Michelle

That's why I'm forever trying to get people to see how good books forums like ours can be. Yes, a few of us get given review books (I actually trust the ones from here, and hope I do a fair job myself), but the vast majority read, review and discuss their own books, with no agenda. It's a great place to get real reviews.

Sadly I don't trust many blog reviews either - knowing how keen many bloggers are to keep the authors and publishers happy :-/

It's not just kindle books - there have been various issues about paying for reviews etc. To be honest, for various reasons, I've gotten to the point where I don't trust most reviews.

I have indeed - if I recall, I liked most of it, but I felt it dragged on a bit towards the end.

I saw The Girl With All The Gifts nominated for a horror award (Herbert, I think) and it surprised me.

And the winner is..... CLAIRE! Well done - I have your address, so I'll get this wrapped and sent as soon as I can. If the other entrants want a scanned copy, send me your email addy by PM, and if I can work out how my scanner works, I'll get it sent to you.

Ooh - I do hope you like it!

Amazon Prime have now added a music subscription, which now makes it much better value for money. Spotify costs £10 a month for it's ad free subscription service, and I think Apple Music will be similar. Amazon Prime costs £79 a year, and offers movies, photo storage, and of course next day delivery. If you're interested, please pop back to the front page of the forum, and click on the banner before joining up - it all helps me with forum costs.

My review of The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich is here, but I don't want people ignoring it because it's in the YA section. Darkmere by Helen Maslin and City of Halves by Lucy Inglis were also really good reads, but probably more YA. I also blogged about my TBR pile, and about reviewing. I'll post most of it here, because I'd like to know if anyone else feels the same, whether you review, or whether you simply feel pressured by your TBR! I’ve recently had a few ‘issues’ with my reading – I may have called it a lost-reading-mojo or something, but if I’m honest, I think it’s more to do with pressure… and mainly pressure on myself. I’ve bought quite a few books this summer, mainly because of YALC, and I’ve just re-arranged my bookshelves. I have a ridiculous number of books which I reallywant to read.. some of these are proof copies from publishers, many are bought, but they’re all yelling at me to read them NOW – all of them at once! When I do choose a book to read, I’m very aware of all the others waiting, so if I’m not loving it, I start to wonder if I should move on to something else. But, I don’t want to miss out on a good book, so I get caught up deciding whether to continue or not. And then there are my review copies. Some do just come in the post, but most I’ve asked for (and sometimes begged!). Most of the time I do love what I’ve asked for, and I happily review it, and shout about it on twitter. Sometimes though, I realise that it’s not what I expected, or it’s just not working for me. Then I get hit with guilt.. I feel bad that I asked (or begged) for it, that I took a copy someone else may have had, that the publishers will hate me, that they’ll never send me anything again. A while ago, I decided to stop reviewing. It was quite good for me, but it only lasted a few months. It’s very difficult to resist a good proof when it’s offered, despite the pile of books sitting beside my bed, looking accusingly at me. And by reviewing, I’ve discovered some awesome books which may have otherwise passed me by. Books are my passion, and getting to review some of them early is a huge part of that. So, this time I’m going for some sort of compromise. I’ve been resisting some offers and give-aways, but I’m not stopping completely – I’m just trying to be veryselective in what I ask for / accept. I’m also trying not to buy anything for a while (if you see me in Waterstones, or on Amazon, please slap my wrist!) but I do know something somewhere will tempt me before long! I’m also – and this is the hardest bit – not going to pressure myself so much with review copies. If I’m not getting on with a book, even if I requested it, I’m going to put it down.. and maybe come back to it if I think it will work with a second chance. I’m a busy working mum, and my reading time is limited, so it’s pointless for me to struggle with something which isn’t working. I also can’t restrict myself to review books only. Reading is my relaxation and my escape, and I have gorgeous bought books which need my attention as well.

This isn't typical YA, in my opinion.. I think that label is because the characters are teens, and it's sort-of based in a school (we only see glimpses of that, because Kaitlyn exists during the night. To me, it's actually more chilling than a lot of 'adult' horror - but then it got into my head, and it may not for everyone.

London. Girls are disappearing. They've all got one thing in common; they just don't know it yet \. Sixteen-year-old Lily was meant to be next, but she's saved by a stranger: a half-human boy with gold-flecked eyes. Regan is from an unseen world hidden within our own, where legendary creatures hide in plain sight. But now both worlds are under threat, and Lily and Regan must race to find the girls, and save their divided city. This is not so much a review, but some of my thoughts. Overall, I really enjoyed this - Regan could have become rather stereotypical, especially to someone like me who's a bit cynical about romance and male characters in YA, but he was written at just the right level.. ie I ended up with a bit of a crush on him myself, but he wasn't annoying! ;-) I love the London which Lucy has developed, there were some great ideas and creatures, and having them set in a city I know is always a bonus. However, I did feel that all of these ideas and creatures were rushed, and not developed to their full potential. The story also kicked in rather quickly, I would have liked to have seen a slower build up, with some mystery around Regan and his world. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I actually wanted a trilogy or series, which is quite unusual for me. I usually like to see everything rounded up in one book, but in this case, I think Lucy had so much more to share, that I wanted it spread out and developed more. There were things I wasn't sure about in the book, but also aspects which I loved, but I don't want to give anything away. If anyone else has read this, I'd love to have a spoiler-tagged discussion. Overall, I would recommend it, especially to those who like the idea of an other London lurking in the shadows, and those who like a fast paced read. I have Crow Mountain by the same author, which I will certainly pick up, and I'm also tempted by her Georgian History book. Please let me know if you read it, I'd love to know your thoughts.

I came across a cover reveal for this book some time ago, and immediately had to look it up. It sounded intriguing, so I started chatting on Dawn on twitter, and I knew this was a book I’d have to get hold of. I finally managed to get an early copy (thank you NIna!) and I managed to finish it just before YALC (YA Literature Convention). I took that proof copy with me for Dawn to sign, but as soon as I saw the finished version, I had to buy that as well – and apparently it sold out on the day! So, what’s it about? Let’s have a look at the back cover… I love the little bit at the top! The book is written in a way which looks back at the Johnson Incident, and it explores it using diary entries, transcripts of videos, police interviews etc, along with little notes by the (unknown) author. This is a risky approach, but Dawn does it brilliantly, and there were many times that I believed I was reading about a real event, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction! As for the main character – well, Carly and Kaitlyn as two girls who share the same body, and it’s not clear whether this is a ‘multiple personality disorder’ as their psychiatrist believes, or two souls sharing the same body, as their friend Naida insists. Carly ‘exists’ during the day, and Kaitlyn at night. The story is told from Kaitlyn’s point of view, with little glimpses into Carly’s world. As the information starts to come together, we start to discover more and more about Kaitlyn, the people who share her life, and the events leading up to the fire. This book is beautifully written, and the layout brings out all of the nuances of each piece of information.It’s a study of mental illness, it’s a psychological thriller, it’s horror. It’s dark, it’s creepy, and extremely chilling. Kaitlyn somehow gets into your head, and the story is so compelling. It’s published by Indigo on 6th August, and it’s going to be BIG.

A castle. A curse. One dangerous holiday … Kate and her friends are spending the summer at Darkmere Castle in Devon which she thinks will be a perfect opportunity for her to get together with Leo. But instead, she s drawn into the dark story of an nineteenth-century girl who haunts the tunnels and towers of the house … and whose curse now hangs over them all. Darkmere is described by the publisher as ‘Heart-stopping, gothic and dangerous’ and I would certainly agree. I was sent a review copy prior to YALC (YA Literature Convention) and by about halfway I was searching through amazon to find out what else the author had written. I was certainly surprised to find out that this is her first book! I don’t want to give away much of the plot, but there are two cleverly intertwined stories. The first is a very modern one, with a group of teens taking a holiday in an inherited castle. The castle has been inherited by Leo, and he is very much in charge of the group. Kate has always felt an outsider, but hopes that being invited along by Leo will help her to finally fit in. The other story is an historical one, telling the tale of Elinor, who’s also an outsider trying to fit in. She marries St Cloud, and becomes Mistress of Darkmere, but life there is not what she expected. The thing which I loved about Helen’s writing is that the two main characters had such distinctive voices.. moving between the two times was an easy transition, as each told their own story in their own way. And yet, despite the different times and storylines, and the distinct voices, there were lots of similarities. At no point did one strand pull you away from the other, they complimented each other so well. The two stories become more and more entwined, as Kate starts to question whether Darkmere is haunted. Helen writes scenes which create just the right level of unease.. it’s not a scary book as such, but certain parts are rather creepy. It builds to a tense, heart-stopping conclusion. Darkmere is a dark YA novel, with lots to appeal to both teens and older readers. I loved the characters, the storylines, and the writing, and this is a well crafted novel. It also has a gorgeous cover! It’s out at the beginning of August, and I highly recommend it.

I wish you could all have the original! I might be open to bribes you know... chocolate, book vouchers.....

A lot of the little things are book related. Even the little bottle of wine was sent out by a publisher, and is linked to A Discovery of Witches. The rest are my other loves.. dragons, Dr Who, cats etc The ones on the middle shelf? They came from the Film and Comic Con that YALC was part of. I've recently seen and loved Jurassic World.

I have a photocopy for myself - obviously it's not quite the same, but it's a memory I wanted. The issue would be packaging it safely and the posting costs. However, I'm happy to scan it, and send a copy to all the entrants if they want a copy.

Ah yes - for those of you not on facebook, this is the bookcase I'm very pleased with, as every book on there is signed.

I have reviews to be getting on with, but am struggling to find time at the moment! In other news, I had another fantastic weekend at YALC - a quick round up here. I've sorted my 2 bookshelves, and I have FAR TOO MANY BOOKS!

Beth has a few signed books now, but she would happily swap them all for a signed TFIOS!!

What can I say - it was a long weekend!

He is a very talented guy - I'm completely in awe, and rather starstruck!

This is mine...

Noll, I have one he did whilst he was chatting to me and Beth, and that's framed and on my bookshelf. I asked him for a drawing I could give away, and that's what I'm doing. Noll, I'm sure it would travel safely to you?

I've just spent a fantastic weekend at YALC (YA Literature Convention) where Chris Riddell turned up unexpected. He signed some books, and did some drawings. Whilst I was speaking to him, I told him about our anniversary, and asked if he would do a drawing I could give away - and this is what he did... I was sooo tempted to keep it all to myself, but instead I'm going to post it to one of you - UK only I'm afraid, as I've put it in a frame, and it'll be a bit too fragile to travel too far. So - this needs to be for members who appreciate how special reaching 10 years of BCF is, so you need to have 100 posts or more to enter. To do so, simply tell me something you love about Chris Riddell, such as your favourite book he's illustrated, or something he's achieved. I'll leave this running until the end of the month.....

Only 4 entries, so you all win! Please send me your addresses asap, and I'll pass them on to the publisher.