Heart Beat by Elizabeth Scott

Life. Death. And...Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

I love Elizabeth Scott. She is one of my all time fave YA authors. I love the feeling of snuggling up with a new Scott book (she is, thankfully, a prolific writer ;)). Heart Beat has a gut wrenching, painful premise that would make the book hard work to get through were it not for Scott's effortless prose. Scott has this way of writing sparsely, making the emotion more gut wrenching (as opposed to waxing poetic about all the feelings). 

I liked Heart Beat a lot but it wasn't an easy read. Emma's emotions cloud everything and being in her head space made me feel like I needed a breath of fresh air. I hate confrontation and am a huge peacemaker and -- despite the emotional turmoil that consumes Emma -- I was so desperate for her to make peace with Dan, for the fog to lift, for some peace and resolution. At times the conflict felt repetitive, but that may have been me projecting where I wanted the story to go :) It was a really emotional read -- so much grief, and yet no room to grieve. It's a doozy of a premise and right up Scott's alley to explore. 

Scott creates some of the best YA boys and Caleb ticks all the boxes (without feeling like he was created to tick boxes, haha). He's mysterious, seriously cute, and behind his bad boy image, he's got a genuinely heart-breaking story. This bad boy is not a typical YA "bad Boy" (i.e. some kind of swaggering, tough, womaniser style kid) -- Caleb has been in trouble with the law and his reputation is earnt, yet his personality is honest and intriguing and, surprisingly, sweet. Scott brings some iconic and swoony moments (rooftop meetings and more) and Emma's scenes with Caleb really lifted some of the heavier themes in the book (even while adding more emotional trauma -- of a different achey kind).

I also really liked the best friend relationship -- which was layered and unique and added more depth to themes being explored. 

Scott has the perfect voice for teens. She writes with immeadiacy and her pacing is spot on. She gets right under her character's skins and writes with a lot of heart. She nails friendships and family and swoony boys -- I recommend all her work, all the time, and Heart Beat is no exception. If the premise interests you at all -- check this one out, it's perfect heart-wrenching contemporary YA fans. 

paperback cover

ebook cover

Aren't all three covers gorgeous? I own the hard cover and it's stunning with it's gold foil accents. I also adore the ebook cover -- and the paperback typography appeals to me as well 

Heartbeat @ goodreads

Thanks to Harlequin Teen for my providing an arc via netgalley

Heartbeat is available now :)

Do you love Elizabeth Scott? What's your fave books of hers?

(mine's Stealing Heaven <3 & I love Will in Perfect You ;) -- also, Miracle is really good, definitely check it out if you haven't yet. Seriously underrated book!)

Bird by Crystal Chan (+ giveaway)

Nothing matters. Only Bird matters. And he flew away.

Jewel never knew her brother Bird, but all her life she has lived in his shadow. Her parents blame Grandpa for the tragedy of their family’s past; they say that Grandpa attracted a malevolent spirit—a duppy—into their home. Grandpa hasn’t spoken a word since. Now Jewel is twelve, and she lives in a house full of secrets.

Jewel is sure that no one will ever love her like they loved Bird, until the night that she meets a mysterious boy in a tree.

Grandpa is convinced that the boy is a duppy, but Jewel knows that he is something more. And that maybe the time has come to break through the stagnant silence of the past.

Entrenched secrets, mysterious spirits, and an astonishing friendship weave together in this extraordinary and haunting debut. 

When I first heard about Bird from Text I felt really excited. It sounded gorgeous and special and a little bit mysterious. Plus the cover is seriously something else (in person it is even more striking). I dove straight in the day it arrived and had no idea what to expect. It took less than a paragraph to feel hooked, and less than a chapter for Jewel to set up camp in my heart. 

Jewel is my favourite kind of heroine: fierce and creative and lonely and marching along to the beat of her own drum. She's daring and smart and unashamedly stands out from the crowd.  She's surrounded by a tragedy that's coloured her entire existence and yet her optimism shines, thumps along even as danger and mystery shroud her. Things go from bad to worse and revelations leave her (and us - the readers) reeling. 

It wasn't just Jewel (love her) or the mystery (I had no idea how things were going to turn out) that kept me turning the pages -- Chan's prose is truly gorgeous, just the right blend of humour and sentiment, poetic but never flowery, succinct and cutting right to the core of emotions. The dialogue is awesome, and being inside Jewel's mind is a treat -- she thinks beautiful and unexpected things, ever hopeful and always loveable. This book feels like it was a labour of love -- and it makes it a treasure to behold. 

My reviews always tend to focus on how I responded to a book -- I like to leave the plot a surprise, but here's a taste of what you will find inside Bird: small isolated town (the setting is sublime, engaging all the readers senses), Jamaican culture, a mysterious and fun new friendship (but can it be trusted?), duppies (discover for yourself...), family secrets and a heroine with a heart so big she bursts from the page. Jewel is younger than the usual YA heroine - but she's a perfect voice for upper MG, YA and adult readers to connect to.  

Bird's fairytale vibe is an intoxicating blend of whimsy and realism that left me feeling like anything could happen. An astonishing debut that I highly, completely recommend.

My review today is part of an Australian Blog Tour by Text Publishing.
Text is kindly giving away a copy of Bird to readers of inkcrush
(Australian and New Zealand addresses only, due to copyright reasons).

Text Publishing Blog Tour: Bird by Crystal Chan

Check out the rest of the blog tour!

Tuesday 28 Jan

Extract on Gobblefunked

Wednesday 29 (Pub date!)

Review and Guest Post at VeganYANerds (Amanda)

Thursday 30

Review by Kate at whY.A.not?

Friday 31

Review by Bec at First Impressions

Saturday 01 Feb

12 Curly Questions on Kids’ Book Review

Sunday 02

Review by Kelly at Diva Booknerd

Monday 03

Review by Melanie at YA Midnight Reads

Tuesday 04

Review by Naomi at inkcrush

Wednesday 05

Review and Q&A with Danielle at ALPHAReader

Bird @ Text Publishing

Read an extract

Bird @ Goodreads

Many thanks to Text Publishing for providing this review copy

Bird is available in Australia now

Crystal Chan grew up as a mixed-race kid in the Wisconsin cornfields. She now lives in Chicago. As well as a writer, she is also a professional storyteller and performer. Bird is her first novel.

Faves of 2013

I had a great reading year in 2013. I discovered a bunch of new fave authors and fell in love with some surprising books. I think my reading taste is mostly the same but it has changed in two ways:

1. I give up on books that are not clicking with me far quicker than in the past. If I am not into it, I don't persevere, and I attempted and abandoned at least 50 books in 2013 (some of them I was over 50% into). This makes it hard for me to say exactly how many books I read last year as so many were returned to my library unfinished or still sit on my kindle half read. I do know I completed 100 fiction books :)

2. I am drawn to more cruise-y, relaxing books lately. This is (I am sure) in direct correlation with how many academic texts I am reading for uni. I am so mentally exhausted after study that I don't have the energy to invest in dense and complicated works. I really enjoyed some light fiction and found some new faves that I may not have loved as much in the past but they were perfect for me in 2013.

My picks are a mix of really amazing books, and also books that I just really enjoyed reading :)

Top Nine picks -- in no particular order

 The Vanishing Moment by Margaret Wild

Loved this so much. Margaret Wild is amazing and this book was really different and completely touching and I loved everything about it <3

 All The Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry

This was not at all what I expected ~ it's gorgeous and heart-breaking and lyrical and has this beautiful, stomach-hurting love story and page-turning mystery. I so highly recommend you check this book out.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I love all of Liane's work and this book was her most addictive, most page-turningly suspenseful yet. I can't wait to see this on the Big screen! Liane is a genius and, IMO, one of Australia's finest writers :)

 Paper Chains by Nicola Moriarty

Gorgeous and sad and serendipitous and completely absorbing. I loved this story and it's characters and it's message. I am so looking forward to more Nicola Moriarty ~ she's amazing and writes exactly the kind of books I love to curl up and read <3

 Haze by Paula Weston

I trust by now you all know how much I love this series -- I am a huge advocate for the Aussie YA, upper YA paranormal series. Shadows (book one) was a surprise love for me in 2012 and the best news is Haze amps it up and is even better. This was ridiculously good and ticked all my boxes (especially the swoon/crush aspect). I love these characters so much and I especially love that I have no idea where Weston plans to take her readers with this series.

 If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

I loved this book so much. Autumn is a gorgeous narrator and I stayed up past 2am to finish it off. This was a sleeper hit which made it all the more awesome. I am so hoping Laura Nowlin has more for us soon!

Swimming At Night by Lucy Clarke

(Also published as The Sea Sisters). I just loved so much about this UK debut. The travel and surfing and Australia and Bali and the twists and turns were compelling and absorbing. Can't wait for more.

 Wildlife by Fiona Wood

Fiona Wood is amazing and Wildlife is a funny, sad, captivating, hopeful and touching stand-out. Bonus: camping (one of my fave settings).

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

I've read all of Kate Morton's work and this one is easily my favourite yet. It took a little bit to get into the book but it was so completely worth it. This mystery is stunning and the review/twist is outstanding (I did not see it coming). I love how her stories haunt the reader long after the last page has been turned.






And some bonus recommendations (because I couldn't choose which book to award the tenth spot to)

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West -- for giving me a late-read-into-the-middle-of-the-night good time (light hearted and swoony!)

Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington -- for surprising me and sucking me in and delivering a truly captivating story with a lot of heart and depth.

The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn -- love this Aussie YA debut set in the Blue Mountains (my hometown :)). The plot is compelling and the characters felt real -- this is one for fans of Tomorrow, When the World Began.

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil -- for all the smiles and good times. Such a lovable and fun read.

You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane A UK chick-lit novel that was just the right blend of fun and swoon and humour and heart.

Champion by Marie Lu -- for the brilliant ending and June and Day <3

Here's to another brilliant reading year in 2014!

Are any of my faves also faves of yours? 

(I just snuck this post in in January, haha. Winning!)

Can't wait for books of 2014

I love the feeling of looking forward to an upcoming book. For me, it's like the night before Christmas/countdown to Christmas feeling. That anticipation and excitement definitely heightens my whole reading experience.

Sadly, I am seriously out of the loop these days -- however I do have a small group of books that I am so incredibly looking forward to reading this year. Here's 9 of them (in no particular order):




Just Call My Name by Holly Goldberg Sloan
I seriously loved I'll Be There and news of the sequel has me so excited and expectant. I am planning on rereading I'll be There in the lead up. I have been wanting to reread I'll Be There for a while but I always force myself to hold out a tiny bit longer in the hope that I just may forget some of the story and have a first-time reading experience all over again. Does anyone else do this?

The Bridge From me To You by Lisa Schroeder
I love Lisa Schroeder. She is an auto-buy author for me -- one of the ones where I don't even need to read the blurb before getting pumped. This one sounds like Scroeder will work her usual heartache-hope-delicious magic.

Scandal by Sarah Ockler
I have all of Ocklers books and am stoked with her prolific publishing (pretty much one book a year). I am expectant for this one even though the blurb doesn't sound like my usual kind of contemporary I know anything Ockler writes is gold so I am sold on this one.

Faking Normal by Courtney Stevens
I love to get excited over debuts. Zero expectatoins and all the hopes of discovering a new author. I love this cover and, while the premise may sound ordinary, I just have a feeling it is going to be pretty special.

On The Fence and Split Second by Kasie West
Another contemporary YA from Kasie West. The Distance Between Us (her 2013 contemporary) was fun and flirty and relaxing and swoony and so perfectly matched my reading mood that I have the best reading memories of it. Ridiculously excited for this one. (Also very much looking forward to Pivot Point's sequel, Split Second)

Shimmer by Paula Weston
Gaby. Rafe. I miss you guys and I have been dying for more since Haze. Also, this cover is my fave in the series so far. Can't wait to hold it in my hands :)

Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty
oh.my.gosh. It's *finally* almost here. The next Jaclyn Moriarty. This is why I know 2014 is going to be a great year :) (I am actually rereading A Corner of White right now)

A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke
I loved Lucy Clarke's debut last year (Swimming At Night/The Sea Sisters) and I am so so hoping that I will love her sophomore novel just as much and a have a brand new fave author to follow. Really hopeful and expectant for this one <3






Last year, about HALF of my fave reads were books I had never heard, stumbled upon randomly, new-to-me authors and books where I had zero expectation. This gives me so much hope for all the unknown-to-me books out there that will be new favourites by the end of the year -- alongside the ones in this post (I have high hopes that most these books will be faves for me).

Are you looking forward to any of these books? 

What couple of books are you most looking forward to reading this year?

And Hello! It's been quiet around here for a while as I took a break over summer holidays (which were truly glorious). Looking forward to catching up with everyone again (any of my readers still out there? haha...)

Tomorrow I'll be posting my fave reads of 2013 (slightly late, but tbh, it's never too late to talk about fave books ;) )

x Nomes

All The Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry

Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years later, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by her friends and family.

Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to her childhood friend, Lucas. He is the boy who has owned her heart for as long as she can remember - even if he doesn′t know it.

But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose - to continue living in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever.

Told in a voice that is achingly raw and intimate, this remarkably original novel will haunt and stay with you. It will fill you with Judith′s passion and longing, and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last one.

I didn't really know what to expect from Julie Berry's debut. the blurb is a little bit elusive (in fact, I got the impression 'aliens?' -- close encounters, etc, haha). I may not even have picked this one up if the lovely publicist hadn't sent me a copy. Which would have been nearly criminal as this book soared to the top of my favourite reads this year. 

It's written in 2nd person POV -- which has a mildly intoxicating, lilting vibe to it. The prose is gorgeous. At first, everything felt a little off kilter. I liken it a fraction to the experience of reading Jellicoe Rd: 'what's going on here?' tangled up with 'oh! I am really liking this beautiful prose and intriguing opening'. I was captured from the beginning and as the story wove around me I became deeper invested and more impressed. Until I pretty much just fell in love with everything about this book. 

It was the first book in a long time that gave me those delicious physical pangs in the gut ~ pangs of anxiety and hope and ache and just the right amount of swoon. There's heartache and sorrow and mystery and so many unexpected events. The characters felt so real and brave and lonely and they squirrelled their way deep in my heart. 

The story itself is not about aliens. or anything supernatural and freaky. It is set in an unspecified era that feels primitive-ish colonial America ~ small town/settlement vibe. 

It shifts between past and present, both timelines equally engaging. 

Judith is amazing. The love story is genuine. The swoons are not cheaply won -- and when they come they are all the more powerful for it :)

Everything is unpredictable. Things are genuinely freaky in parts - dark and yet somehow there's always hope. Sorrowful yet a promise of something good waiting somewhere on the horizon. 

I really truly cannot commend this book enough. It is definitely one to be experienced first hand -- and then shared with friends. I can't wait to revisit it already. Julie Berry is an amazing new talent that I think every YA lover should be checking out. 

Forgive me if my review is a chaotic rambling of thoughts. And definitely find yourself a copy of this book to try -- even if you're dubious like I was. And when you do -- may you love it just as much as I do x Nomes

I gave this 5 stars! I have only given SIX books 5 stars this year (out of 99 books read...)

All the Truth That's In me on goodreads

Check out these gorgeous foreign editions. 

US edition

UK edition

German edition

So many thanks to Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this book!

Hate is Such a Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub

I hate being invisible.

I hate that I still can′t fight my own battles.

I hate that I can′t keep up with the demands of high school.

Sophie Kazzi is in Year 12 at an all-Lebanese, all-Catholic school where she is invisible, uncool and bored out of her brain. While she′s grown up surrounded by Lebanese friends, Lebanese neighbours and Lebanese shops, she knows there′s more to life than Samboosik and Baklawa, and she desperately wants to find it.

Unfortunately, her father has antiquated ideas about women, curfews and the Lebanese ′way′. Bad news for Sophie, who was hoping to spend Year 12 fitting in and having fun - not babysitting her four younger siblings, or studying for final exams that will land her in an Accounting course she has no interest in.

Just when it looks like Sophie′s year couldn′t get any more complicated, Shehadie Goldsmith arrives at school. With an Australian father and a Lebanese mother, he′s even more of a misfit than Sophie. And with his arrogant, questioning attitude, he also has a way of getting under her skin...

But when simmering cultural tensions erupt in violence, Sophie must make a choice that will threaten her family, friends and the cultural ties that have protected her all her life.

Are her hates and complaints worth it? Or will she let go ... and somehow find her place?

Sarah Ayoub is a stand-out new Aussie YA talent with her debut Hate is Such a Strong Word.  

The teenagers in this book are smart and articulate and brave and honest and ache-y. Full of hope yet enticingly tentative -- sometimes things seem more muddled than clear. I love when teenagers are portrayed this way -- even more so here as they had this genuine vibe that made them relate-able and fun and true and 100% compelling.  

Also, how open and gorgeously conflicted is Sophie in this quote (I really love her):

'I'm stoked that my barriers are finally coming down and I'm getting the chance to do something different. But something still gnaws at me, undermining my happiness  As I lie awake in bed that night it hits me: I'm seventeen years old and fighting for my freedom, but I've let my aunty do more of the fighting for me. How can I expect to stop being invisible if I'm not brave enough yo make myself heard? (p.65)

This book has such an Aussie vibe, which is testament to Ayoub's talent as she writes about being Lebanese in Australia, with a rich sense of Lebanese community flush against (and mingled up with) Australian culture. Nothing is as simple as it seems. I love books that do this well (Think Looking For Alibrandi and Randa Abdel-Fattah's work) and Ayoub is right up with that calibre. While the issue of identity and family and belonging are obvious themes that emerge, I don't want to focus on that as I want to highlight just how much of a touching and effortlessly enjoyable book this is. It raises some great topics, wonderfully articulated, but mostly I just really enjoyed being in Sophie's world. Seeing Australia through her eyes. She is a delightful and strong narrator, with loveable flaws. The thing I loved most about this was the voice, which made it an effortlessly enjoyable read, and it's the voice that makes me excited for more of Ayoub's work. 

Everyone gets excited when a fresh Aussie YA talent turns up on the scene -- and this is a book you should all be checking out -- and be sure to keep an eye out for future works by Ayoub. I am certain she is only just getting started as a stand-out Aussie author. This book was just gorgeous, smiley and brave.

Hate is Such a Strong Word @ goodreads
Hate is Such a Strong Word @ HarperCollins
Sarah Ayoub's website

Thanks to HarperCollins for my review copy <3

Hello! and coming up...

It's been so quiet on here while I have been studying my masters at uni ~ but! semester's finished! It's summer holidays! And I am very much looking forward to spending my free time with some really good books :)

Speaking of good books...

Here's a few I have read lately and I plan to have some reviews (or mini raves) up in the next week.

Loved all three of these (one chick lit, one Aussie and one historical-ish). The Margaret Wild one? My gosh, she is just brilliant and I am still gob-smacked. I love her terribly so.

I've missed you all and am also looking forward to seeing what you've been doing on your blogs -- and I love this time of year when everyone posts about the best books, etc -- looking forward to finding some gems.

x Nomes

(super short and sweet post to get things back in the swing ;) )