Monday 29 September 2014

Summer Reads Part One

Since my daughter's birth my Kindle has fast become one of my most treasured possessions. Being able to use it one-handed has made it invaluable when it comes to nighttime feeds and I now do most of my reading at 2am! As a result, I have been able to read a lot of books this summer and I'm writing a mini review of each below. I don't normally write reviews and there are a lot of books for me to catch-up on, so they are going to start quite brief and will hopefully get longer as I go along.




I never knew where this book was going to go next! The plot had so many twists and turns and it was entertaining throughout. I particularly liked all of the historical references and how Allan's life intertwined with real-world events. 


Whoa. Where to start with this one? I really loved the writing style, It was distinctive and definitely makes me want to check out more of Lockhart's work (is it bad that I can't write that without my mind going off on a Harry Potter tangent?). I guessed half of the twist right at the beginning of the book, but not the specifics and the writing was good enough to make me doubt myself on a few occasions. Read this book if you like Gossip Girl. 


I started this ages ago, got distracted by other books, and have only just gone back to it. The series is really strong, although I still think the first book - Poison Study - was the best. Fire Study was possibly lacking in Valek a little for my liking. Read this if you like Throne of Glass: it has a strong heroine, magic and lots of action (and read it for Valek, who is one of my favourite male characters).





Another one I started then came back too. I wish I had read this without hearing all the hype first, since I think it set my expectations too high and I was disappointed to start with. It did grow on me though and by the end I found myself eager for book 2. I sometimes felt like there was too much going on and the world (and brilliant concept) might have benefited from a simpler plot. It might also be nice to have some Throne Of Glass-style prequels to better establish Paige's life before the events of the novel. 


I think I bought this when it was free or 99p and it has been sat on my Kindle for a while. I love Greek mythology and this is a clever reinterpretation of the myths, although not as good as something like Sarcrossed by Josephine Angelini. I only gave this three stars on Goodreads and I honestly can't now remember why... Perhaps it's just that it hasn't left me particularly interested in continuing the series. It's good, just not particularly special. 


Another bargain pick-up which I've only now found time to read. I like stories with twins, so that was a major plus for this book and the evil twin concept made it even better. This was a quick, fun read with a good plot and fun characters. It's also self-published! I'm definitely going to continue with the series at some point soon. 

These are just the first six - I will post about the next six (Anathema, The Beautiful and the Damned, Heir of Fire, The Forgotten Ones, The Last Werewolf, Glamour) next week.

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Air: An Update

Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while. Don't worry, I haven't vanished, I've just been incredibly busy. At the beginning of the summer I became a mum! I've been rushed off my feet for the past month, but loving every second of it. However, as a result Air has been somewhat neglected... 

I'm slowing mastering the art of using my laptop while my daughter sleeps on my chest, so should be getting back to work in earnest over the next few weeks (between feeds, changes and inexplicable burst of crying, that is!)

In the meantime, I thought I should give you all an update of quite where I am up to. The good news is that Air is finished and edited. It now just needs to be proofread to get rid of any pesky errors. I also need to start working on the cover, which might prove slightly more tricky. I don't want to put to much pressure on myself at the moment, so I'm not setting a release date yet, but Air is coming. Hopefully soon. And if the initial feedback I've been getting on the drafts is anything to go by, you're hopefully going to enjoy reading the trilogy's conclusion. In the meantime, please bear with me and I'll update you whenever I have news. Cover reveal and release date coming soon...