Wednesday 21 January 2015

#bookWISHES in The Darkest Part Of The Forest!


Calling Holly Black and faerie fans everywhere: The Darkest Part Of The Forest is coming 5th February! It has faeries, it has knights, it has wishes, changelings, horned princes in coffins... Yeah. It's epic. And one of you lucky people will have a chance to win your very own copy - yes, an international giveaway! But more on that in a minute...

I am literally the biggest Holly Black fan in the history of ever. And therefore I was SO excited to have a chance to take part in The Darkest Part Of The Forest UK blog tour (sort of thing).
The whole focus of this tour is #bookishWISHES! There are a few wishes in DPoTF - with faeries: not always the best idea...
But here is a little blurb for you - trust me, if you're not excited yet, you're going to be...



FAERIES. KNIGHTS. PRINCES. THINK YOU KNOW HOW THE STORY GOES? THINK AGAIN... 
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author HOLLY BLACK
spins a dark, dangerous and utterly beautiful


faerie tale, guaranteed to steal your heart...
Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.
Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once. At the centre of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointy as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.
Until one day, he does… As the world turns upside down and a hero is needed to save them all, Hazel tries to remember her years spent pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?


But onto the wishin' and give-awayin'!

First up, I'm meant to make my #bookishWishes. And I am making wishes - plural. The first is a little selfish, I guess, but the second isn't. Balance is key. ;)

My First Bookish Wish:
My first wish is that 2015 is the best bookish year of my book blogging days. I wish that brilliant books are published (and I get to read them all!), that I get to meet up with my amazing blogging friends more ('cause I love you all!), that I actually have time to read everything 2015 has to offer and that, just maybe, I get to finish the book I'm writing - it's about time these characters, worlds and plots get out of my head and into the world! So that's my selfish-ish wish (though of course I wish the same for my blogging friends!)...

My Second Bookish Wish:
My second wish is less selfish: I wish that every child all over the world has at least one book to read and love. Every child should have the magic a wonderful book can give. Books save my life every single day and I just want everyone everywhere to have that.


And now for your turn!
Because it's time I go all Bookish Faerie Godmother on you guys, my lovely followers! It's time for an international giveaway of The Darkest Part Of The Forest, thanks to the very generous Indigo peoples!

Now, let me paint a picture of what you have to do... using pictures and a faerie tale theme!


Well, that was fun!  But let's go over the rules once again...

First up, consider this: If you could make any bookish wish, what would you wish for? Now decide how you want to make this wish: do you want to just write it down in the comments, Tweet it, post it on Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook (use the #bookishWISHES and #DPoTF tags if you do) or email it to me? Do you want to wish it in a picture, like me?  Do you want to draw your wish?  Do you want to video yourself?   Do you want to get creative and write a story - write your own faerie tale?

If you decide to get creative, post your special wish wherever you want and place a direct link in the comments to this post - please Tweet or email me too at @BookAddictdGirl (and the #bookishWISHES tag!) or thebookaddictedgirl@yahoo.co.uk. Whoever makes the most marvellous, creative, unique and special wish wins a copy of The Darkest Part Of The Forest!

The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL and ends midnight 11th February - the witching hour (fey-ing hour?)! I will go through all the entries and choose which is the most marvellous and deserving of the brilliant The Darkest Part Of The Forest!
But remember: if you don't post the link in the comments and Tweet/email me - you can't win!  No matter how amazing your entry is!

Well, I'll leave you all, my loveliest followers, to get a-wishin'!  I hope you have fun!!

---

Keep up with the wishing tomorrow, over at Serendipity Reviews!
And if you want to know more about the amazing The Darkest Part Of The Forest, check it out on Goodreads and Amazon.  Follow the lovely Holly too on her websiteTwitterPinterest and Facebook!


About HOLLY BLACK:
Holly Black is the bestselling author of YA and children's books including being co-creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles, a NEW YORK TIMES No.1 bestselling phenomenon and hugely successful film. She has been a finalist for the MYTHOPOEIC AWARD, the EISNER AWARD and a recipient of the ANDRE NORTON AWARD and a NEWBERY HONOR. She currently lives in New England in a house with a secret door.

Saturday 10 January 2015

There Will Be Lies By Nick Lake

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: ARC
Published1st  January 2015
Number of Pages: 464
Book: For Review*
Genre: Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery, Magical Realism, Suspense, Paranormal, Mythology, Fantasy, Action-Adventure, YA
Recommended Age: 14+
Contains: Swearing, Violence, Alcohol, Smoking, Drug and Sexual References
Author's Blog: Thus Spake Nick Lake

Blurb From Goodreads:
Shelby Jane Cooper is seventeen, pretty and quiet. It's just Shelby and her mom, Shaylene, a court stenographer who wears pyjama jeans, stitches tapestry, eats ice-cream for dinner and likes to keep Shelby safe. So safe she barely goes out. So safe she doesn't go to school. Because anything could happen, to a girl like Shelby. Anything.
When Shelby gets knocked down by a car, it's not just her leg that's broken: Shelby's world is shattered. Her mom turns up to collect her and drives off into the night, like it's the beginning of a road trip, like two criminals on the run, like Thelma and Louise or Bonnie and Clyde. And somehow, everywhere she looks, there's a coyote watching her, talking to her, telling her not to believe.
Who is Shelby Jane Cooper? If the person who keeps you safe also tells you lies, who can you trust?

                                                                   Review:
“I'm going to be hit by a car in about four hours, but I don't know that yet.
The weird thing is, it's not the car that's going to kill me, that's going to erase me from the world. 
It's something totally different.  Something that happens eight days from now and threatens to end the world…”
Shelby Cooper's Mom has always been paranoid and over-protective.  Shelby has been home-schooled, only going out once a week for batting practice and ice cream.  Her Mom knows everything about her, controls everything, is always telling her to be careful, watch out for cars...
One day, Shelby isn't careful enough.  A car comes onto the pavement, hits her and breaks her leg.  As she lies there, she sees a coyote, who says:
"There will be two lies, it says.  Then there will be the truth.  And that will be hardest of all."
The moment Shelby is released from the hospital, she and her mother go on the run.  They pack their car up and flee.  
Shelby's Mom has been lying to Shelby all her life.  Mom isn't who she claimed to be.
The world isn't what it claimed to be.  Because every time Shelby closes her eyes, she leaves our world and appears in another, guided on a quest by the coyote...
“There was a time before time existed and that is called the Dreaming, and that is where we are, he says.
Oh, that clears it up, I say…”
What are the two lies?  What is the truth?  
And why has her whole life been a lie?  Love?  Fear?  Survival...?
I started There Will Be Lies, just intending to read a few chapters to see what it would be like.  Half an hour and a hundred pages later, I was still hooked to every word.  I stayed up 'til three-freaking-o'clock to gobble up as many pages as possible before I pretty much passed out.  There Will Be Lies is the kind of thriller that gets under your skin, until your desire to find out what the hell's going on becomes a burning need, so intense and so strong it can't be denied.  And I must say, There Will Be Lies was like no other thriller I've read before.  It was just... so unique.  I've read real life-fantasy mashups before, but I think TWBL might just be my favourite, thanks to the mystery and Native American folklore.  All this made it so brilliant and so utterly addictive!  It's also going to be hard to write a review for – I mean, how much can I say without giving everything away?  But I'll try my best to ramble on as usual...  Lucky followers.
There were really only a few characters in this book, but they were all so very interesting and unique and intriguing.  I really liked Shelby – in fact, I found her intriguing!  Oh, and yay for the disability diversity – and for her blasé way of telling us!  But she was really brave and strong, but also lost and scared and confused.  Basically, totally understandable for her character – and very likeable and relatable. 
Mark...  Yeah, that was weird and so interesting – as bizarre as it was brilliant, that part of the storyline... more in a minute on that.  Mark: he was cryptic, mysterious, confusing – a puzzle I loved trying to crack.
Shelby's Mom...  I had a few theories concerning her overprotectiveness.  I found this woman, who wore pyjama jeans and was so protective and jumpy, intriguing...  But I  can’t say more, otherwise I might give it away…
This writing... I do like Nick Lake's writing style – his use of bizarre punctuation, his edgy voices.  Shelby really came through – so strong.  The voice was amazing, the prose compelling and the way of writing so different and unique.  I can't really explain it – it was kind of written like a train of thoughts, a stream of consciousness: everything Shelby thought, we heard, no matter the consequences.  It was honest and real and so believable.  Some people might find the weird punctuation annoying or hard to read, but I rather liked it – but that's me.
I really love thrillers.  I love all those big ohhh moments, the ones you discover and think that all makes SO MUCH sense now!  I love it.  And normally I'm actually pretty good at guessing, despite my love of twists and oh moments.  But in There Will Be Lies...  Sure, I guessed a few twists (one of the big ones, actually, though it was only one of my many theories – another so-called 'PLOT TWIST' was very, very obvious for me) but this storyline, thanks to the fantastical elements, was generally unpredictable and insanely exhilaratingly exciting.
The Dreaming was so bizarre and so awesome.  I must say, I guessed aspects of the Dreaming plot, but the world building was brilliant - more so because we're never really sure what, exactly, the Dreaming is.  If it's real, if it's a different plane, world, etc.  Maybe I would have preferred some further explanation, but it all was so fascinating and really rather unique - I really enjoyed my time in the Dreaming!  I’ve also only read a few books focusing on Native American folklore, and found the Coyote aspects simply brilliant.
There was something about this book, something I really can't put my finger one.  It's something I've found in Nick's other books, something that keeps me awake until ridiculous hours, desperate to read on.  It's some weird sort of magic, something inexplicable and powerful.  I read the book as fast as humanely possible, gobbled it all up and was left both wanting more and utterly satisfied.  The ending... it was perfect, kind of.  There Will Be Lies was an intriguing, addictive and beautiful book, one I really enjoyed.  It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it made this reviewer very happy!

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5




Read this book if you liked:
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale
Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson


Happy Reading
Megan
* This book was received from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review

** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book