Ten Books I cannot Wait to Read in 2013

Heyyy,

So it has been a little while (apart from me reviewing a new stunning absolute fave) and I have been somewhat out of the loop of the reading world. We moved house at the end of last year (same suburb, further into the rainforest) and my computer died :/ But the good news is, I've had so much reading time (I have read 17 books already this year, which is more than double my rating rate of 2012) and it's been seriously so good to rekindle my love of reading and that buzzy feeling you get from having a truly good book waiting for you to curl up with.

My new backyard. So very blessed to have a creek running through it...

In honour of getting psyched about books again, I have made a little list of books I am seriously pumped for. It is not exhaustive (I know there are lots coming out that aren't even on my radar yet). This entire list is just books from ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE authors of mine. The authors who I have already read their entire catalogue of books and just sit around twiddling my thumbs waiting for more...

I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a GREAT year for reading.

1. Haze by Paula Weston
If (for some insane reason) you have not read Shadows yet, now is the perfect time to get with the program (and meet the hotness that is Rafa). I have been chatting about Shadows with a good friend of mine and we seriously cannot get over JUST HOW GOOD IT WAS (She reminded me of a certain shower scene...haha). I am saving up my second reread for a smidgen closer to the release of Haze, but I am so itching to get my hands on this sequel (who else is counting down to May?)

2. The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
Guys, Sarah Ockler just keeps getting better and better. Her last book, Bittersweet, was in my top ten reads of 2012 and if you're any kind of contemporary YA fan at all, Sarah Ockler is where it's at. My sister has preordered this for me (as a delayed birthday present). Bring on the swoon <3

3. The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr
Speaking of contemporary. The brilliant Sara Zarr has one coming out in May. She is pretty much the goddess of contemporary, such achey characters and killer dialogue. So good at crafting tension, she could be writing about taking out the rubbish and I'd be on the edge of my seat, admiring the prose, haha. Really excited for this book, hey.

4. Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
So this list keeps getting better and better. I ADORE Elizabeth Scott. She is my go to author for comfort reading. She always brings the swoon and often get tears out of me as well. Me + her books are just the perfect combo. I couldnt stop grinning when I heard a new book would be out in September...

5. The Howling Boy by Cath Crowley
It's been two years since I fell so hard for Lucy and Ed and the brilliance that was Graffiti Moon. And I just know this book is going to be so well worth the wait (sounds like such a lame phrase for what I am trying to say: which is I am simply DYING to get my greedy little hands on it)

6. Wildlife by Fiona Wood
The sophomore novel to the brilliant debut that was Six Impossible Things. Oh, you guys, YOU GUYS, I feel like we have been waiting so long for this book that it is hard to imagine it actually finally being out there. But 2013 is the year and, even more exciting, Fiona Wood recently announced her US three book deal (being Six Impossible Thing, Wildlife plus (yay!) a third. About time, hey! :) I am so psyched that Fiona will have such a wide readership and I know her books are going to bring so much joy, so many smiles, to so many readers x

My last three books I am hanging out for are from favourite adult authors

7. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
You know I love the Moriarty girls. So so much. I feel positively SPOILED to have another book by Liane Moriarty coming up. I recently read Nicola Moriarty's book and loved it so, just loved it. And I have loved all of Liane's books, they are just the perfect kind of book to curl up with and smile through. (and occasionally cry happy-sad tears)





8. Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell
I am not sure how much love I have spread for Maggie, but I truly LOVE her work. She writes beautifully, her story are just hauntingly good. Her characters bleed on to the pages. She is a beloved author of mine and I so very much cannot wait to read her latest <3

9. Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella
My fave swoony, light-hearted, slightly ridiculous-always fun chick lit author. Everyone needs an author like Kinsella to grin an afternoon away with :)

10. Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar
You guys, Tessa Afshar has rekindled my love of really really great Christian fiction. This is her third book and I seriously devoured her first two: both being unputdownable stories with flawed and compelling characters. I am so sold on her stuff, she is an auto-buy for me and I 100% recommend her to all fans of Christian historical fiction.

So just putting together this post has me getting all jittery and excited for my reading year  And this is only the beginning. There's a bunch of debuts that are calling out to me, and other authors I have my eye on (I didn't even get to discussing other faves such as Stephanie Perkins, Gayle forman, Jennifer Echols and Lauren Strasnick...)

Are you hanging out for any of these? 

Any books from your favourite authors coming out in 2013 that I should know about?

Paper Chains by Nicola Moriarty

A heart-warming story of love, friendship and forgiveness - and the crazy twists of fate that shape our lives…

Hannah and India are new best friends. Although true friendship means always telling each other the truth, doesn’t it…?

Hannah, you see, is running from her life back in Sydney. Now in London, she’s trying to put the past behind her, and finding this amazing new friend is a positive step forward. If only she could stop punishing herself for what she did.

India knows Hannah is hiding something big, and she’s determined to figure it out. Fast.

Because India has a secret of her own… One that is currently sealed in a love letter that’s making its journey across Europe in the most unconventional way.Before it reaches its destination, can India help Hannah learn to forgive herself? And will Hannah wake up and realise that India needs rescuing too …?

Free Falling, Nicola Moriarty's debut, was on my absolute favourites last year (and now on my all time favourites list) so I was so stoked that her sophomore novel released so soon after (and, after reading it, my appetite is whet for so much more of her work. Please keep those books coming!)

Paper chains has so much cool going for it:

• Set in London! And Australia :) and other snippetty travel scenes and flashbacks.
• Two mysterious girls (ladies) both holding secrets. What is going on?
• Those gorgeous moments of serendipity that I adore.
• Chain letters.
• Prose that you sink Ito, sentiments perfectly captured.
• Most ever so importantly, characters to care about. To get under your skin. Two gorgeous girls, so different. And all their worlds (including their sexy, at times, estranged men) and family.

It also has bone crushing moments of absolute despair. At times, I felt it was hard to breathe, smothered with the weight of it. Paper Chains tackles some very real, and very depressing issues. But Moriarty would bring flashes of whimsy and the shyest of smiles to lighten the load.

There were moments of silliness and absolute charm. Flashbacks to the cutest and sexiest of meet-cutes (crazily love that Luna park scene). And then there was complete devastation and broken-heartedness of the kind that you are not sure anyone can ever really recover from.

There's a rare moment where I go from being cocooned in a fictional story and soaking it up, to suddenly realizing I have completely placed myself in the story and am crying right alongside the characters. This book didn't just include certain issues, it feels like the author poured her soul and ever fibre of her emotions into bringing Hannah's feelings to the page. It was, at times, unrelenting and eye opening. It kind of ripped me wide open.

Now for the cheesy confession: I don't like to wax poetic about reading being therapeutic or whatever. I honestly read because I happen to love reading, but Paper Chains went above and beyond and I felt so liberated, so affirmed after finishing. From things I didn't even realize I was holding onto. Failures or perceived failures. Secret thoughts and pressures. Doubts and expectations. I just felt like everything is okay, is going to be okay, and life is good. Those final chapters with Hannah were just perfect. And India, just LOVE.

I am sorry to be cryptic but I don't want to spoil anything in any way.

I so thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had the perfect little addictive pull that my favourite reading experiences require. It had so much emotion and heart and just the perfect amount of whimsy. It had characters I am still buzzing about and I will, for sure, be revisiting it again soon and passing my copy onto all my fave reading buddies, who I only pass the absolute best books on to :)

Paper Chains is on my favourites list for 2013 and my favourites list for always.

Paper Chains @ goodreads

Paper Chains was released February 1 in Australia and is available now :)

While we're talking about Nicola Moriarty: What do you think of the new cover for Free-Falling? I have the original blue and purple one (which is gorgeous) but am so tempted by the new pink and yellow cover, it's so sunshiny and just draws my attention.

So many thanks to Random House Australia and Netgalley for my review copy 

Fave Books I read in 2012

I am right in the middle of moving house (same suburb, further up the mountain) and as of tomorrow will have no internet for four (!) weeks. This blog has been having a lazy holiday but I really wanted to share with you guys my fave reads this year, before the year is over.

I've gone with all YA (okay, except for Nicola Moriarty's Free-Falling).
Five of these are Australian, the other five are contemporary YA.

All of these were fantastic reading experiences: being completely immersed in the characters and the story, wanting to read in one glorious go (and when forced to lay it down, desperate to find time to get back into them)

In no significant order (apart from my number one fave at the end)

Confession: I have read Shadows twice, in the space of three months. I didn't know what to expect from the Aussie YA angel-themed book. I could not have predicted just how brilliant, sexy and addictive it is. Some serious twists and gorgeous gorgeous writing. Be ever so thankful it has been picked up for both a US and UK release.





Oh, this is such a me book. I LOVED Good Oil, so. Holier Than Thou makes Laura Buzo officially one of my all time fave YA writers. My gosh, this book. I was mesmerised and achey and just completely absorbed. Due for a reread very soon.

Nicole Moriarty's debut. YOU GUYS <3 Completely funny and quirky and heart-felt, with that delicious Moriarty-vibe.

What a gorgeous and unique book I'll Be There is. It has an almost fairytale -like vibe going on. I love the narration (so different), the sibling love story (heart-smashing) the romance (swoon) and the criss-crossing of paths and coincidences that lends a gorgeous mix of suspension of disbelief and a whole heap of hope and victory (does that even make sense? haha...). Try this one, I think you might like it.

Oh, Elizabeth Scott? I love her, so. She always gets me, heart thumping, tears flowing. Her books are my kind of perfect.

I love contemp YA so much, and Bittersweet is the perfect kind of book to curl up with. Cupcakes, boys, ice-skating, little brothers. Sarah Ockler's a must-buy for me. Prose I love and characters I care about (okay, and boys to make you swoon).

I love C K Kelly Martin. I'm still thinking about this (very sexy) grief book. I was so absorbed in this story, holding my breath right until the very end.

Slayed me.

AND for my favouritist book of ALL.
Jaclyn Moriarty.

Shine Light Blog Tour: Suki :)

I am honoured to be included in the blog tour for Sine Light, the final book in the Night Creatures trilogy by Marianne de Pierres. I'm really digging the way this tour is structured: 

• each tour stop features a character profile/chat type thing (I am thrilled to be hosting some info on Naif's gorgeous friend, Suki (my fave parts of the chat is where Marianne talks about loving writing Suki's parts ~ I loved reading them :))
• secondly, there is a running extract from Shine Light (extract one started here, my extract is #5 of 13).

I am truly in awe of this gorgeous cover <3

Shine Light Blog Tour

Welcome to the Shine Light blog tour. At each stop we’ll be revealing something new about the characters in Shine Light. What makes them tick? Do they have any secrets? Read on to find out . . .

Suki

Suki seems to be everyone’s favourite character; bold, funny, loyal, practical. Who wouldn’t want a friend like her?  Without her Naif would have found the transition into Ixion unbearable. Suki backed her up and taught her how to laugh; showed her what a friend can be.

On a personal note, Suki was a joy to create and write. I loved the idea of her coming from a matriarchal society where the males had a lower social status but were still valued because they were necessary for the continuation of the race – such a different background to Naif’s.

In Naif, Suki sees an intelligent person who’s been scarred by her upbringing. She wants nothing more than to set Naif free of the chains that bind her. She also likes the fact that Naif can think her way through situations and doesn’t give in.

But not everything is clear cut in Suki’s life. She’s run away from Ixion to meet up with a boy named Liam, which suggests that somehow their bonding was not considered acceptable at home on Stra’ha. This is a secret that Suki carries for the whole series and never tells anyone, even Naif. In fact, the reader won’t even realise it’s a secret unless they start to question why Suki has come to Ixion in the first place (one of my little author tricks!).

Unfortunately, the pair encounters many obstacles to their simple plan and in Shine Light we find out what happens to their relationship. I hope in those scenes the readers get a glimpse into how Suki and Liam’s society works and how it has shaped them. I also hope that I’ve conveyed the depth of admiration and pride that Liam feels for Suki.  She is his warrior queen.

Break each code at the end of every blog post on the tour and your name will go in the draw to win a**super mystery prize** basket. Email your answers tomarianne@mariannedepierres.com.

“O VOSS VQZEI YGK QSVQNL.” SOQD ZG LXAO.

Ready for your next fix? Meet Jarrold at http://speconspecfic.com/

Did you miss the feature on Markes? See http://cels-confessionsofabookymonster.blogspot.com.au/

For the full tour listing see http://www.burnbright.com.au/

Shine Light

By Marianne de Pierres

Stop 5 of 13

Emilia saw the seriousness of their faces and spoke up. ‘What? What’s wrong?’ 

No one answered. 

Markes closed his hand to make a fist and with the other picked up his cup and tooka sip of water. 

Somehow he managed not to tremble. ‘Everyone who arrives on Ixion is fitted with abadge. It glows when you need to rest.' 

‘You need more rest then?’ 

‘No. My time for rest – they call it petite nuit – is gone. My badge is expiring. You see,Em, Ruzalia rescued many young people like us and took them to Sanctus beforethey were withdrawn.’ 

‘Withdrawn?’ Emilia’s brow creased. ‘Isn’t that when the Ripers drain the youngpeople?' 

‘Yes – although I’m not sure how many of them know about that.’ 

Naif swallowed and cleared her throat. ‘Joel promised he would spread word of it.Many more will have heard by now.’ 

‘What do you mean your badge is expiring, then?’ asked Emilia. 

‘Even after Ruzalia got us to Sanctus, the badges kept working for a while. But thenthey began to fail, as if we’d been withdrawn. Those people . . . died.’ 

Emilia stared open-mouthed at Ruzalia. 

The pirate’s face creased with frustration. ‘I’ve tried to find a way to revoke thebadges. They’re made by a science far greater than any I know.’ 

Silence fell around the table again. 

Naif watched as Emilia took Markes’s hands in her own and held them tenderlyagainst her breast. ‘How long do you have?’ she whispered. 

Markes shrugged, awkward with her gesture. ‘I’m not sure.’ 

‘No!’ Emilia’s shout pierced through Naif, echoing how she felt inside. 

The girl let go of Markes’s hands and stood, turning to Naif, her face full of anger anddemand. ‘You must stop this happening! You must!’

What happens next? find out tomorrow Speculating on Specfic :)

My review for Shine Light will be up in the next week. Here's a few teasers from some fellow Aussie bloggers who have already posted their reviews:

If there’s ever an opportunity to return to Ixion, I’ll be there with streamers in my hands and bells on my feet. Book Probe

This book was the perfect way to finish this trilogy – even though the ending KILLED me. Once again Marianne de Pierres has created something mysterious and magical. Ruby

Shine Light is a thrilling, disturbing ride with moments of honesty, friendship and love. Fans of the series will find this to be an excellent conclusion and new readers – what are you waiting for? Read this series now! Vegan YANerds

Thanks Marianne de Pierres for taking the time to share about Suki and I hope you guys are really enjoying the blog tour

:) Nomes

Miracle by Elizabeth Scott

Megan survived the plane crash—but can she survive the aftermath? An intense, emotional novel from the author ofThe Unwritten Rule and Between Here and Forever.

Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn’t feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.
Scared and alone, Megan doesn’t know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved

I am such an Elizabeth Scott fangirl. Her books are always highlights of my reading year (love that she has been such a prolific writer since debuting with Bloom) and Miracle was no different. 

Quiet, unassuming and utterly compelling. This novel was, in parts, relentlessness and terrifying. Yet Scott balances it beautifully with hope and the tiniest spark of life just in all the right places.

I love how Scott writes the bare bones. These succinct, achey sentences. Not quite telling the full story and yet creating a perfect whole, somehow. This style, written sparingly, brings so much depth.

The thing is: I read it whole one quiet afternoon. Found it utterly compelling and heartbreaking and a touch surreal.

And now, weeks later, I am still thinking about it.

I am not ashamed to say I cried in this book. Not just for Megan, but maybe in part for myself. Even though I have no cause to suffer from PTSD, I think all of us can relate to those feelings in some way.

This book felt like the real deal. Not another YA book with a gimmicky catchy hook. Not trying to please a crowd. But as if it was written from somewhere deep inside the character's soul. I don't know how Elizabeth Scott does it. But I hope she never stops.

I wasn't intending to review this due to time. But I just wanted to say something because this book has said something to me. I loved it. I recommend it.

Miracle on goodreads

Friday Brown by Vicki Wakefield

‘I am Friday Brown. I buried my mother. My grandfather buried a swimming pool. A boy who can’t speak has adopted me. A girl kissed me. I broke and entered. Now I’m fantasising about a guy who’s a victim of crime and I am the criminal. I’m going nowhere and every minute I’m not moving, I’m being tail-gated by a curse that may or may not be real. They call me Friday. It has been foretold that on a Saturday I will drown…’

Seventeen-year-old Friday Brown is on the run—running to escape memories of her mother and of the family curse. And of a grandfather who’d like her to stay. She’s lost, alone and afraid.

Silence, a street kid, finds Friday and she joins him in a gang led by beautiful, charismatic Arden. When Silence is involved in a crime, the gang escapes to a ghost town in the outback. In Murungal Creek, the town of never leaving, Friday must face the ghosts of her past. She will learn that sometimes you have to stay to finish what you started—and often, before you can find out who you are, you have to become someone you were never meant to be.

Friday Brown is the breathtaking second novel from the author of the award-winning All I Ever Wanted.

Last year I nominated Vicki Wakefield's Aussie YA debut All I Ever Wanted as my favourite book of 2011. She has followed up her debut with the same kind of brilliance that, despite all the warnings of emotional napalm, I was not quite prepared for. 

Friday Brown is such a gorgeous and heartbreaking reading experience. Vicki Wakefield writes in this sublime way ~ her stories have this almost fairytale, other-worldly quality while at the same time feeling so emotionally real and resonant that it aches like the truth. This story is vivid: sorrowful yet full of love, surreal yet devastatingly believable. 

There's this gorgeous blend of adventure and tension. While friendships are being forged and the plot sails ahead into the unknown, there's an undercurrent of danger - just enough to create a pool of dread right in the pit of my stomach. Guys, it was only a solid month after finishing this read that I was able to come to terms with it all and conclude that, simply, this sophomore novel is amazing. 

Wakefield possess the magic combo: prose to die for, sneaky, smiley humour, characters that come to life and work their way into your heart, and a power-packed climax that leaves you breathless a la Jellicoe Road. In some ways, this book reminds me a smidgen of Jellicoe Road - in the way that sometimes it seems like too much ~ the character's backgrounds, heartache and sorrow upon sorrow mingled with the perfect carving of relationships but like Jellicoe, Friday Brown pulls everything off and more. These characters and this story is brilliant and lingering and will hold fast. 

I especially loved all of Fridays' stories passed down from her mum. Ethereal and beautiful and clever and special, all truth mingled with fantasy and hope mingled with regret. Just gorgeous. 

I cannot not mention what I truly love about Vicki Wakefield's work: her characters are such brilliant teenagers. She never belittles them, instead gives so much life and energy, it rings with the truth. I think the ultimate YA authors are the ones who believe in just how awesome teenagers are, showcasing their resilience and life and ability to have fun and live in a world not dulled by adult sensibilities. 

Vicki Wakefield is an extraordinary talent who would shine in whichever genre she would choose to write in. I am cheering for Aussie teens who can experience books such as this: utterly compelling and life-changing stuff. 

If you're into Aussie YA, Vicki Wakefield should be at the top of your list to check out. Two books out and she is right up there with the cool kids at the top. 

I truly loved this book (even as it ripped me to shreds and patched me up again) and I am thrilled to recommend it to you all and cannot wait to see what you think :)

Thanks ever so much to Text Publishing for my review copy

Friday Brown @ goodreads
Friday Brown @ Text Publishing
Read an excerpt

Five Things and HEY

1. BEST NEWS EVER yesterday:

Oh, man, I didn't even know about this book until yesterday and I am already aching/dying/desperate to get my hands on it. No idea what it is about, but it is by Nicola Moriarty (!) and the cover and title are gorgeous. Due out early 2013

2. Meet my local second hand book shop:

Totally feel like you are in an episode of Hoarders walking around there. Three rooms, many aisles, decked out like this.

Bonus: the kids love going there (who wouldn't?).

Look what I found! This is the 1995 edition of the very famous and well loved Sleeping Dogs

Totally fluked seeing this book! (was right on the top of a random stack). This is the first Sonya Hartnett I read, back when I was 15 (!). So cool to finally have my own copy. Any other Sonya Hartnett fans out there? She is AMAZING.

3. On Monday, I met Aussie author Toni Jordan at Caloundra Library.

She is one of my favourite (and I know many others) writers of (smart) romantic comedy. Her debut, Addition, is SUCH a favourite book of mine. I've loaned it to so many friends and read it 2.5 times myself (we all know which parts the .5 were, haha). It's PERFECT crossover, with our 19 year old protagonist and the gorgeous and sexy 19 year old Irish boy (my gosh. sexytimes.) and I love that the protag has OCD (one of my fave topics in fiction) and this time presented in such a fun (but heartfelt) way (gosh, enough with these parenthesis already!)

Speaking of Addition: it is available worldwide. Translated into, like, 17 languages. Multiple reprints and soon to be a movie. I love it so. MAJOR RECOMMENDATION from me.

ANYWAY. I took my copy to get signed ... [cue drum roll] and upon reaching Toni, flipped it open and found she had already signed it. CLASSIC. Back in 'Sydney '98' She signed it again for me anyway, and, I just have to add, my inscription is WAY better :)

I am too private to share actual inscriptions. Sorry if this tiny pic drives you crazy!
Side note: I love this cover for it ;)

Also, Toni Jordan talked for an hour and she is SO funny and eloquent and I took mad-girl notes and loved it. Also took my husband. he liked it, too, especially the bit where we (Toni and audience) joked about OCD (not to be disrespectful, etc). I completely didn't dob myself in, but who doesn't have some kind of OCD issues? (well, apart from my husband...) 

One thing Toni shared that I liked: she calls her first draft her 'heart draft' and her second draft her 'brain draft'. Meaning the first time it's all about getting into the characters and the story and feeling it, and the second time through it's making it work: research, tension, shaping the story. Beautiful.

4. Been doing a lot of bush-walking, this place just at the top of my street.

Maggie, of Young Adults Anonymous, pointed out that one of my pics is like the US cover of Jasper Jones. Sweet.

5. I've really been sucking at reading.

I have PILES of half read books on my bedside, bookshelves and half done books on my kindle. I return books to my library, 3/4s read. It's becoming my new thing :/ Most are actually really good. I am just finding that if it is not EXACTLY my kind of perfect book, I lose interest. If I am not sucked in with that unputdownable feeling, it gets put down and I have no urge to pick it up again.

It's actually really frustrating...

Plus YOU GUYS it's school holidays! Best feeling ever. I love having the kids home and sleeping in, and my parents are driving up so I'll get to feel all tourist-y alongside them.

It feels so good to make this random post and say hi to you all!

x Nomes