UKMG Extravangza - Maudie Smith

As part of the UKMG Extravaganza blog tour, I roped in a special assistant - my 10 year old niece/mini book blogger in training, Chloe. Although honestly, I think she’s going to be more of a vlogger than a blogger when she grows up, she certainly didn’t inherit the same camera shyness that I did!

I’m joined on the blog by the very lovely children’s author Maudie Smith. Maudie’s latest book is The Cake, the Wolf and the Witch, but she was kind enough to send me a signed copy of her debut novel - Opal Moonbaby and the Best Friend Project for Chloe (which I had to keep rescuing from the clutches of her 5 year old sister Teagan who's currently going through a "MINE!" phase). It is the first of three books about the very energetic alien, Opal Moonbaby, who comes to Earth and turns ten year old Martha's life downside up. Described as 'particularly for girls who prefer feisty and funny to pink and sparkly', it sounded like the perfect fit for Chloe and we worked together on her first ever book review which you can check out here. The fact that it reminded me of one of my favourite books as a kid – Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli – was a happy coincidence!

The Interview
In the meantime, Maudie was born and raised in Nottingham and is heading home for the first time in a long time, so I caught up with her about her writing career and her childhood, plus a few thrown in from the random question generator that is my wandering mind.

Are you looking forward to heading home?
It's going to be fun being back in Nottingham. It's a long time since I grew up there. Here's a photo of me in my school uniform, looking as if butter wouldn't melt in my mouth. Don't you believe it though! We lived on Derby Road, also known as the A52, and a main route into the city. We had a big gate post at the bottom of our drive that looked like a castle's turret. My brother and I used to collect berries from a laurel bush, which we stashed in a bucket. When we had enough, we would hide in the gate turret and throw the berries at passing cars. We pretended that we were the good guys, and all people in cars were evil (ahead of our time, you see). It was a very exciting game, but came to an abrupt halt when a driver stopped his car and complained to our dad. Oops!

Random question generator - Which book would you most like to see made into a (good) movie?
One of mine! The Cake, the Wolf and the Witch would be a good choice for Studio Ghibli. Shall we let them know? But since it's not ALL about me, I think Kate Saunders' Five Children on the Western Front is a fantastic book that would also make a great film. I never get tired of the psammead.

I always picture authors to have been very imaginative kids. Were you a make believe or a playing in the dirt kind of girl growing up?
I was always pretending to be someone else. I was usually a girl called Jo, riding an imaginary horse around the garden. Sometimes I banished myself to the attic, being Sara Crewe from my favourite book, A Little Princess, and occasionally I was glamorous Southern belle, Penelope Pitstop, from the TV show, The Wacky Races. My ambition then was to be an actor, and acting was my first career. All those years of pretending, in work and play, have proved very useful to me in my writing. Because writing convincing characters is all about putting yourself in other people's shoes.

Random question generator - If you could travel back to any time period, where would it be and why?
The court of Queen Elizabeth I, please - there are so many stories about her, it would be fascinating to find out what she was really like. If I'm going, though, I'd like to be fully vaccinated please, in case of sixteenth century lurgies.

What inspired you to start writing?
Initially it was my kindergarten teacher, the rather scary Mrs Heffernen, who, nonetheless, taught me to read and to write. I immediately began elaborate tales of evil goblins, stirring up trouble and vats of molten toffee. Later on, it was my daughters. Reading so many books to them and seeing what their reading tastes were made me want to write for them. The Opal Moonbaby books were the result.

Random question generator - If you could be stuck in a lift with one book character, who would it be and why?
I'm not keen on lifts at the best of times, so I think I'd pick Pippi Longstocking. She's so strong I'm sure she'd find a way to get us out. And if she couldn't, her irrepressible optimism would keep me from curling up in the corner.

Who is your favourite author/which author do you most admire?
There are so many. Three from my childhood: Dr Zeuss, E Nesbit, Catherine Storr. Three from today: Eva Ibbotson, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Gill Lewis.

Random question generator - What one item do you never leave the house without?
I have a big handbag so I can always have a book with me. At the moment it's short stories by Rose Tremain - fabulous!

What advice would you give yourself starting out now as a writer?
Stick interesting things in scrapbooks: photos, sayings, snatches of conversation - you never know what might spark an idea. And write regularly, even if you don't think there's anything to say.

Random question generator - Tea of coffee?
Both. My day goes: tea, tea tea, coffee, coffee, tea tea tea. Too much caffeine?

If you could go back in time and give your childhood self one bit of advice, what would it be?
Think twice before you climb those pointy railings. Your skirt will have to be Selotaped and so will you.

The Review(s) - Opal Moonbaby and The Best Friend ProjectMartha has decided she doesn’t want to have friends anymore. Friends are stupid. Especially her old friends Chloe and Collette. Until she meets Opal Moonbaby, who’s been sent to earth on a mission to make a friend.

My verdict
Opal Moonbaby and the Best Friend Project is a wonderfully quirky book, from the Roald Dahl-esque illustrations to the incredibly cute fish out of water story as Opal tries to make sense of the alien world of Earth. One of my (many) weaknesses in books is a lovable but slightly clueless character! It’s a good book for girls, probably late single digits and pre-teens, at that age where simple friendships start to become more complicated and feel a bit more fragile. Despite being way, way over the target age for this one I really enjoyed reading it with Chloe. It harks back to days of simple stories and reminds me that we all need a little magic in our lives.

Chloe’s verdict
I loved Opal Moonbaby and The Best Friend Project! I really liked Opal’s personality and how she kept getting things wrong about Earth, but I liked hearing about Opal’s home planet as well! I love to have a friend like her, and pet like Garnet. It was really funny at times and I had to stop reading because I was laughing so much. I think the writer did a really good job of showing friendships, the story reminded me of some of my friends and made me think that we shouldn’t fall out so much. I would recommend this book to girls who like reading if they’re my age. I didn’t want to book to end, it kept me excited to read more the whole way though. I’ve already asked Kayla to buy me the next book in the series!

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Amazon

Feature & Follow #5

It's Friday, and you know what that means on this blog. It's time for another Feature & Follow Friday!

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. I've just started getting involved in these features and they're great fun! It's a really cool way to find out what people are reading and connect with other bloggers. Added bonus, the aim of a blog hop is to follow others. You follow me, I follow you. Wins all round! I'm happy for followers on GFC, Twitter, Bloglovin', Goodreads, whatever works for you. GFC seems to be being a bit temperamental at the moment, so I guess I'd prefer Bloglovin' follows if I had to pick one.

This week's question: If you could have any job, what would you do?

by Peace Love Books.

Travel blogger. No question. I love travelling, I love blogging, so getting paid to travel and then write about it is the ultimate dream job for me! Since starting up my blog back in July I haven't been out of the UK, but have a few trips coming up that I may do a post or two about (I don't think there are enough hours in the day for two blogs!). I spent a few years abroad after college and really wish I'd taken more time to write down what I saw and experienced. Plus I like to think that some of the stupid things I did could give some helpful tips (ie, what not to do) to fellow travellers, whether it was falling for tourist scams in Bangkok, eating noodles over ice cubes because I somehow got my Japanese phrases disastrously wrong in Harajuku or trying to get medicine for chronic food poisoning in a Chinese town where nobody spoke English. And the idea that some people actually get paid to do that makes me positively green with envy!

How about you guys? What would be your dream job?

Wildfire Blog Tour

Confession time, I love this book! And I'm not just saying it because I'm on the blog tour (first one ever - yay!). Fantasy books are my kryptonite and Wildfire reads like a gift from the reading gods. Magic, castles, lands far far away, knights, faeries, sex, romance, old school wardrobes ... suffice to say, I'm hooked! Wildfire is book two of J D Wright's Everealm series, but after practically eating the pages, I went back and read book one too. Maybe back to front, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment in the slightest.

Summary

The journey through Everealm continues as new evil arrives, casting mayhem about the realm. While war and wildfire are causing disorder, Bree and Rowan find that assistance from the fairies isn't what they imagined. As Dagan and Sidonie seek answers to uncover the truth about her family and her magic, they are plagued with even more mystery to unveil. As the wildfire burns, who will be left standing in the ashes?

Amazon│Kobo Books│Smashwords

About the Author

Writing has always been a hobby of mine, beginning as a young child. It was a way to cope with losing my father at seven years of age. I started with poetry and was featured several times on the amazing poetry blog, Autumn Leaves, by Sondra Ball. My love for poetry soon led to writing songs in middle school and beyond, which I still do occasionally. Music has always been an important part of my existence, so writing songs came naturally to me. In high school, I started my own novel, however, life got in the way and I never finished it.

Fast forward many years later and I find myself married with three children, absorbed in my busy life with commitments to my family, work, school, church, and charities, among other things. One day I came across my old binder, with notes from my first novel, and it was with those notes that I conjured up the elusive Everealm.

I write to please readers such as myself, who have a love for fantasy and romance, but like a little danger and sex in their reading. I wrote the book with a mature audience in mind, who can appreciate a hearty imaginary world with magic and the unknown, but want more than fluffy love stories with wizards in them. They want the romance, magic, and danger, all wrapped into one.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

Blogger butt in: I highly recommend checking out J D's website. She's put a ton of effort into world building (something that scores lots of points with me!) and there are maps, character histories and quirky facts about the kingdoms.

Five Things I Love About Writing the Everealm Series

By J.D. Wright

5. Romance

Each couple is different, which makes it so much fun to write about them. Dagan and Sidonie (Blogger butt in: My faves!) are more sensual of a couple, whereas Bree and Rowan are more of a childhood-friend-turned-lover romance. In Wildfire, we see a couple come together (in a surprising way!) in which both are true romantics (awww...). I am thrilled to get to bring so many different people together in so many exciting ways!

4. Character Variety

I mean, come on! Queens, wizards, sorceresses, spies, faeries, princes, knights, and so many more. There are truly sadistic characters and then there are romantic characters. Some cause trouble with no sympathy for others and some are trying to atone for their mistakes. The variety of people running around in my head just amazes (and terrifies!) me. (Blogger butt in: I'm glad I'm not the only one!)

3. Magic

Who wouldn’t want the ability to freeze someone in mid-air? Make a ball of fire just by imagining it? Or even simple things like changing the color of your hair or clothing whenever you felt like it? I try to balance out the magic and romance so that neither is more important than the other, which isn’t easy. The magic does become more prominent as the series goes on because a lot of problems that 

our characters face are because of or created by magic. For magical terminology, I draw a lot of inspiration from Latin words. For example: “disseptum” is a Latin word for barrier, etc. I have a lot of fun inventing magical phrases! 

2. Clothing

Medieval clothing is so amazing! Am I right? (Blogger butt in: But not the corsets. I wore one for six hours for cosplay once and genuinely thought I might die. Only a slight exaggeration!) And since my series is fantasy and not historical romance, I get to play around with the clothing. Take the Sabra attire, for example. Their leather and furs are a complete opposite from the royal gowns. It’s great to have the freedom to play with costuming. I even have a board on Pinterest where I pin awesome inspiration clothing, occasionally. 

1. CASTLES, CASTLES, CASTLES!

There is a reason why so many authors set their stories in the medieval-ish time period or with an Arthurian theme. There is something magical about knights in shining armor on their noble steeds, chivalry and majestic kingdoms. It really is a fantastic backdrop for a fantasy romance series. Toss in a little wizardry, a couple of villains, some humor, and a few steamy love scenes and I give you - Everealm!

So there you have it, five reasons (plus my own glowing recommendation!) to read the Everealm series! If, like me, you're a sucker for pretty, shiny things too, you can win this pretty, shiny necklace, along with a print copy of both Wildfire and the preceding book, Everealm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book tour organised by:

Top Ten Tuesday - Freebie

It's Tuesday, and I'm not working late - hurrah! - so that can only mean two things in the Bookshelf household. Copious amounts of tea, and Top Ten Tuesday!

As always, a big thank you to The Broke and The Bookish for hosting this weekly meme - one of my faves! Usually we get a subject for our picks, but this week it's a freebie, so I've chosen;

Top 10 book characters I'd like a night out on the town with

A.k.a, my top ten fantasy book character drinking buddies! These are the guys who would be great on a night out. Great wing(wo)men, great back up in a bar fight, great story tellers, you name it, they're here!

Isabelle Lightwood - Mortal Instruments
Isabelle would be a brilliant wing woman on a night out! While Clary is your goodie goodie heroine, Isabelle is the one I'd want to hang out with, if only for her motto, "nothing less than seven inches." After a few shots of tequila, girl would be a one woman show!

Lola LeFever - The Girl Who Would Be King
Say you spill your drink over someone, and the inevitable Hollywood-esque bar fight ensues. You need good back up. Lola has literal superpowers, can punch straight through a persons chest and also has a great sardonic wit for the down time when she's not throwing people through walls.

Karou - Daughter of Smoke and Bone
You'd never be bored with Karou's stories of Elsewhere and demonic, hybrid chimera creatures. She'd keep you entertained and is handy in a fight too.

Nikolai Lantsov - Grisha trilogy
Hands down, one of my favourite YA characters. Charming, witty, swoon-worthy and with charisma to spare, I'd go for a drink or two with Nikolai any night of the week. If only to get him away from that buzz kill Alina!

Tyrion Lannister - A Song of Ice and Fire
More sipping a glass of wine than pounding shots of tequila, Tyrion Lannister would be better suited to a long conversations than dancing the night away. Still, listening to his stories of Westeros, and talking scheming and politics in a cozy wine bar sounds like my idea of heaven!

Lisbeth Salander - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Lisbeth Salander is one of my favourite characters ever! I started to write a feature on her for my Girls Who Kick Ass list, but it went on and on until I realised I'd written a lengthy essay that no one in their right mind would want to read. Certainly not the most sociable character, I find her utterly fascinating. Plus she ends the (Larsson written) series a millionaire, so the drinks would be on her.

Four - Divergent
He gets better as the series goes on (until the final book, but the less said about that the better in my opinion!), but Four is your quintessential brooding, badass hero who smolders and scowls. In other words, he needs to loosen up. Give him a couple of beers and I bet he'd be the life and soul of the party!

Ron Weasley - Harry Potter
I love Ron Weasley, and not just because he's a fellow redhead. While Harry gets the glory and Hermione saves the day with her book smarts in every installment, Ron always seemed a bit of a third wheel, it would be great to see him cut loose!

Hermione Granger - Harry Potter
Everybody's got that one friend that you'd love to see drunk. We rarely, if ever, see Hermione let her hair down in the Harry Potter books. Some day I'm hoping J.K Rowling writes "Harry Potter: The College Years"!

Jamie Fraser - Outlander
For obvious reasons. Swoon!

So that's me over and out for another Top Ten Tuesday! Who'd be on your guest list for the ultimate night out?

We Were Liars - Review

"No matter where we go, we will always be able to go up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever."

After a mysterious accident turns beautiful, privileged but ultimately damaged Cady into a dazed, pill popping shadow of her former self, she returns to her family's island getaway in the company of her fellow Liars, cousins Johnny and Mirren and handsome family friend Gat, in attempt to understand the truth about what happened, what she has become and what the destructive quartet have done.

Let me just get my cursing out of the way. Holy shit! I loved this book!

I don't know if I would have picked up We Were Liars were it not for some stellar recommendations from the #ukyachat group on Twitter. Stories about poor little rich kids aren't usually my cup of tea, but I gave it a go anyway. And I'm so glad I did. We Were Liars is a hauntingly beautiful book, written from the point of view of sullen, spoiled teenager Cady Sinclair. After an accident she cannot recall, she spends much of her time dosed up on pills. As a result, what we end up with a sullen, unreliable narrator as she reunites at her childhood island getaway with her fellow Liars and partners in crime; cousins Johnny and Mirren and family friend Gat, who Cady may or may not be in love with. There are plenty of questions: What happened that fateful summer? Why do Cady's family refuse to speak of the accident? Why did none of her friends speak to her until now? There are no immediate answers. Instead what follows is a story of nostalgia for days gone by, young love/hopeless infatuation and the grim facade of real people behind seemingly privileged lives, one that on many levels is instantly relatable to anyone who has felt that yearning for care free days that you thought would go on forever. Reading this book in the park under the first falling autumn leaves (damn your British summertime!), it was impossible for me not to be moved, to reminisce about my own journey into adulthood, the people I left behind and those who left me behind. E Lockhart is a gifted author, her writing style beautifully poetic and almost lyrical in places, the perfect tone for the dreamy feeling of nostalgia that hangs through the book. My interest usually wanes at some points in slow-paced, reflective books with an introverted narrator, but I can honestly say I didn't want to put the book down once!

The novel is beautifully interwoven with fables, underscoring the constant feeling of unease and tension bubbling away as Cady slowly begins to recall more of what happened that fateful summer and the cracks in the Sinclair family begin to deepen and widen. Reality begins to bleed into nostalgia, akin to that scene in 500 Days of Summer where Tom's fantasy and reality about reuniting with Summer play out on split screen, and eventually, Lockhart reveals a sucker punch ending that puts everything that came before it in a whole new light. I won't spoil anything, but I thought it was absolute perfection. I pride myself on seeing twists coming from a mile away in books or movies, but this one completely blindsided me!

A wonderful contrast of nihilistic despair and rose-tinted reminiscence, combined with secrets and lies from a family falling to pieces behind the facade of privilege, We Were Liars is a truly gripping read, one I'm going to join in raving about!

Beta reading

I’ve been beta reading for aspiring authors for a few months now and have just received my fourth and fifth novels. Whilst I would never claim to be anything near a professional editor, I adore reading and am incredibly fussing. A winning combination for beta readers so I’m told! I've done a lot of systems beta testing over the years, where the whole point is to try and break as many things as possible, pick up every single flaw and call attention to them (smug grin optional), but that bull in a china shop approach doesn't fly when it comes to something as subjective and open to interpretation as a novel. It’s not the easiest thing in the world, to take something someone has poured their heart and soul into and critique it, but I spend a lot of time writing for work and I know that sometimes you don’t see what’s staring you in the face.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to beta reading, but I’ve had a few people contact me on Goodreads asking for tips. Beta reading, like regular reading, is an intensely personal thing, so I don’t pretend to be any great expert, but I thought I’d share what little beta reading knowledge I’ve picked up.

My method

• I tend to read beta books on my tablet, that way I can had sticky note the PDF as I read with my immediate thoughts.
• First I read the book through and jot down any obvious things like plot holes, out of place dialogue, clunky exposition etc. I also scan for typos and grammatical errors, but that’s the pedant in me!
• Once I’ve read the whole thing, I critique the novel on the main things I look for in a good book/story. Here’s my worksheet, feel free to use as a guide if you wish!
• I revisit my feedback a few days later to add anything else that’s come to mind.
• The author then gets my sticky-noted PDF – usually edited a little as it will be an utter mess and my notes won’t make sense to a sane person – and my feedback overview.

What I look for

First impressions

• Did you like the protagonist? Did you care/were you suitably invested in their journey?
• Was the point of view(s) suitable and well used?
• Did you get a clear sense of time and place setting?
• What did you think of the writing style? Is it suitable for the story?

Opening

• Does the opening contain a hook to make you want to keep reading?
• Are the characters/worlds suitably easy to grasp?
• Are essential elements of the story well explained? Are there any aspects which are confused or muddled?

Story/Plot

• Did any elements of the story seem clichéd or too “deus ex machina”?
• Did the plot seem contrived at any point?
• Does the story stick to the rules that they have established (particularly important in fantasy novels)?
• What did you enjoy about the story? Were there any aspects in particular that grabbed your attention? What was your favourite part?
• Is the plot engaging? Were there any points where you lost interest?
• At what point did you first stop reading?
• Are significant plot points given the weight they deserve?
• Was there a good mix of showing vs telling? Or was there too much exposition?
• Was the story fresh and innovative? Does it offer anything new to the genre?

Characters and Motivation

• Does the protagonist have a clear voice and personality?
• Do their actions seem organic and believable?
• Was the antagonist well written? Do their motivations and actions seem believable?
• Do supporting characters add to or distract from the story? Were there any needless characters?
• Are the characters shaping the story, or is the story shaping the characters?
• Are the characters personalities and actions consistent?
• Was the dialogue well written? Was it believable and consistent?
• Did the dialogue enhance the characterisation?
• Who was your favourite/least favourite character and why?

Consistency/Pacing

• Was the tone consistent and appropriate?
• Did the story flow? Were there any points where it seemed rushed or dragged?
• Were any points too expositional?
• Are the chapter breaks in the right places? Do they leave you wanting to read more?
• Are the chapter breaks repetitive, like a character falling asleep and waking up, or getting knocked unconscious?
• Were there any subplots that you felt distracted from the main story?
• Were there any chapters or events which seemed out of place or unnecessary?

Overall

• Were there any plot holes or plot threads left unresolved?
• Were there any aspects of the novel that felt underdeveloped? Was there anything that you wanted to know more about?
• Did the main character change from the beginning of the book to the end? Is their journey satisfying? Do you feel they deserve to be where they end up?
• Is there anything missing from the novel? 
• Would you buy this book from the finished manuscript? If not, why not? 

My tips

• Don’t be afraid to be critical. Authors aren’t looking for someone to tell them that everything is perfect, they’re looking for a fresh pair of eyes to spot what they’ve been too wrapped up in the story to see. 
• But don’t be too critical! There are ways of pointing out errors or clumsy exposition without being insensitive or downright mean. 
• If you didn’t like something, remember to say why. There’s nothing worse than being told something you’ve done isn’t quite right, without being given any feedback on why that is.
• It’s not all bad news. Remember to focus on the positives too!
• I'm really lucky to have beta read some fantastic novels in the making, and not one of them has been a chore to read, but if you're just not connecting with the book, it's better to be honest than either not follow through on your promise to review or write up nonsense.

Any fellow beta readers out there? What are your top tips?

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Awards

I've been nominated by the wonderful Carrie at The Book Goddess in the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award, celebrating all the ladies who blog. Thanks Carrie!

The rules for this award are:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site.
2. Put the award logo on your blog.
3. Answer the ten questions sent to you.
4. Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.
5. Nominate ten blogs.

Questions

1. Which is your favorite place to read?
Probably the park by my office on a sunny day. It's so beautiful and relaxing, even if you do get interrupted by dogs bounding over to say hello every now and then!

2. What type of characters are you more inclined to like?
I'm a big fan of strong resilient female characters, especially those with a line in sarcastic quips. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is up there among my favourites!

3. If you wrote a novel what would it be called?
Pass. I'd be super careful not to make it a mish mash of other (more successful!) YA novel titles though. Crown, Throne, Iron, Sword etc. These would be words I'd try to avoid! I see so many mash ups of the same title I have disregarded books based on titles alone for than sin.

4. Which novel/book series would you like to be adapted to graphic novel(s)?
The Girl Who Would Be King by Kelly Thompson. I'd say The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor too, but I prefer being able to use my imagination to picture all these weird and wonderful creatures and worlds, so I don't think I'd want that tainted.

5. Do you prefer e-books or printed books?
I love printed books, but I spend a fair amount of time travelling, so my kindle is an absolute godsend! I love the fact that I can have a whole library in my bag. But then again I love beautiful books. Oh, I can't decide! Can I have both?

6. Which book would you like to see as a movie?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. But only if it's done right! Or The Girl Who Would Be King.

7. Who is your favorite author(s)?
Probably Laini Taylor or Stephen King.

8. Vampires or werewolves or both or neither?
Werewolves. I feel like I've been a bit overloaded with vampires in pop culture recently.

9. How many books, both printed and e-books, do you own in total?
I'd have to guess, but probably about 200? And 50? Ish?

10. Do you love a book that everyone else hates?
Not really. There are some books I hate that everyone else seems to love though!

Here are my questions
1. If you could be stuck in a lift with one book character, who would it be?
2. What’s your favourite quote from a book?
3. Which upcoming book are you most looking forward to?
4. If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would it be?
5. Who is you favourite Disney princess (let’s ignore the anti-feminist argument here!)?
6. Which three book characters would you have over for dinner?
7. Are there any books that you hate which everyone else seems to love?
8. Which book would you most like to see made into a (good!) movie?
9. If you could be any book character for a day, who would it be?
10. If you could live in any book world, which one would it be?

I nominate...
Ardis @ Pondering the Prose
Donita @ My Random Book Thoughts
Sinead @ Less Reality, More Books
Maria @ Teen YA Nerd
Jessica @ A Great Read
Lizzie @ Big Books and Grande Lattes
Jen @ My So-Called Book Reviews
Sofia @ Bookish Wandress
Cody @ Literary-ly Obsessed
Walker @ A Shropshire Girl Reviews