The Big Move also known as OMG where am I going to put all my books!

So today I am moving into my own little (i'll be honest it is small) place and so my blogging may be hit and miss for a little bit while I set up my Internet and unpack and stuff so I shall be on my Twitter if you need me or on the Contacts Tab above is an email where I can be contacted as well.

Keep Reading and keep following here because I will return shortly

XOXO

Top Ten Authors That Deserve More Recognition

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!


1. Michael Marshall Smith:
Now this writer currently writes more thriller and crime novels (I have one on my TBR pile) under the name of Michael Marshall but before these books he wrote a series of sci-fi novels that are just wonderful.  I sort of stumbled on one book Only Forward at my school library years ago and as soon as I finished it I went and bought his other books Spares and One of Us.  They are great sci books and have EPIC plot twists.


2. Maria V.Snyder 
I adore her books and she is such a lovely lady too so it's a double win situation!  I was recommended Poison Study and wasn't too sure about it because normally I wouldn't pick up a fantasy book because I worry that the mythology will be too much for my head to follow but these books are so easy to digest and I love them to pieces!

3.Sarwat Chadda.
Such a excellent writer.  He creates characters that kick butt and are the best at what they do!  The Devils Kiss and Dark Goddess are both ace books and Billi is a female character that could possibly take on the legend that is Buffy Summers.  Oh how I wish those two could have a cross over story together!  Plus Sarwat is a fav tweeter of mine and has excellent taste in TV shows (YAY Mad Men! )

4. Laura Whitcomb
I'm basing this solely on my reading of A Certain Slant of Light but I love this book.  This is an extraordinary book that is a truly wonderful telling of love, distance and closeness.  I URGE you to read it and I URGE myself to find out more about this author too.

5.Cat Clarke
I read her debut novel this year and it was excellent.  I can't wait for the next novel from Cat and her writing style is raw, honest and you totally believe in the characters she writes about.  Entangled was gripping and I can't wait to read Torn

6.Kristen Cashore
I adore Fire and Graceling and was shocked after reading Graceling that i hadn't read her books sooner!  Kristen creates worlds and weaves stories with such elegance that you can't help but become wrapped up in them!


7.C.J.Skuse
I know i've been going on about this lovely author alot but I just loved Rockoholic and she is so lovely too so I think she really deserves for more people to read her books

I can't really think of many more.  I know that is a terrible thing to say but I had such a hard time thinking of Authors that I know and love that don't get recognition...I think they should all get more recognition but there is only so much that can be done except to spread more love and attention to them!

IMM: In My Mailbox [11]

In My Mailbox is an epic feature run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!


Such a manic week between work, trying to pack and organize a move and sometimes sleep when I can.  I have found time to get a few books this week so here they are

Bought

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby  A non-YA book (shocking) but I've always quite enjoyed Nick Hornby's books and when this first came out a friend of mine bought and read it saying it a nice read so I took a gamble and bought it second hand

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne  I have already read this book but while buying the Nick Hornby book I saw this lovely Hardback edition and nabbed in straight away because I don't own a copy myself.  It's so lovely *hugs my book*

Borrowed

The Princess Bride by William Goldman  My cousin got this just after Christmas and has lent it to me because I love the movie and she said that I really should read the book too so I plan on doing so

HAPPY READING

XOXO

Blog Update: How to move house without losing your marbles or any books

So I know I've been very absent and I know that once I move on Wednesday (agh soooo much to do including actually find someone to move my stuff; I'm one of those 'everything at the last minute but stressing up til that point' people)

So I wanted to just check in and say that I AM reading and I've got at least one review to write, my IMM post for tomorrow and I'm thinking ahead for the next few months to do a little giveaway and may be a week long feature but right now things may be a wee bit slow and all I can say is that if you fancy giving me a few extra hours in the day then I'll be happy to fill them with hours of blogging!

I will be on twitter the whole time so feel free to reach out there for me or leave a comment and i'll do my best to get back to you ASAP

XOXO

Thursday Tunes on ASAMUM BOOKTOPIA

Just a short update inbetween busy days at work, reading and packing for my move to say that I took part in an excellent feature over on ASAMUM BOOKTOPIA called 'Thursday Tunes'.  Every Thursday the wonderful Emma puts together favourite tunes and musical tastes from her own collection, other bloggers, authors and guests posters and shares them with the rest of us!

I think I got a tad carried away and so my post has been spilt into 2 posts;  The first can be found here

Be sure to check out the rest of Emma's book blog or her twitter page because it's really one of my favourite blogs around and she works at a school library and thus is 50 million times more cooler!

If you've found your way here from the Asamum Booktopia blog then feel free to follow me here or my twitter, ask a question, leave a comment about the music choices I made or my blog or just say hi!

Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!


This week is: Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves (all those things that annoy you in a story, with book covers, bookstores, etc.

Oh I have any of these after years of working in a bookshop and a life time as a reader but these are the 10 that make my skin crawl the most!

1. Dog Eared or Bent Covers: I can understand that over time books become worn; it's a sign of a well loved book and I can even handle some pages being curled but I hate when I buy a new book or get it in the post from ordering it online and it's already been bashed around.  It's up to me if I decide to mangle a book!
2. Sticky labels on book covers that damage during removal:  Working in a bookshop that was COVERED with giant sticky labels on all the books I hated that they often left marks or actually damaged books.  We'd receive the books already labeled from the warehouse so couldn't do much about it and even though the label were meant to be some special kind of label that was easy peel and non-damaging it still wasn't 100% safe.
3. Printing Errors: It's very rare but I have had cases of books with errors in them.  Not even small errors like incorrect spelling (that's a minor flaw I can forgive) but I'm talking about missing pages or faded text due to a bad run on the printers.  I once had a book that had the whole second to last chapter missing and in it's place was the 1st chapter that had been totally reprinted in it's place.  I felt like I wasted my whole time reading it only to miss out the ending!
4. Non matching Covers in Book Series:  I like things matching, I hate when they change.  It's bad enough if I invest in a book series and then they suddenly switch from paperbacks to hardbacks for initial releases but it's even worse when the covers totally change and it just makes my book cases look messy!
5. Unimaginative Covers:  I know that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but I hate it when it's clear that little effort has gone into a cover and it just looks the same as every other book next to it at the book shop.  Books should POP out at you just as much as the terrific words inside.  It's how new readers are made quite often.  Sad but I've seen it happen 1st hand!
6. Booksellers that don't treat books with respect:  Oh the stories I could tell.  Most book sellers actually like if not love books but I've seen some that really couldn't care less in my opinion.  I've seen them throw books or dump them on the floor like the are just a pile of dirty laundry.
7. Stories that leave you feeling robbed:  I understand that not all stories are going to appeal to be but it's worse if I actually like a story and the plot grips me but then falls short right at the last hurdle with an easy answer plot twist or no big battle.  It's normally a book series that this tragic events happens but sometimes readers will never be happy unless they wrote the ending they actually wanted
8. Fanfic Endings:  I've had this happen once or twice when reading a great book and it goes just a chapter TOO far.  The last chapter reads like fanfic with were the story lines are tied up with a big ugly bow that could have been left off and no one would have minded (I'm looking at you Harry Potter!!!  Why we had to see them all grown up with kids I'll never understand)
9. Amazon Book Recommendation Feature:  It's like that website has it in for me and my bank account.  Suggesting more and more things for me to buy
10. Books not in the right place in bookshops:  I can vouch for book sellers and staff that most of my days were spent moving books back to were they 'should' be because people just dump them anywhere when they change their minds.  It's a small thing to ask but if you change your mind and can't be bothered to return it to the shelf at least give it to the staff behind the counter so they don't have to continually hunt around their own shop for the strange places you've decided to abandon your selections.  Also book sellers; if you are not sure where the book should go then ask a colleague or consult the book charts etc or at the very least put them in the the correct genre/alphabetical order.

IMM: In My Mailbox [10]

In My Mailbox is an epic feature run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!

Hope you all had a lovely week,  I'm pre warning you all that I am moving soon (my 1st own place!) and so towards the end of the month and April may be a bit irregular post wise.  I'm aiming to to continue my features and I'll do reviews but depending on when I can sort out my Internet connection and how long it takes me to get organised things might be a bit scatty.  Plus April at my 'real life' work is likely to be A LOT of late nights and busy times because of Mother's Days, Easter and a few chocolate/food festivals.

So busy days and sleepy nights but I shall keep reading and posting and make a proper post here to announce when things are back on track!

Right onto the IMM this week

Received

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly

I was given this by the lovely Leanne from YA Forever as she had an extra copy and I look forward to reading it.  I'm keen to branch out from my YA Paranormal stuff to wider YA books too.

HAPPY READING XOXO

Cover Reveal: The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

I LOOOOOOOVE these books and I love Sarah Rees Brennan so basically this next book could have come in a brown paper bag and i'd be buying it and reading it like a speed demon but thank our lucky stars; the covers are always awesome and here is the newly released 3rd cover for the UK!

*APPLAUSES*  it's dark, scary and I love the photo of Sin (i'm guessing it's Sin seeing as Nick was on Book 1 and Mae on Book 2).  I know the US edition has my fictional hubby Alan on the front but this is just as awesome.  Plus check out the skyline in the background; if i'm not mistaken that's the OXO tower on fire.  Drama is heading to London again I see.  I just want this in my grubby hands ASAP!

What's your thoughts?

Review: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

I had seen this book buzzing around the blogs just before it was released in the UK and had also seen the US edition with the rather horrific cover of a child's pram with hanging knifes and scissors.  Though the UK edition had different cover (a slightly less scary but just as pleasing version with a Mackie Doyle brooding figure) it was still a book I wanted to dive into as soon as I could.

 This book tells the story of a town called Gentry from the view point of Mackenzie 'Mackie' Doyle, a teenage boy that isn't 'normal'.  He has a normal family, a normal life but he is anything but normal.  At first it seems like strange or unexplained quirks because even though the story is from his view point, Mackie doesn't fully understand why he is the way he is or what he fears he may be.  With a very Edward Scissorhands meets Donnie Darko vibe this book is dark and frightening at times with a town full of secrets and a boy that has to makes sense of many answers he finds for questions no one is even willing to speak aloud.  

I loved the story and it's characters and even the contrasting worlds of the House of Mayhem and Misery lurking in the town of Gentry.  The House of Mayhem and the Replacements brought up images of very "ugly beautiful" creatures that oozes out of the Underground worlds and the description reminded me a lot of the art work of Brian Froud; a concept artist best known for his work on the movies Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.  His art is based on the beauty and darkness in nature and fantasy worlds from pixies, fairies and goblins and I could just picture his world's to be very much like the one's Brenna Yovanoff has created.

I loved how at times there were moments that were so perfectly described or captured in the writing that I felt I had to pause a moment before reading anymore just to enjoy what I had just read.  I don't always get that when reading but there were a few key moments that were like a warm blanket that you wanted to snuggle up with for ages to enjoy the perfection.  The characters weren't overbearing for the story and though The Replacement had action, horror, romance and comedy the real story was about relationships and people and not evil demonic spirit beings under an all American town.  It revolved around love for family, friends, the place you live in and life itself.  Mackie has all the elements of a normal life but he has to learn to love the life he is actually living rather than keep trying to fight for the normal one he wants.

This is a fabulous debut novel and Brenna Yovanoff never forgets to describe all the aspects of the world or the moments from the smells lingering in the air to feel of the wet grass as they lay on the ground.  It's little aspects like this attention to detail that really builds a world in a readers mind and I really enjoyed having it there to make Gentry feel real.

Rating: 8.5/10
Published by Simon and Schuster UK and available from here and all book shops

Top Ten Book Characters I'd Want As Family Members

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

This week's Top 10 is all about character's you'd want as family members so I'll try and pick at least one character per immediate family member but the rest I may just double up on!

1.  Grandma Betty from Need by Carrie Jones

Awesome Grandma that proves that age doesn't mean you have to be old; kinda like my real grandma

2.Po from Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Po seems like a perfect older brother type because he's an all round great guy as well as brave and strong he'd laugh and play with the younger kids even if he's much older!

3. Carlisle Cullen from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

Ultimate dad figure really. He's smart, nice, funny, kind and understanding with his 'kids'.  Plus a doctor on hand is always a good thing for me cause I'm very clumsy.  I make Bella look graceful!

4. Mrs Weasley from the Harry Potter Series by J.K.Rowling

Best mum ever???? She feed you and all your friends, she'll protect her own and is a mum to everyone that needs it.

5.Clare from The Time Traveler's Wife

I don't have a sister but I'd imagine that if I had an old sister that Clare would be just like her in my head because she's quite cool but not pretentious,  she's nice without being over the top and she's just a genuinely nice human being.  You'd look up to her but she would probably give you her cool clothes hand-me-downs

6. Mae and Jamie in The Demons Lexicon series by Sarah Rees Brennan

I put these two together because they'd be great as cousins either together or individually because they are fun, quirky and are more like best friend's than just family members and that's how I'm like with my own cousins because we're sort of similar ages and interests

7.Judas Coyne from Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

I kinda think he'd be an uncle that in his younger years was UBER cool legend and now is just a legend to those that know him well and is slightly odd but has a kinda parental vibe but not enough to really be a father because he's a bit too cool for that but wants to make sure no one gets hurt.  Cool music taste and very much a laid back vibe about life.  Enjoy everything but maybe a bit to much back in the day. Ha

8. Jody from Rock-oholic by C.J.Skuse

I think she'd be a little sister in my world because I can imagine she'd be a younger version of myself and I'd look at her and like picking on her but also be secretly proud at her musical taste and would give her my cool hand-me downs and CDs and mix tapes with bands she should hear and I'd probably be an older sister that she'd think was cool but didn't always like and was jealous of cause I was older and could go to all the gigs and things she couldn't because she didn't have the money or was grounded. :-)

9. Rabbit from the Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr

Rabbit really starts to shine more in the 2nd book Ink Exchange and he's such an awesomely caring big brother and plus he does tattoo's so perhaps I could get a few freebies or family discounts!   He protects his younger sisters and does whatever is needed even if it's not always things he'd naturally want to do.  Tough exterior with a warm heart.

10. Alma from Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Alma would be that mother/grandmother figure in everyone's life that isn't a blood relative but takes in all that need her attention and feed them up, raise them and then ship them out into the world a few stone heavier and full of Southern manners.

Review: Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr

This is fair warning that this review will likely have spoilers or hints at stories and characters from the previous 3 books in this series.  I can't avoid them really if I want to actually review the 4th book.  Sorry folks!

This is the fourth book in the Wicked Lovely series and as soon as I start reading I always hope that I will get to see more of my favourite characters or that something will happen that I want to see etc but these books always take me down a different route each time and I follow dishearteningly but end up loving them.  It's rather strange.  It's like starting at the same location in each book only to follow a different trail and enjoying them each for different reasons but equally.  This book follows on from Fragile Eternity in the world of Faerie.  The worlds and Courts hang in the balance and the story focuses on the character of Devlin, Queen Sorcha's right hand man (or faerie), the High Court faerie that deals with the violence and acts needed to be handled in and outside of Faerie and her half brother and son in this complex relationship between family bonds and Court loyality.

It's soon established that some time ago he disobeyed orders and this leads us to the starting point of the story with Ani, the halfling or sorts he was meant to have killed when she was a child, Rae, the spirit he keeps hidden and the key players of the Dark Court including Bananach, Niall, Irial and Seth.  From unanswered questions to half truths this story keeps you pacing along with it with every heart beat and as you bounce between Rae's, Ani's and Devlin's point of view you learn more about the world of Faerie, Court and the fine balance between good and evil in the world and within the characters.

I savoured every minute I had in this world because I know that the next book is the last and though the previous book left me content but not totally overjoyed it was because I could tell it was building to something bigger and Radiant Shadows is the starting point.  All the pieces are starting to interlock together and all the characters from the previous stories are colliding together in loving and violent ways and it is wonderful.  I adored Ani and her strength as well as the way Melissa Marr delicately describes her nature and cravings without making her seem like a being that just runs on physical instinct; she has needs but she has a heart too.

Completely fell in love with Dev as well as remembering why I fell in love with Niall in Ink Exchange and Seth in Wicked Lovely.  It was delight to sort of tumble into this romance much like Dev and Ani did and then have the story shift from just being a romance and being an action story too.  I'm excited to read Darkest Mercy just to find out how all the puzzle pieces finally all fall together and I have the feeling that none of the probably solutions will be the final resting places for these characters and Courts.  Each story takes you back into this world but opens up new avenues and I'm guessing that the final book will lead us to an ending where we started and where it will no doubt have a dramatic finish.

Rating: 7.5/10
Published by Harper Collins and is available here and all good book retailers

IMM: In My Mailbox [9]

In My Mailbox is an epic feautre run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!


So I went out this week after being ill last week and bought a few books but with valid reasons because the bookshop I used to work in for a good few years is closing down and everything was 75% off! They were even selling store items and I was tempted for memories sake to buy one of the special calculators that we used for stock take days.


Any way it's still sad to see more bookshops fade away in these harder times and though I've heard that this branch is closing but the odd few will still remain I shall miss it so. So long Sussex Stationers/British Bookshops.


The Sussex Crew shall miss you, the stock room, the staff lockers with no keys, the stairs that I dropped so many things down, the thinning carpet in the office, the staff room furniture that was in danger of snapping and footstools we used as chairs on those lazy Sunday morning shifts.

Bought

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain 

I love the cover of this book and have been lusting for it for ages

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Heard a good review of this from my blogger buddy Leanne so giving it a go

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Don't know much about this book but kept seeing it popping up around and looked interesting

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb 

I have read this one before on loan from my cousin and it's a wonderful book but saw this copy for a few pounds in a charity shop and I love it so much I wanted my own copy

Cover Reveal: Crossed by Ally Condie

The big reveals keep coming this week with the reveal of the sequel to Matched by Ally Condie: Crossed.  Due to be released the end of this year Crossed will continue the story of Cassia after her life changes in Matched and I gotta say I love the cover.  I love the breaking out of the bubble, the change in colour from green to blue.  It totally reflects the characters shifts and the breaking out of the bubble that Cassia was in but all that is left to see is what happens after the bubble bursts.

You can see what the lovely Ally Condie said in her own blog post here and my own review of Matched is here

Trailer: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Can you hear it? It's the sound of Mundies, Shadowhunters and Downworlders across the world squeeling with delight at the just released trailer for 'City of Fallen Angels'

Setting you up with all the Shadowhunter drama you might have missed this is a great showcase of the previous 3 books and a tease for what is to come with Cassie tweeting that this is just Part One in a series of trailers.

I can not hold back the excitement!  City of Fallen Angels is out April 7th (or so amazon UK tells me) and the previous books in The Mortal Instruments Series are available at all big book sellers

Top Ten Dynamic Duos

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

This week's list is about the BFFs, partners in crime and duo's that are just toooooo awesome not to praise

1. Clary and Simon

Maybe my favourite BFF ever but I'm probably biased because I love Simon

2. Jamie and Mae

I love that these two are BFFs and a terrfic duo AND are brother and sister.  Goes to show that siblings can work together and be a great team.

3. Rose and Lissa

What could be a stronger bond than their's?  They are shadow kissed...don't think you can beat that

4. Ethan and Link

BFFs is the best sense!  They would do anything the other needs and both would bend the rules til they break if it ment the other didn't get into trouble.

5. Keenan and Aislinn

I've only read the 1st 3 so far and though I have a different 'Ship' in this series (no spoilers) I think this duo is ever so dynamic like this list requests I pick.  They are the balance for one and other and battle against and with it while trying to do well for those that need them to be a duo even when they don't always what to be.

6. Kaye and Roiben

Two excellent characters that together go on in this series to balance between the two worlds and be what each other needs when they need it

7. Liesel and Max

This friendship and duo will stay with me forever and to be honest this book is made up of dynamic duos from The Hubermanns, Liesel and Rudy, Death and The Book Thief but I think the balance and bond between Liesel and Max is the most haunting and and touching to read.

8. Buffy and Faith

Classic fighting team and even when they are bad, they're good!

9. Winne the Pooh and Piglet

I know the nothing pairing would be Pooh and Christopher Robin but I also think that without Pooh and Piglet they'd both be lost because Christopher isn't always around

10. The Man and John

I remember reading this when I was younger and actually being quite heart broken by the end.  Possible one of my first introductions to the idea and world of a graphic novel apart from the sneaky read of his other book 'The Way the Wind Blows' which for a young child really freaked me out.

Review: Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse

I just want to start by C.J. Skuse thanking for writing this book and Emma at Asamum Booktopia for sending me her copy to read because she knew I'd love it.  It's not that I just love this book but I think that it is my life (except for the kidnapping rock star part; i'm not that scary a music fan yet!).  A sidenote to this review is that I'm a massive fan of rock band My Chemical Romance and other than books, going to rock gigs and specifically MCR shows is my favourite past time.  It's a nice thing to point out because not only did many of the events in the book seem believable, they are believeable because I've either lived them, know someone that's lived them or seen it first hand.  From the early queueing for gigs (I'm one of the crazies that does this or even camps out over night), the scariness of engaging with other fans at first and then finding fan soulmates and that feeling of wanting to be that one special fan that is remembered or is noticed.  In reality it's very unlikely but you can't help wishing it.

Jody and her best friend Mac get caught up in a dream or nightmare depending on your POV when Jody comes home from The Regulator's concert with a very unique souvieur; the lead singer.  Jackson Gatlin is hero worshipped by Jody, she even goes so far as to say that she loves him, and in a random act involving a Curly Wurly of all things he ends up kidnapped by her and living in her Grandad's now disused drum room.  Jody and Mac are then left to work out what to do with a junkie singer going cold turkey and get to leave whilst hiding him from the world and Jody's mum.

You can tell that the author really understands the 'fan girls' and i'm guessing has some experience being one by the way she writes.  There is the perfect mix of outsider perspective and insider knowledge to make it a 'true' experience and yet not isolate any readers that haven't had that experience.  In all honesty though, you don't have to be into 'X' Rock band but just a fan of anything really.  We all grew up gushing over a boy band, a TV presenter, a movie star or even the cool guy or girl at school and know what it feels like to want to be that bit closer to the coolness in the hopes of being noticed and deemed worthy of all that love.

I loved Jody as a character because, well, she is me as a teen and a version of me now really, but aside from that she is so shamefully funny without trying to be, she's pretty average in her eyes and at the end of the day she just a girl that's broken over the death of her only other hero apart from Jackson and the Regulators, her Grandad .  Her Grandad was the cool free spirit that told her to be proud of who she was and love everything in life.  He was a rebel, fellow music lover and the rock in Jody's life.  Jody has other people that she cares about like Mac, Mac's baby sister Cree (who is adorable) and her family but without her Grandad she's sort of lost and the music is what keeps her afloat.

What I really loved about this book was not the total love for music, even the chapter titles have lyrical references, because in Jody's life the music is just the main gig, not the backstage happenings.  The messages behind it all is about not putting people on pedistals, it's about appreciating what you have and realising that the only person that make things happen in your life is you.  You can't, as Jody learnt, put your hopes and dreams in a fantasy life and let your world revolve around one thing.  You have to learn about who you are without all the glitz, glamour and hype to understand everything else much like Jackson and you have to be brave enough to let people make their own mistakes and learn from them like Mac does....constantly.

I could go on and on about Rockoholic from the laugh out loud humour to the music and pop culture references.  The engaging characters to the realism in the emotions behind being a 'fan girl', loving something so much that it becomes irrational to everyone lese except other 'fan girls' but it would make this review quite nausiating to say the least.  All I shall say is Rockoholic is a heart warming tale of what it's like to love something so much it hurts, the reality of coming face to face with what you love and realising that sometimes you have to stop having a dream and start living the dream.  Also it showed me that music is awesome even with all the fan girl craziness but I knew that already.

Also I want a Mac of my own please.

Rating: 8.5/10
Published by Chicken House and available here and all good book shops

IMM: In My Mailbox [8]

In My Mailbox is an epic feautre run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!

So I was quite ill for the second half of this week and i'm still getting better now but this basically means that I didn't go out at all really and I worked on my day off for a fashion office with my cousin and we got paid in free clothes and so didn't go to the library then either and thus NO BOOKS THIS WEEK!

I didn't know if it was worth making an IMM post or not this week seeing as I got no books but it's probably for the best that I focus on reading the books that I have rather than getting more!

HAPPY READING XOXO

Review: Midnighters - Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

I've been meaning to read the sequels to the first Midnighters book for some time now but I kept holding out buying a copy because I wanted my covers to match; a pointless reasoning but I have this real bug bear about mismatching covers.  They stare at me and glare from the bookshelf with their non-matching colours and pictures.

The last Midnighters book introduced us to the world of the Midnighters.  Where only certain people who are born at the exact stroke of midnight can access the Midnight Blue Hour; an extra hour in the day that arrives at midnight and the whole world is frozen except these few people that have extraordinary powers.  A great idea for a story I hear you cry? Correct! Who wouldn't want an extra hour in the day?  Well the extra hour comes with more troubles as the "darkling's" that lurk in the Blue Hour craving the flesh of Midnighters but fearing the modern world they come from and thus their existence in the frozen Blue Hour when the world stops.

The 2nd book in the series continues pretty much where the 1st book left off and we go deeper into the world and lore of the Midnighters as the mystery surrounding the apparent disappearance of them all begins to unfurl.  I did enjoy Touching Darkness but the only problem I found was it felt like the 2nd in series.  I know that's stating the obvious but what I mean is it never really stood out as much as the 1st book did in it's own right.  The story was good and the characters continued to evolve  and I particularly enjoyed exploring the relationship between Rex and Melissa and their past together as well as getting to know Dess more as an individual but at times I was left feeling like something bigger was going to happen.  Maybe the fall out of events in Touching Darkness will be explored further in the 3rd book Blue Noon but I was left feeling content with having read the book but not quite as excited as I had been with the 1st book.

However the positives about this book was it let you into the world of the other Midnighters rather than just focus on Jessica who was the new girl in the 1st book but now in Book 2 they've all settled into their places in the blue hour and the daylight hours but things are still not quite comfortable and at ease.  This all triggers off each of our Midnighters to look into the past, present and future of Midnighters and themselves to see how and if they want to fit into this world.  I think Dess is fast becoming a favourite character because I love how her brain works and how conflicted she is when it comes to understanding anything that isn't all about numbers and her polymath skills.  She's a bit of an outsider within the outsiders so that's got to be tough!

I have a feeling that Blue Noon will kick back into high gear and the Touching Darkness is setting up for a big plot twist that is probably staring me in the face right now.

Rating: 6.5/10
Published by Atom Books and is available to buy here and most good book shops

Cover Reveal: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

EEEEEE! How exciting!  Book Cover News!

I'm a big fan of this series and love the dynamic characters and breath taking locations used in Beautiful Creatures and the sequel Beautiful Darkness.  We've come a long way with Ethan and Lena and co since Book One and I can't wait to get my grubby hands on the 3rd book in the series Beautiful Chaos:

My first thoughts on the cover: Love it.  It fits in the series well with the Gothic like photography and swirls and elegance of the the typography.  Plus it's gold; GOLD! Shiny golden writing! and word on the MTV Hollywood Crush site from the publisher is that the final finishing on the font will have gold foiling! *swoon*  I'm guessing that may be on the US Hardback edition only but it's early days to say anything for certain I guess.

Your Thoughts???

World Book Day 2011

I love LOVE World Book Day.  It's something I have very fond memories of from school and growing up.  I remember it was one day out of the year when we would dress up for the whole day at school.  We'd dress as our favourite characters and there would be a special assembly and then the day would be filled with Book themed games and our classes would have bookish things about them to tie into the World Book day Theme!

My mum would make outfits for me and my brother to wear.  One year I was Little Miss Muffet and the next I was one of The Borrowers because I really wanted to be Arrietty.  My brother even dressed up as a Poddington Pea.  He wore green tights, green face paint and somehow my mum painted a big paper lantern green and he wore it like a body suit.  It was brilliant!

So to celebrate World Book Day I want hear about how you're celebrating it and what you remember about World Book Day no matter if it's a personal experience, younger siblings or kids or even just seeing all the World Book Day tokens!

For more Information on World Book Day go here where there is details on the special World Book Day books, the events going on in your area and schools as well as the fun for kids and grown ups and the like!

Review: Department 19 by Will Hill

I actually won this book on twitter via the charming Sawart Chadda who had an ARC and was giving it away in a mini contest and I was told that 'If you want bad-ass vampires, it's the book for you.'  If that's not an invitation to get excited then I don't know what is!

The book, based on the cover and the plot, will probably be targeted at YA male readers but don't let that put you off girls.  This book will appeal to everyone with it's wicked use of cool locations, awesome horror action and battles and plus some fantastic and inspired ways of taken classic novels and bringing forward their stories for a new and younger generation.  I have read Frankenstein and Dracula whilst studying at University and if anything Department 19 will encourage young readers to take a closer look at these classic horrors and re think what they know about stories like Frankenstein and the common misconceptions of Gothic horror.

This book is awesome.  It is an excellent addition to any Horror collection and perfect introduction for young readers to the more Classics.

This is a straight out horror action packed tale of Jamie who discovers his father has a past within the secret British government agency known as Department 19.  Department 19 doesn't exist to the general public but it fights the supernatural evils and defends against the monsters that you think are scary stories.  Jamie is thrown into a world he never knew existed after his mother is kidnapped by one of the oldest vampires in existence who is out for evil doing and destruction.  Along side Frankenstein (who is real, just so you are aware) and the kick ass team Blacklight he tries to find his mother as he learns about the past his father kept secret, how and why he died and the history of Department 19's origins from Dracula's defeat.

The action and locations must have been so well researched because they were all tangible and believable to someone like me who's geography isn't the best.  I was completely was drawn into the search for Jamie's mother and the unfolding history of Department 19 through the descriptive locations.   The varied locations and historical settings, as well as military terminology mixed with classic literature  makes for an extremely well woven story that could have potentially become too wrapped up in details but it's in the details that the story is built.  For a reader that has studied Gothic writing and specifically Frankenstein it was a relief that the original works were dealt with so carefully.  Dracula's and Frankenstein's back stories very much relate to the Mary Shelly and Bram Stoker novels as a truthful basis and Will Hill develops them into to characters that fit into his world but don't diverge from how you know them; as monsters and creatures in the night.

The relationship between Frankenstein and Jamie is fab and I loved how they bonded together gradually as Jamie learnt more and more about the world he never got to hear about from his father.  The action is slick and the gore is, well, very gory so perhaps not the best if you are of a weak stomach but I like my horror horrific so this was right up my street.

The only problems sometimes I found was dealing with all the military terms, names and codes for the different weapons and planes because I have no clue about the difference between a normal gun, a machine gun or a big bazooka except some are bigger in size no doubt.  So those bits probably would have impacted me more if I'd know anything about guns and gadgets or if they'd not been there at all because quite honestly my eyes glazed over the technical stuff when it occasionally cropped up.  However they most definitely unglazed as soon as the action kicked in again.

A fast paced story from an author that is bound to grab many young male readers into reading and engage them quickly and hopefully show a lot of girls that horror and action isn't just for the boys but with fierce characters like the sassy teen vamp Lassia that girls kick butt too!  This book is just begging to be made into a movie.  It was very easy to visualize all the action sequence and the locations and hear the snappy and natural dialogue in my mind.

Rating: 8/10
Published by Harper Collins UK
Department 19 is out March 31st 2011 and is available to pre-order here or on the Harper Collins website

For more information visit the Department 19 website

Top Ten Books I Just HAD to Buy...But Are Still Sitting on My Bookshelf

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

So this is a new feature i'm doing and if you know me at all then you know I'm a girl that loves her lists!

1. The Replacement

2. Interview with a Vampire

This is so bad, i got this 2 Christmas' ago from my aunt, uncle and cousins and still haven't started it (they got me the 2 follow ons as well!)

3. Spy Glass

I love this author and this is the last in this trilogy and i'm almost a bit sad to have to see it end!

4. Succubus Nights

5. Lament

 

I was waiting for these covers to be released before I bought it and then I bought it and it's still on the TBR pile!

6. Water for Elephants

 

I intend to read this before the movie comes out.  I bought it just as they started filming it and now they've filmed the whole movie and I still haven't even cracked the spine!

7. Prophecy of the Sisters

8. I am Number Four

 

Another book I wanted to read before the movie was out.  Didn't happen!

9. Battle Royale

Oh this is shameful! I bought this when I stil worked at the bookshop because it had been reduced in the sale to £1 and I still haven't read it. I left the book shop 1 and half years ago!

10. The Intruders

 

I loved this author's run of sci fi books and saw this SIGNED in Hardback for only a few pounds!  Heard it's really good but they are crime thrillers and think it's putting me off cause I just loved the Sci-fi books