Top Ten Tuesday

(As always, a big thanks your to the fab bloggers over at The Broke and The Bookish for this weekly meme!)

This week on Top Ten Tuesday the topic is songs I wish were books. I love music as much as I love reading, so the only problem I had was narrowing it down to ten! I'm usually playing a movie in my head when I listen to a really good song, but these are the ones I'd love to read the story of.

The Killers - Mr Brightside
One of my favourite songs of all time, I'd love to read the story of Mr Brightside!



The Killers - Miss Atomic Bomb
Described as the companion song to the above, this book wouldn't be uplifting, but the video tells the story of love, loss, regret and heartbreak. Poor Mr Brightside!



Nerina Pallot - Sophia
Romance, pure and simple. Romeo and Juliet, but without the tragic ending. Nerina Pallot is one of my favourite singer/songwriters and this is a gorgeous song.



Nero - Into The Past
I'm obssessed with this song at the moment! It's hauntingly, chillingly beautiful. I see this as a fantasy-romance story, probably one that doesn't have a happy ending!



Sia - Fire Meet Gasoline
Another fantasy book, a real "me and you against the world"sort of story! Forget a love triangle, this one is all about the central pairing!



Kodaline - High Hopes
This video tells the story, but I'd love to read the book version! Spoiler alert; depressed Liam Cunningham goes to commit suicide when he meets a runaway bride. Helping her flee the man she's left at the altar, he takes her home and they fall in love. Happily ever after right? Well, no. The ex turns up and shoots them both.



Years and Years - King
This song just screams redemption and freedom, and the story of saving yourself from a poisonous place/person/situation that's holding you back. YA contemporary maybe?



Fall Out Boy - Young Volcanoes
Another of my favourites! I kind of see this as a best friends adventure/road trip story like Thelma and Louise.



Paloma Faith - New York
"Her name was New York, and she took his heart away from mine." It's just occurred to me that a lot of songs on my list fall into the category of tragic romance!



Death Cab For Cutie - You Are A Tourist
I think everyone feels like a stranger in their home town every now and then, so this book would be an Eat, Pray, Love sort of thing, a story all about alienation and adventure.

Seed

All that Pearl knows can be encapsulated in one word: Seed. It is the isolated community that she was born into. It is the land that she sows and reaps. It is the center of her family and everything that means home. And it is all kept under the watchful eye of Papa S.

At fifteen years old, Pearl is finally old enough to be chosen as Papa S’s companion. She feels excitement... and surprising trepidation that she cannot explain. The arrival of a new family into the Seed community - particularly the teenage son, Ellis - only complicates the life and lifestyle that Pearl has depended upon as safe and constant. Ellis is compelling, charming, and worldly, and he seems to have a lot of answers to questions Pearl has never thought to ask. But as Pearl digs to the roots of the truth, only she can decide what she will allow to come to the surface. 

Wow. Just wow.

This is the kind of book I've been waiting for. I've read a lot of books lately that I enjoyed, three stars and the odd four star read. But it's been a while since I read a book I couldn't put down. The kind that I was almost late back to the office from my lunch break for because I lost track of time reading. The kind that I was so busy reading I welded rice to the bottom of a saucepan because I wasn't paying attention when I cooked dinner. I probably wouldn't have picked up this book were it not for the online book club UK YA in the rain, but I'm so glad it was our February pick!

The book kicks off with a frank description of Pearl's first period. She's comforted by a mother figure named Elizabeth who cleans her up, reassures her and puts her mind at rest. From there, things get sinister. And fast. There's a pervading sense of dread throughout the book, a dark underworld bubbling away beneath Seed's serene exterior that gets closer and closer to the surface. The first half of the book is a masterclass in dread and tension, told through Pearl's blinkered eyes. The second half, is epic! I couldn't stop reading! At first, Pearl is reluctant to believe newcomer Ellis' talk that something at Seed is amiss, but soon even she can't deny it. And when a shattering event rips the heart out of the community, things go to hell fast!

On the surface, the indoctrinated Pearl would seem like an unreliable narrator, with her blithe naviety and steadfast belief in all that she's been taught. But Lisa Heathfield does a fantastic job of weaving in little details that hint that all is not well at Seed. Even in the simple opening scenes of the group making dinner, there's something so off-kilter about the whole set up that you don't even need to get to the psychological torture and unfortunate "accidents" that befall the more vocal dissenters to know that this is a cult, pure and simple.

Pearl's story of her life as Seed is interspersed with haunting interludes from an abused, shattered mystery figure. At first, these cuts hang heavy over the book, the sense of foreboding they bring genuinely unsettling. Who is this person? Future Pearl? Her best friend Kate? Someone already dead? A mystery figure? By the time Pearl and Kate are entertaining the idea of escape, these cuts have got dark, and the whole book is so heavy with dread I wanted to shake it until it all fell out! All the cult cliches are here; mistrust of the outside world, rejection of modern conveniences, sexual abuse. The idea of the younger, particularly female members pushing against the confines of such a place with the emergence of their adulthood and sexuality isn't hugely original, but wow does Lisa Heathfield wring every drop of tension out of it! Their strangely charismatic leader, known only as Papa S at first, is genuinely creepy, more deserving of a nasty end than any character I've read recently! But even he ends the book as more than a stereotypical bad guy. He's misguided, and drunk on his own power, but by the end, he's a very real, if spectacularly screwed up, person.

That ending though!

This story doesn't really lend itself to a sequel, but I hope that there is one! I need it! It's not a pleasant read at times, and if you're looking for light and fluffy or fantasy escapism, this is not the book for you. But if you're looking for a tense, gripping, well written read then I wholeheartedly recommend that you pick up this book.

Air Awakens

 A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond...

The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.

Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all - the Crown Prince Aldrik - she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined.

I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book for a while after getting a glowing recommendation from one of my fellow bloggers on Twitter, and then stumbling across a review copy offer on YA Bound. Sure the book blurb above ticks every box in the YA clichés handbook, but for me that just means it contains all my favourite elements. Magic, check. Fantasy, check. Romance, check.

I loved the idea of four types of sorcerers based on the four elements. There’s a bit of backstory scattered through about the history of the realm and the magic within it, but this is kept tantalisingly brief for exploration in later books. Unlike some novels, I didn’t feel short changed or that important info had been missed out. There was enough for me to grasp the world and keep my interest without giving the game away too early.

The fantasy almost takes a back seat in this book to the romance, and whether or not you buy in to the story will probably depend on how much you believe the budding romance between Vhalla and Aldrick. And this is where the book started to lose me. At first, I wasn’t sure, Aldrick seemed more of a caricature than a character, too exaggerated and OTT to be believable. There’s being a bit of a roguish bastard, and then there’s being an emotionally, and in one case physically, abusive asshole. Let's just say that consent isn't high on his list of priorities in early chapters. Rather than let Vhalla decide for herself what to do with her magic, he takes it upon himself to shove her off a roof and make the call for her. I didn’t quite get on board with him, he was a bit too smug for my liking and his penchant for writing notes referring to himself as “the phantom in the dark” made me smirk.

I just couldn't stop thinking of Emo Kylo Ren (by the way, if you haven’t checked out that Twitter account yet, go take a look. It’s hilarious!). But after a few chapters he was easier to warm up to. There’s the obligatory love triangle, with added angle (love square?), but it’s much of a muchness since it’s pretty clear who the central pairing is here. I do wish Vhalla’s childhood friend Saleem hadn’t been beefed up to love interest, it was kind of unnecessary and I much preferred reading their genuine platonic friendship -  there really isn’t enough of that in YA! - but I loved that he was there to keep Vhalla’s feet on the ground.

And then there's the lead character Vhalla. She’s infuriating, like want to slap through the pages infuriating. I’m not expecting a library apprentice to be a balls to the wall action heroine right off the bat, but I don’t want to read her snivelling in a heap in the floor while the prince insults her, only to go crawling after him begging “my prince, my prince,” like he didn’t just treat her like shit. Barf! I at least want her to show a little self preservation. At one point she’s on trial, facing possible execution, and all she can worry about is that Aldrick might be mad at her because he won’t look at her. When she’s about to be tortured, all she thinks us how upsetting it will be for him to have to watch. Take it away Kristen Wiig!

Thankfully, this problem resolves itself and then some by the final act. If this Vhalla was the one I was reading about from the start, this book would be five stars all the way. The character development is brilliant, and I feel kind of mean for deducting a star because Vhalla starts off annoying, but sheltered doesn’t have to mean weak, just as strong doesn’t have to mean badass.

All in though, I really enjoyed Air Awakens, but I couldn't get away from the feeling that I've read this book before in various guises. It's well written, if not spectacularly orignial, and aside from my niggling character issues, it works perfectly as a teaser and set up for book two in the series; Fire Falling, which I’m hoping to get to sooner rather than later.

Stacking The Shelves #1

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course e-books!

This is the first time I've taken part in this meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, even though I've been meaning to get to it forever! but it's been a good week for books, so what better time?

Purchased
Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers
I'm still waiting on this to arrive from Amazon, it feels like I've been waiting forever for this book!
The Sleeping Prince by Melinda Salisbury

I was so excited when this arrived I didn't even mind that I stepped on the parcel when I got home from work and almost went crashing through the glass door in the porch!

Gifts
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Longbow Girl by Linda Davies
Plus a whole bunch of other lovely bookish goodies from my #TBTBSecretSanta!
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman
I'm not sure what to expect for this one, it's this months pick at my book club. I'm already picturing Ove as Carl from the movie Up, which is making me both excited and already weepy to read the book!

Review books
Siren's Song by Mary Weber
Souls Entwined by Anne B Cole

Swaps
Storm Siren and Siren's Fury by Mary Weber
for Empress Orchid and The Last Empress by Anchee Min
I've been approved for the final book in the trilogy on Netgalley (happy dance!), so I picked up a second hand copy of books one and two in the series from a friend in exchange for the stories of Chinese Empress Tzu Hsi. I loved Storm Siren, but wanted to leave book two until I had book three as well, because the first book's cliffhanger ending almost killed me!

What about you guys? How has your bookish week been?

6 Degrees: Harry Potter to Seraphina

This awesome meme was suggested by Jim of Teens On Moon Lane at this week's #ukyachat. The idea is to make a chain of six books anyway you like from a starting point.

First up is Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone -  I'm almost embarassed to admit that I hadn't read this until a few weeks ago as part of the #2016HPRead, and I've yet to read any other books in the series. Bad bookworm! - and I've ended up on Seraphina by Rachel Hartman.

Harry Potter boasts and awesome redhead chracter in Ron Weasley, just like Fire by Kristin Cashore.

Fire is a power wielded by Cal in Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

Red Queen has an especially beautiful cover, just like The Wrath And The Dawn by Renne Ahdieh.

The Wrath And The Dawn features a brave heroine who's handy with a bow and arrow, just like Longbow Girl by Linda Davies.

Longbow Girl is set is Wales, which has a dragon on its national flag. Dragons, or more specifically dragon-human shapeshifters, feature heavily in Seraphina by Rachel Hartman.

I've really enjoyed this meme! I found myself sat at work in quieter moments making bookish connections in my head. Be warned if you take part, it's more than a little addictive!

Waiting on Wednesday #5 - The Sleeping Prince

Waiting on Wednesday ... where I increase my books to be read list despite my tbr pile already being tall enough to be a serious health and safety hazard. But still I do it, because my plan to somehow give up working and make a living reading hasn't yet come to fruition. Probably because my business plan of; Reading + ? = Profit, has one massive, question mark shaped flaw.

As always, thanks to Jill over at Breaking the Spine for this weekly meme.

My pick this week is The Sleeping Prince by Melinda Salisbury. I utterly adored her first book, The Sin Eater's Daughter, and I've read so many fantastic advanced reviews of the sequel that my excitement is at an all time high (my own ARC request didn't get approved, sob!). I've had the book on preorder and the delivery date is tomorrow, so my wait is almost at an end. For anyone who hasn't read The Sin Eater's Daughter, I wholeheartedly recommend it if you're a fan of slower burning YA fantasy with some epic world building and a flawed but lovable protagonist.

Ever since her brother Lief disappeared, Errin's life has gone from bad to worse. Not only must she care for her sick mother, she has to scrape together rent money by selling illegal herbal cures. But none of that compares to the threat of the vengeful Sleeping Prince whom the Queen just awoke from his enchanted sleep.

When her village is evacuated as part of the war against the Sleeping Prince, Errin is left desperate and homeless. The only person she can turn to is the mysterious Silas, a young man who buys deadly poisons from Errin, but won't reveal why he needs them. Silas promises to help her, but when he vanishes, Errin must journey across a kingdom on the brink of war to seek another way to save her mother and herself. But what she finds shatters everything she believed about her world, and with the Sleeping Prince drawing nearer, Errin must make a heartbreaking choice that could affect the whole kingdom.

There's only one way to react to book blurb like that, with a happy dance I like to call "The Carlton". 

This book sounds like it goes off with a whole new cast of characters and storyline, so I'm nervous and excited in equal measure to read it because I loved The Sin Eater's Daughter so much. I've also been warned to prepare myself for a few punches right in the feelings, so there's that to look forward to!

Anyone else excited for this book? Or if you've read it, what did you think? Please leave me a spoiler-free comment!

Deal Breakers

How were they supposed to know that one night would change everything?

Devyn has life all mapped out. She just needs to accomplish one more thing before graduating college and becoming a full-fledged adult - lose her virginity. And who better to assist her than her best friend, Riley? Riley is the self-proclaimed king of fling. His college years have been filled with meaningless hookups until the one night that ruined him for all other women. The one night he spends with his best friend, Devyn. Right before he screws it all up.

Now five years later, Riley is determined to atone for his mistakes and prove that he can be the man that Devyn deserves. Little does he know that Devyn’s been keeping a secret from him all these years. A big secret. Now he has to figure out how to win back the only girl he’s ever loved.

Disclaimer; I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Deal Breakers is an easy read, a simple story of boy meets girl. Ultimately, there’s not much more to the book than the central relationship between Devyn and Riley. Your enjoyment of the book will probably depend entirely on whether you buy them as a couple. Which I did. Both are walking clichés, the football-loving guy’s girl who doesn’t know how hot she is, with the kind of job that involves ‘pitching for a big account’. The womanising bad boy who’s just waiting to meet the right girl, in the meantime sleeping with anything that moves and behind horrendously insensitive to his current squeeze, their house guests and Devyn herself, not able to see what's right in front of him.

I got on board with the pair, they’re well written and make for a cute, believable couple. They have dynamite chemistry too, and the sex scenes certainly had me glancing around to make sure no one was reading over my shoulder!

I did feel for poor Jackson though! Devyn's new boyfriend and the token nice guy, he's a little hard done by by the plot, his presence is clearly meant to generate conflict, but it’s painfully obvious that he’s a non-entity, the whole angle of him and Dev seems pointless and ultimately comes off as cheap and a waste of time. It’s also resolved far too early, so there’s no drama in the last third or so of the book. I wasn't expecitng anything earth shattering, but even I was surprised at how quickly and cleanly everything was wrapped up.

Deal Breakers isn’t a challenging read, it’s easy to dip in and out of. It’s pretty clichéd, and the central conceit is the kind of plot point that would be revealed in about five minutes in real life, never mind five years, but I really enjoyed the book for what it was. I could have done without the cutesie kid-speak in the dialogue from Devyn’s son. We get it, he’s an adorable little tyke, I don’t want to read him asking for “choc-wat miwk”. Perhaps it's my aversion to small children, but barf! Overall though Deal Breakers was light, sexy read with plenty to keep me entertained. It's not ground breaking, it's not anything you haven't read before in some for or other, but kept me quiet for a plane ride to Vegas, and for that, it gets three stars.