#Bookpost!

Happy Tuesday, all! This week we received mostly unknown books - we are looking forward to getting to know them! As usual we have read one, but the review doesn't post until tomorrow, sadly.

As always, you can click on each cover to learn more about the book.

Remind me to Hate You Later by Lizzy Mason

A story about the pressures of social media, the lengths influencers will go to for fame, and the grief of losing a loved one to suicide, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Gayle Forman.

Seventeen-year-old Jules grew up in her mother's spotlight. A “parenting influencer,” Britt shares details of her daughter's life-pictures, intimate stories, insecurities, all-to a point that becomes unbearable to Jules.

And suddenly she's gone.

Natalie has only barely begun to grieve her best friend Jules's death when Britt announces her plans to publish a memoir that will dissect Jules's life and death. But Nat knows the truth behind Britt's "perfect" Instagram feed-Jules hated the pressure, the inauthenticity, the persona. There's so much more to Jules than Britt and her followers could ever know. As Nat connects with Jules's boyfriend, Carter, and their shared grief and guilt bonds them, she becomes determined to expose Britt, to understand what really happened, and who is to blame.

In a world that feels distorted by celebrity and the manipulations of social media and public opinion, Natalie and Carter need something real to hold onto. Remind Me to Hate You Later is a moving account of grief, depression, complex relationships, love, and the search for truth.

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday, all! This week we had a great time on a blog tour, posted three other reviews and our usual Bookpost and BookBirthday posts.

The Wishkeeper's Apprentice by Rachel Chivers Khoo and Rachel Sanson

Wanted! A wishkeeper's apprentice.

When Felix makes a very special wish, he doesn't expect to be offered a job as an apprentice to wishkeeper Rupus Beewinkle. Now Felix must save the town's wishes from the wishsnatcher, who wants to destroy hopes and dreams everywhere.

The Nowhere Thief by Alice M Ross

A mind-bending multiverse adventure about theft, family, and finding your home.

Twelve-year-old Elsbeth has an extraordinary power: she can travel to parallel worlds and bring objects back with her. But as freak weather events become more frequent and a strange boy, Idris, starts to turn up everywhere she travels, she has to ask herself: does her gift come with a price?

Happy #BookBirthday! 23 Feb

Happy Thursday! This week there are TWO books on our lists publishing!

Fairy Hill by Marita Conlon-McKenna

Strange things are happening in Fairy Hill.

Thirteen-year-old Anna is upset when she is sent to stay with her dad and his new family at Fairy Hill in the west of Ireland. Hearing whispers in the wind, Anna senses she is being watched, but nobody believes her except the mysterious boy down by the lake. When her little half-brother, Jack, nearly gets lost, Anna suspects that someone is trying to steal him away. She wonders if the stories about the old house and the fairies are true. And if they are, could Jack be in real danger?

#Bookpost!

Happy Tuesday, all! We had a bumper crop of picture books this week that we are really looking forward to getting into.

As always you can click on each cover to learn more about the book.

Blog tour: It Happened on Saturday by Sydney Dunlap

Thirteen-year-old Julia would much rather work with horses at the rescue barn than worry about things like dating and makeup. But when her BFF meets a boy at camp, Julia’s determined not to get left behind. After a makeover from her older sister, she posts a picture of herself online and gets a comment from Tyler—a seemingly nice kid who lives across town. As they DM more and more, Julia’s sure that Tyler understands her in a way her family never has. Even better, their relationship earns her tons of attention at school.

Then Julia finds out Tyler’s true plan, and her world is turned upside down. She fiercely guards her secret, but could her silence allow her friends to fall into the same trap?

In this timely, heartfelt debut, author Sydney Dunlap tells a story of a middle-school girl who narrowly escapes becoming a victim of human trafficking and must find her way toward hope and healing after this traumatic event.

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday, all! It's starting to get warmer and brighter here, which is great - it's nicer to wake up in sunshine!

The Devil's Advisor by Brad Abdul

Lucy, the Devil, wants to retire. Brian, the Business Advisor, hates his job. When Brian's jealous co-workers put him in Lucy's crosshairs, she makes him an offer he can't refuse: work for her and increase the productivity in Hell by 50% or suffer the cruel fate planned by his peers. To sweeten the deal, Lucy offers Brian the chance to be her successor if he pulls it off. Brian reluctantly agrees and dives in with both feet to the bureaucratic nightmare of Hell. To make it out alive, Brian faces Death, God, and Lucy's own twin children.

Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi

Ren Mittal's last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to visit his mystery pen pal Georgia. When he wakes up in 2122, he thinks he might be hallucinating...he's not!

Tech conglomerate Chronotech sponsors a time-travel program to help students in 2122 learn what history was really like...from real-life subjects who've been transported into the future...and Ren is one of them.

In 2122, Ren's life in the 1990s is practically ancient history--and Ren's not sure how to feel about that. On top of it all, he learns that his memory will be wiped of all things 2122 before he's sent back to the '90s. Adding to Ren's complicated feels, he's forming a crush on his student guide, Mars.

And when he crosses paths with the absolute last person he expected to see in the future, he has a bigger problem on his hands: What if Chronotech isn't the benevolent organization they claim to be, and he and his fellow subjects are in great danger?

Happy #BookBirthday! 16 Feb

Happy Thursday! This week there are SIX plus one books on our lists publishing!

Enjoyed but may not read again

Enjoyed but may not read again

Will read again

Will read again

Will read again

Enjoyed and will probably read again

We also had a new tarot deck over on the tarot blog:

Did you get to read any of these? What did you think?

The Town with No Mirrors by Christina Collins

In a modern-day utopian community where mirrors, photos, and even words like beautiful and ugly are forbidden, a girl who has never seen her own face harbors a guilty curiosity about the outside world. A thoughtful exploration of self-image in a world familiar to readers of The Giver and The List.

Zailey has never seen her own face. She's never seen her reflection, or a photo of herself, or even a drawing. In the special community of Gladder Hill, cameras and mirrors are forbidden: it's why everyone's happier here. Nobody talks about anyone else's appearance. You're not supposed to even think about what other people look like, or what you look like.

But Zailey does.

She knows her superficial thoughts are wrong, and her sketchbook, filled with secret portraits of her classmates and neighbors, could get her in trouble. Yet she can't help but think those thoughts, and be curious about the outside world where she once lived, years ago. Most of all, she wonders what it's like to see herself―her own face.

When Zailey suddenly finds herself beyond the gates of her town, she has a chance to see if what she's been taught about the outside world is true and search for the mother she barely remembers. Only then will she find out the real story about Gladder Hill. But is she prepared for the truth?

#Bookpost!

Happy Tuesday, all! We had a good week here on the blog, with some nice new titles. And yes, we have read one already!

The Pledge by Cale Dietrich

Scream meets Clown in a Cornfield in this YA horror novel by bestselling author Cale Dietrich featuring a masked killer who targets frat boys.

Freshman Sam believes that joining a fraternity is the best way to form a friend group as he begins his college journey—and his best chance of moving on from his past. He is the survivor of a horrific, and world-famous, murder spree known as the Lake Priest Massacre, in which a masked killer hunted down Sam and his friends.

Sam had to do the unthinkable to survive that night, and it completely derailed him. He sees college, and his new identity as a frat boy, as his best shot at living a life not defined by the killings. Sam begins to hope a fresh start is possible.

And then one of his new frat brothers is found dead. Now Sam must race against the clock to figure out the murderer’s identity and why they are threatening Sam’s new friends before more lives—and his on chance to move—are lost forever.

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday, all! We had a good week here on the blog, with our usual number of reviews and features. However stock take is coming up for one of us (::coughs::B::coughs::) so things may or may not be delayed this week coming!

A Tale of Two Princes by Eric Geron

Edward Dinnissen leads a charmed life. He’s the Crown Prince of Canada, gets the royal treatment at his exclusive private school, and resides in a ritzy mansion. He thrives off being the perfect prince as he prepares for the Investiture Ceremony on his eighteenth birthday, the final step in his role as heir—and Canada’s future king. But this closeted Crown Prince has just one tiny problem: he’s unsure how to tell his parents, his beloved country, and his adoring fans that he’s gay.

Billy Boone should be happy with the simple life. His family’s ranch is his favorite place in the world, he loves his small town, and his boyfriend is the cutest guy at Little Timber High. So why does it feel like something’s still missing? Maybe it has to do with the fact that this out-and-proud cowboy feels destined for something more . . .

Crookhaven by J. J. Arcanjo

“So this is really a school for criminals.” It was meant as a question, though it came out more as an accusation.

“We are so much more than that,” Caspian said, sitting in a plush leather chair and gesturing for Gabriel to sit in a similar one across the table. “We are a home for the forgotten, a sanctuary for the lost and … yes, a training ground for the greatest crooks of the future.”

13-year-old Gabriel is a brilliant pickpocket, a skill which he uses to keep his often empty belly not quite so empty. And then one day, he’s caught.

But instead of being arrested, he is invited by the mysterious Caspian Crook to attend Crookhaven – a school for thieves. At Crookhaven, students are trained in lock-picking, forgery and ‘crim-nastics’, all with the intention of doing good out in the world, by conning the bad and giving back to the innocent.

But … can you ever really trust a thief?

With a school wide competition to be crowned Top Crook and many mysteries to uncover, Gabriel’s first year at Crookhaven will be one to remember…

Happy #BookBirthday!

Happy Thursday, all! This week there are TWO titles from our lists publishing!

The Beauty Trials by Dhonielle Clayton

Sophia, the dangerous and erratic former queen, has been imprisoned, restoring peace to Orléans. Now her sister, Charlotte, sits on the throne and has decided to invoke the ancient tradition of the Beauty Trials―a series of harrowing tests meant to find the true ruler of Orléans. Edel, who has always aspired to be more than a Belle, decides to enter and, after promising to bind her arcana to keep from having an unnatural advantage, joins a few dozen other hopefuls intent on becoming the next Queen of Orléans.

But the Trials are far worse than any of them bargained for. As the women are put through tasks that test their strength, confidence, composure, and bravery, many perish, and Edel is mysteriously attacked by one of the other competitors―forcing her to use her powers just to survive. Will her subterfuge cost her the crown, or is there a larger conspiracy at play?

#Bookpost!

Happy Tuesday, all! We had a great week this week, with some titles we've been really looking forward to and some that are new to us but look amazing. (And yes - we have read one already!)

As always you can click on each cover to learn more about the title.

Cold People by Tom Rob Smith

What if the only hope for survival becomes the greatest threat?

From the brilliant, bestselling author of Child 44 comes a suspenseful and fast-paced novel about a colony of global apocalypse survivors seeking to reinvent civilisation under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

The world has fallen. Without warning, a mysterious and omnipotent force has claimed the planet for their own. There are no negotiations, no demands, no reasons given for their actions. All they have is a message: humanity has thirty days to reach the one place on Earth where they will be allowed to exist... Antarctica.

Cold People follows the journeys of a handful of those who endure the frantic exodus to the most extreme environment on the planet. But their goal is not merely to survive the present. Because as they cling to life on the ice, the remnants of their past swept away, they must also confront the urgent challenge: can they change and evolve rapidly enough to ensure humanity's future? Can they build a new society in the sub-zero cold?

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday, all! It's turned cold again where I am, so I'm huddling up with a nice book today.

Wilder by Penny Chrimes

The child – if child it was – came out of the wild-ness. It came out of the sparse bleak marsh where few dared go and none came back. And though the village grew accustomed to the creature they did not forget from whence it came. And they whispered that there was no knowing whether she was sent as a blessing or a bane.’

When the child emerges from the wilderness, no one in the village knows what to do with her. She is odd – half-wild, without speech and seems to have an unnatural bond with animals – especially the falcon, who is always circling above her. The Wise-Woman takes her in, and names her Rhodd, but the rest of the villagers remain suspicious.

Over the years, as Rhodd grows, the village realises that the river, which is their connection to the wider world, is beginning to die, and eventually a dark sickness begins to spread. Soon, too soon, the villagers turn their suspicion on Rhodd and her falcon.

And so, Rhodd sets out to discover what – or who – is causing the river to dry up . . . to protect her mother, her falcon and herself…

Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson

This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures . . . everyone's favourite hero, right?

Well, it's not.

This is the story of everyone else:

Alcmene: Herc's mother (She has knives everywhere)

Hylas: Herc's first friend (They were more than friends)

Megara: Herc's wife (She'll tell you about the marriage)

Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc's labours (Definitely did not hide in a jar)

His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims.

It's time to hear their stories. 

Happy #BookBirthday! 2 Feb

Happy Thursday! 2nd of February is a huge publishing day, with TEN books from our lists (and dozens of other books!) publishing today!

Out of Character by Jenna Miller

If you asked seventeen-year-old Cass Williams to describe herself, she’d happily tell you she’s fat, queer, and obsessed with the Tide Wars books. What she won’t tell you—or anyone in her life—is that she’s part of an online Tide Wars roleplay community. Sure, it’s nerdy as hell, but when she’s behind the screen writing scenes as Captain Aresha, she doesn’t have to think about her mother who walked out or how unexpectedly stressful it is dating resident cool girl Taylor Cooper.

But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also? Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie…and Taylor might be catching on.

As Cass’s lies continue to build, so does her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to, but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made things worse. Cass must decide what to do—be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line.