Friday 9 November 2012

Friday Reads- The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson





"Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love."

I am 160 pages into this novel so far and I'm really loving it. It is twisted and beautiful all at once. I am hoping it doesn't go south like some promising books have for me recently.

Friday 26 October 2012

New Camera


I got a new camera! It's the Canon 600D. This means I can take my own photos of the books I'm reviewing and do better video reviews. Here's some pictures where I was just messing around








Monday 27 August 2012

Review- Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan


Glow is the story of Waverly. Waverly is the oldest girl in her generation, the first generation of children to be born on board the Empyrean, after a bout of infertility. Their ship and another just like it, the New Horizon, have left Earth for a new planet the believe they can colonize after Earth’s resources start running out and it becomes an unbearable place to live. However something goes wrong.
  
In the heart of a nebula New Horizon, which should be so far ahead of the Empyrean that they can’t see it, has slowed down enough so that they are almost side along with Waverly’s ship. Crew members from the New Horizon board the Empyrean and quickly everything goes down hill. The girls are taken from their homes, most of the adults are killed, the Empyrean is sabotaged and the boys are left to cope by themselves without a clue. Amidst chaos and fear Waverly must learn that power corrupts, everyone has secrets and but most importantly; how to find a way back home

Today I thought I’d write a review for Glow. Both from the cover and the genre of this book I thought it would be painfully like Across the Universe, which I did not like, and so I was incredibly apprehensive about reading this at first. In fact I didn’t even bother to check out the description, so turned off by the idea it might compare to a book that had disappointed me as much as Across the Universe had done.

Thursday 23 August 2012

Review- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas



In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?
- From Goodreads


When people talk about this book, and Celaena they mention that she is beautiful, arrogant and girly. Not usually traits I particularly like my female protagonists to have, yet Celaena pulled it off incredibly well. I was terrified that this girl would end up like whatshername from Paranormalcy, girly and arrogant to the point of stupidity, but no. Celaena has her reasons to be arrogant. She's good at what she does and she is deadly beautiful.




Thursday 9 August 2012

Top 100 Books for Teens


This summer NPR hosted a Best-Ever Teen Fiction poll. More than 75000 votes were cast and 235 finalists nominated. Here are the results with all the books I have read in bold

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling

2. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins

3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

5. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

7. The Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien

8. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

9. Looking for Alaska, by John Green

10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

Sunday 5 August 2012

Why I think Peter Jackson is a money grabbing A-hole

3 Hobbit movies? Are you serious?

Ok so I would be ecstatic if I thought they were making 3 The Hobbit films for the sake of being true to the book. Any book to movie adaptation is always going to have things missing. It's just a guarantee. Even a two parter. But that's not the reason for the trilogy. Oh no. Jackson has decided to take world of middle earth and try and make it his own. He's adding things in that are not in the books, and even though some of it is from Tolkien himself a lot of it will be up to Jackson's interpretation and don't get me wrong, he did an amazing job on The Lord of the Rings, but the ONLY FUCKING REASON they are creating a trilogy out of 1 book is so that they can pump it for all the money it's worth. Now instead of having to spend £5-£7 for a cinema ticket to see two films I will have to spend it to see three. That's £15- £24 one films alone, then with all 3 DVD/Blu-rays and then later probably extended editions or limited edition box sets that's a whole fucking lot of money they're trying to get out of something that isn't Jackson's idea. AND, the original creator, Tolkien won't see a penny of that. His family might, but he won't, he's dead and he can't complain. I bet they'll just make more fucking movies out of his other books as well. Can you tell I'm mad?

Sigh. I really wish Del Toro had been able to direct this movie.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff- A long and gushing review


Stormdancer comes out in the UK on September 13th and is being published by Tor. The Hardback is 438 pages of epic.

This story is about a girl named Yukiko, her special gift and her broken family. Ordered by their Shogun (their emperor/king basically) the hunters of the imperial court, led by Yukiko’s own father, set off on the impossible task to find a thunder tiger, knowing that the beast is extinct and the mad Shogun’s order is basically a death sentence. If they refuse, they die. If they fail, they die. The only thing they can do is set off on a sky ship, the Thunder Child, and pray that their God grants them fortune but fortune always comes about in a way no one expects. Set in a Japan inspired land with lots of steampunk elements this really is an epic fantasy.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien


Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit is the classic children's story about Bilbo Baggins, the reluctant burglar for a group of dwarves intent on taking their treasure and home back from the terrible dragon Smaug. This is a re-read. I first read this book when I was about 8.


The Hobbit has been held as a classic for a long time and it deserves that status. The story follows this unlikely group of creatures as the set off towards the misty mountains. Tolkien's writing style is incredible, it flows beautifully and describes this wonderful cast of characters and their predicaments perfectly. I love how songs and riddles are incorporated through out the story, which is something modern fantasy doesn't tend to do much of. 

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Reading Rut

I'm in a bit of a reading rut right now. I think my problem is that I bought so many books to read over the summer that I don't know where to start and I know I need to get some read ASAP so that I can review them, but because I have so many it's all incredibly daunting.

Do you guys ever get into reading ruts and if you do how do you get out of them? I'd really like some advice.

-Iona

Sunday 15 July 2012

First Frost Blog Tour

Author Liz DeJesus has stopped by today for with an excerpt for the First Frost Blog Tour!

Friday 13 July 2012

Big Book Survey

1. Favorite childhood book?
Harry Potter by Jo Rowling
2. What are you reading right now?
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. Yay so happy I have a copy!
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
I don’t really use the library because it’s not close to my house but I hope to borrow some when I move to Melton
4. Bad book habit?
Not reading a whole series. If I don't like the first book I won't bother
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
None.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
Yup. A kindle keyboard. Had it for over a year now. I prefer real books
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I prefer one at a time but I usually get so excited about books I usually start a few in one go.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I concentrate more on the writing style than I ever did
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Monday 9 July 2012

Am I being too harsh with my ratings? Some thoughts on Goodreads

I have to ask myself time and time again, am I being too harsh with my ratings on Goodreads?

I browse through many other bloggers, book tubers and friends ratings on there and they happily give 5 stars to a book they liked. Most books I really enjoy I only give 4 stars to. My reasoning behind this is because I believe that a 5 star book is something that changes your life. That makes you smarter or creates elicits an extreme emotional response. Books I really enjoy don't necessarily do that.

Friday 6 July 2012

The Declaration by Gemma Malley


Anna lives in Grange Hall, the one refuge place for people like her, people who shouldn't exist. She has lived there since she can remember and there she learns how to be useful. How to payback what she owes to the world for using up valuable resources just by living. But then a strange boy named Peter arrives, a boy who has lived outside Grange Hall all his life, and she starts to question things. Like, should she really be sorry for living?

What I liked?
Anna. Anna's progression through the book is very interesting. She changes quite a bit through out but she never looses her tough, stubborn edge. She can be a bit of a bitch sometimes but she has been given the worst out of life and is just trying to get by as best she can, living by the rules and expectancies of Grange Hall. When you read her diary it's really interesting to see initially how much she loathes her existence.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Video Book Haul #1- Sweet Evil, Insurgent etc...


 Hey guys, I thought I'd do a book haul in the form of a video. I'm not very good at these and I get a little scared in front of the camera so be nice please.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Book Tubers

Do you guys watch book tubers? I used to only watch Sanne or Books and Quills, but she did a video about book tubers a little while back and until then I hadn't realised it was much of a thing on youtube, now I realise it's huge so here's a list of my new found favourite book tubers in no particular order

For the girls we have:
Books and Quills
Just Kiss My Frog
The Book Chronicles
Reading Rhino Press
Kayley Reads
Paper Bookmark
The Readables
Ren Kelly M
Ophelia Dagger

And the boys:
The Boondoogle
Pure Dragon 100

I would give you guys explanations but I just want to use "amazing" and "quirky" in almost everyone one of them so I won't try and describe them but you really should check them out.

Do you guys watch book tubers and are there any you'd like to suggest to me?

-Iona

Sunday 1 July 2012

I'm Back! And A Quick Review.

I'm back guys! It's the summer Holiday and I'm back and ready to jump back into blogging again. Time to chill and read ignore the stress that college has been putting me under for the past couple of months. Did you miss me?


Onto the review...

Dark Matter: A Ghost Story by Michelle Paver

1937, London. Jack is poor, lonely and desperate for a change so when he is offered a chance to join an arctic expedition he jumps at the offer. But the arctic summer is brief. As night returns back to the land and the dark creeps in Jack begins to realise something else walks the frozen land outside their little cabin...


Friday 8 June 2012

Hiatus

Hi guys, I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much lately and I'm going to announce an official hiatus on my blog for a little while. I'm basically being messed around by my college halls and a landlord I was supposed to move into the house of next year. I risk loosing out on nearly £300, need to find a new place to live and get together a couple hundred quid to secure ANOTHER house. So as you can tell this is a very stressful time and I'm really sorry but I hope you guys will understand. When I have a minute to spare I will try and write up so reviews and queue them up on here but till then I hope you understand.

-Iona

Friday 1 June 2012

Saving Mary Blog Tour


Author Deidre Haverlock has stopped by my blog today with a guest post for her Saving Mary Blog Tour. Also two posts in one day? Aren't you lucky. Check this book out! My review will come sometime in the next week.

Book Lust!

I've decided I'm going to do a post about the books I am currently lusting over. And I mean REALLY lusting. The type of lusting that makes you think "screw the fact that I need to pay a deposit on a rental house sometime in the near future, these look too good to walk away from." So here they are, the books I feel I might just need in my life soon.






So what books do you guys feel you need in your life and have any of you read the ones I'm desperate to get?


Friday 25 May 2012

Interview with Michelle Scott

Michelle Scott, if you've been paying attention to my blog, is the author of the Lilith Straight series. She's a lovely woman and I had the chance to email her a few times, all though embarrassingly I didn't even realise she was the author at first she was so nice and I hadn't had a chance to read the books at that point. However she did answer some of my questions so enjoy.

Me:     What inspired you to write such an interesting and unique book series? 

Michelle: I wanted to write a series about a woman who, through no fault of her own, is faced with an impossible decision: either she must follow in her mother’s footsteps by becoming the Devil’s handmaiden, or she has to pass the position on to her eight-year-old daughter.  I’ve always loved stories in which characters are forced to make extreme choices because I think it’s when those choices are made that the person’s true nature is revealed.
 
Me:      As a Teen/Young Adult who was your favorite author? And would you say that has changed now you're an adult? If so, to whom?

Michelle: I started reading Stephen King when I was in high school, and I still love his work.  Even now, he manages to scare the stuffing out of me!
As a teen, I was also very interested in dystopian fiction like George Orwell’s 1984 and Adolous Huxley’s Brave, New World.  Although I’m not as much of a horror reader as I used to be (SK spoiled me for all others, lol), I still love a good dystopian novel.  The Hunger Games trilogy have been favorites of mine.  I also like to read more nonfiction than I used to.  I find books like The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean fascinating.

Sunday 20 May 2012

Straight to Hell- Blog tour and competition to win an iPod

I have been lucky enough to participate in the Straight to Hell by Michelle Scott blog tour. I have two books to review and an author interview which is so exciting as I've never been part of it before.

The summary : The moment Lilith Straight dies, the Devil appears to claim her soul and cash in on a longtime family curse. Now, Lilith has no choice but to work for him. The job is bad, the boss is worse, and she can't imagine how she'll explain her new reincarnation to her eight-year-old daughter. But then an arrogant, yet oh so yummy, incubus shows up...and hell heats up just a little more.

This book is really interesting and different to anything I have ever read before. It's an adult books with very adult themes so I wouldn't suggest it for any of my younger followers, but It is definitely a good fun read.In fact the humor and the characters are the best thing about this book.

Friday 18 May 2012

Bout of Books Challenge

I could not participate in the read-a-thon for this challenge but the confessions questions they had to go along with it seemed really fun so I wanted to answer them.

Physical book or eBook?
Physical. I have a Kindle, which I do still enjoy reading, but I always prefer tangible books and now that most kindle books are almost the same price as their corporeal counterparts I will buy the physical books more often because they contribute to my long-term dream of having a library in my house.
Paperback or Hardcover?
Paperback. I find hardcovers harder to read. They usually look a whole lot nicer but I don't want to pick them up in case I damage them, which I usually do.
 
Reality or Make-believe?
Is this like non-fiction vs. fiction? Because if that's what it is I pick fiction any day of the week.
 
Adult or Young-Adult?
I'll read either but I usually prefer YA. I'm in my last teenage year and I find I just prefer stories about people of a similar age to me.
 
Dog ears or Bookmarks?
I am such a terrible bookworm but I dog ear my books. I don't like when people completely trash books but I like my books to look like they've had a little loving and not just sat untouched on my shelf.
 
Breaking the spine or Barely open the book? 
If you open a book you're likely to break the spine, but I'm assuming this question means opening it so wide that it will never close properly again and the spine folds perfectly in half? I could never do that to a book. My mum does. That's not loving a book, that's abusing it. 

Tea or Coffee?
Tea. I'm British. I like my tea like my men. Dark, Strong and Sweet.
 
Reading in bed or On the couch?
Bed. Reading is something I always do in the quiet of my room
 
Series or Standalone?
Either. Sometimes people make series just to make money or for the sake of writing a series which can spoil and drag out a story, but some stories can't be told in just one book, so it just depends.
 
Original or TV Adaptation?
I like both. I'm a media girl, I am doing a course in film (and its applicable to television) so I love to see how people can transform and change the written word into something beautiful visually. That being said sometimes an adaptation is better, sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's bang on. As with everything, it just depends.
 
 Defy motion sickness or Audiobooks?
I cannot read a book in a moving vehicle. I tried many times as a child and would have to sit with my mum for an hour eating and drinking something in a nice quiet still place to get over the feeling of wanting to violently throw up. However I don't listen to many audio books either, I'm much more of a music girl when it comes to long journeys
 
Author crushes or Who-was-that-guy-again?
I admire, but don't crush on authors
 
Interview or Guest post?
Either is good
Hope you guys join in with this. 
-Iona

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Updates, Competition News, Extracts etc...

Hi everyone. Sorry I went on a mini impromptu hiatus for a little while, I was having some boy issues and really I just haven't been in the mood for reading or blogging, I've just wanted to be away from anything that requires actual thought. But I'm back now!

I am participating in a blog tour for the Lilith Straight series with Dani from Pen to Paper next week which shall be so much fun. I am reviewing both the first two books and having the author here for an interview. Goodie!

I also wanted to thank every one who participated in the giveaway, if you weren't following closely the winners were already announced but seeing as how all their prizes have now gone out I'd like to congratulate Linda and Robin for winning. I hope they like the books they receive. I am currently reading and enjoying I Capture the Castle and I will do a review on it when I'm finished as well as Insurgent when I get round to reading that.

Today I found an extract from a book that sounds pretty amazing and I really want to just go out and buy it even though I know I shouldn't because I am a poor student who should be saving my money for food, but here is the book extract. The book is The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo and is released tomorrow.

Hope you're all having a great week.

-Iona 

Sunday 6 May 2012

Book Haul

I've not wanted to do much on my blog while my competition is running but I thought today I'd do a book haul because that's the best thing about the weekends.


Monday 23 April 2012

World Book Night Giveaway!!

Hey guys! I'm hosting a giveaway for World Book Night. It starts today, on World Book Night, and finishes on Tuesday the 8th of May at Midnight (GMT).

I will be giving away two copies of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and the first place winner will get a copy of Insurgent by Veronica Roth as well which I will be buying out of my own pocket.

You must be a follower to participate in the giveaway as well as be able to have a book shipped from the book depository and of course either be old enough to give me your address (of legal age in your country) or have your parents permission to do so.

If you have all of that just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and of course there are ways to get extra entries. If you win you will have 48 hours to respond before I pick another winner.

Hope you are having a great World Book Night.


So what is World Book Night?

Enter my giveaway for World Book Night here

"Now in its second year, World Book Night 2012 will take place on the 23rd April, UNESCO’s International Day of the Book and Shakespeare’s birthday.

World Book Night is an industry-wide initiative launched in 2011 and will see one million free books given away by passionate readers to other members of the public across the UK and Ireland.

Members of the public were invited to apply to be one of the 20,000 book-givers and those selected are passionate readers who enjoy recommending a book they love to other readers. They are also encouraged to pass the books on to those who may be reluctant readers or who are part of communities with less access to books, bookshops and libraries. In total, 480,000 books will be distributed by givers. The remaining 520,000 will be distributed directly to prisons, libraries, hospitals and other places where books are not readily available, through World Book Night’s charitable partners. For further information visit www.worldbooknight.org"

In simple terms, World Book Night is a day where people who signed up to be book givers distribute 24 copies of a book they chose from a list of 25 books selected by public vote. These books can be distributed to anyone but the aim is to get at least a few to people who do not read as often in an attempt to encourage them to do so.

Saturday 21 April 2012

In My Mailbox (2) World Book Night

So it's World Book Night on Monday and it's my job to hand out these lovely books to 24 lucky people who don't read much, however I'm thinking about having a giveaway for two of my lovely readers to snag a copy each as a chance to see how far we can get these books.



 


Sunday 8 April 2012

Immortal City by Scott Speer



“Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them. He's days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him. Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect--everyone except for Madison Montgomery.


Maddy's the one girl in Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love” From Goodreads.

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this book, which may be coming out as a television show or a movie sometime in the future.

Friday 6 April 2012

Switched by Amanda Hocking


When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of…” From Goodreads

So… I’ll whole heartedly admit that this is another case of the book cover being too good to walk away from; seriously this book has haunted me for months because of how pretty the book cover is. And when I found it in a charity shop for £2.50 and it looked like it had never even been read I couldn’t resist. Wendy Everly is 17 years old and a bit of an outcast. She’s never really fit in anywhere, not even her own family. And let me tell you before I write this review that I actually liked the book. I liked it even though I know I shouldn’t, but this review is mainly going to air my bad opinions of it.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Ok so here’s another book I read an age ago and haven’t had time to review.
This is not my usual type of book. It’s a lot more ‘fluffy, teen girl book’ then my usual genre favourites but I had read a great review of it on Goodreads and then it came up on http://pulseit.simonandschuster.com so I decided to give it a go.

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.” – From Goodreads.

Hudson Avery is an incredible baker, and ex-competitive ice-skater, 17 year old girl stuck in a dead-end job working at her mum’s diner, helping to keep the family afloat after her dad walked out. She’s fed up of her typical small town life and she can’t wait to get out of there. So when she is given the chance to win a scholarship that could send her to any school she could dream of, and all she has to do is brush of her old skates and complete her old routine. 

The only problem is ice-skating used to be her and her dad’s thing and the minute he left she hung up her skate for good. With a tight work schedule, a not very supportive mum, a little brother to look after, cakes to bake and nowhere to skate she doesn’t think she’ll even have the chance. Until her the one person who can change her life literally crashes into her.

Sunday 11 March 2012

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The unconsecrated are never alone. You are…

"In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future..." - From Goodreads

It’s been a while since I read this book. I think originally I quite liked it but since then and thinking about it I have changed my opinion a little. It’s a good book. It’s quite unusual in the sense that it has taken the idea of ‘The Village’ (the film) and placed it in a zombie novel.

It was quite well written, from what I remember, and it’s got a very interesting storyline with a GREAT twist at the end, even though I was kind of expecting it in the first half of the book the second half made me change my mind so completely that by the time it came I didn’t believe it would come at all.

My only problem with the book was the characters.

Friday 2 March 2012

The Darkening Dream - Signed copy


I won a signed copy of this book in Goodreads competition. This should probably go in an In My Mailbox post but I haven't bought any books this week so I'm going to just give it it's own dedication.

Description from Goodreads "1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand. "

Book with bookmarks & signature. Click to enlarge


I'm really looking forward to reading this book, and I'm really excited that it's a signed copy. I'm not even a huge game fan but who wouldn't want something signed by the creator of Crash Bandicoot?

I'd like to thank Mascherato Publishing for sending me the book and Andy Gavin and Goodreads for hosting the competition. When I'm done reading this I will review it for sure.

Wednesday 29 February 2012

February round up.

In February the books I read were:

1. The Compulsive Spike Milligan by Spike Milligan
2. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
3. The Forest of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan
4. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
5. Across the Universe by Beth Revis.

I'm a little disappointed with how many books I've read but I'm still ahead of the other people reading 70 books on Goodreads so I'm ok with that.

Out of all the books I'd have to say Unearthly has been the best read of this month. I still need to write a review for it and a few more books but they'll get on here eventually.

Thursday 23 February 2012

NEWS: J. K. Rowling to write her first adult novel

J.K. Rowling has a new publishing deal with Little, Brown Book (UK) Group and Little, Brown and Company (US) to publish her first novel for adults.

Although the publisher has not yet revealed the title or publication date (further details about the novel will be announced later in the year) they did reveal the novel will be published in print and eBook formats; a thing that many of us are still impatiently waiting to happen to the Harry Potter books.

Little, Brown Book Group publisher David Shelley will edit and publish for UK readers and Michael Pietsch will publish in the United States.

Rowling released this statement: “Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life.”

David Shelley said: "For me, quite simply, it is a personal and professional dream come true to be working with J.K. Rowling. She is one of the best storytellers in the world, and I am looking forward enormously to helping bring her new novel for adults to her fans and admirers, and to introducing her writing to new readers the world over."

Will you be reading Rowling's new book? I probably will be regardless of the storyline because I love her writing style but I'd like to see what she writes about and how much of a change it is from Harry Potter before I say 100% if I will.

March 2012 UK Novel Debuts

This is going to become a monthly feature on my blog. It features debut UK novelists books that are being released through out the month. I haven't got many for March.

1st of March:


The Witch of Turlington Academy by Ellie Boswell. Published by: Atom. Genre: YA
Here's an extract

Bunheads by Sophie Flack. Published by: Atom. Genre: YA


The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. Published by: Simon & Schuster Children's Books. Genre: YA


Slide by Jill Hathaway. Published by: HarperCollins Children's Books. Genre: YA



Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor. Published by: Hodder Children's Books. Genre: YA