Four Books I’ve Asked Santa For This Year
Posted: December 23, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: Christmas, top ten tuesday 4 Comments
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is “Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing This Year”. Since my family does a Kris Kringle-style gift-giving, and these four are actually on my wish list, I’m hopeful I’ll get at least one of them. Whatever I don’t get I have no doubt I’ll buy in short order. Because I have a credit card and poor impulse control.
The first two are non-fiction (well, sort of), which has got to be a first for this blog.
My Story by Julia Gillard
Warning: this summary contains politics. If the subject makes you want to tear your eyes out, maybe skip to the next one.
For those who aren’t in Australia and/or don’t follow our politics, Julia Gillard was Australia’s first female prime minister, from the Labor Party (our equivalent of the Democrats…sort of). The way she came to power was controversial, in that she was the deputy PM for a year, and the then-PM was basically bollocksing everything up (yeah, I’m showing my political stripes here). He lost the support of the party, and so she was appointed in his stead. Those who weren’t paying attention to politics at the time — which, let’s be honest, was most of the country! — basically got whiplash because it seemed to happen out of the blue, and a lot of people never forgave her (assisted by the far right opposition and the Murdoch press). I’m really keen to hear Gillard’s side of things, especially as I basically think she was brilliant.
Except at giving pre-written speeches. She sucked at those. (See, I can do “fair and balanced”.)
Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris
I have a bit of a celebrity crush on Neil Patrick Harris — the kind of celebrity crush that is more futile than most. 😉 But still, you can’t figh these things.
I’m going to let the blurb speak for itself here. Because I’d read this book regardless, but with this premise I NEED it.
Tired of memoirs that only tell you what really happened?
Sick of deeply personal accounts written in the first person? Seeking an exciting, interactive read that puts the “u” back in “aUtobiography”? Then look no further than Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography! In this revolutionary, Joycean experiment in light celebrity narrative, actor/personality/carbon-based life-form Neil Patrick Harris lets you, the reader, live his life. You will be born in New Mexico. You will get your big break at an acting camp. You will get into a bizarre confrontation outside a nightclub with actor Scott Caan. Even better, at each critical juncture of your life, you will choose how to proceed. You will decide whether to try out for Doogie Howser, M.D. You will decide whether to spend years struggling with your sexuality. You will decide what kind of caviar you want to eat on board Elton John’s yacht.
Choose correctly and you’ll find fame, fortune, and true love. Choose incorrectly and you’ll find misery, heartbreak, and a hideous death by piranhas. All this, plus magic tricks, cocktail recipes, embarrassing pictures from your time as a child actor, and even a closing song. Yes, if you buy one book this year, congratulations on being above the American average, but make that book Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography!
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
The only Maggie Stiefvater book I’ve read is The Raven Boys, which I loved. But whenever I mention this fact — here or anywhere else on the interwebs — the response is overwhelmingly “OMG YOU HAVE TO READ THE SCORPIO RACES RIGHT NOW”! Alright, alright, already!
I gather from the reviews I’ve skimmed on Goodreads that it’s a 1950s-ish alternate Earth with the mythical kelpie as a feature. And that does sound pretty awesome. And since I already know that Stiefvater has serious game, I figure I’ll give it a shot.
White Cat by Holly Black
I know basically nothing about this book, and I can’t even remember how it caught my eye … although it may have been Cait’s rather enthusiastic review. She does make it sound wonderful: “It’s Supernatural meets the mafia. It is. You don’t need me to say anymore. THAT ALONE SHOULD SELL YOU.”
I haven’t even seen more than an episode or two of Supernatural, but that worked. 🙂
What books are on your Christmas list?
Australian Women Writers Challenge wrap up
Posted: December 19, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, AWW, reviews 3 Comments
The 2014 Australian Women Writers Challenge was set up to help overcome gender bias in the reviewing of books by Australian women. The challenge encourages avid readers and book bloggers, male and female, Australian and non-Australian, to read and review books by Australian women throughout the year. You don’t have to be a writer to sign up. You can choose to read and review, or read only. – AWW
As I blogged earlier in the year, I was originally aiming to read and review six books by Australian Women Writers this year. But by August I’d already done seven…so I upped my goal to ten, and as I write this I’m at eleven. Yippee! (There is one more AWW book close to the top of my to be read pile, but I doubt I’ll get there this year. It can get me started on next year’s challenge!)
There’s actually a twelfth book I read this year, but I’m not posting the review till next January, closer to the book’s release date, so I’m not counting it here.
Here is the full list, with links. These are some very talented ladies, and if my reviews have helped spread the word at all, I’m pretty happy with that. I’m especially happy as, out of these eleven books, six of them are by my co-bloggers at Aussie Owned and Read. ❤
- Sleeper by S. M. Johnston (sadly this book is currently unavailable)
- Forget Me Not and Remember Me by Stacey Nash
- The Problem with Crazy by Lauren McKellar
- Immagica by K. A. Last
- Kiya: Mother of a King by Katie Hamstead
- Haze and Shimmer by Paula Weston
- Dancing on Knives by Kate Forsyth
- These Broken Stars by Aime Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
- Cassandra by Kerry Greenwood
Cover reveal: ‘Loving Avery’ by Katie Hamstead
Posted: December 18, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, book covers Leave a commentTitle: Loving Avery (Bearville County Novella #1)
Author: Katie Hamstead
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date:
Artist: Jada D’Lee Designs
Add on Goodreads
Note from Cass: I delayed this cover reveal by a day. I’m sure Katie will understand.
The Bearville County Novella series follows on from Papina.
The Clark and Davis kids are grown up!
Follow Rhett, the Clark’s second son, who has loved Avery, the Davis’ only daughter, for as long as he can remember. But after her string of high school boyfriends, and Rhett getting beat up at prom, Rhett decides going to college is the best way to start over and forget Avery Davis.
Except Avery finally realizes she can’t live without him. But is it too late?
Get the novel, Papina, that starts the series: Amazon
About the Author
Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as an Acquisitions Editor to help support her family. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Amazon | Goodreads
My Top Five Reads of 2014 (so far)
Posted: December 14, 2014 Filed under: On Books 3 CommentsI’m part of a Goodreads group for Aussie readers and they’ve asked everyone what their five favourite reads of 2014 are. As I’m posting this I’m reading Endsinger by Jay Kristoff, and I strongly suspect that would make my list if I’d finished it already. But I haven’t. Sorry, Jay. :p
Because my list of favourite reads this year is about 20 long, I’m picking these ones based on the emotional resonance they left me with after I was done…
Servants of the Storm by Delilah S. Dawson. A combination of the creepy-ass southern gothic vibe and the unreliable narrator left me reeling when I finished this book. It’s the definition of a sucker punch!
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. This book stood out for me because of its fantastic characters, and the spooky atmosphere. It was the first book by Maggie Steifvater that I’ve read, and I’m going back for the rest!
Unhinged by A. G. Howard. I preferred this to the first book in the series, which I also read this year – probably because I find Jeb kind of annoying (ok, very), and he was off-camera for most of Unhinged. I dug the creepy Wonderland feel, especially set in the real world.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Madeline Miller’s treatment of Achilles and his lover Patroclus is simply beautiful. By the end of the book I’d fallen in love with both boys, despite their faults.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This book surprised me because rather than being heartrendingly sad, it was actually quite uplifting – if poignant. It was also my first John Green book, so I got to enjoy his clever, funny style for the first time.
Honourable mention
I’ve been listening to The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne on audiobook (via Audible) and enjoying them thoroughly. The books are a four-star read for me because I have a few niggling gripes here and there, but they are lots of fun and the narrator, Christopher Ragland, is my newest crush. His vocal talents are amazing – and if his Twitter profile is anything to go by, he’s a bit of a honey too!
Cover reveal: ‘Eleven Weeks’ by Lauren McKellar
Posted: December 10, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, book covers 1 CommentI have been looking forward to this book for months, you guys. MONTHS. I’m so excited I can’t even. I have no evens.
Eleven Weeks, book two in the Crazy In Love series
Lauren K. McKellar
Genre: Contemporary Romance (New Adult)
Cover Design: KILA Designs
On sale: January, 2015
Seven shots
Five siblings
Two boys
One heartbeat …Stacey is good at pretending.
She pretends that the boy she’s in love with doesn’t exist.
She pretends that she’s happy to live and die in this small town.
She pretends that her life is carefree while her best friend’s world crumbles before her very eyes.
But Stacey’s got a secret …
And it’s going to ruin everything.
Excerpt
I wake to the sound of a drill-saw attempting to channel through a concrete pylon right next to my head.
“Why?” I grunt. Only it sounds more like “uggghhh”, even to my ears. Apparently being woken by drill-saw seriously impedes my ability to form words. I reach my hand out and slam something in front of me, presumably the drill-saw, most likely a clock radio. Regardless, the action makes the noise stop, thank hell.
Ugh. While the blast of noise has stopped, there’s still a ringing in my head of dizzy-making proportions. Not to mention that my tongue tastes like I’ve been eating road-kill. Yuck.
I squint one eye open and then scrunch my lid shut immediately as protection from the harsh yellow light coming in through the window framed by black-flowered curtains. What fresh hell is this? Who has opened my—
Shit.
I don’t have black-flowered curtains.
I inch open my lid at snail’s pace, this time preparing myself for the assault of light from the left of the room. Yep. Black floral curtains still there.
I open my eyes wider and take in more of the room in front of me. Aside from the window, there’s a black bedside table with a digital clock on the top of it, right next to a red lamp. The floor is covered in a shaggy-looking cream carpet, a black skirt and red lacy bra lying on top of it.
Oh, no. Please, please no …
I slowly raise the white sheet from my body. Yep, exactly as I’d suspected.
My black skirt and red bra.
This, of course, leaves only one question. But do I really want to look? Can I?
I rack my brain, trying to put together the pieces of the night before. There was the party at Joe’s. I’d gone there with Kate, because Dave and the band were playing. Michael. I saw Michael. Tequila. Lots of tequila.
I glanced down at my hand. Seven little lipstick lines mar its surface. One for each shot. At least I can remember that.
But how the hell did I get here? And, more importantly, where is here?
Giveaway
To celebrate the cover for Eleven Weeks, enter the competition today to win one of three $10AUD Amazon gift cards.
About Crazy in Love
The Crazy in Love series consists of three titles: The Problem With Crazy, Eleven Weeks and The Problem With Heartache.
The problem with crazy is that crazy, by itself, has no context. It can be good crazy, bad crazy … or crazy crazy—like it was when my ex-boyfriend sung about me on the radio.
Eighteen-year-old Kate couldn’t be more excited about finishing high school and spending the summer on tour with her boyfriend’s band. Her dad showing up drunk at graduation, however, is not exactly kicking things off on the right foot—and that’s before she finds out about his mystery illness, certain to end in death.
A mystery illness she is likely to inherit.
When your whole life goes from adventure and ecstasy to sad and suicidal, what’s the point? Not knowing who to love, and who to trust … where does it end?
The Problem With Crazy is a story about love and life; about overcoming obstacles, choosing to trust, and learning how to make the choices that will change your life forever.
Praise for The Problem With Crazy
“Heartbreaking, life-affirming—one of my all-time favourites.” — Glass Paper Ink Book Blog
“This story is beautiful, heartbreaking and will leave you thinking about it for days to follow.” — A.K.A. The Book Harlots Review
The Problem With Heartache will be released in February, 2015, and is the conclusion to Kate’s story.
About Lauren
Lauren K. McKellar is a writer and editor of fact and fiction. She has worked in publishing for more than eight years, and recently returned to her first love: writing books that make you feel.
Lauren loves to write for the Young and New Adult markets, and blogs with Aussie Owned and Read, as well as vlogging with the YA Rebels.
In her free time, Lauren enjoys long walks on the beach with her two super-cute dogs and her partner-in-crime/fiancé.
Find Lauren McKellar at her website, or on Twitter, Facebook or Amazon.
The Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014
Posted: December 9, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: top ten tuesday 4 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme by The Broke and the Bookish. It appeals to me because I like making lists and I LOVE books. Some weeks I don’t list ten, depending on the topic, but this week I had trouble keeping it to ten. I’ve listed them in alphabetical order by surname, because it was hard enough to narrow down as it was without having to be more specific than that!
The pictures are the books I read by each author. Kevin Hearne wins because I’ve been listening to the entire The Iron Druid Chronicles on audiobook in the car. (As this post goes live I’m most of the way through book six in the series, Hunted.)
Dahlia Adler
John Green
Kevin Hearne
A.G. Howard
Julie Kawaga
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
(Two for one!)
Marissa Meyer
Madeline Miller
Stacey Nash
Maggie Stiefvater
Review: ‘An Abundance of Katherines’ by John Green
Posted: December 1, 2014 Filed under: Reviews | Tags: reviews, young adult 4 Comments
Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heartWhen it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.
On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun — but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.
Like The Jewel, An Abundance of Katherines was another impulse purchase in a bookstore, and I decided to read it this month because I’m doing a Goodreads challenge where we have to read a mixed bag of genres. (All my choices have been young adult, but this one is contemporary, so that totally counts as different. Right? Right?)
Having only read two John Green books now, I may not be qualified to say Katherines is “typical John Green”. But it kind of is. The three main characters are flawed but very, very bright. In this case, we have Colin, his best friend Hassan, and a girl they meet on their road trip, Lindsey.
Colin is obsessed with making something of his life and, as the book begins when Katherine XIX dumps him, is struggling with heartbreak. Hassan is funny but a lazy slob — he’s also somewhat contemptuous of Colin at times, but it’s clear that Colin largely appreciates his honesty, so that softens the attitude a little. Lindsey is a bit of a chameleon. The thing I liked about Katherines, though, is that all three characters grow over the course of the story, which is just as well, because otherwise Colin’s whining about girls would have worn me down to the point where I wanted to punch him in the nose. 😉
The main thing I was wondering when I went into Katherines was how a very nerdy boy like Colin managed to get no less than 19 girls to date him. It makes more sense when you realise Colin defines even a five-minute relationship in the playground as “dating”! And then overthinks it. No wonder he’s so miserable!
Green makes abundant (seewhatIdidthere) use of footnotes throughout the book, to expand on facts Colin was prevented from relating, outline the basics of his theorum, or to provide translations and explanations, mostly for the Muslim terminology Hassan uses. I sometimes found the footnotes a little irritating, but that was largely in cases where I already knew the thing the footnotes were telling me. If I was reading this at 17, though, I doubt that would’ve been a problem.
The dialogue is clever, and the humour is a bit boyish for me at times but at other times is very funny. There aren’t any real surprises in the plot, and I can see echoes of The Fault in Our Stars in some of the dialogue (mostly the “Okay?” “Okay.” thing) and the road trip device. But since Katherines came first, it’s more like foreshadowing, I guess!
This was a fun read, despite the flashback-inducing maths!
The Top Ten Books on My Summer TBR
Posted: November 25, 2014 Filed under: On Books 8 Comments
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is “Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR”. Of course, it’s nearly summer here — as I write this it’s 9.30 in the evening and I still have the airconditioner running. Ick.
Whatever hemisphere you’re in, these are the books I want to read in the next three months, in no particular order.
Endsinger by Jay Kristoff. (Feudal Japanese Steampunk) Book three in The Lotus Wars trilogy, this comes out TOMORROW, you guys! Aaaah. Although I’ve heard it’s very, very sad. I did buy a Costco-sized bulk box of tissues the other day, so I’m prepared!
Allegiant by Veronica Roth. (Dystopian) Controversial, I know; I loved the first two in the trilogy but heard the fuss about the third one and never bought it. A friend has now loaned it to me so I can read it and see for myself.
Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey. (Urban fantasy) Book two in the Agent of Hel series. I was waiting for the paperback to come out and it has. Finally. Hardcovers should be banned, you guys!
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. (Urban fantasy) Another book where I loved the first one in the series and was waiting for the paperback. Although fortunately I didn’t discover the series until a while after it came out, or I’d have had even longer to wait.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. (Dystopian/paranormal) I’ve never read anything by Ms Black but this one looks good. Vampires feature heavily, I gather.
The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon. (Urban fantasy/PNR?) I think this was on my actual winter TBR but I never quite got there. I will read it in the next three months, you guys. Hold me to that.
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. (Urban fantasy) Because there aren’t enough blokes on my TBR. And because I bought it second-hand on impulse and the cover is pretty.
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. (Urban fantasy) The last of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which I haven’t quite gotten around to reading yet. I don’t have very strong feelings about where Sookie should end up romantically, so I expect to enjoy it.
The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth. (Historical fantasy) This is the story of the girl who told the Grimm Brothers all the fairytales they became famous for. I gather it’s based on a true person. And Kate Forsyth rocks. Yay!
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kawaga. (Urban fantasy) I liked the first one in the series — see my last review — and since I “accidentally” bought the entire series as a boxed set, I might as well…
Review: ‘The Iron King’ by Julie Kawaga
Posted: November 20, 2014 Filed under: Reviews | Tags: reviews, urban fantasy, young adult 2 Comments
Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth — that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.
Given my book is written in the same category as Kawaga’s (young adult -> urban fantasy -> fae), part of me is a little nervous about reviewing this. I don’t want my minor gripes with the book to be viewed as sour grapes! I promise they’re not. And overall I did like the book. I just found the first third of The Iron King to be a bit slow, and a little predictable. But once Meghan got to Oberon’s Summer Court and the Winter Court arrived for their biannual party, things got interesting.
One thing I loved about this book was that Kawaga added an extra element to the original mythology and the Midsummer Night’s Dream characters: the concept of a new breed of fae that has arisen from mortal dreams of technology. Instead of being mortally wounded by it, they are often made of it or control it, making them deadly to the traditional fae. The descriptions of some of these new fae, like Virus and Ironhorse, were delightful. (In fact, Kawaga’s writing in general was very good.)
Meghan is a bit of a traditional young adult heroine: she winds up being gorgeous, and all the boys like her. It’s unclear whether the best friend is going to turn into a love interest or if his determination to protect Meghan arises from their friendship and the fact Oberon will disembowel him if he fails. But the pretty Winter Court prince, Ash, is definitely struck by a case of love at first sight (as is Meghan for him), and the nature of the Iron King’s interest is also a little predictable.
That being said, I didn’t mind Meghan too much. She reminded me of Sarah from the Labyrinth, rushing off to rescue her kid brother from the evil king. Some of the evil king’s minions were clearly inspired by the packrats in the Labyrinth’s junkyard, although I viewed this as more of a homage than outright imitation. And honestly, Labyrinth deserves more of that!
Normally I hate insta-love but the relationship between Ash and Meghan (such as it was) didn’t bother me as much as they usually do, possibly because this was urban fantasy rather than paranormal romance; it wasn’t the main focus of the plot by any means. Maybe it was just adolescent hormones, at least on Meghan’s part. (As for Ash, who knows what his excuse is? He might be a thousand years old!)
Once it got going, this was a fun read. I own the rest of the series — I have poor impulse control and bought the boxed set without having read it — and I’m happy to keep reading. The way The Iron King ended definitely made me want to know what happens next.
Top ten sequels I can’t wait to get my grubby hands on
Posted: November 18, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: top ten tuesday 6 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is “Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait To Get”! This is an easy one for me. Waiting, on the other hand, is haaaaard, you guys!
Endsinger by Jay Kristoff (The Lotus War #3)
Ensnared by A. G. Howard (Splintered #2)
Split Second by Kasie West (Pivot Point #2)
Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler (Daylight Falls #2)
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Starbound #2)
These ones don’t have covers yet:
The Problem With Heartache by Lauren McKellar (Crazy in Love #2)
Never Forgotten by Stacey Nash (Collective #3)
Burn by Paula Weston (The Rephaim #4)
Thunderbird by Chuck Wendig (Miriam Black #4)
Winter by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles #4)
Cassandra Page 