When I tell people I would love to read their book but unsure when I can because my reading pile grows faster than I can keep up with, this is what I am talking about…. I’m really not joking!
Here is my current reading pile… okay, so this isn’t even half of it, but these are at the top.
Sorceress of Truth by J D Groom
The Sentinels (series) by Cassidy Reyne
Sea Witch Rising (series) by Sarah Henning
Number Eight Crispy Chicken by Sarah Neofield
A Court of Thorns & Roses (series) by Sarah J Maas
The Mirror Souls by Julia Scott
[More of] The Red Queen (series) by Victoria Aveyard
Join or Die by J Adrian Rut
The Mermaid’s Sister by Carrie Anne Nobel
Dying Ember by River K Scott
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
As you can see this is a rather long list considering I’m lucky if I manage to read one a month. Have you read any if the above? Are any of these in your pile?
I can’t remember when I downloaded this book. It was just there on my Kindle, unread. It was like finding a hidden treasure. It became the perfect companion to read during the late night feeds with Aria.
The Beginning
The novel quickly sets up the scene of the three main crowds. It is told told from two points of view, Hannah’s and Cody’s.
Hannah attends a private school. She is only able to go due to a scholarship she achieved thanks to her high grades. She works hard to keep her place and never breaks the rules.
Then there is the ‘it’ crowd made up of the rich kids of the most influential families. Cody was once part of this crowd but following the scandal where his pregnant high school sweet heart died in a drink driving accident, he is now an out cast.
Hannah realises she is going to finish school without ever doing anything wild or having a boyfriend. She sets her sights on Harrison, the high school king and famous for his exclusive parties. To get invited you need to be given a key.
The Middle
Considering that Cody knows the ‘it’ crowd but is no longer part of it, she singles him out to ask for his help. Cody tries to talk her out of her plan. He warns her the clique are not nice people but when Hannah resolves to blackmail him, he decides she might fit right in.
Hannah thinks Cody is a safe perfect practice boyfriend because there is no way she would fall for him. Cody teaches her the rules of the elite and helps her practice her kissing. Cody is rich and even pays for her to have a full makeover and wardrobe upgrade.
Cody pretends to be her boyfriend. To keep up the pretence they have to spend a lot of time together. They have their first kiss and more. Cody continues to help Hannah to get noticed by the ‘it’ crowd and it works.
Now Hannah is being invited to hang out with the girls eager to gossip about Cody. They want her to see the monster he is as they blame him for the death of their friend. Being in the spotlight attracts the attention of Harrison and it looks like Hannah is going to get her wish.
The End
Hannah discovers that money, popularity and wealth isn’t as glamorous as she anticipated. She discovers some ugly truths but is it too late to make things right?
Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved this book. I wanted Aria to wake up in the night for her milk so I could read some more. It was fast paced. I loved the world building. The twisted ‘it’ crowd reminded me of Cruel Intentions. I love the misunderstandings and conflict between the two and the relationship was believable.
Both characters were well developed and I really liked both of them – which is a tricky thing to do in dual points. I would definitely be interested in reading more by Christina Benjamin,
I love being part of World Indie Warriors. They have been one of the highlights of my 2019. The members are incredibly supportive and creative. They have encouraged me to push myself to try new things and above all, believe in myself.
We have been chatting online for a while. We meet via video on Zoom. And, some of us have even met up in person. Together we are developing a community on Facebook to support more Indie Creatives.
One of the projects we are working on is to create a brochure with products by Indie Creatives. We want to make discovering products and books by indie creatives easy. The brochure can be downloaded or printed, and is accessible to anyone interested
We needed someone to create the brochure. Guess who volunteered? Me!
It was a bigger project than I anticipated. I had to juggle it around my other commitments and doing NaNoWriMo, but I pulled the first copy together in time for the deadline.
The December edition is another great resource for gifts during the Holiday season. You can discover the brochure on the World Indie Warriors website. Please visit: https://worldindiewarriors.wordpress.com.
We welcome all indie creatives and want to support each other. If you are self-published, an artist, a musician or any type of creator, pop along and find out what we are all about. You won’t be disappointed!
We also want to connect with small businesses that provide services to support indie creatives. We love getting to know book bloggers and product reviewers.
I picked this book up at YALC and had no idea what I was getting myself in for. I was attracted by the cover, the blurb and the offer of a free tote bag.
This book is set in a fantasy world where people live on Island and are plagued by dangerous spirits.
There are people with the ability to control the spirits but they hide their power. If you are found out you are given a choice – join the queens guards and lose your identity or go to a deadly island where if you manage to survive you become an heir to the throne.
Beginning
The story starts with the MC getting married but her wedding goes horribly wrong when the celebrations are over run by spirits killing her guests. It’s so bad that the MC can’t run and hide, she stands up to the spirits and fights, revealing her hidden power.
She knows the guards will come and take her but her fiancé convinces her to runaway with him. He doesn’t want her taken like her sister a few years before. If they get caught, he persuades her to choose to be a guard as he can’t bear to think of her being hunted and killed on the island.
Middle
The lovers are tracked and caught and the MC is forced to make her choice. In that moment, hating the guards for attacking her injured fiancé, she chooses the Island. She can’t stand the thought of being one of them.
After a brief training session, where she makes two friends, they are taken to the Island for the test. The last cohort all died casting fear and doubt in the women’s minds. As the first women reach the shore, the spirits instantly start killing them off.
The MC manages to escape and hide by swimming underwater (a special skill she has). Whilst surviving, she runs into one of her friends and they team up against the spirits. This isn’t encouraged as it will make them a greater target to the spirits.
Together they uncover a secret about the island that sheds light on why everyone died during the previous test. They decide they must escape the island to inform the Queen.
The Ending
I’ll try not to spoil it. All I’ll say is there were plot twists I didn’t see coming. I was really impressed with the ending and all the lose ends were tied up brilliantly.
Finally Thoughts…
I loved this book so much that it is my favourite book for 2019! It has set the bar high.
I had no idea it is part of a series as it is a complete story but now I know, I want to read the other titles.
The book is described as a Fantasy version of Hunger Games and that’s a pretty good summary.
I highly recommend this book. If you’ve not read it yet, you really are missing out. Go order it now!
If you are a fan of YA Literature then you need to check out this book festival. It runs annually in London during the last weekend of July and the book deals are so good you’ll travel home like a pack donkey.
The book deals!
It’s easy to get carried away so here are some tips to help you curb your inner book dragon:
Here is what I bought:
The deal was three for £10 and a free Epic Reads tote. Because I chose a two hardbacks it bumped up to £12 which is still incredible value and I got the last tote!
The book nerd in me is looking forward to my showing off my new bag at my next library visit. I’m going to look epic!
These books from Bloomsbury were three for £10. They’ve been on my wish list for ages as I’ve seen people recommend them on IG. I’ve been warned they are steamy!
It was a total accident that all the books are by authors named Sarah. Did you notice? Do you like any books by a Sarah?
Author Panels
There is something amazing about meeting the mind behind a novel. Lots of the stalls are hosted by authors themselves and are happy to sign a copy of their book if you own a copy. In addition, the festival has panels and talks where the authors talk about their novels.
In addition, there are scheduled events where groups of authors chat to a live audience. Their is often someone asking questions and the talk is on a set subject.
Workshops by Industry experts
Experts from the industry deliver workshops during the festival. These are often run by authors, Literary Agents, Editors or publishers but the list is endless.
I attended a workshop in the Agent Arena by Zoe Plant talking about editing. Editing is one of the aspects that I find incredibly difficult with writing a novel as it is a massive task and I am not confident in my abilities. She had great advice on what to expect but not only was the talk really informative, it was also an opportunity to get to know Zoe too. I had not seen her before and she is truly lovely.
I also attended the Author & Agent talk between Literary Agent Chloe Seager and her non-fiction author Laura Coryton. Laura is a campaigner against Tampon Tax. I had heard about this before and think I signed the petition ages ago. It turns out that Chloe also signed the petition and decided that this would be a great subject for a non-fiction book to empower young adults. Chloe approached Laura to propose the idea and Speak Up! was born. It was fascinating to see how the non-fiction industry works in comparison to fiction novels. It was also extremely valuable to hear about Chloe as an agent as she has been a favourite of mine for a long time now.
Pitch to agents
If you are an author with a completed novel, looking for representation, then this is an awesome event to attend. Here, you get an opportunity to spend five minutes with a potential Literary Agent to sell them your novel. It’s an opportunity to be seen above the slush pile.
It’s not guaranteed that they will be interested. I pitched two years ago and wasn’t confident in myself. We ended up chatting about identifying my books place in the market but I did gain a little bit of experience in pitching, mainly what not to do.
This time, I felt more prepared (although still incredibly nervous) and I pitched to two agents who both asked me to send it to them. I also had a writer friend encouraging me to do it which really helped.
Fellow readers and writers
That leads me on to my next point. The festival is full of fellow readers as you would expect but a lot of readers are also writers. This year, I got to meet one of my online writer friends at YALC. She was so lovely we spent the day together.
Win competitions
The festival is full of competitions eager to get you to sign up and raise awareness. @hellomeitsyou tweeted to say I was their Sunday winner. I had already left so sent them my address so I can receive my prize. When I receive it, I’ll post a pic to IG.
