Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Fantasy, Review, Romance, Super Powers, Urban, Young Adult

Book Review: Red Blood: Card Holders by Kaitlyn Legaspi

I was fortunate to be part of Kaitlyn Legaspi’s ARC team. I didn’t quite manage to finish this ARC in time but I wasn’t far behind.

Red Blood: Card Holders by Kaitlyn Legaspi released on 19 Feb 2021. Add to your Goodreads.

Setting

This novel is set in a futuristic world where there are bound and unbound people. Unbound people have powers, and those with more than one power are specialists. Specialists can learn to use cards that boost their powers.

The unbound are rules by the Card Catchers. The story starts with a tournament being held where all the unbound must compete, so the strongest are selected. The tournament can be deadly, hence Neela’s resistance to partake.

Characters

Neela is the main character. She is a feisty vigilante orphan, growing up in the slums with her brother. Neela is an untrained specialist.

Jacen is Neela’s big brother. They are super close as they’ve pretty much grown up only having each other. He doesn’t have any powers.

Brochan is to become Neela’s trainer when she is required (or forces) to compete in the Red Queen tournament. Part of his team includes wife Lily, and brother-in-law Will.

Amil is a specialist trained assassin. He also becomes Neela’s first friend. There’s a lot of flirting between them. Unfortunately, Amil’s brother isn’t quote so friendly.

Review

Neela is a feisty young vigilante, with unbound powers. She doesn’t want to compete in the Red Queen tournament, until she is caught by her trainer. On their way to the tournament they are attacked.

Neela meets Amil, a young assassin that everyone is cautious of. He quickly becomes her friend, which draws the attention of his not so nice brother.

People are targeting Neela. As they try to figure out who they are, more secrets unravel. Could the attacks be linked to her parents deaths?

My only negative is that sometimes it felt too dialogue heavy, and there were a lot of occasions thar Neela’s hair got roughed up or her head patted.

Red Blood is full of fast paced action and superpowers. It reminded me a lot of Naruto, but without the school. It’s a fun read. Kaitlyn has put a lot of thought into the magic system and World-building to bring this story to life.

Top Tip: Don’t skip the Prologue!

[kofi]

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Check out my Live Stream Team

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Whart to Watch if you love Super Powers

Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Mythology, Review

Book Review: Garden in the Sands by Ellie Mitten

The first review of 2021, and I’m changing my format a little. I’m not going to write about the Beginning, Middle & End as it was hard to do without spoiling the books.

I’ve been following Ellie’s writing journey on Instagram so when her book released I bought it. And, it didn’t disappoint!

The setting

Set in a world with gods & goddesses, Miran’s lands have been cursed by the gods to only have rain once a year. Water is now so precious and many struggle to make the year through the drought.

The characters

The book has two main characters, Quil who is human, and Lira who is a demi-goddess.

It starts off with Quil, a human girl from an affluent family. She’s not very good at being a classy lady, so her parents send her off to different noble families to improve. They are out of options… except the castle, home to the king & sickly prince. They decide to send Quil there and task her to spy on the prince and report back in her letters.

Lira takes pity on the humans plight, and worries the punishment will turn the humans against them. If she is to betray their farmer, by breaking the curse, she will be banished to hell. Lira is in competition with Arch as next in line, and can’t trust anyone.

My review

This book is a must read! I had no idea what to expect when I started reading. Quil starts off very stuck up due to her upbringing but evolves with the story. Lira is very untrusting of everyone, but her empathy for humans brings down her walls. Quil’s story was like a fantasy retelling of The Secret Garden, whereas Lira’s story was full of mythical beasts and sexy gods. Both stories had conspiracies and power plays going on. I didn’t see the ending coming, but it was amazing!

I loved this book! If you enjoy greek gods, mythical beasts, and The Secret Garden, then check out this amazing fresh take. This book will surprise you and keep you turning the page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org Shop Link.

[kofi]

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2020 Book Reviews

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Behind the Book: A Heart of Salt & Silver by Elexis Bell

Book Review: Rebel of the Sanda by Alwyn Hamilton

Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Childrens, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Future, Goal setting, Historical, LGBT, Middle Grade, Personal, Review, Romance, Suspense, Urban, Young Adult

Goodreads 2020 Reads

Something I love about Goodreads is how easy it is to track my progress towards my reading goals. At the end of the year, Goodreads gives stats on my reads.

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org shop link. NB: This post contains these affiliate links.

2020 Reading Goals

My goal was set at 12 books, thinking I could easily read one a month but I hadn’t taken into account how busy I’d be certain months launching my own book, Ocean Heart. It turned out just 12 books was harder than I thought.

The year has include some books I absolutely loved, and one I hated. I’m pretty good at choosing books I know I will love that I wasn’t surprised that my average rating was high. I just don’t have time to read books I won’t like. ?

Wiccan Romances: Amelia’s Story by Nicola Hebron

This was my first read of 2020. It was a book I’d been eager to buy, but was lucky enough to win a copy from the author on Twitter! Whoop! Whoop! I love fantasy set in the real world so it was a good start to my year.

My last two reads of 2020 were Garden in the Sands by Ellie Mitten and… I rather unusual choice for me… The Substantial Meal by Florence Green. I’ve rated them both on Goodreads but still need to write the review.

Garden in the Sands by Ellie Mitten

I think I preordered this book, but I’m such a slow reader, by the time I got to it, it’d been out a little while. I’m going to write a review very soon but as you can see from my 5 star rating, I LOVED THIS BOOK!

The Substantial Sandwich by Florence Green

I can’t remember how Florence & I got talking, but I was a bit glum I wasn’t going to make my pathetic reading goal of just 12 books. I was beating myself up. Then Florence cheered my up by sending me his recent release, an erotic satire using innuendos and puns about the Covid restrictions. It was a quick short read and succeeded at cheering me up. Review coming soon.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas is the most popular book I read. I’m not surprised as I saw it all over Instagram. I actually bought my copy in summer 2019 at YALC.

Another YALC buy was Sea Witch by Sarah Henning. It’s a historical fantasy/fairytale retelling of The Little Mermaid. I really loved the book, and hope to read book 2 in the series this year.

A book that should be more popular is Sorceress of Truth by J D Groom. It’s contemporary fantasy and has everything I love in a book. The MC was relatable, but all the side characters were well developed. With a modern day sorceress, fairies and vampires, what’s not to love?

2021 Reading Goal

To alleviate pressure, I’ve lowered my reading goal to 10 fiction books. I know, some people can read that amount in a month. But, I read for pleasure. And, I have to be in the right mood. If I’m too tired or engrossed in my own writing, I just can’t get into the book.

I also have a few resource books I need to read and review. I didn’t review any last year despite reading some. So, you can look forward to that. These are separate from my reading goal.

[kofi]

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2020 Book Reviews

Book Review: If The Broom Fits

Book Review: Agent Undone

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Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Review, Romance, Young Adult

Book Review: If The Broom Fits

This story is the perfect teen Halloween romance. Set in a town called Hallow, they make the celebrations a drawn out week of festivities.

The genre is YA Romance and it’s a second chance romance. The story is a novella, a short quick read.

About the Book

Beginning

The book starts with Blaire breaking up with her boyfriend, Lucas. We don’t know why she has done it but it’s quite clear that she’s still love with him.

Blaire has also received a letter. A letter she doesn’t want to read, or keep, but can’t quite bring herself to destroy it. A letter written in her dad’s handwriting.

Blaire is still grieving the loss of her mum. An event that shook her dad so greatly, he took off without a goodbye and left her in the care of her Grams. The anniversary of this tragedy was last Halloween causing her to dislike the holidays.

Middle

Blaire lives with her Grams, and works at the family’s catering business. This often involves her wearing costumes, especially around Halloween.

Blaire’s best friend is her cousin Donnie. It was through Donnie she first met Lucas, the three of them hanging out together. The break up has affected their social dynamics.

Donnie helps Lucas try to get Blaire back. They get her to agree to do four Halloween events, to help change her mind about Halloween.

Blaire finds it hard being “friends” with Lucas. Her feelings are still there and he makes it clear he wants her back, forcing her to push him away more.

End

Blaire finally breaks down and opens up. She faces her fears, opens the letter, and gets her Happily Ever After.

Final Thoughts

If The Broom Fits is a delightful festive read. It has all the Halloween vibes and the sort of sweet romance you can trust Sarah Sutton to deliver. There were times I wanted to slap Blaire, but she’s been through so much, her actions were believable. Blaire is a family oriented girl and this is seen in her sacrifices for the family business and interaction’s where ex’s family. Lucas gets this, and no matter how hard Blaire pushes him, he makes it clear he’s ready to give them a second chance. Lucas is the guy every girl needs.

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org shop link.

[kofi]

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Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Review, Writing

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

I picked this book up from YALC 2019 and heard great things about it. It didn’t disappoint.

Here is my full review :

Skip to my final thoughts to avoid any spoilers.

Beginning

Feyre lives in a run down cottage with her dad and two sisters, struggling for food. The novel is set in a world, where human lands border the fae lands.

Feyre promised her mum, before she died, that she’d take care of them. Feeling personally responsible for their welfare, Feyre has taught herself to hunt. But Feyre must take care to avoid the fae, dangerous powerful creatures that will kill.

Whilst hunting Feyre’s path crosses a fey. She shoots her arrow. She kills! This is a catalyst for the rest if the book…

Middle

A High Fae named Tamlin arrives at the cottage to kill the one that murdered the fae. Feyre manages to strike a bargain, where she can live. But, she must live with Tamlin and will never see her family again.

Feyre hates fae. All she’s heard growing up is how nasty they are. Feyre also feels guilty for not being there to support her family, who are pretty hopeless without her.

Feyre starts to discover that the fae may not be all she believed. Her “captors” are keeping secrets from her. Feyre sets about to uncover the truth.

In doing so, she attracts the attention of Tamlin during a mating ritual. She uncovers that the courts magic has been weakened by a curse that will force them under Amaranta’s rule. And, word gets back to Amarantha – Evil Fae Queen – who hates all humans that Fayre is on fae lands.

End

Thinking the curse won’t be broken, Tamlin arranges for Feyre to return to her family and safety. Once home, Feyre no longer belongs. Her home is now with Tamlin, who she loves.

She returns to the Spring Court, only to discover Amarantha has taken Tamlin and all his people. Feyre travels to the Night Court where he is held to rescue him.

He barely acknowledges her when she arrives. Amarantha agrees to free Tamlin if she can solve a riddle or survive her challenges. During her stay, Feyre is beaten, fed awful food, and kept in a dungeon.

To survive her ordeal, Feyre needs to rely on fae willing to help her. She’s desperate when she agrees to a deal with Rysland but without his help she’s most likely doomed.

Rysland helps Feyre with her challenges, and takes care of her. There is a big fight at the end and didn’t see the ending coming. I loved the ending.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t see the ending coming but loved it. I’m interested in reading more of the series. All the characters were well developed and had a good backstory. I even loved evil Amarantha.

Feyre is a strong character. She’s thoughtful and protective of those she loves, but it’s her caring nature that gets her into trouble every time. She’s a true hero, always wanting to save others.

There were many scenes that were so vivid and clear I could see them like a movie in my head; Feyre pulling back her bow, Feyre running through the tunnels from a giant killer worm, Feyre pressed against the wall by a sexy fae.

I was a bit up and down with the romance, sometimes loving it and other times not feeling it. But, I want to read more and I’m curious to see how the deal with Rysland will work, alongside a relationship with Tamlin.

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org shop link.

[kofi]

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Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Review

8 Reasons it’s good for YOU to write reviews

People often talk about why writing reviews are so important to authors but what about for you the reader. Here we go:

Your Reading History

If you read a lot, you can forget what you’ve read. You don’t want to waste time reading a book you didn’t enjoy, twice.

But on the flip side, wouldn’t it be awesome to rediscover the books you did love. You don’t want to forget those gems.

Reading Goals

If you enjoy a challenge, set yourself a reading goal. Celebrate your wins doing something you love.

If you discover your not getting time to read, it could help you identify that your life is too hectic and you don’t get to relax. Or maybe your energy is focussed elsewhere, which is fine. You can reduce your goal.

Favourite author

It helps you not forget the name of that author whose voice you loved. Now, you can discover more of their books.

You can follow authors you like on sites like Goodreads, Book Bub and Amazon. This will help keep you notified of new releases.

Better Recommendations

Over time your tastes may change but seeing what you enjoyed helps identify what you love. In turn, this will help you discover more fabulous books.

If you post your review to sites like Good Reads or Amazon, then algorithms will learn what you want and recommend what to buy/read next. This can save you time in finding your next great read.

Others will read your reviews, see what you like and be able to make intelligent recommendations.

Reading Buddies

You may connect with people with similar tastes, get reading buddies, and/or develop a book club. Reading can become a social activity, and thanks to the internet, you can buddy a reader anywhere in the world.

By talking about the books you read, you become someone people trust for recommendations. Imagine being an influencer for the books you love, someone others take notice of? If you’re good at reviews, this could be you.

Self Development – Reading

There’s more to reading than getting from page 1 to the end. When you write a review you reflect on what you read.

What was it about? How did it make you feel? Did you learn from the story?

Reflecting on what you read is a skill you are taught at school to deepen your reading but is often lost when you no longer have a teacher invested in your reading.

Self Development – Writing

When you write a review, you’ll think about what was done well and how you can use those techniques in your own work. Being a reader helps you deliver more of what readers want.

You will also be exposed to new words or phrases, expanding your vocabulary. You will visit places, meet new people, and explore plots that will inspire new ideas.

Free Books For Honest Reviews

Authors look for people that read their genre. If they are giving their book away for free, they want it to be to someone that will appreciate and love their book. If you apply to be a reviewer, your history as a reviewer could be checked.

The reason is, if you love their genre, their book is off to a good start already in your hands. If you have a following that enjoy your reviews on this genre, then you’ll be helping the right eager readers discover it.

When authors can see what you like, it helps them know if their book is right for you. Someone that enjoys gritty serious crime novels is unlikely to enjoy a sweet high school romance.

We’re all beautifully unique. It’s okay if YA Contemporary Fantasy isn’t for you, but I’m hoping those that do will love and review OCEAN HEART.

Have you preordered Ocean Heart?

If you buy a copy of Ocean Heart between 1 Oct and 1 Dec, you can enter my preorder giveaway. Visit my Giveaway Page for more details.

Where can you find my reviews?

Let me know the positives you’ve experienced from writing book reviews, and check out my reviews.

Goodreads
Litsy
BookBub
Amazon Author
Book Review Page

[kofi]

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Ocean Heart

Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Fantasy, Publishing, Review, Romance, Writing, Young Adult

Behind the Book: Wiccan Romances – Sam’s Story

Thank you for agreeing to let me interview you again. This time is about Sam’s Story, the second book in your Wiccan Romances series. 



Was it easier to publish book 2 & did you do anything different to how you published book 1? 

It was much easier to publish book 2 as I already had a lot of the formatting saved on my memory stick from writing the first one, so where it took me a good couple of weeks to get the formatting correct on Amelia’s Story, it took probably half a day instead. The hardest bit about formatting is the cover and I know mine don’t quite match but I didn’t realise that until after I pressed print, so I’m stuck with it for these two but I’m hoping to make the next ones match one of the two covers.

Was writing the second book in a series easier or harder? 

I found the writing experience easier, as I had some ideas of the best practices to follow and I planned out the major scenes I wanted to includerather than just making it up as I was writing. I also had a bond with the characters, which made it easier to know how they would react, but I found I had much more in common with Amelia because she is more like me than the characters in this book so in that respect getting their interests right and knowing what their motivations were was a bit harder.

Can you name any books similar to yours? 

The books were partially inspired by the Harry Potter series, so there some similarities there but I can’t think of any other books I would compare Wiccan Romances to.

How many books do you anticipate in the series and what else can we look forward to from you? 

There will definitely be another two books in the series but beyond that I haven’t decided. I might also release an ebook of all the spells and rituals I have made up during the course of writing, just as a sort of fun companion.

Do you believe in magic and have you ever cast a spell? 

I do believe in magic, I once read a quote in a book which said that all women have a little bit of magic in them and that when it combines with others the results can be amazing and that really resonated with me but I have never personally tried to cast a spell.


Do you have any witch book, shows or movies you recommend? 

I personally loved the original Charmed, I’m not such a big fan of the new version and I really like watching Supernatural, Dean Winchester is extremely hot. When I was younger, I was a big fan of the Wizards of Waverly Place and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, so I would recommend any of these shows to any fans of my books or just fans of paranormal TV.

Please share a snippet of Sam’s story? 

Snippet 1:

Sam smiled to himself when he heard his brother get up and smirked, when Ben emerged from his room, yawning. Ben flipped his brother his middle finger as he stalked past him to go downstairs and get a cup of coffee. Deciding that he was onto a winner, Sam headed up to Lia’s bedroom to wake her up, just for fun.
“Morning Sunshine.” Sam called, walking into Lia’s room and plonking himself down on her bed.
“Eugh.” Lia moaned, rolling onto her stomach.
“Come on, you have an exam today.” Sam encouraged.
“My exam is in the afternoon.” Lia mumbled into her pillow.
“Oops, my bad.” Sam laughed. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Heather.”
“If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to tell her about the time you asked Ben for kissing tips.” Lia announced, flipping onto her side, so she could glare at her brother.
“You wouldn’t.” Sam gasped.
“What do you want, Sam?” Lia groaned.
“Nothing.” Sam replied, with a smile as he sauntered out of the room.

Snippet 2:

“You stole my girlfriend!” Charlie suddenly exploded.
Rocked by Charlie’s anger, all of the loose items in the car went flying around, hitting everyone, as the car vibrated, due to the minor earthquake he caused.
“Charlie!” David yelled.
“How did I steal your girlfriend?” Sam shouted, at the same time his dad tried to reprimand Charlie.
“You knew I was dating Emily, then you swooped in and stole her from me.” Charlie continued.


Where can we go to discover more and buy Sam’s story

Sam’s Story is available at all major online booksellers, including Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmiths and Barnes and Noble. It is also available in ebook format, including Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Ibooks.

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Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Resource, Review, Tips, Writing

Book Review: The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

I wanted this book for so long, by the tine I got it, there’s a second edition! The bonus is, the new edition has even more content!

View this post on Instagram

My husband bought me these books for Christmas from my wish list. I also wanted a ‘nice pen’ and he choose this gorgeous sunshine yellow Lamy fountain pen. I keep fantasising that this will be my book signing pen ?. ? Have you read The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi or Embrace Your Weird by Felica Day. ? I am a fan of @feliciaday since her staring role in The Guild a funny web series you must watch, especially if you ever played MMORPG. ? #theemotionthesaurus #embraceyourweird #booksonwriting #booksonwritingfiction #writingresource #doyouwanttodatemyavatar #theguild #webseries #feliciaday #mmorpg #angelaackerman #beccapuglisi #positivevibes #beingyourself #beingyoubeingtrue #followyourdreams #writinganovel #fictionwriter #booksigningpen #booksigningdreams #lamypen #fountainpen #lamyfountainpen #girlgamer #mmorpg

A post shared by Author Ally Aldridge (@redfae) on

It’s part of the Writer’s Helping Writers series. The series includes a number of thesaurus covering different aspects such as character traits or settings. The aim of the books are to help writers find the words they need to make the impact they want.

Author Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

The series is co-written by Angela & Becca.

Writers Helping Writers

The pair run a website together (https://writershelpingwriters.net) to share information to help writers.

One Stop For Writers

They also have developed an impressive web-app (https://onestopforwriters.com) that’s described as a library of resources and tools to support writers.

What is the book about?

The one I got is on character expressions. It’s a thesaurus about different emotional responses and covers internal and external reactions.

How it works?

You look up the emotion your character is feeling, like lust, confusion, envy, fear, betrayal, etc.

There’s a little description so you can check you understand what the emotion is and make sure you picked the right one.

It then has a list of ways a character might behave if experiencing this emotion.

There are also some suggestions for internal sensations, which is useful for 1st person POV.

There are even some suggestions on how the emotion can escalate or deescalate.

How I used it?

Editing (Ocean Heart)

I used this book alongside the developmental feedback from my editor. She highlighted some points in my story where I needed to amp up the emotions and some places where I had skipped along without any reaction at all.

I looked up the emotion in the book and read the suggestions. I reflected on which reaction was most true to my character, then worked it in.

Future use…

This book will get used time and time again. I’m planning to next use it alongside writing Sky Heart. Hopefully it’ll reduce any feedback from my editor about under played or missed emotions.

Final thoughts…

This is a really useful book and has left me wanting the rest of the series.
It’s more of a resource than a thesaurus and I don’t think there is anything out there quite like this. It is designed especially for writers to aid their craft.
I highly recommend this book.
Do you have any writer resources that you swear by?

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Ally Aldridge Book Tube, Books, Game Tube, Review, YouTube

Making his YouTube dream come true…

My son has repeatedly asked to be a YouTuber. For job day at school they suggest roles to dress up as but Noah insisted on going as a YouTuber. It wasn’t on the approved jobs list.

They are the celebrity gods of his generation. Noah loves watching gamers on YouTube. It looks so much fun, you can’t blame him for seeing it as a dream job…

Squashing Dreams

I’ve warned him, it’s not easy. That most YouTubers don’t make a living from it and just do it for fun. I’ve tried to deter him.

Worst of all, I realised I sound a lot like a dream crusher. I’m still haunted by all those people that told me not to write books. They told me I wouldn’t make it. It’s a poor mans dream, the struggling artist…

But, I couldn’t let go.

And, I don’t want to raise my kids to not try because it isn’t easy. If making videos brings him joy, what does it matter? As his mum, it’s my job to support him in his growth, not to put him down.

Homeschool

When the UK went into lockdown and we were faced with figuring out how to homeschool overnight, I tried to include Noah. I explained core subjects, we must do every week and ‘projects’.

Projects have included making rainbows for the NHS, caring for others, letter writing, making slime, writing a competition story, etc.

Project: YouTuber

The project Noah really wanted was “Become a YouTuber.” I told him mummy had no clue what to do, what software we need, or where to even start. We would literally be learning and figuring it out together.

I tried to stall him with:

  • Online safety project
  • Graphic design (research & design a logo).
  • Research YouTubers.
  • Storyboard favourite shows.
  • Mind map content ideas.
  • Storyboard his proposed show.
  • Script an intro….
He passed every challenge until all that was left was “Record a Show”.

Pre-Recording Prep

Mummy wasn’t confident about making a gaming video, screen recording was a step too far. So, we compromised on BookTube which I was more confident about as I watch these. Noah chose his book, Pests by Emer Stamp.

Noah’s storyboard pointed out the importance of reminding viewers to subscribe, like and “hit that bell”. He also chose an outfit that didn’t identify him and a clutter free space to record (yay – bedroom tidied).

Recording

We did it! Here is how…

iPad

We used an old iPad to record Noah talking. We used the tips on making a video from the Toppsta site, and their review ideas.

B612 App

We had a few bloopers; Some where mummy took a photo instead of a video, and some where Noah got camera shy, tongue tied or too excited! We used these to create an intro using B612 App.

iMovie App

The B612 Intro was much louder than the rest of the video. We adjusted the clip’s volume in iMovie. We used it to cut and move content around.

FilmR App

We used the FilmR app to add text and fun GIPHY. Then we saved it and uploaded it to YouTube.

YouTube Studio App

We used the YouTube Studio app to create Noah’s channel. We were a little lost and scared as it was all getting a bit real by this point. We changed his profile image and named the channel.

YouTube app

I did this part for Noah. I added a video description and included the blurb for the book he was discussing. Then we uploaded to YouTube.

RapidTags website

I had to research how to tag YouTube videos. I tried hashtags, speech marks… then accidentally hit return.

I research tag generators and found RapidTags site gave the best suggestions.

Here is Noah’s first show for Starboy TV:

Don’t forget to like, subscribe and hit that bell!

Although, I don’t think Noah will be making anymore videos in the near future. He’s decided he prefers watching other YouTubers.

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Book Review: Out of my League by Sarah Sutton

I have been following Sarah for a while on Instagram as I was intrigued to read her debut novel What Are Friends For?

So, when the opportunity to read an ARC for her new novel came up it was the perfect chance to see whether I like her writing. And, I do.

Don’t forget to join my newsletter for my own ARC sign up news!

Blurb: Out of my League

Beginning

The MC, Sophia, has dreams of getting an internship at a local Newspaper. She is famous for her article on plastic straws that activated change.

Her journalism plan involves writing for the school paper but she receives the devastating news that the School’s Board are scrapping the papers funding to buy bleachers for the baseball team.

Sophia is supposed to be finding ‘the right time’ to dump her idiot boyfriend Scott. She decides to save the school paper by writing a final article, on how toxic the Baseball team and undeserving of the funds. She delays dumping Scott to use him to get the information for her expose.

Middle

Sophia attends an end of school party with her best friend Edith. It’s at Walsh’s house, the captain of the baseball team; the baseball team that has taken her beloved newspaper’s funding.

Sophia isn’t a fan of Walsh. Scott has constantly bad mouthed him to her, highlighting his every flaw.

Scott arrives at the party, with another girl.

When he realises he’s been caught cheating, he dumps Sophia in-front of everyone and humiliates her. Walsh jumps to her rescue and claims they are secretly in love and can now be together.

Despite being a heart throb, Sophia is not into Walsh. She runs off and Walsh goes after her. He offers to be her fake boyfriend and help with the article (not knowing the angle Sophia is aiming for).

We follow Sophia infiltrate the baseball team, gathering incriminating evidence for her article. She fends off her ex-Scott’s snide remarks whilst he flaunts his new girlfriend.

In addition, Sophia’s parents are at each others throats, their ups and downs escalates to divorce. And Sophia turns to her fake boyfriend for comfort. They get close, and she discover’s Walsh’s family life isn’t perfect either.

Walsh starts doing sweet things for her, even when nobody is around to witness it. Sophia starts to fall for him and has to keep reminding herself its not real. Edith tries to persuade her to scrap the article but she can’t see any other way to save her dream of becoming a journalist.

Everything gets very messy for Sophia:

  • She fights with her parents that now have decided on counselling, and are having a baby.
  • She runs to Walsh. He confesses he knew Scott was cheating and at the party he planned for her to catch Scott out, to get back at him. Realising she was a pawn in their rivalry from the start breaks her heart. She tells Walsh about the article exposing the team cheating (paying other teams to throw the game) and storms off.
  • She goes to Edith’s house, and they fight. Sophia is heartbroken that Edith knew about Scott too and didn’t tell her, and Edith points out the many ways Sophia has been selfish.

Ending

Sophia has a lot of making up to do. With the support of her parents and BFF, it’s time to get back the boy she loves with a grand gesture… but, when she arrives at the pitch the game is cancelled.

She bumps into her ex, Scott. He tells her Walsh revealed the baseball team’s cheating. Scott’s new girlfriend is sick of the rivalry between the guys and dumps him.

Sophia finds Walsh speaking to a baseball scout. Despite the cheating, he still got picked. They get together. Sophia loves Walsh more than the article and scraps it.

Her parents are happy. Sophia and Walsh are happy. Then Sophia gets a call. Her teacher sent her straw article to the local paper and they love it and offer her an internship.

So many happy vibes ?.

Final thoughts…

I know nothing about baseball but that didn’t matter. This is a heartwarming sweet love story. I loved the friendship between the girls. All the characters and relationships were well developed, complex and had their own motives.

The fake relationship is believable, there was a good motive from both sides. The chemistry between the two was brilliant and I caught butterflies many times, rooting for them to kiss and realise what they have is real.

“And, just like that, the tingly sensation from my fingers, spread to my stomach.” Excerpt from Out of My League by Sarah Sutton

Sarah is one of the incredible authors you can discover in the World Indie Warriors brochure, containing full details on how to connect with her and buy her books.

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World Indie Warriors (website)