Tuesday 29 September 2015

RELEASE DAY PARTY + GIVEAWAY! The Devil and the Deep by Megan Tayte


Hey everyone! I'm incredibly excited to be hosting this release day party for The Devil and the Deep, the fourth instalment in Megan Tayte's fantastic series The Ceruleans. I read and reviewed the first book, Death Wish, this summer, and seriously can't wait to delve deeper into the series! Be sure to scroll down this post for a great excerpt from Megan's latest book, and enter the giveaway for your chance to win a copy!

STORM CLOUDS ARE GATHERING, AND THEY WILL RAIN BLOOD.
Scarlett is living her happy-ever-after, back in the real world. Only the 'happy' part is proving problematic.
For starters, there's the isolation. Being a Cerulean among humans is fraught with risk, so her time with people can only be fleeting. Which means being with Luke but not being with Luke.
Then there's her Cerulean light, her power over life and death. Less awesome talent, as it turns out, and more overwhelming responsibility. And it comes with rules - rules that are increasingly difficult to obey.
But what's really pushing Scarlett to the precipice is something much bigger than herself, than her life in the cove. A force to be reckoned with:
Blood.
When long-buried truths are exposed, will Scarlett keep her head above water - or will she drown in the blood-dimmed tide that is unleashed?

Buy The Devil and the Deep on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Excerpt


It began with screaming. Shrill, ear-piercing, horrified screaming.
A girl shrieked, 'Blood! Look, look - it's everywhere!' and pressed her hand to her mouth.
A man shouted, 'Good grief!' and another, 'Great Scott!'
An old lady swooned gracefully and would have tipped over the balustrade of the riverboat had a lanky lad not caught her.
The cause of the excitement - a women lying slumped on the long table on deck, cheek on her bread plate, headdress in the butter dish - twitched a little.
'She's alive!' cried a lad beside her delightedly. 'She moved!'
'Did not,' argued another.
'Did too!'
'Gentlemen,' interjected a short, portly man with a twirly black moustache, 'if you will forgive my intrusion, it must be noted that this woman has a bullet hole in her head and is logically, therefore, quite definitely deceased.'
Another old dear folded to the deck with a prolonged 'Ohhhhhh' and her husband grabbed a feathered fan and began wafting cool evening air in her face while calling, 'Smelling salts - does anyone have any?'
I tried to keep a straight face. Really I did. I bit my bottom lip until I tasted my cherry-red lipstick. I pinched my leg through the cream satin of my gown. I dug my long cigarette holder into the sensitive flesh of my arm.
But it was no good.
The 'What ho, chaps' posh accents.
The buxom woman sagging in the arms of an elephant hunter wearing Converse All Stars.
The production of smelling salts in a bottle whose label read Pepto-Bismol.
The corners of the little round man's moustache coming looser with his every word.
The fast-pooling puddle of pinkish blood on the bread plate, buffeted by the steady in-and-out breaths of the corpse.
Take it from a girl who's really died - death on the River Dart, Devon, is hilarious.
'Dear me, Ms Robson here appears to be quite overcome with shock', said the guy at my side suddenly, and he slipped an arm around me and turned me away. 'Come, madam. Let us get some air.'
I smiled at him. Then grinned. Then chocked back a guffaw. Thankfully, by the time full-scale hilarity hit me I'd been led to the rear of the boat, away from the rest of our party, and could bury my face in the bloke's chest and shake mutely with laughter.
The gallant gentleman rubbed my back soothingly as I let it all out and said loudly, for the benefit of any onlookers, 'There, there, pignsey, there there.'
'Pigsney?' It was the final straw. My high-heeled sandals gave way and I melted into a puddle of mirth on the deck.
'I'll have you know, Scarlett Blake,' hissed Luke, my boyfriend a.k.a. gallant gent, hoiking up his too-tight corduroy trousers so he could squat down beside me, 'I Googled "old-fashioned terms of endearment" and pigsney's a classic.'
I wiped tears from my eyes, dislodging a false eyelash in the process, and tried to catch my hiccupping breath as Luke went on.
'Means pig's eye. No idea why that's appealing, but apparently in the seventeenth century, calling a lady pigsney was the very height of courting.'
Through his fake specs Luke's blue eyes fixed me with a stare so earnest I almost managed to stop laughing.
'But this is a Death on the Nile-Stroke-Dart murder mystery night, Luke,' I managed to get out. 'Set in the nineteen thirties, not the seventeen thirties.'
'Ah,' he said, 'but my character tonight, Mr Fijawaddle, is a historical fiction writer, isn't he? So as well as dressing like a brainy recluse - and I'm warning you now, I won't hear another slur against this tweed jacket - and he'd know all kinds of obscure terms. Like ginglyform and jargogle and nudiustertian and bromopnea and farctate and quagswag and philosophunculist.'
His showing off sobered me just enough to control the giggles. 'You made those words up,' I accused, poking a crimson talon into his mustard-yellow shirtfront.
He blinked at me innocently. 'Did not. I told you before we left the house, I did my homework.' I narrowed my eyes. 'All right then, Mr Fijawaddle, what does the last word you said mean?'
'Philosophunculist?'
'Yes, that.'
'Er...' Luke gave me a sheepish grin.
'Spill it,' I said menacingly. As menacingly as a girl dressed up as a vintage Hollywood starlet with cute little pin curls and rouge aplenty can be, that is.
'Philosophunculist,' recited Luke. 'Noun. A person who pretends to know more than they do in order to impress others.'
I threw my head back and laughed. 'Busted!'
Luke slipped an arm around me and pulled me close. Really close.
'Bet you like it when I use long word,' he said huskily, eyes fixed on my too-red lips.
'Bet you like it when I wear a clingy nightgown as a dress,' I replied, eyes fixed on his too-kissable lips.
'Brazen hussy,' he growled at me.
'Randy boffin,' I murmured back.
Then neither of us said another word for quite some time.

About the author


Once upon a time a little girl told her grandmother that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer. Or a lollipop lady. Or a fairy princess fireman. 'Write, Megan,' her grandmother advised. So that's what she did.

Thirty-odd years later, Megan is a professional writer and published author by day, and an indie novelist by night. Her fiction - young adult romance with soul - recently earned her the SPR's Independent Woman Author of the Year award.

Megan grew up in the Royal County, a hop, skip and a (very long) jump from Windsor Castle, but these days she makes her home in Robin Hood's county, Nottinghamshire. She lives with her husband, a proud Scot who occasionally kicks back in a kilt; her son, a budding artist with the soul of a paleontonlogist; and her baby daughter, a keen pan-and-spoon drummer who sings in her sleep. When she's not writing, you'll find her walking someplace green, reading by the fire, or creating carnage in the kitchen as she pursues her impossible dream: of baking something edible.

Find Megan online on:

Time for a Giveaway!


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Saturday 26 September 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Sept 26)


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.


Well, hasn't this been a crazy month! I feel like I've been incredibly busy, running around all day, and I've had barely any time to give to books and blogging. For the first time this year, I haven't finished a single book in two weeks! It just seems like I have zero time to devote to reading in between all the other stuff that has to be done. I'm a very sad bookworm right now... But maybe now that the cold is starting to arrive, I'll have enough excuses to spend my free time wrapped up in a cozy blanket reading!

Tuesday 15 September 2015

ARC Book Review: The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Thomas Dunne

Published: September 2015

Pages: 320


Summary


For twenty years, the Palomas and the Corbeaus have been rivals and enemies, locked in an escalating feud for over a generation. Both families make their living as travelling performers in competing shows - the Palomas swimming in mermaid exhibitions, the Corbeaus, former tightrope walkers, performing in the tallest trees they can find. Lace Paloma may be new to her family's show, but she knows as well as anyone that the Corbeaus are pure magia negra, black magic from the devil himself. Simply touching one could mean death, and she's been taught from birth to keep away. But when disaster strikes the small town where both families are performing, it's a Corbeau boy, Cluck, who saves Lace's life. And his touch immerses her in the world of the Corbeaus, where falling for him could turn his own family against him, and one misstep can be just as dangerous on the ground as it is in the trees. Beautifully written, and richly imaginative, The Weight of Feathers is an utterly captivating YA novel by a talented new voice.

Sunday 13 September 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Sept 13) - I'm Back!


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.


In case I hadn't made it obvious enough from the title of this post, I'M BACK from my break!! I took this week off to rest and recharge, and snatched this chance to go to Vienna for a few days. And I have to say I LOVED IT! It's a really beautiful city, and I enjoyed every minute I spent there. I also managed to find some time for reading, and finished The Weight of Feathers while I was away. The full review will be up later this week, but let me tell you right now that I really enjoyed it. And, of course, I took the chance to visit a few Austrian bookstores and get myself a bookish souvenir... What else is a bookworm to do during a trip?!

Sunday 6 September 2015

Stacking the Shelves - Monthly Edition (August)


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Well, it's been a while since I've done one of these posts. So I've finally decided to collect all the books I received throughout August in a single StS post, which came up to quite a massive haul! In other news, I've had quite a hectic month at work and in life in general, which is why I'm now going to take a break! I've decided to take a week off everything, which means there won't be any posts, and I also won't be replying to emails/comments. I'll be back (hopefully) fully rested next week! Until then...

Tuesday 1 September 2015

ARC Book Review: A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Disney Press

Published: September 2015

Pages: 384


Summary


Welcome to a new YA series that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. Each book asks the question: what if one kew moment from a familiar Disney film was changed? This dark and daring version of Aladdin twists the original story with the question: what if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie? When Jafar steals the Genie's lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war. What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.