First Class Post (8)

First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Review: Haiku for the Single Girl by Beth Griffenhagen and Illustrated by Cynthia Vehslage Meyers

Haiku for the Single Girl by Beth Griffenhagen and Illustrated by Cynthia Vehslage Meyers (review copy) - An uproarious, uplifting and brazenly honest gift book that celebrates the single girl's life in 72 haikus

I feel its approach,
Inevitable as death:
Internet dating.

Unsolicited relationship advice from relatives, disastrous dates, men who wear thumb rings, and the moments of deep satisfaction when a single girl realizes that (unlike her smug married friends) she can do whatever she wants with her time - it's all here in this brilliantly incisive and witty collection of haikus. Every woman - whether single or not - will laugh until she cries, and then start laughing all over again. From Canongate.tv

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Review: Whisper by Chrissie Keighery

Whisper by Chrissie Keighery (review copy) - Fifteen-year-old Demi's world is shattered when she is left profoundly deaf by a sudden illness. Everything is different now, and Demi must learn to adapt to a new school, new friends and even learn a whole new language. Whisper is a coming-of-age tale, about discovering who you are and where you fit in life. About friendships and first love and, more of all, learning to love the person you are. From Amazon UK

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone's 15th Anniversary - Competition to Find UK and Ireland's Biggest Harry Potter Fan

Celebrating 15 years of Harry Potter magic
The search for UK and Ireland’s biggest HARRY POTTER fan

From an idea born on a train journey, to its creation in a small cafe in Edinburgh Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the book that started a global phenomenon.  Rejected by many publishers and with an initial hardback print run of 500 copies, it has now sold over 90 million copies worldwide. It is the book that put Harry’s destiny in motion and created a whole new generation of readers. It is hard to think now that before 1997 none of us knew about Hogwarts, Quidditch or Voldemort (who was voted as the favourite literary villain in a recent Bloomsbury poll).

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First Class Post (7)

First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Review: Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Spark by Brigid Kemmerer (eProof) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally.

Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can't.
 
Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he's not doing it.
 
And no one seems to believe him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own.
 
Gabriel can't let her guess about his brothers, about his abilities, about the danger that's right at his heels. But there are some risks he can't help taking.

The fuse is lit. . . From Amazon UK

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The Gathering Dark Blog Tour: Leigh Bardugo on the Appeal of the Badboy

Today, Leigh Bardugo is stopping by Once Upon a Bookcase as part of The Gathering Dark International Blog Tour! Read on to find out what makes Leigh's type of Badboy!

The Appeal of the Badboy
First, we need to set some ground rules. I know some girls go in for a particular type of badboy: free spirits who ride motorcycles and slouch and won't be tamed (not by you, not by anyone!). These guys have "a past." They have problems with authority. They're often cranky and could probably do with a shave and a nap. This is not my type of badboy.

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Review: Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Even death can't get you out of high school.

Covering up her own murder was on thing, but faking her life is much harder than ex-teen banshee Kaylee expected. Now she's fighting to stay visible to the human world and struggling to find time alone with her new reaper boyfriend Tod.

To stay in the mortal realm, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls and, when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old for, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life...  From the blurb.

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Weekly Gossip

Here is your weekly news!

I have a number of cover reveals for you. First up, Halequin Teen have revealed the cover for Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers Volume 2 omnibus:

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Review: Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson (#Ad)

Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson

I was sent this review copy for free by Simon and Schuster Children's Books for the purpose of providing an honest review.

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

Alex and Lila are on the run, desperately trying to stay one step ahead of the Unit, which is somehow tracking their every move. While Alex is determined to keep Lila safe and her ability secret at any cost, Lila's only thought is of finding a way back to California so she can rescue her brother and mother from the military base where they're being held. Struggling to control both her growing power and her deepening feelings for Alex, Lila decides the time has finally come to stop running and start fighting. Together with Alex, Demos, and the others she's come to think of as family, Lila plans not only to save her brother and mum, but also to completely destroy the Unit and everything it stands for. But the plan requires Lila to return to California alone, and to make friends with the enemy - and in doing so, she risks losing everything: Alex, her family...even her life. From Amazon UK

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First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Rapture by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

The sky is dark with wings...

And time is running out for Luce and Daniel.

In order to stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the Fall began. Only Luce can break the curse, and it is her choice alone that will decide all of their fates.

But as Dark Forces gather, great sacrifices will have to be made in this final, epic struggle...

In the fight for Luce, and for Love, who will win? From Amazon UK

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Weekly Gossip

Here is your news from the past week.

First up, the cover reveals.

The cover for Finale, the final book in the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick has been released:




How awesome is it?! I love it! It has me intrigued!

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Review: Never to Sleep by Rachel Vincent

Never to Sleep by Rachel Vincent - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the other books in the series. Do not read any further if you plan on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

Don't Close Your Eyes. Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychiatric condition ruin high school for them both. Not after all the work she's put into cultivating the right look, and friends, and reputation. But then, Sophie sees something so frightening she lets out a blood-curdling scream—and finds herself stuck in a bizarre parallel world where nothing is safe and deadly creatures lurk just out of sight, waiting for her to close her eyes and sleep...forever. Could this world be real? Or does insanity run in the family...?

A Soul Screamers Ebook Novella. From Amazon UK

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Review: Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the other books in the series. Do not read any further if you plan on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other.

Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories... the ones everyone has been waiting for.

True love never says goodbye...From Amazon UK

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First Class Post (5)

First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Review: Storm Born by Richelle Mead

Storm Born by Richelle Mead - Just typical. No love life to speak of for months, then all at once, every horny creature in the Otherworld wants to get in your pants...

Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy - one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.

Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. but with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her.... From Amazon UK

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Winners: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This announcement is a little late, sorry! The Night Circus contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who entered! Randomizer.org has done it's thing, and the winners are:


Karen H
&
Trish S!

Congratulations! The winners have been notified, and their details have been emailed to my contact.

Thanks again to everyone who entered! Better luck next time!

Continue reading Winners: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers Blog Tour: Historical Accuracy

Today, Robin LaFevers is stopping by Once Upon a Bookcase as part of the Grave Mercy Blog Tour!

Grave Mercy, book one in the His Fair Assassin trilogy, is a work of historical fantasy with a setting and cast of characters so believable you are left wondering just how much of the book is true. We ask author Robin LaFevers for answers!

Historical accuracy of the setting…Grave Mercy is set on the very cusp of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and all the major historical events and people in Grave Mercy are based on true events - from a twelve year old inheriting the duchy of Brittany, to her having been betrothed to at least a half a dozen suitors in return for the aid in Duke Francis II’s ongoing struggle with France.

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Review: The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the previous books in the series. Do not read any further if you plan on reading the previous books and don't want things spoilt for you.
Will love lose her everything she knows?

Sydney is an Alchemist. She protects vampire secrets - and human lives.

In hiding at a Californian boarding school, Sydney's life has become irrevocably intertwined with Jill Dragomir, the vampire Moroi princess she has been tasked with protecting. She has grown close to Jill's royal circle - and to someone in particular. Someone that forces her to question everything the alchemisrs believe in. Someone forbidden.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world - her new world - apart, Sydney's loyalties are tested more than ever. Should she trust the alchemists - or her heart? From the blurb

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Weekly Gossip

Here is your news from the past week.

First up, the UK trailer for Rapture by Lauren Kate!



How good does it look?! I am so excited to read this!

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First Class Post (4)

First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Guest Post: You by Anne Tibbets

Today I have the pleasure of handing my blog over to Anne Tibbets, YA author of Shut Up, who is here to talk about how the writing process for Shut Up differed to that of other books she's written.

"You" by Anne Tibbets.

You would think that writing a book based on personal experience would be much easier than writing a story from scratch.
Think of the corners you can cut!
No research!
No outline!
No character breakdown!
All that information is already tucked away safely in your noggin, and requires no further prep-work before you can delve directly into your story, head first.
Great!
Let’s go!

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Review: Shut Up by Anne Tibbets

Shut Up by Anne Tibbets (review copy) - Mary’s older sister, Gwen, has royally screwed up her life. Not only is Gwen pregnant at seventeen, but she’s also decided to marry The Creep who knocked her up. Now Mary is powerless to stop her family from imploding. Her parents are freaking out, and to top it off, The Creep has a gross fascination with Mary while Gwen enjoys teasing her to tears for sport. Despite her brother’s advice to shut up, Mary can’t keep her trap closed and manages to piss off Mom so much it comes to blows. Mary doesn’t know what to do, and all her attempts to get help are rejected. When she finally plans her escape, she fails to consider how it could destroy them all. From Amazon UK

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