I first heard of One of Us is Lying during a #SundayYA chat on Twitter and I was immediately intrigued and knew I would have to get my hands on it somehow. I was lucky enough to get approved to read this via NetGalley and have since been out to buy a physical copy to keep on my shelves too. This book is excellent.

5 teenagers in detention. Only four of them leave. One of them is now dead. But who killed Simon? Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy and Nate all have their reasons to want Simon dead but who would actually act upon them? One of Us is Lying has some serious Gossip Girl / Pretty Little Liars vibes and being a fan of both shows I just knew I would love it.

This book was DELICIOUS! It doesn’t mess around at all. Within the first few pages Simon is dead and we are thrust straight away into the murder mystery that I so often think is missing from YA books. We see parts of the story from all four points of view and this definitely added to the mystery and intrigue. As I got to know each character for myself I started to make a mental check list of all the people I just knew weren’t the killer. Then I realised I had crossed them all off and had to start over again. My mind was racing to find out who the killer was because I just couldn’t work it out for myself. It wasn’t until a few pages before the reveal that I did manage to work it out and my mind was blown, so much so that I reread over some parts of the book to see if I could pick up clues.

I really liked that Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy and Nate all had their own voices within the book too and I found a way to connect to each of them. There were definitely times where they frustrated me but also a lot of times where I could relate to them so clearly (I have not killed anyone, just to be clear!). I loved that across our four main characters we had the classic character stereotypes: the clever girl, the jock, the prom queen and the bad boy. But I am so glad that this book peeled back those stereotypes and in fact there was some really excellent character development for each character in their own right.

I really enjoyed this as a quick read that kept me flipping pages until I had discovered the answer to the big question: who dunnit? I love the way McManus wrote her characters and I’ll certainly be looking out for more from her in the future.

Thanks to Penguin, Karen M. McManus and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Day 7 is a fantastic second instalment in this series. Picking up just where Cell 7 left off, this book continues to explore social class, conspiracy and media influence in a way I’ve not seen before.

I love that these books do not shy away from the nitty gritty truth that the media paint things in a certain way. Although I despise the nature of the reality shows in this book I love reading those scenes as it’s so interesting to see how the public are portrayed as reacting to what they are fed. I would like to think that I wouldn’t be so easily sucked in but I’m sure we all have been at some point or another. It’s really quite frightening when you think about the influence of the media and those up top who can control what goes out to the public and how it goes out. Frightening indeed.

There were plenty of shock twists and turns and a couple of them did leave me a bit teary eyed (if you’ve read the book you’ll know what I’m talking about!). The plot continued to be strong and I really enjoy how steeped in conspiracy this whole dystopian society is. It was refreshing to read the story from multiple POVs and I still really like all of the characters in this book. They all have their own stories and voices but are tied together perfectly.

The ending certainly left me wanting more – I just need to know what is going to happen next!

Thanks to Hot Key Books, Kerry Drewery and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Dimple Met Rishi has been high on my list of upcoming titles for a while now and I LOVED IT SO MUCH. From the first few pages I was just completely in love with the characters and desperately rooting for them to do well. This book is full of cultural representation, fluffy romance and completely geekiness which I absolutely adored!

I learnt a lot from this book about Dimple and Rishi’s culture and I thank Sandhya Menon so much for that. I loved seeing such a positive portrayal of arranged marriage because I think it will help to break the stereotypes that can sometimes spring to mind when arranged marriage is spoken of. There is very much a focus on developing a wonderful companionship and mutual love and respect and I love that it wasn’t forced here. Although it is what their parents want, they are also very accepting of not getting their desired outcome. I just thought it was all written beautifully. I also loved how bilingualism was represented with the characters regularly speaking Hindi as well as English. This felt very natural and it was wonderful to see it being acknowledged in the book. When Dimple Met Rishi is authentic in a way only an #OwnVoices book can be.

Dimple Shah is easily one of my new favourite fictional ladies. She was so independent, hilarious and sassy and I just loved how focused she was. She is a perfect example of how it is okay to be a girl and be ambitious and want to put yourself out there in a world that is male-dominated. I was completely behind Dimple all the way and I loved how passionate she was. Rishi was like an adorable little puppy and I just wanted to take him under my wing a bit. He was SO fluffy and wonderful and passionate and caring and I just loved him. I don’t think I need to state at this point that Dimple and Rishi are my newest OTP but …. they are!!

Although I am usually not a big fan of instalove in books (and I had expected more of a slowburn here) I did still fall head over heels in love with the romance in this book. It just felt right in every sense and was very well written. When Dimple Met Rishi is fluffy, romantic, hilarious and touching in every way possible. When’s the wedding?

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

Very highly anticipated within the UKYA community, I was delighted when I was accepted for an early copy of this on NetGalley. A Change is Gonna Come is every bit as wonderful as I expected and so, so much more.

This anthology holds such a diverse collection of stories from a wonderful host of BAME writers, some already well known authors and some fantastic debuts. Covering topics such as bereavement, mental health, racism and sexuality there is so much to be garnered from reading this anthology. There really is something in here for everyone. Whether you are able to relate to one of the many brilliant characters and stories on a personal level or whether you learn something from reading this anthology, this is a book that should be read by people of all ages and backgrounds.

As is the case with any anthology I read, there were some pieces that I didn’t connect with as well as others but every piece in here is unique and I think everyone who reads it will find certain pieces that they connect with on a more deep, personal level. My favourites were Marionette Girl by Aisha Bushy and Hackey Moon by Tanya Byrne. Both of these stories were so delicately written and had me in tears by the end – they really are stand out pieces of fiction. I absolutely have to give a shout out to the following stories too which I thought were exceptionally powerful in their subject matter and their voice: We Who? by Nikesh Shukla, Dear Asha by Mary Bello, A Refuge by Aiysha Malik and Fortune Favours the Bold by Yasmin Rahman.

I certainly feel that this anthology gave me a lot to think about and consider and I am really excited to see what comes from this in the publishing world. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for future works from the authors involved.

This collection of stories is sure to provide many teenage readers with their first experience of seeing themselves represented in published fiction and that is very, very special.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Stripes Books and all of the contributing authors for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Every now and then a book comes along that people seem to love wholeheartedly and then I read it with such high expectations that the book has a hard time living up to them. I think We Were Liars is the latest book to fall prey to this.

I went into We Were Liars knowing very little about the book, only that towards the end there is a huge, shocking twist that has blown readers’ minds. Unusually for me I had already figured out exactly what that twist would be before I was even halfway through the book and so I didn’t get the same Earth shattering revelation as everyone else which is probably why I didn’t love it as much as others have.

I don’t want this to be a negative review because there was plenty that I did like about the book. I really liked the different characters and the air of mystery that surrounded them. The writing style was poetic and the words seemed to dance across the page which certainly added to the mysterious tone that had been set from the beginning. I thought the romance was well written and cute. There was plenty to be said about familial relationships and there were some interesting takes on that to be found in this book.

Despite being quite a short book, it took me nearly a week to read this and I think it’s because I personally found it difficult to relate to the main character who is our narrator. Characters play a huge role in my enjoyment of the novel and I just found Cadence hard to connect with.

That being said there is plenty to enjoy about We Were Liars and I’m sure that many, many others will love this book for a very long time. I’ll definitely try another of E. Lockhart’s books in the future as her writing style has definitely caught my eye.

Sigh. I had SUCH high hopes for this book and when I first heard about it I immediately requested a copy to review which I was lucky to get. I’m glad I did because honestly I probably wouldn’t spend my money on this book. I’m sure that some other people will love it but it just wasn’t really for me and I got to the end and just felt like the whole book lacked what I had been hoping for.

I thought the idea of a society where the world is being run by women after men have been wiped out by a disease was super interesting and I’m a fan of dystopian novels, normally. But this just didn’t really work. I thought this was going to be a wonderful feminist novel that I would love whole heartedly but it didn’t feel feminist to me at all. Erasing an entire gender to make women the ‘important’ ones is the complete opposite of feminism and equality. This book is like a manual for man hating but in an awful way. River is brought up in a society where she is taught that men are all dangerous and will rape, murder or attack her. To me this is such a dangerous idea to float around in a book, even in a dystopian world, and it just didn’t sit right with me.

When I got to the end of this book I was so very confused. There were so many moments where I thought ‘Ooh, this is the moment it will all make sense’ but I am still waiting. I’m not sure I really understand the dystopian society that has been created and so I couldn’t fully embrace the story itself. I almost felt that I had been dropped into the wrong part of this book and would have actually preferred to read more about the ‘before’. How did their society end up how it was? What triggered the disease? What sacrifices were made for the women to survive? Why did the disease only wipe out men? How did the world only being women mean wars came to an end? I just wanted more information so that I could understand this new world more. Just thinking about getting the answers to those questions makes me see how much I didn’t know about this world.

The characters were okay. I felt quite neutral about River, our narrator, but I did like Kate. I thought she was quite funny and sassy. River’s voice was very immature though and I just couldn’t connect with her.

All that said, I did read this book quite quickly and the writing style is fairly simple. I just question whether the fact I skim read some of this says it all? An excellent premise it just wasn’t executed how I had hoped.

Thanks to MyKindaBook for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am so massively late to the game here but in true Kelly style I’ve worked my way backwards. Having loved reading Strange the Dreamer I just knew that at some point I would need to read Laini’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. After hearing Laini speak in a panel at YALC in July I knew that now was the perfect time and I am OH SO GLAD that I’ve finally indulged in this perfect, fantasy heaven.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone has lit a fire in me that is sure not to go out for a long time yet. How on Earth does Laini Taylor keep such glorious ideas in her head? How does her brain manage to lay out words across a piece of paper in such a majestic, perfect fashion? Reading this book did not feel like reading your average fantasy book. Laini’s words are like magic dashed across the page. Each word has its purpose and they are all woven together to form this seamless, magical creation that is Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book from the first few pages. I immediately liked Karou, our main character, and wanted to learn as much about her as possible straight away. As this book moved forward I could feel myself letting go of the real world around me and becoming more and more absorbed by Karou and her sparkling world. Laini’s words have created the most gorgeous world here and I could easily imagine every step that Karou took, every conversation that she had felt like a song to my ears and every piece of action felt completely exhilarating.

I loved the world that had been built and I was so invested in the plot of this book that I read this a lot quicker than I was expecting to. There are so many layers to the world and the characters that as I flipped through the pages and peeled back more and more layers I could feel my attachment to the characters growing. I feel so overwhelmed with how much I care about what happens to Karou and Akiva, not to mention the wonderful Zusana whom I couldn’t help but adore. Brimstone filled me with dread, fear and admiration somehow and a part of me still wants to hug Issa, despite the snakes.

It is really no wonder that I’ve heard so many people raving about this trilogy and none more so than one of my favourite authors, Katherine Webber (whom I now imagine as Karou due to her cosplay last weekend!). Laini has created a dark yet glorious world of mystery, intrigue, passion, love and true emotion. I certainly can’t wait to see what happens next – I’m picking up book two right away! (Ps. I have now devoured the whole trilogy!)

Hilarious – Heartfelt – Adventure

Those three words are printed on the back of this book as a way of hooking in an audience and they were the perfect three words to choose. I picked up a copy of Who Let the Gods Out? quite a while back now after hearing my lovely friend Steph absolutely raving about it. As part of my quest to read more Middle Grade, I decided it was finally time to read it for myself and I was blown away. This book is BRILLIANT.

Elliot lives on a farm with his mother. There is something wrong with his mum and Elliot is desperately trying keep it a secret from the people at school. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Virgo, a constellation from the Zodiac Council who, literally, crashes into his life. With that comes the beginning of an adventure Elliot never saw coming!

This book is absolutely hilarious. Reading it as an adult I just could not stop laughing at how crammed full of quips and wit this book is but there is also plenty in here that will have children of all ages giggling away. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud throughout this book and can only imagine that Maz Evans must have been cackling to herself whilst writing it.

I absolutely LOVED the way that Maz took each of the star signs and made them into fleshed out members of the Zodiac Council. There was such hilarious dialogue between them and there was something magical about them being brought to life. I know that if I was a child reading this it would give me a whole new outlook on the zodiac signs!

Greek mythology may become a new love of mine after reading this book. It was amazing to read a story that was heaped full of mythology but in an easily relatable way. I can think of some pupils in the lower end of secondary school really enjoying this but if I was a primary school teacher I would definitely be using this in the classroom for a unit of work.

As well as all of the fun and laughter, there was still a tinge of sadness there to be found. Josie, Elliot’s mum, clearly is unwell and there are moments throughout the book when you can see things are becoming too much for Elliot to cope with. It is thanks to his newfound friendship with Virgo and her mythological crowd that he manages to find his feet and work through the challenges he faces.

I basically just loved everything about this book and thought it was brilliant. Touching yet completely hilarious. But I cannot leave this review without stating that I think Maz Evans has created some of the BEST character names I have read in years: Patricia Porshley-Plum will tickle me for a long time.

“Everyone’s a fan of someone …”

I think that quote sums up exactly why I loved this book so much. Any book that has something to do with fandoms or being a fan girl is going to resonate so strongly with so many people, especially us bookish folk who tend to be so highly invested in our favourite novels and authors.

Unsurprisingly, Unconventional is a story set around fan conventions. I read this in the run up to and during YALC weekend and it was the perfect companion. I loved Lexi, our MC, so much because I was able to relate with her on so many levels. Although I’ve not been on the other side of the convention scene like she is, deep down Lexi is just a massive fan girl of her new favourite author and I could share in her emotions and excitement so easily.

Lexi’s father owns a company that runs conventions and as we travel around with them we are quickly drawn into their world. Lexi’s convention family are wonderful and I loved reading about her different friends. There was cosplay, panels, guest author appearances (Melinda Salisbury and Non Pratt), things going right, things going wrong and a wonderful romance. I loved that this book was spread over a year of conventions because it allowed us to see some excellent character development, especially for Lexi.

I love a well written slowburn romance and Maggie Harcourt definitely delivered on that with Lexi and Aidan. It’s clear from early on that their feelings would be more than just friends but it’s not rushed and by the time I got the developments I wanted I was SO ready for it. Although there is a huge focus on the romance in this book, I also really appreciated its focus on parent/child relationships too. There is nothing fluffy about that in this book and I really loved seeing Lexi coming to terms with her Dad getting remarried and her feeling of being a bit lost and left behind and how she comes to terms with this by the end of the book. Everything was very well thought out and relatable.

This book made me laugh, it made me cry but most importantly it made me happy. If you have ever been a fan of anything in your life then you must read this book. It will make your heart sing.

Laini Taylor can literally do no wrong. My mind is blown just by the fact that her brain could conjure up such a fantastical world full of colourful characters and incredible plot. I am so in awe of her right now and I’m steaming through this trilogy (I’ve read the first two books in 4 days…)

Days of Blood and Starlight in so many ways was the typical middle book of a trilogy. The thing I loved most about Daughter of Smoke and Bone was Karou and learning as much as possible about her. In this second book there isn’t so much of a focus on her as I would have liked. Clearly she is still our main character but Days of Blood and Starlight also offers perspectives from new and unknown characters as well as more from Akiva, Liraz and Hazael. That being said this book does wonders in bringing us leaps and bounds ahead in the plot for this trilogy. I’ve left the end of this book absolutely gagging to pick up the third one (which I shall do after reading the novella) and it has perfectly set us up for what I’m imagining will be a flipping marvellous end to this wondrous trilogy.

SO much happens in this book. There are moments of joy (not many, but they can be found!), moments where I laughed (again, not many but thank you Zuzana for being a sassy badass) and many, many moments of sorrow and sadness. My heart was aching at so many points during this book and it really went to show me how much of a connection I have drawn to this world and its many colourful characters. The way Laini writes just captivates me and completely draws me into her world and I love it. There was something so poetic about the writing in this book that felt so much more amplified from Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

The characters continue to be amazing. Karou has quickly become an all time favourite for me, I just adore her. Zuzana is the BEST and I adore her and Mik together. I enjoyed reading more about Akiva, Liraz and Hazael too and seeing how they began to make choices they didn’t originally know they were capable of.

Basically I continue to love everything about this trilogy and I’ve rushed this review so I can go and pick up book 3! (Ps. I’ve finished the trilogy now!)