All Posts By

Lucy Powrie

5 Reasons Inferno is the BEST BOOK EVER + Giveaway!

Posted on 14 December, 2015

To celebrate the fact that Catherine Doyle, author of Vendetta and the upcoming Inferno, is releasing exclusive short stories on her website in the next few weeks, I thought I would share 5 reasons why Inferno is the best book EVER, ahead of my review in January. Read to the end for a giveaway of Vendetta and Inferno!

1. SO. MUCH. ACTION.

There isn’t a dull moment in Inferno and I couldn’t put it down when I was reading it because something exciting happens on every page which makes it impossible not to read on. I’ve said before about Vendetta that it’s as if you’re watching the events of the book take place rather than reading them, and I had exactly the same experience with Inferno. These books are PERFECT if you love books that you can’t forget about and can read in one go.

2. Sophie is one of the most realistic protagonists in YA

I love reading about Sophie because it feels like she is a part of me. She has flaws and there’s a particularly emotional scene in Inferno where I realised just how realistic Sophie is; I know I would have reacted in exactly the same way as she did. It makes me excited to read further on in the Blood for Blood saga in the future just so I can get to know Sophie even better.

3. DOUGHNUTS.

There’s an extremely cute scene involving a doughnut, hence the above picture and I can’t help but re-read it over and over again. If you need a reason to read Inferno as soon as it’s released, read it for this scene!

4. Awesome female friendships!

I love Sophie’s best friend, Millie, and her and Sophie’s relationship is the best. They’re always there for each other and we definitely need more relationships like theirs in YA. I want a best friend like Millie!

5. THE FALCONES.

Obviously, if you’ve read Vendetta, you’ll know that the Falcones are at the centre of the plot, but in Inferno things get even more complicated. It means that we get to see even more of the Falcone family and more of their backstory is revealed. PLUS, lots more Nic and Luca. Which is what we all want.

The next Inferno blog post will be next Monday on The Dark Dictator.

Read The Girl on the Street, told from Valentino Falcone’s perspective, at www.catherinedoylebooks.com.

GIVEAWAY

Time for the giveaway! To win a copy of Vendetta and Inferno, all you have to do is:

Leave a comment telling me the protagonist you relate to the most, or a book that you couldn’t put down when you read it!

Make sure to leave your Twitter handle too so I can contact you if you win! Good luck!

Other

On Vlog Star and the Power of YouTube

Posted on 8 December, 2015

When I first started watching YouTube, around five or six years ago, it would have seemed insane to me that YouTube would become so accessible to so many people (although YouTube accessibility and privilege is a discussion for another day), particularly people like me who didn’t have fancy equipment or didn’t really know how to go about making videos on the Internet.

Vlog Star is the latest YouTube-related product to be released – although it’s worth nothing that it is not associated with either Google or YouTube – and with it comes your own mini-tripod perfect for most smartphones and vlogging guide.

It still amazes me on a daily basis just how big a part YouTube plays in our culture – larger YouTubers are dropped in to every day conversation, book deals, products and projects are announced daily, and still YouTube continues to grow. With YouTube now emerging outside of our screens, I think Vlog Star is a great tool to encourage a new wave of talent, especially for those people not wanting to invest large amounts of money into a product.

The booklet contains information on starting up on YouTube and also has sections that have been written by successful YouTubers, such as Charlie McDonnell and Estée Lalonde, which is useful information to have in one place and for use whenever you may need it.

That being said, £12.99 is a lot of money to pay for information that could be found for free on the Internet and for a tripod that is not of high quality. Whilst it may appeal to teens, it may not appeal to the parents who will be buying it for them.

Vlog Star is available to buy here

This is not a sponsored post. I received Vlog Star for free in exchange for an honest review, but all opinions are my own.

A (Graphic) Novel Obsession

Posted on 24 November, 2015

I am in love with graphic novels at the moment. Especially with so much revision to do, they’re easy to pick up and instantly get into as they don’t take up the same amount of brain power as a 500-page novel would do.

I always used to be sceptical about reading graphic novels. It’s easy to get caught up in ‘literary snobbery’ and feel as if books with pictures in are slightly inferior, but I’m finally over that and I love graphic novels and everything in them – the words, the graphics, the vivid colours. They’re amazing!

Isabel Greenberg

Recommendations

5 Books That Changed My Life

Posted on 5 November, 2015

Some books you can read and forget about after a few months, but there are others that stay with you for a long time afterwards. There are also those books that will always stick with you, no matter what, and have affected your life in some way. Here are a few of mine:

Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton

I love books for a wide range of reasons, but one of the main ones is because they’re always there when I need them most. When I was 12, a few months before I started my blog, my granddad died and it was something that affected me hugely, us being so close and me being so young. During the months after, I turned to books to help me through and one of these books was Jessie Hearts NYC. For this reason, it’s a book I’ve recommended a lot and Keris’s books, like Jessie Hearts NYC and Emma Hearts LA, are a great place to start for readers who are starting to read YA.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Blogging

Where I Blog

Posted on 3 November, 2015

For the close-to-four years I’ve been blogging, my location has changed a little bit. Now I have my own space where I can arrange all my blogging tools and write to my heart’s content. It’s my little safe haven which is usually a mess and I have to stumble around and try not to trip over my tripod, books and/or clothes that I’ve changed into in between takes of videos. I love it though, so I thought I’d show you around! Continue Reading

Recommendations

5 Female Authors I Adore

Posted on 29 October, 2015

In the wider book industry, female authors often get overlooked so it is super important to support them as much as possible. I thought I would compile a list of some of my favourite female authors today. They all write books that feature either feminism or female characters who stand out as being realistic and passionate.

Louise O’Neill – Only Ever Yours and Asking For It

Louise is one of the biggest YA talents out there at the moment and with the recent announcement that she’s been signed to write two adult books for Quercus, I’m really excited to read her future books. Only Ever Yours has earned Louise comparisons to the likes of Margaret Atwood, which is no mean feat, and it is set in a dystopian future where girls are genetically engineered to be perfect. They are then raised to please the men of this fictional world, which leads you to question our own society and just how far away the world in Only Ever Yours is from ours.

Asking For it deals with the subject of rape and consent. It’s extremely harrowing and a must-read for people of all ages. It draws attention to what it’s like to be a woman in the digital age and, although I didn’t love every second of reading it, I came away knowing just how important the book is.

Holly Bourne – Soulmates, The Manifesto On How to Be Interesting, Am I Normal Yet?

I read Soulmates a few years ago and fell in love with it. Each page gripped me and I couldn’t put it down. Since then, I’ve become a huge fan of Holly’s and she is one of the loveliest people you could wish to meet. It makes me very happy to see her books doing so well!

The book that I could talk all day about is Am I Normal Yet?. The first in a new series, it tells the story of a girl recovering from OCD and anxiety, and her journey as she tries to fit in and be “normal”. The best part of it for me was the feminist group that Evie and her two friends set up. It allows younger readers to test the waters of feminism without it being forced on them and it’s a book that I’ll be recommending to everyone. Continue Reading

Discussion Uncategorized

To Read List

Posted on 27 October, 2015

With so many books constantly popping through my letterbox all beautifully packaged and very appealing, it can be good to sometimes sit back and take stock of the books I still haven’t read.

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine

I went through a phase a while back where I devoured as much middle grade as I possibly could and this was one of my purchases then. To me, it sounds like a middle grade version of Mr Selfridge which was on TV a while back, with a mystery thrown in. How cool does that sound?!

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

When I received a copy of this from the publisher, I fell in love with how gorgeous it is. I can’t wait to read it because Nicole has been raving about it for a while, and I’ve heard that it’s told in an unusual way – not through a typical narrative, but through documents and emails in a really creative way. I LOVE books like that!

All of the Above by James Dawson

I can’t believe I haven’t read this yet! I love James’s writing and I am incredibly proud of him, especially as he is now starting the process of transitioning into a woman. James is one of the best UKYA writers and I love him.

All the Rage by Courtney Summers

After hearing wonderful things about Courtney Summers’s books from Holly Bourne and then finding out that All the Rage is going to be published in the UK in 2016, I got very excited to read it. It’s had some great reviews on Goodreads and I think it will be a great feminist read.

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

Kind of cheating by adding this one because I’m currently reading it, but I had to include it because I’m loving it so much. It’s a brilliant tale of friendship and how abuse doesn’t just affect one person, it affects a number of people. The way that Sara writes the friendship between Caddy, Rosie and Suzanne is beautiful and very realistic. I will be recommending this book a lot!

What books are you hoping to read soon?

Booktube

Not-So-Scary Halloween Book Recommendations

Posted on 24 October, 2015

(For those not able to see the video, click here)

I hate reading scary books – I get terrified by them! So I thought I would put together a video full of books that are perfect to read at Halloween if you’re like me and get frightened easily. There are creepy inns, haunting pictures, and dead bodies! Enjoy!

Books Mentioned:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs – With pictures to help tell the story, now is the perfect time to read it as the film is released in 2016.

Glimpse by Kendra Leighton – Based on one of my favourite poems by Alfred Noyes, Glimpse is about a girl who has lost her memories and a boy that haunts her in her dreams.

Dead Romantic by C.J. Skuse – In this hilarious novel, two girls set out to create the perfect boy from body parts that they collect. Think Frankenstein for a teen audience.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson – One of my favourite books of the year, The Name of the Star explores what would happen if the Jack the Ripper murders started happening all over London again with a supernatural twist.

What are your favourite Halloween reads?

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