Well, That Was Awkward by Rachel Vail ~ Review

Gracie has never felt like this before. One day, she suddenly can't breathe, can't walk, can't anything and the reason is standing right there in front of her, all tall and weirdly good-looking: A.J. 

It turns out A.J. likes not Gracie but Gracie's beautiful best friend, Sienna. Obviously Gracie is happy for Sienna. Super happy! She helps Sienna compose the best texts, responding to A.J. s surprisingly funny and appealing texts, just as if she were Sienna. Because Gracie is fine. Always! She's had lots of practice being the sidekick, second-best. 

It s all good. Well, almost all. She's trying.

Well, That Was Awesome!

Hello, new favourite book :)

Well, That Was Awkward is one brilliantly funny, very clever, unputdownable, grin-worthy absolute blast of a book. Oh my gosh, I loved it so. 

Well, That Was Awkward is a charming loose retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac ~ always a fun premise to remake for teens of today ~ who are texting and emoji-ing all over the place. It's a real feel-good story with delicious puns, quick witted humour, a tortoise (and a rabbit), a suddenly cute boy, best friends, epic inside jokes (Never. Gonna. Happen.), and the perfect amount of depth to flesh out all the characters. The characters are in grade 8 and they are perfectly awesome.  Oh, and the parents were also complete classics! I love when parents are just as funny and original as the teen characters (shout out to all you awesome parents out there! Haha). 

True to the title, there were many hilariously awkward moments, so this should be your next read when you're in the mood for some LOLs (haha). I seriously loved this ~ it's a perfect blend of some of my fave things in fiction: light-hearted fun with the perfect amount of angst, awkward shenanigans, characters who are my people, and a plot which builds in anticipation to a sweet. sweet climax and charming and cool resolution. 

Note: this is a perfect one for all the MG readers out there, as well as YA readers - and adults who love to smile and reminisce about those awkward early teen years, haha. 

Well, That Was Awkward @ goodreads

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 :)

Why I Loathe Sterling Lane by Ingrid Paulson

Per her 537 rules, Harper Campbell keeps her life tidy—academically and socially. But the moment Sterling Lane transfers into her tiny boarding school, her twin brother gets swept up in Sterling’s pranks and schemes and nearly gets expelled. Harper knows it’s Sterling’s fault, and to protect her brother, she vows to take him down. As she exposes his endless school violations, he keeps striking back, framing her for his own infractions. Worst of all, he’s charmed the administration into thinking he’s harmless, and only Harper sees him for the troublemaker he absolutely is.

As she breaks rule after precious rule in her battle of wits against Sterling and tension between them hits a boiling point, she’s horrified to discover that perhaps the two of them aren’t so different. And maybe she doesn't entirely hate him after all. Teaming up with Sterling to save her brother might be the only way to keep from breaking the most important rule—protecting Cole. 

This was totally fun and full of things made of win:

• boarding school and pranks
• genuine loathing with barbed and witty banter and revengeful scheming
• Veronica Mars-style sleuthing
• steamy, swoony pay-off

Harper is so rigid and controlling and watching her unravel and finally feel free to give herself permission to test who she might be (without her self-imposed rules) was really well done. She can come across as judgmental and stand-offish, but I loved the little peeks we got at her vulnerabilities, and the way she let down her guard to make unexpected friends and allies. 

Sterling Lane is Harper's perfect match. He riles her up, gives as good as he gets and does not back down. He has his own secrets and, despite his confidence and bravado, he has a hidden soft side which round him out into a perfectly swoon-worthy love interest. 

This antagonistic/hate-to-love trope was not just a cute premise. They really do try to tear each other down and it's vicious, haha. This was a solid, amusing read for me until the last third, which really bumped it up into an unputdownable, grinning, swooning finale. I am so in for whatever Ingrid Paulson writes next :)


Why I loathe Sterling Lane @ goodreads

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope. 

Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past. 

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.

What an absolute riveting gem of a novel. I expected to enjoy this but had no idea how much this book would affect me. Four things I loved:

Surprises - The plot did not follow a typical path. It felt like the characters really drove the plot forward with their decisions creating an organic reading experience (rather than one that followed typical beats for the premise.

Deep bellyaches ~ This happened to me. Those sharp intense stomach pangs when you suddenly feel the characters pain and see their hopes dashed and have your heart in your mouth just knowing there is more pain ahead before they can find their way out.  The whole wanting to reach into the book and hold them tight <3

I love how the author managed to peel away layers on all of her characters so we see them so differently to how people may automatically perceive them. The characters were all beautifully flawed and wonderfully diverse.

Also, can I just say how much I *love* the secret-identity-letter-writing motif? I've read a few books recently with variations on this and it's fast becoming and fave trope (bring on more, please). So much suspense and mystery and anticipation of either the reveal/the characters realising the identity. In Letters to the Lost this was done so well I seriously felt like I could barely out the book down because I had to see how it would all unfold.  

I cannot recommend this enough. Another fave read of the year for me :)


Letters to the Lost @ goodreads

This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

Can the best thing happen at the worst time?

Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she's about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend's brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure's soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

Right from the first chapter I had that awesome feeling that this book was about to become a new favourite. It hooked me from the start with a captivating and believable scenario, characters who related to one another with ease (and drew me into their world) and prose that was fresh with little touches of ... whimsy? lyrical-vibe? slightly off-beat? (Hard to capture the prose-essense, but it felt kind of melodious to read).

I enjoyed my time with this, but it fell a little short of becoming a fave new contemporary YA read for me. On reflection, I *think* it was just a little bit too short, making some of the plot threads feel scattered, or like they jumped from one stage to another leaving me wondering 'why is this character doing that?' and 'wait, what?'.

I loved the depiction of Lucille and her little sister, Wren. I also loved the vibe at Lucille's restaurant workplace ~ lively and upbeat and fun. I would have loved to know the workplace characters a little more, they had all the makings of stand-out, unique characters and I'd love to explore some of their back stories.

Laure captured the next door neighbour relationships really well. The best friend thing had awesome history and a great vibe where they felt like best friends in all the little interactions. The swoon for the best friend's brother storyline was perfectly set-up and I was absolutely on board.  But halfway through, I really felt confused by the weird tension in the BF relationship (and even in resolving this, it just seemed contrived) and also mystified by the complications in the romance side of things where the characters never actually talked about their complex changing relationship. I wish more time had been given to Digby and Lucille's relationship because it didn't feel as central to the story as the blurb had led me to believe it would be and it was hard for me to invest in it, in the end.

I hardly say this (mostly the opposite is true) but I wish this book had been longer. I would have liked more scenes with Digby and Lucille (either form present or past) so I could be a part of their story. I would have loved more restaurant scenes, and to know more about the co-workers (I loved the atmosphere built) and a little bit more of the neighbours (both sides) and also more about Lucille's parents and their family life ~ before it all fell apart (so I could have a sense of what was truly lost, and to see her mum and dad as more than just parental figures, but as unique characters). Because everything was there, in place, for me to love this book but it just flew by

too fast without giving me a chance to settle in and feel emotion alongside everyone.

This Raging Light is a gorgeously written, unique and completely readable promising debut. I am looking forward to Laure's next book (a companion!) ~ I think Laure is an author to watch out for (for all lovers of contemporary YA).

This Raging Light @ goodreads

Check out all these gorgeous editions of This Raging Light! <3

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Interference by Kay Honeyman

I will not get involved…I will not get involved…I will not get involved…

As a congressman’s daughter in Washington, DC, Kate Hamilton always pushes to make things right. But when a scandal sends her family to Red Dirt, Texas, she decides to step back for a while. She’ll take pictures for her portfolio. She’ll volunteer at her aunt’s animal shelter. And most of all, she’ll stay out of politics (including her father’s latest election) and away from guys (especially after her ex’s betrayal).

But…

If Kate’s political skills can be useful in Red Dirt, should she really let them go to waste? After all, her friend Ana Gomez and quarterback Kyle Stone would be a perfect match. Her dad’s campaign could benefit from a teenage perspective. The irritatingly handsome Hunter Price should learn he doesn’t know everything…When Kate’s plans backfire, she must find the soul beneath her DC spin, and risk her heart—the biggest involvement of all.

Interference is an Emma-inspired retelling (Jane Austin) that is really cute and full of energy, politics, football and a Texas small town vibe. 

Also included: ill-inspired matchmaking (see: Emma retelling), new friendships, hidden agendas and unexpected enemies, an animal shelter, plenty of mishaps and a swoony guy. 

Interference was lots of fun to read and Kate really is a force to be reckoned with. She is often brash, relentless and frequently found plotting and scheming. She's also vulnerable, determined and charming. Kate really makes a mess of a lot of things and has to face the consequences, but through it all you see her big heart and well meaning intentions. A lot of her relationships with other characters were complex ~ I loved that nothing felt straightforward and there were layers to both the relationships and the characters. 

 I found Interference fast-paced and my only complaint is that at times it felt like there was a lot of story threads going on so the plot felt cluttered in the middle ~ but they all tie up brilliantly in the end.

Some fave moments: the calf birthing scene, on top of the water tower scenes, learning to drive, photography scenes with Ana (what a gem <3), and, really, any of the scenes between Kate and her love interest (ha!).  

I will be reading more from Kay Honeyman and absolutely recommend you check Interference out if you're a fan of YA contemporaries ~ especially if the football, small town, politics (and cute guys) premise intrigues you.  

Interference @ goodreads

The Scared Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

With a harrowing poetic voice, this contemporary page-turner is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Julie Berry's All The Truth That's in Me, and the works of Ellen Hopkins.

The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust.

And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is a hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in oneself. (less)

I was sold on this book when someone mentioned it was kind of in the same vein as Julie Berry’s All The Truth That’s in Me. Mate, I love that book hard. (Now, having read both, they are quite different, but both had the same unputdownable vibe with characters who are both tough and vulnerable). Plus this book has a few fave subjects I like in fiction: cults! mysteries! Fiery, tough and vulnerable characters!

I snuck a few chapters of this in between studying and then ended up abandoning all pretense of studying and reading this in nearly one-all-consuming sitting. The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly was intense and harrowing and painful, 100% compelling and, strangely, hopeful. I couldn’t look away. Not only was I engrossed in wanting to find out what happened and what was going to happen, but when reveals and twists came, it was unpredictable and the turns of the plot were really satisfying. Minnow got under my skin and into my heart and I loved watching her story unfold. I recommend this so much: for fans of good, relentlessly addictive books.

the Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly @ goodreads

So excited for Stepahnie Oakes follow up novel The Arsonist due to be released in August 2017! Three months to go :)

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!