Review: Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse

Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse (eProof) - Sophia has seven days left in Tokyo before she moves back to the States. Seven days to say good-bye to the electric city, her wild best friend, and the boy she’s harbored a semi-secret crush on for years. Seven perfect days…until Jamie Foster-Collins moves back to Japan and ruins everything.

Jamie and Sophia have a history of heartbreak, and the last thing Sophia wants is for him to steal her leaving thunder with his stupid arriving thunder. Yet as the week counts down, the relationships she thought were stable begin to explode around her. And Jamie is the one who helps her pick up the pieces. Sophia is forced to admit she may have misjudged Jamie, but can their seven short days of Tokyo adventures end in anything but good-bye? From Goodreads.

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Review: History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (reading copy) - You’re still alive in alternate universes, Theo, but I live in the real world where this morning you’re having an open casket funeral. I know you’re out there, listening. And you should know I’m really pissed because you swore you would never die and yet here we are. It hurts even more because this isn’t the first promise you’ve broken.

OCD-afflicted seventeen-year-old, Griffin, has just lost his first love – his best friend, ex-boyfriend and the boy he believed to be his ultimate life partner – in a drowning accident. In a desperate attempt to hold onto every last piece of the past, a broken Griffin forges a friendship with Theo’s new college boyfriend, Jackson. And Griffin will stop at nothing to learn every detail of Theo’s new college life, and ultimate death. But as the grieving pair grow closer, readers will question Griffin's own version of the truth – both in terms of what he’s willing to hide, and what true love ultimately means... From Goodreads.

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Diversity Spotlight Thursday #5

Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Aimal of Bookshelves and Paperbacks. Every week, we are to come up with one book in each of three different categories: a diverse book we have read and enjoyed, a diverse book on your TBR, and one that has not yet been released.

A Diverse Book I Enjoyed:

The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew

A startling coming-of-age novel set in a contemporary Nazi England.

Jessika Keller is a good girl: she obeys her father, does her best to impress Herr Fisher at the Bund Deutscher Mädel meetings and is set to be a world champion ice skater. Her neighbour Clementine is not so submissive. Outspoken and radical, Clem is delectably dangerous and rebellious. And the regime has noticed. Jess cannot keep both her perfect life and her dearest friend. But which can she live without?

THE BIG LIE is a thought-provoking and beautifully told story that explores ideas of loyalty, sexuality, protest and belief. From Goodreads.

This book is terrifying, even more so when you realise that everything that happens in this book either happened when Hitler was in power, or happens now in various parts of the world. This book covers so many important topics, but one of them is how sexuality was treated under such a regime. It's an incredible novel; so thought provoking, and very powerful. Check out my review.

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When You're Told a Book is Racist, Why Do You Need to Judge it For Yourself?

Warning: I'm kind of angry right now, so this is an anger-filled post. I criticise some readers - though not specific people - for reading certain books after being given certain information about those books. If you are one of the people I am criticising, do please discuss your reasons with me, because I really don't understand your choices. It may turn out this whole post is wrong. I actually hope it is, that I am.

You may have seen over the last few months on bookish Twitter that a number of YA novels have been called out for being racist. Authors and readers have been tweeting about how harmful and upsetting these books are for months now, and rightly so. I'm not going to talk about the books in question, because those who have called out these books as racist have criticised them better than I could. No, what I want to discuss is what some people are deciding to do after hearing that these books are racist: deciding to read them.

Yesterday, YA author Heidi Heilig posted a thread on Twitter that got right to the heart of what was bothering me - people hearing that these books are racist, and then deciding to read them, to judge for themselves. Go read her thread before continuing with this post, I'll wait. What bothers me is that these books are racist, people are calling them out for being so, people are being hurt and upset by the painful comments or references made in these books... and then people are deciding they will read those books to judge for themselves.

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Review: See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng (eProof) - A funny, luminous, utterly moving novel about a space-obsessed boy, his dog Carl Sagan, and a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe.

11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan - named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he'll uncover - from the truth about his long-dead dad to the fact that, for a kid with a troubled mom and a mostly not-around brother, he has way more family than he ever knew. From Goodreads.

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Review: Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley (eProof) - Fifteen-year-old Aki Simon has a theory.

And it’s mostly about sex.

No, it isn’t that kind of theory. Aki already knows she’s bisexual–-even if, until now, it’s mostly been in the hypothetical sense.

Aki’s theory is that she’s only got one shot at living an interesting life–-and that means she’s got to stop sitting around and thinking so much. It’s time for her to actually do something. Or at least try.

So when Aki and her friend Lori set off on a trip to a small Mexican town for the summer, and Aki meets Christa - slightly-older, far-more-experienced - it seems her theory is prime for the testing.

But something tells her its not going to be that easy... From Goodreads.

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Eight Years a Book Blogger: How Blogging Has Changed Me

Thursday marked my blogging anniversary; I've now been book blogging for eight years. I have in the past celebrated my anniversary by talking about blogging milestones, and features and blog events I've held, but this year - inspired by Suzy of From the Fringe and her A Mushy Love Letter About Blogging - I want to talk about what book blogging has meant to me.

When I've thought about it, book blogging - have a little place online where I can rave and gush about books - has always been a hobby, something I do for the simple pleasure of combining two of my passions; writing and reading. But looking back over these past eight years, although book blogging is still a hobby, it's also become a huge part of my life. I've talked before about the opportunities book blogging has led to - being a panelist at The London Book Fair in 2013, how being a book blogger led to me getting a job, how my reviews have been quoted in the praise pages of numerous books - but I want to talk about what blogging has done for me, as a person.

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Review: Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff (#Ad)

Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff 

I recieved this eProof from Pushkin Children's Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

In the opulent palace of Ohaddin, women have one purpose - to obey. Some were brought here as girls, captured and enslaved; some as servants; some as wives. All of them must do what the Master tells them, for he wields a deadly and secret power. But the women have powers too. One is a healer. One can control dreams. One is a warrior. One can see everything that is coming. In their golden prison, the women wait. They plan. They write down their stories. They dream of a refuge, a safe place where girls can be free. And, finally, when the moon glows red, they will have their revenge. From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: Rape features heavily in this book.

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Review: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (eProof) - Rosie and Penn always wanted a daughter. Four sons later, they decide to try one last time - and their beautiful little boy Claude is born. Life continues happily for this big, loving family until the day when Claude says that, when he grows up, he wants to be a girl.

As far as Rosie and Penn are concerned, bright, funny and wonderful Claude can be whoever he or she wants. But as problems begin at school and in the community, the family faces a seemingly impossible dilemma: should Claude change, or should they and Claude try to change the world?

Warm, touching and bittersweet, THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS is a novel about families, love and how we choose to define ourselves. It will make you laugh and cry - and see the world differently. From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: Homophobic and ableist language, and transphobic behaviour feature in this book.

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A Diversified Bookcase with Heidi Heilig and The Ship Beyond Time

A Diversified Bookcase is a feature where authors of diverse YA recommend other diverse YA novels by other authors to their characters. Today the wonderful Heidi Heilig, author of the incredible The Girl From Everywhere and the recently released sequel, The Ship Beyond Time, is stopping by to recommend books the to crew of the time-travelling ship, The Temptation.


As someone who wrote an entire series about traveling the wide world in a time-hopping pirate ship, it should come as no surprise that I adore diverse books-- especially those written by #ownvoices. After all, every seasoned traveler knows that locals make the best guides.

My own characters in The Ship Beyond Time are a diverse bunch, and with all the amazing #ownvoices books coming out this year, I have some great recommendations for those long midnight watches when the sea is quiet and the wind is calm.

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Review: The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig (#Ad)

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig

I received this eProof for free from Hot Key Books via NetGalley for the purposes 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 spoilt for you.

Nix has spent her whole life journeying to places both real and imagined aboard her time-travelling father’s ship. And now it’s finally time for her to take the helm. Her father has given up his obsession to save her mother—and possibly erase Nix’s existence—and Nix’s future lies bright before her. Until she learns that she is destined to lose the one she loves. But her relationship with Kash—best friend, thief, charmer extraordinaire—is only just beginning. How can she bear to lose him? How can she bear to become as adrift and alone as her father?

Desperate to change her fate, Nix takes her crew to a mythical utopia to meet another Navigator who promises to teach her how to manipulate time. But everything in this utopia is constantly changing, and nothing is what it seems—not even her relationship with Kash. Nix must grapple with whether anyone can escape her destiny, her history, her choices. Heidi Heilig weaves fantasy, history, and romance together to tackle questions of free will, fate, and what it means to love another person. But at the centre of this adventure are the extraordinary, multifaceted, and multicultural characters that leap off the page, and an intricate, recognisable world that has no bounds. From Goodreads.

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Diversity Spotlight Thursday #4

Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Aimal of Bookshelves and Paperbacks. Every week, we are to come up with one book in each of three different categories: a diverse book we have read and enjoyed, a diverse book on your TBR, and one that has not yet been released.

A Diverse Book I Enjoyed:

Run to Kody Keplinger

Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and an alcoholic mom. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks.

Agnes Atwood has never stayed out past ten p.m., never gone on a date and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally-blind daughter, but Agnes isn't quite sure what they are protecting her from.

Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs more deeply than anything else. But when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, police sirens wailing in the distance, Agnes is faced with the biggest choice she's ever had to make. Run, or stay? From Goodreads.

I loved this book a hell of a lot more than I thought it would. I bought it after all the VOYA controversy, and it was brilliant! And #OwnVoices legally blind character, and a bisexual character. Such a great book. Check out my review.

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Retellings Reading Challenge 2017: March Link-Up

Welcome to the Retellings Reading Challenge 2017 link-up for March! You can link up your reviews at the bottom of this post. There were no reviews from UK entrants for February so the books from last month will roll over intoo this month, where there will be two winners. So for the March giveaway...


Up for grabs for March - for UK participants - are a copy of Finding Black Beauty by Lou Kuenzler & Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige for one winner, and Heartless by Marissa Meyer & Irish Legends: Newgrange, Tara & The Boyne Valley by Eithne Massey, illustrated by Lisa Jackson for another. Thank you to Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Macmillan Children's Books and O'Brien Press for sponsoring the Retellings Reading Challenge 2017.

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