Michelle

I just thought I'd have a quick review, and see which were my favourite books... without thinking too much, I would say... Mort(e) by Robert Repino Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt The Many Selves of Katherine North by Emma Geen Vicious by V.E. Schwab The Fireman by Joe Hill (audio) Born with Teeth by Kate Mulgrew (audio) Alice by Christina Alice Red Queen by Christina Alice Gilded Cage by Vic James Contagion by Teri Terry The Call by Peadar O'Guilin The Long Walk by Stephen King (audio) Defender by G X Todd The Inferior series by Peadar O'Guilin Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Ragdoll by Daniel Cole Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Some Will Not Sleep by Adam Nevill 99p https://www.amazon.co.uk/Some-Will-Not-Sleep-Selected-ebook/dp/B01LBBQV7W/ref=tmm_kin_title_sr?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke is the only book (well, whole series) I've read 3 times now, I absolutely love it! Dune is something I really should try, I think.

Oh, it's really not that bad.. it's written in a way that you understand that it's their normal way of life, and it doesn't come across as badly as you'd think.

I actually thought that Len was far ruder than Will. Will was defending himself, Len didn't have to say what he did.. following it up,with 'I'm joking' doesn't make it right.

How far did you get with it? Alice's character is rather annoying at the beginning, but she changes a lot as the book goes on, so it could have been that...? It's so strange how we sometimes agree on books, and then sometimes have opposing views! The Call seems to be getting excellent reviews - I had my reservations, but it's certainly one which sticks in your mind!

Well... I had requested a copy (I don't review much these days, but this one sounded excellent and was coming from a publisher who usually has great books) but then a friend gave me a copy she'd picked up at an event. I did get my original request eventually, so I can give back my other copy to my friend! Oh.. there I am raving about someone's writing, and you thought it was atrocious.. I forgot how we sometimes end up with opposing views of certain books! With regards to The Call, the hardback is slowly coming down in price, so hopefully the kindle will follow. The Inferior isn't too bad to get second hand, but the second book is harder to find. I do think he's hoping to get it back into print.

Ok, whilst I had some reservations about The Call, the author's imagination intrigued me, so I went looking to see what else he had written. I discovered he had written a trilogy called The Bone World Trilogy, with books 1 and 2 being out of print, but 3 strangely available. Anyway, I tracked down a second hand copy of The Inferior, and I'm so glad I did. I'm not really sure how to review it, without giving too much away, as I've now read the second book as well. Let's see.. we are introduced to a rather savage world, where all species, including man, are purely meat eaters. There are lots of different (unrecognisable) species, and everyone's goal is to hunt. Even beyond that though.. some members of society (old or injured) are 'volunteered' to be swapped with a member of another species for eating, and they also eat each other's flesh if they are killed.. it's an honour to either volunteer, or to have your own flesh eaten after you die, and to die and not be consumed is considered a waste. As with The Call, the author builds this world so well, you can understand why they live, act and feel the way they do, and the landscape they live in is so easy to imagine. Then, add in to that a SF element.. above them is not a natural sky, but a grid of lights, and they are aware of the 'globes' which often float around overhead, and appear to watch them. But again, this is a normal part of their life. As the book progresses, you begin to understand more about how their world came to be, and what the grid above signifies. It all becomes even clearer in the second book, which I really don't want to talk about, because I really think this whole story is worth exploring without knowing too much. It's such a shame this is out of print, because I don't think many will discover it.. although if The Call is successful, maybe we can look forward to a re-release of this series.

The Call by Peadar O'Guilin - what a great concept! Ireland is a place now completely cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious barrier - no one can get in or out, and technology no longer works. Sounds a bit odd? Don't worry, the author has you completely believing it and immersed from the outset! In this land, there was a treaty many years ago between humans and the Sidhe, which led to the Sidhe being banished to a dark wasteland. They can not escape from it, but they are able to 'call' a teenager into their world. If they survive a day there (which is just 3 minutes of our time), they get to live.. but most don't. Although this is a YA book, some parts are very dark.. the Sidhe play with their victims, and sometimes send them back changed.. physically and mentally. As I said, although this might sound strange in a review, the author's world building is excellent, and I fell straight into it. It's YA because it focuses on the teenagers involved. They all attend schools which have one purpose.. to help them survive 'the call'. I did have a few reservations.. personally I didn't find myself connecting too well with any of the characters, including the main one. Many readers seem to love Nessa, but for me it just didn't work. I also found the time spent with the Sidhe too brief.. I had read how disturbing this book was, but it didn't quite live up to expectations. Maybe that was from a life time of horror reading, and this being a YA book.. could it have been different if targeted at another age group? I really don't know. Putting that aside, the concept and the world building were excellent. It's not going to be for everyone, but if it appeals, I would definitely say try it.

This really hasn't been a good year for keeping my thread updated.. but it has been a rather good year for reading! Alice by Christina Alice was an excellent read, as I stated above.. but Red Queen, the sequel, was also very good. I'm disappointed to hear that there aren't anymore books in that series, but the author's next book also sounds good.. she says it's a dark origin story of Captain Hook. I can think of a few people on here who would probably love her style (Noll, you in particular I think) so do take a look. Another excellent read was Defender by GX Todd, which is published in Jan 2017. I need to write a review of it, so look out for that.

I've had my eye on this for a while, and snapped up the ebooks when it was cheap, so I'' glad to hear it's good. Although, why do us spider hating people feel the need to read about them?!

Gollancz ebook sale, this weekend only.. http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2016/09/the-gollancz-festival-ebook-sale/

From what I can see, Abebooks (which is an Amazon company) owns 40%.

Start an account for both, and add a few books - I'm sure you'll soon see which one you find easiest / suits you best.

I joined LT many years ago, as I much preferred it's simplistic layout to GR. After using it for a short time, I decided that a small amount for a lifetime membership wasn't too much to pay.. and I'd much rather do that than see lots of adverts. I try to use GR as well now, because when I was reviewing a lot I knew that the publishers / authors like the reviews on GR. I'm a bit behind with LT this year though.. I think I'll go and update now. MrCat, it's fine to discuss an alternative - note that Janet maintains this thread, so it might be in there... http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/2082-book-resources-library-thing-bookcrossing-good-reads-etc/

Although this is being classified as a YA book, I wanted to post it under Fantasy, as I feel it has plenty to offer all readers, and isn't specifically YA. Gilded Cage This is the start of a trilogy and I fell in love with the world. For me personally, I loved the world building from the author.. often I find there can be a certain amount of jarring until you settle in, but this alternative present-day England immediately felt real to me, and I dived straight in. It tells of a world where there is a small ruling class, the Elite, but their power comes from the magic they hold. All other citizens live normal lives, aside from the fact that they have to give up ten years to become slaves, many in heavy industry, some serving the Elite. The Elite live in their own blinkered world, with their own power struggles, whilst the decade of slavery turns out to be worse than could be thought, with many being affected by it for their whole lives. The other great thing for me was that the author doesn’t focus on just one of these groups, leaving the other ignored, but she shows us the depths of both, with fascinating characters throughout. Abi, a citizen, makes a decision to try to keep her family together during their decade of slavery, by getting them all into the service of an Elite family – something she almost achieves. Most of her family are sent into the service of a powerful family, and her and her younger sister find themselves wrapped with the families world in ways they didn't expect. Her brother, however, is separated from them, and sent to a brutal factory town, where he starts to believe in revolution. Meanwhile, the three brothers within the Elite family have their own stories, struggles and relationships, and they are more complex than you would expect. This first book moves at a fast pace, and it certainly has plenty for both YA and older readers. It wraps up this particular story enough, whilst opening the way to the next volume. Thankfully the gaps between books is short, but also far too long, because I’m excited to get back into this amazing world! A contender for my book of the year!

The one thing I really liked about the Slated series was that each book was good in it's own right.. the middle book didn't feel like a filler, and the ending was decent. I haven't gone into much detail about Contagion because publication date is so far off, but yep, I really liked it.

Taken from my blog: So, as per my last blog entry, my reviewing pretty much came to a halt, and I’ve spent most of the year reading what I wanted to read, when it suited me.. and I’ve read some great books so far! I’ve still dabbled in reviewing though, and when I went to YALC this year, I was lucky enough to pick up 3 proof copies from publishers, and thankfully they were really rather good! Dear Charlie by N.D Gomes Death should never meet the young. But it did. Thanks to my brother, death made fourteen new friends that day. Maybe even fifteen, if you count Charlie. This book deals with the aftermath of a school shooting, but through the eyes of his younger brother. It focuses on the bullying that Sam experiences himself, the media pressure, and the stress on his family. It’s a part of the story I doubt many think about.. as a parent, or a brother, how are you supposed to feel about someone so close committing such an horrific event? Sam can not understand how the brother he knew could do such an unthinkable thing, and as readers we’re not given this insight either, but Sam’s journey in accepting events is emotional. The book also shows that whatever happens, life needs to go on. His parent’s struggle with this, but Sam makes himself go back to school, and find friends. Despite events, he’s still a 16 year old boy growing up. It’s fast paced, and held my interest all the way through, and it has a lot to offer. Gilded Cage by Vic James This is the start of a trilogy and I fell in love with the world. For me personally, I loved the world building from the author.. this alternative present-day England immediately felt real to me, and I dived straight in. It tells of a world where there is a small ruling class, the Elite, but their power comes from the magic they hold. All other citizens live normal lives, aside from the fact that they have to give up ten years to become slaves, many in heavy industry, some serving the Elite. The Elite live in their own blinkered world, with their own power struggles, whilst the decade of slavery turns out to be worse than could be thought. The other great thing is that the author doesn’t focus on just one of these groups, but she shows us the depths of both, with fascinating characters within both. Abi makes a decision to try to keep her family together during their decade, by getting them all into the service of an Elite family – which she almost achieves. Both her and her younger sister find themselves wrapped with the families world, whilst her brother gets separated, and sent to a brutal factory town, where he starts to believe in revolution. Meanwhile, the three brothers within the Elite family have their own stories, struggles and relationships, and they are more complex than you would expect. This first book moves at a fast pace, and it certainly has plenty for both YA and older readers. It wraps up this particular story enough, whilst opening the way to the next volume. Thankfully the gaps between books is short, but also far too long, because I’m excited to get back into this amazing world! Contagion by Teri Terry I love the Slated series by this author, and just the brief details on the proof caught my attention, and I was very happy when someone at YALC managed to get me a copy. It would appear the publication has been pushed back a bit, but I’m still going to mention it, because I want it to go on people’s radars and wish lists. There are two main aspects to the story.. the first being the mysterious illness which starts to sweep the county, highly contagious, and in most cases fatal. However, there’s also the second layer.. the fact that those who fall ill and survive appear to be changed by the illness, in ways which scare others. Again, this is a fast paced book which should appeal to many. The characters are YA, but the storyline certainly kept this older reader intrigued. There is plenty of story within this first book, but it does feel like a trilogy, with a frustrating wait for the next part. As I said, I loved all three books, and I’m very grateful to those who allowed me to get my hands on them early. All highly recommended.. keep your eye out for them!

I don't think The Long Walk is like Battle Royale.. there's no violence, it's more about what the boys go through. I also love Pet Semetary.. the film is extremely close to the book, but seems sillier. It could be a good one to try Noll.

I LOVEThe Long Walk!

I'm assuming then Noll that you'd prefer the earlier books? Have tried Carrie? And The Shining is one of my favourites.

All of our iPhones have been fine with the fingerprint readers. It's a bit fussy if you're fingers are damp, for example, but it's easy to then just tap out your passcode.

Yep, I went on the Friday and Saturday. I haven't done a blog post or anything because I've been busy. It was really good, as always, but I wasn't as involved as last year, as I took on the Saturday, and she wanted to spend more time in the Film and Comic Con part - she got to meet some Game of Throne actors, and got their autographs. YALC now seems really established - I just wish there was more like it for other genres.

I read quite a few of his books, then found myself not so keen. However, I did really enjoy this one, it felt a little bit more grown up and different.

I forgot, did you say whether you'd read any of her others? She's going to YALC this year, so excited to meet her, and get a couple of mine signed!