Weekly Wrap Up and Stacking the Shelves #18

Weekly Wrap Up...

Sorry it is a day late this week. I have been away at the seaside with my friends to celebrate my birthday early. But I have managed to finish two books this week. The first one was HEX and the second one was Wicked Heart. They couldn't be more different. Hex was super scary and literally game me nightmares. And Wicked Heart emotional and super sexy. I absolutely loved them both.

The incredible, horrifying thriller from Thomas Olde Heuveult, the Hugo award-winning author of 'The Day The World Turned Upside Down', perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Adam Nevill and Stephen King.

Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay until death. Whoever comes to stay, never leaves.

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Blind and silenced, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. So accustomed to her have the townsfolk become that they often forget she's there. Or what a threat she poses. Because if the stitches are ever cut open, the story goes, the whole town will die.

The curse must not be allowed to spread. The elders of Black Spring have used high-tech surveillance to quarantine the town. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break the strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into a dark nightmare.

Liam Quinn is talented, gorgeous, and one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

He's also the only man Elissa Holt has ever truly loved.

After being out of her life for six years, he and his gorgeous fiancé are set to star in the new Broadway show Elissa is stage managing. The only trouble is, when late night rehearsals bring Elissa and Liam together, the line between what is and what could have been gets blurred, and one moment of weakness will lead to a scandal that echoes around the world.

Elissa knows that falling for Liam again would be a tragedy in the making, but as any good romantic will tell you, love doesn’t always follow the script.

Stacking the Shelves...

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Sadly this week I haven't added any books to my Shelf. Which isn't really a bad thing, I have so many books still here I can possibly catch up any time soon. I have been so so good with NetGalley lately, not requesting anything for some time. And I finally have my 80% badge. Don't plan on loosing that any time soon. But most of all it will be nice to catch up on review copies and finally tackle some of my personal pile. However next Sunday is my birthday, who knows, I might be adding some books to my shelves then. One can hope...

Review: The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella Riosse dreams of the faraway lands her father once mapped.

When her closest friend disappears into the island’s Forgotten Territories, she volunteers to guide the search. As a cartographer’s daughter, she’s equipped with elaborate ink maps and knowledge of the stars, and is eager to navigate the island’s forgotten heart.

But the world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland – and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a legendary fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself.

This book is just beautiful, stunning and beautiful. Yes I know I have put beautiful twice but this book needs it because it is beautiful inside and out. Not only is it a beautiful story but its also very beautiful on the outside. Not just the cover, no, every single page is! But I let you see this for yourself when you pick up this book. Its totally worth it.

Isabella has always been interested in the forbidden parts of the island, as a daughter of a cartographer she would love to capture the unknown. But nobody is allowed into the forbidden territory or even leave the island by sea. When a girl goes missing into the woods at first nobody is willing to look for her. When she turns up dead Isabella's best friend, the governors daughter, sets off for the woods to find what has killed her. Together with the governor, his men and her mothers map Isabella sets off to find her.

What awaits them in the woods is magical and dangerous. Its a story about friendship, loss and freedom. It has the feel of an old tale and is stunningly written. Reading this book gave me much joy and I hope there is much more to come. Its one of those books that is instantly a new favourite. With the sort of characters that you want to keep close for many more books to come.

I absolutely adored this book and I cant recommend it enough. Its a quick read and I totally wish it had many more pages.

Thank you to Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Jazz Barlett and Chicken House Publishing for my copy, which has a special spot on my bookshelf, in exchange for my honest review.

The Girl Of Ink & Stars will be published on 5th May!

Review: HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

The incredible, horrifying thriller from Thomas Olde Heuveult, the Hugo award-winning author of 'The Day The World Turned Upside Down', perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Adam Nevill and Stephen King.

Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay until death. Whoever comes to stay, never leaves.

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Blind and silenced, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. So accustomed to her have the townsfolk become that they often forget she's there. Or what a threat she poses. Because if the stitches are ever cut open, the story goes, the whole town will die.

The curse must not be allowed to spread. The elders of Black Spring have used high-tech surveillance to quarantine the town. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break the strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into a dark nightmare. 

Stories like these are what nightmares are made of!! No seriously! This book has given me nightmares. Wow. Many years back I used to be obsessed with Stephen King books, I would literally binge read those. But I haven't touched scary books for some time. There is one that has always stuck with me and that's Pet Cemetery, I tell you what, Hex is like Pet Cemetery on crack cocaine. And I mean that as an absolute compliment. Scary movies have gone down the hill for many years, for some reason gore and blood seem to be the theme of most, while I don't think this is enough. You need a story line that will get to your head and refuses to let you go. Hex does just that.

Hex is the story of Black Spring, a small town with a big secret. For many centuries a witch is haunting the town and all its people. She can appear anywhere and just stands there for long period of times. Her eyes and mouth have been sewn shut, which is possible the only reason she cant harm anyone. The town has many rules, to keep their secret, but the main one is to never open her eyes and mouth. To keep track of the witch they even have their own app, hex, where sightings are always posted immediately. And they have cameras all over town to never loose her out of sight.

A group of young lads want things to change, they are fed up with being trapped in the town and keeping the witch secret. Together they make a plan to out the witch and the town. However nobody expected for things to suddenly change dramatically. While the witch has her patterns that she always follows, for the first time ever those change and with it so does everything and everyone else.

This book is incredible. Its  scary and chilling and it gets under your skin. I cant believe it even made me dream of this witch. I can already feel it clinging to me and I know I wont be rid of it for some time. It was impossible to put down, it made my skin crawl. What an incredible author, one that has managed to convince me to go back to a genre I haven't read in some time. If there is more books out there as good as this one, I need to find them.

Thank you to Bookbridgr and Hodder & Stoughton for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Hex is out today and I really think you need a copy!

WWW Wednesday (27th April)

 WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading...

Liam Quinn is talented, gorgeous, and one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

He's also the only man Elissa Holt has ever truly loved.

After being out of her life for six years, he and his gorgeous fiancé are set to star in the new Broadway show Elissa is stage managing. The only trouble is, when late night rehearsals bring Elissa and Liam together, the line between what is and what could have been gets blurred, and one moment of weakness will lead to a scandal that echoes around the world.

Elissa knows that falling for Liam again would be a tragedy in the making, but as any good romantic will tell you, love doesn’t always follow the script.

I have recently finished...

The incredible, horrifying thriller from Thomas Olde Heuveult, the Hugo award-winning author of 'The Day The World Turned Upside Down', perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Adam Nevill and Stephen King.

Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay until death. Whoever comes to stay, never leaves.

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Blind and silenced, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. So accustomed to her have the townsfolk become that they often forget she's there. Or what a threat she poses. Because if the stitches are ever cut open, the story goes, the whole town will die.

The curse must not be allowed to spread. The elders of Black Spring have used high-tech surveillance to quarantine the town. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break the strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into a dark nightmare. 

I plan on reading next...

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël comes the first book in the Beautiful Idols series. With mystery, suspense, and an insiders-only look at Los Angeles that echoes Gossip Girl’s racy and real New York, fans of Pretty Little Liars and readers who crave pulse-pounding romance will love Unrivalled.

EVERYONE wants to be someone.

Layla Harrison wants to be a reporter.
Aster Amirpour wants to be an actress.
Tommy Phillips wants to be a guitar hero.
But Madison Brooks took destiny and made it her own a long time ago.

She’s Hollywood’s hottest starlet, and the things she did to become the name on everyone’s lips are merely a stain on the pavement, ground beneath her Louboutin heel.

That is, until Layla, Aster, and Tommy find themselves with a VIP invite to the world of Los Angeles’s nightlife and are lured into a competition. The prize, or rather the target? Madison Brooks.

Just as their hopes begin to gleam like stars through the California smog, Madison Brooks goes missing. . . . And all of their hopes are blacked out in the haze of their lies.

Review: Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan have only one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night leads them to family and friends, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

Charming, bittersweet, and full of wisdom and heart, this irresistible novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that arise when life and love lead in different directions.

This is the story of Clare and Aidan, they have been a couple for some time and they find themselves facing their toughest decision yet. To stay together or not to stay together. They have only one night left before they leave for college. On opposite sides of the states, they couldn't be further apart soon. Now on their one last night they want to relive their firsts and decide once and for all about their future. But how can you make a decision like this? When the heart says one thing and your head another... What will they decide when the night is over?

The night doesn't quite go as planned. And while their heart fights their head they probably have one of their most crazy nights together. Together with their friends they face the past, the present and the future.

This has been an absolutely adorable book. It describes a struggle many young couples face before going off to college. The characters have been really quirky and likeable. Clare and Aidan are a very sweet couple, coming from completely different backgrounds they couldn't be more different. But they just work perfectly. However this is much more then just about Clare and Aidan. Its about friendship, family, growing up and saying goodbye.

I have enjoyed this book from the start to the finish. Forever rooting for them both. It has been a charming and quick read. I can recommend this to anyone who likes contemporary YA. Smith is a fantastic writer and I for one cant wait to read more from her in the future.

Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between is out now.

Thank you Bookbridgr and the publisher for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Weekly Wrap Up and Stacking the Shelves #17

Weekly Wrap Up...

This week I have finished 4 books. While this is really really good for me, they haven't been very long. The first book I have finished is the 2nd book in the Elementals series by Michelle Madow, The Blood of the Hydra. Which I enjoyed much more then the first one. You can read my full review here. The second book of the week was The Passenger by Lisa Lutz, which was a fantastic thriller. Find my review here. Book 3 was the absolutely stunning The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, a book that's beautiful inside and out. The last book of the week was Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith. This book was YA at its finest. Super cute. All in all its been a really good book week. I have enjoyed everything I have read. Wish I could manage 4 books ever single week.

Stacking the Shelves...

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

I have added 3 books to my shelf this week. The first one I have received via Bookbridr, thank you very much. The books is called Second Lives and is the second book in the Timebomb series. Silly me didn't see that its the second book because I didn't look at the cover and I didn't notice in the blurb. Will now need the first book too.

The second new book on my shelf is Gifted - The Heyven Series by J.A. George, I have been approached by the author and have downloaded it free on amazon. It looks and sounds amazing.

The third book was a treat from me to me. Been wanting this one for some time and I am so happy its now on my shelf. The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine.

 

The adventure continues: time is in flux, and only Jana, Dora and Kaz can fix it. But can they trust each other?
It began when three people from three different moments in history discovered that they could travel through time when they clasped hands. But the mysteries surrounding them have only deepened.

There are risks to tampering with established events... timelines beco The adventure continues: time is in flux, and only Jana, Dora and Kaz can fix it. But can they trust each other?
It began when three people from three different moments in history discovered that they could travel through time when they clasped hands. But the mysteries surrounding them have only deepened.

There are risks to tampering with established events... timelines become snarled, histories become tangled... and one false move could destroy time itself!

Jana, Kaz and Dora have escaped from their mysterious enemy, Quil, wounded and scared. Taking refuge in a place outside of time, they devise a plan to change the past, altering Quil's life so that she never meets them.
From the streets of Beirut in 2010 to the domed cities of Mars in 2155 and beyond, the three teenagers fight for their future, and that of all humanity, by trying to rewrite the history of the person who has sworn to destroy them.

What could be more complicated - and important - than trying to save the world? As their feelings for each other grow stronger, though, Jana, Kaz and Dora find themselves at the centre of a different kind of battle. And when it comes to matters of the heart, there can be no real victory.

There is no chosen one in this story.

Avery Gray was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and happened to make a decision that altered her future forever. It happens to all of us every day.

Avery is a size twelve university student with a penchant for dry humour, and she’s as normal as they come. Up until now, the biggest choice she’s had to make was glasses or contacts? At the moment, it’s stay and save, or leave and be saved.

Allow me to explain. One rainy afternoon, Avery had to make a choice: go through the alleyway or around it. Two possible options. One would have had her future continue on as planned, the other would ensure that her future never remained the same again. She unknowingly went with the latter.

But change is not always bad. Avery meets Theodore-James Connors, an enigmatic young man who takes her to Hayven, a city separated from the rest of the world, where only gifters – ordinary people with extra-ordinary gifts – can go. She soon finds herself in a close-knit group of friends she’d never have imagined herself in. Friends who are diverse in every possible way, from their ethnic backgrounds, to their personalities, from their gifts, to their life stories. Friends who make her laugh, who make her cry, who make her think and who make her…her.

However, change is not always good. The beautiful, golden city of Hayven has its dark side – Cliders. Gifters turned rogue, aka, Cliders are determined to aid fallen Clider, Madrina, return to rule Hayven. They will stop at nothing to make that happen, including harming those Ava has grown to love.

Again, Ava is faced with a choice: spend her days finding a way to inhibit Madrina’s return, or walk away. After all, she isn’t the chosen one. Yet, there exists a third option – rig the future itself and make it work for her.

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose

Blog Tour: Ascension: The Oasis Series by Jeannie Von Rompaey

ASCENSION: The Oasis Series

By Jeannie van Rompaey

Publication Date: 12^th April 2016

Publisher: Clink Street Publishing

　

Meet the MUTANT HUMANOIDS. They may look a little different from us, but inside they're much the same as you and me. Left on a diseased Earth, they live in windowless compounds, safe from the contaminated wilderness outside. Safe, yes, but their lives are restricted. When the mutant humanoids discover that some complete human beings, COMPLETES, have also survived and are living greatly improved lives on satellites, they determine to rectify this imbalance and claim their share of Earth's heritage. Three-headed RA rules the humanoids with ruthless precision, but others are involved in a power struggle to depose him. Who will succeed in being the next CEO of Planet Earth? Sixteen -year-old MERCURY plans to start a new life on Oasis. Will it prove the Utopia he expects it to be?

ASCENSION, the first novel in Jeannie van Rompaey's Oasis Series, explores with humour and compassion the way humans respond to change. The future worlds of Earth and Oasis mirror our contemporary society. The division between the haves and have-nots widens and the lust for power leads to corruption. But there are idealists determined to build a fairer, more egalitarian society.

Today I have something really special for you. At the end of the blog tour for Ascension: The Oasis Series, Jeannie Von Rompaey answers one very important question.

How Do You Create a Dystopia?

I have no idea how other writers set about this. I can only tell you how I tackled writing Ascension and Evolution the first two books in The Oasis Series.

A utopia is a community or society that possesses highly desirable or perfect qualities, a common literary theme especially in speculative and science fiction. Utopias are rarely completely successful. I suppose because we are flawed human beings who tend to mess up our world.

A dystopia is an unpleasant, typically repressive society. Most speculative fiction is a combination of utopian and dystopian ideas. It’s not all doom and gloom. One thing that always impresses me about this sort of book is that it celebrates the adaptability of human nature to often horrific conditions.

Inspired by other modern authors, in particular Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale, her trilogy, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam) and Kazuo Ishiguru (Never let Me Go) and driven by my interest in the social and political state of the contemporary world, I decided to try my hand at writing in this genre. I do not consider myself a science fiction writer, but then neither, I suspect, do the authors mentioned above. The dystopias they created make gripping, chilling stories that make us think about the world we live in and how human beings deal with its problems – surely the point of fiction. The idea of creating a new world was irresistible to me.

How to start? You might think it would involve a lot of planning to invent a world from scratch. It doesn’t. I begin the way I always start. With a blank page, a couple of characters, a setting and a situation. My work is always character-led. No plotting takes place at the initial stage. I prefer to write freely.

I look up at the wall above my desk where a three-headed portrait I painted some time before is hanging. The original model for the portrait must have come from my dreams. At any rate, he soon becomes the ruthless three-headed Ra in Ascension. As I look at him, it comes to me that I could people my world with human beings born with mutations after some disaster or other. They could have extra limbs or only one eye. I imagine these mutant humanoids living incarcerated in windowless compounds on a contaminated Earth. But who put them there? Human beings with no mutations is the answer, completes, who have escaped to Planet Oasis, a manmade satellite in the sky where they live privileged lives in what they hope will be a better world, a utopia of their own making.

How these two groups - the mutant humanoids and the completes - respond to each other will form the main thrust of my plot.

I concentrate firstly on a group of mutant humanoids living in one particular compound on Earth, Compound 55, and invent a plethora of quirky characters. I decide to call them by names from mythology or legend: Odysseus, Isis, Kali, Sati, Mercury and Heracles. I start with their physical appearances and move on to their personalities. The elderly historian Odysseus with his triangular face and one large central eye prides himself on being clear-sighted, but he’s more intellectual than street-wise; Isis, his assistant, brought up as his daughter, has an extra little arm and a moon face. She’s more interested in beauty products than history. Three-legged, square-faced Heracles, is arrogant and ambitious, the villain of the piece. Kali, the chief administrator, has blue-black skin and dreadlocks and four arms. Poisonous snakes grow out of her neck and wrists. Her ersatz son, Little Mercury, with his big ears and clipped wings, is a computer whiz kid. He becomes the protagonist of the novel when he’s offered the opportunity to go to Planet Oasis. He is the reader’s link between the two invented worlds. He really wrote himself into the role. I didn’t plan to have a sixteen-year-boy as the main character!

Various mutant humanoids share the narrative, giving their individual take on their lives. The multiple viewpoints give insights into their minds and demonstrate that whatever happens to them, they remain determined, not just to survive, but achieve their ambitions.

I hope through dystopian fiction I am presenting not just a warning as to what our world could become in the future if we don’t take care of our planet, but also an optimistic portrayal of the resilience of the human spirit. I decided at an early stage in the writing that I wanted the end of each book to end on an optimistic note. Maybe because I’m essentially an optimist.

I am now writing Book Three in the Oasis Series, Renaissance. I’m thoroughly enjoying continuing with the creation of this alternative, future world. It’s the most imaginative project I’ve undertaken. My hope is that readers will enjoy the books and ask for more.

I would like to share with you a little bit about Jeannie Von Rompaey

Award-winning author, Jeannie van Rompaey, MA in Modern Literature, has enjoyed a varied career as lecturer, theatre-director, actress and performance poet. As Jeannie Russell, she is a senior member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators and adjudicates at drama festivals in Britain and Europe. Originally from London, she has lived in various countries including America and Spain. She now resides in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, with her historian husband, Tony. She spends her time writing novels, short stories, plays and poems. When not writing she enjoys painting, and has had several art exhibitions on the island, and runs poetry and theatrical events at The British Club in Las Palmas. She has written eight novels including After (CreateSpace 2014) and Devil Face (Create Space 2013), as well as a number of short stories, two books of poetry -Straight Talk and On the Move- and a series of plays.

Website - http://jeannievanrompaey.com/

You can get your own copy of Ascension here...

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oasis-Ascension-Jeannie-van-Rompaey/dp/191078267X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459416636&sr=1-1&keywords=Jeannie+van+Rompaey

Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Oasis-Ascension-Jeannie-van-Rompaey/dp/191078267X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459416637&sr=1-1&keywords=jeannie+van+rompaey