Between Writing Reading

Summary from Amazon UK 'In my dreams the house itself has sinister intentions. In reality, the people who lived there did the damage.. .' Tim Ellison is lucky to find a cheap room in the city's best location. There's a hitch, though - he must run errands for the reclusive owner, beautiful Anna London. Anna is secretive, but it's obvious something is haunting her... When terrifying things start happening in the house, Tim is forced to think about leaving. But he's fallen for Anna, and when her past comes back with a vengeance Tim is caught right in the middle. Paperback: 400 pages   Publisher: Faber & Faber (6 Mar 2014)  Interview Where did the idea of Sweet Damage come from? I had this image of a sad and isolated girl living in a mansion. She's trapped, but t here’s nothing physical or concrete keeping her there, it’s her own anxiety, her own mind, that stops her from leaving the house.  I played around with that idea until I came up with the...

Summary from Goodreads On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train north, she meets Jimson Quiggley, a young librarian who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is soon boarded by a handsome young marshal, Thomas Saltre, who learns who Lena’s father is and convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, called Zephyr House. Eventually, though, Lena must venture into the wilds of Scree and confront her deepest fears. Paperback , 384 pages Published March 18th 2014 by Amulet Paperbacks ...

 "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine , that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.   This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:      Mr Mercedes by Stephen King Summary from Goodreads A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who's haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular - the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. The plot is kicked into gear when Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening. Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother ...

Summary from Goodreads Mackenzie and Landon were the perfect couple . . . until he dumped her and broke her heart. Fast-forward a year and they're back where they first met—Serenity Ranch and Spa, where they are once again working together for the summer. Talk about awkward. Then, Landon takes a nasty fall and gets amnesia. Suddenly, he’s stuck in the past—literally. His most recent memory is of last summer, when he and Mack were still together, so now he’s calling her pet names and hanging all over her. It's the perfect chance for revenge. The plan is simple: keep Landon at arm’s length, manipulate him so he’s the one falling love, and then BAM, dump him. There’s just one problem: Mack can’t fall for Landon all over again. The If Only romance line is all about wanting what you can't have, and Mandy Hubbard's hilarious break-up/love story is sure to captivate anyone who has ever wished for a second shot at love.  About the Author Mandy Hubbard is a literar...

Sumary from Goodreads What has happened to the world since the dead took over? Where have the humans gone to hide? Who do the living most have to fear? B Smith is heading for unknown territory...Leading a group of humans through London and out into zombie-infested suburbs sounds like suicide - but not for the undead! Even so, the horrors of the journey will be beyond anything B has yet seen ...'Do not underestimate the dangers of this mission. Other zombies will not ignore you when they catch the scent of fresh brains. You will almost surely be called upon to fight. The city and countryside are full of angry, bitter people who are trying to execute as many of the undead as they can. They will not distinguish between a revitalised and a revived. Most do not know there is a difference. And most would not care.' Hardcover , 224 pages Published March 27th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Childrens Books My Review You know, I live for these devilishly...

Summary from Goodreads When Blaire Wynn's mother passed away, Blaire's life changed in an instant. Having cared for her sick mother for the last three years, suddenly Blaire has to leave the small farmhouse in Alabama they shared, to move in with her father and his new wife in their sprawling beach house along the Florida gulf coast. But what she isn't prepared for is the lifestyle change that comes with the move, and she knows she'll never fit into the new world of luxury and extravagance that suddenly surrounds her.  Even worse, her father has run off to Paris for the summer with his wife, leaving her stranded with Rush, her new stepbrother, who's irritating, arrogant and… seriously sexy. Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous; his famous father's guilt money, his mother's desperation to win his love, and his charm are the three reasons he has never been told no. Blaire knows he is anything but good for her, but somehow she can't fight the ...

Summary from Goodreads In the village of Martindale, hundreds of miles north of the new English capital of Windsor, sixteen-year-old Silver Blackthorn takes the Reckoning. This coming-of-age test not only decides her place in society - Elite, Member, Inter or Trog - but also determines that Silver is to become an Offering for King Victor. But these are uncertain times and no one really knows what happens to the teenagers who disappear into Windsor Castle. Is being an Offering the privilege everyone assumes it to be, or do the walls of the castle have something to hide? Trapped in a maze of ancient corridors, Silver finds herself in a warped world of suspicion where it is difficult to know who to trust and who to fear. The one thing Silver does know is that she must find a way out . . . Paperback , UK , 378 pages Expected publication: May 22nd 2014 by Pan Macmillan Author Bio Kerry Wilkinson was one of two things as a child. If you ask him, he was a we...

Summary from Goodreads The Dead Girls Detective Agency trilogy charts the adventures of teens in NYC, tasked with solving the mystery of their murder from beyond the grave. Lorna has been dead long enough to know the Rules. But that doesn’t stop her showing up at her little sister’s high school production of Hipster Hamlet. But when she arrives, a lighting rig comes crashing down on the lead cast member mid-performance. All fingers point to Lorna’s little sister, Emma, and it’s up to The Dead Girls Detective Agency to find the real culprit. Unless Em’s not as innocent as she looks? Charlotte wants to help Lorna prove her sister’s innocence, but she’s completely distracted. Not only is her ghostly-self suspended in this New York-limbo-hotel, she is having to deal with the fact that the very alive love of her life has moved on. And then there’s the cute dead boy Edison, who seems to be acting nice all of a sudden. But is Charlotte ready for a new boyfriend, and one with suc...

Summary from Goodreads When Paige finds an old mix CD in a local charity shop, she can't help but wonder about the boy who made it and the girl he was thinking of when he chose the songs. The tracks tell the story of a boy looking for his perfect girl, a girl to understand him, a story of being alone, being let down, misunderstood and not knowing where to turn. Following the clues of the music, Paige sets out to find the mysterious boy, going from gig to gig and band to band, hoping to track him down. But will who she finds at the end of the trail, be the boy she's imagined? Another perfect girly read from Queen of Teen nominee Cathy Hopkins! Paperback , 256 pages Published May 8th 2014 by Simon & Schuster UK   My Review   Playlist for a Broken Heart is a really light and fun read that has some great messages!   Main character Paige, has had a bit of a privileged life. She goes to an expensive school and has had anything she has ever wanted ha...

 "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine , that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.   This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:   Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo    Summary from Amazon SHADOW AND BONE. SIEGE AND STORM. Now Alina's story reaches its incredible conclusion in RUIN AND RISING. The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as Alina begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction - but claiming it could cost Alina the very future she is fighting for. Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.   Paperback: 368 pages   ...

Summary from Goodreads Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year—everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around... ...but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend. When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself. Paperback , 336 pages Published July 5th 2013 by Mira Ink (first published June 25th 2013)  My Review   I adored Confessions of an Angry Girl when I read it last year, so I was super excited about this second book. While I didn't enjoy it as much as the first, I still think it was a fantastic i...

Summary from Goodreads The first things to shift were the doll's eyes, the beautiful grey-green glass eyes. Slowly they swivelled, until their gaze was resting on Triss's face. Then the tiny mouth moved, opened to speak. 'What are you doing here?' It was uttered in tones of outrage and surprise, and in a voice as cold and musical as the clinking of cups. 'Who do you think you are? This is my family.' When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out. Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on ...

Summary from Goodreads Get ready for one apocalyptic detention. These misfits are going to save the world! Meet Rev, Billie, the Ape, Johnson, GG, Carrie, the Moth and Lucas, a motley crew of bickering teens who find themselves totally alone in the world after a strange power surge hits their classroom during detention. With no answers as to why or how the rest of the world has disappeared, the mismatched group is soon facing a bigger nightmare than they could ever imagine… Standing between them and the only way home are lethal duplicate versions of themselves, super powered teenagers who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Our unlikely heroes must somehow work together to save themselves… or they'll never see home again. Shift is the first in a fast-paced, page turner of a series, filled with action, adventure and humour. Perfect for fans of Michael Grant, Charlie Higson and Antony Horowitz and for anyone who loves Misfits or Shaun of the Dead. Paperback , UK pape...