Ad: Titles with an asterisk (*) were provided to me for free by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Links with a circumflex (^) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Blog Tour: Truth Be Told by Sue Divin

I'm really excited to have YA author Sue Divin stop by the blog today for my stop on the Truth Be Told* blog tour. Sue is here a guest post on writing YA voices and about post-peace deal Northern Ireland in YA fiction.

I’m always drawn to the wilder, edgier characters first. Their voices come much easier. In Guard Your Heart^, that was Aidan. In Truth Be Told, it was Tara. I just love the rough diamonds. Once I find their voice, they just run off onto the page and take on a life of their own. Sometimes when I’m still trying to ‘find’ a unique voice for them, I experiment with their characters in flash fiction or short stories.

Continue reading Blog Tour: Truth Be Told by Sue Divin

Blog Tour Review: Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier (#Ad)

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

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier

Published: 9th November 2021 | Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton | Source: Publisher
Makiia Lucier’s Website

The past never forgets...

Before an ambush by enemy soldiers, Lord Cassia was an engineer's apprentice on a mission entrusted by the king. But when plague sweeps over the land, leaving countless dead and devastating the kingdom, even Cas’ title cannot save him from a rotting prison cell and a merciless sickness.

Three years later, Cas wants only to return to his home in the mountains and forget past horrors. But home is not what he remembers. His castle has become a refuge for the royal court. And they have brought their enemies with them.

When an assassin targets those closest to the queen, Cas is drawn into a search for a killer… one that leads him to form an unexpected bond with a brilliant young historian named Lena. Cas and Lena soon realize that who is behind the attacks is far less important than why. They must look to the past, following the trail of a terrible secret—one that could threaten the kingdom’s newfound peace and plunge it back into war. From The Goodreads.

Purchase from Bookshop.org*
The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features vomit, blood, plague, cadavers (some months old), discussion of forced hysterectomy, a prisoner of war, torture, and attempted infanticide.

Continue reading Blog Tour Review: Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier (#Ad)

Blog Tour: Deirdre Sullivan Introduces Savage Her Reply + Mini Interview

Deirdre Sullivan Introduces Savage Her Reply + Mini Interview

Titles marked with a (^) are ad: affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Savage Her Reply* by Deirdre Sullivan. It's a feminist retelling of the Irish legend The Children of Lir, from the persepctive of Aífe, the story's villain. For us bloggers, this blog tour was arranged a little differently, and we got something super special. We were invited to an exclusive private Zoom meeting with Deirdre and publicist Nina, where Deirdre told us about Savage Her Reply, and we also got to ask her a few questions each, for our own exclusive element of our posts. Unfortunately, I was on holiday when the meeting took place, but it was recorded and Nina was kind enough to ask Deirdre my questions on my behalf.

Continue reading Blog Tour: Deirdre Sullivan Introduces Savage Her Reply + Mini Interview

Blog Tour: My Personal Response to Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

My Personal Response to Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

This post contains affiliate links.

I received an eProof of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Today is my stop on the blog tour for the paperback release of Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan, and I'm going to give you something different. This book meant more to me than I can ever really put into words, but I'm going to try in the form of a letter to Natasha. This is quite an emotional post that had me crying while writing it, so be warned.

Trigger Warnings: This post discusses rape and sexual assault.

Continue reading Blog Tour: My Personal Response to Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Blog Tour Review: Kingsbane by Claire Legrand (#Ad)

I was sent this proof for free by Sourcebooks Fire via Midas PR for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

Published: 21st May 2019 | Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Claire Legrand's Website

In this sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller Furyborn, two queens, separated by a thousand years, connected by secrets and lies, must continue their fight amid deadly plots and unthinkable betrayals that will test their strength—and their hearts.

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.

Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity's long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana's power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted—by embracing her mother's power, or rejecting it forever. From Goodreads.

My other reviews of the Empirium Trilogy:
Furyborn (#Ad)

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.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features gory descriptions, a panic attack, someone being drugged against their will, kidnap, murder, some explicit sex, sexual assault, and abusive manipulation (possibly grooming).

Continue reading Blog Tour Review: Kingsbane by Claire Legrand (#Ad)

This post contains affiliate links.

The Tunnels Below Blog Tour - Nadine Wild-Palmer: The Books I Grew Up With

It's my stop on the blog tour for The Tunnels Below by Nadine Wild-Palmer, and I'm really excited to have debut UKMG author Nadine stopping by to share with us a guest post about the books she read when she was growing up.

The Books I Grew Up With

"It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like as long as somebody loves you." The Witches, Roald Dahl.

I still can’t read the closing chapters of Roald Dahl’s The Witches without bursting into tears. After all the thrilling, gorey adventures of in the story it’s the winding down of the closing chapters that still make my heart ache. A good book, a really good book, ends well. You can feel that it is finishing and that you have to say goodbye to characters you have spent several hours or days or, for me, in some cases years with and you are filled instantly with a feeling of nostalgia. The best writing will throw you right back to that place and the feelings you felt the first time you read it, if you were to open the book right here right now.

Continue reading The Tunnels Below Blog Tour - Nadine Wild-Palmer: The Books I Grew Up With

A Diversified Bookcase: Proud, ed. by Juno Dawson

A Diversified Bookcase is a feature where authors of diverse YA recommend other diverse YA novels by other authors to their characters. Today it's Once Upon a Bookcase's stop on the Proud Blog Tour. Proud, ed. by Juno Dawson, is a new LGBTQ* YA anthology, and today we have the four brand new voices included in the anthology stopping by to recommend one queer YA novel to their protagonists.

Continue reading A Diversified Bookcase: Proud, ed. by Juno Dawson

An Excerpt From Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard

Today, It's my stop on the blog tour for Oh My Gods, by UKYA debut novelist Alexandra Sheppard. Oh My Gods follows Helen, who has moved to London with her dad and older brothers and sisters, who are Greek Gods! Read on for more about the novel, and then for an excerpt!

Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard

Life as a half-mortal teenager should be epic.
But, for Helen Thomas, it's tragic.

She's just moved in with her dorky dad and self-absorbed older siblings - who happen to be the ancient Greek gods, living incognito in London!

Between keeping her family's true identities secret, trying to impress her new friends, and meeting an actually cute boy, Helen's stress levels are higher than Mount Olympus.

She needs to rein in her chaotic family before they blow their cover AND her chances at a half-normal social life.

Or is Helen fated for an embarrassment of mythical proportions? From Goodreads.

Continue reading An Excerpt From Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard

PULPStories Tour: Robin Talley's LGBTQ* YA Recomendations

Today is my stop on the #PULPstories Tour, the blog tour for Robin Talley's latest novel, Pulp, which was published on 16th November! Robin is stopping by the blog with a guest post, recommending a number of LGBTQ* YA novels.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. This story, about a 15-year-old Iranian-American boy on his first-ever trip to Iran where he quickly becomes close friends with a very intriguing local boy, might be my favorite read of 2018, and that’s saying a lot. Darius is smart, hilarious, and misunderstood by pretty much everyone around him, and I would happily read 50 Darius sequels if it meant I got to spend more time inside his head.

Continue reading PULPStories Tour: Robin Talley's LGBTQ* YA Recomendations

Once Upon a Retelling: A Blade So Black by L. L. McKinney

Welcome to Once Upon a Retelling! I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I'm really interested in hearing about authors' own love of the original stories, and what inspired them to retell those stories. And so Once Upon a Retelling was born, a feature in which I interview authors about their versions of well-loved tales.

I am so excited to have L.L. McKinney stopping by the blog today as part of the blog tour for her debut novel! She's here to discuss her Alice in Wonderland retelling, A Blade so Black.

Can you tell us a little about A Blade So Black? What kind of a retelling of of Alice in Wonderland is it?

A Blade So Black essentially answers the question “What if Buffy fell down the rabbit hole instead of Alice?” I like to call it a reimagining, though I guess that’s not as official a genre as retelling just yet. It’s more inspired by the original classing than trying to emulate the beats in new ways. What I was hoping to do was take the tale and put a completely different spin on it, such as if it actually existed, how did it come to be? What is its connection to our world? What would it look like and how would it function in the present day. Those kinds of things lead to this story.

Continue reading Once Upon a Retelling: A Blade So Black by L. L. McKinney

Blog Tour: Show Stealer by Hayley Barker - The Importance of Literature to Me

I'm excited to have Hayley Barker stopping by the blog today for my stop on the blog tour for her novel Show Stealer, the sequel to her debut novel, Show Stopper. Hayley is here to talk about how important books have been to her throughout her life.

The Importance of Literature to Me

If I had to list all of the most important influences in my life, all of the experiences, places and people who have shaped me and turned me into the person I am today, literature would be right up there in the top three, maybe even at the very top.

Continue reading Blog Tour: Show Stealer by Hayley Barker - The Importance of Literature to Me

A Novel Cover Up: Sophie Burdess on the Cover for A Thousand Perfect Notes by C. G. Drews

A Novel Cover Up is a semi-regular feature that looks at how covers are designed.

Thanks to Orchard Books, I have been fortunate enough to interview Book Designer Sophie Burdess about how she designed the cover for A Thousand Perfect Notes by C. G. Drews for my stop of the Blog Tour for this YA #LoveOzYA debut novel. Other than the cover, all images in this post are copyrighted to Sophie Burdess and used with permission. They can be clicked to be enlarged.

Can you tell us about the cover for A Thousand Perfect Notes by C. G. Drews? What do you hope it tells readers about the story?

The book is emotionally hard-hitting: it’s both a story of violence and abuse but also of hope and coming to life, so I wanted to find a way to try to convey both to the reader. I hope the image gives a kind of visual punch - something violent and in your face, but also beautiful and fragile, to play with that tension in the story. With any luck the reader will also feel a contrast of the imperfect type and the ‘perfect’ in the title and get the sense that something is amiss.

Continue reading A Novel Cover Up: Sophie Burdess on the Cover for A Thousand Perfect Notes by C. G. Drews

Blog Tour: The Girl in the Broken Mirror - Savita Kalhan's Favourite Books that Deal With Rape

Today, I'm exciting to be hosting the first stop in the blog tour by The Girl in the Broken Mirror by Savita Kalhan. Savita is dropping by today with a fantastic guest post where she recommends her favourite YA novels that deal with rape and sexual assault.


Hi Jo! Thank you so much for inviting me on your blog today. It’s great to be here. The Girl in the Broken Mirror will hit the shelves tomorrow – May 1st! So this is a great way to introduce the book to the world!

Unsurprisingly, there are not many books on the subject of rape or sexual abuse for the teen and young adult market. It is not an easy subject to deal with. But in this world today of #metoo and #timesup, and with the horrifying statistics on sexual abuse and rape of children, it’s very important that there are books out there that focus on these crimes. It’s important for young people to be aware of rape and its consequences, to be aware of blame culture, and to be able to speak up and find a voice, find help, if they have been victims of such a terrible crime, and ultimately to find hope.

Continue reading Blog Tour: The Girl in the Broken Mirror - Savita Kalhan's Favourite Books that Deal With Rape

Blog Tour: A Far Away Magic by Amy Wilson

Today is my stop on the blog tour for A Far Away Magic by Amy Wilson. Amy is stopping by with a guest post on her inspiration behind writing A Far Away Magic, plus a giveaway!

Writing Magic.

I have always enjoyed reading books with magic. I loved The Magic Faraway Tree, and Diana Wynne Jones’ novels will always have a very special place in my heart. I’m currently reading VE Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic series, and completely carried away by it. I love the possibility, the beauty, and the darkness that comes with magic, the exploration of worlds and people, of action and consequence.

Continue reading Blog Tour: A Far Away Magic by Amy Wilson

Under Rose Tainted Skies Blog Tour: Louise Gornall on Mental Illness in YA

Louise Gornall is stopping by the blog today with a mini-interview as part of the blog tour for her incredible #OwnVoices debut novel Under Rose Tainted Skies. She's here to talk about mental illness in YA and #OwnVoices. On to the interview!

At the heart Under Rose Tainted Skies is Norah, a character who has has agoraphobia and OCD. With an increase in children and teenagers suffering from mental illness, how important is it to have mental illness represented in YA?

It’s vital. Mental illness can be so cruel and isolating. Every teen needs to see themselves represented. They need to know they’re not alone, that they’re not some strange anomaly. And fiction is such a great way to reach those who haven't figured out how to talk about it yet, or haven't quite figured out what’s going on inside their head. For those that don't suffer with their mental health, books like Am I Normal Yet? [by Holly Bourne] or It’s Kind of a Funny Story [by Ned Vizzini], provide great insight into how a mental health mind works.

Continue reading Under Rose Tainted Skies Blog Tour: Louise Gornall on Mental Illness in YA

A Novel Cover Up: Rachel Vale on the Paperback Cover of A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston

A Novel Cover Up is a semi-regular feature that looks at how covers are designed. Thanks to Macmillan Children's Books, I have been fortunate enough to have a guest post from their Art Director Rachel Vale about how she designed the paperback cover for A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston. All images in this post are used with permission. They can be clicked to be enlarge.

A Thousand Nights paperback – for those of you who don’t know the story – is a magical tale of love and survival in a captivating retelling of Arabian Nights. It’s incredibly evocative, mysterious and magical.

For the hardback edition it was all about capturing the opulence and magic of story in a wonderfully desirable package. For the paperback edition we wanted to keep the opulence but introduce a filmic quality that was more photographic/photorealistic – highlighting the epic Arabian landscape and our protagonist, Scheherazade. So, epic landscape + female reference + pretty.

Continue reading A Novel Cover Up: Rachel Vale on the Paperback Cover of A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston

And I Darken by Kiersten White "Follow the Feminists" Blog Tour - Feminist Icon: Laura Bates

And I Darken by Kiersten White sounds absolutely incredible; a gender-bending retelling of the story of Vlad the Impaler - Vlad Dracul, who inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula - that was sparked by White thinking, "What if Vlad was a girl?" Oh my god, I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to read this book! It sounds incredible! But on to the point of this post...

Lada Dracul is a new feminist heroine for us to get behind, and with that in mind, Corgi Children's Books have come up with a fantastic idea for a blog tour, where we share our feminist icons. Today, I'm going to talk to you about my feminist icon, Laura Bates.

Continue reading And I Darken by Kiersten White "Follow the Feminists" Blog Tour - Feminist Icon: Laura Bates

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann Blog Tour: An Excerpt

Today it's my stop of the Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann blog tour. Valley of the Dolls turns 50 this year, and has got a brand spanking new look! To celebrate, I'll be sharing an extract with you - keep scrolling!

Before Jackie Collins, Candace Bushnell and Lena Dunham, Jacqueline Susann held the world rapt with her tales of the private passions of Hollywood starlets, high-powered industrialists and the jet-set.

Valley of the Dolls took the world by storm when it was first published, fifty years ago. Never had a book been so frank about sex, drugs and show business. It is often cited as the bestselling novel of all time.

Dolls - red or black; capsules or tablets; washed down with vodka or swallowed straight. For Anne, Neely and Jennifer, it doesn't matter, as long as the pill bottle is within easy reach. These three beautiful women become best friends when they are young and in New York, struggling to make their names in the entertainment industry. Only when they reach the peak of their careers do they find there's nowhere left to go but down - to the Valley of the Dolls. From Goodreads.

Continue reading Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann Blog Tour: An Excerpt

Blog Tour Review: Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Alison Glock-Cooper

Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Alison Glock-Cooper (eProof) - Changers Book One: Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller's freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He's finally sporting a haircut he doesn’t hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can't wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life.

Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl.

Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever--and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began.

Ethan must now live as Drew Bohner--a petite blonde with an unfortunate last name--and navigate the treacherous waters of freshman year while also following the rules: Never tell anyone what you are. Never disobey the Changers Council. And never, ever fall in love with another Changer. Oh, and Drew also has to battle a creepy underground syndicate called "Abiders" (as well as the sadistic school queen bee, Chloe). And she can't even confide in her best friend Audrey, who can never know the real her, without risking both of their lives. From Goodreads.

Continue reading Blog Tour Review: Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Alison Glock-Cooper

Blog Tour: Here Be Dragons by Sarah Mussi - Sarah Talks The Death Zone

It's Once Upon a Bookcase's stop on the Here Be Dragons by Sarah Mussi Blog Tour, and I have not one, but two different posts for you today! Sarah Mussi is stopping by today to continue discussing the various stages of the writing process, and if you come back later today at 1pm, you will see how cover designer Nathan Ryder designed the cover for Here Be Dragons in A Novel Cover Up! But for now, over to Sarah...

(Warning! I think there are some minor spoilers in this post. I've not read the book yet, so I can't be sure, but in reading this post, I found out things I'd rather have discovered as I read the book. So decided if you want to read on or not.)

GO TO THE BOTTOM OF SARAH’S BLOG TO SEE COMPETITION DETAILS
Here Be Dragons by Sarah Mussi - Ellie Morgan wants a boy who’s all hers. Just for once, it would be nice to meet someone that Sheila (the cow) hadn’t got her claws in to.

A remote farmhouse on Mount Snowdon is hardly the ideal setting for meeting anyone unless, of course, you count her best friend George or creepy Darren (which Ellie doesn’t). But when a boy, glimpsed through the mist and snow, lures her up to the Devil’s Bridge, Ellie realises the place she knows so well, still has its secrets...

The stronger her feelings for this strange boy become, the more she is in danger: a battle as old as Snowdon itself has been raging for centuries and now Ellie’s caught in the middle.

Something has left its lair.

It’s out there stalking her.

Who ever said true love was easy?

The HERE BE DRAGONS Blog Tour – Post Six: Act 3 & The Climax
Hi there Once Upon a Bookcase! Thanks so much for having me on your blog.

Hi everybody and welcome back to my blog tour to celebrate the launch of HERE BE DRAGONS, book one in my new trilogy: THE SNOWDONIA CHRONICLES!

Continue reading Blog Tour: Here Be Dragons by Sarah Mussi - Sarah Talks The Death Zone