Swear on this Life by Renee Carlino

Title: Swear on this Life
Author: Renee Carlino
Publisher: Atria Books

When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.

Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.

That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.

The only way she can put her mind at ease is to find and confront “J. Colby,” but is she prepared to learn the truth behind the fiction?

Anyone who has followed my blog for a while will know that I have a complicated relationship with New Adult books. It is very rare for me to find a new adult book that I like. My biggest issue with the genre from the majority of books I have read is the poor writing, annoying tropes, every tragic backstory you can think of and the cringe-inducing dialogue. I mostly stick to Colleen Hoover, although I've been disappointed with her last few books. I recently discovered Fisher Amelie and I will forever recommend Katja Millay's The Sea of Tranquility. Every now and again I will take a chance on a new adult book, hoping that it will pay off. I decided to give Swear on This Life a try because it was recommended by Colleen Hoover and I was curious. Unfortunately, I have to say that this was one of the worst books I have read in a very long time.

The story follows Emiline, a writing instructor at UC San Diego, who always longed to be a writer but could never find the story she wanted to tell. When a debut novel blows up and becomes the next big thing, Emiline decides to read it. She is surprised to find that the book is about her. The author, J. Colby has to be Jase, the guy she grew up with and her first love.

Another reason I was curious to read this book was because of the childhood friends to lovers story line, as I usually find them super cute. However this story offered me absolutely nothing and I honestly wish I had never picked it up. My biggest problem with this book was that it was poorly written. It had some of the weakest dialogue that I have ever encountered. It also contains the whole 'book within a book', a book we are supposed to believe is getting world wide attention and acclaim, which made no sense given how poorly that book was written, so much so that it could make Fifty Shades look like a work of genius. It was just so, so, so, soooooo bad.
This also had one of my least favourite tropes that is ride in New Adult literature. And that is the tope of the tragic back stories. Why can' a lead character in a new adult book not have some awfully tragic back story? One has an abusive, alcoholic father and a mother who abandoned them. The other has a druggie mother, absent father and brother who dies tragically. Of course! It is always sooooo fucking over the top and ridiculous and I hate it.

The book within this book made it hard for us to get to know the characters as adults. Instead we kept going back to a fictionalised version of their childhood. It made it hard to connect to them or to really buy their romance. Not to mention it had a really rushed and swift end. It felt like you got absolutely no pay off for sticking through the whole book. I just had a horrible time with this book and it has put me off trying anything else by this author.

The Secret History of Us by Jessi Kirby: Review

Title: The Secret History of Us
Author: Jessi Kirby
Publisher: Harper Teen

A near drowning…a coma for days…and then…

Olivia wakes up to realize she doesn’t remember. Not just the accident—but anything from the last four years. Not high school. Not Matt, the guy who is apparently her boyfriend. Not the reason she and Jules are no longer friends. Nothing.

That’s when it hits her—the accident may not have taken her life, but it took something just as vital: her memory. The harder she tires to remember things, the foggier everything gets, and figuring out who she is feels impossible when everyone keeps telling her who she was.

But then there’s Walker. The guy who saved her. The one who broke her ribs pumping life back into her lungs. The hardened boy who keeps his distance despite Olivia’s attempts to thank him.

With her feelings growing for Walker, tensions rising with Matt, and secrets she can’t help but feel are being kept from her, Olivia must find her place in a life she doesn’t even remember living.

I was very excited when I saw this book was available for review, I'd read Jessi Kirby's Things We Know By Heart  last year and absolutely loved it. Her writing just drew me in and I connected to her characters, so I was hoping my reading experience would be the same for this book. In the end, I did enjoy this book, it just didn't pack the same emotional punch as the first book I read by her.

We follow Liz, who wakes up in a hospital after spending eight days in a coma following a serious car crash, one that no one can understand how she survived. It soon becomes apparent that Liz doesn't remember the crash, in fact she doesn't remember the last five years of her life. She has no memories of her boyfriend of two years, who was in the car with her that night. Liz has to learn to come to terms with who she is now and where life has taken her in those five years. She is drawn to the young man who pulled her from the water that night, the same person who performed the CPR that saved her live.

I'm still really enjoying Kirby's writing, there is just something about it that draws me into her stories and makes her books hard to put down. I struggled to connect to the characters here, but that had a lot to do with Liv's memory loss. It feels like you never really get to know her and who she actually is. The book doesn't spend enough time on any of the other characters for them to make much of an impression.

I hadn't known what to expect from this book. I associate Kirby with contemporary fiction, but I got the impression this would be more of a mystery/thriller going off the slightly creepy cover and the memory loss story line. It isn't at all though, it is more of a contemporary about finding who you are and who you want to be, with a little bit of romance thrown in.

Overall, I felt it was an okay read but it just didn't make me feel much of anything. I never truly connected to Liv as a character. I also was never able to buy the romance here because we just didn't spend enough time with the other characters.Without Liv's old memories we are unable to see the moments they've shared, the ways that they connected. Personally, I just felt that not much happened in the story overall, and all the major events that do happen, happen right at the end, making the story feel rushed and incomplete. I still enjoy Kirby's writing, but I would definitely recommend her other book before recommending this one.

The Inventory Series by Andy Briggs: Review, Giveaway & Guest Post

Titles: Iron Fist, Gravity & Black Knight
Author: Andy Briggs
Publisher: Scholastic

The Rules: if you find a secret inventory of utterly deadly battle tech. 1) Do not try it. 2) Do not tell anyone. 3) Do NOT let thieves in behind you. What’s more secret than top-secret? The Inventory. Home to the deadliest inventions the world isn’t ready for. Invisible camouflage. HoverBoots. Indestructible metals. Plus a giant creature of chaos: war robot Iron Fist. No one has ever broken past the state-of-the-art AI security system. (Seriously, most bad guys have no idea this stuff is even there.) Problem 1: the security robot wasn’t ready for a gang of kids wandering in. Problem 2: they’ve ONLY brought the ruthless Shadow Helix gang in behind them. Seriously dumb, but it’s a bit late for ‘sorry’. Say hello to trouble: the Iron Fist is in the wrong hands!

The Inventory series by Andy Briggs is one of those action-packed books that is just perfect for its middle grade audience. I am actually starting a new job next week, managing a Secondary School library and I will be buying these in straight away if they don't have them. The Inventory is basically a huge storage facility where technology deemed 'unsuitable' or too dangerous for use is stored. Now this includes dangerous weapons, crazy inventions and incredible pieces of tech. Dev has lived with his uncle his whole life, and his uncle is charged with watching over the Inventory. Dev has never really made friends, so it comes as a surprise when two classmates show up at his 'farm' one day. It just so happens to be the day the Inventory is attacked by Shadow Helix, a group determined to break in and steal the Iron Fist, a piece of technology even Dev doesn't know what it can do. When they capture Dev's uncle it is down to Dev and his two classmates, Lot and Mason, to outsmart the bad guys and protect the Inventory.

Me at almost every page!

This book is honestly just perfect for the age range. A group of teenagers working together, with all this advanced and rather incredible technology, to take down a gang of adults and protect the world. Seriously, perfect! And it is done soooooo well. There is action on every single page, there isn't a boring moment at any point during the book. I also loved watching Dev, Lot and Mason work together throughout the book. And that is continued on in the sequels, where they are helping to trach down items from the Inventory. The first book is set almost entirely within The Inventory, but with how big that actually is and the exciting inventions inside, it seems like such a bigger world and you don't get bored, instead you kind of wish you could peer into every corner of the Inventory and see all it offers.

These books are fast-paced and action-packed. I could get through these books in one sitting, without even realising it. It is hard to put them down because you are always in the thick of the action and there never seems a good time to step away and take a breather. I am actually so excited by this series, it is one of the best middle grade series I have read in a long time. I can't wait to start my new job and start recommending these to the kids I'll be working with, I know they're going to love them. Anyone looking for an exciting, adventure series then this is one I highly recommend.

7 Tips for Aspiring Authors
by Andy Briggs

1 - Finish your book. 

While on the surface this may sound like completely pointless advice, you’d be surprised. Touring around the UK, I meet many people who excitedly tell me that they’re writing a book. You meet very few people who have actually finished one. While it’s great that so many people are writing, it takes a lot effort to actually finish a book. Just remember, once you have completed your epic, you’re in a small select group of people who have actually done so – regardless if you’re published or not!

 2 - Write different things.

It seems that publishers all want are series. So, of course, everybody pitches their series ideas and then are surprised when they’re turned down. The thing is, publishers want material that has the potential to be a series, but stands up as a strong single book. One of the unexpected things writers get asked, shortly after being rejected by an agent or a publisher, is “what else have you got?”. If you’ve just been rejected for your dystopian vampire love story because there are billions on the shelves already, make sure you have something different (and preferably complete) in your back pocket – a story about a talking horse perhaps, make it something very different from your first offering. If the agent/publisher is asking that question, it’s because they like you and your writing, so don’t disappoint them.

 3 – Experiment.

Some people are desperate to be authors, but struggle to make it a reality. Constant rejections shouldn’t be the end of the dream, consider them a beginning. Writers create comics, non-fiction stories, magazine articles, screenplays, computer game scripts – and just about every other creative avenue requires writers. Spread your wings and experiment… you may find your niche in the most unexpected place…

4 – Don’t care, get it down!

I find it sad when I visit schools and see creative kids stymied by the ultra-important need to spell a word correctly and sharpen their grammar, because we all know that is much more important than creating anything original. The end result of their endeavours is a clinical lab experiment with no soul – accurately crafted sentences that are dull and unimaginative (and probably stolen from that movie the teacher hasn’t watched). I strongly recommend writing your story with no regard for spelling or grammar. Your goal here is to lay down your plot and bring your characters to life. Then you have the chance to rewrite, correcting spelling, grammar, and any other technical detail you feel is important. Oh, and by the end of the first rough draft… you have the pride of knowing that you’ve written a book!

5 - Write then rewrite. Repeat.

Following hot on the heels of point 4, rewriting is your friend. I know writers who hunch over their work, stressing about how they can make that next sentence perfect. As a result, days, weeks and even months pass with no progress – and the little demon called Writer’s Block has won once again claimed a victim. It’s best not to worry about perfection. You won’t achieve it. Write something, anything, then move on and you will soon find your rhythm. Remember, you will fix everything later in the rewrite, that’s the magic wand that makes your work even better.

6 – It’s a numbers game, not a word game.

When not stressing about their work, first-time authors stress about getting an agent or publisher. I don’t know any published author who doesn’t have a stack of rejection letters stowed away somewhere. You have to remember, most of these rejections aren’t a slight on your work (unless you get detailed criticism – in which case listen to it!), they’re simply stating a fact the market isn’t ready for yet another dystopian novel or an agent has exactly the number of clients they can comfortably manage. The harsh reality of this artistic endeavour is that it’s really a business and based on numbers. Generally, a rejection is not a rejection – it’s just a “this isn’t the right time” note. Write something else, and try again. Apply to other agencies and other agents within the one you have just been rejected by. Agents, like editors, have their own tastes. Just keep trying. Go to publishing events where you can mingle with agents and get to know them (before you insist they read your work). It’s just as much who you know as it is your quality of work.

7 – Don’t give up.

That should say it all. You never know when your break may occur. I used to think (and still do) that writing is an endurance game. Editors and agents move from place to place, and sometimes into completely unrelated jobs (I know one who now runs a pub!) – that means you have a clear playing field to start pitching your work all over again…

 Andy has extensive experience working on multinational co-productions and has worked in comics, books, TV, film and trans-media projects.
 Andy wrote and Executive Produced Legendary, currently the most successful independent UK/Chinese co-production. Released in China and grossing $5 million in the first week, with a theatric US release in 2014. With his brother he worked on Hollywood features such as Judge Dredd and Freddy vs. Jason and TV shows for the SyFy Channel and Netflix.
 He wrote and co-created Secret Agents, a trans-media interactive spy experience for children, currently on at the Discover Centre, Stratford. He has written 20 books and graphic novels published in the UK and around the world. In 2016 his latest feature, Crowhurst, will be released.

Win a copy of Black Knight by @abriggswriter 📚 RT + Follow to enter (UK only) pic.twitter.com/2LvDzzZ2SM

— Charnell (@reviewbookworm) April 29, 2017

Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman: Review & Giveaway

Title: Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined
Author: Danielle Younge-Ullman
Publisher: Scholastic

Ingrid has made a deal with her mother: she gets to go to the school of her choice as long as she completes a three-week wilderness programme. But when Ingrid arrives, she quickly realizes there has been a terrible mistake: there will be no marshmallows or cabins here. Instead, her group will embark on a torturous trek, with almost no guidance from the two counsellors and supplied with only the things they can carry. On top of this, the other teen participants are “at risk youth”, a motley crew of screw-ups, lunatics and delinquents. But as the laborious days go by, and as memories of her complicated past come flooding back, Ingrid must confront the question of whether she shares more in common with these troubled teens than she’s willing to admit.

The first I heard of this book, it was being pitched as The Breakfast Club meets camping, or something quite similar. To me, that is probably the perfect way to describe it. And it was a huge part of the reason I wanted to read it, as The Breakfast Club just so happens to be one of my all time favourite movies. I finished this book with tears in my eyes and an overwhelming feeling of happiness, this book didn't just meet my expectations, it exceeded them.

Ingrid has been sent off to camp, and she is not looking forward to it. She is imagining uncomfortable bunks, cabins and having to go to the toilet in an outhouse. None of them are pleasant ideas to her. She is determined though, she made a deal with her mother to do it. If Ingrid can make it through the two weeks at the camp then she can go to a prestigious school in London to study. The only problem is the camp turns out to be worse than she imagined. The camp is not a camp at all, it's a tiring two week trek through the wilderness, sleeping in tents and with no toilets in site. Ingrid's idea of hell. Not to mention she is in a camp with 'at risk teens', something she definitely wouldn't call herself. But Ingrid is stronger than she knows and there is more to her camp mates than she assumes.

I really liked Ingrid as a main character, especially since she is such a complex character. She clearly has a strained relationship with her mother at this time, given the fact her mum has sent her to the camp. She is also closed off, not willing to open about herself or what led her to the camp. She doesn't feel like she fits there, she sees herself differently to the others at the camp. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her character grow stronger, not just physically but emotionally. I loved seeing her open up to the others, standing up for herself and finding her voice.

This book also deals with some serious issues and I love it for that. It deals with depression, something I love seeing done well in YA books, especially as I have struggled with and used medication to help with depression in the past. It also deals so well with sexual assault, how that was handled in this book was just so perfect to me. Not to mention the perfect and complex mother daughter relationship here. Honestly, I am just so impressed with Danielle Younge-Ullman and I will read whatever she comes out with next.

This book was so much more than I had expected, I can fully admit that it didn't just hit me in the feels, it punched me so hard in them I wanted to double over in pain. I was a little bit of a weepy mess, but I kind of loved that. There is just so much about this book that I really loved. My only hang up is the same problem I have with almost every contemporary I read and that is that it felt too rushed at the end and there wasn't enough closure. It is the same with so many contemporary books, where you're holding just a few pages in your hands at the end of the book but feel there should be about another 30-50 pages to go. Don't get me wrong, the story wraps up and does it so well. I just felt maybe Ingrid's return from camp could have been given more time, so we have more time to adjust to that and see how it all plays out.

4.5/5 Butterflies

I am super lucky to be a part of the Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined blog tour, and Scholastic have been kind enough to offer a book for a giveaway. So one lucky winner could win a copy of this awesome book! The giveaway is for UK peeps only though, sorry international guys!

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Heartless by Marissa Meyer: Review

Title: Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Fiewel & Friends 

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Heartless was one of those books you seem to constantly see and hear about in the months leading up to its release. If I'm honest, I hate when that happens. I end up hearing far too much about the book and how incredible it is, the hype makes my expectations rise to ridiculous levels and then the book can't live up to them. It happened with Caraval and it happened here. Don't get me wrong, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, I just feel I might have enjoyed it more if there had been less hype and I'd heard less about it before I got to read it. Plus all the warnings about this book and how it made people feel made it all so predictable, so it never packed the same emotional punch it would have if I'd gone in blind. There was so much I did enjoy about this book, especially the world and the characters. Not forgetting Meyer's fantastic writing, she definitely breathed new life into the world of Wonderland.

Heartless takes place in Wonderland, way before Alice found herself there. It is a Queen of Hearts origin story, as we see how she becomes the infamous villain we all know. Catherine Pinkerton is the daughter of the Marquess of Rock Turtle Cove, and one of the most coveted women in all of Wonderland. Even the King of Hearts himself wishes to make Catherine his wife. But Cath has always dreamed of being more than a wife. He dream is to own her own bakery, to share her delicious treats with all of Wonderland. That is not seen as an acceptable dream for a woman of her social standing, but Cath is determined to fight for it. Then she meets Jest, the King's new Joker and a mysterious new face ii Wonderland. Cath finds herself drawn to him, going behind the backs of her parents and the King to spend time with him. Cath is falling in love, dreaming of a future with Jest and her bakery. But there are forces in Wonderland beyond her control, forces that threaten to bring her dreams crumbling down.

First, I must talk about the writing, it is utterly glorious! Meyer really brings the world of Wonderland to life, I could visualise it all so clearly in my mind. Her food descriptions are heavenly, she basically had my mouth watering almost the entire time I was reading. I feel she added her own style to Wonderland, one which I personally loved. This is where I have to admit something... I have never been an Alice in Wonderland fan. The Disney film was always one of my least favourites, and I didn't enjoy the book either and really didn't get all the fuss over the Tim Burton adaptation either. If I am honest, the whole story is just too strange for me. So I was happy to discover that Meyer could write a Wonderland that I'd absolutely love, craziness and all.

Meyer also does a fantastic job with the characters here, ones you will recognise from the Alice in Wonderland stories and also some completely new ones. I think the best way to do this is to look at my thoughts on some of the individual characters themselves.

Cath: Of course I must start with the Queen of Hearts-to-be herself. She is a really likeable character, especially in the beginning of this book. She's funny, kind, determined, a dreamer, plus she makes delicious desserts and that just instantly makes me want to be best friends with her. I had a lot of sympathy for Cath, she was stuck in a very tough situation. Meyer has created a kind of Victorian style Wonderland in terms of the society, with a woman's future being determined by who she marries and how that will benefit her family. Making decisions for yourself isn't something afforded to the women in Wonderland, unless you want to find yourself rejected by society and wind up destitute. So I did feel for Cath, especially in terms of the pressure put on her to enter into marriage with the King. However, she does also happen to be a truly frustrating character, I found myself wanting to reach into this book and shake her on multiple occasions. Having to watch her stay silent for so long really bothered me. You understand why she does it, but it is hard to read. It felt like she brought so much on herself, so much so that by the end of the book she had lost a lot of my sympathy.

Me with Jest & Cath

Jest: Now Jest is the mysterious and alluring love interest, who enters Cath's life with a band and doesn't want to leave. He was like the perfect breath of fresh air for Cath, especially since he wasn't stuck up or prone to sticking to the societal standards expecting of him - go Jest! I adored his character because he was so much fun and he managed to push Cath out of her comfort zone. Plus he is the King's Jester, so he has the added bonus of being a forbidden romance and those are one of the best kinds.

The King: I absolutely hated the King, which is really the entire point of his character. He is just so passive and useless, the worst kind of person to be in charge of ruling a kingdom. I also found his character super creepy, as he unashamedly and doggedly pursues Cath, a young girl half his age. Not to mention that he comes across as a total idiot and at times talks like an exciting toddler. Yes, it is understandable why Cath doesn't want to marry that man.

Cath's parents: Some more characters that it is very easy to hate. These two are people of their time, strict in sticking to what society expects of them. They're so certain of themselves and that they know what is best for Cath, what will maker her happy, even though they have absolutely no clue. It's really hard to read books with a Victorian style society, as it is so horribly sexist. Reading a book where you're basically watching parents pimp out their daughter to man half her age is uncomfortable at best. I did not like these two at all, I wanted the Jabberwock to swallow them both whole.

Mad Hatter & The Cheshire Cat: I really like how Meyer decided to play with these classic Alice in Wonderland characters. Cheshire was basically perfect, so sarcastic and superior, he was so spot on and had the perfect cat personality. I am sure if my cat could taken then she'd basically act the exact same way. Hatta was less fun but I adored him as he was the only person willing to call Cath out on her bullshit, her complete inability to fight for what she wanted and for her unfair treatment of Jest. Honestly, he made me want to put the book down and applaud him as finally someone was saying what I was feeling.

Overall, I found Heartless was a really enjoyable read but I didn't completely love it. I actually really enjoyed Meyer's Wonderland and it worked so well for me. However, I did feel this book was much too long and with very little happening for most of the book. A lot of the story is Cath bemoaning her situation, but doing absolutely nothing to change it. It gets tiresome hearing her whine for hundreds of pages whilst taking no action. I did thoroughly enjoy watching Cath and Jest fall for each other though. Personally, I felt the end was a bit manic after so long of nothing happening, and a certain event felt so blink-and-you'll-miss-it that it didn't pack any kind of real emotional punch. There was a lot to like about this book, but aspects I wish were different and would have made it a much more enjoyable read.

3.5 Butterflies