I know this isn't book related but, this weekend was Blizzcon and I adore all of Blizzard games. So, we bought a virtual ticket, ordered some food, had beer and played Blizzard games while watching the live stream! We really hope to go one year, (hopefully next year for my fiances 30th!!) but, the live stream is just as good. In this post I want to talk about my top 5 favourite moments from Blizzcon 2018 and the exciting things that they are planning!

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So, Blizzcon started of with an advert for Cereal but, not just any cereal. Overwatch have partnered up with Kelloggs to create Lucio-Oh's and I am so excited. I want 10 boxes and I probably wont even eat all of them because I just need them in my life! They also come with a free loot box which is pretty amazing and I cannot wait for them to come out in the UK! Also speaking of Overwatch they have also partnered up with Nerf and ohmygod when they shown all the Overwatch themed nerf guns at Blizzcon I got so excited and I am ready to get all of them!

Not many people know about my big love of Warcraft but, I am obsessed with Azshara and the Naga and when they announced that one of the patches coming up is plotted around the Naga and Azshara I lost it. I am so excited, I am excited to explore, do the raids and just discover Nazjatar. The raid is called Azshara's Eternal Palace and can I just live there? Also, the rewards look amazing! Not only can you get a crab and seahorse mount! You can also get a baby Naga and I want 10 of them.

These where really fun panels to watch and listen too!  Both of these panels where hosted by Andrea Toyias who is the senior director of casting and voiceover and she was joined on the Horde Vs Alliance panel with -
Steve Danuser - Lead Narrative Designer
Josh Keaton - Anduin Wrynn
Laura Bailey - Jaina Proudmoore
Indira Varma - Katherine Proudmoore
Patty Mattson - Sylvanas Windrunner
Susan Wokoma - Princess Talanji
Abubakar Salim - Rokhan
Alex Desert - Bwonsamdi
Maryann Strossner - Scrollsage Nola
I really enjoyed this panel when they talked about how they got the roll, there favourite part of being these characters and just hearing them talk and interact and just being their wonderful characters! Also, hearing them do some of their most popular voice lines including, A turtle made it to the water!
On the Overwatch panel Andrea was joined by-
Michael Chu - Lead Writer
Matthew Mercer - Mccree
Jennifer Hale - Ashe
Keith Silverstein - Torbjorn
Matilda Smedius - Brigitte
Dee Bradley Baker & Jon Lipow - Wrecking Ball
Just adored this panel and seeing Dee and Jon doing the Hammond and Wrecking Ball together was amazing and I just love all of these characters.

Speaking of Ashe! She is the 29th character to join Overwatch and I AM SO EXCITED! First, we got a Mccree short Reunion, and then we got introduced to Ashe who we met in the Mccree video. She looks amazing, she has some amazing abilities and her ultimate is her butler Bob and I just want to play her now.
Plus, me and my fiance where freaking out as his name is Ash and my initials are Bob. I know what we are cosplaying next year. We also got a backstory video on Ashe and I just need her in my life. I am ready to buy all the Ashe merch.

This has to be one of my favourite parts of Blizzcon. Community night is a competition for Cosplayers, Singers, Artists and video makers. This year entries where all amazing. So many amazing talented people out there. This night was also hosted by Overwatch's Reinhardt, Darin De Paul who is just the cutest and can he host it every year? A big well done to Have No Fear who won the Music contest as they are just amazing and their song last year, Payload is still stuck in my head with their newest song which is about the Horde Vs Alliance and I am waiting for their album drop.

And for extra, are we all excited for Warcraft 3 Reforged?! I am super excited and cannot wait for it to be out!

Did you watch Blizzcon? What where some of your favourite moments?!

Hey guys!
Can you believe we are almost in November?!
NOVEMBER.
Where has this year gone? 
It has been filled with so many amazing books and I thought I would talk about some of the best books I've read so far this year. These are books that I cannot stop talking or thinking about and if you haven't had the chance to pick them up then I recommend that you do!

Nova is 32 years old and she is about to see the world for the very first time.
Jillian Safinova, Nova to her friends, can do many things. She can speak five languages. She can always find a silver lining. And she can even tell when someone is lying just from the sound of their voice.
But there’s one thing Nova can’t do. She can’t see.
When her brother convinces her to have an operation that will restore her sight, Nova wakes up to a world she no longer understands. Until she meets Kate.
As Kate comes into focus, her past threatens to throw them into a different kind of darkness. Can they each learn to see the world in a different … and open their eyes to the lives they could have been living all along?
BUY HERE
A captivating, beautiful read! - review -

I love him so totally, completely, sometimes it threatens to overwhelm me. 
Sometimes I think-
No. I won't write about that.
ALICIA
Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet - and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can't bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.
Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.
THEO
Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia's silence goes far deeper than he first thought.
And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?
PRE-ORDER HERE
Not out till next year and it is one of the best thrillers I've ever read - review -

Welcome to Camp Reset, a summer camp with a difference.
A place offering a shot at "normality" for Olive, a girl on the edge, and for her new friends, who are all dealing with their own battles.
But as Olive settles in, she starts to wonder - maybe it's this messed up world that needs fixing, and not them. And so she comes up with a plan. Because together, snowflakes can form avalanches...

BUY HERE
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One of the best books I've ever read from Holly. It talks about mental health and it is just wonderful - review -


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​Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the
hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the
sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most--a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian's heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. 

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby--it's his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she's more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good--But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind's greatest enemy?
BUY HERE

Fab, fantastic, amazing, wonderful just love it - review -

​Two centuries ago, in the small, isolated town, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return from the depths, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them down to their watery deaths.
Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into or the fact that his arrival will change everything...
Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.
But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.
BUY HERE
​A book that isn't talked about enough imo - review -

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The Disappearance
Twelve years ago Finn's girlfriend disappeared.
The Suspicion
He told the police the truth about that night.Just not quite the whole truth.
The Fear
Now Finn has moved on.But his past won't stay buried...

BUY HERE

​So gripping and so amazing! - review -


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​In the land of Sempera, the rich control everything - even time. Ever since the age of alchemy and sorcery, hours, days and years have been extracted from blood and bound to iron coins. The rich live for centuries; the poor bleed themselves dry.Jules and her father are behind on their rent and low on hours. To stop him from draining himself to clear their debts, Jules takes a job at Everless, the grand estate of the cruel Gerling family. There, Jules encounters danger and temptation in the guise of the Gerling heir, Roan, who is soon to be married. But the web of secrets at Everless stretches beyond her desire, and the truths Jules must uncover will change her life for ever ... and possibly the future of time itself.
BUY HERE

​So ready for the sequel - review -

​When 16 year-old Grace gives up her baby for adoption, she decides that the time has come to find out more about her own biological mother. Although her biological mum proves elusive, her search leads her to two half-siblings she never knew existed. 
Maya, 15, has been adopted by wealthy parents and seems to have the picture-perfect family – that is, if you look past her alcoholic mother and the fact that Maya stands out like a sore thumb. 
Older brother Joaquin hasn’t been so lucky. At 18, he’s shuffled between foster home after foster home, always careful never to get attached to anyone or anything, because it always gets taken away. 
When these three siblings come together, they find in themselves the place they can belong, while the secrets they guard threaten to explode... BUY HERE
A beautiful story about finding your family as tough times are ahead and I just love it -  review -

​Between the simple melody of running her violin shop and the full-blown orchestra of her romantic interludes in Paris with David, her devoted partner of eight years, Grace Atherton has always set her life to music.
Her world revolves entirely around David, for Grace’s own secrets have kept everyone else at bay. Until, suddenly and shockingly, one act tips Grace’s life upside down, and the music seems to stop.
It takes a vivacious old man and a straight-talking teenager to kickstart a new chapter for Grace. In the process, she learns that she is not as alone in the world as she had once thought, that no mistake is insurmountable, and that the quiet moments in life can be something to shout about …
BUY HERE

​Bloody brilliant - review -

​To seventeen-year-old Angie, who is mixed-race, Marilyn is her hardworking, devoted white single mother. But Marilyn was once young, too. When Marilyn was seventeen, she fell in love with Angie's father, James, who was African-American. But Angie's never met him, and Marilyn has always told her he died before she was born. When Angie discovers evidence of an uncle she's never met she starts to wonder: What if her dad is still alive, too? So she sets off on a journey to find him, hitching a ride to LA from her home in New Mexico with her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Along the way, she uncovers some hard truths about herself, her mother, and what truly happened to her father.
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BUY HERE

Another book I think isn't talked about enough! - review -

​Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered in front of them. The terrifying assassin abducts all three girls to the world of Faerie, where Jude is installed in the royal court but mocked and tormented by the Faerie royalty for being mortal. As Jude grows older, she realises that she will need to take part in the dangerous deceptions of the fey to ever truly belong.But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the infuriating, arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan . .

BUY HERE
bloody brilliant - review -

​FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE.
When Fi Lawson arrives home to find strangers moving into her house, she is plunged into terror and confusion. She and her husband Bram have owned their home on Trinity Avenue for years and have no intention of selling. How can this other family possibly think the house is theirs? And why has Bram disappeared when she needs him most?
FOR RICHER, FOR POORER.
Bram has made a catastrophic mistake and now he is paying. Unable to see his wife, his children or his home, he has nothing left but to settle scores. As the nightmare takes grip, both Bram and Fi try to make sense of the events that led to a devastating crime. What has he hidden from her – and what has she hidden from him? And will either survive the chilling truth – that there are far worse things you can lose than your house? 
TILL DEATH US DO PART.
BUY HERE!
​So gripping! - review -

I got tagged by Lydia over at SilverWolfReads who worked with Alexandra Christo on creating this book tag! If you follow me on social media you know how much I ADORE To Kill A Kingdom and it is one of my favourite books I've read this year so, I was really excited to be tagged in this. Check out the original post by Lydia here!

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​You’re going on a vacation on a cruise boat for a week. Which book(s) would you pack to keep you entertained as you explore the seven seas?

I've never been on a cruise but, I feel I would take about 10 books and only read 2 because, I always do that on holiday. I feel I would take Mirage by Somaiya Daud and Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan as these are two books I have been dying to read and I think just chilling on the ship with these books would be amazing and probably some of my old favourites like Poison Study and ofc To Kill a Kingdom just because. 

​You’re on the boat, and you start to hear your favourite song being played out from a nearby island. Which song would this be? What book do you associate with this song?

My favourite songs always change but one song I always love is I'm Still Here from the movie Treasure Planet (which is fitting since it's a movie about a ship in space!) It is a song about trying to move on, being who you want to be and feeling like you belong. A book I would put with this song is A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard. A book about a girl who doesn't speak and a boy who can't hear. I feel this song fits in perfectly as these characters go through a lot and they just want to belong and it is just amazing.

​You go to the side of the boat and notice a mermaid sat on the rocks. She seems pretty bored. And you know of loads of awesome books. Which one book do you always recommend to people without fail?

Anything by Holly Bourne. Are We All Lemmings & Snowflakes is her recent book and it is amazing and has the topic of mental health and Holly does it amazingly. For an amazing fantasy read I would recommend Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo! And some other recommendations include, Fangirl, When Dimple Met Rishi and S.T.A.G.S. 

​The mermaid seems pretty happy with your suggestion, and swims off. You hear the song from a moment a go has stopped. And there doesn’t seem to many people about. Creepy, huh? What book gave you the chills whilst you were reading it?

The Call by Peadar O'Guilin. It is super creepy, gave me chills when reading it and I just adored it so much. 

​The song picks up again. But this time, it doesn’t sound like the normal version you’re used to. It sounds eery, and you can feel yourself walking towards the sound. You’re in a trance. Which book hooked you in from the very first page?

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. The writing is beautiful, the story is wonderful and you are just instantly compelled. Filled with amazing characters and the first page takes you of on an amazing adventure. 

​You’re climbing over the rails of the ocean, moving towards the sound of the singing. You jump into the ocean and a rush of cold hits you. What book has the biggest plot twist that you weren’t expecting?

I recently read The Silent Patient, which isn't out till next year but, had a really good plot twist! I was reading it when I was on holiday and I remember gasping really loudly around the pool when it happened. It was just so unexpected!

​You begin swimming on instinct, nothing has come to get you yet. You feel like you’ve been swimming for hours. What’s the biggest book you’ve ever read? (Or the one that’s taken you the longest time to read).

Big books some times scare me but, I currently have Kingdom of Ash to read which is a massive book! And, I'm probably cheating with this one as it was 3 books in 1 but the first 3 books in the Order of Darkness series. I don't mind big books as long as they are gripping and have something that keeps them going as sometimes I just can't keep reading it aha.

​Something grabs your leg. You start kicking. Which book deals with heavy/underdiscussed that always makes you want to put up a fight for righteousness?

I am Thunder and Love, Hate & Other Filters. It tackles themes such as Islamophobia and religion. It is a book that is perfect for people who may not understand what other people go through daily and how everyone can do something to stop it. These books pull at the heartstrings of the readers and hopefully these books get the readers to talk more about it and use their voices to make a difference. Just like these characters do and another book is Moxie. A fab story about fighting for your rights. Fighting against the sexism in the world.

They’re pulling you under the water. Which book had you on the edge of your seat, unable to breathe as you turned to the next page?

Final Girls! One of my all time favourite thrillers that just had me so gripped I was almost in the book.

​You notice a glimpse of red. You notice a fish-like tail. It’s a siren. Which book would you recommend for people who love the ocean’s mythical creatures?

Well first, To Kill A Kingdom and another book that needs to be talked about more is The Wicked Deep. It kind is centred around the ocean/lake and has a mythical story. Each year 3 witches that died hundreds of years ago take the bodies of young girls and lure men to their deaths in the sea. It is amazing.

​There is an enormous screeching sound. The siren lets go. You float to the top of the ocean surface, gasping for air. You’re alive. You get onboard the boat, dry off and clutch your books to your chest.
Which bookish-friends would you call to share your experience with? Who would you believe you? Who should do this tag?

(Not sure if you guys have read it but you need too) Jenn, Jess and Kate! 

Hello everyone!
If you've been following any of my social medias you will know that I went to Orlando on the 4th September for two weeks. I use to go quite a bit when I was little but the last time was 9 years ago and this was my boyfriends first time. It was one of the best holidays we have been on and I thought I would share some of my favourite parts of this holiday.

Walking into these parks after all these years never gets old. It felt magic as soon as you swipe your card and are in. The first park we visited was Magic Kingdom of course. The weather was beautiful. It wasn't too busy and I just fell in love all over again. The staff are so friendly, the rides where just as good as we remembered. My favourite ride at Magic Kingdom has to be the Buzz Lightyear ride. We always competed to see who would do the best (I only won about once) still so fun. We also visited Animal Kingdom, the Lion King show is a must for this park! We visited Pandora and it is beautiful, they have really out done themselves with that part. Epcot was really fun as it was the Food & Wine festival on and we got try to some different food from around the world. We also got to meet Baymax and giving him a hug and fist bump was the highlight for me and, of course we visited Hollywood Studios. Tower of Terror has been my mums all time favourite ride and we went on it a lot and Aerosmith. We visited Toy Story but, sadly didn't do any of the rides as the queue times where so long and we where really hot but, it was amazing how they've built it! Also the Star Wars show and march where just brilliant! I am so excited for Star Wars Land!

The last time I visited Island of Adventure and Universal, Hogwarts was getting built so obviously I was pretty upset so, going to these parks and visiting Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, getting to go the train, getting our wands, visiting Gringotts was just more than I expected! It was just so magical, the interactions with the wizards and witches around the park, my boyfriend getting asked if he is a Weasley, just everything was wonderful. Some of our other favourites from around the parks include Rip Ride Rockit, The Hulk, Spider-Man, Men In Black (everyone always got over 100,000 and I never got near 20,000 on this ride) Transformers, The Mummy, Minions, Shrek 4-D and the Simpsons Land! I also loved visiting Sesuss landing as The Cat in the Hat ride was my favourite as a child and I had to go on it a few times. Universal and Island of Adventure was just amazing as I remember and I really enjoyed experiencing the Harry Potter part for the first time with my boyfriend. 

Of course, the food was a highlight for me. We hardly spent a lot of money on food as there is so many places you can go and get a good meal for two and not have to pay too much. The only expensive dining we did was the Ohana breakfast with Lilo & Stitch which, was totally worth it in my opinion. The service was brilliant, the location was beautiful, THE FOOD! You could eat as much as you want and I just did and of course you got to meet Lilo, Stitch and Mickey! Stitch blew me a kiss and I died. We really enjoyed the food at IHOP and went loads of times as you got really generous portion sizes and you got pancakes with any meal as a side order...how amazing is that?! We also visited the Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom with my mum and sister when they came over. Service again, was amazing. My mum can't have gluten and they where really good and even brought out the chef for her to talk through the things they could do for her, I must say at all the parks they always went out of their way to make sure her meal was done properly so, thank you! It was the first time I had Eggs Benedict and I need it again. It was so good.  We also ate at the Leaky Cauldron in Universal and WOW! The food was so good. The Chicken sandwich had to be one of my favourites and just, I miss the food.
ALSO! If you ever go to Orlando I can't recommend CiCi's enough. For $13 for two adults it was all you can eat pizza, pasta, salad, dessert and drinks. We use to go all the time when we where little and I was just so happy to be back. The food was just as good as I remember.  We also had loads of Ice Cream at the parks which was the best.

This is something I've never done before and I was so excited! It was such a brilliant night and the main thing I wanted to do was watch the Hocus Pocus show and it was just wonderful. We got to go around and get loads of candy, go on rides, dance with Mike and Sully and it was just wonderful.

Something I never expected happened at Hogwarts. My boyfriend, now fiance, proposed with a wand and of course, I said yes and cried. It was the second day of our holiday and it just really set the tone for the rest of the holiday. It was so unexpected, so wonderful and something that I will remember forever.
Now, if we can get married there that would be great.

We are not planning on heading back till 2021 but, I am really excited to head back and visit Star Wars Land and just have that feeling of happiness of being back.

Hello everyone!
It's been awhile since I've uploaded on my blog. I went away to Orlando for two weeks with my boyfriend and it was the most amazing two weeks of my life. We went to all the Disney Parks and Universal and also, my boyfriend proposed at Hogwarts at Universal so, it's been very exciting but, I am back with a new blog post and this is on the books I am very excited about coming in October! (This list, like always, doesn't include books I have been lucky enough to receive early copies off!)

Let me know in the comments what books you are really excited for!

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Three people, leading very different lives, are about to be brought together – with devastating consequences . . .
John has a perfect life, until the day his daughter goes missing.
Maisie cares for her patients, but hides her own traumatic past.
Miller should be an innocent child, but is obsessed with something he can’t have.
They all have something in common, though none of them know it – and the truth won’t stay hidden for long . . .

01/10
BUY HERE

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​Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old. 
She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise. 
She was wrong.
In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.
Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice - save the woman he loves, or everyone else? - while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.
As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with the thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

2/10
 BUY HERE

​On the scale of one to worst idea ever, agreeing to give the toast at her best friend's engagement party when she's been in love with him for three years was not Val's finest decision. Nor was accidentally confessing her love to him in front of all their guests, including his fiancee.
Boarding a plane that will take her literally anywhere to get away from the humiliation, Val is pleasantly surprised to find herself on the dazzlingly beautiful island of Reunion where she hopes she can heal her wounded pride, broken heart and bruised knees.
When a painful face mask experiment leads her to a fellow broken-hearted traveller, Alex, they decide to give each other a helping hand and follow a foolproof ten-step plan to get over their respective exes. And so begins their crazy adventure. What could possibly go wrong?

09/10
BUY HERE

​It's been five years since Mia and Brynn murdered Summer Marks, their best friend, in the woods
Increasingly obsessed with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn and by their fan-fiction imagining of its sequel, the girls were drawn by an undertow of fantasy into the magical world they'd created. But eventually, their delusions turned sick, and the Shadow, Lovelorn's central evil, began to haunt them.
Or so the story goes. The only thing is: they didn't do it
Brynn and Mia have both found different ways to hide from their notoriety, seeking refuge from a world that hates them-a world that will never feel magical, or safe, ever again.
On the anniversary of Summer's death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as past and present, fiction and reality, begin again to intertwine, Brynn and Mia must confront painful truths they tried for so long to bury-and face the long shadow of memory that has, all this time, been waiting.

18/10
BUY HERE

​From the bestselling author of Dear Martin comes an illuminating exploration of old friendships, new crushes and the path to self-discovery. When it comes to love, attraction and relationships, nothing is simple. 

Courtney Cooper and Jupiter Sanchez have been best friends and neighbours since they were seven years old. And despite Courtney's best efforts to suppress it, he can't help being hopelessly in love with Jupe. But a relationship with the girl next door isn't in the cards because Jupiter has been out of the closet for almost as long as she's known Courtney.

Then Rae Chin moves to town, and Courtney thinks he's finally found a girl he could fall for who isn't Jupiter. The only problem: Jupiter is falling for Rae, too.

One story. Three sides. No easy answers.

18/10
BUY HERE

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Shatter Me series comes a powerful, heartrending contemporary YA novel about fear, first love, and the devastating impact of prejudice
It’s 2002, a year after 9/11, and Shirin has just started at yet another new high school. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments - even the physical violence she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day.
Shirin drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know her. It terrifies her -they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds - and Shirin has had her guard up against the world for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

18/10
BUY HERE
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​Aelin Galathynius's journey from slave to assassin to queen reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world . 
She has risked everything to save her people - but at a tremendous cost. Locked in an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will to endure the months of torture inflicted upon her. The knowledge that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, but her resolve is unravelling with each passing day.
With Aelin imprisoned, Aedion and Lysandra are the last line of defence keeping Terrasen from utter destruction. But even the many allies they've gathered to battle Erawan's hordes might not be enough to save the kingdom. Scattered throughout the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian must forge their own paths to meet their destinies. And across the sea Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen - before she is lost to him.
Some bonds will deepen and others be severed forever, but as the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight if they are to find salvation - and a better world.

23/10
BUY HERE

FIX ME. DRAW ME WHOLE. COLOUR ME IN.
Nineteen-year-old actor Arlo likes nothing more than howling across the skyline with best friend Luke from the roof of their apartment.
But when something irreparable happens and familiar black weeds start to crawl inside him, Arlo flees to the other side of the world, taking only a sketchbook full of maps.
With its steaming soup and neon lights, this new place is both comforting and isolating.
There, Arlo meets fellow traveller Mizuki. Something about her feels more like home than he's felt in a while. But what is Mizuki searching for?
HOW FAR CAN YOU OUTRUN YOURSELF . . .
BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR WAY BACK?

BUY HERE


Guest post from Lydia Ruffles!

Readers often ask authors where we get our ideas from and my answer is always that ideas are everywhere. I collect images, songs, art, things I overhear on buses, basically anything that could help build a book.

Here are some of the things that inspired my new novel Colour Me In, a story about friendship and first love, mental health and masculinity, art and adventure.

Tokyo neon

Colour Me In is about a nineteen-year-old actor called Arlo Thomas who flees to the other side of the world after a tragedy. I went to Japan for research. On my first (very jetlagged) night there, I took this photo of a wet zebra crossing with Tokyo’s neon reflected in it and it inspired a key scene where Arlo is a stranger lost in the city.

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Troye Sivan lyrics

​Arlo has achieved what he thought he wanted by becoming an actor but it’s left him feeling exhausted and empty. I’m a big Troye Sivan fan and played his song, EASE feat. Broods, while I was trying to capture Arlo’s frame of mind. I especially love these lyrics:

“But the truth is the stars are falling, ma
And the wolves are out c-calling, ma
And my home has never felt this far.”


Globes and maps

The only thing that Arlo takes with him on his travels is a sketchbook full of maps. He meets a young woman called Mizuki Gray and, although they’re both trying to get as lost as possible, maps and globes play an important part in their story.
For research, I watched this beautiful video about Bellerby & Co – one of only two handmade globemaking manufacturers in the world.
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Ruins and abandoned places

​I lived in Spain a few years ago and there was a huge derelict building on the outskirts of town, which always make me wonder what it used to be and whether anyone ever went inside. These snaps that I took of a seaside theme park out-of-season started me thinking about abandoned places again and it all filtered into Arlo and Mizuki’s adventures.


This boat

​Sometimes I take myself away to a hotel for writing and thinking sessions. I was daydreaming and watching the tide creep towards this boat during one such week when the idea for another key scene came to me. No spoilers so I won’t elaborate but there’s more Colour Me In aesthetic and inspiration on this Pinterest board.




Lydia Ruffles’ second book, Colour Me In, will be published by Hodder on 9 August 2018. Her debut novel, The Taste of Blue Light, was called ‘a gripping Bell Jar-type narrative’ by the FT and ‘dark and affecting … truly unforgettable’ by Heat magazine. A reformed corporate PR, Lydia also writes and talks about creativity and mental health for media ranging from Buzzfeed to BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. She tweets @lydiaruffles

The Real-Life Background of a Made-Up Story

The Book of Boy grew from my lifelong fascination with the Middle Ages, and stories such as The Sword in the Stone, The Maude Reed Tale, and David Macauley’s marvelous Castle. Give me men in hose, women in wimples, and dinner baked in a pie.
About a decade ago, I learned of an ancient pilgrimage route in Rome, and spent years researching it, hoping to write a book. I got to visit Rome several times, bliss, and spend my days reading about Rome, also bliss. Most importantly, I learned a great deal about medieval relics. Patrick Geary, a professor at Princeton University, wrote a superb history, Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Middle Ages, describing how common it was for people to steal – and brag about! and sell! – the bones of saints. So when the pilgrimage-in-Rome book fell through, I started pondering relic theft, which is patently enthralling, and how to turn this thieving into a story.
Because I am a ghoul, I’ve also always been fascinated by the plague. And thanks to my pilgrimage research, I knew about “Holy Years” when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims journeyed to Rome for extra blessings. Thus my selection of the date 1350, a Holy Year just after the Black Death. The city of Rome had recently been leveled by a major earthquake plus a civil war, and France and England were locked in the Hundred Years’ War. All in all a pretty grim moment. But Boy, the wonderful wide-eyed hero of The Book of Boy, doesn’t see the grimness; he’s just thrilled with the adventure. As was I! As is, I hope, every reader.


The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is out now, priced £6.99. Find out more and read the first chapter here.

Catherine Gilbert Murdock grew up in Connecticut, USA. She spent several years working as a screenwriter and has a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of several children’s novels in the USA and The Book of Boy is her first to be published in the UK.

Nina's mother always told her that love there's no such thing as unconditional love. Now Nina will do anything for the boy she loves, to prove she's worthy of him. But when he breaks up with her, Nina is lost. What is she, if not a girlfriend? Broken-hearted, Nina tries to figure out what the conditions of love are, and what she's really made of.
A powerful and unflinching novel that explores what young women really think and feel about relationships, What Girls Are Made Of is for anyone who has ever had to pick up the pieces of their heart and rebuild it.

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1) You talk a lot about your own experiences in the Author’s Note. How far did they inspire both the things that happened to Nina and her choices in the novel?
What Girls Are Made Of is entirely sewn of the emotions, fears, desires, and curiosities that I felt as a teenage girl and that I feel now, as a woman. Though the book is a work of fiction, it’s a chimera, in both definitions. In Greek mythology, a chimera is a female monster that breathes fire; it has the body of a goat, the tail of a serpent, and the head of a woman. This is What Girls Are Made Of.
In the field of genetics, a chimera is a single organism composed of two distinct sets of genetic material, such that the DNA in a woman’s blood may be different than the DNA in her ovaries. This, too, is What Girls Are Made Of—an indivisible confluence of that which underpins femaleness. The unspoken rules of femininity. The male gaze. The existence as both a subject and an object.
In these ways, What Girls Are Made Of is both incredibly personal and terrifyingly universal.

2) A lot of people have described What Girls Are Made Of as being a brutal and hard-hitting but necessary read. Was it always intended to make people uncomfortable or do you think that’s just a side-effect of its subject matter?
I never think about audience when I write; my job is to follow the unspooling threads of the story wherever they lead, without regard to how uncomfortable they make me feel. If I were to consider my audience as I wrote, it seems to me that I would be making a product rather than creating art. This sounds didactic, I know, but it’s true; as I am writing, my mantra is, “It’s none of my business who reads my book.” My business is to write the book.
People may well be made uncomfortable by the subject matter in What Girls Are Made Of; I certainly am! But prioritizing comfort—the writer’s or the reader’s—is not a great platform from which to create a story.

3) A lot of people have also compared What Girls Are Made Of to the work of Margaret Atwood. How do you feel about this? Do you agree?
I have long been a fan of Margaret Atwood, so of course this comparison pleases me greatly. One thing I do think our work has in common is that it would be wonderful if her Handmaid’s Tale and my What Girls Are Made Of were not necessary books anymore. That is to say, I look forward to a future in which a young woman reads these books and sees no connection to her life, her feelings about herself, her body, and her sexuality, or her fears.
I want young women to meet my Nina and think, Did girls really feel those terrible things? I want them to read The Handmaid’s Tale and think, Surely, women’s sexuality could never be policed like that!
We do not yet live in this world. Atwood’s work and mine is still necessary and relevant—and challenged.

4) A lot of your descriptions are graphic. What do you think about censorship in YA fiction?
People want to censor the things that make them uncomfortable, the things that make the aware of their own fears, desires, and disgust. This is unfortunate, because the things that make us uncomfortable are, I think, some of the most interesting parts of being human.
I think that parents want to protect their children from the things that terrify the parents—sexuality; rage; death. But I don’t think teens need to be protected from these realities. I think what they need is to be trusted with the whole cloth of being human, the whole messy gross beautiful reality of embodied
life. A book is a great place to practice being uncomfortable, a safe place to experience something, and even to choose not to experience something by setting the book aside, until later.
This is a long way of saying that censorship makes me sad, and angry. It’s insincere, and it’s rooted in fear. I try to live my life with sincerity, and I try not to make decisions out of fear. Censorship is cowardly.

Bea has started to hear and see things that no one else can – creatures, voices, visions. Then strangers visit Bea and tell her she is different: she has the rare powers of a witch. They warn her she is being hunted. Her parents think she is hallucinating and needs help. All Bea wants to do is get on with her life, and to get closer to Lars, the mysterious young man she has met at the skate park. But her life is in danger, and she must break free. The question is – who can she trust?
Carnegie Medal-winner Melvin Burgess returns with a powerful, thrilling fantasy for young adults about magic, myth and following your instincts.


I am giving away a copy of this book over on my twitter! Go and RT the post to win a copy!

​All Andy wants is to dress like everyone else, but her mum's the owner of a run-down kooky vintage boutique, so she's bound to look - well - different. But when Andy finds a gorgeous bag full of designer goodies in the storeroom, everything changes …

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