I listened to this on audio and I thought it was wonderful. Eddie Redmayne is the perfect narrator and I loved all the added sound effects in the background. A super quick and informative read. The perfect addition to the Wizarding World we all know and love.

Behind a gorgeous cover, Flame in the Mist is a well written historical fantasy with some serious Mulan vibes and a beautiful Japanese setting steeped in culture and gorgeous scenery.

This book does not hold back on the darkness. The opening chapter threw us straight into the middle of things, setting the scene for the rest of this complex, dark and bloody tale. When Mariko is the lone survivor of an ambush she decides to take things into her own hands and find out why she was under attack. Breaking her way into the confidence of the Black Clan, Mariko uncovers a list of forbidden truths and discovers more about herself than she thought was possible.

I have to say that I found this book a little difficult to follow at times and the first half of the book was a bit too slow for my liking. However, the final 25% really picked up the pace and I couldn’t get enough of this novel. There were certainly plenty of surprises’ along the way and I wasn’t able to predict how this book would end. I loved the culture and the use of Japanese vocabulary throughout the book. It was helpful to have a handy glossary at the back for any moments where I was unsure but it wasn’t often that I needed to check it as Renee Ahdieh’s writing is so beautiful and detailed that my mind was able to take in the Japanese words with an understanding I didn’t know I possessed.

My favourite thing about this book is how much it breaks all those feminist stereotypes. Mariko is a girl therefore she shouldn’t be a warrior, she shouldn’t carry a weapon, she shouldn’t be learning to fight with a sword but Mariko does all of these things and so much more. There are some seriously excellent moments for feminism in this book and I loved that!

On the whole I enjoyed this story but thought that at times it was a little wordy (if that makes sense??) and it confused me a little. The ending has been really intrigued though and there were certainly plenty of loose ends that were nowhere near being tied up so I’ll definitely be back for book two!

A big thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Renee Ahdieh for my advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was the first time that I have ever read a book written in verse and I surprised myself by really enjoying it. I thought it added a dimension to the book that would have been completely lost had this been told as a normal novel.

Contrasting the lives of Jess and Nicu, We Come Apart shows just what can happen when two people from two very different worlds come together. The story is told in alternating ‘chapters’ from each of their voices. Initially this can be a little confusing as it doesn’t explicitly tell you who is speaking but once you learn their voices it is easy to tell.

I loved reading Nicu’s chapters in broken English and how his vocabulary developed along the way. It was a very clever way of showing the complexity of the English language too and some of what Nicu said did make me giggle a little. I thought Nicu’s character was absolutely adorable. Whilst I was initially a little less positive towards Jess, it soon became clear that there was much more going on with her than first meets the eye and there were many moments during her parts where I was holding my breath for her.

Overall I thought this was a quick and interesting read although I was hoping for a bit more from the ending. The character development was excellent and I enjoyed reading a story in a less traditional format.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Childrens for my advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DCI Erika Foster is back! I loved Last Breath so much. Before going in I was a little worried that Robert Bryndza’s magic may run out. This is the fourth book in the series and the first three have all been 5*reads for me. Surely that can’t go on forever? But I was DELIGHTED to fall straight back in love with his characters and find myself in the middle of another fantastic and interesting murder investigation.

I really loved that Last Breath focused so heavily on social media and its many dangers. With programmes such as Catfish being so popular, I thought this was a really current novel. Our killer in Last Breath lures in his victims using fake online accounts but for me the real sinister thing about it was just how much work went into manipulating the women. There was something very chilling about the way he made the women add him on social media and think they were the ones in control before meeting them and bringing them to the most brutal endings.

This is unlike most thrillers that I read as there was no ‘whodunnit’ revelation that I was waiting for. Instead the killer is revealed to us early on in the novel and we read chapters from his perspective as well as Erika’s. I thought this was a superb way to raise the stakes when it comes to how thrilling the novel is. I was practically screaming at my Kindle with frustration when he was getting away with things right in front of their faces. I was terrified when I could see they were getting close but didn’t know if they would get there in time. It was truly excellent.

One of my favourite things about Robert’s books is his characterization, it is honestly fantastic. I am in love with Erika, Peterson and Moss. They are so well written and they feel more like friends than book characters. I would love to see them brought to life on the screen, their chemistry is so well written that I am dying to see it played out in person! I was particularly happy with Erika and Peterson’s new venture too!!

I don’t know how Robert does it but I can only keep my fingers and toes crossed that more deliciously dark murder cases will be coming our way soon!

A big thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Robert Bryndza for my advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A book about an intelligent young girl who absolutely loves space and dreams of being an astronaut… That’s a big YES from me!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really loved Meg. I thought she was a wonderful character and a great example to young people of how loving Science is not a bad thing. I did have a rather significant issue with her mother though. Meg’s mum is beyond irresponsible and it really bothered me but it also gave us the chance to see Meg bonding with her baby sister and if there’s something I am a huge sucker for it is sibling relationships. Meg’s friendships were wonderfully written and I thought that the romance was well done too.

This book also showed the effects of Meg’s anxiety without the book becoming about her anxiety, which I loved. Meg didn’t fit easily into her new lifestyle, she didn’t breeze into a relationship, she didn’t become a super popular person and just win her way to the top. She worked hard, she overcame her fears, she felt so real and I think Meg will resonate with many teenage readers.

I absolutely devoured this wonderful book. From the first few pages I was sucked right into Amanda’s world and I thought this was a really touching coming of age story.

I loved all of the characters in this book. They were so very well written and completely realistic. Amanda was definitely my favourite and I felt honoured to share her experience with her. One aspect I truly enjoyed seeing was how Amanda’s relationship with her father developed over the course of the book. Having not had much of a relationship with her father all her life, it is fair to say that he is still getting used to his son now being his daughter but there are some incredibly beautiful moments between them that really warmed my heart. It’s not all plain sailing but I thought it felt very authentic.

I loved the way this book flashed back between Amanda’s present and her past experiences and during her transition. It really helped me to feel like I was bonding with Amanda as our MC and to understand her relationship with herself. Amanda is undoubtedly a complex character and it was also interesting to see her struggling with her religion and romantic feelings as a teenage girl. Although I’m not normally a fan of insta love romances, the romance between Amanda and Grant felt very real and I was rooting for them all along.

I am a sucker for reading author notes and dedications and I absolutely loved reading Meredith Russo’s author note. Separated into two sections Russo talks to her cis readers and her trans readers. I thought it was so well written and such a poignant addition to the book. Importantly, Russo reminds us that If I Was Your Girl is her book, written using some of her experiences as a transgender woman and that her experience is not the same as anyone else’s. It’s something that is always important to remember when reading an #OwnVoices book.

I want to point out that I am a cis reader and therefore I would like to link to this fantastic review that was co-written by a cis person and a trans person. http://www.onwednesdays.net/if-i-was-your-girl/

There is a big possibility I am the last person on the planet to read this trilogy but you know what? Sometimes arriving late to the party is the cool thing to do (not always, but sometimes) and I’m pretty happy that I’ve finally turned up to this party!

After getting just a couple of pages into this book I knew I was going to fall in love. I adore Holly’s writing style; it is sassy, edgy and so fresh. I loved the voice that she created for Evie and boy did this book ooze Britishness. Not only is Holly’s writing like a breath of fresh air but I immediately felt like I knew these characters, lived in their world and so badly wanted to hang out with them. The conversational style of writing really caught me and I felt like I was also in this fab friendship group and hanging out with my friends. I loved the way that there were little headed sections such as ‘Bad Thought’ to break up the sections and that the book is also littered with therapy pages. It had such a fun feel to it even though it deals with something really important.

Am I Normal Yet? is the first in the Spinster Club trilogy and is told from Evie’s POV. Evie has OCD which one minute she has under control and the next it is spiralling. This book takes OCD and wades right through all of those awful stereotypes of ‘I’m so OCD, I have to have my pens in the right order’, to the real nitty, gritty reality of suffering with OCD. Evie’s OCD consumes her every waking thought and as she spirals further we get more and more exposed to how manic her thoughts and anxiety become. It absolutely pained me to read how bad things were getting for Evie and I so badly wanted her to open up to Lottie and Amber who I was sure would be so supportive of her. I’m really glad that despite the narrative of this book having a fun feel to it, it did not shy away from the harsh reality that living with OCD can bring.

Feminism. This book is FULL of wonderful, blossoming, in your face WE ARE FEMINISTS feminism and I LOVED it. I’ve seen Holly talk previously and I knew she was a feminist (as am I, I might add) and I loved the way this came through in the book. This was as much a lesson in feminism as any non-fiction text could be and I’m sure it will have, and will continue to, inspire many readers to look into feminism further and to learn more about it. I loved reading about the Spinster Club meetings and thought it was wonderful to see feminism being embraced so openly.

The romances were okay but I was so invested in Evie, Lottie and Amber that I found myself more disconnected from the male characters. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because it goes to show how excellent the voices of the MCs were!

If I were to write out a list of my favourite quotes and laugh out loud moments I’d have to write out pretty much the whole book so I would highly recommend picking up a copy if you haven’t already. If you love YA, feminism and books about mental health, this is an absolute MUST read!

Holly Bourne does it again! I loved Am I Normal Yet? and had unrealistically high expectations for this second book in my series binge but it did not disappoint in the slightest. I am in love with Holly Bourne’s writing style and humour whilst still writing books that inform and evoke emotion.

How Hard Can Love Be? follows Amber on her American summer adventure. Amber sets off to America with high hopes of reuniting with her mum and experiencing America for herself whilst helping out in the summer camp her mum and step father run. Then begins a summer of new friends, romance, alcohol and big decisions. How will Amber cope?

I have to say that I really loved that this book had such a focus on family dynamics and relationships. We are already clued into there being something amiss with Amber’s mum when reading the first book but we never find anything out as it is Evie’s story. This book doesn’t hold back on Amber’s inner turmoil or the emotions she has kept suppressed for so many years. Amber’s mum is an alcoholic, she abandoned Amber to move to America and they’ve had very little relationship since. This summer is supposed to be Amber’s chance to bond with her mum but it doesn’t take long before we see that things are not going to work out that way. We see the real effect of her mother’s abandonment and alcoholism when Amber finally breaks down and lets out all those years of tears and pent up emotions. I really felt for her and just wanted to wrap her in a big hug. Whilst her relationship with her mother may have its problems, I was so glad to see a YA book talking so frankly about parent/child relationships as more often than not parents are the mythical unicorns of YA.

One of my favourite things about this book was not long after Amber arrives in America and she is getting to know her new camp mates including the gorgeous Kyle and wonderful Whinnie. I loved seeing how Holly Bourne put all those stereotypical Britishisms in the book whilst cleverly comparing the UK and the USA. I thought it was hilarious and I had some real laugh out loud moments. (Because of course, we are all friends with Kate Middleton here!)

Once again Holly Bourne has written realistic characters and I just fell in love with Whinnie and Kyle. I was so happy that Amber found Whinnie who was like her soul sister and an extension to the Spinster Club. She seemed so lovely and I was a sucker for all the Winnie the Pooh references. Kyle is your stereotypical American Adonis but it was refreshing to read about an American God who is and wants to be so much more than his looks. There were some really lovely moments between him and Amber that just made my little heart warm right up.

Also, Harry Potter references. Is there anyone in the UK that wouldn’t want to have gone to summer camp as a youngster? We’ve all seen the movies like Parent Trap and secretly wished we could have had that experience. Well how about a camp where everyone is split into Hogwarts Houses (although not happy about Slytherin erasure, no!). I just loved it and thought it was a clever way to make this book so British whilst being set in America.

If you haven’t already guessed it, I highly recommend that you pick up this series. Holly Bourne is pushing the boundaries of YA by tackling those more hidden topics whilst keeping her novels fun, fresh and informative. I can’t get enough of the Spinster ladies!

4.5*

Ah, book three and now it’s Lottie’s turn to be our leading lady. Knowing this I just knew that this book would be oozing fantastic feminism and lots of thought provoking ideas. After reading this book I can easily say that it made me think about sexism and especially all of the everyday sexism that we encounter and often just accept.

I loved how this book focused so much on Lottie’s despair at the world around her, a feeling that many of us have shared and are familiar with. That horrible feeling when walking towards a group of men of knowing there’s a good chance (chance because it does not ALWAYS happen) that as a female you are about to be leered at or about to receive what some think is a compliment but actually makes your skin crawl. The fact that Lottie’s Vagilante project is inspired by an event that so many women and girls can relate to just made this whole book so realistic and relatable.

Lottie’s anger at the everyday sexism that is over looked sparks her to start her own Vagilante project with the support of her FemSoc friends and, of course, her Spinster Club friends Evie and Amber. I loved what Lottie was doing here but my favourite thing about this book is that once again Holly Bourne shies away from nothing. This is the nitty gritty story of just how hard it is to stand up for what you believe in and using your voice for the good. It’s a perfect show of exactly why some people feel that they can’t do just that and I really appreciated that this was taken into consideration whilst still showing that with the right strength, standing up to adversity will always help someone, no matter how hard it is.

The romance for Lottie was lovely but I so much preferred the friendships again. Lottie, Amber and Evie probably have my favourite YA friendship right now. I love that they have such a wonderful and honest friendship that they are able to call each other out one minute and the next turn up with a big bag of cheesy snacks and just know it’s what the other needs. To me their friendship is so real and I can definitely see aspects of that reflected in my own relationships with my closest friends.

Once again Holly Bourne has sparked a fire in my heart, evoked emotions that I didn’t know I had and I’ve put this book down feeling like I’ve truly been enlightened. Wonderful!