horowitz is asked to write another Bond novel.

GoodRead - The Darkest Part Of The Forest

Ok, I am writing this in 2014 (the last of 2014, I think) but am leaving this to now due to the request from the publisher so, while I am writing this in 2014, you have to request that my opinion MIGHT have changed (if it has, I will note it at the bottom) but this is my reaction within a few hours of me finishing the book...

In the forest of Fairfold, there is a boy that sleeps in a glass coffin, never woken for generation. But this boy isn't a typical boy - he has horns on his head, ears as pointy as knives. He is a fae, and the town of Fairfold lives side by side with the fae. It's an uneasy existence - tourists believe in the seemingly harmless but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be. Her and her brother, Ben, know how to stop them.

Or used to.

One day, something shocking happens to the town of Fairfold: the horned boy wakes up and is gone. Both Hazel and Ben, both who were in love with the sleeping fae when they were children, have to find a way to save him and the rest of Fairfold. But something is happening. Something dark. Hazel spent most of her childhood pretending to be a knight and now, this is it. Her moment to be a knight in shining armour. But will it be enough?

This is my first real Holly Black - yes, I know I audiobooked White Cat, the first book in her Curse Workers series, but this is the first time I have read her - and I found myself feeling oddly mixed on this. There were things I really enjoyed over it but one or two things I found grated on me.

Let's start with the positives. I really enjoyed the story - I liked the idea of how a town would be if it had to live alongside the fae. What would the people be like and how would they cope and carried on with their "normal".

It was refreshing to have a fairytale-type story where we have a young strong female taking the lead and you have an LGBT characters and romance (which wasn't forced down your throat!). And with The Darkest Part of the Forest having a dark twist, it's not something you'll see in a Disney film anytime soon...

But, I had problems. Well, I had two problems. And am pretty certain these are "me" problems. The first was the writing style. For some reason, I didn't click with it in a way that other people have. And I'm not sure why. I liked this story, but I couldn't settle with Holly's writing.

My second issue is Hazel. I didn't like her for a while. It was over half way before I felt I could warm to her and understand why she did the things she did. But by then, I had wondered if the story would be better told from Ben's point of view or Ben's best friend, Jack. But once I got use to her, I liked reading her but, for me, it took a while to get there.

So while it wasn't a perfectly dark fairy-tale liked I hope, I think Holly Black fans will really enjoy this and I am intrigued to try another of her books... maybe The Coldest Girl in Cold Town as I know several book blogger pals who LOVE that book a lot!

GoodRead - The Rithmatist

For the past few weeks, I have been thinking about diving back into the world of audiobooks. But the problem is I seem to be a bit hit and miss with them. So when Stefania from Midas PR emailed and asked if I would be interested in reviewing the audiobook of The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson (a New York Time bestselling author who I have never heard of but I know most of you guys have), it came at the right time. And, also, a story that felt fantasy/steampunk and yet the most powerful weapon in this story was a piece of chalk... Ok, I had to find out why!

At the Armedius Academy, the chalkmaker's son Joel wishes he was a Rithmatist. Sadly, that will never happen. He can only watch while other students learn the art of Rithmatics. But students are disappearing. Rithmatic students. They disappear at night, with tiny drops of blood found on the floor. There are also Rithmatic drawings on the floor, as if the students wearing dueling, fighting for their lives. And a new, unknown Rithmatic drawing is found on the walls. Assigned to a professor who is helping the investigation, Joel and his new Rithmatist friend, Melody, find themselves inside something that could change their world forever.

But has happened to the Rithmatic students? Were they kidnapped? Murdered? Or has something more sinister happened? And who - or what - is behind all this?

I enjoyed the audiobook and the story. I liked how the narrator, Michael Kramer, read the story and I liked the mystery of the story of what was happening with these disappearances. I liked how the world, though quite fantasy and steampunk, was mainly driven by chalk. I liked the mystery side of the story and the twists! Oh, I very much liked the twists and how the story didn't answer everything at once. Even when I was listening to the last hour of the story, things were still being revealed and twists still appeared that will make the reader/listener go "WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!" and "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!" as this book is meant to be standalone (though with how the book ended, there could very easily be a sequel, though I like the idea that this stays a standalone).

I kinda like the main characters of Joel and Melody, though at times they did feel a tad 2D. But the more I listened to them, the more I liked them. Joel wishing he was a Rithmatist but can't so he studies it secretly (and with his Maths skills being almost off the charts) whereas Melody is a Rithmatic student but feels the pressures of being a Rithmatist-in-Training and, at times, doesn't want to be a Rithmatist because she feels she isn't good enough. These two characters complement each other and I like how their friendship grew and developed.

I have two faults. They are not huge faults but these faults do make me think that, if you are unsure to read the book or listen to the audiobook, I feel I should say read the actual book or have a copy near you, just in case. The first fault is Part 1. After the prologue which was dark and exciting, Part One... well, wasn't. Part One felt very much like an introduction to the world, giving us the rules, explaining what Rithmatics is, get the characters into the right places so they could be involved in the main story, etc. Part One set everything up and, while I understand this is important to the story and is needed to explain the world that we're in, I couldn't help thinking "And when are we getting to the main story?"

My second fault was this: at the end of every chapter, there is a Rithmatic diagram. Here, you see a range of diagrams to explain things that are referenced in the story (ie, what a Line of Vigor is, what a Line of Warding is, how you use these in combat, etc [see right]). Now, as you are aware, I listened to the audiobook and this is where the problem lies. If you are reading the book, you can see the diagrams and you understand what they look like and how they work. However, if you're listening to the audiobook, while these are explain, you have no real idea what they look like. So, if someone mentioned "You need a 9-point circle of Warding with an ellipse", as an audiobook reader, you have no idea what this looks like, no real idea why this is important (when drawn correctly) and therefore, this distracts you from the story. While some of the Rithmatic diagrams are important (it helps to understand what exactly a Line of Vigor, Line of Forbiddance, Line of Warding and a Line of Making [aka Chalking] is), the others felt like a pointless footnote.

So, while I did enjoy the story once I got into it, my advice would be maybe get the book or borrow a copy from your library so you can understand the diagrams. But if this story sounds right up your street, go for it! And if you're on the fence, the prologue and the first five chapters are free to read at Tor.com.

GoodRead - Hollow Pike

I have no idea how I became aware of James Dawson and his debut novel, Hollow Pike. I think we met via Twitter where we randomly chatted about the casting of Peeta and Gale in the upcoming Hunger Games movie. I think we both agree that, while the two male actors were good choices, they really should have the others role. Random trivia (which I am surprised that I actually remember) but after random tweets, I discovered he had a novel in the works and I got excited. Then, at Indigo's launch party, I discovered the cover and, also, that I wasn't the only person excited about this book. Several book bloggers were quite excited about this book. YEAH! And then, in late November, James threw a contest. Nominate a cool book blogger and they will win an ARC of the book. I nominated Emma from Book Angel Booktopia (here's her review of this book). And my nomination won. And then, James turned round and said "Oh, by the way. As an Xmas present, both nominator and nominatee will win a copy!"

So, I got my copy SUPER EARLY! (I feel I have to explain the whole, slightly weird saga as... well... you guys should know that, in my life ATM, this is exciting!)

So, the story of Hollow Pike. Lis London is moving from her home in Wales to Hollow Pike. But that doesn't seem to help her. She keeps having a nightmare that she's going to murder. And when she sees the copse, she realise that this is the place in her nightmares.

But she doesn't believe in nightmares nor the local tales of witchcraft. Until a terrible thing happens that forces herself to think again...

Now... what can I say? I EFFING LOVE THIS BOOK! Not going to swear, but this book is so great! And it's a debut novel and the fact that this has such a strong reaction from me is amazing!

I want to talk about the subject that this book raises: bullying. This book very much shows the effects of bullying. Lis left her home in Wales because of terrible bullying she faced. Only to walk again into bullying, and it's nasty bullying. There were scenes that some people might find shocking (the use of fake emails, for example) but it doesn't surprise me and just reflects the levels some people will go to. But I think James tackled this issue with a good amount of care but was unflinching over it. I found this brave.

And then, James turns the book on its head and throws us a murder mystery. And not just a typical murder mystery, but the idea of witchcraft being involved. And he seems to blend the genres of this book together with the greatest of ease, and it was always interesting to see where he took me next as the twists were always there, lurking in the darkness of Hollow Pike's copse...

I had very high standards for this book. And Hollow Pike met each and every one of them. And excelled them all. Keep an eye on James Dawson. He is going to be huge! I demand his next book AT ONCE!

GoodRead - Dark Parties

Earlier this year, I went to the launch party of Indigo and four authors were there, chatting about their books. One of which was Sara Grant, whose debut novel, Dark Parties was going to be published in October. And it was a book I wanted to read. It got me very excited. And Indigo had to push it back to late December/early January due to events that were out of their control. Which got me slightly annoyed me. But then I suddenly thought, "Hang on! I can read this before it comes out!" (am writing this the first week of December, FYI!).

So, here we are. With two days before this book comes out and here we go...

Under the Protectosphere, Neva and her friends hold a Dark Party. It's illegal to throw one. In the darkness, they agree to start a small rebellion. Expect, in the dark, someone kisses Neva. Someone who happens to be her best friend's boyfriend. And all the while, Neva has been keeping a list of the Missing - people who vanish and everyone else pretends they never existed. Including Neva's grandmother.

In the quest for truth and freedom, how far will Neva go? And will she ever escape from the dark?

Now, I have to say this from the word go. If you are expecting a dystopian novel like Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games and Vernoica Roth's Divergent, this isn't it. It's more, to me, like Matched by Ally Condie. It's much slower in pace, but there is something completely gripping about this book.

What I loved about this book is Neva and all the other characters know that there's something wrong. They aren't like other characters from dystopian novels where it slowly dawns on them that something's wrong. Neva knows from the word go that's something wrong and something has to be done. She's very pro-active about finding out the truth and trying (not going to say if she got it or not... in the words of River Song, "Spoilers") to get freedom.

Now, I know there will be a few people going "But the dome thing... it's been done before. Under The Dome by Stephen King. The Simpsons' movie." and yes, I saw that too. But this was much more interesting. While in the previous two took place and people had to cope with it, the Protectosphere has be up for years and we saw the effects this had to people as no one could enter or leave. No materials could enter or leave. No new ideas could enter or leave. And because of this, everything is a hand-me-down, history can easily be rewritten and erased (when Neva and her best friend, Sanna discovered the word "globalization", they instantly thought it was a disease) and people are getting sicker and are looking more and more similar. There was one scene that shocked me about this idea of people becoming more and more similar when Neva and Sanna see a statue of one of the founding fathers of the Protectosphere and we were told that he had blue eyes and it was shocking to realise that no one who lives under the Protectosphere has blue or green eyes. That seemed the most shocking thing. And that was in a throw-away comment...!

Now, the whole Neva/Braydon/Sanna love triangle... I don't want to say much but there was one point where I got very angry. So angry, I ranted about it on GoodReads (don't click if you don't want to be spoiled!) then ranted at my other half, the PIW. And it's not the scene you guys are probably thinking... I'm not going to reveal much. Actually, come to think of it, I'm not sure I can say anything at all!

I guess I should say the bad about this. There are times when you might go "Really?" or "That seems a bit two dimensional" and yes, I felt like that, but I fell for this story. I thought it was gripping and I was hooked by it. I want more (even though I tweeted Sara and she said this is a standalone, but the seeds are there so you never know...)!

At the Indigo event, Sara kindly signed my copy. It reads "Make Your Mark". Oh, Sara, this book is your mark! I can't wait to see what you write next...

WHITE CROW by Marcus Sedgwich MOVIE NEWS! (& quick City Of Bones Movie News)

Let's chat about Marcus Sedgwick. As you know, I recently reviewed Marcus' latest novel MIDWINTERBLOOD and from that, I discovered that Marcus is adapting his novel, My Swordhand is Singing, into a stage play (was quite excited about that - make it come to London or Essex!). But, randomly, I discovered that the film rights to another novel of his, White Crow, has been snapped up and will begin filming as early as NEXT YEAR!

Hypable exclusively revealed the press release and it makes VERY interesting reading! Here is it in full:

Independent financier and production company Kerry, Kimmel and Pollack (KK&P) has secured the rights and will co-finance and co-produce the novel WHITE CROW, written by Marcus Sedgwick. The film will be produced and/or executive produced by Kami Garcia, NYT bestselling co-author of The Beautiful Creatures Series, Mark Morgan (The Twilight Saga), Michael Pollack (Quattrocento) & Brett Hudson (Cloud 9).

WHITE CROW is a psychological thriller that centers on a 16 year-old girl who moves to a sleepy seaside town with a deadly past, and discovers what’s on the other side of death.

KK&P plans to shoot the film in the fall of 2012 on Isle of Man, located within the British Isles.

The author, Marcus Sedgwick, has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal, the Edgar Allan Poe, and the Guardian Children’s Book Prize.

WHITE CROW marks Kami Garcia’s entrance into the world of film and television production. While some Young Adult and Adult authors are currently producing their own novels, Garcia is not only producing her upcoming solo novel Unbreakable: Book 1 in The Legion Series from Little, Brown (also with Mark Morgan and KK&P), but other film and television properties as well.

Now, as I've only recently read my first Marcus Sedgwick, am very intrigued over this. I am very intrigued that one half of the Beautiful Creatures series, Kami Garcia is either produce and/or executive produce this film. As some of you LOVE the Beautiful Creatures series (I haven't read it!), it will be interesting to see what she does to it...

But I love this news! Can't wait to get my teeth into this...!

Also, random add-on and not connected with Marcus Sedgwick, is the movie vision of Cassnadra Clare's City of Bones. It has been revealed by Hypable & Mundie Moms that Marlene King is writing the screenplay. For those of you who are wondering, she is the showrunner for the Pretty Little Liars TV series! So, hopefully, the film will start getting filmed soon!

GoodRead - Midwinterblood

As you guys know, I went to the Indigo Launch Party a few months ago (if you haven't read it, click here). And after trying to find time to read them (I now sense I am going to do a huge Indigo read this November...) and failing as I read The Near Witch & Hourglass (both reviews will come in the next few weeks, FYI), I decide to grab one and read it. So, onto Twitter, I asked which book to read (I gave four or five choices) and MIDWINTERBLOOD came out the winner. I think the reason for that was I had a copy of that as a ringer-binder.

Midwinterblood. Where to start on explain this strange book...? Do you ever get the feeling you've lived a life once before? Or the feeling you've met someone before but never have? With Eric, he has that feeling. It's 2073 and Eric has arrived at Blessed Island where he meets, and falls in love with, Melee. But he has the feeling that they have meet before in a previous life... Through seven parts from seven different times, we see that it might be possible. But why is the past so important? Why is the past effecting Eric and Melee's future?

Now, I have to tell you something. Something that most book bloggers out there will be shocked over. I have never read a Marcus Sedgwick book. I know of him and I've always been intrigued but I always thought of him as Horror. And seeing as I'm not a horror person, I usually stay away...

So, when I got this for Indigo, I got quite excited but held this at a distance. And now I can say am a bit miffed with myself for not reading him sooner. It was dark, creepy, unafraid to be "grown-up" at times and, at several points, a completely mindf***. It was almost like a crime novel. You got the beginning but, as you go through the book (and through time), you began to figure things out. You saw the layers and that was interesting to suddenly go "No way!" and figure out the clues.

This novel was inspired by the painting "Midvinterblod" by Carl Larsson and after finishing the story and then going online to see it, I can see why. I like how Marcus got from this painting to the story and all it's parts (I very much like parts 2, 5 and 6. Not going to tell you what they are called - don't want to spoil it for you!).

But this is a dark, creepy novel with layers. I wish I discovered Marcus Sedgwick sooner...

Indigo Launch Party

(aka The Day of the Car Tyre)

Oh, I have a story to tell you about Tuesday when Orion Books had a launch party to celebrate its new YA imprint, Indigo. Because, for several hours, I thought I couldn't go! Basically, the story is this: I somehow hit a kerb on a country lane really badly and, because of this, one of my front tyre went flat. Luckily, I was near work (and a car place) so I could get it fixed, but I wasn't sure if I could go to the launch party as the earliest they could get a new tyre was 5pm. No time to get there as the event start around 6. So, sent email and tweets, explain the story and saying sorry. Then I started to worry about how much the tyre will cost. So, lived through a haze of worry, panic and guilt till about 3:45pm when I was phoned and told that, by some booky miracle, it was fixed. After quick mental maths (I hate/am useless at maths, BTW) and did some last minute begging, asking if I could still come (which Nina from Orion said I could still come - she's lovely, BTW!), rushed to my car, drove to the nearest train station (I work in the middle of nowhere!) and trained it into London. And I got there in loads of time! Morale of the story: life is twisted and sometimes, you have to expect the unexpected.

So, after rushing in and hugging Nina as a thank you and a sorry for the whole confusing mess that morning (I don't know if she was surprised for this or was scared witless of this mad young man hugging her…) myself and other bloggers (who are "real" bloggers - I'm sure I told you guys in an earlier blog that I felt like an imposter blogger, waiting for someone to realise that I shouldn't be there), Nina and Louise from Orion chatted through about Indigo publishing "teen fiction with style and poise" and chatted through the titles that will be released when Indigo is release to the world this September. There was a lot they chatted about so am grabbing a few at random (including those of the authors who actually were there!):

Dark Parties by Sara Grant - Debut novelist Sara's novel is a dark dystopian thriller (Immediately, I like this) where identity, trust and freedom must be questioned and fought for. But will the outcome be a happy one or will you become The Missing… people who vanishes and everyone pretend never existed.

The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner - "Reading this book is like reading a film noir" claims Nina and after discovering that this book is based round the turn of the second World War and seeing the dark elements of mystery & terror, you can understand why she claimed that. If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise…

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick - Ever had the feeling that you have met someone before? Or gone somewhere that is familiar but you've never been there before? This book follows two soulmates through seven lifetimes, where it has been called a "epic tale of love and sacrifice". Don't worry, loyal fans of Marcus, the book still promises to be dark and twisted.

Soul Beach by Kate Harrison - This is Kate's first novel for YA (she write romantic comedies for adults), and this is the darkest she has ever written. It's a dark murder mystery which could be called a dark social network thriller… You'll never look at Facebook and Twitter the same way again…

Shelter by Harlan Coben - this is Harlan Coben's first book for teens and, according to Louise, he wanted to write one for ages! And now he has! Fans of his adult books will love this rollercoaster of a book with cliffhangers and twists at every turn…

By Midnight & Darkness Falls by Mia James - The first book in the Ravenood Mysteries series, By Midnight, took the blogosphere by storm and the sequel, Darkness Falls, will continue the dark supernatural mystery. Beware the cause…

The Hunting Ground by Cliff McNish - This is out in paperback early next year and we were told "This is McNish at his best. And because of that, his most terrifying!" I only read a few of Cliff McNish's books but this like one I have to add...

We also were told that My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece will have a new cover which will be "brave" and "different from anything we've ever produced". Also, we EXCLUSIVELY saw the cover for Hollow Pike by James Dawson (it will hopefully be revealed to the Internet soon!) - I wanted to read the book anyway, but I adore the cover! Must show you it when it's revealed and I must figure out how to get James to do a guest blog. Maybe try and get Nina & Louise too… *begins to plot*

Sorry, where was I?

Then, we had the lovely authors come out and chat to us. We had (in order of who spoke) Marcus Sedgwick, Sara Grant, Kate Harrison & Sally Gardner. Now, I have some bulletpoints about this so, enjoy:

1. The picture of Marcus Sedgwick that was on the promo is wrong. He looks like a indie rockstar!
2. I swear nearly every female in the room fell madly in love with him…
3. Sara Grant revealed that Dark Parties started life as a short story and was originally called Beige.
4. Kate Harrison used her jounalism skills to inspire her to write Soul Beach and finds the photographs used for teen deaths in the media quite unnerving as nowadays, the photos are taken directly off Facebook.
5. I demand that Sally Gardiner to read an audiobook verison of one of her books. Her voice is AMAZING!
6. Sally also said that Double Shadows was "difficult to write" and was her most "controversial" novel to date.

After hearing the four authors chat and read a few paragraphs for their novels, we went outside on the Orion balcony to chat to other book bloggers - people I've met before at the Atom Books Bloggers Event & those who I haven't. I chatted to Matt from Teen Librarian, hugged Carly from Writing from the Tub and we started plotting if we could hold a booky event in Bath in the near future so we can have a cocktail out of a jam jar (seriously), chatting briefly to Liz from MFB about Game of Thrones series, FINALLY met Jenny from Wondrous Reads (ABOUT TIME TOO!) and randomly chatted about the US version of Queer as Folk (us bloggers can chat about random stuff) and spotted, chatted briefly and waved to a few others who I didn't have time to chat to. With this, we nabbed books (actually, I think we were encouraged! I got all bar one author's book - Kate Harrison [which were all gone!] [and Marcus Sedgwick's Midwinterblood came in a binder. A BINDER!] and I grabbed a copy of By Midnight which looked unloved), ate cupcakes (delicious!) and drank some fizzy.

Basically, to please us book bloggers (even fakers like myself), do 3 easy steps: give us books, cake and alcohol. And a catch for us to chat. Four things, really. But the first 3 are quite important!

I also manage to chat to Sara Grant (and she signed my copy of Dark Parties) and Sally Gardner (was basically bowing at her feet and scaring her). And after that, we all went home. It was such fun after the stress and panicking of the morning! So, I must thank Nina, Louise and EVERYONE at Orion & Indigo who set this up, and thank the authors for coming to the event. THANK YOU!

Now, here is group of us all (expect Nina who took the photo - traitor):