YALC 2015 Wrap Up

One thousand two hundred and twelve miles is quite a large round trip, but when it comes to the Young Adult Literature Convention, no distance is too great to make sure I was there.

I'm now back in insanely hot Lyon (the brief respite to English weather has completely wrecked any sort of tolerance for the heat that I'd built up...) and feeling the come down that only happens when you've been looking forward to something for so long, and had such a fantastic time during it. In short, YALC was fab.

It was a much larger area than last year, taking up three quarters of the second floor of the Olympia (the last quarter was filled with the gaming section) and split up so there were partitioned off areas for the panels, workshops and agents corner. As well as lots of publishers stalls, and reading and signing areas. It all felt much more spaced out (which was definitely a good thing on the Saturday when it got really busy!) and offered plenty of space for everyone to join in with anything they chose to.

The panels were in turn hilarious and thought provoking, the workshops interesting, the plethora of authors and bloggers and book lovers thoroughly overwhelming and brilliant. To be surrounded by so many people who genuinely love books is always a thrilling experience, and it was wonderful to share book recs and get excited about authors.

Sarah Rees Brennan
being awesome

And the authors! So many incredible authors were in attendance, both for panels/signings/workshops and just because they loved books. There were plenty of star struck moments for me! It was also awesome to hear more from authors that I didn't know well or hadn't yet come across and to get excited for books that hadn't piqued my interest before. I have such a long list of books that I cannot wait to read as a result of this weekend.

Standout authors were (of course) Sarah Rees Brennan, you made my weekend with your spoilers about Angela and Holly and chatting about how nice guys don't finish at all, they end up on a stone slab...

Moira Fowley-Doyle signing

So lovely to meet the wonderful Moira Fowley-Doyle after shrieking about how brilliant 'The Accident Season' is to EVERYONE who will listen. And Marie Rutkoski, after my binge read of the first two books in the Winner's Series earlier this year. Also Non Pratt, casually selling books on the Waterstones stand and signing my copy of Remix was a surreal and brilliant end to the weekend. Making an utter idiot of myself in front of Alexia Casale when confusing her with Laura Dockrill on the first day after three hours sleep and a whole heap of jetlag... Meeting Marieke Nijkamp whose novel 'This is Where it Ends' is next up on my kindle and I cannot wait to read. And Sarah Benwell who valiantly made it through half of the weekend whilst insanely ill, surviving on cups of tea and book love.
It was the kind of weekend where you end up in turns star struck and then having a perfectly normal conversation with authors whose work you have loved and admired - the very best kind of weekend.

Michelle, Andrew and I
with added dinosaur impressions

Then there were the bloggers! So many awesome bloggers and not enough time to spend with each of you! Sophie from 'So Many Books, So Little Time', Michelle from 'The Book Club Forum/Sitting on a Cornflake', Faye from 'A Daydreamer's Thoughts', Sally from 'The Dark Dictator', Viv from 'Serendipity Reviews', Hannah from 'Luna's Little Library', Daphne from 'Winged Reviews', Virginie from 'La Chouett', Michelle from 'Tales of Yesterday' and the awesome Mara who has impeccable taste in books!
Plus so many others who really helped make the weekend something extraordinary.

It was fantastic to have a mini Bookish Brits gathering and to see Michelle, Andrew and Julianne. It's not the same seeing you on youtube and it was fantastic to meet up, film, take pictures and generally get bookishly excited. Also huge congrats to Andrew on not throwing up in his shoes and doing a wonderful panel, Book Blogging for Beginners on Sunday!

Tired but happy: Laurie & I

And of course, the most important person this weekend for me was the awesome Laurie who let me steal half the duvet, kept me in coffee, and kept me (in)sane when the sleep deprivation became too much. Mooching around getting excited about books, going to signings and panels, and sneaking downstairs to get excited about funkopops and cosplay made this weekend a truly spectacular affair.

YALC is still a very young endeavour, and for an event only in its second year it's a fantastic achievement. However it's obvious that with the level of popularity and support it's gaining that it's going to be something that continues to evolve and grow, and here are four things that I would love to see happen at the next YALC.

1. More panels/Smaller panels. The space that we had for panels this year was huge, which meant that due to slightly dodgy microphones, if you weren't sat near the front you missed a lot of what was being said. I'd love to see smaller panels but more of them.

   

   One of the Comic Con floors

2. Bloggers as Press. Downstairs in London Film Comic Con the press have access to events, to do interviews and to take pictures. I would love to see something similar being adapted for bloggers. In a way bloggers are like the press of the bookish world, their reach is huge, and it would be awesome for some of them to be able to take pictures and videos of events, run some panels (similar to this year) and to have access to a quieter spot to interview authors. It was fantastic to have the two panels on book blogging this year with book bloggers running them, and I would love to see that expanded on over the next few years.
3. Getting the word out to more people. The number of people that were surprised and then dismayed to hear about the event this weekend because they had no idea that it was happening was staggering. I think that it's partly because the event is only in its second year, but I would love to see more in the run up to the weekend, not just on twitter, to get the word out so that more people are aware that such an incredible event is happening.
4. Microphones for workshops. I only made it to one workshop because the panels were so brilliant and I sadly have yet to clone myself and be in two places at once... However the workshop space, whilst partitioned off, was right next to the signing area which was loud. Add in to that the frequent speaker announcements for the entirety of the con, and the noise from the panels and it was a nightmare trying to hear anything, even though it was a relatively small space. I would love to see the workshops given a little bit more space and help (E.g. microphones) so that the people running them, and any participants reading out work can actually be heard by the rest of the people taking part.

If you weren't able to make it, then don't forget to look out for all the videos going up on the Bookish Brits youtube channel. (Mine will be up on Friday!) Also check out my twitter, as I was live tweeting every panel I went to:
Apocalypse Now Panel

Shadowhunters Panel

Bringing Sexy Back Panel

Between Fantasy & Reality Panel

Troubled Teens Panel

LGBT in YA Panel

Plus my instagram (#RosyGoestoYALC) for pictures of the panels, some authors, books and bloggers!

But for now, it's time to nap, read all the awesome books I picked up, and start counting down the days until the next YALC. I hope to see as many of you as possible there next year!

Top Ten Books that Celebrate Diverse Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful folks over at The Broke & The Bookish. Want to join in? Simply click on the link and look at the upcoming topics!

Diverse books and characters are something that a lot of book bloggers and reviewers are championing, so it's awesome that the folks at 'The Broke & The Bookish' are taking a week to get bloggers championing their top tens. It means that a lot of books will get brought into the limelight for a week, and people will be able to find more diverse books and characters to add to their to read piles. So below I've listed my top ten books that celebrate diverse characters in the hopes that one or two might intrigue you enough to give them a go!

Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents' wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls ... opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he's trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he's in the spotlight—on everyone's terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.
Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents' disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she's painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van's life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she'll have to choose between the one thing she's always loved ... and the person she never imagined she could.

A book that has a female/female romance at its heart? One that doesn't shy away from writing it like an actual relationship that takes center stage rather than being pushed off to the side? With a Korean protagonist that tackles the problems of diversity and representation in Hollywood/TV/Film? This book is brave and brilliant and a breath of fresh air.
You can read my review here.

The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell
And these are they. My final moments. They say a warrior must always be mindful of death, but I never imagined that it would find me like this...
Japanese teenager, Sora, is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Lonely and isolated, Sora turns to the ancient wisdom of the samurai for guidance and comfort. But he also finds hope in the present; through the internet he finds friends that see him, not just his illness. This is a story of friendship and acceptance, and testing strength in an uncertain future.

Not only is Sora Japanese, but he is also suffering from ALS. A hauntingly beautiful debut novel that looks at disability, long term illness, friendship, death and the right to die. Benwell has created a truly fascinating character with Sora, a boy who is struggling to come to terms with the path his life is taking thanks to his illness, and to try and find meaning and strength and to retain his sense of self even whilst all his control is being stripped away piece by piece.
You can read my review here.

This is Not a Love Story by Keren David
Kitty dreams of a beautiful life, but that's impossible in suburban London where her family is haunted by her father's unexpected death. So when her mum suggests moving to Amsterdam to try a new life, Kitty doesn't take much persuading. Will this be her opportunity to make her life picture perfect? 
In Amsterdam she meets moody, unpredictable Ethan, and clever, troubled Theo. Two enigmatic boys, who each harbour their own secrets. In a beautiful city and far from home, Kitty finds herself falling in love for the first time. 
But will love be everything she expected? And will anyone's heart survive?

Whilst this may not have been one of my favourite books this year, no one can accuse this book of not being diverse. Gay, bi and straight characters can all be found, with some refreshing insights into love and romance. Plus there's also the fact that both of the view point characters are Jewish. Religion is so rarely touched upon in YA fiction, so to see two very different takes on Judaism was refreshing and fascinating.
You can read my review here.

Wonder by R J Palacio
You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.
My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.
August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.
But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.
Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?
Narrated by Auggie and the people around him whose lives he touches forever, Wonder is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

This was such a beautiful, thought provoking book, and I imagine that it will find its way onto a lot of people's lists today. The book looks at the issues from several different view points and angles and offers a thoughtful story about conforming, fitting in and standing out and people's responses to disfigurement.
You can read my review here

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough
Antony and Cleopatra. Helen of Troy and Paris. Romeo and Juliet. And now... Henry and Flora.
For centuries Love and Death have chosen their players. They have set the rules, rolled the dice, and kept close, ready to influence, angling for supremacy. And Death has always won. Always.
Could there ever be one time, one place, one pair whose love would truly tip the balance?
Meet Flora Saudade, an African-American girl who dreams of becoming the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings in the smoky jazz clubs of Seattle by night. Meet Henry Bishop, born a few blocks and a million worlds away, a white boy with his future assured—a wealthy adoptive family in the midst of the Great Depression, a college scholarship, and all the opportunities in the world seemingly available to him.
The players have been chosen. The dice have been rolled. But when human beings make moves of their own, what happens next is anyone’s guess.

This book is one my favourites so far this year. Beautiful, haunting and filled with emotions, it looks at love, death, and a whole host of social issues in the 1930s, most notably for Flora who is an African-American engineer and jazz singer in a time when being black was a big mark against you. Martha tackles the subject with grace and style, and I felt for Flora so much. I felt her desperation and struggle and the rage at the injustices she is forced to endure. A truly stunning and wonderfully written book.
You can read my review here

Fire and Thorns by Rae CarsonPrincess Elisa is a disappointment to her people. Although she bears the Godstone in her navel, a sign that she has been chosen for an act of heroism, they see her as lazy and useless and fat. On her sixteenth birthday, she is bartered off in royal marriage and shipped away to a kingdom in turmoil, where her much-older-and extremely beautiful-husband refuses to acknowledge her as his wife. Devastated, Elisa decides to take charge of her fate and learn what it means to bear the Godstone. As an invading army threatens to destroy her new home, and everyone at court maneuvers to take advantage of the young princess, Elisa becomes convinced that, not only is her own life in danger, the whole world needs saving. But how can a young girl who has never ridden horseback, never played the game of politics, and never attained the love of a man save the world? Elisa can't be sure, but she must try to uncover the Godstone's secret history before the enemy steals the destiny nestled in her core.

This book is gorgeous, a sweeping fantasy that is perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and has a flawed and human girl at its heart. The book deals with body image (Elias is not willow thin and beautiful but a softer, more rounded girl who doesn't shy away from food) and is set in a wonderfully diverse world with a truly awesome feminist outlook. I read this book when it first came out and adored it, and I'm desperate to go back for a re-read and to finish this trilogy, because this book was incredible.
You can read my review here

The Wrath & The Dawn by Renée AhdiehEvery dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch... she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.
She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

This book was SO GOOD. It's my most recently read book on the list and offers a stunning re-telling of 1001 nights. It's diverse, it's powerful, it's set in a fantasy world. If you're a fan of 'Fire and Thorns' or any of Tamora Pierce's books you'll love this one. Shazi was a wonderful, feisty and determined heroine, surrounded by a whole host of brilliant characters. And Renée's world building is incredible and totally immersive, dipping you into this beautiful culture full of customs, magic and diversity.
You can read my review here

Finding Audrey by Sophie KinsellaAn anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

Sophie Kinsella's first foray into writing YA fiction works remarkably well. She tackles anxiety and the way having the disorder can completely disrupt someone's life with a remarkable amount of humour. There are a few issues about the comedic overblown effect that comes out in a few scenes and that Audrey seems to be 'fixed' once she finds a love interest, but on the whole this book takes a good and honest look at social anxiety and the crippling effect that it can have.
You can read my review here

Turf by John Lucas

Jay's life seems pretty sorted: 15 years old and already a rising member of the notorious Blake Street Boyz gang, he takes his lessons from the street. With a knife in his pocket and his best friend Milk by his side, their days are spent fiercely defending their turf.
When Jay gets the chance to step up and become a senior of the Boyz, he faces the biggest decision of his life: he must stab and kill a classmate - and rival gang member - or face the consequences.
It doesn't take long for Jay's world to spiral out of control. As the line between right and wrong begins to fade, he finds no escape. Jay has to act, but at what and whose cost?
Set against the backdrop of London's inner-city tower blocks, in a world where killing can be easier than choosing what chocolate bar to eat, Turf is a story of intense friendship and brutal gang violence, of loyalty at any cost - even to the price of your own soul.
It's the kind of story that continues to dominate front page headlines (see attached) and this powerful novel shows us just how violent life can be for people living under street gang rule. 

This one came out a few years ago and took a hard look at gang life in London. It was a raw and gritty book with a few surprising twists at the end. Sadly not many people appear to have heard of it, but Jay makes a fascinating protagonist and gives a harrowing insight into life of a black boy in a ruthless London gang.
You can read my review here

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
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?

Kami is one of my favourite heroines. She's intelligent, brilliantly funny, half Japanese, short and gorgeously curvy and not afraid to be herself. Add to that the supporting characters who offer same sex relationships and turn stereotypes on their heads and you have a truly awesome book. Sarah Rees Brennan is one of my favourite authors and her books embrace diversity in every way, so I could easily have listed any of her books here. They all offer diverse characters be it skin colour, background or sexuality, and are funny and brilliantly written books to boot - what more could you want?!
You can read my review here

So those are my top ten books that celebrate diverse characters. I feel there should be a notable mention for 'This Book is Gay' by James Dawson, which I didn't feel that I could put in the list as it is non-fiction, but is a truly brilliant and funny book looking at sexuality and all the different issues that can crop up with it.
Now onto you guys! Have you found any books you're dying to pick up from this list? And what books did you chose? Link me to your own top tens and let me know in the comments below!

Review: The Little Flower Shop by the Sea by Ali McNamara

Publication Date: July 30^th 2015
Publisher: Sphere/Little Brown Book Group
Length: 432 pages

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Sphere/Little Brown Book Group for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Poppy Carmichael, 30, certainly never intended to own a florist. But when she inherits her grandmother's beloved flower shop on the beautiful Cornish coast, Poppy has no choice but to return to the pretty harbour town of St Felix where she spent much of her childhood.
Returning to St Felix brings back sad memories for Poppy. But when she makes new friends such as local flower grower Jake, a young widowed father of two teenagers, Poppy begins to overcome her fears, and discover for herself what's so special about this little flower shop by the sea.

I love Ali McNamara’s books. They’re always light, (but not just filled with fluff) with some brilliant plots, wonderful characters and fantastic romances. I don’t think anything will ever beat the brilliance of ‘From Notting Hill with Love… Actually’ for me, but ‘The Little Flower Shop by the Sea’ comes a very close second.

I loved Poppy, from her grumpy snarky attitude to her Doc Martins and black clothes. She’s offset brilliantly by Amber and the two of them make a really fantastic team. The whole cast of characters work beautifully together to create a wonderful cohesive whole that draws you in and really feels like you’re in St Felix yourself surrounded by these welcoming people.

And what a place St Felix is. Reading this had me longing for the sea, to burrow away in a quite cottage on the coast and go for long walks on the cliffs and the sand. The setting is wonderful and Ali has really captured it and made St Felix feel real. I loved opening the book and falling back into the town.

The plot ticks along nicely. It’s got enough twists and turns to keep you hooked and guessing, a really lovely romance that putters along in the background and some really great character arcs. It really feels like you disappear for a summer into the town and experience the highs and the lows and intrigues of life there. It’s a perfect summer read and I’ve found myself longing to go back there well after I finished the book and moved onto the next one.

My only issue was that sometimes the dialogue felt a little bit unrealistic and a bit too much like a chance to info-dump lots of feelings and information. However whilst that was frustrating, it didn’t really impede my enjoyment of the book too much.

This is the perfect summer read, with just the right blend of romance and a gorgeous setting to create a wonderful story that I loved sinking into. The only problem is that it’s made me miss the sea and want to spend a few weeks in St Felix myself!

Review: Lorali by Laura Dockrill

Publication Date: July 2^nd 2015
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Length: 337 pages

Huge thanks to Hot Key Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Colourful, raw, brave, rich and fantastical - this mermaid tale is not for the faint-hearted.
Looking after a naked girl he found washed up under Hastings pier isn't exactly how Rory had imagined spending his sixteenth birthday. But more surprising than finding her in the first place is discovering where she has come from.
Lorali is running not just from the sea, not just from her position as princess, but her entire destiny. Lorali has rejected life as a mermaid, and become human.
But along with Lorali's arrival, and the freak weather suddenly battering the coast, more strange visitors begin appearing in Rory's bemused Sussex town. With beautifully coiffed hair, sharp-collared shirts and a pirate ship shaped like a Tudor house, the Abelgare boys are a mystery all of their own. What are they really up to? Can Rory protect Lorali? And who from? And where does she really belong, anyway?

I’m not usually a fan of mermaid books, so I was dubious picking this one up, but knowing that Laura had written it made me curious regardless of the content. I’ve loved Laura’s books in the past –the prose is so incredible and vibrant – and I think that Lorali may actually be my favourite novel of hers yet.

This book is like nothing I’ve read, it’s strange and alien and beautiful and dark. It’s a stunning novel told from three viewpoints – Lorali herself, Rory the human boy who finds her and the sea. Yes that’s right, one of the points of view is from the sea herself and it is stunningly done.

I got lost in this book, completely swept away and couldn’t put it down once I’d started reading. I fell in love with the little seaside town and it reminded me of Thisby from The Scorpio Races in places. It was vivid and wild and filled with unexpected magic.

I fell in love with the characters. With Lorali’s short staccato sentences as she finds words and learns to use them. With Rory’s all too human voice, his slang his kindness and disbelief. And with the sea whispering from all the other corners of the world created – from Opal finally finding a place for herself, to the Abelgare pirates who were some of the most incredible mixture of cut throat and lost boys I’ve ever seen depicted, to Iris and Flynn and their quiet warmth and support.

The story slipped inside me, changing constantly as soon as I thought I had it pegged for a particular story type. It is a glorious mixture of everything, thrown in together to create a truly incredible book. I loved the strangeness and the wildness, I loved the characters and the humour and darkness.

This is an extraordinary book and I am so glad I put my preconceptions of mermaid books aside to pick it up.

Review: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

Publication Date: May 12^th 2015
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Length: 388 pages

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch… she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.
She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

I had heard so many amazing things about this book before I started, and they were all absolutely true. This book was fantastic – certainly one of the best books I’ve read this year.

The writing is gorgeous, this is a masterclass in world-building and stunning prose. I fell in love with the writing from the first page and tried to draw out my time reading over as many days as possible to prolong my time spent between these pages. It is quiet and dreamy, dramatic and full of fire, filled with gorgeous moments and descriptions as Ahdieh brings to life this story filled with exquisite depths.

At its heart is Shazi, a fiery, flawed and intelligent heroine. I couldn’t help but love her, to feel for her as she tries to reconcile the warring parts of her heart. The guilt and love and hurt all lingering and twisting into this complex thing. She is a wonderful heroine to persuade the reader to invest in the story, to draw them into her vibrant and determined world as she attempts to stay alive and unravel the mystery.

I loved the relationships interwoven in the narrative, Despina and Shazi, Shazi and Khalid, Kahlid and Jalal. They are complex and raw and filled with desperation and love as well as lighter moments and humour. Despina particularly infuses all of her scenes with a much needed lightness and I adored the friendship that grows between the two girls independent of any love interests.

The world-building is fantastic. I felt as though I were there, everything from the clothes to the food to the silk cushions and curtains, the dawn light gilding the blades of grass and the perfect heady perfume of the roses. The novel is laid out in glorious detail, a feast for the senses.

One thing guaranteed to make me fall head over heels in love with a book is when things aren’t spelled out piecemeal to the reader. If the book is set in a particular culture with characters that have grown up with names and customs and sayings then it’s completely ridiculous for the narrative to pause whilst whatever it is is being explained to the reader so they can keep up. So when "The Wrath & the Dawn” gave me a glossary at the back of the book and expected me to keep up with the terminology, I practically swooned. It’s details like that that make the book such an immersive experience to read. I felt as though I were there, the descriptions were so vivid, the emotions so strong, the characters so life like.

The only element of this book that I really didn’t get along with was Tariq, he and I just didn’t hit it off. His scenes felt as though they slowed the rest of the story down and I resented any time away from Shazi – hardly surprising when you’ve got such a wonderful heroine as she. Add to that that he basically cannot explain why he needs to save her, that he feels that it’s wrong that she should do what she wants, that what she wants is wrong, and he was really getting on my bad side. He came across as possessive and naïve and irritating. I never felt a connection between him and Shazi, and his possessiveness really rankled. Yet despite my irritations with Tariq, this book is still incredible and gets a full five stars. It is a stunning book and a beautiful and fresh look at the tale of 1001 nights. If you’re after a sumptuously brilliant fantasy novel filled with gorgeous prose and incredible characters, what are you waiting for? Go and read this one now!

YALC - The Young Adult Literature Convention 2015

It's almost here, after months of waiting! The second Young Adult Literature Convention (or YALC as I will be referring to it from now on) is happening this weekend and I cannot wait. Due to the insanely stressful and busy period last July where I was scrambling to plan my wedding from another country, I wasn't able to make it to the first one, so I am making up for lost time with excitement and hugs. Seriously, free hugs, come find me.

If you haven't yet seen it the schedule for the weekend is here, go check it out!

So the schedule looks pretty awesome, and there's something for everyone to be found, but I thought I'd highlight some of the events that I'm most looking forward to.

Friday 17th
I'm all about the workshops on Friday. The panels look interesting but they don't grab me in the same way as the creating worlds and characters workshops do. Plus there's the Harry Potter event in the evening, which you know is going to be awesome!
I'm also really curious about the agent area and will probably be splitting my time between workshops and agents. Plus general mooching around talking to other bookish people and hopefully filming some bits for Bookish Brits!

Saturday 18th
The panels are more exciting today - the new generation of young writers looks like it's going to be fab. Followed by Cassie Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan which is always awesome. It's infinitely more fun to see authors talking with friends than a guest host who doesn't know them as well, the stories come out and every time I've seen these two live it's ended up being hilarious.
Then there's the feminism in YA panel which looks like it's going to be incredible, and of course the Hunger Games quiz!
Then over in Workshops I am insanely excited about Anna McKerrow's workshop about tarot cards in YA. We're seeing them more and more - Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle and Moira Fowley-Doyle's The Accident Season are two that spring immediately to mind, and I'm really excited for this workshop to go a little more in depth about the cards and their emerging role in YA fiction.

Sunday 19th
James Dawson bringing Sexy Back? 'Nuff said, I am so there. Followed by a whole host of brilliant looking panels: Between Fantasy and Reality, Troubled Teens and Dark Subjects, LGBT in YA and a panel about being inspired by Sir Terry Pratchett. They all look fantastic and Sunday is going to be a very busy day!
Then over in the workshops some of my very favourite bloggers will be talking about book blogging, so I'll be sneaking across in between panels to go and say hi.

Phew! Quite a busy three days! I'll be there taking pictures, filming sections for Bookish Brits and generally getting excited about books for all three days. Come and say! Come and talk about books! Or blogging! Or cats! Or combinations of all of them! I can't wait to meet up with familiar faces and get to know some new book bloggers. It's going to be an awesome few days.

Are you going to YALC this year? Just for a day or for the entire weekend? Are you looking forward to any specific workshops or panels? And if you're going on your own and are feeling nervous, drop me a message. It can be incredibly nerve wracking going to something like this on your own, but there are going to be so many wonderfully friendly authors, bloggers and book lovers there, and I am more than happy to meet up and say hi!

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Publication Date: July 16^th 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Length: 352 pages

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?
Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.
She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.
Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.
He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.
Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

I’ve tried to write this review for going on a week now, not because it’s a bad book or I didn’t want to so I’ve been dodging it, but more because it was such a wonderful, poignant and brilliant book that I don’t quite know (even now) how to adequately  express my feelings and love for it.

Emmy, Oliver and I got along like a house on fire and it was one of the best contemporary fiction novels I have read this year. It quickly shot up to favourite status with the brilliantly real and flawed characters, amusing dialogue and deeper issues lying just beneath the surface of this wonderful book that’s masquerading behind that cover pretending it's nothing more than a sweet romance.

Basically it had everything I love in a book. Sure it had the cute, fluffy romance (which was adorable by the way) but it was so much more than that and tackled some really hard issues head on and in a fantastically relatable way. This book was all about change – it’s a coming of age story, about family and friendships and growing up to be your own person. To just label this book as a romance is to do it a disservice, because it is so much more than that.

The star of the show is most definitely Emmy. Told from her point of view, she’s sarcastic and funny and kind and wonderful and I loved her. It was a brilliant idea to see the outside perspective on the kidnapping so instead of dealing with Oliver’s thoughts and emotions as he tries to come to terms with it all, we see how the event effected those left behind and how they try and put themselves back together upon Oliver’s return. It’s a unique and fascinating view, because it offered us a glimpse into how Oliver’s dealing with via Emmy, but I loved seeing how the other parents and kids reacted in the wake of the event, and how those reactions have had repercussions rippling in the decade since.

Benway tackles a difficult subject at a curved angle, approaching from the side so you’re already drawn in by Emmy and her witty sarcastic outlook on life before she blindsides you with the emotional curveballs. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions which might be too much in some books, but because Benway has created such a wonderful, loveable and realistic cast of characters, it ends up working beautifully gifting you with sweet, touching and vulnerable moments before sucker punching you with some heavy emotional scenes. It’s raw, it’s brilliant, and it’s wrapped up in such a brilliant package that it works seamlessly.

Emmy & Oliver is a new favourite, a book that I will come to again and again, and has kickstarted my burning need to get hold of all of Robin Benway’s books immediately, because if they are anything like this one, I’m going to have a whole host of favourites on my hands.

The Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke & The Bookish. To join in simply click on the link and look at the upcoming topics!

This week we're looking at the last ten books that have come into our possession. I feel incredibly lucky as nine of these ten have been sent to me either through Netgalley or as physical copies from the publishers. (I've noted the source for each of them.) So here you have the last ten books that have landed on my bookcase!

The Prince & I by Karen Hawkins
Release Date: August 25th 2015

Meet the Princes of Oxenburg... Fairytales with a sizzling, Scottish, and delightfully sparkling twist.

Gregori Romanovin, Oxenburg's warrior prince, is escorting his grandmother to a ball deep in the Scottish Highlands when he and his entourage are robbed at sword point by a group of ruffians. Led by a man dubbed the Scottish Robin Hood, battle-savvy Gregori senses that something's amiss - that 'he' is really a 'she'.

Lady Murian is a young, beautiful widow seeking revenge against the powerful earl who murdered her husband and stole his birthright. Living in the woods, she and her banished band of men rob wealthy nobles visiting the evil earl.

But when Murian ambushes the Prince's golden coach, she gets far more than she bargained for. And she's left fearing that he is the real thief...of her heart.

I love my historical romances in the summer. It is the perfect time to kick back with some balls, feisty heroines and gallant rakes. You know there's going to end up being a happily ever after, but it won't be smooth sailing all the way there, and they are my ideal read for a sunny afternoon. I haven't read any Karen Hawkins in a long time, but I loved her writing the last time I tried it so I'm looking forward to getting stuck in. Thanks to Netgalley for sending me a copy.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Release Date: September 24th 2015

In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson regaled readers with uproarious stories of her bizarre childhood. In her new book, Furiously Happy, she explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

As Jenny says: 'You can't experience pain without also experiencing the baffling and ridiculous moments of being fiercely, unapologetically, intensely and (above all) furiously happy.' It's a philosophy that has - quite literally - saved her life.

Jenny's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own weirdness. Furiously Happy is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it's about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. And who doesn't need a bit more of that?

I absolutely adored Jenny's first book, a mostly true memoir entitled 'Let's Pretend This Never Happened', a book that caused me to garner several odd looks and an offer of help I was laughing so hard whilst reading it in public. Jenny is very open about her battle with depression and fights to make people more aware of mental illness, and this book combines her brilliant humour and her determination to raise awareness about mental illness and the fact that 'depression lies'. I cannot wait to read this one. Thanks to Netgalley for sending me a copy.

The Next Together by Lauren James
Release Date: September 3rd 2015
A powerful and epic debut novel about fate and the timelessness of first love. Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again. Each time their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated. How many times can you lose the person you love? For Matthew and Katherine it is again and again, over and over, century after century. But why do they keep coming back? How many times must they die to save the world? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace? Maybe the next together will be different.

Lauren's debut novel has been on my radar thanks to that gorgeous cover and brilliant blurb since the start of the year, and thanks to the wonderful Sean at Walker Books, I am insanely lucky to have received an early copy to review. I have heard nothing but good things about this book (including from my mother who received it first before passing it on to me and decided to "just see what it was like". She read it in a matter of hours.)

Night Owls by Jenn Bennett
Release Date: August 13th 2015'Earth to Beatrix: This was the night bus, not a Journey song. Two strangers were not on a midnight train going anywhere. I was going home, and he was probably going to knock over a liquor store.'
Meeting Jack on the Owl - San Francisco's night bus - turns Beatrice's world upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco's most notorious graffiti artists. 
On midnight rides and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who this enigmatic boy really is. But Jack is hiding much more - and can she uncover the truth that leaves him so wounded?
A unique and profoundly moving novel, Night Owls will linger in your memory long after the final page.

The cover, the title and the blurb all combined to make this an absolute want to read now book, and I was thrilled to be sent a copy through Netgalley. I'm enjoying reading more YA contemporary fiction now than I ever have before, and there seem to be a few books hitting the shelves this year that feature graffiti artists, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they compare and how graffiti is being brought into YA fiction.

Darkmere by Helen Maslin
Release Date: August 6th 2015A castle. A curse. A dangerous summer. Leo has invited Kate and a few friends to spend the summer at his inheritance, Darkmere Castle: as wild and remote as it is beautiful. Kate thinks it will be the perfect place for her and Leo to get together - but instead, she's drawn into the dark story of a young nineteenth-century bride who haunts the tunnels and towers of the house. And whose curse now hangs over them all. 

Chicken House are having a book blogger brunch to kickstart the YALC celebrations and Helen Maslin is going to be there! Which is awesome news because this novel is one I'm really excited to get stuck into. I also can't wait to meet Helen and hear her talk about the novel, next weekend cannot come fast enough! Huge thanks to Chicken House for sending me a copy!

Crow Mountain by Lucy Inglis
Release Date: September 3rd 2015
While on holiday in Montana, Hope meets local boy Cal Crow, a ranch hand. Caught in a freak accident, the two of them take shelter in a mountain cabin where Hope makes a strange discovery. More than a hundred years earlier, another English girl met a similar fate. Her rescuer: a horse-trader called Nate.
In this wild place, both girls learn what it means to survive and to fall in love, neither knowing that their fates are intimately entwined. 

Lucy is also going to be at the Chicken House book blogger brunch, so this is another wonderful piece of book post from Chicken House with the added excitement of hearing Lucy talk about Crow Mountain and meeting her next weekend. Plus the book sounds like it's going to be awesome and I'm a little bit in love with that cover...

Paperweight by Meg Haston

Release Date: July 7th 2015Seventeen-year-old Stevie is trapped. In her life. In her body. And now in an eating-disorder treatment center on the dusty outskirts of the New Mexico desert.
Life in the center is regimented and intrusive, a nightmare come true. Nurses and therapists watch Stevie at mealtime, accompany her to the bathroom, and challenge her to eat the foods she’s worked so hard to avoid.
Her dad has signed her up for sixty days of treatment. But what no one knows is that Stevie doesn't plan to stay that long. There are only twenty-seven days until the anniversary of her brother Josh’s death—the death she caused. And if Stevie gets her way, there are only twenty-seven days until she too will end her life.
In this emotionally haunting and beautifully written young adult debut, Meg Haston delves into the devastating impact of trauma and loss, while posing the question: Why are some consumed by their illness while others embark on a path toward recovery?

I love the cover for this one. It cropped up a few times through other book bloggers and so when Hot Key Books offered me a chance to read and review it, I jumped at it. It sounds like it's going to be a tough book to read but an interesting one as it deals with eating disorders among other things and I'm always trying to find more books that deal with tough, rarely discussed issues, well.

The Lost & the Found by Cat Clarke
Release Date: July 2nd 2015
LOST. 
When six-year-old Laurel Logan was abducted, the only witness was her younger sister. Faith’s childhood was dominated by Laurel’s disappearance – from her parents’ broken marriage and the constant media attention to dealing with so-called friends who only ever wanted to talk about her sister. 
FOUND.
Thirteen years later, a young woman is found in the garden of the Logans’ old house, disorientated and clutching the teddy bear Laurel was last seen with. Laurel is home at last, safe and sound. Faith always dreamed of getting her sister back, without ever truly believing it would happen. But a disturbing series of events leaves Faith increasingly isolated and paranoid, and before long she begins to wonder if everything that’s lost can be found again…

Bookish Brits are reading this one together, and Quercus have very kindly provided each of us with copies to review. I've loved Cat's other books. Dark, brilliantly written and full of topics that you don't normally seen handled in YA fiction, I'm really excited to get stuck into this one. It's also going to be the second book about kidnap victims returning home that I've read in the last few weeks, although I don't think it's going to have the lightness that was present in 'Emmy & Oliver'!

A Thousand Nights by E K Johnston
Release Date: October 20th 2015Lo-Melkhin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.
And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.
Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.
Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

There seems to be a trend that several books tackling the same fairytale or retelling come along at once! We've already had 'The Wrath & the Dawn' this year, but I love this story so much that I'm just excited to have another author take on the 1001 nights tale! Huge thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this beautiful book!

The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
Release Date: April 7th 2015
"I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they'll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next." 
American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.
Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.
Which is how she gets into trouble.
Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

It's summer and the blurb appeals hugely. Add to that the good things I've heard from people so far about this one and I' looking forward to reading and finding a bit of escapism for a few hours. Plus, that cover! I've held out for as long as I can, but I couldn't resist treating myself to this one!

There you have the last ten books I got my sticky mitts on, now it's over to you! Link me to your lists and tell me about the last ten books that you got your hands on in the comments below!