30 November, 2017

REVIEW: TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens

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Title: Tale of Two Cities
Author: Charles Dickens
Series: -
Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Release: 1859
Source: Paperback/Audiobook
Pages: 489

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BLURB:
'Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death; -- the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!'

After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.

This edition uses the text as it appeared in its serial publication in 1859 to convey the full scope of Dickens's vision, and includes the original illustrations by H. K. Browne ('Phiz'). Richard Maxwell's introduction discusses the intricate interweaving of epic drama with personal tragedy.

29 November, 2017

28 November, 2017

REVIEW: THE LAST KINGDOM by Bernard Cornwell

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Title: The Last Kingdom
Author: Bernard Cornwell
Series: The Saxon Stories #1
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, History
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release: July 24th, 2009
Source: Kindle / Audiobook
Pages: 355

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BLURB:
Uhtred is an English boy, born into the aristocracy of ninth-century Northumbria. Orphaned at ten, he is captured and adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred's fate is indissolubly bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the only English kingdom to survive the Danish assault.
The struggle between the English and the Danes and the strife between christianity and paganism is the background to Uhtred's growing up. He is left uncertain of his loyalties but a slaughter in a winter dawn propels him to the English side and he will become a man just as the Danes launch their fiercest attack yet on Alfred's kingdom. Marriage ties him further still to the West Saxon cause but when his wife and child vanish in the chaos of the Danish invasion, Uhtred is driven to face the greatest of the Viking chieftains in a battle beside the sea. There, in the horror of the shield-wall, he discovers his true allegiance.
The Last Kingdom, like most of Bernard Cornwell's books, is firmly based on true history. It is the first novel of a series that will tell the tale of Alfred the Great and his descendants and of the enemies they faced, Viking warriors like Ivar the Boneless and his feared brother, Ubba. Against their lives Bernard Cornwell has woven a story of divided loyalties, reluctant love and desperate heroism. In Uhtred, he has created one of his most interesting and heroic characters and in The Last Kingdom one of his most powerful and passionate novels.

27 November, 2017

26 November, 2017

REVIEW: FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC by V.C.Anderson

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Title: Flowers in the Attic
Author: V.C. Andrews
Series: Dollanganger #1
Genres: Fiction, YA, Mytery, Horror
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release: February 8th, 2011 / Originally 1979
Source: Kindle
Pages: 389

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BLURB:
Such wonderful children. Such a beautiful mother. Such a lovely house. Such endless terror!

It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake--a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father.

So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic.

Just for a little while...

25 November, 2017

Saturday Tag

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Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!

Today I will complete this fun tag:

7 REASONS WHY I LOVE JANE AUSTEN

24 November, 2017

REVIEW: FOREST OF THOUSAND LANTERNS by Julie C. Dao

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Title: Forest of Thousand Lanterns
Author: Julie C. Dao
Series: Rise of the Empress #1
Genres: YA, Queer, Fantasy, Retellings
Publisher: Philomel Books
Release: October 10th 2017
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 363

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BLURB:
An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?

Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

23 November, 2017

22 November, 2017

21 November, 2017

REVIEW: DOCTOR SLEEP by Stephen King

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Title: Doctor Sleep
Author: Stephen King
Series: The Shining #2
Genres: Horror, Mystery
Publisher: Scribner
Release: 2013
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 531

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BLURB:
Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep."

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

20 November, 2017

19 November, 2017

REVIEW: THE LONG WALK by Stephen King

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Title: The Long Walk
Author: Stephen King
Series: -
Genres: Mystery, Horror, Dystopia
Publisher: Signet
Release: 1999
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 370

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BLURB:
On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as "The Long Walk." If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying.


18 November, 2017

Saturday Tag

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Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!

Today I will complete this fun tag:

BOLLYWOOD

17 November, 2017

REVIEW: IF YOU DARE by A.R. Torre

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Title: If you dare
Author:  A.R. Torre
Series: Deanna Madden #3
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Adult
Publisher: Redhook
Release: 2015
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 368

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BLURB:
Equal parts Dexter and 50 Shades, this is the eagerly awaited new novel from A. R. Torre, author of the award winning erotic thriller, The Girl in 6E.

The rules are the same. I can't open the door. I can't leave. I can't kill anyone.

The only difference is, I don't set the rules anymore. Guards in grey uniforms do. It is everything I never wanted and everything I always deserved. I write to you now, from a prison cell. My home for the next twenty to thirty years.

That's the going term for murder.

16 November, 2017

REVIEW: A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE by Shari Lapena

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Title: A stranger in the house
Author: Shari Lapena
Series: -
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Release: August 15th 2017
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 305

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BLURB:
He looks at her, concerned. “How do you feel?” She wants to say, Terrified. Instead, she says, with a faint smile, “Glad to be home.”

Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.

There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions.

Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.

15 November, 2017

13 November, 2017

12 November, 2017

REVIEW: THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

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Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Series: -
Genres: Fantasy, Children's, Paranormal, Horror, YA
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release: September 30th, 2008
Source: Kindle
Pages: 312
 
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BLURB:
After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family...

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

11 November, 2017

Saturday Tag

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Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!

Today I will complete this fun tag:

WOULD YOU RATHER...? BOOK TAG

10 November, 2017

REVIEW: ISLA AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER by Stephanie Perkins

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Title: Isla and Happily Ever After
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #3
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Dutton
Release: 2014
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 339

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BLURB:
Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.


09 November, 2017

REVIEW: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE PLAGUE OF DRACULA by Stephen Seitz

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Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Plague of Dracula
Author: Stephen Seitz
Series: -
Genres: Horror, Vampires, Mystery
Publisher: MX Publishing
Release: 2012 May 28th
Source: eBook
Pages: 204

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BLURB:
Bram Stoker's "Dracula" told only part of the story. "Sherlock Holmes and the Plague of Dracula" recounts the Great Detective's search for Jonathan Harker, his confrontation with the Count, the truth behind the Great Hiatus, and Dracula's terrible legacy.

After Mina Murray asks Sherlock Holmes to locate her fiancee, Holmes and Watson travel to a land far eerier than the moors they had known when pursuing the Hound of the Baskervilles. The confrontation with Count Dracula threatens Holmes' health, his sanity, and his life. Will Holmes survive his battle with Count Dracula?

08 November, 2017

07 November, 2017

REVIEW: CORALINE by Neil Gaiman

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Title: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Series: -
Genres: Horror, Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release: 2006 August 29th
Source: eBook
Pages: 162

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BLURB:
'An electrifyingly creepy tale likely to haunt young readers for many moons.... a real bedtime-buster'. Read an exclusive excerpt at BookBrowse today. Reading age approx. 9 yrs +.

The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring....

In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.

The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only it's different.

At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.

06 November, 2017

05 November, 2017

REVIEW: JANE, UNLIMITED by Kristin Cashore

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Title: Jane, Unlimited
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: -
Genres: YA, Science Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Release: September 19th 2017
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 464

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BLURB:
If you could change your story, would you?

Jane has lived a mostly ordinary life, raised by her recently deceased aunt Magnolia, whom she counted on to turn life into an adventure. Without Aunt Magnolia, Jane is directionless. Then an old acquaintance, the glamorous and capricious Kiran Thrash, blows back into Jane’s life and invites her to a gala at the Thrashes’ extravagant island mansion called Tu Reviens. Jane remembers her aunt telling her: “If anyone ever invites you to Tu Reviens, promise me that you’ll go.”

What Jane doesn’t know is that at Tu Reviens her story will change; the house will offer her five choices that could ultimately determine the course of her untethered life. But every choice comes with a price. She might fall in love, she might lose her life, she might come face-to-face with herself. At Tu Reviens, anything is possible. 


04 November, 2017

03 November, 2017

REVIEW: LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins

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Title: Lola and the boy next door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: Anna and the french kiss #2
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
Release: 2014
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 384

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BLURB:
Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion... she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit – the more sparkly, more wild – the better. And life is pretty close to perfect for Lola, especially with her hot rocker boyfriend.

That is, until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket return to the neighbourhood and unearth a past of hurt that Lola thought was long buried. So when talented inventor Cricket steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally face up to a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. Could the boy from Lola's past be the love of her future?

Fall in love with the international bestseller from queen of young adult fiction, Stephanie Perkins.


02 November, 2017

REVIEW: THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE by Stephanie Perkins

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Title: There's someone inside your house
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: -
Genres: YA, Horror, Contemporary
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release: September 26th 2017
Source: Paperback
Pages: 289

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BLURB:
Scream meets YA in this hotly-anticipated new novel from the bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss.

One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted.

International bestselling author Stephanie Perkins returns with a fresh take on the classic teen slasher story that’s fun, quick-witted, and completely impossible to put down.


01 November, 2017

NaNoWriMo

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NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month, held during the month of November. The goal is to write a 50.000 word count novel in a single month, challenge yourself, and possibly – make that breaking step towards your dreams. Or just a chance to release all that creativity so many of us carry around daily. As Victoria Schwab, one of my all-time most favorite authors, said many times: “writing happens everywhere, for writing happens in your head. The rest is just transcribing.”