Browsing Tag

huntley fitzpatrick

Uncategorized

April in YA : Top Picks

IMG_2701
April is an exciting month for new book releases, with new titles by big author names, as well as debut authors too. Here are some of my top picks that I think everyone should read this month:

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Huntley Fitzpatrick is the author of My Life Next Door, which was published in the UK earlier this year, and What I Thought Was True is a contemporary companion novel to it. Huntley’s books are perfect to get you in the mood for summer, have great romances and are incredibly cute.

I love Huntley’s books, so What I Thought Was True is highly recommended from me. It has everything I look for in a great contemporary!

Love Song by Sophia Bennett

If you love listening to One Direction or 5 Seconds of Summer, you’ll love reading Love Song. It tells the story of a teenage girl called Nina who goes on tour with a band called The Point, as assistant to the lead singer’s fiancée. There’s the expected drama that comes along with looking after a diva, but it also offers friendship, self-discovery and adventure.

I read Love Song so quickly because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next and it’s definitely my favourite of Sophia Bennett’s books so far. Sophia Bennett is an incredibly talented UKYA writer who I love, so Love Song is a must-read recommendation from me!

When We Collided by Emery Lord

Emery Lord is another amazing contemporary writer, who also wrote Open Road Summer. When We Collided is her first novel to be published in the UK and it sounds like an emotional coming-of-age tale about mental health, as well as romance thrown in. Perfect!

 

aprilreleases

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Alexandra Bracken is the author of the best-selling The Darkest Minds trilogy, and Passenger is her latest release post-publication of the final The Darkest Minds book. Passenger tells the story of a hunt through time; I love time travel novels so this sounds perfect for me. I can’t wait!

Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman

Described as an Othello retelling in outer space, Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman returns with Chasing the Stars this month, the first YA book published since her time as Children’s Laureate. Malorie is the Queen of YA so of course Chasing the Stars is going to be phenomenal.

The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander

The Art of Not Breathing is Sarah Alexander’s debut novel and has one of the most breath-taking covers I’ve seen all year. I think the description sums it up best:

“Since her twin brother, Eddie, drowned five years ago, sixteen-year-old Elsie Main has tried to make sense of what happened – one minute he was there, the next he was gone. Eddie’s body was never found and her parents and older brother refuse to talk about it. Fed up with school and disintegrating family relationships at home, Elsie escapes to her secret hiding place – an disused boathouse – where she can eat as many Mars bars as she wants and listen to the rain. There she meets seventeen-year-old Tay McKenzie – cool, mysterious and addicted to freediving. When Tay introduces Elsie to the underwater world, she wonders if the answers she seeks are at the bottom of the sea, and she’s determined to discover the truth about that tragic day.”

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven King is the conclusion to Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle series and is highly anticipated by readers all over the world. The characters feel like best friends and the plot is reaching a dramatic crescendo, so I know a lot of hearts will be broken to see it finish at the end of this month.

I’ve fallen head over heels in love with this and know I’ll be reading it as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. I do, however, know it will completely destroy me and I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself once I’ve finished it. Cry for a very long time, probably?

What books are you looking forward to reading this month? Are there any on my list that you’ve already read and loved?

Uncategorized

November Wrap-Up and December Goals | 2013

It’s December! I love the Christmas atmosphere of this month – we can finally open our advent calendars, put up our Christmas trees and spread the festive spirit! I’m feeling particularly cheery this year and have a few Christmas posts planned for this month, which I’m really looking forward to writing. A very exciting month ahead!

November was as exciting as I’m hoping December will be and I managed to get a lot read. Woo! I’ve been in a reading slump since the start of September so I’m glad that I’ve finally broken it and I’m getting back into the swing of finding time each day to read. I’m trying to set twenty minutes aside each day to read and this has really helped me feel a lot better and also get a lot more read.

The books I read in November were:

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa, The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson, The Isobel Journal by Isobel Harrop, Storm and Stone by Joss Stirling, When It Happens by Susane Colasanti, Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider.

Choosing a book of the month is going to be very hard, because all of them were so good!
I’m going to have to choose The Darkest Minds because I was totally hooked, and also The Isobel Journal because it’s a favourite of mine now. They’re both completely different, so it’s nice to see a variation in what I’m reading.

Things of note that happened in November:

– I did NaNoWriMo, and then stopped at 12,000 words! You may think that I failed and I know people have been asking me why I stopped and the reason I did stop was because I didn’t feel like I needed to go on. I wasn’t trying to reach 50,000 words this month, although that would have been amazing. Instead I wanted to get something written. So I don’t think I failed and I’m very proud of myself for writing so much in such a short space of time: I think I wrote it in around 5 days.

– I went ice skating! I went with a few of my friends to an ice rink close to me which has been put up for the holiday season and I had so much fun. I’ve always loved ice skating and actually didn’t fall over! I’m hoping to go a few more times in the coming weeks because I realised just how much I enjoy it. I loved watching Dancing on Ice when I was younger and am in awe of the people who can do all those moves and not fall over! I’m so clumsy!

– I went to laser quest, and I failed. It was my friend’s birthday and thirteen of us went. It was lots of fun, but I came 11th. I obviously didn’t channel my inner Katniss Everdeen enough. Maybe next time!

December Goals:

Books I’m Hoping To Read in December:decembertbr 001

 Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle – I’m planning to read this a few days before Christmas, and I am so excited. I’ve heard amazing things about it and it certainly looks promising. I can’t wait!

Memory by Christoph Marzi – This is a review book I have and I love the sound of it. I’m not sure if I’ve read anything similar to it before so I’m looking forward to reading something a bit different.

Della says: OMG! by Keris Stainton – Eeeep! I’m a huge fan of Keris’ books and this is the only one I haven’t read. It sounds fab!

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff – I’m super nervous about starting this because there’s so much hype, and there’s even more now that it has been translated onto the big screen. I’m really looking forward to it, though.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold – I thought it was finally time I gave this a go. I’ve read the first chapter or two and I enjoyed it, so hopefully the rest will be just as good.

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian – My friend recently read this so I thought I’d give it a go too and it sounds absolutely amazing. Can’t wait!

decembertbr 002

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – This has been likened to Ally Carter’s books, which I loved, so I feel super excited to start it. It sounds so kick ass! It’s also a review book, so expect a review sometime soon!

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher – I was at the launch in October and really enjoyed the part that Lucy read out, so I can’t wait to read the whole book. Another review book!

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales – One that I’ve heard amazing things about and I know I’ll completely adore it, because I don’t think I know of anyone who hasn’t. Yay! Another review book!

Legend by Marie Lu – This sounds awesome and I have a gorgeous hardback copy which just adds to the reading experience. I’ve heard amazing things about it and so I’m keeping my fingers crossed I enjoy it.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth – I decided that if I didn’t read it now I would just keep putting it off, so here we are! I have no idea what I’ll think of it, but lets hope I think positive things!

Other Goals:

– I’m hoping to get a lot of posts out this month because I’ve been neglecting the blog a lot lately. I have loads of ideas so I just need to get on and write the posts now!

– Enjoy myself! This is something I really need to focus on because I’ve been feeling like blogging is a huge pressure for ages now. I just want to relax and have fun.

How was your November? Have you set yourself any goals for December? Let me know! 

Book Haul Booktube

Letterbox Love (21)

Letterbox LoveLetterbox Love is a UK based feature where book bloggers showcase the books that they received that week, be they e-books, paperbacks, hardbacks or any other format. It is hosted by Lynsey from Narratively Speaking.

I’ve got such a big haul to share with you this week! I bought an awful lot, but I’m really pleased with everything I got.

 

BOOKS MENTIONED:

Freaks by Lisa M. Forester
Storm and Stone by Joss Stirling
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Shattered Dreams by Ellie James
Hidden Among Us by Katy Moran
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Legend by Marie Lu
Jude the Obscure & Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

What did you get this week? Leave a link to your own book hauls!