Books Read in 2017

A PROMISE OF FIRE: (DNF) 

(The Kingmaker Chronicles #1): 

Amanda Bouchet 

 GHOSTS OF THE MOTOR CITY 

(Dead in Detroit #0.5): 

Sierra Dean 

 THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS: 

Amy Lukavics 

 THE HUMAN STAIN: 

Kelly Robson 

 WE COME APART: 

Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan 

 HER MOTHER'S SECRET: 

Natasha Lester

 BONE GAP: 

Laura Ruby 

THE GIRL BEFORE: 

JP Delaney  

CARAVAL: (DNF) 

(Caraval #1): 

 Stephanie Garber 

 STRANGE THE DREAMER: (DNF) 

(Strange the Dreamer #1): 

Laini Taylor 

 REBELLION 

(The 100 #4): 

Kass Morgan 

 THE DEVIL AND WINNIE FLYNN: (DNF) Micol Ostow & David Ostow 

 THE SERPENT KING: 

Jeff Zentner 

 HISTORY OF WOLVES: 

Emily Fridlund 

 DELIVER ME: 

Kate Jarvik Birch 

AGENT OF CHAOS 

(The X-Files Origins #1): 

Kami Garcia

 DEVIL'S ADVOCATE 

(The X-Files Origins #2): 

Jonathan Maberry 

 THE WHITE ROAD: 

Sarah Lotz 

 BEHIND HER EYES: 

Sarah Pinborough 

 THE ROANOKE GIRLS:

 Amy Engel  

ARIADNIS: (DNF) 

Josh Martin 

 SONGS ABOUT A GIRL 

(Songs About a Girl #1): 

Chris Russell 

 STARGAZING FOR BEGINNERS: 

Jenny McLachlan 

 THE STEEP & THORNY WAY: 

Cat Winters 

 ALLEGEDLY: (DNF) 

Tiffany D Jackson 

 SAGA, Volume 2: 

Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staple 

 WING JONES: (DNF) 

Katherine Webber 

 RAGDOLL: (DNF) 

Daniel Cole 

TATTLETALE: 

Sarah J Naughton 

 SAGA, Volume 3: 

Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staple 

 SAGA, Volume 4: 

Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staple 

 SAGA, Volume 5: 

Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staple 

 SAGA, Volume 6: 

Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staple 

 SAGA, Volume 7: 

Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staple

 LETTERS TO THE LOST: 

Brigid Kemmerer 

 LITTLE DEAD RED: 

Mercedes M Yardley 

 PAPER GIRLS, Volume 1: 

Brian K Vaughan, Cliff Chiang & Matthew Wilson 

 SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE: (DNF) 

Sarah Schmidt 

 LADY KILLER, Volume 1:

 Joëlle Jones & Chelsea Cain 

 LADY KILLER 2, #1:

 Joëlle Jones & Michelle Madsen 

 LADY KILLER 2, #2: 

Joëlle Jones & Michelle Madsen 

 LADY KILLER 2, #3: 

Joëlle Jones & Michelle Madsen 

 LADY KILLER 2, #4: 

Joëlle Jones & Michelle Madsen 

 EVE & ADAM: 

Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate

 EVEN WHITE TRASH ZOMBIES GET THE BLUES 

(White Trash Zombie #2): 

Diana Rowland 

 THE JOYCE GIRL: (DNF) 
Annabel Abbs 

 ALL THE LITTLE LIARS 

(Aurora Teagarden Mysteries #9): 

Charlaine Harris 

 WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE (White Trash Zombie #3): 

Diana Rowland 

 BIG LITTLE LIES: 

Liane Moriarty 

 THE STEPFORD WIVES: 

Ira Levin 

 HOW THE WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE GOT HER GROOVE BACK 

(White Trash Zombie #4): 

Diana Rowland 

 THE HANDMAID'S TALE: 

Margaret Atwood 

 ANIMAL FARM: 

George Orwell 

 WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE GONE WILD: (White Trash Zombie #5): 

Diana Rowland 

 BETRAYALS 

(Cainsville #4): 

Kelley Armstrong 

 THE BOY ON THE BRIDGE: (DNF) 

MR Carey 

 THE COOKIE JAR: 

Stephen King 

 A COURT OF WINGS & RUIN: (DNF) 

(A Court of Thorns & Roses #3): 

Sarah J Maas

 MY SISTER: 

Michelle Adams 

 THE LANGUAGE OF DYING: 

Sarah Pinborough 

 FORBIDDEN FRUIT 

(Corine Solomon #3.5): 

Ann Aguirre 

 PENNY DREADFUL, Volume 1: 

Krysty-Wilson Cairns, Andrew Hindraker & Louis De Martinis 

 THE FALLEN CHILDREN: 

David Owen 

 BLOODSHIFTED 

(Edie Spence #5): 

Cassie Alexander 

 WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI: 

Sandhya Menon 

 QUEENS OF GEEK: 

Jen Wilde 

 SAGA #43: Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staple 

 BRING ME THE HEAD OF IVY POCKET 

(Ivy Pocket #3): 

Caleb Krisp 

 CORPSELIGHT 

(Verity Fassbinder #2): 

Angela Slatter 

 ADULTHOOD IS A MYTH 

(Sarah's Scribbles #1): 

Sarah Andersen 

 GWENDY'S BUTTON BOX: 

Stephen King & Richard Chizmar

 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: (DNF) 

Jane Austen 

 EVERY HEART A DOORWAY 

(Wayward Children #1): 

Seanan McGuire

 GIRLHOOD:

 Cat Clarke 

 THE GIRL IN BETWEEN: 

Sarah Carroll 

 FRIEND REQUEST: 

Laura Marshall 

 ROSEMARY'S BABY: 

Ira Levin 

 SPELLBOOK OF THE LOST AND FOUND: Moïra Fowley-Doyle 

 THE DREAM WALKER: (DNF)

 Victoria Carless 

 HOLE IN THE MIDDLE: (DNF) 

Kendra Fortmeyer 

 ONE OF US IS LYING: 

Karen M. McManus 

 DEFENDING TAYLOR 

(Hundred Oaks #7): 

Miranda Kenneally 

 BREAKING 

(Burning #2): 

Danielle Rollins 

 COMING UP FOR AIR 

(Hundred Oaks #8): 

Miranda Kenneally

 THESE DEATHLESS BONES:

 Cassandra Khaw 

 GAP YEAR IN GHOST TOWN: (DNF)

 Michael Pryor 

 DID YOU SEE MELODY? (DNF) 

Sophie Hannah 

 AFTER I'VE GONE: 

Linda Green

 THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW (Nevermoor #1): 

Jessica Townsend 

 BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME: 

13 Tales of Villany: 

Edited by Ameriie 

 WONDER WOMAN Warbringer 

(DC Icons #1): 

Leigh Bardugo 

 OUR CHEMICAL HEARTS: 

Krystal Sutherland 

 A SEMI-DEFINITIVE LIST OF WORST NIGHTMARES:

 Krystal Sutherland 

 NO PLOT? NO PROBLEM! 

Revised and Expanded Edition: A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days: 

Chris Baty 

 STALKING JACK THE RIPPER

 (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1): 

Kerri Maniscalco 

 THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS 

Midnighy Tales and Dangerous Magic: Leigh Bardugo & Sara Kipin

 100 NASTY WOMEN OF HISTORY: 

Hannah Jewell 

 HUNTING PRINCE DRACULA

 (Stalking Jack the Ripper #2): 

Kerri Maniscalco 

 THE HAUNTING: 

Alex Bell

 THE YELLOW WALLPAPER: 

Charlotte Perkins Gilman 

 THE LAST NAMSARA 

(Iskari #1): 

Kristen Ciccarelli 

 THE MURDERER:

 Ray Bradbury 

 PRISONER OF ICE AND SNOW: (DNF) 

Ruth Lauren

 CONTAGION 

(Dark Matter #1): 

Teri Terry 

 DREAMLAND BURNING: 

Jennifer Latham 

 TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN: (DNF) 

John Green

 YESTERDAY: (DNF) 

Felicia Yap

 IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD 

A Guide to Getting Your Sh*t Together: 

Rae Earl & Jo Harrison 

 MIRROR, MIRROR: 

Cara Delevingne 

PETER PAN: 

J.M. Barrie 

 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: 

Bayard Taylor  

MOXIE: 

Jennifer Mathieu 

 THE START OF ME AND YOU: 

Emery Lord 

 THE EXPLORER: (DNF) 

Katherine Rundell 

 THE PRINCESS DIARIST: 

Carrie Fisher 

 HARDCORE 24: 

Janet Evanovich 

 SPINNING STARLIGHT: 

RC Lewis

 DEAD JACK AND THE CASE OF THE AMOROUS OGRE: 

James Aquilone 

 THE BEAST'S HEART: (DNF) 

Leife Shallcross 

 THE TASTE OF BLUE LIGHT:

 Lydia Ruffles 

 THE RAVENOUS: 

Amy Lukavics 

 LITTLE MONSTERS: 

Kara Thomas 

 THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE: Stephanie Perkins

 NEVER BITE A BOY ON THE FIRST DATE: Tamara Summers

 THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF CINNAMON GIRL: (DNF) 

Melissa Keil

 THE PERFECT WEAPON: 

Delilah S Dawson 

 SONGS ABOUT US

(Songs About a Girl): 

Chris Russell

CATS OF ULTHAR:
HP Lovecraft

THE GLOW OF FALLEN STARS
(Ventura Saga #2):
Kate Ling

STRANGE WEATHER:
Joe Hill

SPIDER-GWEN, VOLUME 0: Most Wanted?
Jason Latour & Robbi Rodriguez

Books Read in 2017: 131/100

(Number of DNF books: 22)

Number of series now caught up on: 8

Number of books read to catch up:  11

WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE (ongoing)

CAINSVILLE (ongoing)

EDIE SPENCE (final book in series)

IVY POCKET (final book in trilogy)

VERITY FASSBINDER (ongoing)

HUNDRED OAKS (final 2 books in series)

BURNING (final book in duology)

STEPHANIE PLUM (ongoing series)

My 2017 Reading Plans

_

SPIDER-GWEN, VOLUME 0: Most Wanted? by Jason Latour & Robbi Rodriguez

Spider-Gwen, Vol. 0: Most Wanted? by Jason Latour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This morning I told hubby that I wasn't going to read anything for a few days, not until the new year. Not surprisingly, he laughed.

And, he was right to laugh. :D

But since he surprised me the other day with a few gorgeous Spider-Gwen wallets, I just had to read at least one comic book featuring her. Not only does she look super cool, but a female version of such a well-known character definitely appealed to me and this tagline sealed the deal: IN ONE UNIVERSE, it wasn't Peter Parker who was bitten by the radioactive spider, but Gwen Stacy!

So when I found the Kindle version of Volume 0 for a great price, I 1-Clicked and read it in one sitting.

Gwen is still haunted by the death of Peter Parker and her Spider persona is hated by everyone because Jameson convinced them she caused his death. Still, she tries to help by facing the bad guys as a superhero and playing the drums in a girl band as Gwen. But everything is getting harder and she's in the wrong headspace, which sends her in a downward spiral of despair and failure...

I enjoyed this so much! I felt so bad for Gwen because she just can't move on and it's affecting every part of her life. She keeps letting down her band members, her relationship with her father is strained, and she's imagining Spider-Ham. LMAO.

There were SO MANY cool things about this volume. Everything you think you know has been reversed and turned upside down. In such clever ways that I got a real kick out of evil Matt Murdock, hot-head Lieutenant Frank Castle, Ben and May Parker mourning Peter, that there's an actual character called Spider-Ham!, Mary Jane being a little bitchy, and the fact that the girls are in a band called The Mary Janes. Love it.

I also liked the snappy way the story seemed to switch as quickly as Gwen's state of mind. I absolutely LOVED the artwork and the colours and how everything was set out.

This volume includes #1-5, and although it's supposed to be a mini-series, there are definitely a lot of story threads left open.

I think this was a lot of fun and I'll definitely read more Gwen!

View all my reviews

2017 Goals

The year is winding down, so I thought this might be a good time to look back at the Goals List I posted at the beginning of the year.

My list included a bunch of writing stuff, but also several non-writing related things. 

Anyway, here's the original list & how I actually did:

• Get back into regular yoga workouts: UNFORTUNATELY THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN. 😰 (In spite of our yoga workouts falling behind, I'm now the lighest I've ever been. Walking everywhere & eating smaller portions helped me get to the stage where most of my clothes, even my pre-pregnancy ones, are now big on me.)

• Continue my daily walks: YEP! I NOW GO FOR TWO WALKS EVERY DAY--morning & evening--SOMETIMES MORE. 

• Aim to write more than 110k words : THIS IS A GOAL THAT I MORE THAN DOUBLED! I ENDED UP WRITING OVER 300K. 322,913 TO BE PRECISE. (I also revised 1,793pgs)

• Revise, finalise & sub my 2016 YA NaNoWriMo novel (by end of year): I DID REVISE THE BOOK, BUT DIDN'T FINALISE IT BECAUSE I WAS FLOODED WITH IDEAS & WANTED TO GET BACK INTO MY LOVE FOR WRITING. SO I DECIDED TO PUSH THE THIRD DRAFT & SUBBING TO NEXT YEAR.

• Write at least 6 short stories & sub a few to professional markets: I WROTE THREE SHORT STORIES + STARTED ONE THAT BECAME A NOVEL. I GOT A FEW REJECTIONS FROM PRO MARKETS/ANTHOS. BUT ONE WAS ACCEPTED INTO A YA ANTHOLOGY (yay!).

• Write at least two novels (first drafts): I ACTUALLY WROTE THREE NOVEL FIRST DRAFTS--URBAN LEGEND: 70,035w (YA Horror), POSSESS: 76,971w (YA Horror) & COSMIC GIRL: 53,623w (YA SF Thriller).

• Write at least two novellas (first drafts): TBH, I DIDN'T EVEN PLAN FOR THIS BECAUSE ALL MY IDEAS TURNED OUT TO BE LONGER THAN NOVELLAS. 

• Continue to sub my 80's YA novel: TOOK PART IN PITMAD ON TWITTER & GOT SOME INTEREST THAT (UNFORTUNATELY) TURNED INTO NOTHING. :/ SO I DECIDED TO PUT THIS STORY ASIDE FOR NOW.

• Take part in NaNoWriMo: I TOOK PART & WROTE A WHIMSICAL 53K SF YA THAT I CAN'T WAIT TO REVISE. (This was my eleventh NaNo.)

• Read 100 books: READ 131 BOOKS (but 22 of these were DNFs).

• Catch up on a bunch of TV shows we've fallen behind on: THIS DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN BUT I DID KEEP UP WITH MY FAVES THE 100, WYNONNA EARP & STRANGER THINGS. PLUS I WATCHED SEVERAL HORROR MOVIES AT HOME & WE WENT TO THE MOVIES TO WATCH QUITE A FEW THERE TOO. ☺

The following were also on my initial list. But I crossed them off early in the year because Samhain Publishing closed:

• Complete the editing process for RAISING SOME HELL (Elsewhere #2) COMPLETED TWO ROUNDS OF EDITS BEFORE SAMHAIN CLOSED
• Celebrate the release of RAISING SOME HELL during first half of the year WASN'T RELEASED
• Complete the editing process for TYING THE KNOT (Sierra Fox #5.5)  WASN'T RELEASED
• Celebrate the release for TYING THE KNOT during second half of the year WASN'T RELEASED
• Be super excited & proud & happy to have ALL my Sierra Fox World stories published in the one place (Samhain Publishing) WASN'T RELEASED

What happened with Samhain was a real shame, and I still randomly think about my orphaned UF & SF books plus the two that mever made it to publication. But I've dealt with the disappointment and sadness of it all, and set myself on a new writing path. 

One that I want to keep travelling next year. 😀

As you can see above, I did pretty well with my personal goals. I'm quite happy with how much I achieved this year. I'm also really excited about the stories I wrote and all of the new ideas I'm developing.

2017 Summary:

Now it's time to come up with a 2018 Goal List...

STRANGE WEATHER by Joe Hill

A stunning collection of short novels from bestseller Joe Hill, this new collection from an award-winning author makes compelling and powerful reading. 

 One autumnal day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails, splinters of bright crystal that tear apart anyone who isn't safely under cover. 'Rain' explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as clouds of nails spread out across the country and the world. Amidst the chaos, a girl studying law enforcement takes it upon herself to resolve a series of almost trivial mysteries . . . apparently harmless puzzles that turn out to have lethal answers. 

In 'Loaded' a mall security guard heroically stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun movement. Under the hot glare of the spotlights, though, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it...

'Snapshot, 1988' tells the story of an kid in Silicon Valley who finds himself threatened by The Phoenician, a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid that can steal memories... 

And in 'Aloft' a young man takes to the skies to experience parachuting for the first time . . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero's island of roiling vapour that seems animated by a mind of its own. 

The year is winding down, and I thought an anthology might be a good way to end my reading year. Since this one sounded interesting, and the stories are pretty lengthy, I thought this would be the perfect fit.

So, let's get started:

SNAPSHOT

When Mike Figlione is thirteen in the late 1980s, he's overweight and doesn't have any friends. But he has a neighbour who helped take care of him while he was growing up and now, she needs his help. What he experiences changes his life in terrifying, sad and even amazing ways...

I loved this story! 

Mike's voice was engaging and raw, totally sucked me right into this very melancholy and often freaky tale down memory lane. The imagery is vivid. The use of turbulent weather perfectly matches the name of the book, and the reality of what Mike encounters is really (really) cool. If you ignore all the super sad bits, of course.

I loved his connection to Mrs. Beukes. It was so sweet, and tragic. The way he got along with his father was also very sweet. But what this kid goes through is dripping with suspense and kept me turning each page while fearing the worst.

Do yourself a favour and read this very clever novella. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

LOADED

When a troubled mall security guard stops a mass shooting, he becomes a hero. But sometimes heroes aren't heroes at all. Yet,  they all have deep and dark secrets they'd rather keep hidden...

This is such a well-written story, that even though I hated one of the main characters SO MUCH all I wanted was to see him burn, it totally hooked me in and kept me glued to each and every page.

The only problem is that this story deals with a real-life horror we see way too many times on the news. Gun-toting white men who think the world is turning against them and instead of looking at themselves decide to use a gun on innocent people because it's their God-given right and no one's gonna tell them otherwise. Ugh.

This story made me SO ANGRY because these assholes with guns are too real and appear too often. And the government who should be shutting them down instead makes excuses, while making it easier for them.

I don't care what anyone says, guns & losers will always be a bad mix. Still, the way it was written captured the horror perfectly.

I know there might be some people who have a problem with the very real and very brutal social commentary in this story, but I thought it was perfect. Especially how it dealt with the ridiculous notion of only a good guy with a gun can defeat a bad guy with a gun. Again, ugh.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ALOFT

Okay. This story was a struggle to get through.

When a group of friends lose a member of their group to cancer, they promise they'll skydive in her honour. But Aubrey is afraid of heights and the only reason he even agreed was to impress Harriet. Just when he's about to chicken out, something goes wrong and he ends up on a cloud...

This started out well. I was really feeling the beginning and could even ignore the fact Aubrey annoyed the hell out of me. But when he ends up alone. Nope. It's not even because it's a weird tale, I actually like weird stories. It's because Aubrey was such a jerk that him being alone for the rest of the story just couldn't keep me interested.

I seriously didn't care about him and ended up skimming. A lot. The snippets of his past were okay, but his ordeal on the freaky cloud was just blah. Boring.

Such a shame because the first two stories were so awesome.

⭐⭐

RAIN

Wow. All hell breaks loose almost instantly in this one.

Honeysuckle Speck (gotta love that name!) is waiting for her girlfriend to arrive, because they're finally moving in together, when a storm like no other hits and kills anyone who was unfortunate enough to be outside at the time...

Yikes! What a story.

My favourite thing about this novella is how easily and smoothly it slips from totally serious and horrifying, to totally ridiculous and LOL-insane. I loved the jabs at the US president and how terrifying it is to watch him instantly retaliate with nuclear power when he should be worried about his fellow Americans and trying to keep them safe.

I also liked how it portrayed everyday people dealing with something so uncontrollable--the considerate versus the malicious, and even the bat-shit delusional. Plus I really liked the main character.

This story is amazingly clever, and the twist caught me by surprise. Even though I managed to connect all of the breadcrumbs after the fact!

Like I said, for being a spoof of his own work, it's very clever.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Strange Weather is an excellent collection of short novels to get lost in. And trust me, you will totally lose yourself in these powerful words, because Joe Hill has a way of drawing the reader right into the heart of the story with his engrossing storytelling style. I also liked how all four are (very) loosely tied together by the use of bizarre weather events and by cheeky word mentions.

The illustrations act as haunting bookends for each story. And the Afterword is cool because, being a writer myself, I always love to find out the story behind the story.

With the exception of one unremarkable story, the other three are absolutely remarkable and well worth the price of admission.

I strongly recommend this anthology, especially if there's a storm closing in. ;)

Strange Weather, November 2017, ISBN 9781473221185, Gollancz

Happy Holidays!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you all have an awesome, fun and safe festive season full of good food, great company and plenty of downtime. 

 Have a great one!

December= Restless Mind + Scrambled Brain

The other day I posted this tweet:

And just had to mention it here, because this time of year is always the same. By the time we reach December, I've done so many things that my brain begins to slow down. 

I'm the kind of person who's always got a to-do list and pretty much stick to it. But towards the end of the year it becomes a lot shorter. I don't have any real writing or reading goals, and spend a bunch of time just organising stuff while thinking about stuff.

There are a few reasons for this:

• Tired brain (as mentioned above)
• Finally starts to feel like summer
• School holidays are here
• Bunch of public holidays

All of this amounts to many distractions and disruptions. So in a way, I guess my brain is expecting this and decides to take a step back. But that doesn't mean I slow down completely.

This week, I still did this:

• Went for two walks daily
• Read a great SW short story on my Paperwhite, DNFd a YA library book & read an awesome YA review book
• Signed a contract for my YA horror story, which will be included in the Locker Shockers anthology
• Watched OUIJA: Origin of Evil (which I'd been looking forward to watching & really enjoyed!)
• Organised my Idea Files
• Updated/synchronised all my files, pics & photos (several times)
• Wrote the start of a new novel!

Sounds like a lot of stuff, but it really isn't. TBH, I spent most of my time on my phone doing one thing or another. Or reading. I spent a lot of time reading. LOL.

The most exciting thing about feeling so restless is that I seem to be open to constant sparks of creativity. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have heaps of ideas and random bits & pieces have been hitting me lately. Writing the first 978w of a new project is awesome, but I won't be committing to anything right now. I'll just keep typing everything up, or writing it down so I don't forget!

It's just nice to feel so fertile in mind that characters, situations and snippets keep randomly dropping in. 😊

Also, this restless-mind thing coupled with the end-of-year drag is helping me focus on the stories I want to read before 2018.

Well, that's about it for today. That's everything I've had buzzing in my brain this week.

Have a nice break!

THE GLOW OF FALLEN STARS by Kate Ling

Love brought them together - life is pulling them apart... 

Seren and Dom have fled their old lives on board spaceship Ventura in order to be together. They crash-land on a beautiful, uninhabited planet, which at first seems like paradise. 

There is no one to answer to ... but no one to ask for help. And with each new day comes the realisation of how vulnerable they truly are. 

 This planet has secrets - lots of them. Uncovering them could be the key to survival, but at what cost?

The Loneliness of Distant Beings was one of my favourite books last year, so I was really looking forward to the sequel. 

Seren, Dom, Ezra and Mari crash-landed after escaping the Ventura. The planet they're on is hostile, the weather on the island is unpredictable, and unknown danger is everywhere. But Seren and Dom are together, and that's all that counts. 

Until things get so bad they have to leave the island and go searching for the mainland. Where they stumble into a bunch of secrets too close to home. If what they discover doesn't ruin everything, the mistrust Seren starts to feel might... 

Sigh. 

I was SO excited about this book. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen to these four characters now that they were alone. I was so looking forward to finding out about this strange planet, and see how they survived. But um, all of the things I wanted to know about ended up being the problems I had with this story. 

The first book in this trilogy was amazing. The romance, heartache and obstacles Seren & Dom overcome kept me on the edge of my seat. I stormed through that book because I was hooked and loved it heaps. 

This one, though. This one was a stuggle to get through.

It wasn't very exciting. I hated what comes between them. I didn't care for the multi-dimensional thing, the surprises were meh, and I (unfortunately) found myself skimming forward several times. :/ 

The Glow of Fallen Stars turned out to be a disappointment that unravels every amazing thing about the first book. It started out well, but I just couldn't get into it. Personally, I kinda wish I'd let the story end with the first book. Such a shame. 

The Glow of Fallen Stars, August 2017, ISBN 9781510200180, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

SONGS ABOUT US by Chris Russell

Two months on from the explosive finale to book one, Charlie's life is almost back to normal again: rebuilding her relationship with her father, hanging out with best mate Melissa, and worrying about GCSEs. All the while, Gabe's revelations about her mother are never far from her mind. And neither is Gabe. 

It's not long before Charlie is pulled back into the world of Fire&Lights - but the band seem different this time. But then again, so is she... 

 Meanwhile, tensions between Gabe and Olly continue to run high, leading to more turmoil between the band members and press than ever before. But when Gabriel and Charlie stumble upon yet another startling truth that links them together - everything they have stands to implode in front of them. 

Earlier this year I read a fantastic book called SONGS ABOUT A GIRL. I loved it SO MUCH that it consumed my every waking moment until I reached the explosive end. So when this book came out I couldn't wait to read it. Yet, at the same time, I kept finding excuses to put it off because I couldn't bring myself to get started... because I knew it would be over way too soon.

This week, I decided it was time to stop teasing myself and just take the plunge.

A few months have gone by since Charlie's life changed. When she got swept into the orbit of one of the hottest bands in the world, she got the chance to do what she loved best: take photos. She also became friends with the four band members, had a lot of fun, became the target of fan-hate, and even fell into a whole lot more with two of the guys.

Now her life is slowly getting back to normal. She's trying not to lie to her father, or resent him for not being honest about her mum. She's hanging out with her best friend Melissa a lot. She's also preparing for her GCSEs. But when she meets up with Olly again after a surprise performance at their school, she finds herself getting back into their groove.

This time, things are more intense. The friction between the guys is obvious, as each one seems to be plagued by their own demons. As she gets closer to Olly, Gabriel's distant attitude towards her seems to shift, but not his determination to find out how Charlie's mother and his father were really connected. Finding out the truth is what they both want, but the cost might be too much for either one to take...

Wow. He did it again. That ending was... yikes! o.O

I loved Charlie's voice in the first book, so I wasn't surprised when I got swept up in her life again. One of my favourite things about this story is how she tries so hard to be good for her father's sake. How she hates lying to him but keeps finding her way into a web of deceit because she's so passionate about following her ambition to become a photographer. She's such a nice person at heart, but the need to keep so many secrets for so many different reasons makes her doubt her own character. And she just can't escape the ghost of her mother, can she?

At least we all know she's as much of a sweetheart as Melissa. She cracked me up so much! And it was so cool to see them back on track, btw.

Of course I have to mention the band. The boys are so different, yet so similar that they constantly find themselves in these strange situations, and none as serious as what happens here. Yuki is behaving erratically and won't tell anyone why. Aiden is in a relationship but kinda isn't because he feels he can't be honest. Gabriel is keeping his distance because the truth is too hard to risk exposing (his past and his feelings for Charlie). And Olly... man, that guy wears his heart on his sleeve. He's such a nice guy with flaws of his own.

I also loved how the pressures of stardom and the strength of rumours are portrayed in such an honest, brutal and sincere way.

Songs About Us is such a fantastic and fun sequel! It's got all the awesomeness from the first one--it's well-written, the characters keep growing, the music is still exciting, the bonds of friendship are truly tested, the complications of the heart don't stop coming--plus SO MUCH MORE. This book is AWESOME. I just can't believe how easily it (once again) took me right back to my teens. The power of the boy band phenomenon is something one never forgets, and Chris Russell not only taps into its energy in the brilliance of the narrative, but also in the way he captivates his audience.  

I can't wait to see how it all ends for Charlie & Co, because just when I think I have the mystery at the very heart of the story figured out: BOOM! I don't. LOL.

Songs About Us, September 2017, ISBN 9781444929171, Hodder Children's Books

THE PERFECT WEAPON by Delilah S Dawson

The Perfect Weapon by Delilah S. Dawson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I started reading a book yesterday that I couldn't get into and since The Last Jedi is still fresh in my mind, I started reading this short story...

And was totally hooked!

Bazine Netal is ruthless. She's great with disguises and totally lethal with any and every weapon. She's sharp, clever and unforgiving. But teaming up with amateurs isn't something she likes.

When she's hired to track down a case that belonged to an ex-stormtrooper, and has to teach someone along the way, she's determined to get the job done. And when unexpected situations and complications get in her way, Bazine is still determined to break them down...

I loved this!

Bazine is a character that's in The Force Awakens for such a short amount of time that I wasn't sure if I was going to care about her backstory. But I totally did! She's so badass.

The story was great, too. I loved the setup and the characters. I loved how everything felt so Star Wars, yet at the same time is so fresh and new. There's action, danger, surprises, betrayal... everything that makes a good story. Not to mention that it's written so well.

And you know what? After I finished, I wanted to know more.

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Taking a (kinda) Break!

So. This was pretty much me for a lot of this week. LOL.

Hubby took a week off work so we could take a break. And, so we could go and watch THE LAST JEDI on opening day. Yay. Of course we did other stuff, but we mainly wanted to spend time together, take it easy, stay up late and sleep in. Because we wake up super early, these are all things we don't get a chance to do most weekdays.

It was so relaxing. And totally awesome.

I also read the books (3, to be exact) I borrowed from the library and wrote reviews for them. Also, because my creative brain refuses to shut down (even though I'm kinda mentally exhausted), I keep adding stuff to my Idea Files. I even wrote the beginning of one story, which ended up being 866 words.

So exciting!

Only problem is that the week is going way too fast. This also happens to be my daughter's last week of school for the year. She won't go back until the end of January. When she'll start her LAST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL. Um, what? How did this happen? OMG.

Anyway, the summer holidays are here and I'm ready to start making writing plans for next year. As well as reading. And dreaming about new ideas, because that feeling of restless brain is totally happening and I can't concentrate on just one thing.

o_O

Let's talk about THE LAST JEDI. I was really excited about finally seeing it, and I'm glad to say that it was fantastic. Visually, it's beautiful and vivid. Emotionally, it tore me up inside so many times. It was also funny, action-packed, full of some adorable new characters, introduces a bunch of new stuff, and then ties back to everything we know about the Star Wars world. There are some really cool surprises and unexpected twists.

Also, the Luke Skywalker we meet is well-worth the wait. Leia is AMAZING, of course. And I can't wait for the next one.

Yeah. I really enjoyed it.

We're going to go and watch it again tomorrow.

I enjoyed the hell out of this week, and I'm glad that we've got several public holidays coming up so hubby gets a few shorter weeks before the end of the year.

Hope you have a great weekend. 😊

NEVER BITE A BOY ON THE FIRST DATE by Tamara Summers

Never Bite a Boy on the First Date by Tamara Summers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've had this book on my bookshelf for several years. A few weeks ago I pulled it out and decided to move it to my current TBR pile. And you know what? It was the perfect book to read right now. I've been feeling a bit restless-minded this month, so this short and lighthearted story was ideal. :)

Kira's family has recently moved to Massachussetts. She has a best friend, attends high school, and has a bit of a sun allergy. Oh yeah, did I mention that Kira's a vampire? And that her family aren't really her real family? But they're not too bad, since they supply blood, rides to school, and establish rules.

So when a kid is murdered at school and has two bites, they all assume Kira's responsible. Since she accidentally turned someone into a vamp, everyone blames her for everything.

That's when she decides to solve this murder mystery...

LOL. This was SO cute! I liked Kira's easygoing voice. I enjoyed the straightforward vampire worldbuilding. And most of all I liked the fun factor!

This turned out to be a fast, fun and flirty story that hooked me in. It was funny to see Kira caught between three very different but cute guys--Milo, Daniel & Rowan--who all somehow tie back to her in unexpected, but shocking and cool, ways.

I miss vampires, and this certainly satisfied my never-ending thirst for them.

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THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE by Stephanie Perkins

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG. I loved this!

I seriously LOVED this book.

Not only does it fit perfectly into the slasher genre, but the characters are cool. The setting is perfectly creepy. The tension was so thick and mounted so well I read the whole book in a few sittings.

I was hooked to every page.

Makani Young used to have a different surname when she lived in Hawaii with her parents. Now she's been living with her grandmother in small-town Nebraska. She has a few close friends, keeps an eye on her grandmother, and has a crush on a loner with pink hair.

Osborne is a quiet place without much trouble. So when teenagers start getting murdered in gruesome and staged ways, everyone gets scared and suspicious.

As the search for the killer escalates, Makani and her friends might end up becoming the killer's next target...

Yikes. What an awesome, fun and stabby story!

I loved that there were several mysterious threads weaving in and out of the story: what's Makani's secret? Why is Ollie the topic of rumour? Who is the killer? Why is the killer targeting these particular kids? All of these questions become so deeply twisted around each other that the more I read, the less I wanted to put the book down. It's a real page-turner.

And I loved the writing too. Third person POV was perfect for this kind of story because of the way each victim is introduced. I found myself getting into each kid so quickly that their deaths really hit me! Hooking in a reader so quickly that sympathy swamped me right away takes some good writing.

The characters were also very cool. Makani, the relatively new girl with secrets. Alex, her outspoken friend. Darby, the friend who gets caught in the middle. Ollie, the mysterious and misunderstood guy she falls for. Grandma Young was one of my faves because she's so cute and supportive of Makani in a way her parents never were.

Yeah, there's a lot to love in this book. Especially if you're like me and love all types of horror, and have a soft spot for teenage slashers because you grew up watching them.

I hope Stephanie Perkins writes more horror because she's got a knack for telling a spooky tale with a great dollop of teenage drama.

So GOOD.

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LITTLE MONSTERS by Kara Thomas

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow.

Addictive. Amazing. Clever. Shocking.

Those are just a few words to describe such an excellent book. I borrowed this from the library, and absolutely loved it! I actually picked it up last night after hubby suggested I try it out to see if I liked it... and ended up reading 100 pages. O.o

Kacey's life was pretty hard growing up with her mother, and the variety of boyfriends. But she's been enjoying a much better life in Broken Falls with the father she barely knows. But that's okay, because she has a great stepmother, a nice stepbrother, and a cute half sister. Not to mention her two friends, Bailey and Jade.

When her friends start acting strange and don't invite her to a party but go anyway, she gets upset. Then Bailey doesn't go home after the party. She vanishes, and as the investigation unfolds, Kacey will learn a lot about herself, her family, and the secrets friends keep from each other...

I seriously loved this book. It kept me glued to the page all day! I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next, how everything turned out, and what really happened to Bailey. I had my suspicions, and while some of them were right, nothing prepared me for the biggest and most messed up reveal of all.

OMFG. Yikes!

Yeah, there was a lot of messed up stuff in this story. A lot of toxic friendship baggage. A lot of bizarre family dynamics. But everything ties together in the best and most twisted way posdible.

I also really enjoyed the way the very thin line between love, hate, passion and obsession is explored in this book.

If you like a good thriller, you gotta check this out.

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My Idea Files

After my whole writing world was turned upside down early this year, I decided to throw myself into writing new short stories and novels.

I thought it was time to deal with everything by taking a step back from the publishing world and going back to basics. I wanted to remember why I love writing so much: I love to tell stories. I love creating worlds, and meeting new characters, getting lost in actual writing.

Not to mention that it's something I just have to do. Writing is an itch that can only be satisfied with the actual act of creating.

It was time to face a new path, and that all began with my Idea Files. I have at least 20 separate ideas going at once. I randomly add inspirational pics, notes & other stuff to these folders, whenever something strikes.

Sometimes these ideas become books, other times short stories. Some don't develop into anything. I've even merged different ideas together. It's a very organic process.

While doing all this writing, I noticed something peculiar about my (current) process: Every time I finish writing a first draft, my brain is suddenly swamped with new ideas.

Or at least, bits & pieces & fragments to add to the Idea Files I already have. Even brand new ideas spring out of nowhere. It's a strange and wonderful thing, and it keeps happening. 

As soon as I'm done with my current WIP, a sudden rush of new things wash over my brain. So I write everything down, or collect new pictures. I even make graphics about the story (or stories). It's like when I've finally finished a draft, my mind opens up the floodgates to allow new stuff to percolate.

And you know what happens when I spend months daydreaming, brainstorming and collecting pics about a bunch of different ideas? By the time I'm ready to write, the story is very much ready to be told. I end up having a great grasp of everything, just need to take all the vibrant fragments and piece them together in the right sequence.

I have to admit that I love this!

For example, over the weekend a brand new shiny idea struck out of nowhere. By Sunday evening I had 50+ inspirational pics, graphics with story snippets, character names, genre and setting. It was so darn cool. And then yesterday, a completely different idea that I had set up with about 5 pics and genre, all of a sudden presented me with some very unexpected info.

I hadn't even been thinking about this particular idea. All the stuff came out of nowhere.

Here's a tweet I posted last weekend about this topic:

😁

I was going to post another weekly update, but thought this was a much better subject to talk about. It's cool to share what's in my headspace on my blog. Not to mention that I probably won't be starting any new projects this month, but I'm really looking forward to telling more stories. Sprinkled with some serious revision. 

But that's for next year! It's no good to write, write, write without finalising some.

For the rest of the year I'm going to put together some sort of plan for my 2018 WIPs, and daydream about all of my ideas... Plus I plan to keep reading. Of course.

Hubby has next week off, so I'm excited about that. Annnnnd, we're going to watch THE LAST JEDI!! Very cool.

Have a great weekend.🌞

THE RAVENOUS by Amy Lukavics

The Ravenous by Amy Lukavics

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved Daughters Unto Devils and The Women in the Walls, so I was very excited about this book. And it didn't disappoint!

The Cane family consists of a father in the military, an absent mother, and five sisters who don't always get along. Juliet is the oldest, the matriarch of the bunch, who rules with cruelty and violence. Taylor worships Juliet and does everything she tells her to. Anya is more concerned about texting her girlfriend than what's going on with the family. Mona tries to keep her head down, while secretly drinking to get through the day. Rose is the youngest. The shiny sister who keeps them together and makes them feel like an actual family, even when they seem to be the complete opposite.

When she dies in a freak accident, their world is turned upside down. And when their mother decides to bring her back under some secretive, dodgy circumstances, the sisters are forced to do the unthinkable...

Wow. This book is awesome! Seriously awesome. THIS is how a slow burn story is done. THIS is how you tell a story of grief, isolation and madness. THIS is a total mindfuck, and I loved EVERY moment of it.

I loved how this story developed, ever so slowly but surely. It sucked me in from the very beginning and I just couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop until I found out how it was going to end.

It's spooky, because the horror gradually builds and totally hits you. It's claustrophic, because the Cane family keeps mostly to themselves. It's horrifying, because their familial ties are toxic and nightmarish. It's gross, because there are some scenes that aren't for anyone who is squeamish. It's disturbing, because everything that happens in this story is TOTALLY DISTURBING!

I loved this killer book. So much.

This is one of the best zombie twists I've read. It's also a great serial killer twist.

Can't wait to see what else Amy Lukavics comes up with. ☺

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