'Na razrusha'ya, E'ya razrushost

'I truly love you' Anna thought as she lay awake next to Peter, his chest rising and falling to the rhythm of her own. A smile tugs at her lips as a tiny snore rippled through his body, it was the kind of snoring she could wake up to every morning. She caught herself smiling and staring at him unaware so often it made her nervous. Even though they had been together for more than two years she could never get rid of that nervous feeling. The one you get when you realize that you actually had something to lose, something other people would want. Because who wouldn't want to wake up to this, the snoring, the love, the feeling of contentment.No, she had reason to be nervous. The smile slipped from her lips as she thought about the way she was looking at him, the way she always looked at him. As if he was the sun. As if he held the most beautiful constellations in his eyes. As if he were a cosmic explosion, terrifyingly beautiful, possibly unreal, something she could fall and disappear into. Her chest grew tight and she fought against the negative thoughts that tried to slip into her mind, the ones that asked what if and until. No, she pushed them all the way to the back of her mind, leaned in closer and kissed him lightly on the lips before she turned back around and drowned in the bliss of his snoring, the love, the feeling of contentment...

'I don't want to wake up' Peter thought as he felt Anna's eyes on him and the light kiss she placed on his lips before she mercifully turned around and went back to sleep. More than two years of waking up next to someone held a lot of room for repetitiveness. That's what his life has become, a series of rituals and habits. He would wake up and tell her that he loved her even though he wasn't sure he still knew what that meant or if it was true or not.Wasn't love something you were supposed to want to wake up to? He opened his eyes slowly, making sure that Anna wouldn't see that he was awake because he needed the time to himself. A time before the lying begins. He looks at the hairs curled down the nape of her neck, the steady movement of her breathing and wondered when the thought of her next to him stopped making him happy. She always looked so content and happy when she saw him, her eyes practically lit up. He wished he could tell her to just stop, stop loving me! Stop taking away reasons I can use to leave you. Because he wants to leave so badly but he knows if he does it would break her and you can't just break someone if they don't give you a reason to. Or could you? At this point he didn't even care about it that much. She would be leaving soon and then he could break her. It would be easier over the phone anyway he thought as he pictured her tear stained face, the betrayal in her eyes as her soul turned bitter in front of him. No, he would wait. He could deal with a few more days of false I love you's and the repetitiveness of it all. Peter closed his eyes and turned away from her. Cursing the fact that he couldn't see the same stars in her eyes that he knew she saw in his. She wasn't his sun and she wasn't made out of constellations. She was soggy bread eaten out of hunger next to dying candle light. Necessary but not enough, never enough.

exclusive Q&A with the debut author of This One Time, Alex van Tonder!

Q: Your Novel deals a lot with pop culture, mostly the dark side of it. Would you say that Jacob Lynch's cynical view of 'fame whores' and social media is your way of commenting on pop culture.

A: I think I wanted Jacob to be true to the character that he was and I think that when you are in that world, you live a dual life. You live this life where firstly on the one hand you're pretending to be something, your putting on a show, but you're constantly aware of it. So he would have been jaded. The fame industry is a show, the kind of people who work in it and who are attracted to it want attention, and their driven by that attention. Over time you'd have to be a very special optimistic kind of person to not get jaded about it. I think that there is a good side to it because it is the entertainment industry. But you can get cynical about it especially if you are living a double life like he is.

Q: This One Time's protagonist can be seen as a sort of anti hero was it at all difficult for you to write from his point of view, especially when it comes to his views of women?

A: It was very difficult. I call it coming to terms with the character, you have an idea about what you want to write about and the story you want to tell but then in order for it to be true and for it to make sense to the reader and to make sense  to you, you kind of have to come to terms with the fact that if it's going to play out like this he probably isn't a very nice person and he probably has some negative views. It was difficult to write on the one hand because I am a feminist and I believe in equality for men and women and I'm very aware of the weird white male thing happening on the internet at the moment but, in a way it was also quite therapeutic to write because you kind of realize that he is a product of society. It's not actually weird that he is this way he is because he has just taken something that was already there and now he's riding the crest of it.

Q: Which character did you have the hardest time portraying. Your characters are quite complex considering Alicia's questionable 'mental state' and the divide between Jacob and Brodie. How did you get into their brains in order to portray them so well?

A: I call it  listening to character. I had an idea of who I wanted them to be and in order for them to really play off of each other and for the dynamics to play out they started becoming worse and worse versions of themselves. I Think the hardest to write was Alicia without a doubt. She really is insane and she has problems. It's tough to write a character with problems because you naturally want to work everything out logically, to be able to label it as something or to put it in some box but, also to be true to the story. She's kind of a product to her circumstances as well. But it was tough to write her, it wasn't easy. I had to clean her and neaten her up a few times.

Q: As a blogger and a copywriter, you have always been writing. Would you say that completing a novel was more fulfilling for you?

A: Definitely! You know copy writing, blogging and advertisement... these are short bursts of activity and the shorter you can make your advertising writing the better. I've been trained the other way and with this you kind of have to get loose again. It's like running a marathon, you are going to be doing this for a looong time. But it's a lot more freedom. I'm the client, I get to choose what story I'm telling which is not the case in my day job. So yes, a million times more rewarding and fulfilling and just so much fun. Not counting the parts where you're crying over your computer, we don't talk about that.

Q: When did you start writing the novel and where did you get the inspiration from?

A: I started writing it at the beginning of 2012 and it took about six months to do the first draft. The whole revenge porn and this weird world of white men online taking liberties with women's bodies had been going on for a while. At the time there was no recourse and there still isn't. You still can't sue people for posting nude photos of you online or get them convicted of anything. There was a prosecution last year  which was the first of its kind in California, now there are bills that are starting to become passed but at that point there was nothing you could do and I was reading these stories of women whose lives had been  ruined by this kind of thing and these men are just getting away with it and making money off of it as well. So in my mind there was this thing boiling, this female revenge. I just thought to myself, at some point someone is going to not take it anymore. A very well known revenge blogger Hunter Moore ended up  getting physically attacked and stabbed by a woman whose pictures he had posted online. So I thought what if someone said enough, I'm not going to deal with it anymore. And the other  reason I wanted to write it which was more a setting thing is the fact that I got really into Alaska. And I just had this idea of this story set in Alaska. It seemed horrifying. With the setting in ,mind and the revenge in mind I thought it would make a great story.

Q: In terms of writing the novel, what was the hardest part and the best part in terms of researching and actually sitting down and doing the writing.

A:  Well, not having been to Alaska and New York was maybe one of the tough parts I'll admit that. But I write fiction to get away from myself and my life so it was actually so much fun to research. I did everything from downloading documentaries to looking up owners of B&B's in Alaska, I found them on Facebook and I stalked them in a really non creepy way and I even google street viewed the national parks highway and I walked down google street view for like 6 miles just to try and get a sense of what it's like in Alaska.Next time hopefully I'll go there but that was actually really fun, super challenging but also really nice to emerge yourself in a world that isn't like Kloof Street. The best part of the book were the parts where my twists were working, because they don't always. When you get to that point where you're like okay this could be plausible then that's just amazing.

Q: Is there any advice that you would like to give to aspiring South African writers especially and what would you have liked to know when you started that you know now.

A: Look, I did have someone be very honest with me about how tough it is here because we don't have a huge reader market and that was a bit discouraging but I would say the same thing, but because this isn't the UK and this isn't the US there's not nearly the volume of writers submitting so there is a good chance that your voice could stand out. I don't think books are either good or bad, it's about whether your voice is relevant at this time. So you really just have to take the chance and keep taking the chance. I was rejected twice before this and this is the third book. It always stings when you send your stuff out and everyone is like "hmm NO". "SO GREAT KEEP IT UP BUT NO." (laughs) But, I just said to myself I'm just going to keep writing books until one sticks and that's the advice I'd give. Do not stop.

Q:  What are your hopes for the future in terms of writing, do you think you will continue writing thrillers or would you like to work on different types of genres?

A: I'm Not committed to thrillers but I am committed to the dark side. I do love the twists and the turns of the thriller and I do have another one that I need to give to my publishers on the first of December that will probably also be a thriller but it's the digital dark era that I'm interested in. The weird ways in which social media affects our lives.

Q: Do You have a writing mantra or a quote you always go to when you feel blocked or unmotivated?

A: When I'm getting stuck, when I've lost perspective and when I feel like I don't know what I'm doing I just go back to this one thing  which is "write the book you want to read". Nothing else matters.

Q: Is there a message in your novel that you would like readers to grasp?

A: I guess, be careful what you create is a message. It's just so easy for us to put our ideas out there online, tweet something in an instant and it can literally change your life. You don't have ownership over your tweets and stuff once it's in the public domain, so just be careful.

Q: How important was family and support throughout your writing process? Was there someone who pushed you through your slumps and when you started doubting yourself?

A: It's so so important. At the time I was fortunate enough to have a boyfriend who was such a jock, he was a sports coach and he got me to take it seriously. He really got me to focus. One night he was like, set aside these nights and do your thing. You're only a good friend of mine if I have blown you off like 50 times because I'm writing my book. And I've done that over ten years now so people who understand that are totally amazing.But not everyone does, so sometimes you kind of end up making sacrifices.

Q: What book do you wish you could have written and why?

A: At the moment and also round about the time I wrote my book, it was Frankenstein by Marry Shelley. She was 19 and it was written over a hundred years ago and it has never been more relevant. The whole idea of something you created coming back to destroy you.

Q: If you could cast your character in a Hollywood movie adaptation, who would it be?

A: I have actually thought about this before (laughs). I think Rhyan Gosling could do an amazing job. He could do the play boy and he could do the dark and twisted stuff very well and I also think Mathew Mcconaughey would do a great job as well.

Booktalk: This One Time by Alex Van Tonder

This one time Alex van Tonder wrote a novel and it freaking blew my mind...!

That's all you need to know right?Review over you can go buy the book now thank you.

Haha no! wait, I'm kidding come back and listen to me ramble on about cupcakes, wolves, Cinderella assholes and yes..The novel.
but first..

I just want to start off this post by addressing all of the people who failed to make it to This One Time's book launch at The Book Lounge on Wednesday the 6th of May

" weh weh.. wehweh.. weh."

 You missed out big time! Aside from the very entertaining author talk with Lauren Beukes and Alex van Tonder (my new heroes) there were some kick ass cupcakes and other delicious nibbly bits to enjoy, a lot of intimidating hipstertypes walking around, vodka punch and laughs,but mostly cupcakes (I was obsessed with those damn cupcakes)

but no I won't rub it in your faces. I know I promised a detailed post about the launch but quite frankly there are more important things to talk about like the book for example and the brilliant Q&A that I had with Alex. Ahh I think we might be best mates now!Okay maybe not mates but definitely 'that chick I met one time' material. Don't worry this is only her first book, next year we'll be acquaintances :D #Goals!!

Moving along...

You're probably wondering what the hell this book I'm flailing about is even about right? Well I'll tell you.

This One Time is about an infamous blogger named Jacob Lynch who blogs under the pseudonym Brodie Lomax. I say this guys is infamous because his blog basically consists out of pictures of his naked female conquests and blog post that form a how-to guide for men. As in How to be a douche bag with a capital D. Err, I don't know how or why but somehow people end up eating that crap for breakfast despite the morally bleak content. Jacob ends up getting a book deal to write his memoir or shall I say Brodie Lomax's memoir. Sadly, with Jacob being the party animal that he is the deadline for his first draft is two months away and he has managed to write a total of zero words. In a desperate attempt to get away from his life in New York and to force himself to actually get the words down he accepts an offer to stay in an isolated hunting lodge in Alaska for two months. Jacob ends up going to this lodge intending on writing his memoir only when he gets there things take a very very dark turn. Oh yes, there will be no memoir writing on this trip instead Jacob will find himself facing the full wrath of the monster he had created. Did he really think he could get away with scorning thousands of women and get away with it unscathed? Well only time will tell.

The Review

Alexandra van Tonder, the author of This One Time. Yes, I stupidly forgot to take her picture during the Q&A. I'm blaming it on the nerves.

With words like Professional douchebag, assholepreneur and revenge porn Romeo used to describe our protagonist Jacob Lynch A.K.A Brodie Lomax it should not come as a surprise that our bro Brodie is all of the above and so much more! Picture everything that is dark, twisted and terribly terribly wrong with social media and the fame that comes along with it. Now picture a young good looking drugged up misogynistic man in control of it all. That my friends is Brodie Lomax.

At first I had a hard time getting into the story, mostly because it's being told through Jacob Lynch's perspective and man does his perspective suck! He makes a living out of exploiting women for goodness sake! However, Alex managed to keep me hooked through out the book despite my building hatred towards Brodie and it also helped a lot seeing a different side to him as the book progressed. Glimpses into Jacob's past, before The Age of Brodie made him human and in a way more tolerable.

The relevance of the different characters need for fame and success however is what initially hooked me in the beginning of the novel. Let me tell you some people would do just about anything to get their 15 minutes of fame and with social media making so many people's dreams come true it was fascinating reading a book that basically attacked that part of modern society. It inadvertently made me question whether or not the end really does justify the means and I personally think that if more people were to read this book they would ask themselves the same thing. Hopefully, coming to the same conclusion I had, It damn well does not! Although most of the characters seemed a little one dimensional, in the sense that the bad almost always outweighed the good. Realistically it didn't make sense to me but within the fictional world it emphasized the grey morals, the blurred line between right and wrong that rears its head when ambition is involved and since the novel can be seen as a social commentary of modern society I was able to let this slide,  because as we all very well know the views of the morally corrupt usually make for some very entertaining reading material ;)

The second part of the novel is what really got my motor running. After Jacob landed in Alaska things started getting out of control really quickly and I found myself taking several moments after almost every chapter to compose myself. I didn't think it was possible for me to dislike a character more then Brodie, until I was introduced to Alicia that is. Alicia arrives at the hunting lodge soon after Brodie does and even though he was told that he would be alone in the lodge the idiot still manages to invite her in.

Sigh!Men and their judgement...

 Okay, so he was under the impression that she was there to keep the lodge in tip top shape for him but damn it. If something seems too good to be true chances are it is! This chick was the main reason why I ended up shouting at the words dancing around on my E-reader for most of the novel. The movie Gone Girl affected me in the same way so if you, like me was completely blown away by that movie then I strongly urge you to pick up this book right now! Basically Alicia is bat shit crazy and Brodie managed to some how ruin her life. Haha, if only the dude ran away when he had his chance.

I loved hating Alicia and the way the whole Alaska trip turned out, I was literally as in the dark about everything as Brodie was until the very end so yes, that plot twist broke me. I mean I hated Brodie but really? did he deserve that? No, no one deserves to have something like that happen to them. Obviously I am not going to spoil anyone so just trust me when I say that this book will have you on the edge of your seat, bed, table wherever and whenever you choose to dive into this. I personally haven't read Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins before but I know some people are calling it the next Gone Girl. However, I'm pretty sure This One Time can give it a run for it's money.

Who should read this?
If you loved Gone Girl and basically any other psychological thriller and if the you, like Alex is attracted to the dark side of the digital world then this book is definitely for you.

Click Here for my exclusive Q&A with the author:)

And Que the freak out because guess what? It's This One Time by Alex Van Tonder's book launch announcement!!

Yes, I know what you're thinking. You thought I died right? Probably abducted by an alien of some sort, maybe even the ones from Rick Yancey's The Fifth Wave or worse the ones from Cowboys Versus Aliens right? I sincerely hope not. E.T is more my speed so if I ever were to be abducted by aliens you can be sure that they are the cute and cuddly kind thank you very much. However, since I was not abducted I must begin by offering you my sincerest apologies. The fact of the matter is, I am a second year Media student which means I had to nurture another blog this year. Unfortunately that prevented me from spending more time with you guys. The semester is almost over though and most of the hard work is behind me so here I am, reunited with my one true love and I must say my timing is splendid because on the 6th of May ladies and gents, this little book worm will be in the company of two amazing South African authors. Can you Guess who? Okay... so Alex Van Tonder is in the title but I bet you can't guess the second author can you?

It's freaking Lauren Beukes guys!! Jealous yet? I'm sure you are but no worries because I will be reporting back to you in the most detailed post of your lives! So be sure to stay tuned for that. In the mean time I'll give you a little more information on the launch of the lovely Alex van Tonder's debut novel This One Time (*Side note, I keep wanting to say 'at band camp' is it just me?Yes? Okay never mind then):

  The official blurb:

Personally I can not wait to get my hands on this book. From what I'm getting from the blurb I'm thinking Little Red Riding Hood retelling or maybe something like Hard Candy? I don't know but thankfully I won't have to wait too long to find out so YAY! If you want any more information about Alex Van Tonder you can find her facebook, twitter and instagram accounts on her blog or you can check out this Q&A in the Cape Times and find out what authors inspired her! Come on I know you are just dying to know! I will give you a hint though, it's not J.K Rowling...

Review: The strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

The strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava lavender by Leslye Walton

Publisher/ year: 2014 Walker Books

Genre: Magical realism, contemporary

What is it about?

Pain in Love appears to be a Roux family birthright, and for Ava Lavender, a girl born with the wings of a bird, it is key to her inheritance. Longing to fit in with her peers, Ava ventures away from home, ill-prepared for what awaits her in a world that does not know whether to view her as girl or angel.

Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo until, on the summer solstice, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air and Ava’s fate is revealed

The Review

‘To many I was myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend, a fairy tale. Some considered me a monster, a mutation. To my great misfortune, I was once mistaken for an angel. To my mother, I was everything. To my father, nothing at all. To my grandmother, I was a daily reminder of loves long lost. But I knew the truth – deep down, I always did.

I was just a girl.’

I have one word for this novel guys and it’s not at all as wonderfully thought out as the magnificent work of art that is The Strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava Lavender,  because well that is simply not possible but it does do the trick I suppose. To this novel I simply have to say WOW! I had difficulty putting this book down and I was amazed at the fact that it was Lesley Walton’s debut novel because of it’s beautiful prose and well thought out plot where we are exposed to not just one character’s life but the lives of almost every character we meet which was refreshing and unexpected. I wanted to pick this book up because of all the buzz that surrounds it but as we all know buzz is not always the best indication of a well written book. In this case however the buzz is well worth it and I am truly grateful that I received it from the folks at Pan Macmillan publishing or I might not have picked it up and that would have been a huge loss on my part.

The Characters: Ahh how bruised and lovely all of these characters were. I honestly felt deeply for each and every heart break!  I laughed and I cried multiple times with each and every one of them and the best was that Walton made it possible for you as a reader to understand how each of them thought and felt which allowed you to understand their actions no matter how blatantly stupid, careless or cruel they seemed. Ava Lavender is the narrator and the Main character of the novel. She is the girl born with a beautiful set of white and brown wings. The reincarnation of an angel, or so some thought. The book starts with her telling her story from beginning to the end or at least to the end of a part of her. The story doesn’t begin with Ava, it begins with her great grandfather and grandmother which at first threw me a little I won’t lie but once I got into it I wanted more and now I wish she could have started even further down the family tree because the family Roux definitely had some interesting tales to tell about life love, family and betrayal. There are way too many characters to go into the whole list but they are all well worth getting to know!

The Setting: What even??? I felt like I was right there with the family through each and every one of their moves. From Beauregard Roux and Maman in their Manhattan apartment to Emilienne Rouw, Viviane, Ava and Henry in the white house at the top of the hill of Pinnacle Lane In the blossoming city of Seattle Washington. I could smell the baked goods from Emilienne Roux’s bakery from which the syrupy sweetness dwindled at each summer Solstice celebration. The descriptions made me want to delve head first into this novel and steel Ava Lavender’s life even with all the heartache that comes along with it.

The prose: Leslye Walton has a way with words that grabs you and never lets you go until it’s over and you’re having sickening withdrawal symptoms. Haha It’s intense guys but I  can say without a doubt that if this story was written without Walton’s prose the magic would have been lost. I fell in love with her writing just like I fell in love with the characters that fill the tale that is Ava Lavender’s life.

Romance: No comment. My heart was broken and mended more than the humane amount of times tsk tsk I’m pretty sure I need a band aid after this one.

                

Final Thoughts: Yes I basically spent this whole review raving about the beauty that is this novel and I stand behind each gushing moment. I want to criticise this novel a little but I came up short guys there is nothing bad to say really I just want everyone to read it and love it as much as I did! This was not a YA book and it wasn’t an adult book this is a book for everyone! Mostly YA and up haha it can be a little adult but not at all explicit. This book was tasteful and relied on suggestion more than anything else so if you were afraid of steamy scenes don’t be! There are none. There are a lot of bakery scenes though that will leave you craving baked goods like it’s no one’s business! I had more than one cookie when I reached the end of the novel and even though they were drenched in tears of joy and sadness they were delicious! YUM!

Who should Read this book?

Okay I know I do this a lot but guys if you can breathe, read and you know love and loss than you should pick this up! Even if you don’t know love or loss pick it up! Even if you can’t breathe or read PICK IT UP! Haha okay no don’t. I’d rather not run into any zombies in my local book store so maybe buy it online? Okay thanks hehe. Okay so seriously now. This book would be loved by those who loved The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, Death and Ava Lavender make great narrators! Claps for them! Both of these books have the ability to pull you in and like a masochist leave you breaking your own heart unable to put it down! It’s not just sad though don’t get me wrong. This book has a little of everything I even found myself creeped out a hell of a lot while reading it. Another word should be inserted here... GHOSTS! Lots of them!

Memorable quotes

‘Love makes us such fools’

‘Children betrayed their parents by becoming their own people’

‘Just because love don’t look the way you think it should, don’t mean you don’t have it’

‘I found it ironic that I should be blessed with wings and yet feel so constrained, so trapped. It was because of my condition, I believe, that I noticed life’s ironies a bit more often than the average person. I collected them: how love arrived when you least expected it, how someone who said he didn’t want to hurt you eventually would.’

‘I loved you before, Ava. Let me love you still.’

About The Author



Leslye Walton was born in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps because of this, Leslye has developed a strange kinship with the daffodil--she too can only achieve beauty after a long, cold sulk in the rain. Her debut novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, was inspired by a particularly long sulk in a particularly cold rainstorm spent pondering the logic, or rather, lack thereof, in love.  

Leslye has an MA in writing and lives in Seattle, Washington. When she's not writing, she teaches middle school students how to read and write, and most importantly, how to be kind to each other, even on days when they really don't feel like it. She is currently working on her next novel.

Tell me have you read this yet? What did you think? Amalzing right??? If you haven’t picked this up let me know if you might want to and let me convince you! Sharing is caring guys

Review: Trial by Fire Josephine by Angelini

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Publisher/year: 2014 PanMacmillian

Genre: Fantasy/ Sci-fi

What’s it about?

Lily Proctor is allergic to virtually everything, and growing up in Salem she’s never been able to do the things her friends take for granted... which is why she’s determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily’s life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class when she wishes she could just disappear – she does.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem- a terrifying new world where she is overwhelmed by new desires and new experiences, and her weakness is replaced with extraordinary power. She soon discovers that this world is ruled by dark and powerful witches, and that the strongest and cruellest of all is LIlian... Lily’s identical other self in this alternate universe. Trown into war she doesn’t understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can’t hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

The Review

There comes a day when every girl loses the stars in her eyes. And then she can see clearly.

This is Lily’s day.

Unlike the quote above I can not exactly pin point when the stars in my eyes were lost while reading this book but I can confidently guess that it had been somewhere in the beginning. I’m strangely disappointed that I didn’t like this book and it’s not because it was badly written or just plain horrible because it was none of the above it just wasn’t for me I guess.

The story was weird but interesting! I’ve always found witchy books to be AMALZING! (Yes I know it’s spelled wrong, but doesn’t that just sound better?NO?OK) Witches are bad ass and if they existed I think feminism would never even have played a role in our society but alas they’re not real and feminism does exist. I digress. Witches! Yes they are awesome but even though this book is set in two different Salem’s and instead of witches being wrongly persecuted scientists and doctors were I didn’t really get the whole witchy vibe.

This might be because Trial by Fire was both a fantasy and a science fiction book and although I admire the fact that Josephine tried something different the two just didn’t match.

The Setting: The novel was set up in two different Salems but most of the story took place in the second Salem after Lily, the main character, stupidly agreed to leave her world for another because of a boy. Leaving behind her sister, Juliet, to manage on her own with their sick mother. Sigh, I’ll get to them later! Anyway, the first Salem was basically just a normal town in the 21^st century but the second... I have no idea where that was supposed to be and neither did our protagonist. People were wearing gowns like kings and queens in the olden days while there were genetically engineered monsters running about? Ok so the monsters, also known as the Woven, weren’t created through science but still it didn’t mesh well. The setting and the costumes almost made it seem like the author wasn’t really sure what to do so she basically just did everything that popped into her head. Uhm confused much? Because I am!

The characters: Ahh Lilly. I don’t know where to start with this one. Our protagonist does have some redeeming qualities but all through out the novel her childishness and fragility worked on my nerves. Even when she lost the right to be called fragile she still managed to hang on to the title of number one damsel in distress which is not something I appreciated. I absolutely loathed her double Lillian but at least she had some back bone. Lilly was described as stubborn but she was almost stupidly stubborn and I honestly couldn’t deal! Over all I found it hard to really connect with the characters. Most of the characters were very one dimensional. If a character was bad you rarely saw any other side of them which bothered me because as we all know people are rarely born bad and neither are characters! It’s good to show both sides or just the origin of the assy-ness. Am I wrong?

Romance: This was not an ista-love kinda book which I appreciated but you pretty much knew off the bat who Lilly would be falling for and as most YA love stories begin for some reason it started out of a mutual fiery hate. Rowan, also known as Mr. Love is the typical brooding but handsome love interest. This didn’t surprise me at all and once the obvious chemistry, which was a tad bit forced, reached its maximum peek their love was down right irritating. Edward and Bella anyone? Sigh, and it started out so promising. (Bows head in defeat)

And if the love between those two wasn’t forced enough they had to throw in a second Mr. Love who is the double of Lilly’s best friend back in her own world. I suppose this was made with the intent to have us thinking will they won’t they but it did nothing of the sort. He could have just been a friend Josephine!

Final thoughts: As I mentioned earlier guys I really did want to like this book but getting through it was more like a chore than anything else I went back to reading the first chapter of Fangirl simply for enjoyments sake. Trial by Fire had a very interesting concept, I’m just bummed that it wasn’t carried out better. Because this was the first book of the World Walker Trilogy there was way too much explaining going on and the worst part is even after all the explaining I was still scratching my head like what? The book wasn’t written badly though and I do think that others might enjoy it a lot more than I did. I looked up a few other reviews and some people were really into it so I guess this one is more of a personal preference read. Sadly I will not be continuing with this trilogy.

Who Should Read this Book?

 This book is for people who like very complicated worlds that don’t really care whether they make sense or not (the characters are what they are after) and enjoy reading books where there is a strong over arching love interest where you are teased until you basically want to smash their faces together out of frustration.  If you liked reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner you will find the familiarity of the Woven quite comforting and you will enjoy this book

5 Reasons why Non YA's Should Read YA

I’ve been thinking about this question for a while now. Whenever I go to book stores and march toward the ‘Kids’ or ‘teens’ section it has bothered me that I feel self conscious about simply being there. Mostly because I usually find children and their parents browsing around that section with me and I can almost feel the parents question as she or he continues to steal looks in my direction ’Aren’t you a little old for that?’. I have to say I have had to restrain myself more than a few times from giving them some viciously dirty looks back because when I think about it most of these non YA readers and haters probably haven’t even picked up a YA book in their lives! They base their judgement on the fact that ‘Oh if my 10 year old son can enjoy this than its probably too young for me’ or  ‘I read an article the other day and apparently the writing for YA books is horrible’ rolls eyes. Throw in a love triangle and a superpower and you have a publishing contract.’ I honestly can’t tell you how much I want to just hit these people in the face with my ever growing YA collection and scream YOU DONT KNOW JACK S*T. It’s ridiculous! Instead however I have chosen to sustain from any physical blows and to instead inform these people on this genre that I have come to love and cherish above anything else! Also this is for the YA lovers who have forgotten why they started reading YA in the first place and need a little reminder.

1. YA is an adventure

Readers read to escape right? To be able to find themselves in a different town, different era or even on a different planet without even having to move their feat. Well YA books give you the opportunity to do just that. YA allows you to immense your selves in different worlds and to get to know different people with challenges that exceed the norm. With each and every book you pick up you become Alice in Wonderland and you get to experience things that you never thought possible! Yes you can watch a movie instead if you want but is it just me or is ones imagination so much more capable of creating new and elaborate places. Anyone remember how disappointing the Divergent movie was?No? Okay, maybe it’s just me then (hides)

2. YA makes you humble

YA is not just about love and angsty teenagers throwing tantrums and breaking curfew, although there is a lot of that I won’t lie. YA is about people, people who have to cope with extraordinary suckish things that we can usually only dream of. It allows us to look at our lives and to realise that what we have and the troubles we face aren’t that bad at all... If a girl can survive an alien invasion at only 15 years old and as an orphan I might add then maybe, just maybe I can go to work and deal with my evil boss.

3. YA challenges traditional stories

The thing is YA has always been known to push boundaries when it comes to the stories YA writers produce. Whether you liked Twilight or not you have to admit that Stephanie Meyer was the instigator to a whole new range of novels. Suddenly authors were challenging themselves and their imaginations looking for new ways to leave readers coming back for more. Because if there is one thing YA has done it has shown that readers want their worlds to be broadened by everything and anything supernatural and alien. What better way to open your mind to a whole spectrum of possibilities than to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.

4. YA makes you feel like a kid again

YA taps into that place that we all experienced at some point of our lives. The place where you believed in Santa Clause and when you placed your newly freed tooth under your pillow at night waiting for the Tooth Fairy to make an appearance. Don’t you remember how disappointing it was when you found your parents sneaking into your room?Yes? Well with YA you can cling onto that feeling and even though you know that what you are reading isn’t real the characters you encounter don’t! It is ultimately through them that you become a kid again

5. YA tackles real life issues

You might not think that this applies to you but I’m telling you now that it does! It was only after I read Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin that I became informed on the subject of intersexuality and how people who are born this way can feel  isolated by society, friends and even their family. YA novels that touch subject that seem taboo or rarely talked about in public provides a platform for people to either educate themselves while enjoying a really amazing thought out story or it makes people who find themselves relating to the subject matter at hand feel less alone and less confused. Characters can give people courage simply by allowing their stories and their bravery to be told. Whether it is disability, race, class, age, gender or sexual orientation, YA is not afraid to tackle those subjects head on and to say hey being different and feeling different is not a bad thing. The ways in which you feel marginalised is not what defines you as a person. You need to own it despite what other people think and also you need to remember that you are more than what makes you different. You are human and guess what? I am just like you.

I’ve only listed 5 reasons why YA is amazing but I promise you once you delve into the ‘kiddie’ pool you might see what all of us YA lovers have come to find. The reasons are infinite and splendid. So, What other reasons do you have for reading YA? Are you embarrassed about loving this genre or do you simply not give a damn and shove your latest YA buy in the faces of all who doubt its magic? Let me know in the comments down below and we can discuss:)

Kira Adams New-New Adult Book Release Teaser!

Guess what guys? Kira Adams will be releasing her new novel Into The Darkness on the 15th of November! That is around the corner! I must admit I am not a big New Adult fan but after reading the blurb on the back of this gorgeous novel I was sold! I mean come on: Post-apocalyptic madness with a tinge of red head fierceness??

How can I resist! Basically, I can't and I'm sure neither can you!

Into The Darkness will be available on Amazon for wait for it..... the humble price of 99 cents! and if you want to spoil yourself even more you can get it for free under Kindle Unlimited:)

 Not only do you get to read what seems like a hell of a story but you get to help the author out! Isn't that what readers do? Show support by devouring the words of others?Jip!

On the 15th be sure to add this baby to your TBR list and let me know down below what you thought about the book! I can't wait to hear from you guys and I most definitely can not wait to sink my teeth into this book! Good thing I'm on vacation right?? Right!

About The Author

Krista Pakseresht has always been a dreamer. From the first time she opened her eyes. Creating worlds through words is one thing she is truly talented at. She specializes in Young adult/New adult romance, horror, action, fantasy, and non-fiction under the pen name Kira Adams.

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

publisher/year:September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Press

genre: Fantasy

Whats’s it about?

‘There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve. Either you’re his true love... or you killed him.’

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon to be dead walk past. Blue never sees them-until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gancey, and he’s a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

The Review

I went into this book very cavalier in some ways because I’ve read one book by Maggie Stiefvater in the past, Shiver,  and I walked away less than enthused about the rest of that specific series which lead to me not wanting to pick up the rest of the books and avoiding Maggie’s work all together. After starting The Raven Boys on my 12 hour bus ride home from university I soon found that it definitely will not be the case this time around!

The Raven Boys is fast paced with plot twists almost around every corner. I simply couldn't get enough of it. Just when I thought that I knew what was going to happen Maggie turns around and has me fail miserably but that is what I really appreciated about this book. The blurb on the back of the novel should be rewritten in my opinion because it sells the whole story short. What I expected to be an insta-love Edward and Bella rendition turned out to be a lot more with characters that I found myself investing in, rooting for and at times confused by.

Maggie did a terrific job with each and every one of these characters, I felt like I knew them all. I also loved the fact that the book was written in third person which meant that we were given an inside whirl inside most of the characters thoughts at random moments throughout the book. It kept everything very exciting and it made the reader, character bond so much easier to form or the reader hate character bond (some characters had major issues that I simply could not deal with).

The protagonist Blue is a sixteen year old girl with major boy problems and a house filled to the brim with psychics, her mother included. Blue however was not graced with the gift the rest of the women had but she some how magnified their gifts which made her as they put it the Starbucks table everyone had to have, near the plug. Obviously this was not what Blue wanted, she wanted to see more than we mere mortals which is what made her reconsider her policy towards boys, specifically the Raven Boys and I must say I’m so glad she does think twice.

Why you may ask? Because A; Adam and B; they are a crazy bunch of boys but weirdly troubled which is something I really appreciated. The friendship between Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah is one that can be admired. Even though I found it a little weirdly intimate at times I could see that it was raw and real which is what fuelled my Maggie appreciation. Let’s just say I’m a fan.

There is one thing however that I didn’t appreciate. Seeing that this is such a crucial element and that I’m willing or more than willing actually to continue with this series I advise you to not read too much into my last impression but I feel it must be said. The ending left me seriously dumbfounded and not in a good way. Compared to the rest of the novel the ending and the climax was rushed and confusing!  My feelings toward one of the characters were seriously called into question but before I knew it, everything was over and I seemed to be the only one confused as to why things were being swept under the rug and everything was back to normal again? Seriously? That’s it? I understand that this is a series and that some things have to remain unsaid but with two chapters remaining you can’t tell me that you couldn’t spare a few sentences to clear up the mess?  

 Ahhh anyway...I don’t want to go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil any of the major plot twists that left me reeling and very much devouring the story word for word! I will say that this book takes psychics, magic, death and (weirdly enough) energy lines to a whole new level that the possibility of each of those things seem a lot more plausible (Thanks for the nightmares btw).

Who do I recommend this to?

If you like food or air than I definitely recommend this to you! Haha if that’s too broad than I’ll recommend this to people who love paranormal books in general and books where love and romance plays a role but it doesn’t completely dominate the story. I for one had a blast and I’m sure you will too.:)

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Also if you have read the rest of the series let me know if they get bad or if they stay this awesome? I don't want to be dissapointed :(

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.

All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

find maggie: 

website: http://www.maggiestiefvater.com

twitter name: mstiefvater