Books that have shaped me

Today, it's my birthday. Not only that, it is my thirtieth birthday which calls for some serious celebrations. It's also caused a lot of introspection, so I thought I would share some of the books that have had a huge impact on me over the last thirty years in one way or another. 
Some you will have heard me gushing about lots already, some may be new to you, but I whole heartedly recommend each and every one of these.

Harry Potter by JK Rowling
Of course this series is on here. These books defined a lot of growing up years for a lot of people, and I am no exception. They shaped a lot about my values, my beliefs, and the all healing power of chocolate - thanks Professor Lupin!

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
This book. I mean, all of Sarah's books have been important to me, but this one most of all. This was the first time that I had truly seen a character in a book that had been utterly broken, was trapped in an emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive relationship, was suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and was at times suicidal. And she was the heroine. This was mind blowing for me, and I was so so glad that I had held off reading this book for a while, because it meant that I ended up reading it when I needed Feyre and her story the most. This book is incredibly important to me, so much so that I ended up getting a tattoo to mark the impact that it had on me. I will always love Sarah's work, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
There is something so incredibly magical about this book. It is unlike anything else Maggie has written, and it resonated so deeply with me when I first read it, and maintains that hold on me even now. It is a book I return to every autumn, called by the lure of Thisby, of the capal, of Puck and Sean and this slice of the world that holds so much of my heart, even though it is entirely fictional.
"I am so, so alive."

The Song of Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce
Widely documented on here as the beginning of my love affair with bad ass ladies and fantasy books, this series, that wee eleven year old Rosy discovered in her school library, honestly shaped the reader I would become. I still adore these books and go back to them frequently, and when I have kids I will introduce them to Alanna and George and show them how magical the world can be. That's the lasting power of an excellent book.

Fire by Kristin Cashore
All three of the Seven Kingdoms books had an impact on me, but none more so than Fire. She was so different to Katsa, the heroine in the first book. She was softer, coming to terms with her femininity, but no less strong or powerful for that. She was incredible in whole new ways, without sacrificing her hardness and determination when needed. She showcases an amplified version of the attention women experience everyday, and that reflection is hard and necessary to see. It is a beautiful book, an important book, and I cannot fully express how much I love it.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Another book that sat on my shelves for far too long, and I ended up picking it up at just the right moment. Landline caught me at a tipping point in my life, and helped me to look at what was important, to focus on what I needed, and wrenched such visceral emotions from me that I hadn't experienced reading a book in some time. I'm both curious and afraid to go back to it again, because I wonder how I would experience it this time.

Paris in Love by Eloisa James
I had already read and loved Eloisa's historical romance novels, but when I moved to France for two and a half years, I was suddenly completely adrift and sought comfort in books. This non-fiction account of Eloisa and her family's own time in Paris gave me just that. The bite size snippets of daily life made me focus on the beautiful aspects, to really appreciate the wonderful things that I was suddenly living with, and it completely changed my outlook on an initially terrifying experience.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Poetic, lyrical, beautiful - this book was unlike anything I had ever read before, and something about that really resonated with me. It's still a favourite I like to sink into. The magic, the love, the characters, the sheer beauty of this world. It is a gorgeous book that means the world to me.

It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn
This book changed my view on relationships and romance. Julia's books have all done that, but this one is where I started, so it seems fitting to mark it.
This was the first time I'd really seen adult relationships depicted where the shirtless hugging wasn't seen as some closeted dark thing to be hidden. These books celebrated it, they relished in it, and it opened young Rosy's eyes to all the possibilities in the world.

The Lynburn Legacy trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan

It was really hard to choose just one book/series from Sarah, because all of them have had an impact on me in some way. My love affair with Sarah's work began around fifteen years ago (now that's a scary thought) when I first read her fan fiction. I eagerly followed her progress to publishing and buy multiple copies of every book she publishes (because they are guaranteed to be ones that I lend out to people saying READ THIS NOW). Her - her words, her story, had a huge impact on the shape of my life. It was because of her and her blog that I realised I might actually be able to write as part of my life instead of it being a pipe dream. It was because of her that I realised I could study Creative Writing at uni, and went on to do so. She inspires me, hugely. She is a truly incredible, wonderfully funny person, and her books have shaped me into the person I am today.

So there you have ten books that shaped me into the person I am today. Someone who has a house full of books and an unhealthy reading habit that results in too little sleep.

What books have helped shaped you?

Books I'm Squeeing About in April

It's April! Already! I had a brief moment of panic this morning on looking at my calendar and realising we were starting another month - this year is racing by and I barely feel like I'm hanging on.
However, there is one bonus to the days racing past, and that is some of my most anticipated books of the year are being released this month! Take my money! I need these books!

5th April - Tell The Wind & Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan
In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets. 
Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own—one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised. Lucie alone knows the young men’s deadly connection, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.
Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy—or herself?

Anytime Sarah Rees Brennan releases a new book, I run to the bookstore. Actually, it's usually more that I camp outside with my nose pressed against the glass waiting longingly for it to be released... I adore her books. They're smart and funny and brilliantly imaginative, peopled with snarky, brilliantly developed characters. I've been antsing to get my hands on this Tale of Two Cities re-telling ever since Sarah announced she was writing one, and now it is finally HERE. Almost.

12th April - Masks & Shadows by Stephanie BurgisThe year is 1779, and Carlo Morelli, the most renowned castrato singer in Europe, has been invited as an honored guest to Eszterháza Palace. With Carlo in Prince Nikolaus Esterházy's carriage, ride a Prussian spy and one of the most notorious alchemists in the Habsburg Empire. Already at Eszterháza is Charlotte von Steinbeck, the very proper sister of Prince Nikolaus's mistress. Charlotte has retreated to the countryside to mourn her husband's death. Now, she must overcome the ingrained rules of her society in order to uncover the dangerous secrets lurking within the palace's golden walls. Music, magic, and blackmail mingle in a plot to assassinate the Habsburg Emperor and Empress--a plot that can only be stopped if Carlo and Charlotte can see through the masks worn by everyone they meet.

Gorgeous cover - check. Fascinating blurb - check. Spies, historical setting, magic - check. Count me in please. The cover caught my eye, but the blurb has me thoroughly intrigued. I cannot wait to see if this one lives up to my expectations.

26th April - The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.
All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I am not even close to emotionally ready for the end of this series, but I also cannot wait to read it. I've fallen in love with Blue and her boys, with the magic and the woods and the gorgeous, gorgeous prose. I come back to them again and again, and I whilst it is likely to break my heart, I want to finally learn how their stories end. Get the tissues ready guys, this one will be beautiful and devastating.

April 26th - The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.
But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.
Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.
The Star-Touched Queen is a lush, beautifully written and vividly imagined fantasy inspired by Indian mythology.

This book showed up randomly on my recommendations and I am so glad it did. Anytime a young adult book veers away from the stereotypical 'UK' or 'US' settings, I get excited. Add in some fantasy and a thoroughly intriguing blurb and beautiful cover and I cannot wait to get reading.

There you have the books I cannot wait to get my hands on over the next thirty days! Are there any you can't wait to read? Any you feel I've missed? Or any you're curious to pick up? Let me know in the comments below!

Eight Birthday Bookish Wishes!

Today is my birthday! So to celebrate (and since I missed this topic last week when ‘The Broke and the Bookish’ did a top ten Tuesday for bookish wishes) I’ve decided to talk about my top eight bookish wishes I would like to come true when I blow out the candles on my cake this evening.

1. Another Lady Julia Grey Novel
My love for the Lady Julia series knows no bounds. I adore these books, they are like literary crack for me. So I was devastated when it was announced that there would not be any more novels, simply four novellas to try and tie up any loose ends and then goodbye Julia and Brisbane. I love going back and re-reading the novels that we were lucky enough to see, but I would love to see just one more novel in this series to give everyone a full and proper ending.

2. All the Lady Julia Grey Novellas to be bound up in one book
I did enjoy the four novellas, but I am a physical books kinda girl so it frustrates me that I can only read them on my kindle. I want them bound up in one book (ala ‘The Assassin’s Blade’ by Sarah J Maas) so my Lady Julia collection is complete and I can gaze at all the pretties on my bookshelf.

3. For the Next A Song of Ice and Fire Book to be in my Grabby Hands Now
Seriously George, we’ve been so patient, now gief us the book! I need to know what happens next, you can’t just leave me on that cliffhanger of doom. It’s my birthday, just a hint?! (Or you know, a draft, I’m not fussy…)

4. More novels set in the Seven Kingdoms

I adore ‘Graceling’, ‘Fire’ and ‘Bitterblue’. I cannot get enough of these characters, this world, Kristin’s writing. It’s just so good. So whilst I would be very happy for any new writing from Kristin, in my heart of heart’s I would most like another novel set in the Seven Kingdoms. The chance to go back and explore more of this fascinating world would send me into a tailspin of glee. (Also for the audiobook to be read by the superb narrator of the first three books, because Emma Powell does such an incredible job of bringing these characters to life. Plus, continuity.)

5. A New Sarah Rees Brennan Book Every Year

You guys, if someone told me I could only read one author’s work for the rest of my life I would (after much wailing) declare that of course it would be Sarah Rees Brennan. (Fun fact, I met Sarah at a talk and signing on my birthday four years ago and she was awesome. I gave her cake.)
Her books are brilliant, funny, terrifying, and she gleefully rips my heart/soul into tiny little pieces. And I don’t even complain, because I enjoy it. I love her books that much. So if I could have a new book of Sarah’s every year forever please that would make me exceedingly happy. I’m not greedy, I’m not going to demand a new one every month or anything crazy, but one a year? Yes please, my little heart would swell with joy.

6. A New Maggie Stiefvater Book Every Year

Since this is my birthday and the wish granting genie is granting my bookish wishes I want to be greedy, and demand that I also get a Maggie Stiefvater book every year because OH GOSH YES PLEASE. Maggie captured my heart with ‘The Scorpio Races’, and let’s face it I am still not over that book, and then she continued to squish it with her genius with the first three books in ‘The Raven Cycle’. I fully anticipate not just squishing but outright annihilation by feels with the release of the final book ‘The Raven King’ early next year. So if I could get more incredible writing, stunningly beautiful magic and characters that I fall in love with and weep over every year, I would consider myself a very lucky girl.

7. A Series of Books set in the Marauders Era at Hogwarts

I think this would be on most people’s bookish wishlist. Can you imagine this? This would be incredible. I want to go back to Hogwarts, I want to spend time with the Marauders as they create the map and wreak havoc and generally get up to mischief. Picture it, just for a second. It would be like we got a series of books from the Weasley twin’s point of view, but MULTIPLIED. It would be epic.

8. For The Scorpio Races Movie to do the Book Justice and Not Make me Want to Weep

This book. Oh this book. It is so visual and would look so stunning on the big screen, but I am so terrified that any adaptation would lose the magic and turn it into this big Hollywood commercial THING. And that would be tragic. Done right, this could be perfection, complete and utter perfection. And to be able to watch the story unfold as well as listen to it and read it would be a dream come true. Now if they could get it perfect and with my dream cast that would be awesome…

So there you have my eight bookish wishes I will be wishing for before consuming cast quantities of cake this evening. Would you add any other wishes on? Or do you want to join in on some of these wishes (because double the wish power means a greater chance of them coming true…) Let me know in the comments below!

Cover Reveal: Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

So everyone who has ever met me knows that I adore Sarah Rees Brennan and absolutely love her books. They are genius I tell you! Funny, heart breaking, soul destroyingly good.

Which means that I get crazily excited whenever she has a new book coming out, before I even know anything about it, and the craziness levels go through the roof as soon as information starts trickling through...

And today people we have information. Glorious information in the form of an article from Entertainment Weekly (fancy!) gifting us with a cover reveal and excerpt from Sarah's upcoming novel 'Tell The Wind and Fire'.
CUE THE EXCITED POM POMS.

It's quite a different cover from the ones previously seen on Sarah's books, more the style of the 'Team Human' cover (Sarah's collaborative novel with Justine Larbalestier) than any of Sarah's individual works.
It's dark, it's edgy, and it has whipped my excitement into a fever pitch.

Check out the article at EW (link above) to see the cover in all its glory, and to read the excerpt (which is absolutely brilliant). And let me know what you think of the cover in the comments below. Me personally, I cannot wait for next spring, and to get a copy of this into my little grabby hands.

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan
Expected Publication: April 5th 2016
Tell the Wind & Fire is about a young girl called Lucie who lives in a New York very different from the New York we know: the city is torn between two very different kinds of magic, and Lucie’s own family was torn apart years ago by that conflict. Lucie wears magic rings and carries a burden of guilt she can’t share with anyone.
The light in her life is her sweetheart boyfriend Ethan, but it turns out Ethan has a secret too: a soulless doppelganger created by dark magic, who has to conceal the face identical to Ethan’s with a hood fastened by a collar nobody but a Light magician with magical rings can take off… and who introduces himself to both of them by, for reasons nobody can understand, saving Ethan’s life…

Top Ten Authors I Would Really Like to Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful folks over at The Broke & The Bookish
There are so many authors I would love to meet, whether it would be an in passing fall at their feet and tell them how much I love their books, or an in depth conversation over a cup of tea and cake. All of these authors are people that if given the chance, I would sell pieces of my soul to talk to.

1. Deanna Raybourn. I adore Deanna's books and I would love to sit and have tea and just talk about books, her writing and the research she does for each of her novels. I would also love to have a look at the books she has for research and reading - I'm nosy about other people's bookcases!

2. Maggie Stiefvater. I cannot get enough of Maggie's books. The Scorpio Races is one of my all time favourite books, and The Raven Cycle is utterly magnificent and poised to break my heart in the final installment due out later this year. I would love to know more about Maggie, her process, her ideas, and to be a passenger in one of her amazing cars...

3. J. K. Rowling. I think she may be someone who crops up on a lot of lists. So many of us owe so much to Rowling and her incredible books, most notably Harry Potter and Hogwarts, and once I got over the part where I stammered incoherently and probably burst into tears, she seems like she would be a really fascinating person to sit down and talk to.

4. Sarah Rees Brennan. Confession, I did meet Sarah at a signing she did with Cassie Clare on my 23rd birthday. I got to give her some birthday cake and stammer around the words I wanted to say about how much I loved her books and how she had inspired me and shown me that writing was actually something I could (and should) pursue. This time I would love to meet her for longer and be somewhat more coherent because anyone who has met Sarah/read her books/followed her social media accounts know that she is utterly brilliant and hysterical, and an afternoon spent in her company talking about everything from books to tv shows as well as everything in between would be incredible.

5. Kristin Cashore. Her books are amazing and her writing process seems utterly fascinating. She gives sneak peaks into her process on her blog and I love all the little insights and the methods she uses for each book she writes. Her blog is fascinating and I highly recommend checking it out for sneak peaks into how her writing comes together, the different processes and other little glimpses into her life.

6. Belinda Jones. I love Belinda's chick lit books, they always take me to some fantastic and wonderful destinations around the world, and you're guaranteed to learn some interesting history about the places she writes about too. So the chance to tag along on a research trip and to find out about all these amazing places? Yes please.

7. George R R Martin. His mind fascinates me. I'd want to wait to meet him until after all of the Song of Ice and Fire books are released, partly because I'd feel horribly guilty stealing any time that could be used writing, and partly because I imagine I am going to want to talk a lot about these books when the series is all out...

8. Neil Gaiman. Gaiman's books are incredible, his imagination both a terrifying and wonderful place to be, and his books are works of brilliance. I've been to several of Gaiman's talks and readings and he is endlessly fascinating and I would love to just ask an endless array of questions and hear his thoughts on a little bit of everything.

9. Terry Pratchett. A good portion of the book community adores Terry's books and I know that I am not the only one who would love to have sat down and talked to him about Discworld, his writing, his incredible characters and imagination. And to say thank you. For sharing his gift with us, for giving us these amazing stories and people, and making life that little bit funnier, brighter and more brilliant.

10. Anthony McGowan. Not for any fan purposes, or a love of his books. I would love to meet Mr McGowan to ask him why on earth he felt writing those tweets was a good idea, and why he thinks that Book Bloggers are pointless. And then I would love to show him just how incredible Book Bloggers can be and how sadly misinformed and caught up in his own importance he is.

So there are my ten authors I would love to meet (for a variety of reasons.) How about you? Are there any on my list that you would love to have a conversation with? Share your author loves in the comments below and link me to your own top tens!

Top Ten All Time Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by the wonderful folks over at The Broke & the Bookish

This week is a tough one. Like really crazy tough, because there are so many authors that are favourites. Those who have written incredible series and bring out book after book of wonderfulness, and those who have written a single standalone that stays with you. And there are some who maybe their books aren't in your top favourites, but they are such wonderful kind and fabulous people that they sneak in anyway. They all deserve recognition and that makes it incredibly hard to narrow it down to just ten.
But I'm going to try... So here, in no particular order are my top ten all time favourite authors.

Deanna Raybourn

I finished reading a Gail Carriger book and went on Amazon to see if they could recommend me anything similar and 'Silent in the Grave' the first book in the Lady Julia series popped up. I devoured it (and the following two books) in record time and so began a love affair with Deanna Raybourn's books that I have never looked back from. I know that if Raybourn has written it, it is going to be supberb. She has the rare and dangerous gift of being able to create wonderfully real characters and put them into worlds so real you can almost taste them. When I dive into one of her books I know I am going to be immersed in an incredible story with wonderful and evocative writing. She researches so thoroughly that every story feels as though it is real and as though you are truly stepping into the country and time period depicted. No matter the story, Raybourn's books will always be a favourite and her a favourite author.

Maggie Stiefvater

I came to Maggie late, discovering her only with the publication of 'The Scorpio Races'. Nothing I have read comes close to what Maggie does with her tales. They are full of subtle magics, incredible characters and books that pull you in and make you fall in love until they become a part of you. 'The Scorpio Races' and then 'The Raven Cycle' are utterly stunning books, ones that always take my breath away. I am utterly in awe and cannot even put into words how incredible these books and Maggie's writing is. I adore them, and I couldn't ever do without them.

Kristin Cashore
The first time I read Graceling I disliked it. Then I waited a few years and read it again and fell in love, followed swiftly by Fire and Bitterblue and all three rocketed straight up into all time favourite books. For some reason reading Graceling for the first time I was in completely the wrong frame of mind, and I am so, so glad that I went back and re-read it because I cannot imagine not having these three books in my life. I listen to the audiobooks regularly (currently my go-to audiobook is Fire) and also go and check out Kristin's blog. Her blog is a fascinating mix of writing and editing and random things and pretty pictures and I love hearing each update from her corner of the world. I'm eagerly awaiting her follow up book to The Seven Kingdoms series, but in the mean time I more than love checking out the blog posts and re-reading these favourites.

Sarah Rees Brennan

I first found Sarah's work when she was writing Harry Potter fan-fiction. And it was brilliant. It was witty and sarcastic and brilliant and fleshed out characters in whole new ways and introduced me to this idea that writing could be fun. Then she went to do an MA in Creative Writing and I couldn't believe it. The idea of studying writing at uni had never crossed my mind before that point and she introduced me to the idea that maybe I could write. And then she got her books published and she blew me away all over again with how incredibly wonderful her writing was. It was everything I had fallen in love with all those years ago when I read her fan fic, but polished, refined and with her own incredible characters and plots. Her writing is incredible, it remains some of the funniest and most bittersweet and her characters are some of the most complex. But as well as all that she will always be the person who showed me that achieving my dream of writing was actually possible, and I will always remember that.

Tamora PierceI first discovered Pierce's books when I was 11 and desperately seeking any sort of distraction from the books in the school library. None of them were particularly great and then I discovered Alanna in The Song of the Lioness Quartet and I fell in love. Pierce's books always have magic in them and they always feature fantastic characters. Strong women who aren't afraid to fight for what they want and be who they were meant to be, regardless of what society thinks they should do. And strong men who are loyal and kind and aren't afraid to show weakness, frailty, or love. I got lost in these books, I wished I could live in these books, and I still love going back and re-reading them to this day. They are wonderful and full of such brilliant depths of imagination and that is what makes her one of my favourite authors.

J. K. Rowling

Do I really need to say anything? Like pretty much every other Potter fan, I fell in love with Harry and Ron and Hermione and never looked back. Rowling created a world I wanted to live in, Hogwarts is somewhere I can never wait to return to, and I was one of the lucky generation who grew up with Harry. With each new book I was older, so was he, and the world got darker and more dangerous as we explored it. Rowling did the extrordinary, she created a world that bridges language and country. Everyone who has fallen in love with Hogwarts is connected by these books and the love of reading they inspired, and I adore her for that.

Neil Gaiman
If Tamora Pierce introduced me to fantasy as a child, Neil Gaiman introduced

me to a whole new breed of fantasty as an adult. Gaiman's books are incredible with such vivid and terrifying imagination filling each page. I started with Neverwhere and fell in love with London, moved on to Stardust and found a whole new type of fairytale with heroines who swore and hero's who weren't really hero's at all to start with, and moved onto American Gods and wept from the sheer brilliance and scope of the story. Gaiman's stories in turn delight and terrify and he is such a kind and generous author, both with his stories and his time. If you ever get the chance to go to a talk of his, I highly recommend it.

Julia Quinn

Quinn introduced me to the idea of romance and true love. I mean I'd discovered it in fairytales and other such things, but this was my first foray into true romance and I loved it. Quinn's stories are always fresh and funny, brilliantly written and featuring wonderful characters. She reminds me again and again that happily ever after's are indeed possible and that true love really does exist, even when the world is a terrible place I know that Quinn will provide a ray of sunshine and I love her and her books for that.

Jasper Fforde
I was a precocious reader as a child, and as a result I found a lot of books and authors that I didn't fully appreciate until revisiting them when I was a bit older. Jasper Fforde is one of those authors, and whilst I loved him when I was younger, his books are utterly fantastic reading them as an adult. They are brilliantly imaginative, twisted and hilarious. His debut novel 'The Eyre Affair' plays with tropes and expectations so brilliantly, and I adore his haphazard and genius thought process that produces such ingenious books.

Gail Carriger

My first dip into steampunk, Gail's covers grabbed my attention and her witty and sharp writing kept me entertained for hours. She is still my favourite steampunk author and if I want a melodrama of manners with tea, pesto, vampires and werewolves she is my go to author I love - and she has the most awesome blog and twitter presence. There's always something new and exciting to see if you go on her blog or follow her and I love seeing the strange, weird and wonderful things that pop up. 

So there you have my top ten favourite authors. Can you manage to pick only ten of your favourites? If so tell me in the comments below! You can also check out interviews with Deanna Raybourn, Sarah Rees Brennan & Gail Carriger in the author interviews tab at the top of the page.

Review: The Summer Before I Met You & The Spring Before I Met You by Sarah Rees Brennan

The two prequels to Sarah Rees Brennan’s brilliant new novel ‘Unspoken’ are fantastic. I’m loving this new trend to release novellas prior to a new book, it starts the hype about the book, it gives you a taste of what’s to come, and in this case it offered two unique and beautiful new insights into our characters from sources that we would have never otherwise seen.

Let’s start with ‘The Summer Before I Met You’ which is Kami’s story, even though it is told through Liz who ran the fateful summer cricket camp. It gives us an outsiders look at Kami and Angela and Sorry in the Vale and how Kami might seem to someone who isn’t used to her odd moments of ‘awayness’ with Jared. It also gives us a brief look into an event that shapes the Kami we know from ‘Unspoken’ with a family death. Everything gravitates towards Kami, she is like a little sun that pulls everything and everyone into her own orbit. I loved seeing these characters, a bit more of Rusty and the previous boyfriend and Angela, and the sheer insanity that seems to happen around Kami whether she means for it to or not. It’s a fantastic novella and one that works really well to set up and offer that little look at what Kami must seem like to outsiders.

However my real love lay with Jared’s novella ‘The Spring Before I Met You.’ We see so much of the inside of Jared’s mind through Kami in ‘Unspoken’ that it was jarring and fascinating to see him from an outsider, an unqualified guidance counsellor Mariel, who wants to help the obviously troubled Jared, but genuinely has no idea how to do so. Mariel is so completely baffled by him, and how she might be able to help him, but seems unable to stay away. She, like the rest of us, seems to fall prey to the study in contrasts that is Jared, both capable of destruction and terror, but kindness as well. There were some really lovely moments that I loved witnessing that really screwed up Jared’s bad boy image. It was heartbreaking to see him in this setting, to see more of his dysfunctional unit with his mother and the desperate determination to cling to ‘Kami’ and his acceptance of Mariel only when she wants to talk about his imaginary friend. The novella was darker and more heartbreaking than ‘Summer’ and yet the perfect study in contrasts to lead us into Unspoken.

I really hope that we get to see some more novellas with the release of books two and three in the trilogy, because I loved the added insight and little corners that we get to see that we never would have had access to just from Unspoken. For fans of Unspoken these novellas are a must read, and for those of you debating whether to launch into Unspoken, these two will give you a free and fantastic taster of what’s in store for you.

Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I've tried to keep spoilers to a minimum, but I highly recommend reading the book before this review. However most of what I talk about you could learn just from reading the blurb - but consider this your warning!

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

I’m gonna be upfront and warn you there is going to be a lot of gushing and love for this book in this review – there may even be glitter and overuse of italics. And probably insanely long. In fact we should probably just entitle it ‘Love Letter to Sarah Rees Brennan’ and have done with it. Just to warn you.

I have been waiting for this book for what feels like forever. Sarah is a tease with her giving out the first few chapters at a signing last October, because I have been pining for this book ever since. And then it finally arrived. And I was so smitten with both the UK and US covers that I have done something I have never done before and I have bought BOTH. That’s right, I will have two copies of Unspoken sat on my shelves, but they are just so PRETTY.

So yes, the book itself. Guys, I would read it if Sarah chose to write on the walls in crayon. Seriously, I have been a major fan girl right since the fan fiction days, so I was primed to love this book from the start, and it in no way let me down. In fact it way exceeded my (very high) expectations.

Let me state one thing first off, I love the Demon’s trilogy, they are brilliant and awesome, but Unspoken is even better. Sarah’s writing is tighter, her jokes are even funnier, and the whole thing practically sparkles it’s so well constructed. I am in awe.

Kami is fantastic. She’s feisty, she’s determined and intrepid and wickedly funny. But there’s depth and emotion and at times I just wanted to scoop her up and hug her and stop everyone from being terrible. She came alive right from the first page, and she has immediately gone into my list of favourite heroines ever. She’s quirky, she’s curvy, she’s sassy and she has an imaginary friend. What more could one want? And Kami steers clear of some of the usual pitfalls of heroines in fiction, which made me cheer. For example, a point where she’s trying to work out who the bad guys are, she considers for a moment that of course Jared couldn’t be the bad guy, and then promptly puts him back on the list until she can prove (other than her fuzzy feelings) that he is innocent. I loved that she was strong enough and sure enough of herself to stick to her beliefs and core even when everything around her was turning dark and treacherous and she could really use someone to trust.

And speaking of imaginary friends, Sarah has a talent for creating fantastic bad boy (read: rugged and manly) incredibly broken, terrible yet loveable men. And Jared takes this to whole new levels. There is a vulnerability to him that stops him from being full blown bad boy, and I loved seeing the juxtaposition of the outward appearance to the Jared revealed in his connection with Kami. His devotion takes on slightly darker undertones though, and I cannot wait to see how their relationship is explored further in book two. They have such an incredibly complex relationship filled with beautiful bittersweet moments as well as the funny and darker ones.

“’How do you deal with it?’ Kami asked Jared. ‘The laughing at nothing and occasionally stopping dead in your tracks.’
‘I have a system where when I stop, I lean casually against something,’ Jared told her. ‘It makes people think that I’m a bad boy. Or possibly that I have a bad back.’”

Part of what I love best about Jared and Kami, is how Sarah turns the much used troupe of insta-love, and strange soul mate-ish connections completely on its head. She really explores the darker side of having someone else in your head. It stops being this cool, hey look, I have someone to talk to all the time! And instead shows the darker elements of having someone know all the petty, awful, childish things you ever think. Someone who knows every corner of you and can use that to hurt you.

“She could not escape, could not untangle the strands of herself from him. She tried to visualize walls in her head, shields that she could hide behind.”

The fact that you are never your own person, you’re two halves of a whole, but not in a romantic way, in a ‘I have no idea what are your feelings and what are mine’ kind of way. It’s dark and twisted and utterly brilliant. I really felt for Kami, and one of my favourite moments was a moment just after she and Jared meet for the first time:

“She felt like he’d killed the Jared she knew.”

Sarah just captures this impossible idea so perfectly and shows both the brilliant moments of humour and tenderness and companionship, against the darker moments where they can’t separate themselves and have no idea of their own identities and feelings because they are constantly on a loop to the other person. It’s horrifying and fascinating and utterly fantastic, and Sarah handles it so deftly and brilliantly that something so strange seems so completely normal and yet twisty at the same time.

Kami and Jared lead a whole host of fantastic characters, and I had a little fan girl moment of glee when the whole Scooby gang was assembled and I cannot wait to see more of them working as a team in the next book. There’s something for everyone! Delicious golden good looks from Ash, curvy bubbly fantasticness from Holly and aloof awesome from Angela – there is such a diversity in her characters, in race and sexual orientation, and it’s so great to see more of this explored in YA fiction. Some of my favourite moments where when Kami had assembled the troops to get to the bottom of the mysteries in Sorry-in-the-vale. There is quite literally someone for everyone, and whilst the set up is fantastic, I cannot wait to get to the making out in book two, and to see a bit more behind each of this band of intrepid ninjas.

There is such a deliciously dark atmosphere and sense of foreboding throughout – highlighted against some of the lighter moments and scenes, and it creates a beautiful balance. Sarah has created a brilliant blend of gothic novel, paranormal young adult with romance and mystery galore. I wish we could see more intelligent and sassy novels like this, because it combined all the elements I love in books and manages to side step all the clichés pit falls you often find in YA novels at the moment.

There are the little titbits for crazy fan girls as well. There’s a family of Fairchild’s for fans of Cassie Clare, but the moment that made me squeal the loudest (actually there were two moments, but one was just me personally.) was when I got to chapter 16 and discovered it was called ‘Underwater Light’ – for all of you who have been there from the beginning I hope you squealed too. The second moment was when Rob calls Rosalind ‘Rosy’ I think I woke my mother with my shrieks they were so joyous. I have NEVER seen my name spelt properly in a book ever, not even in passing reference to a random character, and I actually had a moment over it here (and yes I am pretending that it was deliberately after me, don’t burst my bubble.)

And then we have the ending, which has created quite the emotional storm on the interwebs. Mostly people yelling at Sarah for crushing their hearts and ALL THE EMOTIONS. And yes, it is fantastic. It was the perfect end to the book, just the right amount of hook and pull into the second book with shadowy tones and oh my god moments. I loved it. And yes I did get to that last page and shriek a little bit, because really, a whole year until I get to slap Jared about a little bit for that? It broke my heart and smushed it up a little bit – to the point that having finished I stared at it for a full five minutes and then just flipped back to page one and started reading again.

So basically, I am a huge fan of Unspoken. It’s a brilliant new book (and start to a new series) from Sarah, and showcases some of her best writing to date. I will be busy buying copies and thrusting them at people at every available opportunity, and re-reading it until I can get my hands on book two…