The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead #YA #BookReview

Title: The Glittering Court
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: The Glittering Court #1
Format: Digital ARC, 416 pages
Publication Details: April 5th 2016 by Razorbill
Genre(s): YA; Fantasy
Disclosure? Yep! I received a free copy in exchange for an HONEST review. 

Goodreads 

Big and sweeping, spanning from the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, The Glittering Court tells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court.

Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies who appear destined for powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. Adelaide naturally excels in her training, and even makes a few friends: the fiery former laundress Tamsin and the beautiful Sirminican refugee Mira. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: the intriguing Cedric Thorn, son of the wealthy proprietor of the Glittering Court.

When Adelaide discovers that Cedric is hiding a dangerous secret of his own, together they hatch a scheme to make the best of Adelaide’s deception. Complications soon arise—first as they cross the treacherous seas from Osfrid to Adoria, and then when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor.

But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands…
.

Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Glittering Court. I really enjoyed some of Mead’s Vampire Academy books but this sounded like a huge departure from that. It does however have a stronger fantasy element than I expected from the synopsis. 

In a nutshell, our protagonist runs away from an unwanted arranged marriage by pretending to be her servant Adelaide. Adelaide has been invited to join the Glittering Court, a kind of a finishing school / brothel where poor but pretty women are educated and polished up in order to be sold off to the growing number of noblemen in ‘The New World’. The only problem is that ‘Adelaide’ already knows everything there is to know about being a lady and mustn’t be discovered.

I like Richelle Mead’s writing a lot; it feels so effortless making it easy to get swept away, which is what happened here. In fact it was going pretty great, along with a nice potential love interest between Adelaide and Cedric – until that is – we’re hit with a whole religious angels-vs-demons-secret-heathen-backstory/infodump thing. Ugh.

I mean, the religions were touched on very briefly at the beginning and I realised that the Glittering Court wasn’t just a case of being set in the past, but in a different world,  yet it still felt very out of the blue and unnecessary to me. I thought it was a perfectly good story without trying to put a fantasy spin on it.

Overall, The Glittering Court was enjoyable, but not without its faults. The world-building wasn’t thorough enough for me and it felt confused. The fantasy elements seemed to have been dumped in at the last minute.

However, it was still fun and I’m interested to see if the companion novels shed more light on what Mead was trying to achieve here.

 

This Week in Books #TWIB

Welcome to my weekly post, where I sum-up what I’ve been up to in bookland the past week. 

Happy Wednesday to you all. Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…

Now: Fellside ~ M.R Carey

This book is really strange…in a good way. It’s a page-turner!

Then: Murder at the 42nd Street Library ~ Con Lehane

It wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be, but still enjoyable. My review is here.

Next: ??? 

Probably Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard although I feel like I need a recap on Red Queen first…

New on the Shelves

(Linking up with Stacking the Shelves)

Bought: First time in ages that I’ve bought new books. It felt great!

I’m Waiting On…

(Linking up with Breaking the Spine)

I still haven’t read Smoke & Bone, but I just had to add this to my wishlist as well. 

Strange the Dreamer is the story of:

the aftermath of a war between gods and men
a mysterious city stripped of its name
a mythic hero with blood on his hands
a young librarian with a singular dream
a girl every bit as perilous as she is imperiled
alchemy and blood candy, nightmares and godspawn, moths and monsters, friendship and treachery, love and carnage.

Welcome to Weep.

September 27th 2016 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

 

So, that’s my week in books, now how about yours?

If you’re joining in leave the link to your answers in the comments so everyone can take a look 🙂

Murder at the 42nd Street Library by Con Lehane #BookReview #Mystery

Title: Murder at the 42nd Street Library
Author: Con Lehane
Series: n/a
Format: Digital ARC, 320 pages
Publication Details: April 26th 2016 by Minotaur Books
Genre(s): Mystery
Disclosure? Yep! I received a free copy in exchange for an HONEST review. 

Goodreads 

Murder at the 42nd Street Library opens with a murder in a second floor office of the iconic, beaux-arts flagship of the New York Public Library. Ray Ambler, the curator of the library’s crime fiction collection, joins forces with NYPD homicide detective Mike Cosgrove in hopes of bringing a murderer to justice.

In his search for the reasons behind the murder, Ambler uncovers hidden–and profoundly disturbing–relationships between visitors to the library. These include a celebrated mystery writer who has donated his papers to the library’s crime fiction collection, that writer’s missing daughter, a New York society woman with a hidden past, and one of Ambler’s colleagues at the world-famous library. Those shocking revelations lead inexorably to the tragic and violent events that follow.

Review

A grand library. A mysterious murder. A librarian turned sleuth… in theory this book ticked all the boxes for me and I was looking forward to it a lot.

Ray Ambler is the librarian in charge of the (fictitious) crime fiction collection at the world famous New York Public Library. When a Dr. James Donnelly is murdered in the library, Ambler takes it upon himself to investigate. His boss Harry witnessed the murder, yet fails to identify the culprit, and in time Ambler discovers that the murder is linked to recently acquired documents from renowned crime writer Nelson Yates.

With a large pool of suspects and a growing concern that the crime fiction collection is to be expunged, Ray Ambler has got his work cut out for him and his amateur detective skills. 

I really wanted to love this book but I was left feeling pretty meh about it. At first I liked that it felt like an old fashioned mystery but in the end I just found it a bit dull. I never really got invested in the characters – or the murder – and so I didn’t feel compelled to turn the pages. I also thought there were too many characters and I was often confused about what was going on.

Still, I found it to be a relatively quick read and I loved the library setting. I’ve never been to the NYPL but I can certainly picture it after reading this book; the descriptions were lovely. I enjoyed it enough, but I guess I was hoping for more. Worth giving it a go though!

Murder at the 42nd Street Library is out now!

Something for the Weekend… #BowieExclusive #BookPromo

Earlier this week an email appeared in my inbox which was not only a refreshing change from all the dull, badly-written press releases for books with home-made covers, but was also asking if I’d like to share news of this new book of never before seen photos of David Bowie…err would I ever!

About the Book

A limited edition of 5oo copies, featuring stunning unseen photos of David Bowie. Released 22nd April 2016

This 45cm by 30cm book with its full bleed over the 20 pages of magnificent images produced in Black and White Duotone throughout the entire book, sporting a front cover of Galerie Art Gloss laminated 350 gram paper whilst the inner pages of text are laid out on 300 grams of Galerie Art Gloss paper. Nothing has been spared here when only the best would do for ‘The Legend’. Each copy will be hand signed by Michel Haddi, shrink wrapped and numbered from 1 – 500. The book is beautifully designed by the creative director, Roberto Da Pozzo. 

About Michel Haddi

Michel haddi has worked for more than 20 years as a leading photographer in fashion & celebrities. His editorial collaborations include the most important magazines in Europe, Asia and the USA. British, French and Italian Vogue, Uomo Vogue, Tatler, GQ, Interview, Vanity Fair, Italian Glamour, Elle, The German Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire, Rolling Stone, The Sunday Times, The Washington Post, Face, Arena, Details, Vibe, Premiere, Stern are among them. He is not only a photographer but also owns publishing house One Eyed Jacks in London which publishes his own books and more.

David Bowie, the Legend…

Los Angeles, the 90s I don’t recall the exact time, but what I can remember I am at home, in my studio in Venice Beach. 

I am preparing some shoots for Vogue Hommes and some clients.

I get a phone call from Ingrid Sischy in New York asking me to photograph David Bowie for Interview Magazine.

Well as you can imagine I was ecstatic, my first proper record was an LP that my stepfather gave me following a visit to London: Diamond Dogs by Bowie and I still have it.

Anyway, I am with the production team, that includes Paul Starr for make-up and Kim Bowen for styling at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. An hour later, I see a man in a sharp suit, it is David Bowie.

I introduce myself and tell him that he looks like a fashion icon straight out of a Luchino Visconti movie. Bowie smiles and says he’s very much into neo-realist Italian movies.

The most unnerving thing while photographing Bowie was his intensity of looking, his eyes with those hypnotic dual colors felt like he was looking right through me. The shoot lasted an hour and I had a real blast.

In that time I tried to pay homage to Bowie through these portraits and indeed he looks like a character from Visconti’s film Death in Venice. – MICHEL HADDI

Website // Management // Twitter // Facebook // Instagram

This Week in Books #TWIB #CurrentlyReading

Welcome to my weekly post, where I sum-up what I’ve been up to in bookland the past week. 

Happy Wednesday to you all. Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…

 

Now: Murder at the 42nd Street Library ~ Con Lehane

I want to love this but I’m not sure if I do…yet. It will all depend on the big reveal I reckon.

Then: The Glittering Court ~ Richelle Mead // Deception ~ Naomi Chase

I really enjoyed The Glittering Court but it wasn’t without its issues. Deception was…ermm OK. Not as bad as I was expecting I guess, but it’s not a genre I’ll be running to any time soon.  

Next: ??? 

Either something from my TBR shelf because I’ve been rubbish so far this month, or Fellside by M.R Carey.

New on the Shelves

(Linking up with Stacking the Shelves)

From Netgalley: 

I thought this sounded like a YA Sarah Waters book! I hope it is! 

Enne Datchery and Muriel vas Veldina, ex-lovers and witches with a shared apprentice, are tasked by the Citadel, to repair an old grimoire together, despite the fact their relationship is tense at best.

The situation is further complicated when the book is stolen, and tracking down the thief stirs even more of Muriel’s past. It swiftly becomes clear to the two that dealing with their fractured relationship is going to be the easy part of the assignment—if they can live long enough to complete it.

  June 8th 2016 by Less Than Three Press

 

I’m Waiting On…

(Linking up with Breaking the Spine)

This.Looks.Amazing!

And I Darken ~ Kiersten White

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way.

Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets.

Lada hones her skills as a warrior as she nurtures plans to wreak revenge on the empire that holds her captive. Then she and Radu meet the sultan’s son, Mehmed, and everything changes. Now Mehmed unwittingly stands between Lada and Radu as they transform from siblings to rivals, and the ties of love and loyalty that bind them together are stretched to breaking point.

The first of an epic new trilogy starring the ultimate anti-princess who does not have a gentle heart. Lada knows how to wield a sword, and she’ll stop at nothing to keep herself and her brother alive.

Expected Publication: 7th July by Corgi Children’s

 So, that’s my week in books, now how about yours?

If you’re joining in leave the link to your answers in the comments so everyone can take a look 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday: All the LOLZ #FunnyFiction #TTT

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish (click the link to visit them) who pick a different topic each week.

This week the topic is…Top Ten Books to Make you Laugh

• A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon: I found this book really funny as well as bittersweet and slightly heartbreaking. George was darkly hilarious without meaning to be.

“George Hall doesn’t understand the modern obsession with talking about everything. ‘The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely.”

 

• Mystery Man & Dan Starkey by Colin Bateman: I feel like I’ve  talked about Bateman’s books too much on this blog since I started it,  but it’s impossible not to include both of his hilarious series on this list. They are black humour at its best. I did a whole feature on it here. And, Dan Starkey is a feckless journalist who finds himself in ridiculously stupid yet very sticky situations, constantly! [Review]

“Serial Killer Week got off to an inauspicious start when the opening wine and bean evening was invaded by a former prisoner who misinterpreted the poster, but he was at least able to give us the professional’s view of the genre.”

• The Gates by John Connolly: Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell are a hilarious duo in John Connolly’s book about demon neighbours, portals, and the Large Hadron Collider. 
• Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy: A sarcastic skeleton detective and a girl who kicks ass…what more could you want? 
• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins: Pitched as ‘Legally Blonde meets The Terminator’, this book was full of genuine laughs and also laughs from the ridiculousness of it. In a good way. It was a lot of fun. [Review]

• The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell: I absolutely loved this book. I don’t think it was supposed to be a comedy so to speak but protagonist Samantha Whipple really made me laugh. [Review] 
• Horns by Joe Hill: I’m not really sure why I found this book funny, but I did. It was pretty dark and twisted but the protagonist’s reaction to what was happening to him was amusing. [Review] 
• The Martian by Andy Weir: Mark Watney provides some much needed humour in this book about one man stranded on Mars. [Review] 

  “If I could have anything, it would be a radio to ask NASA the safe path down the Ramp. Well, if I could have anything, it would be for the green-skinned yet beautiful Queen of Mars to rescue me so she can learn more about this Earth thing called ‘lovemaking’.” 

• I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak: It’s been a long time since I read this one so I can’t remember it in great detail, but I do remember that I loved Ed Kennedy’s self-deprecating sense of humour in it and that it made me laugh.

Book Blitz: Reign & Revolution by Janine A. Southard #BookPromo #YA #Sci-Fi

Welcome to another book promo on Lipsyy Lost & Found. This time it’s thanks to Xpresso book tours for arranging the blitz and giveaway for the final book in the Hive Queen Saga, a slick YA Sci-Fi series. 

Reign & Revolution by Janine A. Southard

Published by: Smashwords
Publication date: April 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

The Hive Queen Saga’s Thrilling Conclusion!

Rhiannon and her Hive have mastered space travel. Sort of. At least, they’re better at it. They’ve outsmarted kidnappers, survived severe oxygen deprivation, and heisted back their own ship engine from would-be thieves.

Since joining up, they’ve traveled further and further away from their home planet. But out on Yin He Garden Station (in Chinese-owned territory), home catches up at a physics symposium.

When Alan’s former research advisor makes an offer that’ll bring them home as respected members of society, Rhiannon knows she has to accept. But home isn’t exactly as she left it, and a hostile space fleet stands between her aging ship and her new/old life. Should she be running towards the fleet, or scurrying back into international space as fast as her craft can go?

Goodreads // Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Smashwords

Excerpt

If Rhiannon had known how much time she’d spend in her ship’s airlock, she might have decorated. As it was, the place was small and bare aside from the bright spacesuits of its current occupants. Grey metal covered the walls and the un-adorned floors. A spoked wheel—in the same grey metal—blended into the door that would open the ship to the outside.

The vestibule barely had enough space for her Hive to cram inside.

Would the wheel be hot or cold to the touch? Rhiannon would never know, only coming here when she was already kitted up. Hands slick in her spacesuit’s recycled air.

The staging room where she’d donned her red crackle-painted suit—I still wish I knew whether the paint was supposed to look like this—was barely better. Banks of grey metal lockers held full-body suits that might protect a wearer from the void.

For the moment, she left off her hood-like helmet. If someone asks, I’ll say it’s to save oxygen. Her nose would itch the second she couldn’t touch it, made worse by the sweat-scent of everyone who’d ever worn the red gear. Her fingers and toes were already clammy in their rubber casings. She’d spritzed the inside with perfume to combat the rankness, and she hoped to find herself ensconced in a cocoon that was still human-humid, yes, but also vital with amber notes, like a thick waft from a nightclub. This next outing would prove the idea’s worth.

All five of her Devoted readied themselves beside her. Gavin flexed his knees to check his black suit’s range of motion. Luciano had chosen the bright yellow rubber that made him look like a deformed chicken, not that she’d tell him that. Victor wore a grey suit that matched the rest of his clothes, and Alan poked at his pad with a blue-coated finger.

Mel, of course, had chosen to go au natural—aside from his regular vest—since his metal body held up well in vacuum. He wouldn’t have been able to fit all his limbs into a human-shaped spacesuit anyway.

Meet the Author

 

Janine A. Southard is the IPPY award-winning author of Queen & Commander (and other books in The Hive Queen Saga). She lives in Seattle, WA, where she writes speculative fiction novels, novellas, and short stories… and reads them aloud to her cat. 

All Janine’s books so far have been possible because of crowdsourced funds via Kickstarter. She owes great thanks to her many patrons of the arts who love a good science fiction adventure and believe in her ability to make that happen.

Get a free piece of fiction when you sign up for Janine A. Southard’s newsletter (http://bit.ly/jasnews). The newsletter will keep you current on things like her latest release dates (and fun news like when her next Kickstarter project is coming). Usually, this is once a month or so, but sometimes goes longer or shorter. Your address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Plus: free ebook! (Rotating freebies mean I can’t tell you what the work is right this second.)

You can hang out with Janine online where she’s crazy about twitter (@jani_s) and periodically updates her website with free fiction and novel inspirations (www.janinesouthard.com).

Website // Goodreads // Twitter

GIVEAWAY!

 

Enter the Blitz-wide giveaway and you could win:

• Print copies of books 1&2 of the Hive Queen Saga
• Complete Hive Queen Saga series in eBook

 The Giveaway is INTL!

Huge thanks to the author/publisher and Xpresso Book Tours. 

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway here

 Hosted by:

Lazy Saturday Review: PETA’s Vegan College Cookbook #BookReview

I started doing ‘lazy Saturday reviews’ as a way of getting reviews done in just 30 mins, and they proved to be quite popular. They are quick and snappy, and concentrate less on the plot (or content) and writing and more on my overall feelings about said book. They generally end up being a bit of a rant. My fave!

 

Title: PETA’s Vegan College Cookbook
Author: PETA
Series: N/A
Format: Digital ARC, 336 pages
Publication Details: April 5th 2016 by Sourcebooks
Genre(s): Food & Drink – Cookbooks
Disclosure? Yep! I received a free copy in exchange for an HONEST review. 

Goodreads 

You can have the simplest, tastiest vegan recipes on a budget — and the best part is, the most complicated kitchenware you’ll ever need is a microwave. Including more than 250 recipes, we’ve got all the best insider info:

– Vegan alternatives to meat, eggs, and milk
– How to stock your kitchen/mini-fridge
– How to make meat-free sandwiches, salads, soups, and sauces
– Fun meal recipes, such as Fettuccine Alessandro, Walking Tacos, and Pancake in a Mug
– The best drinks, dips, and dressings
– Unbelievable vegan dessert recipes
– Spotlight sections on the staples we love: peanut butter, potatoes and Ramen
– And much, much more!

With new tips and treats to suit even the pickiest palate, this is the essential college cookbook for every vegetarian or vegan on a budget.

Remember: You have the power to save animals-every time you eat. We can show you how!

Review

OK so I’m not Vegan (and I doubt I ever will be), and I’m no longer a student (still poor though FYI) but I’m trying this dairy-free thing at the moment as an elimination test for allergies & eczema so I thought this book might give me some new dairy-free ideas.

I was wrong.

This book isn’t what I was expecting at all. Yes, I guess it does cater particularly for students lacking in money, time, space and equipment  but the recipes here are so basic that I wouldn’t even call them recipes. It’s more like “open packet of pre-prepared vegan food >>> eat >>>done”. Nearly everything involves a microwave and either tofu or ‘a packet of vegan _____ (enter anything and everything there)’. 

I guess I was looking more for  healthy, natural and yummy recipes that happen to be vegan, not recipes which mainly show you how to do vegan junk food on a budget. It certainly took the whole ‘college’ thing to the extreme and to be honest I’m surprised PETA put their name to this at all, not to mention that this is an updated version, and the original seems to have been pretty slated too (on Goodreads at least). Glutton for punishment it seems.

I am probably being a bit harsh. Maybe if I was Vegan when I was at university I would have relished this book. Although I honestly think I made better food in my student days from a trolley-full of Asda Smart Price products. Hmm.

I will say this though, it was an entertaining read. The LOLZ at student life and food puns to go along with it stood out much more than the food itself. I mean, I’m not sure if I was laughing at them or with them…but it put a smile on my face regardless. For that reason and because I’m sure it would be useful to many a lazy, poor student (who happen to be Vegans) am I giving it 2 unicorns. If this book was aimed at me, it would get 0.5. 

Can you Keep a Secret? by R.L Stine #BookReview #FearStreet

Title: Can You Keep a Secret?
Author: R.L Stine
Series: Fear Street Relaunch #4
Format: Digital ARC, 784 pages
Publication Details: April 12th 2016 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre(s): Horror, YA
Disclosure? Yep! I received a free copy in exchange for an HONEST review. 

Goodreads 

R.L. Stine has built his legacy on scaring children and teenagers. Now he’s back with another spine-tingling tale of horror in this new Fear Street book about temptation, betrayal, and fear.

Eddie and Emma are high school sweethearts from the wrong side of the tracks. Looking for an escape their dreary lives, they embark on an overnight camping trip in the Fear Street Woods with four friends. As Eddie is carving a heart into a tree, he and Emma discover a bag hidden in the trunk. A bag filled with hundred-dollar bills. Thousands of them. Should they take it? Should they leave the money there? The six teens agree to leave the bag where it is until it’s safe to use it. But when tragedy strikes Emma’s family, the temptation to skim some money off of the top becomes impossible to fight. There’s only one problem. When Emma returns to the woods, the bag of money is gone, and with it, the trust of six friends with a big secret.
.

Review

This is the second of the new Fear Street books I’ve read and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them both. Can you Keep a Secret? was a bit on the tamer side as far as the horror element is concerned, but it made up for it with an intriguing mystery. 

Emma, her boyfriend Eddie and four friends find a briefcase full of money in the woods and they agree to keep it hidden and then share it when they feel any danger or chance of exposure may have passed. But can they trust each other?

When the inevitable happens and the money goes missing Emma and Eddie don’t know who to believe, and to make it worse they’re pretty sure the people who hid it in the woods in the first place are on their tails. It’s not long until they realise just how out of their depths they really are. 

I enjoyed the thriller-aspects of this story, and as a result the pages flew by. The scarier elements that you would expect from a Fear Street novel came from nice touches like Eddie working in a Pet Cemetery, and Emma’s debilitating nightmares about wolves which get worse as the tension mounts.

As always, R.L Stine’s writing feels effortless and is easily relateable. Like his other books they have just enough violence, suspense and and horror to keep you interested whilst remaining suitable for all ages. I would have liked Can you Keep a Secret? to have been a little darker, however.

This Week in Books #TWIB

Welcome to my weekly post, where I sum-up what I’ve been up to in bookland the past week. 

Happy Wednesday to you all. Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…

Now: The Glittering Court ~ Richelle Mead // Deception ~ Naomi Chase

I didn’t expect to get so sucked into The Glittering Court but I definitely am. Deception, is an urban fiction book which is popular in the library where I work so I promised a few of the guys that I’d read one before passing any judgements (they’re very trashy!).

Then: The Colour of Milk ~ Nell Leyshon // Can You Keep a Secret ~ R.L Stine

I really enjoyed both of these. I’m a bit behind on reviews atm but they’ll be up soon. 

Next: ??? 

Definitely Murder at the 42nd Street Library 

New on the Shelves

(Linking up with Stacking the Shelves)

Borrowed: Turbulent Priests by Colin Bateman

This is one of very few books in Bateman’s back catalogue that I haven’t read, so when I saw it in my library I had to take it home!

Dan Starkey investigates the birth of a new Messiah on a small island off the coast of Ireland. Back together with his wife Patricia and the baby — Little Stevie — that resulted from her affair, Dan accepts a curious commission from Cardinal Daley to investigate the tiny island of Wrathlin, where the inhabitants appear to believe that the new Messiah has been born. The child in question turns out to be a girl called Christine, and the local population has become as defensive and generally crazy as the cast of The Crucible. At first it’s just funny for Dan and Trish, but fairly soon the mood turns very much darker. Packed with Bateman’s trademarket mixture of jokes, shocks and tenderness, Turbulent Priests is his best novel yet.

Review copies from Netgalley: 

I really liked Carey’s TGWATG, and we’ve just booked him for a World Book Night event at work so I hope I can read this in time – and it’s set in a prison!

 Fellside is a maximum security prison on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors. It’s not the kind of place you’d want to end up. But it’s where Jess Moulson could be spending the rest of her life.

It’s a place where even the walls whisper.

And one voice belongs to a little boy with a message for Jess.

Will she listen?

I’m Waiting On…

(Linking up with Breaking the Spine)

Loving the sound of this one from  horror writer Jason Arnopp.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks

Jack Sparks died while writing this book. This is the account of his final days.

In 2014, Jack Sparks – the controversial pop culture journalist – died in mysterious circumstances.

To his fans, Jack was a fearless rebel; to his detractors, he was a talentless hack. Either way, his death came as a shock to everyone.

It was no secret that Jack had been researching the occult for his new book. He’d already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed in rural Italy.

Then there was that video: thirty-six seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet was posted from his own YouTube account.

Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed – until now. This book, compiled from the files found after his death, reveals the chilling details of Jack’s final hours.

Read on and decide for yourself what really happened to the notorious Jack Sparks – in this razor-sharp tale about the dangers of mocking what you don’t believe . . .

Expected Publication: July 28th 2016 by Orbit

 So, that’s my week in books, now how about yours? If you’re joining in leave the link to your answers in the comments so everyone can take a look 🙂