Monday, 20 May 2013


Hi everyone! Today we're taking part in the Between the Lives blog tour.

Earlier this month I posted my review of Jessica Shirvington's new book Between the Lives. I was so surprised and impressed with this book and how it dealt with a girl living two lives.



Harper Collins Australia has offered us two copies for giveaway! This giveaway is for Aussie entrants only.


Good luck!






Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews - it's a way for us to chat about the books we bought, borrowed, received during the week.

I'm in L.A right now but I managed to do a quick vlog and upload it but the quality of the sound is a bit average compared to my usual vlogs ;)



From Maggie:
A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty - signed
The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander

Purchased
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler - signed
Golden by Jessi Kirby - signed






Sunday, 12 May 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a way for us to share the books we bought, borrowed, and received during the week



For review:
The Disgrace of Kitty Grey by Mary Hooper


Bought:
Raincheck on Timbuktu by Kirsten Murphy (Aus YA)
Saltwater Moons by Julies Gittus (Aussie YA)
The Lucky Ones by Tohby Riddle (Aussie YA)
My Mad Fat Diary by Rae Earl
Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt





Sent:
Michelle sent me
Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter
A Month with April-May by Edyth Bulbring
Freaks Like Us by Sausan Vaught


This is probably my last vlog until I get back from the USA but I'll still hopefully have STS posts up each week while I'm away :) Have a great weekend!


Friday, 10 May 2013



Published June 12, 2012 by Balzer & Bray
Source: purchased
Rating: 4 paws

From the blurb: It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund is a re-telling of Persuasion by Jane Austen. I'm not going to sum it up because that blurb up there does a good job of it.

I've been on an Austen-kick lately: Pride & Prejudice, Sense & SensibilityEmma, so when I saw Maggie reading this and was reminded of the link to Persuasion, I queued it up so I could listen to it and then follow it up by reading this.

Diana clearly has a love of Persuasion and Jane Austen and she did a wonderful job of re-telling this story without copying it scene for scene but also remaining true to it. Anne Elliot is now Elliot North, the daughter of a baron, and Captain Wentworth is now Kai or Malakai Wentforth, a member of the Cloud Fleet and formerly a boy that lived on their estate. The relationship between them was just as tortured and filled with hurt and misunderstanding, and just as beautiful as in the original.

What I find funny is that usually I am a get-it-on-already girl – I just want characters to get together and stop wasting time. But when I read Austen’s books, I'm not like that at all, I enjoy all the little conversations, interactions, the waiting, and anticipation. And it was the same for For Darkness Shows the Stars – I was happy to wait while Elliot and Kai sorted themselves out, possibly because I knew what was coming.

I thought the setting was really clever and took the story to a completely different time and place to the original. Set in the future, after the world as we know it has been destroyed, there’s a lack of modern technology that is reminiscent of the original, but still feels relevant. Instead of Bath we have the Boatwright Estate, belonging to Elliot’s grandfather, with tall cliffs overlooking the sea, this gave the story a windswept-island atmosphere.

You definitely don’t have to have read Persuasion to enjoy For Darkness Shows the Stars but I’d highly recommend it. I enjoyed comparing the two, discovering what changes Diana had made, and which parts she had kept for her story. It’s a wonderfully clever and beautiful book.

Wednesday, 8 May 2013



15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins
Published May 8, 2013 by Flux
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5 paws

From the blurb: Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it’s not easy when your mum is a depressed alcoholic, and your six-year-old brother thinks he’s a dog. When Mum fails to come home one night, Laurence tells nobody, terrified he and his brother will be taken into care if anyone finds out. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that Mum is still around: dressing up in her clothes to trick the neighbours and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies. After two weeks on their own, running out of food and money, and with suspicious adults closing in, Laurence finally discovers what happened to his mother. And that’s when the trouble really starts . . .

15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins is set in the fictional town of Hardacre, England. Laurence Roach, fifteen, lives in a flat with his younger brother, Jay, and their alcoholic mother. She started drinking when she became depressed after the death of his father when he was a child and now he’s reduced to making sure he and Jay stay out of her way until she’s had a few drinks and is in a good mood. One night their mum doesn’t return home, Laurence dismisses it at first and hides it from Jay, but he soon realises she may not be coming back. Left with little money, Laurence tries to make things work without alerting anyone to their abandonment.

15 Days Without a Head left me feeling sad and heartbroken, as I often do when I read a story involving a careless parent, especially if they’re an alcoholic. Laurence is disappointed and disgusted by his mum’s behaviour and but feels helpless as there’s not a lot he can do. Once the boys are on their own, they don’t fare any better as they’re low on cash. They subsist on mouldy bread, chips, and the occasional pizza, and hearing Jay describe his tummy aches was saddening.

Laurence felt so believable to me and this is what got to me as I wondered how many kids like him are living a similar life right now. Despite his mother abandoning them, he is still trying to win them an all-expenses-paid holiday and just wants to her to come home and take care of them. Parents who neglect their children never fail to make me wish that people would actually stop to consider the responsibility that having children brings before rushing in and having them. Kids are at the mercy of their parents for so many years and stories like Laurence’s are all too common.

15 Day Without a Head is a realistic look at family life involving an alcoholic and abandonment. I found Laurence and his story completely captivating and I could not put this book down.

Thank you to Flux for providing me with a Netgalley copy.

Monday, 6 May 2013


Published February 1, 2013 by Harper Collins
Source: the publisher
Rating: 4 paws

From the blurb: Sweet sixteen and never been kissed – and that’s the way Aurora Skye wants it to be. She’s too busy finding Potential Princes for her two best friends, counselling her sensitive New Age Dad and dealing with the unexpected return of her long-absent mum.But always in the background there’s Hayden Paris, the Boy Next Door and the bane of Aurora’s life. He’s always around to see her at her worst and that’s what makes him so infuriating... even if he is smart, funny and ‘gets’ her like no-one else.Aurora’s on a mission to save her first kiss for the boy who’s truly worthy of it – and that means a prince, not a toad.

How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You by Tara Eglinton is set in the fictional suburb of Jefferson which I’m sure is based on Sydney. Aurora Skye lives with her father, who is now into yoga, Buddhism, and minimalism, as well as her two cats, Snookums and Bebe. She has four close friends: Cassie, Jelena, Lindsay, and Sara to whom she is always offering helpful advice, especially when it comes to love and boys. Most of Aurora’s time is spent bemoaning her neighbour, Hayden Paris, who is always around when something is going wrong.

This book was really entertaining! I found so many similarities between it and the movie Clueless (and therefore Emma by Jane Austen) and the dramatic elements mirrored the play put on by the characters, Much Ado About Nothing.

Aurora Skye falls into the annoying-yet-loveable character category for me, think Bindy McKenzie and Penny Drummond. She’s intelligent, opinionated, and a bit of a know it all but she’s also extremely caring, protective, and loyal. She hopes to be a writer some day, perhaps beginning with a book for girls on how to tell if a guy likes you. She adores reading, writing, and spending her free time in bookstores. Her friends were all well developed, especially as there were four of them and this book was quite female-friendship positive. Sometimes they do get frustrated or jealous of each other but there was no sterotypical mean girl character, which I have come to expect from most YA set in high school.

I have to mention Hayden, who might well win the nicest-guy-in-the-world award. I am not spoiling it for you when I say he adores Aurora, despite her treatment of him, this is apparent from the very beginning of the book. There is plenty of chemistry between them, even if Aurora does not realise it. I don’t know many guys that would go to the lengths he did, but all of his gestures were sweet and sincere.

There are two main plot lines: Aurora saving her first kiss for her Prince and her relationship with her mother. The first one adds a fun and silly element to the story. I know most people don’t value their first kiss so highly, but Aurora does and she goes to great lengths to prevent boys from kissing her. The second was more serious and had to do with why she was so guarded and why she treated Hayden in so mean a way. Her mother is a very superficial, self-absorbed, judgemental woman and she abandoned Aurora for years only to return with a boyfriend and a new life of which she was not to be included in. It’s clear Aurora seeks her mother’s approval, but I was really happy with the growth she showed over the course of the story in regards to this.

The story was predictable but I did not mind at all as there was so much going on in this book and I was happy with what I knew would happen at the end. Also, I usually find that characters who do not communicate infuriate me but I found it worked in this story, again I felt it reflected the play they were performing at school.

If I was a reviewer who used gifs this review would be peppered with ones from Clueless. There were so many moments that reminded me of that film and it made the book all the more enjoyable for me.

How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You is a sweet, funny, and entertaining read filled with realistic teenage characters. With a focus on friendship and love it’s sure to please fans of YA romance. Stay tuned for book two out later this year.

Thank you to the fantastic people at Harper Collins for my review copy.

Here's the final song from Clueless which I think suits the end of this book, too!


Sunday, 5 May 2013


Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews - it's a way for us to chat about the books we borrowed, bought, and received during the week



For review:

Haze (The Rephaim #2) by Paula Weston
I Own the Racecourse by Patricia Wrightson
They Found a Cave by Nan Chauncy
The Watcher in the Garden by Joan Phipson
Hills End by Ivan Southall
Julius and the Watchmaker by Tim Hehir
The Apprentices by Maile Meloy


The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Good for You (Between the Lines #3) by Tammara Webber



Purchased:

Nails by Pansy Alexander
Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick

No and Me by Delphine de Vigan from Michelle :)



And we have a new episode of our podcast now available! This episode the Ladies of YA chat about what we're reading, interview Paula Weston, and ask our Listener Question. Go check it out and let us know what you think!




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Rating Guide

5 paws = LOVED it
4 paws = really liked it
3 paws = liked it
2 paws = didn't like it
1 paw = really didn't like it/not for me/couldn't finish

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