Saturday, 31 December 2016

Tuesday, 27 December 2016

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Review: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Bone Gap by Laura RubyBone Gap by Laura Ruby (proof) - Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?

Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.

As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.
From Goodreads.
Continue reading Review: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Wednesday, 14 December 2016

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Review: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (#Ad)

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith RussoIf I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo 

I was sent this proof for free by Usborne in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Hardy is the new girl at school.

Like everyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is holding back. Even from Grant, the guy she's falling in love with.

Amanda has a secret.

At her old school, she used to be called Andrew. And secrets always have a way of getting out.

A book about loving yourself and being loved for who you really are.
From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book contains scenes of sexual assault and a failed suicide attempt.
Continue reading Review: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (#Ad)

Tuesday, 13 December 2016

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Guest Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Today, I have a guest review from my best mate, Adam Page. He read a book recently that he couldn't get out of his head, and asked if I would mind him writing a review for the blog. Of course I didn't! So without further ado, here is Adam's review of The Road by Corman McCarthy.

The Road by Cormac McCarthyThe Road by Cormac McCarthy - A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other. From Goodreads.
Continue reading Guest Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Thursday, 8 December 2016

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Review: The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters

The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat WintersThe Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters (Proof) - Something's rotten in the state of Oregon.

Hanalee Denney's hometown is not a welcoming place in the 1920s. Hanalee is the daughter of a white woman and an African American man, so she has no rights under the law. If that weren't enough, the Ku Klux Klan is a powerful force in the area, breeding fear and hatred, even among friends. Her father, Hank Denney, died a year and a half ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now the killer is out of jail and back in town... but he claims that Hank wasn't killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him - who just happens to be Hanalee's new stepfather. The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she desperately needs is to ask her father - a "haint" who wanders the roads at night.

Inspired by Hamlet and infused with the real history and feel of Prohibition-era Oregon, The Steep and Thorny Way is a gripping and thoughtful story of intolerance, forgiveness, and finding one's own path.
From the blurb.
Continue reading Review: The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters

Wednesday, 7 December 2016

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Review: As I Descended by Robin Talley

As I Descended by Robin TalleyAs I Descended by Robin Talley (Review Copy) - Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

From acclaimed author Robin Talley comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair.
From Goodreads.
Continue reading Review: As I Descended by Robin Talley

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Retellings Reading Challenge 2016: Link to Your December Reviews

Retellings Reading Challenge 2016

Welcome to the Retellings Reading Challenge 2016 December link-up! How are you doing? I'm making some headway with As I Descended by Robin Talley, finally! So I should be able to share my review this month.

Also, don't forget to sign up to the Retellings Reading Challenge 2017 - which will be bigger than ever with monthly giveaways for UK entrants!

Link to your reviews below. But before you do...
  • You must sign up for the challenge before you post links to your reviews. Links from people who haven't signed up will be deleted. Sign up for the challenge here.
  • Make sure your links go directly to your reviews, not to your blog/Goodreads page/youtube channel. Those of the latter will be deleted.
  • To count, books must be read in December. Only books read at the very end of April will count for May if posted at the very beginning of the month. Otherwise they won't count.
  • When you link to your reviews, in the "Name" field, please include the title of the book, the author, and your blog name. For example: Wicked by Gregory Maguire @ Once Upon a Bookcase.
Continue reading Retellings Reading Challenge 2016: Link to Your December Reviews