January Monthly Recap

Here is my recap for January!

Reviews:

• Unforgiven by Lauren Kate - I was pretty disappointed with this, as I was originally wary of.
• This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp - This book is brilliant! Wonderfully diverse, and absolutely gripping! (Not pictured.)
• This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin - Such a good book! I didn't connect emotionally with the characters, but I still really enjoyed it! An asexual main character, and another diverse element - it's spoilery, so I won't tell you, but I talk about it in my review. The first book I've heard of that covers this diverse element. I think it's going to be groundbreaking.
• Playing With Matches by Suri Rosen - This book was cute, but I thought it was a little far-fetched, with all the bad things that happen. But I loved learning about Jewish traditions and their culture.
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - This book was so beautiful! I really don't know why I hadn't read it before. So, so good!
• Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard - I didn't connect with Caddy, who narrates the story, but this story is really important, and a wonderful, wonderful friendship.
• Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper - This book had an interesting premise, but there wasn't much in the way of world building, so I was quite disappointed. However, it ended on an interesting note, and I think there will be more world building in the next book, so I'm a little intrigued. (Not pictured.)
• The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry - This was such a sweet novel! A great romance between two characters who are facing difficulties; Aidan recently lost his arm, and Kate has diabetes. Such a great story!
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer - Oh my god, WHY DIDN'T I READ THIS SOONER?! So, SO good! I love how it was based on a fairy tale, but brought so much that was new to the story. So eager for the other books in The Lunar Chronicles!

Other posts:

• The first link-up for the Retellings Reading Challenge 2016 went up. There are few reviews submitted, so go check them out!
•  I posted about my goals for Diverse Reading for 2016.
• I discussed why hyping books for content can be a good thing.
• I also discussed why authors coming out is an incredible thing, for so many reasons.
• After it cropped up on Twitter, I decided to join the conversation and wrote about if book bloggers were to get paid.

Reading Challenges:

• Debut Author Challenge 2016 - I've read two, so that's 2/12.
• LGBTQIA 2016 Reading Challenge - I've read three so that's 3/40.
• 2016 Diverse Reads Books Challenge - I read 5. There's no target for this challenge, just an aim to read more. Of the six goals I personally set myself, I've read at least one book for each goal.
• Retellings Reading Challenge - I've read out, so that's 1/12.
• Contemporary Romance 2016 Reading Challenge - I read two, so that's 2/20.
• 2016 Classics Challenge - I read one book, so that's 1/12.
• Unique Formating Book Challenge 2016 - I read one book, so that's 1/15.
• NetGalley Reading Challenge 2016 - I read three books, so that's 3/30.
• Read the Books You Buy Reading Challenge 2016 - I bought 9 in January, I read 1. The aim is to read 40-60% of the books I buy, so I really need to keep on top of this.

Elsewhere online:

• Non Pratt wrote a brilliant article for Guardian Children's Books, No Taboo Should Be Off Limits When Writing For Teenagers.
• YA authors Rebecca Wells, Mackenzi Lee and Ashley Herring Blake have created the Twitter book club #BiYABooks - a monthly chat to talk about YA books with bisexual main characters. The first chat was on Far From You by Tess Sharpe on 26th January. The next chat will be on , on .
• Buzzfeed lists 23 Upcoming YA Novels with LGBT Characters.
• Barnes & Noble list 10 2016 YA Books with Utterly Irresistable Concepts. 
• Nita Tyndall Storified a number of  her really important and informative tweets, Romantic Attraction vs. Sexual Orientation.
• Riley Redgate wrote an absolutely amazing post about self-loathing and self-doubt; Girls Who Love Themselves. 
• Cuddle Buggery wrote a wonderful post, Blog Like No-one's Watching.

And how was your January?

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (proof) - Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. From Goodreads.

I've had a proof copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer since before it was published, and although it sounded really interesting, it's taken me until now to read it. This series has been raved about far and wide, but I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, and a retelling of Cinderella where she's a cyborg mechanic... it made me nervous. But as I set up the Retelling Reading Challenge 2016 for the sole purpose of finally getting down to reading these books. And I really wish I hadn't waited so long; Cinder was bloody amazing!

Cinder is a mechanic in New Beijing, and all of her earnings go straight to her lazy stepmother. She was in an accident when she was 11, and the only way to save her was to make her a cyborg, which, by law, makes her the property of her stepmother. She has no rights to own anything. When Prince Kai, heir to the Eastern Commonwealth, stops by her booth in disguise, asking for help fixing his android, and soon after her youngest and favourite stepsister catches the plague, her life is changed forever. She is soon sent off to the palace by her stepmother to be involved in the cyborg experiments to find a cure - experiments involving injecting her with the plague, with only one real outcome. Only she doesn't die. Meanwhile, Prince Kai is thrust into politics when his father, the Emperor, dies from the plague, and must continue to try to form an alliance with Queen Levana, the evil queen of Luna, who controls her subjects through magical brainwashing. But the only alliance she will agree to is marriage to the Prince, to become Empress. But Prince Kai has bumped into Cinder a couple of times at the palace, and he seems to have more than a casual interest in her.

Oh my god, this book was incredible! There are a few elements of the original Cinderella story within Cinder - she slaves away for her stepmother, there is a pumpkin coloured "carriage" of some kind, there's a ball and a prince - but there is so much of this novel that is new! Although the elements of the original fairytale story are there, and some of them you expect to appear in someway, you never know how they're going to appear, or how Cinder will get from one moment to the next. Cinder is so gripping, and I was completely absorbed in this story.

There was an element of this story that I guessed at as soon as it was mentioned, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Although it's sci-fi-esque with androids and cyborgs, and an humanoid aliens from the moon, it felt a lot like a high fantasy to me, with all the royal and political intrigue and manoeuvring. Though the story focused more on Cinder and her story, we did get some chapters from Prince Kai's perspective, so we knew what was going on inside the palace walls and with Queen Levana.

I want to rave, and rave, and rave about this book, but I'm really not sure if there's more I can talk about plot-wise without spoiling the story. So on to the characters. Cinder is wonderful. She is a whole lot spunkier than the Cinderella we've all been brought up with. She argues and stands up to her stepmother, even when it's likely to get her into trouble. She's no walkover. I love that this story took the element original element of her slavery and made it into something different, something that also challenges gender roles. Cinder has to work, because her stepmother needs the money, and she doesn't work. But she's not slaving away for hours doing chores, she has an actual job and it's in something she's not only good at, but something she enjoys! Cinder is also pretty damn clever and resourceful, and she's just brilliant.

Prince Kai was really interesting. The romance is a slow burner in Cinder; they're attracted to each other, but there are other things going on in each others' lives. Not only is Kai having to deal with the sudden death of his father, but also the fact that Queen Levana decides to make her way to Earth the day after, to show give her "condolences" in person, and be there for the coronation. I loved how Kai had to deal with politics of trying to keep the Queen of a stronger planet happy so that another war is started, but at the same time, doesn't want to give his planet over to the Queen on a plate by marrying her. She is a threat, but it's difficult to find a way around the threat without marriage or war - a war they can't win. I really, really love political intrigue, so this side of things was right up my alley.

Queen Levana is the best kind of villain. Oh my god, is she sadistic. She glamours everyone into seeing her as beautiful, and has all the people of Luna worshipping her. There's a sign of uprising? Well, just fiddle with their minds and make them love you instead. Or kill them. She's a complete dictator who strives for power, and only has her throne by killing her sister and niece. She's vicious and cruel, and wonderfully, wonderfully evil. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other abominable things she'll be behind in future books.

I absolutely loved Cinder, and I am so excited to read the second book in The Lunar Chronicles, Scarlet. If you've not yet read Cinder, don't leave it as long as I did. Pick this book up now!

Thank you to Puffin for the proof copy.



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Published: 5th January 2012
Publisher: Puffin
Marrisa Meyer's Website

Review: The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry (gift) - All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.

Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all? From Goodreads.

The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry is a book that has been on my wishlist for a little while after hearing Carrie Mesrobian talk about it with Christa Desir on their joint The Oral History Podcast. And I was lucky enough that my UK Book Blogger Secret Santa, Rebecca, gave it to me for Christmas! And it's just as wonderful as I thought it would be.

Kate has just been dumped by the most perfect boyfriend, and she's reeling not only from her heartbreak, but also with having to deal with her type 1 diabetes. She's known she's been diabetic for over a year now, but it still hasn't sunk in that this is something she'll live with for the rest of her life, or just how serious it is. With her heartbreak, and her nonchalance over her condition, she is sick of everyone on her back about looking after herself properly.
Aidan is 19, and already he's a veteran. While touring in Afghanistan, an explosion left him with only one arm, and no longer able to serve. It's been three months since the explosion, and he's still trying to come to terms not only with how to manoeuvre through daily life with just one arm, but also the fact that the future he planned for himself, a life in the military, went down in flames when the bomb went off. He's struggling to work out what to do with his life now the only future he wanted has been taken from him, and wracked with guilt over the death of his friend and sergeant, Pilot, who was killed when the bomb went off.
Both Kate and Aidan are dealing with facing difficult futures neither wanted, so when they meet, they think they've found the perfect distraction from their lives in each other. Kate doesn't ignore the fact that Aidan has no arm, but doesn't treat him any differently, unlike everyone else. Aidan doesn't know about Kate's diabetes, and so with him she gets a break from all the questions and concern. But when they develop feelings, their complicated lives get even more complicated.

The Summer I Found You is a really, really sweet story. It's such a cute romance, and I love the added element of obstacles to Kate and Aidan's lives, separate to each other. This is both the first book I have read to feature a protagonist with a chronic illness or disease, and the first book I've read featuring an amputee, so I found it really interesting to read about their individual stories. Kate is in complete denial about her diabetes. She refuses to see just how serious the disease is. Sure, sometimes her sugar levels get too high, but it's easily sorted. It's not that big of a deal. Except that it is; if she doesn't look after herself properly, her diabetes could cause her serious problems, like blindness, or can even kill her. But the idea that she'll have diabetes for the rest of her life - that she will continue to have to check her blood sugar levels, continue to inject herself with insulin, continue to count carbs for her whole life scares her, and so she's buried her head in the sand.

Aidan hates how slow he is at everything now he only has one arm. Even making himself a drink is a much longer process when he only has one arm. He can no longer drive his beloved car, that he saved up for, for so long when he was 16, because it has a gear stick. He can only drive a manual now. It's the small things that are constant reminders to him every day. And they're not just reminders that he's disabled, which is hard but bearable - at least he's not dead - but it's the reminders that he no longer has a future in the army, the life he so wanted, and that Pilot was blown to pieces, and possibly saved his life by giving him a bit of a push at the last crucial moment. Aidan is devastated by both loses, and he knows he has to move forward - decide what he's doing with his life, and visit Pilot's widow - but it's all just too hard to face. Therapy isn't helping, and his family is trying to ignore his stump and act like everything's normal, not bringing it up at all, and he just feels different by their avoidance of the subject. Aidan also has really bad nightmares, some memories of what happened, others crazy army-themed nightmares, which made me think he was suffering from PTSD, but that was never touched upon.

When Kate and Aidan meet through Kate's best friend and Aidan's cousin, Jen, they find in each other the perfect distraction. Literally seconds before meeting him at a fair, Jen announces that Aidan's lost an arm in the war, and so she is completely unprepared, and puts her foot in it by making inappropriate jokes about the fact that Aidan only has one arm. Everyone around her is completely shocked by her remarks, and she is so embarrassed, but Aidan is actually relieved. Finally someone who isn't pretending. And when hanging with Aidan, Kate gets a reprieve from all the grief from friends and family about her diabetes. The two are very quickly drawn to each other, not just because they find each other extremely attractive, but it gives them a break from all they're dealing with. Neither are really sure what the other wants from them, but soon they come to rely on each other for what they get fromt them. As Aidan has found someone to trust and talk to about what he's going through, Kate has found someone she doesn't have to talk to about it. But as their feelings grow and they get even closer, Kate knows her silence on her diabetes is likely to cause problems.

I absolutely loved The Summer I Found You, I just wish it was much longer, so I could be with these two as they figure their lives out a little more and their relationship grows! It's such a sweet, romantic story, and I cannot wait to read Perry's other novels. This book is brilliant.



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Published: 1st March 2014
Publisher: Albert Whitman
Jolene Perry's Website

Blog Tour Review: Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Alison Glock-Cooper

Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Alison Glock-Cooper (eProof) - Changers Book One: Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller's freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He's finally sporting a haircut he doesn’t hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can't wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life.

Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl.

Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever--and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began.

Ethan must now live as Drew Bohner--a petite blonde with an unfortunate last name--and navigate the treacherous waters of freshman year while also following the rules: Never tell anyone what you are. Never disobey the Changers Council. And never, ever fall in love with another Changer. Oh, and Drew also has to battle a creepy underground syndicate called "Abiders" (as well as the sadistic school queen bee, Chloe). And she can't even confide in her best friend Audrey, who can never know the real her, without risking both of their lives. From Goodreads.

I was really interested in Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper when I first heard about it; but I'm sad to say I found it quite disappointing.

Ethan wakes up the first day of high school to discover that he's a girl. Absolutely terrified, he has no idea what's going on. Then his parents tell him; he is a Changer. With a Changer parent, he has been chosen to undergo a mission in empathy, to make the world a better place. Every year of high school, he will become someone new. This first year, he is now Drew. Drew must start school in a new town, make friends, and face the usual challenges that come with starting high school, while she has no idea who or what she really is.

My main problem with this book is the world building. I still have no idea why there are Changers and what it is they're supposed to do - and neither does Drew. It's all cloaked in secrecy, and there's enough to know that there is something to being a Changer other than changing bodies for four years, but I've no clue as to what. Except that it's not all the Changer Council claims it is. Which we find out from the very, very beginning, before the Prologue, when we're kind of told, in brief, about the amazing things Drew (or whoever she will become) is involved in, in a "before all this stuff happened, he was a normal boy" way. But it's a hint that there's a huge amount of stuff to come. But in this first book? Nothing major, in the great scheme of things. It's like it's setting up the story, without giving you much to go on.

However, there are a lot of elements to this story that were really interesting. As you can imagine, there are some trans themes; before she gets used to who she now is, Drew felt a lot like her body didn't match up who she was - at the time, a boy. What's different is the sudden change from being male, having known being and feeling male, to then being female. What was really interesting about this was a guy seeing how girls are treated, the other side of the coin. There are some really feminist moments; Drew realising what it's like to receive unwanted attention, expecting to look and dress a certain way by society, and so forth. It was really interesting for her to realise just what it's like to be a girl, and I would have loved if there were more moments like this. For this book, it's where the empathy comes into play.

When she was Ethan, Drew was attracted to girls. Now as Drew, that hasn't really changed, and she is kind of confused when she starts falling for her best friend Audrey, because she's now a girl. At the same time, when she starts finding herself attracted to a boy, she reacts even worse. She still feels like a boy, and now she's finding herself feeling things for a boy, and she's so confused. Drew's feelings and her sexuality are developed as the story goes on, and it's really interesting to see how this element to the story, and her coming to terms with this new side of her and her feelings.

The book did take me a really long time to read, though. I found I didn't emotionally connect to Drew, and she was quite a young character. I didn't care enough about her or her story to keep picking it up, I just wasn't interested, and would find other things I was more interested in doing. Saying that, as the story was starting to end, there were hints that the story would progress into something more interesting, so I might have a look at the second book, Changers: Oryon. For the general premise of the story of waking up as a different person, it was fascinating, but as a story with a sci-fi element, I was pretty disappointed.

Thank you to Atom via NetGalley for the eProof.



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Published: 12th January 2016
Publisher: Atom
#WeAreChangers' Website

Review: Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard (proof) - I was brave
She was reckless
We were trouble

Best friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable. Their differences have brought them closer, but as she turns sixteen Caddy begins to wish she could be a bit more like Rosie – confident, funny and interesting. Then Suzanne comes into their lives: beautiful, damaged, exciting and mysterious, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed and her present begins to unravel, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own. From Goodreads.


Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard is a novel I was really excited to read when I first heard of it. A story of strong female friendship, but also of self-destructive behaviour! But unfortunately, I was a little disappointed.

Caddy and Rosie have been best friends since they were young children, and going to different secondary schools hasn't changed their friendship. But when Suzanne moves to the area and becomes friends with Rosie, Caddy starts to get jealous. Suzanne is beautiful and exciting, a better match for interesting Rosie than she is, and Caddy resents their friendship, and how suddenly it's now Caddy, Rosie and Suzanne rather than just the two of them. When Suzanne reveals the reason she moved is because she was being physically abused by her step dad, Caddy softens towards her; she's had a tough time and is trying to make friends and move forward, not steal friends. Once Caddy starts to get to know Suzanne better, she realises how fun Suzanne is. Soon the two are spending time away from Rosie, sneaking out and taking risks. But Suzanne is still struggling to deal with what happened to her, and Caddy's attempts to help seem to lead the two into more trouble. But how can Caddy turn her back on Suzanne when she's the only one who seems to be on her side?

Beautiful Broken Things is the story of the strong bonds of friendship, but also of how abuse physical leaves more damage than just broken bones and bruises. Although Suzanne is now away from her abusive step dad, she's still suffering with the mental effects of the abuse. The feeling that she wasn't good enough, how it went on for years and no-one really helped her - not her mother, and her older brother did what he could, but he was only young himself, and wonders why her step dad, the only dad she's ever known, didn't love her. There's so much pain and sadness in her, she acts out in an attempt to escape it, to distract her from what she feels, to feel something other than all this pain. Although Caddy knows about Suzanne's problems, she doesn't really know how to help her. She's young herself, and thinks being on Suzanne's side and supporting her is what Suzanne needs, not realising she's only enabling her, helping her along her path of self-destruction.

I feel the description for Beautiful Broken Things is a little misleading. It makes out that together Caddy and Suzanne get up to more dangerous, "exciting" things than they do. There are two instances, which I won't spoil, that are pretty shocking, but otherwise, nothing out of the ordinary. Sure, I don't want teenagers sneaking out their house to walk the streets in the early hours of the morning, but unfortunately, it's not unheard of, teenagers put themselves through these risks all the time. There's a lot less of Caddy being brave and Suzanne being reckless actually on the page that you'd expect. There are more conversations through which you see Suzanne's attitude that you see how Suzanne's experiences have affected her, more than actual page time to getting up to "trouble". It's more about the friendship.

The subject matter is hard and difficult to read about, and it left me with a heavy heart. However, I wasn't as emotionally invested in the story as I would have liked, and the reason for this is Caddy. Caddy narrates the story, but I couldn't care less about her; I didn't like her, I didn't dislike her, I wasn't interested in her or her narration. I would have much preferred the book to be narrated by Rosie or Suzanne herself, but if it was, it would be a completely different story; the events might be the same, but we would see it from a different point of view. Caddy and Suzanne's friendship ends up stronger than Rosie and Suzanne's, there are things Rosie doesn't know, events she's absent from, and how she reacts to Suzanne's behaviour is completely different. As I said at the beginning, this is as much a story about friendship as it is about recovering from abuse, so we need Caddy's narration for how deep their friendship goes as it develops and for how hard she tries to help Suzanne, despite helping in the wrong way. Her narration is needed for this particular story. Unfortunately, she's just not a character that brought out any real emotion in me.

Beautiful Broken Things is hugely important, a book that will open conversation that's needed, and one I'm sure is going to be a novel that many will love. A really interesting novel that will open eyes and get people talking.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Books for the proof.



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Published: 11th February 2016
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Sara Barnard's Website

Review: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (review copy) - Having crash-landed in the Sahara desert, a pilot comes across a young boy who introduces himself as the “Little Prince” and tells him the story of how he grew up on a tiny asteroid before travelling from planet to planet and coming to Earth. His encounters and discoveries, seen through childlike, innocent eyes, give rise to candid reflections on life and human nature.

First published in 1943 and featuring the author’s own watercolour illustrations, The Little Prince has since become a classic philosophical fable for young and old, as well as a global publishing phenomenon, selling tens of millions of copies worldwide and being translated into over two hundred and fifty languages. From the blurb.

I'd never heard of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry until becoming a book blogger. Other bloggers have raved about it being one of their favourite children's classics, and how much it meant to them, so when I was offered the opportunity to review it, I decided to see why it is so dearly loved. Now I completely understand.

When a pilot crashes in the Sahara, with only eight days to fix his plane before his water runs out, the last thing he expects is to meet a Little Prince - a young boy from another planet. The Little Prince regales the pilot with stories of his tiny home planet, with it's three volcanoes (one extinct, but "you never know"!) and his flower - a vain and arrogant flower - but one he loves dearly, and of the many moral lessons he learns on his travels to other planets before he comes to Earth. The Little Prince teaches the pilot so many things, and is forever changed by the little boy.

The Little Prince is such a wonderful, wonderful story! I was absolutely bowled over by this sweet little boy and the insight that comes through because  of his innocence. I was moved by his relationship with his flower and the love he felt for it, and how something (or someone) can be so special and important to you, even if there are others quite a lot like it. There's also something brilliant to be said about platonic love and friendship, no matter how short, and the line, "It was worth it for the colour of wheat", really touched me. Other discussions covered by The Little Prince are on superiority, materialism and ownership, work, loneliness; it's written in a way that everything seems really obvious, but, despite this being a children's book, I did have a few light bulb moments. The topics covered were obvious, but it's the way the Little Prince talks about them, his perspective, that really opened my eyes.

The Little Prince is a beautiful story, and I absolutely loved it. I can completely understand why this book is such a classic, and I'm sure it will be marvelling readers for years to come.

Thank you to Alma Classics for the review copy.



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Published: 15th June 2015
Publisher: Alma Classics

If Book Bloggers Were to Get Paid

Recently, Phillip Pullman wrote a short piece for The Guardian; Enough's Enough - Authors Can't Work For Free. A number of authors elaborated on what he said, talking about how they get paid very little from the sales of books, and that any work they don't get paid for away from writing takes time away from when they could be writing, which earns them their money. (Links go to Tweets from C. J. Daugherty and Melinda Salisbury.) Which is pretty awful. I personally never realised that authors didn't get paid for such events. It's ridiculous. All that time and effort they put into events for us, their fans, and they don't get paid for it; that not one penny of the money we spend on tickets to see them actually makes it's way to them. I can't believe it, and think it's atrocious, really.

But further tweets got me thinking about something else. Melinda Salisbury did comment that she doesn't consider what she writes for book bloggers as something she should be paid for:

I am so happy to donate time to write blog posts and do blogger pieces - after all, bloggers don't get paid either!

— Melinda Salisbury (@AHintofMystery) January 15, 2016

Which, is of course, awesome. And led to these interesting tweets from Jess from Jess Loves Books:

Blogger friends of other things are always so shocked when they find out that book bloggers get 0 money for it.

— Jess Hearts Books (@JessHeartsBooks) January 15, 2016

In fact book blogging is one of the only forms of blogging with zero prospects of turning your blog into your job.

— Jess Hearts Books (@JessHeartsBooks) January 15, 2016

Please remember when working with bloggers that we don't get paid for any of it and that we are essentially working for free all of the time

— Jess Hearts Books (@JessHeartsBooks) January 15, 2016

I found it really surprising to read that all review bloggers, it seems, are paid for reviewing products except book bloggers. I find that quite unbelievable. I knew some bloggers got paid for reviewing certain products, but it never occurred to me that we're the only blogging community that doesn't get paid.

In some ways, I think it's understandable; we all know that it costs a huge amount of money to produce ARCs, and sure, they're not all just for bloggers, but it is money spent for the purpose of reviews. and we get them for what we do anyway. Yet, at the same time, these days, I probably receive more finished copies to review than I do ARCs. This might be because it's cheaper to send finished copies and there are more of them, when only a certain number of ARCs are made and have already been sent out.

There is part of me that feels this isn't fair, though. We book bloggers are hard working, and put a huge amount of time and effort into our blogs and creating interesting, informative, unique and fun content. If other bloggers can be paid for doing what we do for other products, why can't we? If I was offered the chance to be paid for book blogging how I do now, I would jump at the chance. Let me say that again: I would jump at the chance to be paid for book blogging how I do now.

If we were paid as book bloggers, I think there are a lot of things that would change, such as:

• Those of us who only review books they enjoyed would have to review all books. I imagine we would be paid per book we promote; if we get sent 10 books, and only enjoy three out of the 10, and those are the only three you review, you'll get paid for just those three, despite reading the other seven, right? This would be a problem for me if I'm expected to review the unsolicited review copies I receive. Granted, I no longer get that many, but I would feel I had to read a book I knew I wasn't going to enjoy because
• We will have to read to a deadline. Makes sense right? If your being paid to review a book, the publishers will want the book reviewed by a certain time. That wouldn't work for me. I generally don't read to a deadline. I have to read the books I fancy as and when I fancy them. This does mean that sometimes review copies will not be read for months. Publishers are fine for me to do this, because they know they will be reviewed, and a later review can put the book back on readers' radars. But they're not going to pay for a review, and wait months for it.
• If we're all reading and reviewing to deadlines, we'll all be talking about the same books at the same time. Even if it's not a review but some kind of spot light post for the book, we'll still be talking about the same books at the same time. No content that's all that original.
• If we're all talking about the same books at the same time, blog readers aren't going to visit all the blogs. We might end up losing blog readers.
• Also, would those readers trust out positive reviews if we're being paid for them? Most bloggers have a disclaimer on their blog or in their reviews somewhere to explain that despite receiving books in exchange for a review, our reviews are not affected by this and our reviews are honest. Would this be as easy to believe if we were being paid?
• If we're reviewing to deadline, we'll have little time to read the books we buy or borrow from the library. Also, those books aren't going to earn us money.

Those are just a few examples. I suppose, in a sense, some of these examples wouldn't matter so much if your book blog was just a side-line to earn some extra money as well as a day job; you could be more selective about the books you accept, read and review, because you're not completely depending on the money it brings in. But in her tweets, Jess was talking about the prospect of turning your blog into a job. If your blog is your sole source of income, you might not be able to afford to be so selective.

As much as I would absolutely love to be paid for book blogging, I think it might end up feeling more like a chore than something I enjoy. If things were to change and we start getting paid for what we do, I'd want some clear rules set out as to what that would mean. I'd hate to have my experience of blogging to change so much it becomes unenjoyable. But I would absolutely love if it came about that book bloggers would start to be paid for the work we do, especially as other bloggers are.

What do you think? Do you think we should get paid or not? Do you think there would be more positives or negatives to being paid? And what do you think about authors not being paid for the events they take part in? Talk to me! :)

Review: Playing With Matches by Suri Rosen

Playing With Matches by Suri Rosen - When 16-year-old Raina Resnick is expelled from her Manhattan private school, she’s sent to live with her strict aunt-but Raina feels like she’s persona non grata no matter where she goes. Her sister, Leah, blames her for her broken engagement, and she’s a social pariah at her new school. In the tight-knit Jewish community, Raina finds she is good at one thing: matchmaking! As the anonymous “Match Maven,” Raina sets up hopeless singles desperate to find the One.

Can she find the perfect match for her sister and get back on her good side, or will her secret life catch up with her?

In this debut novel, Suri Rosen creates a comic and heartwarming story of one girl trying to find happiness for others, and redemption for herself. From Goodreads.

Playing With Matches by Suri Rosen is a book I've had my eye on for a while, so when it came up in Dahlia Adler's January Book Club, it was the perfect opportunity for me to finally pick it up!

When Raina is expelled from school and has to live with her aunt and uncle, it's the final straw for her older sister Leah's fiancé Ben, and he ends the engagement. Leah is completely heartbroken and cannot bear to talk to Raina. It doesn't help Raina that she is despised at school. When she accidentally matches up a woman she meets on the bus with a colleague of her uncle, she ends up inundated with emails to her anonymous Match Maven email address from people asking her to match them with someone. In her tight knit Jewish community, word travels fast, and people are desperate for her help. But Raina doesn't really know the first thing about matching people, and only really considers trying when she receives an email from her sister. What if amongst all these emails is the perfect man for Leah? What if she can help Leah be happy again? Perhaps their relationship will be repaired.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. I liked Raina; I found her voice pretty funny, and she genuinely cares about her sister, and those she's trying to set up. She does end up doing a pretty good job, but sometimes things go wrong. It keeps happening, and I just found it really far-fetched. At first it was amusing how ridiculous things would go for Raina and her matches, but after a while, it just became too much for me. There was a lot of eye-rolling, and I ended up getting a little fed up with it all. But that's just me, I'm sure a lot of other people would find it really quite funny how often and how strangely things go up the spout for Raina.

Saying that, I loved the Jewish community Raina lived in, and I found I really enjoyed reading understanding and learning more about Jewish culture and traditions, and in such an accessible way! I've read at least one book before with prominent Jewish characters, but very few of elements of the Jewish culture and traditions were explained for non-Jewish readers. But with Playing With Matches, non-Jewish readers will understand exactly what's going on without there being so much explanation that it would turn off Jewish people being represented in this book because they already know all about it all. It was really balanced, and I found it so fascinating! I would have enjoyed learning more, but I think the balance was right. Playing With Matches doesn't read like a book about exclusive Jewish teenage experience, it's still a really relatable story for teenagers, Jewish or not.

All in all, Playing With Matches was a good book! It was mostly humorous and fascinating, if a little far-fetched at times. I'd definitely recommend it for those who enjoy slap-stick.



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Published: 9th September 2014
Publisher: ECW Press
Suri Rosen on Twitter

Review: This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin

This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin (eProof) - Bandmate, best friend or boyfriend? For Ramona, one choice could mean losing them all.

Ramona and Sam are best friends. She fell for him the moment they met, but their friendship is just too important for her to mess up. Sam loves April, but he would never expect her to feel the same way--she's too quirky and cool for someone like him. Together, they have a band, and put all of their feelings for each other into music.

Then Ramona and Sam meet Tom. He's their band's missing piece, and before Ramona knows it, she's falling for him. But she hasn't fallen out of love with Sam either.

How can she be true to her feelings without breaking up the band? From Goodreads.

WARNING! There will be major spoilers in this review. There is a diverse element to this story that I have never come across at all in books, nor heard of  from other people about books I haven't read. Because of this, I think it's important to discuss this particular diverse element for the sake of sharing the representation. However, discussing this element will mean major spoilers for the book, so if you do not wish to have This Song Is (Not) For You spoiled for you, please do not read any further.

I originally requested This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin from NetGalley because I thought Ramona's situation sounded like a really awkward one to be in, and would make a really interesting book. But it went from one I was mildly interested in to one I definitely had to read when it was praised on Twitter for having an asexual main character, and it was such a fascinating read.

Ramona and Sam have been friends for years after bonding over their passion for music. They're inseparable, and both have feelings for each other, but are certain the other is not interested. When they meet Tom at a music college, they know they've found the final piece for their band, and the three soon become very close friends. But it's not long before Ramona starts falling for Tom - while she's still in love with Sam. Tom seems to be interested in her too, and as Ramona knows nothing will happen with Sam, she and Tom start dating. The three spend almost all their spare time together, and seeing Ramona and Tom together is so painful for Sam. But there's something about Tom that neither of them know.

What I found really strange about This Song Is (Not) For You is how much I enjoyed it considering how little I connected with the characters. Each of the three characters narrate alternately, and it's the kind of book you fly through, but the pacing means that months go by in a flash. There's something about these characters that felt different; I can't say we don't really get to know them, because we do, and I don't dislike them, but I didn't warm to any of them, either. I just didn't get emotionally involved in this book. But I still enjoyed it, and was gripped by their story.

I wasn't too interested in the music element of the book; they don't play my kind of music, it's kind of experimental, I guess, and just not something I'm interested in. But even if it was, I still think the relationships between all three characters would have been the major pull for me. This is the first YA novel I've come across where a character is genuinely in love with two people at once, without there being some kind of magical reason as to why. Granted, I didn't feel that love, the development of the relationships was kind of lacking for me, but from the way the story was written it's clear that this is love that Ramona feels for Sam and Tom, and not just a crush or intense infatuation. She's actually in love with them both. Which is a difficult situation to be in; even if she ends up with Tom, she's not with Sam, and she can't just turn off her feelings. And it's even more awkward and kind of tragic when the reader knows that Sam is in love with Ramona, too. As I said, I didn't make the emotional connection that I wanted, but there were moments when Sam talks about his feelings for Ramona and unrequited love (we know it's not, but as far as he's concerned, it is) that were really beautiful, moments I could relate to.

Tom was a fascinating character, and one I loved being inside the head of. I was celebrating whenever he discussed his feelings regarding sex. Tom is asexual. The word is never used in the book, but he discusses a few times his lack of sexual feeling and complete disinterest in sex. His ex-girlfriend broke up with him because she thought he was gay and in denial, because he never showed any interest in going further than kissing, despite his claims that he simply just didn't want to have sex. We have very few asexual characters in YA, and so far, I've only read one other book with an asexual character - Quicksilver by R. J. Anderson. What's wonderful about This Song Is (Not) For You is that it shows an asexual character who falls in love. I'd be interested to know if any of the other ace YA books published show this, but it was great to see Tom wanting and enjoying a romantic relationship, but not wanting a sexual one.

Eventually, Sam opens up to Ramona about his feelings. It occurs to him that he wants to be with Ramona, but that doesn't necessarily mean exclusively. If the only way he can be with Ramona is by sharing her with Tom, he's ok with that, and Ramona considers it. This is before either he or Ramona know about Tom's asexuality. There's more that happens, but in the end, the three decide to have a joint relationship - a polyamorous relationship. Sam loves both of them, Ramona romantically, Tom platonically, and Tom the same, and neither want to hurt the other because of their feelings for Ramona. Ramona can be with both the boys she loves, and have a physical relationship with Sam, and Tom won't be left again because he's not interested in sex. Ramona makes a great comment about how before she knew about Tom's feelings regarding sex, she would have demanded monogamy, but she does want a sexual relationship, so would have left him if the three of them didn't come up with this arrangement.

It was really fascinating to me to see how they worked this out, and how everyone was happy with their relationship. It's not something I've read before, nor something I've really come across outside of the TV programme Caprica, which I'd only seen bits and pieces of because my dad watched it. This Song Is (Not) For You is going to be groundbreaking for YA when it comes to polyamory, and I do hope to read more in the future. I'd be fascinated to see a polyamorous relationship without an asexual character, and to actually see how that relationship works - as This Song Is Not (For) You ends shortly after the three decide on their relationship.

This Song Is (Not) For You is a really fascinating, gripping and eye-opening novel, and despite my lack of emotional connection, one I would highly recommend.

Thank you to Sourcebooks via NetGalley for the eProof.



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Published: 5th January 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Laura Nowlin's Website

Why Authors Coming Out Is an Incredible Thing, For So Many Reasons

I am so proud to be a part of the YA community, and book Twitter in general. We're passionate about the books we read, and the authors who write them. And we are, for the most part, a hugely supportive and accepting. Being so I'm sure has helped the wonderful authors who have recently come to announce to the world who they really are.

Very recently, and over the past year or so, we have seen authors come out on Twitter and elsewhere online:

• YA author Juno Dawson, formerly James Dawson, came out as transgender back in October 2015. 
• For Queer Romance Month, to talk about his own gender identity, NA (and soon to be YA author!) author Elliot Wake, formerly Leah Raeder, wrote Why I Wrote Cam Girl, then on 1st January, came out as transgender.
• YA author Chelsea M. Cameron also chose the beginning of the year to come out.
• And Ashley Herring Blake, whose debut YA novel Suffer Love is published this year, came out as bisexual last year.

You might think, why is this any of our business? Well, for trans authors, we need to know their change of name in order for fans to buy their future books which will be written under their real name. But otherwise, surely it isn't really something we need to know, like with an author's sexuality, right?

Not necessarily. Of course, it is always down to the author to choose whether or not they disclose their identity/ies. But for those who do, they're doing something wonderful; not only are they saying to the world, "This is me, this is who I am," they're also showing their readers who might identify the same way that they are not alone.

We live in a world that isn't as tolerant and accepting as it can be. You hear stories, you read books, about how awful can be to those who are "different", of the danger these people face by being open about who they are. It must be a scary experience for LGBTQ+ teens to tell their family and friends who they are. But then they see the authors they love publicly announcing who they are, standing proud and embracing their true selves. How inspiring must that be? These authors aren't friends of mine, they aren't people I know, but I am so proud and grateful to these people to putting something so personal out there, and so inspired by their courage, though I myself am a straight cis-gender woman.

But there are also the fact that these authors write #ownvoices novels, or may write them in the future, and that is so hugely important. With marginalised groups being so underrepresented in fiction in general, #ownvoices representation is so dearly needed, so people can find accurate representation of themselves in the books they read. That's the most important aspect of #ownvoices, but also those of us who don't identify as the authors do can learn and understand more what it is to be, for example for this post, someone who identifies as lesbian, bisexual, transgender from someone who actually knows.

So it's so wonderful when our authors are forthcoming with their identities, because they can make such a huge difference to someone's life. And for those people, I'm hugely thankful to these incredible authors for being so honest and awesome. Thank you.

Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (eProof) - 10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival. From Goodreads.

Although it's not the only YA novel about the subject of school shootings, when I first hears about This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, I knew I had to read this particular book. Perhaps it was the cover, maybe the title, or that Nijkamp was writing a book about a terrible subject that has been horrifically prevalent in the US recently for her debut novel. All I know is I was drawn to this book, and I had to read it. And it was absolutely incredible.

It's the first day of a new semester at Opportunity High. Claire is running for track practise with her best mate Chris. Tomás got detention with his best friend Fareed, a reason to be in the Principle's Office to sneak through the student files during assembly. Tomás sister Sylv and her girlfriend Autumn are with the rest of the school in the auditorium listening to Principle Tankerton's speech for the new semester. No-one expects anything different from the day. But when assembly is over, there is a delay in leaving the auditorium. Most people don't know what's going on until they hear the doors are locked. And that's when the shooting begins.

I cannot even begin to tell you how brilliant this book is. It's absolutely terrifying. The specifics of This Is Where It Ends are fictional, but we hear so often about school shootings and massacres in the news, the situation isn't fictional, and as you're reading, this fact is at the forefront of your mind. The absolute terror of being in a school environment, in a place you've gone to to learn, and then not know if you're going to survive the next five minutes, when even the authority figures - the teachers and other school staff - are unable to keep you or themselves safe. Nijkamp paints a very clear, terrible picture, and you can quite easily imagine yourself  as one of those students, trapped in that auditorium.

This Is Where It Ends is told from multiple perspectives, each person with a connection to the shooter, Tyler. Claire is Ty's ex-girlfriend, and her younger brother is in the auditorium. Autumn is Ty's sister. Ty wasn't happy with Autumn and Sylv's relationship, so had been threatening Sylv. Tomás was aware that Ty had been harassing Sylv in someway, which just increased the fighting between the two rivals. We also get text messages, tweets or blog posts at the end of each chapter from other characters those in the auditorium or outside, and it's great getting these brief glimpses, too.

What's brilliant is that Nijkamp manages to make us care about these characters, despite the story only taking place over 54 minutes. Each narrator has a story outside of the school; Autumn and Ty's mother died two years ago. She was a ballet dancer, and died in a car accident due to exhaustion. Autumn wants to follow in her footsteps, but her father has become an alcoholic and turned abusive since his wife's death, and would rather see Autumn dead than dancing. Sylv and Tomás' mother has some form of dementia. Sylv has always wanted to get out of Opportunity, and has the chance with a college acceptance, but with her mother so ill and in need of care, it doesn't look like she'll be able to. Tomás knows something is going on with Sylv; ever since last summer, she's been pushing him and others away, ever since Ty was caught threatening her outside of junior prom. He doesn't know what Ty did, but he changed his sister, and hates him for it. Claire's little brother, Matt, has lupus, and she's very protective of him. Her older sister Tracy is in the army, and Claire is conflicted about following suit. She wants to be just like her sister, but doesn't know if she's up to it.

As the 54 minutes tick by, we discover more about their individual stories, and they all come to a resolution. But we see the courage people can find within themselves when faced with such a horrific situation, the brave acts they will perform. When Claire and Chris hear the shots, Claire is the only one who has the wherewithal to take charge of her track team and coach and give out instructions on the best way to get help - it's her only way of coping with the fact that her little brother is in that auditorium and she can't get to him. Tomás and Fareed make sure the police are alerted, but when they're told to get out the school, they take it on themselves to try and help those trapped in the auditorium. Autumn and Sylv both have their courageous moments, though I won't say more for fear of spoiling the story. But whether the narrators are stuck in the auditorium or not, bravery comes in all shapes and forms, and they all have their incredible moments of strength. I was in complete awe of them all. I seriously don't know if I could do what any of them did, if I was in their position. They were unbelievable. And yes, again, this is just fiction, but there have been those who have shown incredible courage and strength in these situations, and This Is Where It Ends is a fantastic reminder that these wonderful, unbelievable people exist, and they save lives.

This Is Where It Ends is also wonderfully diverse. Tomás and Sylv are Latino, and Sylv and Autumn are queer (no label is ever given). Claire's brother Matt is disabled, Tomás friend Fareed is Afghan Muslim, and there are other secondary characters of other races who make an appearance. This Is Where It Ends shows the melting pot that high school is, with a whole host of diverse characters, united in fear.

I have to say something about the ending; it was so very emotional. It was heartbreaking, it was moving, and it was beautiful. I finished this book crying silently on the bus, left completely wiped out and bereft. I was blown away by the characters, by the story, and by Nijkamp's brilliant storytelling. This Is Where It Ends is an absolutely astounding debut novel, and I will not hesitate to read whatever Nijkamp writes in the future. This is a novel you need to add to your TBR piles right now.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley for the eProof.



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Published: 5th January 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Marieke Nijkamp's Website

Discussion: Why Hyping Books Because of Content Can Be a Good Thing

The lovely and wonderful Cait of Paper Fury started off the year with a great discussion, asking Is Book Hype Trully All That Bad? It's a really great post full of Cait's usual humour, but it also makes some really great points, especially about how everyone is different and we should read what we want, but not to necessarily ignore the hype. However, there was one point Cait made that I would like to look at in more detail. In her post, Cait makes a list of pros and cons for hyped books, and one the cons is:

"It’s NOT being hyped because it’s a “good book”…it’s being hyped because it fills a hole in the book world. I think this is monstrously unfair. And I’ve definitely seen it happen! Oh this book features a blind, asexual, ethnic protagonist? HYPE IT. IT MUST BE GOOD. Um, excuse me but: not necessarily. It bugs me when a book gets hyped because of content, not good storytelling!"
(All emphasis in the quote is Cait's, not mine.)

Now, as Cait pointed out, not all books are going to be liked by everyone. So just because a book is hyped doesn't mean you'll like it. But I do think this kind of hype is important.

Marginalised groups are severely under-represented in fiction, we all know this. The YA world is doing better, but there's still a long way to go, as certain marginalised groups are almost unheard of in YA. But when they are heard of, those of us who want to promote diverse books get quite excited!

Case in point: a few months ago, I was browsing on NetGalley, and the website suggested Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate to me. The cover was really eye-catching, so I clicked and had a read. Not only did it sound like a really intriguing story, but when I saw the words "the closeted pansexual who only cares about his drug-dealing profits", I became all meerkat-like. This book is the first I've heard of that is available to read (to bloggers if not everyone) that has a pansexual main character. I immediately requested the book, then went on Twitter to announce to my followers, and certain people in particular who I know seek out LGBTQ YA, about Seven Ways We Lie.

Jim of YA Yeah Yeah was also interested in reading a book with a pansexual character. He read it, he loved it, he recommended it. I'm not sure if he mentioned it before or after he read it, but he told YA author and diverse books advocat Dahlia Adler about it. Dahlia also loved it. In a recent Twitter chat for LGBTQ YA (I'm afraid I can't remember which), both Jim and Dahlia recommended the book - Jim crediting me for suggesting it to him (which is why I know about all of this) - and lots of people replied to the tweets, excited to read it themselves.

Jim and Dahlia both loved the book, so they were hyping it, but I've seen others talk about this book before being able to read it. This character (I'm still yet to read this book, so I don't know this characters name, as he's one of seven narrators) might just be the first pansexual character to appear in YA. This is a big deal. Of course those interested in diverse books are going to be excited about Seven Ways We Lie, talk about it, and be desperate to read it.

And it's important that we do talk about these books which feature under-represented characters. We need them; we all need to see ourselves in the pages of the books we read, no matter what our identities - we should all be present in fiction. But not all of us are. We all know how important books can be, how they can change lives. When a book is discovered that could be that book for someone, we spread the word in the hopes that the book will find its way into the hands of those who need it. So we hype them.

And maybe we don't end up liking these books we hype - again, some people might, some might not - but, in my opinion, whether I personally enjoy a story or not isn't as important as people seeing themselves represented in books. For example, What We Left Behind by Robin Talley is the first book I've read that features a genderqueer character, Toni. I was depserate to read it as soon as I heard about it, because of Toni. It was on my radar because it had been tweeted about, because of Toni - and it was being tweeted about long before it was available to read by anyone. I had such a hard time reading this book, so much so that I wanted to put it down. But with my blog I have a voice, so I finished it, and I reviewed it. Even though it wasn't for me, it's one of a very few novels representing genderqueer people, and I might help someone who needs it find it.

Saying all this, I'd like to point something out. As I said, What We Left Behind is the first book I've read to feature a genderqueer character, nor is being genderqueer something I know much about. Since writing my review, I have read a review on Goodreads from a genderqueer reader who was really disappointed with the book's representation of genderqueer people, so it looks like it's not a great representation. Fortunately, we do have NA #ownvoices novel Cam Girl by Leah Raeder which I'm sure does much better in terms of representation - another book that was tweeted about before it was released due to it's genderqueer maincharacter. But before reading that review on Goodreads, I was unaware that What We Left Behind might not actually be a book someone needs, and so talking about it felt like an important thing to do.

So I do think hyping books because of content - when the content is very under-represented marginalised characters - even before you've read them (as - as with What We Left Behind and Cam Girl - sometimes you hear about these books long before they're available to read), is not only not a bad thing, but an important thing.

We should know about these books, and there's a lot of us who will always be waiting to read them.

Now what do you think? Do you think books shouldn't be hyped based on content, but on how good they are? Or do you agree with me, that content can be a good enough reason to hype a book?

Review: Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

Unforgiven by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

High school can be hell.

Cam knows what it’s like to be haunted. He’s spent more time in Hell than any angel ever should. And his freshest Hell is high school, where Lilith, the girl he can’t stop loving, is serving out a punishment for his crimes.

Cam made a bet with Lucifer: he has fifteen days to convince the only girl who really matters to him to love him again. If he succeeds, Lilith will be allowed back into the world, and they can live their lives together. But if he fails . . . there’s a special place in Hell just for him.

Tick-tock. From Goodreads.

I was really disappointed by how Daniel and Luce's story ended in Rapture by Lauren Kate, so when I first heard about Unforgiven, Cam's own story, I wasn't convinced it was a book I should be picking up. But after reading a sample chapter on USA Today, I was persuaded otherwise. However, now I've finished, I know I should have stuck with my gut reaction.

Inspired by Daniel and Luce's love, Cam thinks back over the love he lost, Lilith. He wonders what happened to her, and when he discovers she belongs to Lucifer, and is doomed to live life after life in various personal Hells created especially for her, Cam is determined to save her. Lilith lives in a small town where the forest around them is prone to forest fires - they never stop. She lives in poverty with her overworked mother and a brother who's severe asthma, not helped by the constant fall of ash from the forest fires, has him out of school more often than not. Lilith is bullied at school and has no friends. Her only solace is music; she has an incredible voice, and major talent in song-writing and playing the guitar, but she is overwhelmed with self-doubt. Cam strikes up a deal with Lucifer; he must get Lilith to fall in love with him in fifteen days - by the battle of the bands themed prom - despite her loathing for him, that to her seems to come from nowhere. If she falls in love with him, Lucifer will free her. If she doesn't, Cam must remain at Lucifer's side and do his bidding. Cam only has fifteen days, and Lucifer will do all he can to throw obstacles in Cam's path. Will Lilith see past her anger to fall again for the boy she once loved? Or will Cam's hopes crumble into ash?

Imagine the movie She's All That with angels, demons and the devil thrown in, along with a battle of the bands competition, and you've got Unforgiven. A bet to win the girl by prom; this story has been done, possibly to death, and is so very predictable, I very quickly lost interest in how this story would go, because I already knew. The only thing that really kept me reading was Lilith herself. She was a really interesting character, one who was trying to make it through a hard life the best she could. She was really quite strong and impressive, but when it came to Cam she lost her head a bit, because of her anger. She was quite unreasonable a lot of the time when it came to him, but considering her past, that she knows nothing about, it's understandable.

She was also a little flighty, which got on my nerves a bit; she was absolutely dead set against starting up a band with some talented guys Cam tries to form one with, even if Cam wasn't involved, but within minutes she changes her mind and suddenly she is so pumped about it it's the only thing she can think about - as she says thirty-minutes after deciding to form the band. There were a lot of eye-roll moment for me in this book. And Cam was almost unrecognisable in Unforgiven. That confident, cocky, flirty guy with the dangerous edge is no-where to be seen in Unforgiven. Instead, we have a desperate, love sick guy who is always hurting, but always trying. This isn't the Cam I was expecting. I can deal with Cam being in love; I can deal with him hurting; I can deal with him risking all to save the girl he loves. I cannot deal with a Cam who doesn't resemble the Cam I've come to know at all. It made me so mad! Cam was one of the most exciting characters of the previous books, and the main draw for Unforgiven, but that is not who we see here.

The ending felt very over dramatic to me, and happened much too quickly. It went from being a prom, to huge epicness within the blink of an eye. Ok, it's a version of Hell being controlled by Lucifer, but it just didn't feel right. And then the book just ends, without being properly wrapped up. I have a feeling there will be more books. I think the other angels will get there own stories, and from some hints left, not necessarily their own love stories. But I don't think we'll be seeing more from Cam and Lilith as main characters, it feels like a stand alone novel, so to not have their story wrapped up properly just felt really unfinished.

Unforgiven was a huge disappointment from start to finish. I can only see myself reading a future book in this series if hints left about Roland seem to come to light. Otherwise, I'm done.

Thank you to Corgi Children's Books for the review copy.



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Published: 12th November 2015
Publisher: Corgi Children's Books
Lauren Kate's website

My other reviews from the series:
Fallen (Fallen Book 1)
Torment (Fallen Book 2)
Passion (Fallen Book 3)
Fallen in Love (Fallen Companion Novel - Book 3.5)
Rapture (Fallen Book 4)
 

Diverse Reading in 2016

As you may have read in my Looking Over 2015, Looking Forward to 2016, I have plans to change up what diverse books I read in 2016. I already read a lot of LGBTQ YA and YA with characters with mental illness, but I want to read more.

Kayla Whaley auditted of her diverse reading in 2015, and made goals for her reading in 2016 based on the results. She created the #DiverseReadingGoals hashtag on Twitter, and has inspired me to be more intenional in the diverse books I read in 2016, but to also keep proper track of what I'm reading.

My diverse reading goals for 2016 are:

• To read more YA(/NA/MG) with disabled characters.
• To read more YA(/NA/MG) with characters who have chronic illnesses.
• To read more YA(/NA/MG) with POC characters.
• To read more YA(/NA/MG) with characters who identify as the lesser represented LGBTQ identities, I.E. asexual, bisexual, pansexual, genderfluid characters.
• To read more YA(/NA/MG) with intersectional characters.
• To read more #ownvoices YA(/NA/MG).

To keep track of the various diverse books I'll be reading in 2016, you will find a #DiverseReadingGoals page where I will list my goals, but also the books I read throughout the year.

I hope I do well with my goals, and I hope you enjoy my reviews as I attempt to meet them!

Retellings Reading Challenge 2016: Link to your January Reviews

Welcome to the first Retellings Reading Challenge 2016 link-up post of the year! I'm really excited to start this challenge, and to read all your retellings reviews! Please post the links to your reviews from January in the link-up below.

But before you do...

• You must sign up for the challenge before you post links to your reviews. Links from people who haven't signed up will be deleted. Sign up for the challenge here.
• Make sure your links go directly to your reviews, not to your blog/Goodreads page/youtube channel. Those of the latter will be deleted.
• To count, books must be read in January. Any books reviewed in January that were read in Decemeber will not count towards this challenge.
• When you link to your reviews, in the "Name" field, please include the title of the book, the author, and your blog name. For example: Wicked by Gregory Maguire @ Once Upon a Bookcase.

An InLinkz Link-up