Review: Broetry by Brian McGackin

Broetry by Brian McGackin - Why don't more guys read poetry? Because it doesn't speak to them. As contemporary poets tackle subjects like incest, menstruation, and pine cones, regular guys are left scratching their heads. Who can speak for Everyman? Who will give voice to his passions, his fears, his dreams? Who can articulate his love for Xbox 360, for Mama Celeste's Frozen Pizzas, for virtually any movie starring Bruce Willis?

Enter "Broetry" - a stunning debut from a dazzling new literary voice. Broet Laureate Brian McGackin gives voice to the trials and tribulations of today's man. He goes where no poet has gone before - to Star Wars conventions, to frat parties, to video game tournaments and more. His poems include: "Reflections on Taylor Swift"; "Ode to That Girl I Dated for, Like, Two Month Sophomore Year"; "My Friends Who Don't Have Student Loans"; "Song of Mama Celeste"; "Haikougar"; and, many more. As the poems progress, we follow our Bro from high school graduation and college through a quarter life crisis and beyond. Packaged in a small gifty hardcover and illustrated with tasteful black and white illustrations, "Broetry" is a funny and sly study of modern masculinity. From Amazon UK

I don't normally review poetry on this blog, and I try to keep it strictly YA, but when I heard about this book, I knew I had to review it. Poetry for the modern guy? It sounded hilarious! And as it starts through the teen years, I figured I could review it here. So I read it. And I loved it!

There are certain types of poetry that I really enjoy, but I'm the type of person who normally needs a translation to understand what is going on, which is half the reason Broetry appeals to me - poetry I can actually understand! The other reason, it's for the modern day guy, and sometimes I swear I shoul have been born a boy, because guy humour is my humour! So not only could I understand the poetry, it really made me laugh too!

I'm not a poetry buff - as I've said, I have trouble understanding poetry - so I can't really comment on how well most of these poems are written. They could be really good, they could be really bad. This actually doesn't matter to me; I really enjoyed what I was reading, so does it really matter if it was brilliantly written? To some, maybe, but this isn't something I can really comment on. Sorry.

However, there are two poems I absolutely need to mention. The first is Haikougar, which is what it says; a series of haiku poems - poems that are three lines long, where the first line is a total of five syllable, the second line a total of seven, and the third a total of five again - about cougars. As a teenager, I dabbled in writing some really awful poetry, and the one thing I hated - yet thought was a brilliant in other poems - was structure. I couldn't do it. I've never been able to. Writing about something with rules on how it has to be written just never worked for me. Haiku poetry is one I find awesome, and Haikougar is just so funny! Getting poem to work, make sense, and also be really funny within those rules is just awesome!

The other poem is Not Another Teen Movie. It tells the story of a teen relationship - using just movie titles. It is complete genius! I absolutely loved it! It's just so clever! So good, that I have to share the beginngin with you.

Never
Been
Kissed.

Waiting....
Les Misérables.
The Opposite of Sex.

Thirteen. Chain Reaction.
One Fine Day. The Arrival. Savior.
The Girl Next Door. She's All That.
Lovely & Amazing. The Object of My Affection.
Mission: Impossible. Fools Rush In. Whatever It Takes.

Brilliant, huh? To find out if he actually gets anywhere with the girl, you'll just have to read the book!

There were some problems though. It's written by an American author, so there are some things in referred to that, as a Brit, I just didn't get. I'll Take "Crazy Bitches" for $200, Alex. That poem went right over my head. There are other things mentioned that I think are guy things I just didn't get. So sometimes I was a little lost, but most of the time, I was smiling and laughing.

Broetry is a really awesome book! I absolutely loved it, and I look forward to reading what McGacking releases next. The only thing I would say is I'd probably recommend it for older teens and adults. Some topics may not appeal to the younger teen.

Thanks to Quirk Books for sending me a review copy.

Published: 5th July 2011
Publisher: Quirk Books
Buy from Amazon UK
Buy from Amazon US
Brian McGackin's Website

Continue reading Review: Broetry by Brian McGackin

Review: It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han (review copy) - WARNING! This is the second book in a series. I cannot review this book without spoiling the first book in the series. Do not read any further if you plan on reading the first book and don't want it spoiled for you.

One girl. Two brothers. Which one will she choose?

Isabel’s lazy, long hot summers at her family friends’ beach house are over.

Conrad – sexy and unavailable - is the only boy she’s ever loved. He’s left for college, taking her heart with him. Jeremiah, his gorgeous brother, is still Isabel’s best friend – but maybe friendship isn’t enough for him anymore . . .

Isabel just wants everything to stay the same, because change means moving on. But if she stops looking back, will she find a future she never knew she wanted? From Amazon UK

I really enjoyed the first book, so when I heard there was a second, I was really looking forward to it. The first book could be a stand alone; the girl finally gets the boy, and things will develop on from there away from the pages. But there were still some questions. What about Jeremiah? He showed some interest in Belly. And what happens to Suzannah? So it was great to get a second book and find out the answers.

A lot can happen in the time between one summer and the next. Suzannah died. Conrad went to college. Conrad and Belly split up. These aren't spoilers, we find out these things from the very beginning. But these things have really shaken Belly up. Suzannah was practically family, and she isn't coping well with her death. She's also heart broken over the end of her "relationship" with Conrad - the reason for which we find out as we read. She's emotional yet also emotionally dead, and it's just awful having to read her feeling so, so sad.

But when she finds out from Jeremiah that Conrad has gone AWOL from his summer school - where he was retaking classes and exams, because of time spent away for Suzannah - she is determined to help, no matter if nothing comes from it. If Conrad's missing, something is seriously up. So our story really begins.

I really liked It's Not Summer Without You. It's much more of an emotional book, less happens in this one in comparison to the previous, but it's still sweet in a sad sort of way. I loved that Jeremiah also got to share what he was thinking - about Conrad, about his Dad, and most importantly, about Belly. We still get those wonderful little flash backs like we did in The Summer I Turned Pretty, but most of the time, these are of events that happened before summer.

I could say more, but I would be spoiling the book. It's a sweet, quick read. I loved how it ended, where there is an end yet still more questions. Has Belly really made a decision either way? Will the other try to fight? So I'm really looking forward to the th9ird book in the series, We'll Always Have Summer. A lovely series that comes highly recommended!

Thank you to Razorbill UK for sending me a review copy.



Published: 5th May 2011
Publisher: Razorbill UK
Buy from Amazon US
Jenny Han's Website

Previous books in the series:
The Summer I Turned Pretty

Continue reading Review: It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Review: Passion by Lauren Kate

Passion by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! This is the third book in a series. I cannot review this book without spoiling the first two. Do not read any further if you plan on reading the first two and don't want them to be spoilt for you.

Before Luce and Daniel met at Sword & Cross, before they fought the Immortals, they had already lived many lives. And so Luce, desperate to unlock the curse that condemns their love, must revisit her past incarnations in order to understand her fate. Each century, each life, holds a different clue.
But Daniel is chasing her throughout the centuries before she has a chance to rewrite history.
How many deaths can one true love endure?
And can Luce and Daniel unlock their past in order to change their future? From Amazon UK

When I received Passion for review, I was so excited to read it! Finally, the third book! Now I could find out what happened after Luce stepped through the Announcer, and what would happen between her and Daniel! Though I was slightly worried; would Passion live up to the epicness that is Fallen and Torment? Too right it would!

Following Luce as she visited her past lives was just so awesome! Seeing all the different people she was, all the personalities, was just genius. We get to witness the good, the bad and the ugly of what it means to be involved in the curse, exactly what the curse does, and it's just so cool! Kate obviously did a whole lot of research for this novel, because there is just so much detail about the time period of each life - the way people spoke, how they dress, the culture, and the "history lessons" provided by Bill - one of the Scale, a kind of Announcer tour guide, Luce meets on her time-travels. The things Luce learns and discovers, and the things she realises she already knew as she sees each past incarnation of herself and the Daniel of the time is just beautiful! Seriously, it's so moving and touching, and just truly beautiful!

What's also great is that we get to see Daniel's side of things too as he tries to follow and catch up with Luce as she jumps through time. How much he cares for her and how much he's suffered over the centuries just pours out of the pages, you can just feel it. And it's through him that we realise just how dangerous it is for Luce to jump through her past lives - changing things could be disastrous, to both their lives. Either way though, it's Daniel, and I love him, so I was always going to enjoy being in his head.

My god, the ending! It's not quite as big a cliff-hanger as the previous two, but with the immense and mind blowing events that leas up to it, a massive "what happens immediately next?" inducing cliff-hanger ending isn't necessary. Because the next book is going to be huge. No, colossal! When you think about the events that lead up to the end of Passion, and with what Luce and Daniel will have to face in the next book? There is no doubt in my mind that it's going to be more awe-inspiring than anyone could possibly imagine.

A fair few of out questions are answered in this book, but I do believe there are still some left to answer. I still think there is more importance to Luce than we're told in Passion, from the behaviour of some of the other characters in previous books, and at some points on Passion. But it's nice to have that "Oh!" moment when you finally start to understand things.

If I was to criticise at all, I would have to say I would have liked Luce's time in her past lives to have been longer. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Daniel and the various Lucinda incarnations together. However, if that was the case, Passion would have been incredibly long - it's already over 400 pages, so I can understand for the length and for the actual plot/Luce's purpose why the visits weren't as long as I would have liked.

I have said before that no-one writes love like Kate does - not as beautifully, nor as breath taking - and that's still the case in Passion. There were moments where I could have just died over how beautiful amazing and real it all was, but because of the amount of page time spent in each past life, and because present day Luce and Daniel don't spend an awful amount of time together, these moments don't last very long It was a shame, but it was still absolutely beautiful, and despite it being fiction, it gives me hope.

Passion is a fantastic book! It's absolutely amazing and such a page turner! All Fallen fans should read it immediately. You do not want to miss out on this brilliant third instalment. Now, where did I leave Fallen and Torment? I believe I need to start reading this series all over again.

Thank you to RHCB for sending me a review copy.



Published: 23rd June 2011
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Buy on Amazon US
Lauren Kate's Website
Fallen Website

Continue reading Review: Passion by Lauren Kate

Review: Bite Club by Rachel Caine (#Ad)

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

I was sent this review copy for free by Allison & Busby for the purposes of providing an honest review.

WARNING! This is the tenth book in the Morganville Vampires series, and I can't review this book without spoiling the previous books. Do not read any further if you don't want the series spoiled for you.

Morganville, Texas is a quiet college town where humans and vampires live in relative peace. But lately a great deal of blood is being spilled - not in a feeding frenzy, but for someone's twisted idea of entertainment. After discovering that vampires populate Morganville - and surviving a number of adventures with her new night-dwelling friends - college student Claire Danvers has come to realise that for the most part, the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble. There's a new extreme sport being broadcast over the Internet: bare-knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against one another - or, worse, against humans. Tracking the out-of-town signal leads Claire - accompanied by a loyal group of friends and frenemies - to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville. And if they want to survive, they'll have to do a lot more than fight... From Amazon UK

Continue reading Review: Bite Club by Rachel Caine (#Ad)

Interview with Tom Clempson

Today I have a treat for you! The awesome Tom Clempson, debut author of One Seriously Messed-Up Week in the Otherwise Mundane and Uneventful Life of Jack Samsonite (try saying that five times fast!), has kindly answered some questions for me! Sow ithout further ado, on to the interview!

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a 31 year old debut author, (keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t be a one-time-only author). I live in Cheshire with my wife (crafting queen Laura Clempson) and our two tiny children. When I’m not writing I’m usually cooking, sleeping, changing nappies, playing hide-and-seek and splashing in puddles. All at the same time.

How did you come up with the idea for One Seriously Messed-Up Week.. (OSMUW)?

I don’t know! Well, I do, but there are quite a lot of answers to this question, and I don’t know if I can remember them all. The quick answer is that immediately after writing a long and arduous manuscript that I didn’t feel happy with, I decided I wanted to write something without rules. So, with barely any idea of what the story might be, I started writing and didn’t bother trying to make it an impressive read (which probably shows), and writing in the first person, as someone who can’t write very well, was the perfect excuse to get away with it.

Having spoken to you a few times on Twitter, I found Jack’s sense of humour to be very similar to your own. How much of you went into Jack? Would you say OSMUW is semi-autobiographical?

It is undoubtedly semi-autobiographical, but that is with a HUGE SEMI (ergh, yuck, that was actually unintentional). Jack’s school was very much inspired by my own, as were the social groups and general teen experiences, but Jack himself, (along with the other characters), is a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster - bits of different people rolled into one fictional beast.

Although there’s very little modern day slang in the novel, I found the language used to be quite up to date. How did you get the language so spot on, or did you just go on how teens spoke when you were at school?

This is probably something that I shouldn’t really admit to, but I didn’t really give the language too much thought! I did try to inhabit each character and wrote their language as I felt they should speak, based on either teens that I know today or teens as they were fifteen years ago. I didn’t want to stick in too much modern day slang as this, I feel, is what makes dialogue feel forced and also makes it date extremely fast (slang seems to change with the seasons). Having said this, there were a few instances where I picked the brains of my teenage siblings-in-law when I was struggling for specific teen speak.

What research did you have to do for OSMUW, if any?

My research basically consisted of sitting on the train to work, listening to music that was around when I was a teen, and resetting my brain to what it was 15 years ago (not too tricky). I made a list of things that now, looking back, were key points of being a teen and being at school, and that was about it.

There are quite a few serious issues covered in OSMUW, behind the humour. Is it important to you to cover important subjects in your writing? If so, why?

There are two things that I need in my writing to prevent me from getting bored writing it - Humour & Topic. I struggle to enjoy the process if I don’t make myself laugh every now and then (I’m sure I’ll grow out of this and when/if I venture into different styles I’ll find different drugs to peak my interest. I’d like to try horror, so maybe scaring myself could be just as effective). Likewise, I lose interest if I’m not discussing themes that interest me, so, for OSMUW I tried to pick themes that were key to me when I was fifteen – bullying, religion, peer pressure, violence, love…

There are such fantastic twists in this book! How did you work the hints throughout the novel yet still make the twists a complete surprise? Do you plot your novels?

Thank you! In all honesty, I wasn’t even aware of any twists until people started reading it and commenting on them! I just wrote what I felt was an interesting story, keeping Jack out of the know as some parts of the story evolved, but I think I assumed that most of it would seem obvious and predictable to the reader. There was one revelation that I wanted to keep unpredictable, so I thought the best way to achieve that would be to forget about it. A lot of the time you see a story that tries so hard to misdirect you that it becomes obvious what is being hidden from you, so, to avoid overworking it, I just ignored it and wrote what I felt was interesting and dramatic.

How was your route to publication?

It was disgustingly simple. I found an agent unbelievably quickly (and I was prepared to hunt for a year before taking the hint and moving on), my agent was in talks with my publishers-to-be (Atom) surprisingly fast, then I waited and waited and waited and then I got a call to say ‘Congratulations!’ A few months of rewrites followed but that was a painless experience as it was all stuff that improved the story, so was therefore fun. Then I waited and waited and waited, then BOOM – a book was born! It all seemed so easy that I’m sure I will pay for it later on in life.

How does it feel to know your book will soon is now in the hands of readers?

Surreal. I’m sure that’s a fairly standard and unoriginal answer, but it’s the honest one! I remember being excited that ONE person had read it and enjoyed it (my agent), and then I was blown away to hear that the Atom crew had all read it and wouldn’t stop talking about it (although you can never be sure if what you’re being told isn’t merely a ploy to keep you a happy and positive writer!). To now know that hundreds of people own my book… my brain just can't comprehend that. Literally. It’s like when you try to picture the idea of space being infinite – there’s only so much information my brain can process before it just gives in. I can compute only the number of reviews I’ve seen (probably under twenty), and that’s overwhelming enough!

Tell us about how you write; do you write in a particular place? Do you have any music playing? Do you have any must-haves with you while writing?

I try really hard not to have any specific rules or routines for writing, merely because I would just use them as an excuse for not getting it done. I could quite easily get myself into the habit of writing in a specific chair at a particular time of day with my favourite pen in a Moleskine notebook, but that could easily turn into almost a superstition – ‘My pen is missing! I can’t write without my lucky pen!’

There are things that I usually do though – I normally work in a coffee shop, otherwise I end up getting caught up in household stuff; I write my first draft in a notebook, then rewrite it on a laptop; I will listen to music if I need it to help inspire a certain mood, evoke a certain memory, or if I can’t stop listening in to other peoples conversations! But I try to remain as flexible as possible (that includes writing a chapter on napkins in the passenger seat of my car, then pasting them into my notebook later).

What was most surprising to you during the writing process? And the publication process, if anything?

Strangely, I think the most surprising thing for me is hearing people say ‘I want to know what happens next!’ I hoped that the story would be entertaining, but I never dreamed people would engage to the point of wanting more. There were undoubtedly other things that surprised me, especially about the publishing process, but whatever they were I don’t remember them anymore!

You’re currently working on the sequel to OSMUW, how’s that going?

SO difficult. Not because I’m struggling to write it, but because of the above answer. This time round I KNOW that at least one person is going to read it AND they are going to have expectations! First time was just me – no pressure.

Can you give us any hints as to what we could possibly expect in the sequel?

It’s going to be the same story, only this time they’re going to be ON A BOAT! No, seriously, since I haven’t finished writing it yet, I don’t know what to expect! All I know is that I don’t want to try to recreate anything from this one. I’m not going to out-laugh or out-twist or out-shock anything from book one. All I can guarantee is that I’ll try to write it with humour and topic!

Anything else you would like to add?

Just to say thanks for the interview! I have grown to love answering interview questions because somehow they really help spark new ideas in me (including this one – if it inspires anything in book two I’ll let you know). Thanks Jo!

Thank you, Tom, for the great interview! How cool is that? The possibility that just asking questions may inspire something in the sequel! Exciting!

OSMUW was released on 2nd June and you can buy it from Amazon UK and Amazon US. Be sure to check out Tom's website and my review!

Continue reading Interview with Tom Clempson

Forgotten Blog Tour: A Day in the Life of Cat Patrick

I was lucky enough to be asked to kick off the blog tour for Forgotten by Cat Patrick, the amazing debut novel about a girl who has no memory of her pasy, but remembers her fuure. Read on for A Day in the Life of Cat Patrick.

I hope this guest post doesn’t bore you to tears because as it turns out, I have a pretty normal life. For that reason, I will attempt to include only highlights from a typical day. These are as follows:

Wakeup: 5:30 a.m. if I’m lucky; 6:15 a.m. if hubby and I stayed up late watching reality TV. I pop my feet into slippers and head downstairs for…

Breakfast (wow, this is riveting stuff): Usually something packed with protein like a mini wheat bagel with almond butter, a cheese stick and a hardboiled egg. I’m off the sauce—caffeine—as it gives me migraines, so now I’m drinking decaf English Breakfast tea with milk, no sugar.

By 6:30 a.m. at the absolute latest, I’m in my home office. I’ve usually got a blanket on my lap because I’m always freezing. I check emails, Facebook, Twitter, the blog…then I get to it. I edit manuscripts or work on new novels, or even sometimes answer interview questions until…

8:30 a.m., when hubby leaves for work. I take over with our twin daughters, who have hopefully been fed and watered by this point. Between now and about noon, we do things like read books upon books from their bookcase; build with LEGO bricks; go for walks to look at rocks, slugs and ducks; put on tutus and have dance parties; color and paint; squish clay and scooter around the house or the neighborhood. At not quite 3 years old, sometimes “we” are bossy, but we are always very cute, offering Mommy at least 15 belly laughs a morning.

From about noon to 2:30-ish, the girls have lunch and either naptime or “yaptime.” One of my daughters recognizes the value of rest and the other prefers to sleep for 15 minutes then tell stories for an hour with the help of her stuffed lovies in her crib (imagine me glowing with pride at her young storytelling prowess).

During this time, I work/eat/exercise/shower/read/tidy the house/laugh at the stories I’m hearing on the monitor, which often involve slides at the park and “humongous” dogs. You can see why my motto is “lunch is whatever can be made in under five minutes.”

The afternoon is a repeat of the morning with the girls, only we tend to go out more because where I live, the afternoons are the sunnier part of the day. Then it’s dinner/bath/bedtime for the girls.

After toddler bedtime, I go back to work for awhile until hubby gets home. Often on Saturdays, he has Daddy Duty and I work the whole day, which is both luxurious and torturous because I’m missing out on that family time. But we make up for it on Sundays.

Sometimes I ask the girls what they think I should write about, and they give responses like “snakes” or “Barbie” or “a burrito that’s sick and needs to go to the doctor.”

Maybe if I ever move to picture books…

There are mornings when I have help: a nanny comes for three hours on Mondays and my mom donates two other mornings of her precious time, so that’s when I really hunker down and get productive.

But really, my days are very much centered around my kiddos. Because as much as I love writing, I live for those little monkeys.

Of course, that’s not to say I’m not a tiny bit excited for preschool to start next fall (she types guiltily…).

If you’re still awake, I thank you kindly for reading.

Cat Patrick

Thank you, Cat, for such a cool post! Forgotten is released on 6th June (TODAY PEOPLE!), and you can buy it from Amazon UK and Amazon US. And if you need convincing of why, you can read my review, and my interview with Cat Patrick. Be sure to check out Cat Patrick's website.

Continue reading Forgotten Blog Tour: A Day in the Life of Cat Patrick

Andrew Stapley's Sponsored Motorcycle Ride for Help For Heroes

I don't normally put pleas up on my blog, but as it's my Dad doing this and for a brilliant cause, I'm hoping you won't mind.

This Friday (3rd June) my Dad, Andrew Stapley, will be doing a sponsored motorcycle ride to raise money for HELP FOR HEROES. It will run from Friday to Sunday, with the destinations and miles to be travelled as follows:

Friday 3rd June, London – John O’Groats, 678m or 1090km
Saturday 4th June, John O’Groats – Lands End, 838m or 1348km
Sunday 5th June, Lands End – London, 322m or 518km
"Having had various members of my family serve their country when I was younger, I have a great respect for the Armed Forces.” Andrew said. “Hoping to raise in excess of £3,000 for HELP FOR HEROES, I feel this sponsored motorcycle ride will show that support in a fashion that actually achieves something for me personally, as well as for the financial gain of the charity."

You can find out more on Andrew's Just Giving Page or his Facebook Page. If you can spare some cash to sponsor him, we would be extremely grateful. Thank you for reading.

Continue reading Andrew Stapley's Sponsored Motorcycle Ride for Help For Heroes