Because of You by Pip Harry ~ Review

‘Books can save anyone. If they’re the right ones.’ 

Meet Tiny and Nola. Two very different girls with two very different stories who are just trying to find a place to belong. A powerful and compelling novel about friendship, love and acceptance.

Everyone has a story.

Tiny is an eighteen-year-old girl living on the streets in Sydney, running from her small-town past. At a temporary homeless shelter, she meets Nola, a high school student on volunteer placement. Both girls share their love of words through the Hope Lane writing group. Can they share their secrets, too?

Told through the eyes of both Tiny and Nola as they negotiate their way through homelessness, shifting friendships, betrayals, addiction and a little bit of romance, Because of You explores the vastly different coming-of-age stories of two girls who are learning to find their individual strengths

Wow ~ Pip Harry's latest novel Because of You felt real and, by the end, it took my breath away. I read because I love being transported into another time and place, into another persons shoes, and I love being pulled into and swept up into a story. But occasionally, a book will come along that ends up being more than just a good entertaining read, and it leaves me feeling moved. Because of You is one of those books that resonates long after the last page and has transformative power to challenge a readers viewpoint and empathy.

Things to love about Because of You:

• the budding friendship between Tiny and Nola was so refreshing, tentatively organic and precious. I love how they both made mistakes and needed forgiveness (from others and themselves) and how, despite their different circumstances, they had more in common than they would've first thought. 
• awesome parents (who are brilliant characters in conjunction with complicated relationships and issues).
• writing group ~ writing and books and reading and creativity and finding your voice ~ all this is celebrated and adds a fun dynamic with bursts of humour and unexpected treasure
• some gorgeous, really affecting and powerful snippets of writing from the writing group. I loved the poetry and humour and was absolutely floored by the honest and captivating writing the characters shared. Harry, through the voices of her characters, was able to capture emotion beautifully in so few words <3
• hidden backstories and surprises, with tender and heartbreaking reveals. Nothing is as black and white as things may first seem.
• a real mix of unique characters, both teen and adult, to care for ~ all with their own voice and story
• a really inspirational and smiley climax and resolution ~ which just had me beaming from the inside out

Harry has nailed the art of letting her characters breathe life into the themes so that the message of the novel is fresh and authentic, never wandering into didactic or saccharine territory. Because of You is an absolute gem of a novel ~ hopeful and true, timely and challenging, with a genuine powerhouse message of empathy and resilience. I fell in love with the characters, and will be wholeheartedly recommending it to the teens and adults in my life. 

My reviews for Pip Harry's previous novels:

I'll Tell You Mine

Head of the River

Pip Harry's website

Because of You @ goodreads

Because of you @ UQP (incl. Teacher's Notes)

Many thanks to UQP  for my review copy :)

Three Fave #LoveOzYA Contemporary 'Feels' Books

Today I'm participating in the #LoveOzYABloggers fortnightly meme. This fortnight's topic is: 'Feels'. (See meme details and how you can participate at the end of the post). 

I spent a good, relaxing while perusing my shelves and noting that pretty much all my Aussie YA books match this fortnights prompt, haha. In the end I picked three faves where my heart totally broke for the characters ~ so much love for these three books!

My Big Birkett by Lisa Shanahan

(my review) ~ My Big Birkett is one of those hilariously comedic novels but with a sweet dose of unexpectedly hard-hitting feels, packaged up in one very cool, bad boy, Raven De Head. I still ache when I think about him and his brothers and the whole De Head family. Excerpt from my review: 

He is one of the coolest fleshed out love interests ever. He is so unpretentious. Somehow, his bad boyness is not at all cliché, but rather heart-wrenchingly honest. I loved the scenes with Raven and the De Head family. The whole De Head family really struck a chord with me. One of those families that have a bad reputation, multiple wrecked cars on the front lawn, a brother in jail and the whole town against them. I actually ached for the boys, so sweet, but all tough exterior. 

The Big Birkett is still one of my all time fave books :)

The Protected by Claire Zorn

The Protected is so tender and captivating. My heart just ached for Hannah, and grew in ache throughout (if that even makes sense, ha) and by the end I was crying actual tears (I rarely cry while reading). My heart was in my throat so many times and I just wanted to reach through into the book and hold Hannah close for a little while. 

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Carly </3  ~ This tough and vulnerable surfer girl ~ and her achey and hopeful story ~ has stayed with me. Raw Blue is one of those books that gives you all the feels ~ rips you up and turns you inside out, plus then some. I was holding my breathe for Carly throughout the whole novel, madly wanting her to be okay.

• Five girlies chatting about why they love Raw Blue on this inkcrush post
• My review for Raw Blue

Which Aussie YA book(s) gave you all the feels?

About the meme

#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature. Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!

You can link your post up here.

Upcoming themes:
August 14: SciFi
August 28: Series

Blog tour: A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty ~ Interview and Review #loveozya

Long time inkcrush fans (hello!) will need no introduction to Jaclyn Moriarty. She is, in fact, my all-time, always and forever, favourite author and today she is here chatting with us about authorly life, creativity, her fun family, current writing projects, some of her favourite characters from her books (including her fave character crush) and more. After the interview I also have my review of the much anticipated A Tangle of Gold, the conclusion to the Colours of Madeleine trilogy (out now in Australia!)

Jaclyn Moriarty

Hello Jaclyn and welcome to inkcrush! I’m Nomes, one of your hugest most ridiculously enthusiastic fans and I am so thrilled to get to chat with you :D. I have loved your books and reread them all so many times and each one of them (and the characters inside them) have become highlights of my reading life (Cute fact, my own kids thought for a long time that Cassie and Celia were real-life friends of mine, having heard me talk about them in passing so often, lol). Thanks so much for coming by and having a chat :)  -

Nomes, you are so very, very lovely.  I’ve always been so grateful for your support of my books (and my sisters’ books too), and I love that story of your children thinking Cassie and Celia are real.  J x

1. Your Colours of Madeleine series is so creative with brilliant and unique world building, off-kilter, grin-worthy dialogue, and gloriously perfect, startling plot twists. I imagine your brain is whirring and buzzing as you plot and write and create.  How do you manage living in such a creative space? Do you find it easy to get in a creative flow, or hard to switch off once the lights are out? How do you balance creating and living in your fictional world and coming back to regular life?

First, thank you so much for your very kind words about the trilogy, and second, thank you for this great question!  I really like the idea of myself as the kind of person who lives in a mad, creative space, rather than the kind of person who walks around wondering what has happened to the second sink strainer. (It was missing for two weeks. I honestly think I’ve spent the last two weeks wondering about that sink strainer.  It turned out that it was inside the other sink strainer all along. Right there in front of me.  I was so excited to find it last night that I tweeted about it, and I never tweet.)

I guess I have always been a daydreamer, which means I am always getting lost or losing things or tripping over.  If I don’t feel especially creative I go for a long walk, especially a walk near water.  Or I listen to music.  When I was a lawyer I had to train myself not to wake in the night and start worrying about a case, but I always like to think about story and characters as I’m falling asleep, or if I wake in the night.  I find it soothing, and maybe it’s like a bridge from awake to dreams.

2. I have developed such a deep and real affection for so many of the characters in Cello. You write your characters with heart, humour, quirks, intrigue, charm and passion and even passing cameo-characters shine brightly on the page. Yet, despite so many grins-per page, there is a lot of heart-ache and tragedy that many characters face (longing and sorrow and injustice and sadness, to name a few). I would love to know any writing tips on how you to create such real and nuanced characters.

Thank you again: this makes me very happy.  I think the characters come alive for me when I spend time with them inside my head.  I like to let my mind wander, following a character around and seeing what they do and listening to their thoughts.  I once read that the author Joan Aiken started a manila folder for each of her characters and carried these around collecting thoughts, interests, quirks and attributes for them.  So I started doing that too.  I also choose favourite music for the characters and listening to that music always seems to open up various unexpected dimensions of the character for me.

3. I LOVED A Tangle of Gold. It was an exhilarating, genius, daring and utterly happy-making, totally absorbing wild and winsome reading experience. I feel nostalgic thinking about my time spent in Cambridge and Cello and will definitely be going back (in rereads and my imagination) in coming years. Now that Colours of Madeleine is finished I know you are working on a pirate book: “it’s about a girl whose parents ran away to have adventures with pirates when she was just a baby.  They left her with her aunt.”  Already I am thinking it sounds just like the kind of book you would write (and the kind of book I would love to read!)! Have you got any more little tidbits you can share with us about what you are working on (although, it’s okay if it is all very top secret!) or on how the writing is going?

You are a dream.  Thank you so much for such generous words.  

You are right that I’m working on a pirate book (which so far has nothing to do with pirates except that the main character’s parents have run away with them) and I am really enjoying it.  I’ve decided to write the whole thing in many different cafes.

I’m also writing a novel about a woman who signs up to take a series of seminars on the secret of human flight.  It’s about missing people, the self-help industry, single motherhood, and flight. And I’ve written the openings of a time travel novel, and a new Ashbury-Brookfield book.  

I was so excited for this opportunity to have you come and visit on my blog that I have been telling many people about it and amongst all the anticipation and excitement, I extended a tiny invitation for two other long-time, equally crazily-in-love fans to sneak a question each into this interview (I hope you don’t mind!).

First is Flannery, saying hello from Seattle:

My favorite Jaclyn Moriarty book is Finding Cassie Crazy (or The Year of Secret Assignments as it's called in the US). Jaclyn is one author who is consistently funny and it doesn't feel forced. I think it is especially hard to convey emotional subjects in epistolary format yet she manages to do it. Plus, to be completely honest, I love Jaclyn Moriarty's books (as well as a select few other Aussie authors) because they remind me of wonderful friends I've met online while discussing their books. I have a lot of fond memories connected to her books.

4. My question is whether she thinks having siblings sharpened her wit and sense of humor because her dialogue, especially in her epistolary books, is hilarious and on point.

That’s a brilliant question (partly because it incorporates praise and I like praise).  On the one hand, I find myself reluctant to share the credit for any sense of humour that I might have; on the other hand,that makes no sense.  I guess everybody’s sense of humour is developed by the people around them - as well as the books they read, the movies they see, the strange experiences that they have - but at the same time is an intrinsic part of their nature.  (My 9-year-old has found very specific things to be hilarious from the time he was a baby, even when other babies did not get the joke.)  

My family and I laugh together a lot, and being together is usually about trying to make the others laugh.  My dad tells hilarious stories, but he’s also very discerning with his laughter: you know how little kids tell a dumb joke and grown-ups laugh obligingly? My dad never did that.  He only laughed if he actually found you properly funny.  He is still the same and it still makes me feel proud if I can get Dad to laugh.  I think that kind of audience really helps you finesse your humour.    On the other hand, my sister Liane is quick to laugh a big, beautiful laugh, so you want to try to keep being crazy around her so that you’ll keep hearing the laugh.  She’s also very funny herself, as are all my other siblings.  My mother is sensible and kind and more of a straight man, but she has sudden darts of wicked humour that are so much funnier because they’re unexpected. 

I was just thinking aloud there so thanks for the interesting question.

And my second interviewer-guest is Deborah saying hi from Brisbane:

5. You write so many fascinating characters who have extraordinary adventures. So my questions are a bit like one of those online quizzes where you usually have to nominate your real-life friends as an answer to each question, but on this quiz, you have to nominate one of your book characters as an answer to each question (and explain why/elaborate if you feel like it):

1. Character who is most like you:   

Elizabeth Clarry (because I imagined myself into her shoes a lot of the time), Listen Taylor (for the shyness) and (I really hate to admit this, and I hope I am not too much like her but marks were way too important to me in high school and I often felt a strange, passionate disconnection from other people:) Bindy Mackenzie.  But every single one of my characters is like me in some way, because I imagine myself into all of them at least a little bit.

2. Character who would drive you the most crazy if you were their mother:  

Bindy Mackenzie (it’s when you recognise your own flaws in your child that they drive you maddest); Keira (when she’s in her dark moods - but you can’t blame her for her moods)

3. Character you would most like to have as your best friend: 

I’m finding this one strangely difficult because all the main characters have too much of me in them, so I feel like I’m imagining being friends with my reflection.  Maybe Sergio  - actually there’s a Sergio in Bindy Mackenzie and a Sergio in the Colours of Madeleine trilogy and I like them both.  So I will choose Sergio.  I’d also like to be friend with Gabe from Tangle of Gold as he is great at farming and can predict the weather.  

4. Character who would be your teen crush:  

Elliot Baranski (also Finnegan Blond from  Bindy Mackenzie)

5. Character you would like to switch places with for a day (a la Freaky Friday)....and which day in their life you would pick:  

Keira, when she and the others are in the Turquoise Rain in Cracks in the Kingdom (but without having the particular backstory issues that are getting her down that day).

Thanks so much for coming and I hope you’ve enjoyed chatting on here :) And I’ll be looking out for you as you continue visiting other blogs on the tour (so exciting!). I wish you all the best as you keep writing and finding cool cafes and colours everywhere you go!  

Thank you, again, Nomes - that was a lot of fun, and like I said, you are lovely.  Thanks also to Flannery and Deborah.

Ahh, isn't Jaclyn the best!!?! Thanks for answering our fangirl-y questions so wonderfully! Check out the breathtaking cover for A Tangle of Gold and also my review below... (and also, even further down ~ new editions for the Colours of Madeleine series. So much love for the new covers!)

Cello is in crisis. Princess Ko's deception of her people has emerged and the Kingdom is outraged: The Jagged Edge Elite have taken control, placing the Princess and two members of the Royal Youth Alliance under arrest and ordering their execution; the King's attempts to negotiate their release have failed. Color storms are rampant, and nobody has heard the Cello wind blowing in months.

Meanwhile, Madeleine fears she's about to lose the Kingdom of Cello forever. Plans are in place to bring the remaining Royals home, and after that, all communication between Cello and the World will cease. That means she'll also lose Elliot, now back in Cello and being held captive by a branch of Hostiles. And there's nothing he can do to help his friends unless he can escape the Hostile compound.

Worlds apart and with time running out, Madeleine and Elliot find themselves on a collision course to save the Kingdom they love, and maybe even save each other.

A Tangle of Gold found it's way into my greedy hands and, as to a hot buttered bun in a spinning tea-cup, it was beyond amazing. Look, this series is stunning and creative and wild and heart-felt and deliciously winsome. Those who have read A Corner of White and The Cracks in the Kingdom and have fallen in love with Madeleine and Elliot and Cello know just how brilliant this series is. 

What you may not know is that the final book reveals a whole new level of genius-like revelations that will leave you in suspense and awe. There are twisty-twists I did not see coming, suspicions and heartbreak, and reveals that take the series as a whole and raised it, to, like, the next 100 levels of plotting-artistry and flair. I knew I would be blown away by the conclusion to the series, but I was still unprepared for the sheer scope and awesomeness of pretty much everything.

 When I find a book that is so brilliant and falls into my absolute fave (of all time) category, it's hard to do justice to the entirety of the book and my feelings for it. So, I just want to say: this book made me so happy. It provided everything a bibliophile could ever possibly crave from a reading experience. It captured my imagination, had me in suspense, left me reeling and grinning and staying up all night turning the pages. I fell in love with the characters and their world and spending time with them enriched my own life (LOL, corny, but true!).

It felt so nostalgic, going back to Cambridge and Cello. I'm actually rather bereft that the adventures of Cambridge and Cello are over for now (although I do plan on revisiting all my mates there often). A Tangle of Gold was brilliant, it whisked me away and a tiny piece of my heart kind of believes Cello is real - I just need some smoke and mirrors...

Thanks to Jaclyn Moriarty for gifting me with one of the literary highlights of my reading life with The Colours of Madeleine <3

My reviews of

A Corner of White

Cracks in the Kingdom

A Tangle of Gold @ goodreads

Jaclyn Moriarty's website (looking very new and snazzy!)

Jaclyn Moriarty on instagram

Jaclyn Moriarty on facebook

Jaclyn Moriarty on twitter

Jaclyn Moriarty on tumblr

Have you guys seen these must-have editions!!?! WOW <3 See them in giant form @ Jaclyn's website (or click on this image).

Jaclyn is blog-touring all over the place so check out where else she has been (and where she is still to come!)

In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker #loveozya

What if your identical twin sister was a murderer? Does that make you a monster too? A profound, intense, heartbreaking fantasy that tackles issues of fate versus free will, and whether you can ever truly know someone.

Caught in a dreamscape, mistaken for a killer ... will Alice find a way home?

Three years ago, Alice's identical twin sister took a gun to school and killed seven innocent kids; now Alice wears the same face as a monster. She's struggling with her identity, and with life in the small Australian town where everyone was touched by the tragedy. Just as Alice thinks things can't get much worse, she encounters her sister on a deserted highway. But all is not what it seems, and Alice soon discovers that she has stepped into a different reality, a dream world, where she's trapped with the nightmares of everyone in the community. Here Alice is forced to confront the true impact of everything that happened the day her twin sister took a gun to school ... and to reveal her own secret to the boy who hates her most.

In the Skin of a Monster is stunning, deliciously off-beat and totally absorbing. Completely unlike anything I was expecting or have read before and, even once I found my footing and got into the groove of the world, Barker still managed to twist things around until I was left with an unexpected lump in my throat and tears down my cheeks.

I didn’t read the blurb of this properly (common habit with me, I skim and dive in). I thought this was a contemporary novel -- but it’s a more genre-defying, drums-along-to-it’s-own-beat kind of book. I often struggle at classifying books but I would say this is fantastical while also having a contemporary reality mingled in. The novel is mostly set in a dreamscape -- in a town identical to the real-life Aussie outback country town, but this version is where the dreams the people in the town dream at night come to life. Like in a dream, things seem similar but are a bit off kilter. And, in this town, a lot of the people have been having nightmares... making the dream world ever-deadly. Confused yet? Ha, well, that’s part of the appeal. Starting this book felt a little like On The Jellicoe Road, or This is Shyness -- the reader is thrown in -- to gorgeous writing and unexpected situations -- and the reader has to fend for themselves a little (but don't let that deter you, it was not a brain strain with epic world building, it was easy to slip into). I loved that about this book. It just launches straight in and gradually things are revealed, and it’s beautiful and amazing. 

It’s a visually stunning story (in my mind's eye) and totally haunting. There’s layers and depth, characters to care about (fabulous loyal and brave friendships with some enigmatic romance and swoon), and hard-hitting emotions that took my breath away.

This book is my sleeper hit of the year. Gorgeous and evocative and Aussie (that outback vibe!) and creative and original and harrowing just completely unexpected. The ending blew me away. I loved it. Everything about it.

In The Skin of a Monster @ goodreads

If you missed this book this year I am so urging you to bump it up your TBR ~ you might just find a new favourite like I have :)

x Nomes

Burn by Paula Weston #loveozya

Suddenly, Gaby remembers everything.

For a year she believe she was a backpacker chilling out in Pandanus Beach. Working at the library. Getting over the accident that killed her twin brother.

Then Rafa came to find her and Gaby discovered her true identity as Gabe: one of the Rephaim. Over a hundred years old. Half angel, half human, all demon-smiting badass and hopelessly attracted to the infuriating Rafa.

Now she knows who faked her memories, and how—and why it's all hurtling towards a massive showdown between the forces of heaven and hell.

More importantly, she remembers why she's spent the last ten years wanting to seriously damage Rafa.

Mate, it truly is a bittersweet feeling to come to the end of one of my fave book series. I have mentioned numerous times how much I love Paula Weston’s Rephaim series. Not only has each book delivered above and beyond my expectations, they have given me something special to look forward to each year (okay, they also drove me crazy -- I was desperate for each new installment). I have agonised over reviewing the 4th and final book in the series as it's hard encapsulate how much this series has meant to me.

I moved interstate in 2012 and Shadows (book one) was the first book I read in my new house. I was apprehensive about trying an angel-themed book (paranormal and I do not usually gel). I began with just checking out the 20 pages and was so hooked that I read it almost in one sitting, surrounded by boxes I should've been unpacking. Confession: I have since reread those first 20 pages numerous times, it remains one of my fave first chapters of any book. Such compelling writing, characters, a great hook and an amazing kiss-chemistry-intrigue scene with one of the coolest meet-cutes ever.

I have insanely looked forward to each annual release in the series and they have always always delivered, meaning June has been a reading month to get excited about for the past 3 years (what will I do without my fix in 2016?)

I don’t know what I can add to my already gushy reviews for this series (Shadows, Haze and Shimmer), so this review is a little ode to the series overall. The Rephaim series is my fave paranormal series and also one of my fave series of all time (any genre).

I finished Burn and had such a bad book hangover I actually went back and reread the first 3 books, and then Burn again. (and this was after rereading the first 3 books just prior to Burn’s release in preparation). I am already looking forward to my next reread (I'm spacing it out a little so hopefully some leftover first-read magic will still linger in the pages).

This series stood the test for me -- it wasn't just an awesome first-time gulp, but rereading was just as brilliant as the initial reads -- even better in some ways, now that I had formed better connections with the characters, it was like visiting old friends, rather than meeting new ones.

The slow burn build and antagonistic yet genuine-real-depth relationship between Gaby and Rafa is second to none. The pay-off in Burn is more than worth it and fans will be fanning themselves (haha, cheesy, but lol, it's true! ;))

Rafa. My gosh. Total babe. I am not overly swoony in books but I defy anyone not to be... at the very least, smitten, haha. Events in the 4th novel just made me crush harder, exposing new vulnerable and admirable qualities in him. He is in my top ten literary crushes ~ and he's a stand-out Aussie guy (for those who like their literary swoons Australian!)

The Aussie flavour and vibe is really unique and refreshing. Also, tangled in is lots of international settings, which I loved. Nothing beats being whisked away to foreign and rich settings when reading.

Weston’s plotting is impeccable. She weaves dual timelines and unveils threads that has readers guessing - dying -- to know what is really going on.

If you haven’t started these series yet, I don’t know where you have been (!!?!) but you need to rectify the situation asap. And, unlike early fans who waited an agonising year between each release, you can binge-read and get swallowed whole by the outstanding world Weston has created. The good news for me is I plan on revisiting Gaby and Rafa and Jude and the Rephaim in coming years - they have become fixtures in my literary life and, like all fave literary characters, I like to imagine them out there, living out their lives. I have the added bonus of living near some of Weston's location inspirations (such as Noosa on the Sunshine Coast) so when I visit Noosa, I always feel like I am in Gaby's world and I love love love that literary world blending into my real life.

I realise I haven't actually said much about Burn specifically. It was amazing. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I loved it.

Also, isn't the cover stunning? Such a gorgeous looking series x

Burn @ Goodreads 4.41 rating with over 1000 ratings
Burn @ Text Publishing
Paula Weston's blog

Paula Weston lives in Brisbane with her husband, a retired greyhound and a moody cockatiel. Burn is book four in The Rephaim series after Shadows, Haze and Shimmer.

Many thanks to Text Publishing for my gorgeous review copy!

Masquerade by Kylie Fornasier

It's the Carnevale of 1750 and Venice's ballrooms, theatres, palazzos and squares are filled with delicious gossip, devilish fun and dangerous games. In this glittering masked world, everyone has a secret...

Set in an age of decadence made famous by Casanova, Masquerade uncovers the secrets of seven teens, from the highest aristocrat to the lowest servant – their dreams, desires, loves, loyalties ... and betrayals.

All the world's a stage. Let the show begin.

Masquerade by Kylie Fornasier is an Aussie YA debut set in 1750 Venice during the Carnivale. It came to me highly recommended by a real life reader buddy who said it was really good and different to anything else she had read. I am so glad for that rec, as a few chapters in I was  not sure Masquerade was 'my kind' of book (I was not looking for a Gossip Girl-esque book set in a different era, which I had thought this might be due to the blurb). Oh, man, thankfully I set in for the long haul and ended up being completely swept into Fornasier's world and story. 

I loved the characters and the way their paths criss-crossed. Fornasier clearly developed them all and their voices were unique, each thread/POV was intriguing and had depth. Here's the thing with the characters: there are 7 POVs. Wild, hey? Do not let that deter you. There are only a couple of POVs that are main, the others being granted brief timely flashes which add to the overall story-line and intrigue. There's some tension with one girl liking a boy who ends up liking a different girl, and those two girls (friends) handle their relationship so well, with no overwrought angst or drama. In fact, the novel deals with tragic and sorrowful circumstances, society/parental expectations, star-crossed lovers, first crushes, sneaky and underhanded real-stakes dares and a myriad of problems and they are all handled with finesse ~ no melodrama, just an aching honestly and an underlying tension that drives readers through the story to see where Fornasier is taking us and how things will work out (one of my favourite things about this novel is how I had no idea how things would pan out ~ loved that!). 

I can't not mention the setting which comes alive in all it's glittering glory. The time period is dazzling and authentic and I felt like I was there amongst the drama and excitement of Carnivale. 

The lead in to the climax all the way to the conclusion was so beautifully done. All the threads came together and nothing was predictable. In fact, the ending was so astonishingly gorgeous and captivating and haunting and unexpected that I finished the book and just lingered there (in Venice, with the characters) in my mind for sometime after. I would most definitely be up for a sequel should Fornasier want to continue to explore her characters lives.

I didn't think this would be my kind of read. I am not hugely into historical, certainly not fond of YA gossip and drama stuff, but it was completely genuine and addictive (especially once I passed the halfway mark when all the threads start colliding and I didn't want to put it down). If you're looking for a read that is sparkling and unique, beautiful and glittering, unexpected and a little bit haunting you should definitely pick up Masquerade. It's an underrated gem that is a favourite read of mine so far this year.

Masquerade @ goodreads
Kylie Fornasier's website
Kylie Fornasier on pinterest
Kylie Fornasier on twitter

full book jacket in all it's lushness

Head of the River by Pip Harry

'Flows fast and deep and occasionally treacherous. I loved it.’ - Simmone Howell, author of Everything Beautiful and Girl Defective

It's the most elite school sporting event in the country. Nine rowers, 2000 gruelling metres and one chance for glory in the ultimate team sport. Sit forward ... ROW. 

Tall, gifted and the offspring of Olympians, superstar siblings Leni and Cristian Popescu are set to row Harley Grammar to victory in the Head of the River. 
With six months until the big race, the twins can't lose. Or can they? 

When Cristian is seduced by the easy route of performance-enhancing drugs, and Leni is suffocated with self-doubt, their bright futures start to fade. Juggling family, high expectations, study, break-ups, new relationships and wild parties, the pressure starts to build. 

As the final moments tick down to the big race, who’ll make it to the start line? And who'll plummet from grace?

Head of the River by Pip Harry was a highlight of my 2014 reading year. It was absorbing and captivating, unpredictable and unique and is a brilliant addition to our much-praised and thriving Aussie YA scene. 

Pip Harry is one of those YA authors who capture the teen voice and experience so authentically and without condescension. Her characters are brave and true and flawed and the kind of teen who, were I to meet them in real life, have the power to inspire adults with their courage and intelligence (in spite of making some foolish decisions ;) ). 

One of the reasons I love contemporary YA is because it's a genre that lends itself so well to capturing emotion and placing readers in the characters shoes. Harry excels at this: the emotion and passion and pressure is captured so viscerally -- giving an immediacy and realness to everything Leni and Cristian go through.  It's incredible -- the kind of commitment and dedication it takes for teenagers to train and compete and perform. 

While Head of the River centres around Lani and Cristian's rowing -- there are just so many more themes that seamlessly blend into the work.  Though the themes could lend itself to something more heavy-going, Harry's prose reads effortlessly and I found myself sailing through, finding it all too easy to keep reading just-one-more-chapter. 

The strength of Harry's writing is how the characters are so honest on the pages. They have hopes and fears and keep secrets, they crush and swoon and are let down. This is a story that explores highs and lows.  One thing I loved: while some plot threads were heading towards obvious disaster or conflict -- nothing was predictable and everything played out so organically it felt real. 

So highly recommended. I hope many more readers have the chance to read Head of the River. Meanwhile, I'll be hanging out for Harry's next book :D

Head of The River @ goodreads
Pip Harry's site