‘Not If I Save You First’ by Ally Carter.

*Content Warning: Russian terrorists, violence, taken hostage and survival in the wilderness*

‘Not If I Save You First’ by Ally Carter.

Publisher: Scholastic Press.

Published Date: May 1st, 2018.

Genre: Young Adult,

Page Count: 304 pages.

Purchase: Scholastic Australia, Book Depository

ISBN: 9781338134148.

Synopsis:

Maddie and Logan were torn apart by a kidnapping attempt when they were young. They were only kids — Logan’s dad was POTUS and Maddie’s father was the Secret Service agent meant to guard him. The kidnappers were stopped — but Maddie was whisked off to Alaska with her father, for satety. Maddie and Logan had been inseparable . . . but then she never heard from him again.

Now it’s a few years later. Maggie’s a teenager, used to living a solitary life with her father. It’s quiet — until Logan is sent to join them. After all this time without word, Maddie has nothing to say to him — until their outpost is attacked, and Logan is taken. They won’t be out of the woods until they’re . . . out of the woods, and Maddie’s managed to thwart the foes and reconcile with Logan.

 

Review:

 “Dear Logan, this is called a letter. It’s like an email but written on paper and sent through the regular mail (like bills)”. 

Thank you so much to the beautiful team at Scholastic Australia for sending us a copy of this amazing novel to review! 

This was such a cute YA adventure especially for a standalone, which we quite enjoyed. We have been finding ourselves lately to be stuck in a reading slump, especially after two long hectic terms of Year 12 and University study!

Six years ago Maddie (daughter of a secret agent) was best friends with Logan (the son of the President of the United States of America). Distraught circumstances abruptly resulted in disheartened shared memories of both families, forcing Maddie and her father to move overseas to Alaska.

Present day [six years later], Maddie has been living with her father in Alaska or should we say ‘partly living’. Maddie has been plotting through life, day after day, constantly waiting for the sun to both rise and set. Home-schooled and missing her friends, Maddie leaves her old life behind of precious jewelry and dresses for jeans and sneakers. Maddie learns survival skills to help keep her alive. When suddenly after all this time Logan, her once closest friend is sent to Alaska as a way to reconnect with himself, where he is then kidnapped! This is what seems like the beginning of a relationship of two friends re-connecting and working together to achieve the same goal; staying alive and keeping each other safe.

This beautiful story really showcases the author Ally Carter’s strengths, a gorgeous writing ability to keep readers engaged and the process of lining different meanings together. 

Falling off cliffs, handcuffed to trees and guns pointed at your face, this novel was so unbelievably intimidating that we couldn’t put the novel down. Our disbelief was outstanding! We had to keep devouring this spectacular story to see the results of the extraordinary determination of placing oneself above your own needs and having such selflessness to be able to attempt to rescue each other was just so beautiful.

This novel is perfect for fans or new lovers of Ally Carter’s writing! We absolutely enjoyed this novel and would recommend this thrilling, fast paced survivor tale to readers who enjoy the YA Contemporary Genre.

Book Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐’s.

‘As She Fades’ by Abbie Glines.

‘As She Fades’ by Abbie Glines.

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia. 

Published Date: April 10th, 2018.

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary.

Page Count: 266 pages.

ISBN: 97812503044459.

RRP: $16.99 AUD/ Purchase: Pan Macmillian, Book Depository 

Synopsis:

On the night of her high school graduation, Vale McKinley and her boyfriend Crawford are in a terrible car accident that leaves Crawford in a coma. They were supposed to spend the summer planning for college, for a bright future full of possibility. Together. Instead, Vale spends long days in the hospital, hoping Crawford will awaken.

Slate Allen, a college friend of Vale’s brother, has been visiting his dying uncle at the same hospital. When he and Vale meet, she can’t deny the flutter of an illicit attraction. She tries to ignore her feelings, but she’s not immune to Slate’s charm. Slowly, they form a cautious friendship.

Then, Crawford wakes up . . . with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life. Except now, she’s in Slate’s territory, and their story is about to take a very strange turn.

 

Review:

“I knew just by listening to him that Vale McKinley was special. The kind of special that changed a person. That made a mark in life”.

‘As She Fades’ is a new Young Adult Contemporary which explored the relative themes of love, forgiveness, friendship, family and overcoming. The novel perfectly and clearly captures the process of forgiving oneself and realising that it’s perfectly fine for one to change when experiencing new adventures in life.

With the scene set in America, the leading female character Vale, struggles with the idea of attending college. She has a fear of leaving her boyfriend Crawford behind, as he is in a coma. Vale fears that the very idea of experiencing the things life throws at her in his absence will change her. That when he eventually awakes, he won’t be able to recognise the girl he once fell in love with. 

Overcoming this fear, Vale strives with the very goal to live life, including making new friendships. In particular, with a mysterious fellow college student called Slate with a reputation never the less.

Abbie Glines honestly just portrayed this unique, traumatic story perfectly. Her way with words truly captured what it means to move forward in life, living in the present and not in the past. To re-evaluate life and realise that one’s self-worth is crucial to finding happiness.

‘As She Fades’ was separated into two twisting parts which honestly caught us by surprise. It was something we weren’t expecting yet we were a little confused at the same time. However, the meaning within this novel delivered a hell of a punch. This wasn’t some predictable stereotypical structure which can usually occur throughout contemporary plots, it was genuinely unique when considering two different viewpoints within the novel.

The leading character Vale is quite, shy and self-aware however, the character faces a personal journey along with this plot discovering her own self-worth. Slate on the other hand, was described in an engaging way that just really helped us interact with the plot a bit more.

We were both however, a little conflicted with this novel due to the different pacing between both parts 1 and 2. The second part of the novel felt quite rushed and unrealistic in away due to quite a big jump in the climax. We just felt like it needed a bit more time instead of being thrown straight into the deep end of the novel.

We found this novel to be a quick and engaging read. If you’re fans of young adult contemporary reads or first love stories than this novel is right up your alley!

Book Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐

~ Georgia & Morgan.

‘City of Bones’ by Cassandra Clare

‘City of Bones’ (10^th Anniversary Edition) by Cassandra Clare.

Publisher: Walker Books.

Published Date: November 7,2017

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy.

Page Count: 512 pages.

Purchase: Walker Books, Book Depository 

ISBN: 9781406381320

Synopsis:

Celebrate the tenth anniversary of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones with this gorgeous new edition, complete with special content and exclusive colour illustrations.

The tenth anniversary of Cassandra Clare’s phenomenal City of Bones demands a luxe new edition. The pride of any fan’s collection, City of Bones now has new cover art, gilded edges, over thirty interior illustrations, and six new full-page colour portraits of everyone’s favourite characters! This beautifully crafted collector’s item also includes four bonus stories that have previously only appeared in limited distribution, and—best of all—a new piece written by Cassandra Clare. A perfect gift for the Shadowhunter fan in your life.

This is the book where Clary Fray first discovered the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world and back to their own. The book where she first met Jace Wayland, the best Shadowhunter of his generation. The book that started it all.

Review:

 “Seeing through glamour is easy. It’s people that are hard”.

We would just like to firstly say thank you to Walker Books Australia for sending us a copy of this incredible edition to review!

Can we please just say how gorgeous this edition is?! We are just so in love with it!

We have read ‘City of Bones’ a couple of times now and each time we just couldn’t put the novel down. We just enjoy the characters in this novel so much and the plot is just incredible.

This novel is both ageless and everlasting! We first enjoyed reading this novel when we were 13 & 15 years of age and now we just love it so much and we are 17 and 19 years of age. This extraordinary series will never cease to capture the hearts and enjoyment of all readers!

Cassandra Clare is one of the most incredible authors and is definitely one of our favourites. She has both the power and the determination to transform any world she creates into an extraordinary novel.

With her ability to transform characters, creatures, fantasy, friendships and romance, she never ceases to surprise us. Her remarkable novels are full of creativity that we can actually visualise pallets of colours emitting rays out of the novel. It’s that amazing!

From the sarcasm, humour and the feministic empowerment Cassandra Clare’s writing style, just leaves us in awe! We devour her wisdom so quickly, we can’t help but want more!

We can’t wait to continue re-reading this series! Thank you so much to Walker Books Australia for sending us this beautiful edition to review.

Guys, if you haven’t already, you need to read this series! We definitely encourage you to pick it up!

What did you think of ‘City of Bones’? Did you love it as much as we did?

Book Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

‘Esme’s Wish’ by Elizabeth Foster.

‘Esme’s Wish’ by Elizabeth Foster.

Publisher: Odyssey Books.

Published Date: October 30th, 2017.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy.

Page Count: 252 pages.

Purchase: Book Depository

Synopsis: 

When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother, Ariane – so why can’t she?

But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.

After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about her mother, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all. 

This fresh, inventive tale is an ideal read for younger teens.

Review: 

We would just like to say a very big thank you to the author of ‘Esme’s Wish’, Elizabeth Foster! Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us, offering us both the chance to receive a signed copy of her extraordinary novel along with two gorgeous bookmarks which we absolutely adore! We couldn’t wait to dive into this novel!

‘Esme’s Wish’ is the tale of a fifteen year old teenage girl, Esme Silver, who has witnessed the unbreakable boundary of which her father has crossed when choosing to remarry. Athough, Esme insists that her mother is indeed alive, living in one world or another. So many different clues come to the same conclusion that her mother, Ariane had either disappeared or been lost to the sea, which she of course didn’t believe. While her father is off on his honeymoon, Esme conducts her own investigations, starting at the very place her mother was last seen. She discovers hidden truths and a whole new world, waiting for her to explore.

Finding herself in a mystical, unknown city called ‘Esperance’ in a world known as ‘Aeolia’. Diving head first into unknown waters, Esme soon realises that the mother she once knew is unlike the one that the residents of Aeolia have come to love. Over the course of this extraordinary novel, Esme goes on a once in a life time adventure where she truly finds herself. She soon learns that the world is her oyster and that she must reach within herself to grasp every opportunity that life throws at her. 

The more we read this novel, the more we loved it. As we made our way through its pages, we couldn’t help but find some amazing qualities which made the main character Esme so fierce. She was strong, empowering and showed leadership and empathy. She had the ability to find the positives in every situation. Its important that we all find the light to see through our darkest days 💗. 

We absolutely loved the magic and mystical aspects to this lovely story. Elizabeth is such a beautiful writer! We really did vision ourselves in this unbelievable and breathtaking world. We just have to also point out that the imagery within this novel was spectacular. Our favourite parts would be both the links to dragons and sirens.

This novel is just so beautifully written! We can’t wait to read more from Elizabeth Foster! Definitely make sure you check out the first novel to this spectacular series ‘Esme’s Wish’!

Book Rating 4/5 ⭐’s. 

~ Georgia & Morgan.

 

‘Goodbye, Perfect’ by Sara Barnard.

‘Goodbye, Perfect’ by Sara Barnard.

Publisher: Pan Macmillan.

Published Date: February 8th, 2018.

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary.

Page Count: 384 pages.

Purchase: Pan Macmillan Australia  + Book Depository 

Synopsis: 

Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn.

Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.

As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

Review: 

Firstly, we would just love to say a huge thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia for the amazing opportunity of being part of this ‘Goodbye, Perfect’ blog tour.

‘Goodbye, Perfect’ is our first novel that we have read by Sarah Barnard. We were pleasantly surprised by this novel. This book was both very though-provoking and gripping. We found that we couldn’t put the novel down as we just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next! 

The plot was well developed with a strong and substantial meaning about honesty, friendship, forgiveness and learning to trust one another. It also had many strong and well thought out characters. This novel really helped us gain insight in all the situations that the characters found themselves in. We learn’t that no one should make you feel inferior in yourself or make you second guess anything you do. In any situation, if anything bad comes to your attention, you have the right to say something or ask for help.

“I don’t think you ever really start over, Because if you’re trying to do that, you’re basically trying to run away from yourself. And you can’t. You’re stuck with you, forever. Wherever you go”. 

The author has such a beautiful and unique way of writing. She has the ability to create strong and important messages in her writing. Whist also being quite demanding in getting her message across. This is such a great strength to have as we all need to hear and learn from her messages. We must learn to be ourselves and most importantly to respect ourselves. We are all going to make mistakes in this world but the most important thing is that you don’t let them define you. Embrace them and carry on living.

“Everything I’ve ever lost has been chosen for me. I never have a say. And she’s chosen to throw it all away, like it’s nothing”.

Overall, We quite enjoyed this novel it’s something unique and different which we liked. This book really did make us think, it made us search deeper for a meaning in each word written. This book was very real and analytical. Sarah Barnard really captured each character perfectly and we can’t wait to pick up some of her other novels!We absolutely recommend this to you all.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

‘The Harper Effect’ by Taryn Bashford Review & Q+A

‘The Harper Effect’ by Taryn Bashford.

Publisher: Pan Macmillan.

Published Date: December 27th, 2017.

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary. 

Page Count: 384 pages.

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Harper was once a rising star on the tennis court—until her coach dropped her for being “mentally weak.” Without tennis, who is she? Her confidence at an all-time low, she secretly turns to her childhood friend, next-door neighbor Jacob—who also happens to be her sister’s very recent ex-boyfriend. If her sister finds out, it will mean a family war.

But when Harper is taken on by a new coach who wants her to train with Colt, a cold, defensive, brooding young tennis phenom, she hits the court all the harder, if only to prove Colt wrong. But as the two learn to become a team, Harper gets glimpses of the vulnerable boy beneath the surface, the boy who was deeply scarred by his family’s dark and scandalous past. The boy she could easily find herself falling for.

As she walks a fine line between Colt’s secrets, her forbidden love, and a game that demands nothing but the best, Harper must decide between her past and her future and between two boys who send her head spinning. Is the cost of winning the game is worth losing everything?

Review:

Thank you so much Pan Macmillan for sending us a copy of The Harper Effect to review. Thank you for also letting us be part of this blog tour!

‘The Harper Effect’ by Taryn Bashford is a debuting young adult novel allowing readers to discover the art and lifestyle of a teenager and her dream of becoming a professional tennis player. But for any teenager, this lifestyle includes first loves, friendship, grief and the ability to follow your dreams.

Whilst we made our way through this novel, we couldn’t help but love the author’s connection to tennis! We haven’t found too many novels that include sporting/athletic aspects which we have really enjoyed however, we have loved seeing it in this novel!

Taryn Bashford has done an incredible job with providing a message behind each word written. This novel doesn’t just follow a teenager’s love for tennis, it provides inspirational messages about determination, forming strong relationships, grief and forgiveness, especially with the ability to forgive yourself.

We all must follow our hearts in order to follow our dreams! 

Here is our Q&A with the author! Thank you for answering our questions Taryn!

1. What was your inspiration behind ‘The Harper Effect’?

Well the seed of the idea for The Harper Effect was planted when I was 14. I wrote the bones of the story back then, but obviously it’s had a few revisions since. At the time, my brother was training to become a professional tennis player, and he went on to win Nationals and then won a scholarship to a tennis academy in the USA. So I guess it was natural that I’d write about tennis at that time. I was also training for the Olympics and so sport was a big part of my family’s life. As I grew older, I became fascinated by teens who went above and beyond the norm – not just in sport, but in any aspect of life. I liked to compare elite teens to your average high school student and found that although they were hugely talented in one area of their life, they were still teens in the sense that they were finding their place in the world, discovering what person they were going to grow up to be, and they made mistakes and bad choices just like every teen is expected to do when they’re leaving their childhood behind. I was also fascinated by what high-achieving teens have to sacrifice in order to be the best. All of this, I put into The Harper Effect – Harper certainly makes her fair share of mistakes and bad choices!

2. What motivated you and inspired you to begin writing?

Some of my earliest memories are of me writing stories in different coloured pens – a different colour for each line, or even each word. I loved to write stories from a young age. I also remember touching and fingering the books in our house, loving their smell and the colourful pictures, and longing to be able to read well enough to consume the books with no pictures. Books were always in my life and I loved to escape into them. Reading was a joy, not a chore, and from that came writing. I have been trying to fit writing a novel into my life for twenty years and to this day when I write it’s a place I love to be; it’s where I feel safe and calm and more than anything, I love to lose myself in my story world and hang out with my characters. Sometimes, it’s hard to step back into the ‘real’ world again.

3. What advice would you give to new writers?

I know new writers will have heard this before, but it’s repeated because it’s so true. READ. It’s amazing how much the mind and subconscious absorbs by reading – not just the obvious stuff about what’s popular out there but also things like the right structure for a book, the different voices, the layering needed in a novel, characterisation and pace…the list goes on. Secondly, I’d say write every day, even if it’s just for half an hour. It’s about using that creative muscle in the brain, it’s about discipline, and if you’re writing a full novel, it helps you keep the strands of the plot weaving along nicely without you dropping a thread. Finally, I’d say let others see your work and gain feedback from experts like mentors and competition judges. It’s the best way to see if you’re on the right track.

4. Who are your literary role models?

Enid Blyton. She was prolific and had the most amazing imagination. L.M. Montgomery for the Anne of Green Gables series. I must’ve read it into double digits.  J.K. Rowling because no matter how hard things were for her, she never gave up and boy, did she achieve her writing dreams!

5. We absolutely loved ‘The Harper Effect’! Thank you for writing such an incredible story. We are both sisters ourselves and we were wondering if you relate most to one of the sisters? If so, which sister would you relate most to? Harper or Aria? 

Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m thrilled that you loved my book. I have a brother (I always wanted a sister too), so the sister dynamic was one that came from my imagination – what might it be like to have a sister under those circumstances? Before I wrote The Harper Effect, I really enjoyed talking to sisters, and even twins (as Harper and Aria are so close in age), to learn about their experiences. I’m afraid the answer to your question isn’t as simple as choosing one or the other sister. I relate to the drive and self-motivation that Harper has for her tennis, because I remember how it felt to go after my own sporting dreams day after day. But at the same time, I also played the piano, clarinet, and violin, and even today I love classical music. As a teen, I was more level-headed than Harper, more certain of what I wanted, and so in that instance, I relate a little more to Aria.

Book Rating: 4/5 Stars.

 

‘Magrit’ by Lee Battersby

‘Magrit’ by Lee Battersby

Publisher: Walker Books Australia

Published Date: March, 2016

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy

Page Count: 272 pages.

Purchase here: Walker Books Australia + Book Depository 

Synopsis:

Magrit lives in an abandoned cemetery with her friend and advisor, Master Puppet, whom she built from bones and bits of graveyard junk. One night as Magrit and Master Puppet sit atop of their crumbling chapel, a passing stork drops a baby into the graveyard. Defying Master Puppet’s demands that the baby be disposed of, and taking no heed of his dire warnings, Magrit decides to raise the baby herself. She gives him a name: Bugrat. Magrit loves Bugrat like a brother But Master Puppet know all too well what will happen when Bugrat grows up – that the truth about them all will be revealed.

Review:

We received a copy of Magrit to review from Walker Books Australia! Thank you very much for sending it our way! 

We have to admit we haven’t had the chance to read many Children’s Middle-Grade books for quite a while! However, Magrit by Lee Battersby really spoke to us as it’s such a beautiful novel.

The novel really helped open our eyes to the people and situations around us. As the main character, Magrit slowly opens up about her emptiness and loneliness, the graveyard which she calls home slowly expands, allowing herself to capture her own thoughts and discover the clues to the mystery of which we call life.

Small, lovely illustrations throughout the novel really helped capture the books ideal audience and portray the world in which the characters situate.

Although we were a little confused at the very beginning of the novel, this was easily explained as the novel continued. As we were introduced to Magrit she was slowly opening up and being introduced to herself at the same time. This was special in the way that it was portrayed as the author allowed us to understand the character and the truths of which she was trying to unravel.

This was such a gorgeous novel which explored grief, loneliness, honesty, friendship, and adventure. This novel really captured our hearts and we are quite positive it would capture yours as well! This is the perfect story for all younger readers.

Book Rating: 3/5⭐️

 

Midnight Sun by Trish Cook

‘Midnight Sun’ by Trish Cook.

Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books.

Published Date: September 7^th, 2017.

Genre: Young Adult, Romance.

Page Count: 272 pages.

Purchase here: Book Depository.

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Katie Price has a rare disease that makes exposure to even the smallest amount of sunlight deadly. Confined to her house during the day, her company is limited to her widowed father and her best (okay, only) friend. It isn’t until after nightfall that Katie’s world opens up, when she takes her guitar to the local train station and plays for the people coming and going.

Charlie Reed is a former all-star athlete at a crossroads in his life – and the boy Katie has secretly admired from afar for years. When he happens upon her playing guitar one night, fate intervenes and the two embark on a star-crossed romance.

As they challenge each other to chase their dreams and fall for each other under the summer night sky, Katie and Charlie form a bond strong enough to change them – and everyone around them – forever.

Review:

We received this book as a Christmas present and we were just so excited to start reading it! We decided to add this book to our January TBR for the #AusYaBloggers reading challenge.

We are just honestly so lost for words after reading this book! It was so romantic and so heartbreaking. It was just so beautifully written and left us experiencing happy tears and sad tears at the same time.

 “I’m actually just like everyone else, with the major exception of the ‘can’t go out in the sun’ thing”.

This book follows the awkward, amateur singer/songwriter Katie Price. Katie has a rare disease that causes the exposure of sunlight to be lethal towards her health. Katie uses the daylight hours to sleep, to escape the suns exposure. She also spends her time awake at night composing new songs. Katie spends a lot of her time glancing outside of her UV protected windows, watching the world go by. For as long as she can remember, Katie has been watching Purdue High’s heart throb and her crush, Charlie Reed go past her house on his way to and from school each day. Katie finally meets Charlie whilst she is singing late at night at a deserted train station, its as if time stands still! From then on, their friendship and soon to be relationships grows and flourishes!

Charlie and Katie’s relationship was absolutely adorable! It was truly amazing to see their relationship grow overtime as it was to see these characters develop as individuals also during this time. Throughout the coarse of this novel, we absolutely fell in love with both of these characters. The awkward and funny Katie just seemed like such a relatable character when it comes to crushes/first loves. I think we all know what its like developing our first crushes and the awkward encounters that come along with it. We also absolutely adored the handsome and kind Charlie Reed and we just think Charlie and Katie were such a perfect match! It was also so beautiful to see that Charlie helped Katie to learn about life’s gifts and that there is a wide world out there to experience. Katie also teaches Charlie to believe in himself, that he can reach for the stars and that he can achieve any goal that he sets for himself.

We also loved the other strong characters in the book like Katie’s father and her best friend Morgan. These characters were so supportive towards Katie and we felt that they really helped to help shape the person that she was.

This is our first time reading a novel by Trish Cook and we absolutely love her style of writing and the way that she developed this story. The only down fall to this book was that we found that it could have been a bit longer as we loved this story so much! Although this story was actually a movie before it was developed into a book, we absolutely adore it either way and we will definitely be hanging on the edge of our seats for the movie’s release date in 2018! In the meantime, we would definitely recommend you all to pick up this book before the movie’s release date so you to, can experience this amazing story. In the meantime, for us, we will both be picking up some of Trish Cook’s other novels and we will be giving some of these a read!

Has anyone else read ‘Midnight Sun’ before? Has anyone also picked up any of Trish Cook’s other novels? Let us know in the comments!

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars.

Our Favourite Reads Of 2017!

Hey Guys! Its been a little while since we have last posted. But, we are happy to say we will be more active now, especially in this new year!

Woah! 2018! That definitely feels funny to say out loud?! Time definitely flies doesn’t it! In today’s post, we will be sharing our top 10 reads of 2017!

1) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas:

We have to say ‘The Hate U Give’ was definitely our most favourite read of 2017. When we think back to when we read this book, we were and still are in awe by its important and powerful message! Find our review here! 

2) Heart of Mist by Helen Scheuerer:

This book was so unique! We were hooked from the very first page! Definitely recommending this to you all. Spoiler free review here! 

3) Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer:

This book was so heartbreaking and beautiful! Brigid Kemmerer shows great strength in her striking imagery and conveyed emotion. Can’t recommend this book enough! See our review here!

4) Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen:

After picking this up from our local library, we just couldn’t believe what we found! This novel honestly just captured our hearts. This could be why we just recently purchased the whole series! ❤

5) Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner:

This was such an emotional roller coaster. It strongly captured grief, personal struggles, moving on and cherishing love in all its forms. This novel will stay by our side for a very long time. Find our review here! 

6) The Impossible Vastness of Us by Samantha Young:

We just loved this novel! We did tear up many times but the characters were absolutely amazing. There was even a cute romance! Spoiler free review here! 

7) Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard:

Although this was a re-read, we do really love this novel. We enjoyed the growth and self discovery which was found over the course of this novel! We are very excited to continue with this series. See our review here! 

8) Ray of Light by Elle Scott:

We read this novel at the start of the year after being introduced to this amazing author! This novel was so unique and incredible which is one of the reasons why it is included on this list! Check out our review here! 

9) Switched by Amanda Hocking:

This is one of our absolute favourite book series of all time! There are just no words to explain how much we love this book and this series!

10) The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy:

With hints of Shakespeare and historical fiction, it is no wonder why we really enjoyed this book! This left us in awe, page after page! Review found here! 

We feel like we have definitely read a mixture of genre’s this year! Thank you again everyone for all your love and support. We hope you all have a very happy and safe new year! xx

~ Georgia and Morgan. 

 

 

 

 

‘From The Stars’ Review

‘From The Stars’ by David R.Bernstein, Janetta Penner, Pamela Stewart, Krista Street, S.E. Anderson, Holly Hook, Narma Hinkens, Jenifer Brody, Derek Murphy, Elle Scott, Raquel Lyon, Everly Forest, Lindsey R. Loucks, Melissa A. Craven.

Publisher: Torment Publishing.

Published Date: December 18^th, 2017.

Genre: Young Adult Anthology, Science Fiction.

Page Count: 312 pages.

Purchase: Amazon Australia.

Synopsis: 

14 Complete Stories in One Book

Explore the beauty of science fiction with 14 YA, space-themed short stories from a collection of talented authors. Exclusive to this anthology only.

Published by Torment Publishing.

Review:

Sorry for all our inactivity lately, we have just recently finished school and have recently return home from a cruise to New Zealand! Thank you everyone for your continuous love and support! We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! xx

We read this amazing anthology whilst we away in the beautiful New Zealand! We have only ever read a few anthologies before, but we can honestly and proudly say that this one has easily become our favourite!

Whilst we made our way through all 14 stories, we found that we were familiar with some authors and we were introduced to some as well! All of these short collections of stories were based around the Young Adult genre with hints of science fiction also throughout which we really enjoyed.

We will mention some of our absolute favourites stories below!

Between The Earth and The Stars, by Elle Scott was hands down our very favourite! We both loved the plot and the romance in the story was really cute! There was a quote within her story which we would love to share with you all. “We’re the same, on the inside. We are all made of stars”. This quote really spoke to our hearts and we just adore it!

Elle Scott has definitely been one of our favourite authors for a while now! We can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!❤️

Another story which we really enjoyed was ‘The Stars Between’, by Derek Murphy! This short story was just amazing! It was sad in some parts but overall, we really loved it. We had no idea that this story was a prequel. We will definitely be interested in reading this series!

Another favourite story of ours was ‘Deliverance’, by Raquel Lyon. We really enjoyed this story. It was really fun, amusing and uplifting! We loved the romance in the story and we though it was written very well! We found that we were really pulled into this story and we devoured it so quickly! We look forward to reading more by Raquel Lyon in the near future!

Overall, we really loved every single story of which this anthology had to offer! They were all just so addicting and we really dived straight into each story! We would absolutely recommend this anthology ‘From The Stars’ to you all!

Star Rating: 4/5 ⭐️