Between Writing Reading

Summary from Goodreads Hannah Riley and her musician husband, Will, hope that a move to the Suffolk countryside will promise a fresh start. Hannah, a human rights worker, is desperate for a child and she hopes that this new life will realise her dream. Yet when the snow comes, Will is working in London and Hannah is cut off in their remote village. Life in Tornley turns out to be far from idyllic, who are the threatening figures who lurk near their property at night? And why is her neighbour so keen to see them leave? Plus Will's behaviour is severely testing the bonds of trust. Hannah has spent her professional life doing the right thing for other people. But as she starts to unbury a terrible crime, she realises she can no longer do that without putting everything she's ever wanted at risk. But if she does nothing, the next victim could be her . . . Praise for Louise Millar’s novels  ‘I started reading and couldn't stop . . .’ Sophie Hannah  ‘'A well-paced psy...

 Summary Michael Malone’s life has not been the same since his father disappeared three years ago. Determined to find him, Michael gets unwittingly drawn into supernatural organisation UNICORNE, who claim to have vital information for his quest. But they want something in return. Something that is hidden in Michael’s very bones … Amazon UK Paperback: 288 pages   Publisher: Chicken House Ltd (7 Aug 2014) A Dark Inheritance by Chris D'Lacey, out now in paperback (£6.99, Chicken House) Interview with Amadeus Klimt, a high-profile member of the UNICORNE organisation Tell me about your name. It’s rather unusual. Is it? Yes. Very well. It is a combination of the middle name of the composer, Mozart, and the second name of the artist Gustav Klimt. A combination? You didn’t…inherit the name then? It was given to me by my…father. Is that uncommon? No, it’s just… You hesitated on the word ‘father’. Why was that? Let us just say that my upbringing was complex. Shall we move on to so...

Summary from Goodreads Rebecca, a 15-year-old American, isn't entirely happy with her life, comfortable though it is. Still, even she knows that she shouldn't talk to strangers. So when her mysterious neighbour Miss Hatfield asked her in for a chat and a drink, Rebecca wasn't entirely sure why she said yes. It was a decision that was to change everything. For Miss Hatfield is immortal. And now, thanks to a drop of water from the Fountain of Youth, Rebecca is as well. But this gift might be more of a curse, and it comes with a price. Rebecca is beginning to lose her personality, to take on the aspects of her neighbour. She is becoming the next Miss Hatfield. But before the process goes too far, Rebecca must travel back in time to turn-of-the-century New York and steal a painting, a picture which might provide a clue to the whereabouts of the source of immortality. A clue which must remain hidden from the world. In order to retrieve the painting, Rebecca must in...

 "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: Upside Down (Off the Map #1) by Lia Riley Summary from Goodreads If You Never Get Lost, You'll Never Be Found Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she'll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act. Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to th...

Summary from Goodreads The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army. Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives. 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 she 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—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for. Paperback , 368 pages Publi...

Summary from Goodreads On her first day back at work after maternity leave for her second child, Detective Ellie Miller is upset to learn that she’s been passed over for a promotion in favor of outsider Alec Hardy. He, escaping the spectacular failure of his last case, is having trouble finding his way into this tight-knit community wary of new faces. But professional rivalry aside, both detectives are about to receive some terrible news: 11-year-old Danny Latimer has been found murdered on the beach. For Ellie it's a personal blow; she was good friends with his family and Danny was her son’s best friend. She can’t believe anyone in Broadchurch would ever have harmed him. Alec considers everyone, even Danny’s parents, a suspect in his death. It’s a living nightmare for everyone involved…even before the press arrive and start stirrung up the secrets every town member keeps hidden behind closed doors. An intimate portrait of a town and the ordinary grieva...

I was going to write a review of Elizabeth May's steampunk fairy-flavored fantasy, The Falconer , but I just don't feel motivated. It wasn't great. It wasn't bad, so I have no ax to (hopefully) humorously grind (do I get more points for splitting an infinitive twice?). It's not one I'll be recommending far and wide, so, meh. Instead I'd like to write a bit about the dreaded DNF. I've found myself bailing on books more and more often lately. Two recent books that I bailed on were Gilded and The Queen of the Tearling , both of which I had been waiting excitedly to read . Just a little way through both though, I jumped ship.  There are plenty of people who, having started a book, are committed until the bitter end. I used to feel that way, but a former supervisor once pointed out that life is just too short. If you're 50 pages into a book and just aren't into it, why keep forcing yourself to read? I've taken this advice to heart. I have plenty o...

 "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: Half Wild by Sally Green Summary from Goodreads After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift – a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him. Meanwhile, Soul O’Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fight...

Summary from Goodreads The Forbidden Library kicks off a brand new classic fantasy series perfect for fans of Coraline , Inkheart , and The Books of Elsewhere Alice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That--along with everything else--changed the day she met her first fairy When Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist. Especially if you're a reader to begin with. Soon Alice finds herself INSIDE the book, and the only way out is to defeat the creature imprisoned within. It seems her uncle is more than he says he is. But then so is Alice. Hardcover , UK edition , 336 pag...

Summary from Goodreads 'My name is Adam Meltzer and the last thing I remember was being stung by a bee while swinging at a robot-shaped pinata on my twelfth birthday. I was dead before the candy hit the ground.' Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is narrated by the hilarious Adam Meltzer - pre-teen, worrywart, and now zombie. Adam's family gets the fright of their lives when he turns up at their door . . . three months after his funeral. Soon Adam's back at school trying to fit in and not draw extra attention to himself, but when he sees his neighbour Ernesto transform into a chupacubra, and the beautiful Corina (Adam's number one mega-crush) turns out to be a (vegan) vampire, undead life is never going to be the same again. A hilarious adventure caper - if Ferris Bueller met Shaun of the Dead - all about friendship and being yourself . . . even if you're undead. Paperback , 256 pages Published August 7th 2014 by Faber & Faber ...

Summary from Goodreads The #1 New York Times bestselling novel Divergent is soon to be a major motion picture in theaters March 2014! Illustrated with more than 100 photographs--many never before seen--this eye-catching volume takes you inside the film version of Divergent where you'll discover the factions, meet the initiates, and enter the thrilling dystopian world. Paperback , 144 pages Published February 11th 2014 by HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks My Review This little book is filled full of inside information for anyone looking to delve a little deeper into the Divergent world. It is brimming with photographs and you get a really great feel for who's who. Each section is dedicated to the different factions and the reader gets a great insight into what each faction stands for. Also the key players in each faction get a little highlighting. The journey from the Aptitude test, the choosing ceremony to Tris' journey into the depths of the Daun...

ALL THE THINGS.So many things. Here are a few of them. I won't be putting in the full summaries for all of these, just a bit about why I'm excited to get my hands on them. House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple Witches. Curses. Secrets stretching back generations. Probably a shadowy and explorable rundown house. YES. Gothic witchy YA fiction (done right) is my jam. It's worked well for Unspoken , The Raven Boys , and Dark Companion , although I think it failed in The Madman's Daughter , and failed spectacularly in Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea . The Falconer by Elizabeth May I'll admit it, I'm a little hesitant about this one. Can we even talk about it without touching on the extreme Merida vibes of this cover? Brave much? (I'm a child of the 90s, what do you want from me). This has some very cool elements- alternate19th century Edinburgh, a war between humans and fae, a potential kickass redheaded heroine... But I'm just not sure. We...

 "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:     Vowed (The Blackhart Legacy #2) by Liz de Jager Summary from Goodreads The Blackhart Code: Don't let the monsters grind you down A Blackhart can see the supernatural behind everyday crimes. But some crimes hide even greater evils… Kit Blackhart must investigate why children are disappearing from a London estate. However, their parents, police and fae allies claim to know nothing. And as yet more children disappear, the pressure mounts. Luckily, or unluckily, government trainee Dante Alexander is helping Kit with the case. Yet just as her feelings towards him begin to thaw, his life falls apart. As Kit struggles to unravel his problems and dangerous secrets, she meets fae Prince Thorn in her dreams – but their relationship is utterly...

So I'm a few dozen books into 2014, but here are some highlights to get us back on the same page (get it? you get it).* Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin After blazing through the excellent Ashfall last year, I was itching to get my hands on its sequel, which did not disappoint. Alex made it through his first harrowing adventures through midwest America following the eruption of a supervolcano, but the challenges he faces in this novel make even that terrorscape look like a walk in the park. A few corrupt government officials and the odd group of violent thieves pale in comparison to roving gangs of cannibalistic gangbangers, and that's in addition to the brutal weather and constant challenges of living in a perpetual, ash-cloud winter. These books are intense but realistic, brutal but not without hope. I highly recommend this series to fans of The Walking Dead , but even if you don't have the stomach (sorry) for that series, check these out if you enjoy survival fiction in gen...