Ask Jackson Pearce

I will shortly be reviewing Sister's Red here on the blog and interviewing Jackson Pearce as well as giving away 5 copies of her book!!! More information coming up soon but for now, I thought I would ask you guys what you wanted to know about Jackson, what questions you're dying to have the answers for. Please let me know by leaving a comment below and I might just ask it for you!

A Writer's Toolkit

I’ve noticed recently that a lot of writers are complaining of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) type symptoms and I was sat there thinking “what can I do to help?” And thus, this blog post was born.

In my former life, I used to work as a consultant for a national charity called AbilityNet which has several offices in the UK. Their aim is to help people with disabilities use computers by adapting and adjusting their technology to suit them. Before we start, let’s consider what a disability is – it is something that DIS-ables you and you might be sat there thinking “I’m not disabled” but consider this...do you wear glasses? Then you have a visual impairment. Do you wrists ache when you type? You may have RSI. Using a computer can be quite detrimental for your health and not just because you want to throw it out of the window on occasion. Staring at the screen for extended periods of time, typing away on the keyboard all day, and constantly reaching for the mouse can put a strain on your body.

Let’s start at the very beginning and look at ergonomics. Fancy word? Yes but what does it mean?

Ergonomics comes from the Greek word ergon meaning ‘work’ and The Oxford English Dictionary describes ergonomics as “the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment.” You may think that your working environment is efficient but have a look at the following diagram and ask yourself how many of these things you actually do.

Continuining with the basics, did you know that there are all different kinds of keyboards and mice available to use? If you are left handed, did you know that you can simply place your mouse on the left hand side of the keyboard and change a few settings on your computer to make it left handed? And what if you find it really difficult to use the mouse or would prefer not to use it? Then keyboard shortcuts are the best thing for you. And when you find it difficult to use the keyboard AND the mouse, there is voice recognition but we’ll get to that later. First, I want to give you a short list of things that you can do with a windows based computer:

• Enlarge icons and fonts in menus, programs and your internet browser

• Englarge the mouse pointer and change the colour to make it more visible

• Microsoft Windows has a built in on screen keyboard, magnifier and narrator (although there are flaws with these)

• Change the colours of everything you see. This includes menus, backgrounds, icons etc
• Use keyboard shortcuts

• Use the keyboard to move the mouse (on older operating systems)

• Make your mouse suitable for left handed users

Ok, so on to RSI. Repetitive movements can make your wrists, arms, shoulder, neck and back ache. A lot of writer’s complain of these sorts of aches and pains because they are at the computer for long periods of time. So what can we do to help? Let’s assume that you’ve already made the necessary ergonomic adjustments (as outlined above). I want to start by talking about the dreaded wrist rest.

A lot of people use these INCORRECTLY. They are NOT for use when typing; they are to be used when RESTING. If you rest on it whilst typing, you are restricting movement and blood flow through the wrist area. This is not a good thing and could potentially cause you damage. If you are at risk of not using this device properly then get rid of it.

The AutoCorrect Feature within Word
Did you know there was a way of speeding up your typing, especially if you are using the same words or phrases over and over again? AutoCorrect is a feature of Microsoft Word and its main objective is to help correct common typing mistakes made by the user. You’ve probably seen it already when you’ve typed nda instead of and – the computer has automatically corrected it for you. You can also use this feature to expand abbreviations. For example if your main character has a really long name such as “Sir Edward Duke of Washington” then you could shorten this to sed and have the computer automatically correct it to the above. This is really useful but can only be found in older versions of word (not so useful I know).

Voice Recognition
Voice recognition has improved in leaps and bounds over the years and even Microsoft has jumped on the bandwagon. Microsoft operating systems now have a built in voice recognition feature. In my humble opinion (and it is just my opinion) this is not yet good enough to use and I would recommend a dedicated voice recognition program such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking for example. By using a voice recognition system, you can limit and in some cases remove keyboard and mouse use altogether. The only down sides to using voice recognition are that you have to get undergo some basic training and practice to get it to work for you and you have to speak the punctuation which may or may not annoy you.

Word Count and spacing
Microsoft word will count the number of words and paragraphs in your text FOR you which is a god send for writers. You can also change the indentation of paragraphs and spacing between the lines.

Thesaurus
I’m sure you all know that Microsoft word has a built in dictionary but did you also know it has a thesaurus? It’s built into the menus but there is also a keyboard shortcut you can use. Highlight a word and use SHIFT + F7 which brings up the thesaurus. I find this feature really useful.

Proofreading
Did you know that you can have your read work back to you? In the all important world of proofreading, mistakes are very easy to overlook. I often find that when I’m tired, I don’t always see an exact copy of what I am reading. Therefore, I use the computer to read it back to me in the form of text to speech software. This is also useful for people with dyslexia by the way.

Lets start with the free programs. There is one called ReadPlease that you can download for free and paste text into it and have it read. This is a basic program that works quite well. Click here to visit the website. As technology has improved over the years, computer voices are becoming more natural sounding. I really like NaturalReader which uses the most natural voices I have heard yet. They provide both a free version and a paid version. This program BLOWS ME AWAY because you can have US, UK, Italian, Swedish, German, French, Arabic and Spanish voices speak your text back to you. Obviously English speaking people would use the UK and US voices but if you speak another language or are writing in another language, hey presto you have a solution to have it read back to you. You can listen to samples of the voices here. And no I totally haven’t been on there just to type in silly phrases and rude words in order to get the voices to speak them. Not at all.

As a final word, I want to let you know about AbilityNet (the charity I used to work for). They have an expansive list of factsheets and skillsheets on their website which gives you step by step instructions on how to make changes within your computer, some of which I’ve mentioned in this post. Please go and have a look and see if they can help you. Click here to visit the website.

As a disclaimer, I want to let you know that the information in this blog post is based on opinion and experience. I would always recommend seeking medical advice as a first point of call if you think you have RSI or any other medical related condition.

In My Mailbox

"In My Mailbox" was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Every Sunday, I will let you know what books I've picked up in the week! And I have to say, there is not a great deal this week but then after LAST week, are you surprised?!

First up is "The Moonstone Legacy" by Diana de Gunzburg and Tony Wild. This is a UK YA debut from both writers and was sent to my for review. Whilst I'm not overly blown away by the cover art, I am reminded not to judge a book by its cover. I'm intrigued by the mystery and adventure this title promises to deliver and I will be reviewing this next month so look out for that! It's out now to buy (I saw it in Foyles, London last week).



Next up is "Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake" by Sarah MacLean. As a huge fan of romance novels, I knew I had to get this one, especially when I read how much everyone had enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I will be reviewing this on the blog though so I'll have to read it first to decide. This is a mass market paperback which is not my favourite format for books but I decided to make an exception for this one!





Last but by no means least are "The Vampire Diaries" books from L.J. Smith. I always fantasise that she has the same first and middle name as me since we share the same initials (I'm sure we don't though). I was lucky enough to be sent all the Vampire Diaries books published to date with the new UK/TV series tie in cover art. Whilst I am a HUGE fan of the show, I remember attempting to read these books a while ago now and not overly loving them. I'm willing to put my prejudices aside though and start fresh. It should be interesting to compare to the TV show.

Do The Write Thing for Nashville

I'm hoping that by now, you've all heard of "Do the Write Thing for Nashville". As you may or may not know, during the early part of May, Nashville, Tennessee received a record amount of rain - nearly 13.5 inches in total. The city was drowning, old building and monuments destroyed, families lost their homes and people died.

Set up by three authors - Myra McEntire (Hourglass, 2011), Victoria Schwab (The Near Witch, August 2011) and Amanda Morgan (book currently in submissions), "Do the Write Thing for Nashville" was a way of raising much needed funds for Nashville and her citizens to help support and rebuild. All things writing related were auctioned off to the highest bidder - critiques, signed books, author visits, the chance to talk to industry professionals,you name it and they had it. It was amazing to watch and I will admit to having a few cheeky bids. Sadly though, the bidding went way too high for me and I couldn't afford to bid anymore :( I didn't mind the not winning part but I still wanted to help. I tried to donate a signed ARC but they were so inundated with donations that whilst extremely grateful, they could not use it. This is why I'm so glad that they now have t-shirts to purchase. This is a much more affordable solution for the masses of people out there who were too poor to bid on the items but still want to help. The t-shirts cost $18 and minus production and shipping, all the money goes directly towards the flood relief efforts.

Please click here to find out more about Do the Write Thing for Nashville and order a t-shirt. It may be small, but us little folks can still make a contribution :)

Whilst they are asking for payment in cheque format, obviously this is not appropriate for international buyers. Therefore, the suggestion is to e mail them at dtwtfn@gmail.com to find an alternative payment method. I've ordered mine and I really hope you will order one too :)

Just so you know, almost $75,000 was raised through the auction and this was something that was set up by three women with NO experience in fundraising. At one point they were working 16 hour days on this and because of their efforts, lives will be changed. They have my utmost respect both as authors and human beings.

10'er WINNERS! WEEK #8's EPIC CONTEST!

This week is an EPIC contest from Heidi R Kling (author of Sea, June 2010). You can win signed books and as usual, it's a mystery prize...which makes it that much more exciting! Visit Heidi here and follow the instructions but be quick as the contest ends at midnight tonight, California time. As usual, it's international.

Heavenly Review

I am in love with this book. There is no other way to say it. Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens has been on my radar for quite a while now and whilst I’d owned the book for some time, I do have a very large TBR pile and had not read it yet. I seem to be saying this a lot lately! Anyway, I picked it up and started reading one night and absolutely loved the story.

Heavenly is told through the eyes of 17-year-old Zoe who lives at home with her parents, younger brother and little sister Abria who is autistic and as such she demands a lot of care and attention from her parents. This leaves Zoe and her brother Luke feeling rather neglected. Their parents are so tired and weighed down with responsibility that they are completely oblivious to Zoe’s escapism into alcohol and partying and Luke’s drug dependency. One day, Zoe meets her autistic little sister’s guardian angel Matthias and their relationship changes everything. But how long can heaven on earth last?

I like to read late at night and Heavenly kept me up for a few nights until 3am (it’s a good job I was on holiday from work is all I can say). I purposefully didn’t rush my way through Heavenly though as I wanted to savour every delicious moment of reading it and prolong my enjoyment of the book for as long as possible. I was hooked into the story immediately and I really enjoyed the way Zoe’s character developed as the story unfolded. I also liked how her parents were portrayed in the book. They weren’t cast as the bad parents or parents that didn’t care about their children. They were genuinely struggling to hold the family together. The family was somewhat dysfunctional yes but they were painted in a sympathetic light because of their struggles with Abria. There was never ANY doubt that they loved their children and I liked that.

One character I was not particularly fond of was Britt who is Zoe’s best friend. She is shallow and selfish which soon becomes obvious to the reader. I didn’t really believe in their friendship and thought that they were using each other for company, which I think is what Jennifer was aiming to portray. On the opposite side of the coin was Chase who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Zoe over a common bond. I liked the fact that Zoe had someone who actually was a loyal friend to confide in.

One of my favourite characters was Luke, surprisingly enough. I thought that Jennifer portrayed his drug dependency in such a humane and sympathetic light that rather than judge him, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and want to help him.

And Matthias, what can I say about dear, sweet Matthias. Three words methinks...I. WANT. ONE. Not only is he a fantastic guardian angel but he also has the ability to influence people through emotions (but in a good way). Think Jasper from Twilight. This might sound odd but I felt a sense of calmness reading Heavenly as though Matthias were real and influencing me through Zoe.

I think what I love most about Heavenly, besides the story, is the voice. Zoe has a mature voice, it isn't childish or superficial. I thought Heavenly was an excellent example of a YA crossover novel that appeals to both teenagers and adults alike. I can’t wait to give it to my older sister to read and I’ve lined it up as a surprise birthday present for another friend who I just know is going to love it.

I can’t tell you how much I loved this book and I was extremely lucky recently to have been sent the sequel Penitence. I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you to know that I started reading Penitence pretty much immediately after finishing Heavenly and again, read it within a matter of days. And yes, I was up until 3am each time!

In conclusion, I would HIGHLY recommend this book and it has become one of my personal favourites. The ending will leave you desperate for more!! I’d never read anything by Jennifer Laurens before and I now find myself a huge fan of her writing and can’t wait to read and review her other books. Look out for a review of Penitence very soon.



Jennifer Laurens has also written other novels such as Falling for Romeo, Magic Hands and Nailed. She has her own website which you can visit by clicking here and from there you can access the blog for Jennifer's musings and regular contests. Jennifer is also active on Twitter and facebook. As if that wasn't enough for you, Heavenly also has its own website which you can visit by clicking here to get more information about the book and its sequels.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

A contemporary romance set in the City of Light, guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris — until she meets Étienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna — and readers — have long awaited?

I've had this book on my radar for a while now and am eagerly anticipating its' release. I think it sounds like a beautiful coming of age story with plenty of romance and finding yourself. Who wouldn't want to spend a semester in arguably the most romantic city in the world?! I love the adventure of it all - throw in a little romance and I'm hooked ;)

Anna and the French Kiss is released worldwide on 2nd December, 2010 which means we're in for a bit of a wait In the meantime you can check out Steph's website here and peruse her blog. Steph is also active on Twitter and facebook. If you like the sound of this book, I urge you to add it to your Goodreads list now! If you're thinking "what the heck if Goodreads?" google it and find out ;)

One final note...Steph has blue streaks in her hair, how cool is that?!

Beastly Review

“My dad’s a network news guy. He says people shouldn’t have to look at ugly people.”

I have to confess that Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney animation and one that I sheepishly know all the words to. I’ve even seen the stage show on Broadway and so when I found out about Beastly by Alex Flinn, I knew I had to read it. You see, Beastly is a YA version of the classic story Beauty and the Beast.

In Beastly, the main protagonist is Kyle Kingston, a teenager who leads a privileged life in the heart of New York City. He just about has it all – good looks, popularity and a rich father. I say “just about” because he is sadly lacking in the winning personality stakes. Together with his shallow girlfriend Sloane, they rule the school and treat anyone who isn’t beautiful like persona non grata. When a cruel prank backfires, Kyle gets a taste of his own medicine.

Beastly was a fun, quick read that I read in one sitting. I enjoyed the interesting take on the Beauty and the Beast story and I love how Kyle grows and develops throughout the book. In the beginning, he is not a likeable character but he definitely grows on you as the story unfolds. I think because the main protagonist was male, I initially thought that the author was a man until I finished reading and turned to the back of the book and saw the author photo. I realise this was a bit silly of me now but it was a subconscious thought and not one that I had any control over. Sorry Alex!

I really liked the supporting characters and I would have liked to have seen more from Lindy. This could only have been achieved however, by reading from her point of view.

I’m REALLY looking forward to the movie but I can already see why they will have to change a few details. I’m guessing this may be one of those rare times when I will like the film better than the book but I’ll reserve judgement on that for now until the movie comes out in July. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, here it is in all it's glory (just remember to wipe up your drool after watching.



Alex Flinn is the author of several books but Beastly is the first of her novels to be made into a movie. You can visit her website by clicking here.

The League of Extraordinary Writers

Are you a fan of dystopian writing? Have you heard of The League of Extraordinary Writers? They are a group of 4 debut YA dystopian writers who have banded together to form a website. You can read about their upcoming novels and enter contests. I'm sure there will be much more from them and so this is definitely a website to watch! Go and check them out by clicking here and enter the May contest to win a signed copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan AND a signed copy of The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey as well as some swag. It's international and the deadline is 31st May.

In My Mailbox

"In My Mailbox" was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Every Sunday, I will let you know what books I've picked up in the week! It is currently 4am as I'm posting this so I will ask you to please forgive me for any errors!

First up is a biggie. I was very fortunate (and very, very excited) to receive an exclusive ARC of Torment by Lauren Kate. This is the follow up novel to Fallen. Thank you so much to the girls at Random House who gave this to me. I'm really looking forward to reading this one but I won't be posting a review for a while I'm afraid.






I've just received 13 To Life by the awesome Shannon Delany for review as part of an ARC tour. I'm so grateful for ARC tours, especially as I live in the UK and are somewhat disadvantaged at times for receiving ARC's. As an honourary wolf girl, I've wanted to read this for a long time now so I'm absolutely delighted to have it in my hands at last :)






Mistwood by Leah Cypess is a book I keep hearing great things about and so I had to get this one. As with most books I want, I had to order online and I can tell you that the cover is so much more gorgeous in real life than it is on the screen.







Another book I was interested in reading is Birth Marked by Caragh M O'Brien. I thought the cover and the blurb was really interesting.









I have to confess that I must be the last person in the Western civilized world to read the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. The funny thing is, I definitely want to and I have all the books. I had to add to the collection and so I bought Radiant Shadows which is her latest book. It was the last one on the shelf and so I knew it had to be mine. Melissa has been working on a more adult book called Graveminder which has me totally intrigued but we don't know a lot about it yet.




I've fallen in love with Jennifer Lauren's books after reading Heavenly and Penitence, so I decided to look at her back catalogue. Falling for Romeo sounded really good so I started looking for it. The 2009 version was really hard to track down but thanks to Jennifer, I got it :)



I think the UK covers for Aprillynne Pyke books are gorgeous. I bought Wings a long time ago and I'm so ashamed to say that I've not yet read it. But I also knew that I had to get Spells and I'm going to make a concerted effort to start reading the books at the beginning of my TBR pile.







I've read another book by Sarah Addison Allen called The Sugar Queen and really enjoyed it so when I found this in a discounted book store, I knew I had to get it. Sarah's writing is more romance and I'd say perhaps even adult so I may not review it but I'll definitely read it for pleasure.







Another confession I'm afraid. I've never read anything by Neil Gaiman (and he is British I believe). I saw Stardust the movie and LOVED it so I have high hopes. Besides, everyone is always talking about how amazing he is so here's hoping he doesn't disappoint.







I just recently gave away a signed copy of The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan away on the blog because I wanted to get the hardback copy for myself (to go with the hardback of The Forest of Hands and Teeth). I still haven't read either of them but I fancy it soon as a change from other paranormal stories. Again, I've heard good things about the books and I LOVE the UK covers.





I've been wanting to read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher for a long time now but never seem to pick up the book and take it to the till. Well, now I have and I'm looking forward to reading this one as it's gritty and real.








I keep hearing things about Laurie Halse Anderson's writing but I have not yet experienced it for myself. Speak was recommended to me by Cat Clarke (Entangled, Jan 2011) and so I'm going to give it a whirl and see what I think. Apparently I will not be dissapointed.

I also just found out from another blog that this was made into a movie starring Kristen Stewart. How did I NOT know this?! I'm totally looking this up once I've read and reviewed the book.



I'd looked at Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin a long time ago now but again, never picked it up. Cat recommended this one highly too so I decided to get it.








I've seen Patrick Ness' books on the shelves for a while now and sometimes I've even picked them up to look at the blurb. I was never quite sure if I would like them or not but the ladies at the bloggers meet yesterday told me I HAD to get them as they are amazing and this was a signed copy so how could I not?!






The Ask and The Answer is the sequel to the above mentioned book by Patrick Ness. Again, it was signed so I bought it :)









I'd not heard of Soulless by Christopher Golden before but I read the blurb and was immediately intrigued so I bought it. I'm looking forward to reading this one!








From one Nora Roberts fan to another, this was recommended to me and it's one I haven't read so I ordered it online. I was disappointed not to receive THIS cover though, especially as that was the cover that was advertised. It's not the first time a particular online seller has done this to me and I will be taking it up with them.






Someone told me that Sarah Zarr's writing was amazing and so I needed no other prompt for me to buy this book. I also love the cover and the title. I'm a hopeless romantic, what can I say ;)








I'd heard a little bit about Dido by Adele Geras and when I read the blurb, I was intrigued so I bought a hardback copy of it. I later found a paperback for half the price but I prefer hardback's so I don't mind really.








The Wish List by Gabi Stevens is a book I saw recommended on another blog (sorry, I forget who) and it sounded really good so I thought I would get myself a copy :)








Savour the Moment is part of "The Bride Quartet" - a collection of four books by Nora Roberts. Each book concentrates on one character out of the four women that run a successful wedding planning business. This is an adult book in the romance genre and so whilst I love reading Nora Roberts, I am unlikely to review on here as it doesn't fit in with the blog. This one is for pleasure only (and there's nothing wrong with that) ;)





I've heard a lot of people say that The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson is an amazing book so I had to get this one. I liked the cover on the hardback so that's the one I bought.








Impossible by Nancy Werlin is a book that I received on an ARC tour so this is the book I'll be reading and reviewing next.

SEA BLUE PEOPLE WIN MYSTERY BOOK CONTEST: WEEK #7

It's week 7 so it must be time for another prize from Heidi! This week's contest is "Tenner Week" (nothing to do with Pavarotti or any other opera singers, I promise you). For those of you not in the know, The Tenners are authors releasing their debut novel in 2010 (Heidi is one of them). The Tenners are made up of some extremely awesome people and far too many to list here. Click here to visit The Tenners website which will give you a list of authors.

Basically, we're in for some AWESOME prizes.

All you have to do is click here to visit Heidi's Blog and enter. As always, the contest is international but you'll have to be quick with this one as it ends tomorrow - Friday at midnight (California time). Good luck to everyone!

Waiting on Wednesday (except it's Thursday)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is ABSOLUTION by Jennifer Laurens which is book #3 in the Heavenly series. If you haven't read Heavenly or the sequel Penitence, then you are seriously missing out! These are gorgeous books that I'm about to write reviews for (so stay tuned). I absolutely fell in love with these books and am still thinking about them weeks after I finished reading.

There is no actual blurb from Goodreads as of yet BUT I did find a teaser book trailer so sit back, relax and watch...



I get the feeling that I'm going to need a big box of tissues standing by when I read this one and I cannot wait! According to Jennifer, the book is set to release some time in October this year. I cannot recommend this series highly enough people.

Contest to Win Restoring Harmony

Yes that's right, you can win a copy of Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony (with a signed bookplate) given away by "Not Enough Bookshelves" (boy can I empathise with THAT statement!). If you don't know a lot about the book, here is the blurb from Goodreads:

"The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.

Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.

Restoring Harmony is a riveting, fast-paced dystopian tale complete with adventure and romance that readers will devour."

All you have to do is click here to visit the site and enter. The contest is international and you'll have to be quick with this one as the winner will be picked on 13th May! Good luck to everyone (if you win, can I borrow it? LOL).

Angel Star Contest

After raving about Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia in my recent review, how would you like to win a copy of the book and some swag to go with it? All you have to do is head over to Written Word Review to fill out the form. The contest is international and the deadline is 16th May. Click here to visit the site. Good luck to everyone!

In My Mailbox

"In My Mailbox" was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Every Sunday, I will let you know what books I've picked up in the week! I realise I have been severely lacking in these posts lately but I've been trying to limit my book shopping to the bare minimum and so there hasn't been too much to tell you about. However, I have quite a few books to tell you about THIS week...

Sister's Red by Jackson Pearce is officially released on 7th June which is MY BIRTHDAY! The Gods were totally smiling on me this week as I received an ARC of this book. I'm so excited to read and review this one! And just so you know, I'm still asking for a finished copy for my birthday :)



Next up is Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. I've heard so much about this book that I'm practically frothing at the mouth wanting to read this! I've been warned not to read this book before bed otherwise I won't want to GO to bed and will be up all night reading. This person knows me really well so it's definitely true! I have a couple of other books to read first and then this is definitely my next choice.


Rules of Attraction, also by Simone Elkeles, is the follow up novel to Perfect Chemistry so of course I need to read this. It's a fairly recent release actually and I'm excited to add it to the TBR pile. I'm sure that when I've read Perfect Chemistry, I won't be able to help myself from picking this up next.



I have to confess that I have not read anything by Lisa Shroeder but I Heart You, You Haunt Me intrigues me. I've never read anything that is entirely in prose before and wasn't sure that I would like it. The jury is still out until I have read it but I'm hopeful that I'll like it.



I've heard of Amanda Marrone before and still want to read Uninvited and Devoured. This however, is Revealers. I love the cover and the book is witchy in nature which definitely interests me. I look forward to reading this one and discovering a new author's work in the process.



Another author that is new to me is Laurie Halse Anderson. A friend gave me a copy of Twisted and told me I had to read it. Who am I to argue?! I like the fact that this book is not paranormal in nature as I also like reading things that are "normal" every now and then.



This is the UK cover for Ash by Malinda Lo. I have to admit that I have a hardback version of this and also that I have not read it yet. I plan to move this one up the TBR pile and get it read and reviewed! If nothing else, to get to know Malinda's writing.



Catherine Fisher, author of Incarceron and Sapphique has a new book out called Crown of Acorns. I've heard great things about her as an author and so I'm excited to read this and see if I like it.




Another author I've heard good things about is Sarah Dessen. I've not read any of her books but I was lucky enough to receive Someone Like You which will be my taster book to Sarah's writing. I like the snazzy UK covers too.



Last but by no means least is Last Chance, also by Sarah Dessen. I could repeat what I've said above but I won't.

Look out for reviews of all the above books in the near future.