Cover Reveal: Hate is Such a Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub

I am so excited to be hosting a cover reveal for an upcoming Aussie YA novel from author Sarah Ayoub. Hate is Such a Strong Word is coming out in September and it’s being pitched as 'a little bit Randa Abdel-Fattah/Melina Marchetta-esque' (I love both those authors). I know HarperCollins is so excited for its release -- and I am too. It sounds exactly like my kind of read -- see below for the blurb :)

Release date: September 1 

I hate being invisible.

I hate that I still can′t fight my own battles.

I hate that I can′t keep up with the demands of high school.

Sophie Kazzi is in Year 12 at an all-Lebanese, all-Catholic school where she is invisible, uncool and bored out of her brain. While she′s grown up surrounded by Lebanese friends, Lebanese neighbours and Lebanese shops, she knows there′s more to life than Samboosik and Baklawa, and she desperately wants to find it.

Unfortunately, her father has antiquated ideas about women, curfews and the Lebanese ′way′. Bad news for Sophie, who was hoping to spend Year 12 fitting in and having fun - not babysitting her four younger siblings, or studying for final exams that will land her in an Accounting course she has no interest in.

Just when it looks like Sophie′s year couldn′t get any more complicated, Shehadie Goldsmith arrives at school. With an Australian father and a Lebanese mother, he′s even more of a misfit than Sophie. And with his arrogant, questioning attitude, he also has a way of getting under her skin...

But when simmering cultural tensions erupt in violence, Sophie must make a choice that will threaten her family, friends and the cultural ties that have protected her all her life.

Are her hates and complaints worth it? Or will she let go ... and somehow find her place?

Things I love about the cover: It's one of my very favourite dusty blue shades. I love when covers play with word placement and it looks really fantastic here. I love that it's initially arresting and then once it has your attention, it holds it (eyes wandering over the white words). I also really like the cover models -- in particular, Sophie. Her gaze is arresting and she has cool attitude without being overly teenage-angsty. Plus there's a guy - can't wait to meet him!

Coming of Age contemporary YA books are my fave and I love the sound of this. Add it to your wishlists. Can't wait for September!

What do you think of the cover?

What do you think of the blurb?

Are you as excited for this book as me? 

Sarah Ayoub on facebook

Sarah Ayoub on twitter

Hate is Such a Strong Word @ HarperCollins

xo Nomes

Haze Launch with Paula Weston

Last night I attended the launch for Haze the second book in the Rephaim series and had such a blast (so much fun). Marianne de Pierres (author of the Night Creatures YA series, among others) lead the conversation with Paula at Riverbend Books in Brisbane.

Paula opened with a reading from chapter two of Haze which involved bungee jumping and Jude <3

Paula Weston doing the reading

Marianne and Paula were so natural together and the conversation felt intimate and organic and fun.

Here's me, paraphrasing some of the things Paula and Marianne discussed:

Marianne opened by asking Paula about her writing life, habits and how she got started. Paula was writing stories all through primary school and high school. She shared that her mum even sent one of her primary school picture books into the Women's Weekly (LOL. Classic!).

It wasn't until Paula was in her early twenties that she decided to actually give writing a go as a serious pursuit (realising it was what she loved to do best). Paula sent off her first manuscript and received her first rejection in 1995. Over the next 16 years she went on to write and polish five full manuscripts.

She came very close to finalising a deal with an adult fiction world fantasy series and then it fell through. At this point, frustrated with the whole publishing and rejection stuff, she decided to just write for herself and Shadows was born out of this (yay!) She had never planned to write YA, or imagined that it would be her thing (trust me, it is very much her thing. Shadows and Haze are such a fab addiction to the upper YA market). And has since been careful to market her series as upper YA (due to the profanity and violence and sexiness).

The idea behind Shadows began with two characters: A girl and a guy. The girl had lost her memory but the guy hadn't. And they have a complicated history that he remembers and she doesn't and that history puts them on opposing sides despite their attraction between them (and. obviously, THE TENSION). When Paula was exploring this idea she tried to uncover what that history was and she entertained ideas of vampires, and other kinds of creatures but in the end the only thing that worked was angels. She had been trying to avoid fallen angel mythology.

Before Shadows she had only been familiar with a couple of fallen angels series, and they were all romance. And she knew she did not want to write romance. Well, there is some raomnce, but her romance is an antagonistic romance (a lot of people grinned/chuckled at this. Rafa and Gaby are so deliciously antagonistic. All that angst and sexual tension).

She also knew she wanted to create a complex society -- so finding/reading the Book of Enoch really gave her something she could work with (regarding the fallen angels and their history and their offspring).

It wasn't until Shadows was out and she saw it on a list of angel books on goodreads that she realised just how much angel fiction was already out there. Although Shadows really comes into the angel scene from a completely different angel (not as a forbidden romance, and not angels with a purpose).

Paula mentioned how vibrant the Aussie YA market is. How many Australian authors writing for teens are at the forefront in the world, leading with unique and brilliant and amazing writing (I so concur, I think we all do ;))

Marianne and Paula chatted a bit about the current publishing industry, and how things are changing and how hard it is for Australian writers to secure an international deal. Paula's series has been picked up both in the UK and the US. The series will all have the same titles and covers across UK, US and Australia (minus the original Aussie edition of Shadows -- though when it goes to reprint it will match the current UK cover of Shadows), although the release dates are staggered (Lucky for Australians we get the books first ;), then the UK and finally the US).

By day Paula works as a journalist for her own business. Yes, it's true, Paula is often still in her pyjama's at 11am :). This is what her day often looks like: Day job until 2-3pm. Then a couple of hours of writing before dinner. Then a couple more hours of writing after dinner, then finish the evening with a TV show or a bit of reading.

She says it is so important to write everyday, to keep the scenes flowing organically (and so to avoid needing rereading back her work to get in the mood). She does not have the luxury of time for writer's block. She can always write something -- even is it's crap. At least then she has something on the page that she can work with. (Marianne inserted here "It's a bit hard to work with a blank page." haha). Paula often has ideas bubbling away in her work hours so by the time she sits at the computer she is ready to go.

Her preferred writing place is in the recliner in front of the TV, her laptop balancing on the stable table. (That way her husband is blessed by her company ;) and she's not squirrelled away in some room).

She loves Buffy. (That's just a freebie I am chucking in. I can't remember the context...)

She also is obsessed with loves The Foofighters. (I think we all knew this already...)

Of the angel fiction she has read she recommends Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which is just beautifully written and compelling.

And she revealed to us the title of the third book in the Rephaim series: Shimmer. All the titles work together as a series, they are all plays on quality of light. The Rephaim series will be a four book series, of these Haze is Paula's favourite title :)

What else you should know: There was popcorn. And wine.

Paula was signing books and chatting and the atmosphere was great.

Michelle, Paula Weston, Amanda and me

I drove down from the Sunny Coast with my friend (and Shadows fan) Amanda. We met up with Michelle of Maree's Musings who had just finished reading Shadows on the ferry on the way to the event (she liked it! Also -- she can read while on a ferry. I am always envious of people who can read while in motion). We had dinner across the road beforehand. It's always so awesome meeting up with other bookish people and chatting books and hanging out. Michelle had just found out her application to be a judge for the inky's was successful! Yay! Huge congrats, being an inky judge is such an awesome opportunity. (Here's the twenty books on the 2013 inky longlist)

Amanda, me and Michelle. Under the breakfast menu at The Coffee Club, haha

Amanda and I got pulled over afterwards for Random Breath Testing. Amanda was quietly nervous (after we had been sampling the wine at Paula's enthusiastic urging) ... haha. It was all good :)

Any mistakes in the recap are all mine :)

And thanks to Amanda who took all the pics on her phone (sorry for poor quality...)

My review of Haze (which is out in Australia now)

UK and US edition
the series will follow this theme
for the upcoming covers 

Original Aussie edition

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A poignant and romantic novel from the author ofBittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.

Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.

Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?

Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?

Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.

Straight up: I love how Ockler writes her protagonists. This is her fourth book, and each protagonists has been entirely individual with a distinct voice and unique vibe.

The Book of Broken Hearts is about family, especially Jude's relationship with her dad whom she loves so dearly. It is also about falling in love. And about living in the moment. None of this comes easy to Jude.  

This book is so much I love about contemporary YA. It has the unputdownable sucked-into-a-story vibe. It has little unique elements that breathe life into the book (the history of the sisters, Jude's father's history), it has a love interest who is not only hot (and often shirtless ;)) but has his own back story and it is so easy to imagine him as the star of his own story, not just as the guy created to be the love interest for Jude. It has such an effortless narration: breezy -- the pages just fly by, and funny -- Jude has spunk and wicked little splashes of humour that lighten some heavy moments.

There is so much comfort in falling into a book where the author know where she is headed and she takes the reader there confidently. I am, first and foremost and always, a contemporary YA loving girl, and, for me, Ockler embraces everything I love about the genre. Her characters slowly bleed onto the page. her settings come alive, she brings the swoon (so much so) and she celebrates life and hope in the midst of hardships. I am all about that.

I so wholeheartedly recommend this book. I loved the time I spent with it, and it's one I will be revisiting for sure (while waiting for another Ockler book ;))

The Book of Broken Hearts is out now! yay!

The Book of Broken Hearts @ goodreads

Thanks to Edelweiss for the egalley -- and my sister for buying me my own hard copy ;)

Wildlife by Fiona Wood

Life? It’s simple: be true to yourself.
The tricky part is finding out exactly who you are…

In the holidays before the dreaded term at Crowthorne Grammar’s outdoor education camp two things out of the ordinary happened.
A picture of me was plastered all over a twenty-metre billboard.
And I kissed Ben Capaldi. 

Boarding for a term in the wilderness, sixteen-year-old Sibylla expects the gruesome outdoor education program – but friendship complications, and love that goes wrong? They’re extra-curricula.

Enter Lou from Six Impossible Things – the reluctant new girl for this term in the great outdoors. Fragile behind an implacable mask, she is grieving a death that occurred almost a year ago. Despite herself, Lou becomes intrigued by the unfolding drama between her housemates Sibylla and Holly, and has to decide whether to end her self-imposed detachment and join the fray. 

And as Sibylla confronts a tangle of betrayal, she needs to renegotiate everything she thought she knew about surviving in the wild.

A story about first love, friendship and NOT fitting in.

I have been anticipating this book for a long time (Six Impossible Things being one of my favourite books) but I did not anticipate how much this book would resound with me.I felt like Wood was peeking inside my soul, capturing feelings and thoughts, taking me right back to my teenage self . Taken those haphazard and chaotic feelings and brought them to life in such a poignant, heartfelt and smiley, achey way.

There is so much to love about Wildlife. I love the way Fiona Wood writes. She has taken her time with this. Words are carefully chosen, plots are weaved together, sentiments are nailed, dialogue is funny and sharp and pitch perfect.

I didn't realise Wildlife would incorporate two POVs. And I loved that about it. Lou's POV is shared through her diary entries, Sibylla's in present tense prose. I also loved the whole set-up. School camps were the best, and here we have a whole term school camp experience = winner for me.

A bit about Lou
I ached for Lou the most, wished she did not have to endure through the grief, and at the same time, I loved how she endured. She became so fierce and true to herself. Even in her grief, she is sharp and so likeable: After Fred died I divided my time between blind disbelief, blank chaos and therapy. (p7 Lou). Also, she brings to the book one of the best 'I love you' moments EVER. It nearly broke me, the swoon and all that was and all that was lost.

And Michael, how I loved him
Speaking of favourite characters, I loved Michael so much.

If I ever see Michael with a dreamyvague smile on his face and ask him what he's thinking about the answer is likely to be, prime numbers. (p 42 Sib on Michael) Michael really spoke to me. He was unique, just doing his own thing which was not like the crowd at all and teen years can be so hard for boys like him, but Wood really elevated him and he is such a stand-out and a new favourite literary character for me. I so like him, and I think he will resonate with many readers.

'Lou seems to have in common with Michael that thing of not caring at all about other people's approval. (p245 Sib) I wanted to go into the pages of this book and hang out with them, I wanted to go back to my teenage self and let Lou and Michael rub off on me and make me a better version of myself. 'The only person you should be is yourself. You can't control perception. All you can control is how you treat someone else.' (p 308. Lou to Sib. I love her.)

And, also, Sibylla...

I loved Sib as well, her narration and heartache was charming and honest and she is so beautifully captured. What am I even doing here? Me, an inner city girl. Ninety per cent of my life happens on one highly resourced page of the street directory. (p92 sib LOL)

I'm too tired and too sad to write home just yet.I miss them, even Charlotte. Who'd thunk? I don't think I fully appreciated how relaxing it is having someone I can be really mean to. It's going to be so hard being nice all the time. (p 51 sib -- I know that feeling :))

I am really sick of the people who need to tell me I'm unattrative. Somehow they feel duty-bound to put me down because I've been in that stupid advertisement. Surely my neon self-esteem/appearance sign is still visibly flickering on 'below average'. Nothing has changed here. (p289 Sib. Capturing how we have all felt, despite her confidence and shining personality).

Here I could mention all the themes and goodness and beauty of this book, there is so much depth and richness to explore. However, in thinking about my review, I really want to say, despite the ache and grief and exploring sex and friendship and classic coming of age stuff, just how much FUN the whole book is

Favourite things about Wildlife that I loved:
pranks
ghosts (Maisy and the charcoal man),
hikes
camping
elevensies
clinkers
'we intend to deliver the joy of grammar to wanderers in the alpine region.' p212 apostrophes of possession graffiti. That whole scene = love so much
redskins
sex and STDs and Lou's mum -- many LOLs
Looking for Alibrandi shout-out <3
snippets of awesome hanging out teen dialogue: What flavour would you say blue snakes are?' He asked (p 238 michael to Lou)

Also, finding out more about Dan and the gang from Six Impossible Things:
I look forward to sitting with him when he gets back and I am released. We will sit and not have to talk. Or we may talk. If we do, it won't be to reassure someone who doesn't feel as bad as we feel that everything is okay. (p147 Lou, thinking about Dan)

While I was reading Wildlife I loved it. I loved  the fresh and funny feel. Loved watching the character's interact. Loved the little anecdotes weaved into the narrative. After I finished Wildlife, I loved it even more. Once I saw the big picture I was in awe of how Wood did all that. How she crafted a story that was so much more than a linear storyline. Full of deep running themes (see Reynje's review for more theme discussion).

Wildlife is a beautifully written story that will stand the test of time and multiple rereads. A book for every teenager, and everyone who once was a teenager. A new absolute favourite for me.

I marked some of my favourite passages

Wildlife @ goodreads

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for my review copy :)

Haze by Paula Weston

"But what if we can’t find Jude?" 

He leans closer. His breath is warm on my ear. "We will."
"How can you be so sure?" I want to believe him so badly, but this is Rafa. The guy who’s all action and no plan. His smile is tired, knowing. An echo of a shared past I don’t remember. 
"Because I’m not smart enough to give up, and you don’t know how to."

Gaby Winters’ nightmares have stopped but she still can’t remember her old life. Still can’t quite believe she is one of the Rephaim—the wingless half-angels who can shift from place to place, country to country, in the blink of an eye. That she was once the Rephaim’s best fighter. That demons exist. That Rafa has stayed. 

But most of all, she can’t quite believe that her twin brother, Jude, might be alive. 

And Gaby can’t explain the hesitancy that sidetracks the search for him, infuriates Rafa, and sends them, again, into the darkest danger.

I loved paula's debut, Shadows, so, so much (despite it not sounding like a me kind of book). It was addictive and intelligent and sexy as anything. I was stalking my mail box for the sequel to arrive and, you guys, the wait was more than worth it. I loved Haze even more than Shadows. 

Straight up: I read this within a 24 hour period, finishing it at 4am. Those are the kind of reading memories I love, being so into a book I cannot turn my light out until I turn that last bittersweet page. 

Haze leaves off straight after the events of Shadows and I was instantly pulled back into Gaby's world. The plot takes you to places you will not expect. Not just in terms of plot twists and revelations  but Weston manages to incorporate so many vivid and unique settings -- from fictional Pan Beach (Queensland coastal town) to Dubai,  to the island of Patmos, to Melbourne, to the cornfields of Iowa and beyond... I felt like I was travelling the world, the sights and sounds are dazzling. (Also! Bungee jumping in Switzerland. I KNOW.)

This Aussie book has everything I love about Aussie YA: there is something in the water and Weston has so tapped into it. Her characters are three dimensional. The prose is eloquent without being flowery. Weston writes with so much vitality, life springs from the pages. The dialogue is snappy and authentic. 
Emotions run high and ring true. The action is swift and tense and believable. There's a lot of arse-kicking, on both sides. The danger is real, the stakes are high and the Rephaim deliver. I'm still reeling...

Rafa. 

[Let's take a moment here to pause...]

He brought the swoon in Shadows, smouldering and sexy and dangerous and completely enigmatic. In Haze, Weston turns the heat up *fans self* while also peeling a few layers back. There are these little peeks into his soul, when his guard is down, that show so much more than meets the eye. I mean, could he get any hotter? Those glimpses of vulnerability and compassion slew me. 

Gaby and Rafa are everything I love about romance. They are still sizzling on this crazy slow burn which just kills me. Sparks fly and the sexual tension is palpable. At the same time, Weston shows seasoned restraint, she adds depth, creates tension, gives these delicious moments to get your pulse racing and then amps up the mystery between them again. She knows when to tease and when to reveal and it's a delicate, maddening perfect dance between those two and the readers. 

There are so many shades of grey in Gaby's world. Who can she trust? Who was she before? Her relationships with the other Rephaim are constantly shifting. I love that. I love how Weston keeps us on our toes with the history and loyalties between Gaby and everyone else.  

My favourite plot-lines are concerning Gaby and her past: her brother and her search for him. Rafa and their history. In these moments I ache for Gaby, tough but vulnerable, lost and thrown into this crazy world of non-stop action. She barely has a chance to come to grips with everything amongst the chaos that is erupting around her. I want so much for her to find her answers, to find her happiness, to feel like she has a place in her world.        

The rights to this four book series have been sold to both the UK and the US. I am so pumped there are still two more books to come. I have no idea where Weston will take us next but I know I am so on board with whatever she has planned. I cannot recommend this series enough. 

p.s. Be on the look out for more Foo Fighters.
p.p.s. That cliff-hanger! Way to end on this crazy, adrenalin moment...   

Haze is out in Australia now!

Paula Weston's site (loads of extras)

Haze @ goodreads

Thanks so much to Text publishing for my review copy x

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell

We, the Martin family, were like inverse superheroes, marked by our defects. Dad was addicted to beer and bootlegs. Gully had "social difficulties" that manifested in his wearing a pig snout mask 24-7. I was surface clean but underneath a weird hormonal stew was simmering...

It's summer in St Kilda. Fifteen-year-old Sky is looking forward to great records and nefarious activities with Nancy, her older, wilder friend. Her brother – Super Agent Gully – is on a mission to unmask the degenerate who bricked the shop window. Bill the Patriarch seems content to drink while the shop slides into bankruptcy. A poster of a mysterious girl and her connection to Luke, the tragic-hot new employee sends Sky on an exploration into the dark heart of the suburb. Love is strange. Family Rules. In between there are teenage messes, rock star spawn, violent fangirls, creepy old guys and accidents waiting to happen. If the world truly is going to hell in a hand-basket then at least the soundtrack is kicking. Sky Martin is Girl Defective: funny, real and dark at the edges.

Guys, I have shamefully been procrastinating reviewing Simmone Howell's outstanding new book.  I felt intimidated to review this one because I truly just want to get my review right. I struggle to find words that will encapsulate my reading experience, the heart and the essence of the book and also the brilliant, careful and loving way in which it is written.

This book is truly as awesome as the cover (and the wickedly funny/awesome/crazy/unique blurb)suggests. 

I loved the prose. Howell has this wicked way of delivering lines. Her dialogue cracks, her characters are painted in just a few swift words. She coins phrases and pitches words against each other that seem like an unlikely pairing but are actually brilliantly perfect.

She nails, nails, the coming of age stuff. It's this perfect blend of naivety banging up against loss of innocence and the underside of a very gritty world. It's hopeful and lonely and full of longing and wishes and, on one hand you see how idealistic the characters can be while at the same time they come to terms with just how real and tough the world can be.  Take a look at this gorgeous quote:

I had a shock of yearning, of wishing I was Nancy  The feeling was sharp and it carried a shadow  I was always on the edge of something that was never going to happen. (page 46)

This is another one of those Aussie YA books that bring Melbourne to full colour, thriving life. I love how the setting itself becomes a character. The nightclubs, the streets, the artwork and the houses all add this incredible atmosphere. Most of all, the record shop. It felt timeless and true and like an homage to all the great music that has come before. 

This is such a beautiful and original book. To be frank, Simmone's work here is grittier than my preference. I remain eternally idealistic, optimistic and naive and seeing a darker side of things usually leaves me uncomfortable, a tiny feeling of unease pooling in my belly. Not so, here. It was balanced out beautifully by our sweet narrator. Sky is just beautiful and genuine, Gully tugged at my heart strings, and Nancy, in spite of her flaws, was appealing as that lost charismatic/wild girl. (check this snippet from Nancy, talking to Sky: 'I don't want to see the world, kid. I want to see the weird.' (Nancy, page 9)) And another one,Sky on Nancy: Kid, was what she called me. or little sister, or girlfriend, or dollbaby, or monkeyface. Sometimes she even used my name - Skylark, Sky - all in that drawl that felt like fingernails on my back lightly scratching itches I didn't even know I had.' (page 3)

I love the family vibe in this one. Full of ache and brokenness and despair and genuine love. I love that Howell takes all these quirky things (mannerisms and personalities and obsessions) and somehow makes them seem so entirely normal and true. This is possibly one of my all time fave quotes about family: 

Gully and I groaned and laughed. With the lights soft and everyone's faces all shiny happy I felt flooded with warmth - it was like we'd been infected with a buzzing, shaggy, loveliness that I guessed meant the best kind of family. (page 139)

I loved the mystery. There was also some swoon: I was not interested in Luke Casey. I was not going to jump him or fall for his hot and tragic combo. (page 81) Well, the hot and tragic combo pretty much had me interested from the get-go, haha. 

And, oh my gosh, isn't Sky just the most charmingest of narrators: And the more I drank the less weird I felt. Then we were laughing again, and nothing was serious and we were in the moment and the moment was everything. [...] The grass in the dark looked like velvet. I lay upon it and stared up at the sky. The stars were spinning. I might have hugged a tree before puking. (page 171)

Okay, so my review is all over the place and I have tried to piece it together but it's just not happening. I hope somewhere in my review you can catch just the tiniest glimpse of the magic and heart inside these pages  I bookmarked this book to pieces. It's got charm and originality and heartbreak and mystery and these awesome detective style reports interspersed. It has the Melbourne vibe going on (you know what I mean). It is also lonely and sad in just the right amounts (and I like that in a book). 

Note on the cover: it is so much more awesome in person. Also, it's from the book! The poster had appeared the week before on the wall opposite the shop. It was a stencil of a girls' face, three feet high below a concrete sky. She had black hair and eyes. her lips were slightly parted and a single tear rolled down her cheek (page 9)

Girl Defective @ goodreads
Girl Defective @ Pan Macmillan (an extract included on publisher's site)

Please forgive my quote-heavy review. I just couldn't help myself :) Plus, the best way to try and encapsulate this book is to show you a peek of some gems that lie inside.

Thanks so much to Pan Macmillan for my review copy :)

Five Recent Reads I've loved #minireviews

I really love evangelising about favourite new reads. Time constraints mean I often neglect reviewing so many books I read (oh, man, I am so guilty of this). These five books are recent favourites that I loved and devoured. I've written basic little mini reviews for each one and I so sincerely hope you might find a new favourite here, too :) -- It's been such a great reading year for me so far...

The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

This was refreshingly addictive with a great vibe. 

Mostly, I loved Devan's voice in this. She was so fun to read. This contemporary YA has moving to a new school , getting to know (or not) an estranged mum, a huge musical element (I don't even like musicals-- well, I sometimes like the stories, I just don't like the bits where the people sing, haha--, but I loved this book). 

This was fun and breezy with some high emotional moments to give it some depth. Very much looking forward to Amy Spalding's next book (out later this year!) Ink is Thicker Than Water. 

Prodigy by Marie Lu

This series is shaping up to be one of my fave YA dystopians. 

I loved being back in June and Day's world. Despite the very real danger and the stakes rising, there is also a lot of fun to be had. I had forgotten how much I love both June and Day. In particular, Day is such a sympathetic character, layered, tough but sensitive, and he is pitched against his friends and I really felt for him. I really like him, yeah? (haha). 

Things get complicated and loyalties are tested and there's plot twists and a very enigmatic and compelling new Elector Primo, Anden. Who can you trust? There's a bit of a cliffie, but I loved it. It was a punch in the guts kind of ending and I am so hanging out for the final book. 

*I read this with my good friend, Nic. We both loved it and had a lot of fun.

Falling For You by Lisa Schroeder

 I love Lisa Schroeder. She is on my auto-buy list of favourite authors.I bought this without realising it is her debut non-verse (regular prose with some poems scattered throughout) book. I also saw mixed reviews before beginning. I am SO happy to say I am on the LOVE side. 

What a completely heart-felt little book this is. My heart broke and I was full of hope and well wishes for our the lovely Rae. I got swept into this story and even shed a tear or two :) Also, Schroeder's prose is just gorgeous. I love her writing and her themes and the way she brought light into darkness.  

Warning: I think both the blurb and the cover of this are unfortunately misleading. It's not a kissy romance book. It's also not about one typical story just dealing with abuse. ALSO the first 100 pages might begin as cliché  but the plot veers right of in it's own unique and unexpected direction. I would love to see more people find this quietly awesome gem of a book.

Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas

My first Lisa Kleypas, you guys! This is a historical romance and it was deliciously fun and addictive. I often struggle with this genre, but Kleypas had just the right amount of tension and romance coupled with enough back story to make me actually care for the characters. 

The leads in this one are the kind of antagonistic coupling where they goad each other on in this love/hate kind of thing. She's wild and fun and unpredictable and he's a hot and brooding alpha male type. It's also just a little bit hot ;)

I'll be reading more Kleypas, and very soon.

Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay 

Oh, mate, I really loved this romantic verse novel from Sarah Tregay. It was fun and cute and swoony and just a delicious rainy-day feel good read. 

From the cover and so many swoony and favourable reviews I expected it to be all that, but I didn't anticipate just how addictive it would be, and how much I would grin and sigh my way through it. So recommended. I read this on my kindle but am itching to buy a copy for my shelves (hopefully a paperback will be released). SO GOOD.    

Have you read any of these? Or are you planning too?

What's a recent new favourite book you've read?