Tag Archives: fiction

ZOM-B GODDESS Blog Tour: Win One of Five ZOM-B Full Series!

Hey, everyone! This week I’m hosting a blog tour post for the epic finale to Darren Shan’s ZOM-B series: ZOM-B Goddess.

I’ve been following ZOM-B since the first book was released in 2012, and this series is undoubtedly an all=time favourite of mine. It’s brilliantly horrific and gory, but underneath the terror, there’s also some really in-depth themes of family, race and identity.

The twelfth and final book in the series is out now, and here’s a little about it!

And now, a competition… 🙂

Would you like to win a full set of the ZOM-B series? Simon & Schuster have five full sets up for grabs!

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To enter, you must be living in the UK. Please send your name and address to georgia.walters8[AT]yahoo.co.uk, with the subject line “ZOM-B: COMPETITION” to be entered!

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I will pick winners at random, and the competition will close in a week. Good luck 🙂

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If you’d like to read my old reviews of some of the series, you can click the links below!

Book Review: ZOM-B – Book Review: ZOM-B: Underground – Book Review: ZOM-B: City – Book Review: ZOM-B: Angels – Book Review: ZOM-B: Baby

Book Review: Pretty Is by Maggie Mitchell

Cinnamon Girl Blog Tour: Review Graphic

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Today I’m sharing the first graphic I’ve made completely on Photoshop – which was a fun experience. Cinnamon Girl is such a brilliant book, and I hope you enjoy this post and that it makes you a little curious about it!

cinnamon girl infographic

I received a copy of The incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Book Review: This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang

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Published March 22nd 2016 by Greenwillow Books (US)

24039424 Proof Synopsis: Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie.

That’s how it’s been ever since elementary school, when Janie Vivian moved next door.

It’s the perfect friendship – as long as no one finds out about it.

It’s the perfect friendship, until Janie Vivian disappears and Micah can’t remember when or how or why.

My Review: I started This is Where the World Ends not hugely knowing what it was about – and I raced through it, I couldn’t put it down. I loved living in the world of Janie and Micah, and unravelling the story of what happened to cause everything in their lives to change.

I wasn’t too sure of the book at first, as from the first pages, it had a very Paper Towns-y vibe to it – Janie is very much like Margo, although that was also a reason I was so fascinated by Janie – I love complex characters like that. However, the story is individual – it seems like it’s taken elements of some of the best contemporary books I’ve read, and combined them to make one fantastically feels-y book.

I think the best thing about This is Where the World Ends are its characters – their voices are incredibly strong and memorable, especially Janie’s. The story is written in three different ways – chapters are either ‘before’ in Janie’s narrative, ‘after’ in Micah’s narrative, or pages from Janie’s journals. The journals were perhaps the hardest-hitting parts of this book, which took a turn for the emotional.

I didn’t expect this book to be as emotionally-charged and poignant as it was. There are, especially towards the end, plenty of moments you’ll need tissues for. Just a heads up. The ending was not what I’d expected at all and left me wondering about the protagonists, especially Micah, for a long time afterwards.

Overall, I think This is Where the World Ends is a perfect read if you’re a fan of John Green or E Lockhart. It’s a powerful and moving novel about a close friendship, and how things can change so quickly and unexpectedly. There’s also quite a tragic mystery in its core, too, as you slowly piece together the night Micah lost his memory throughout the split narratives and diary entries. Definitely recommended!

My Rating:

four

I received a copy of This is Where the World Ends from the publisher, via Harper360, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Book Review: INFERNO by Cat Doyle

Changers Blog Tour: Book Review + Unselfies!

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Today the Changers blog tour is stopping here at The Bibliomaniac! Enjoy my post ^_^

Published 12th January 2016 by Little, Brown.

27256347 Goodreads Synopsis: Changers book one: DREW opens on the eve of Ethan Miller’s freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He’s finally sporting a haircut he doesn’t hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can’t wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life.
Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl.
Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever – and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began.
Ethan must now live as Drew Bohner – a petite blonde with an unfortunate last name – and navigate the treacherous waters of freshman year while also following the rules: Never tell anyone what you are. Never disobey the Changers Council. And never, ever fall in love with another Changer. Oh, and Drew also has to battle a creepy underground syndicate called ‘Abiders’ (as well as the sadistic school queen bee, Chloe). And she can’t even confide in her best friend Audrey, who can never know the real her, without risking both of their lives.

My Review: As soon as I heard about Changers, I was so eager to read it – and it really didn’t disappoint. As it’s now out in the UK, I can’t wait to see what other people think of it!

The premise of the book reminded me of Every Day by David Levithan, which was why the book piqued my interest. However, getting into it, I realised it’s definitely quite unique – Changers is a rather interesting blend of contemporary and fantasy, as the Changers are actually an underground, secret species of humans.

I wasn’t too sure on the beginning – the scene where Ethan wakes up as Drew seemed a little cheesy in its dialogue and stuff, but the story definitely does improve. With many scenes conveying the general awkwardness of high school and growing up, it’s almost possible to forget the fantasy element in places! I really love how Changers openly discusses identities – I think the premise of this whole series is a brilliant, accessible approach to an important topic for teenagers.

Drew is an incredibly relatable character – taking out the shape-shifting element, she’s such a realistic teenage character. She’s working out life, high school, crushes, and forming her own opinions about the world around her and the situation she’s been thrown into. I really liked how the authors made sure she was still very ‘Ethan,’ the person she was before her Change – Ethan’s identity is still there and the blend of two very different high school students is so interesting to read about.

Overall, Changers is a really great (and relatively short) read that I would undoubtedly recommend to anyone who wants an engrossing story. It’s got a really important message at its core, woven into the plot, and I just really love the whole concept. I’m excited to read book two, and see what the protagonist’s next Change has in store for them!

My Rating:

I received a copy of Changers from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

In Changers, there is a references to a site called wearechangers.org, which is set up by a separate group of Changers who are kinda rebellious. wearechangers.org is actually a website, run by the authors of the book, and coincides with the book’s message about identity and aims to spread positivity and empathy. I think it’s such a great idea!

Checked out the website? Awesome, so you might have seen the #unselfies project on there. This is my favourite thing about the movement – the idea of turning the camera away and ‘focusing your attention outward.’. So, here’s my #unselfie!

i thought this photo i took would be a cool unselfie because ooh calm waves and disrupting the norm and ooh metaphors

Enjoyed this post? Check out more about Changers on the rest of the blog tour stops, and be sure to share your own #unselfie online and on the wearechangers.org project!

2016 Releases: Books on my To-Read List!

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Here’s a list of some books coming out in the next few months that I can’t wait for.

Also on this list (but with no final cover art yet, so I couldn’t make matching graphics!) are The Last Beginning by Lauren James, When She Came Back by Michelle Harrison and As I Descended by Robin Talley.

What new books are you looking forward to reading this year?

Books About Books: An Infographic

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I haven’t made an infographic in a while, so I picked a random topic and played around a bit on my favourite graphics creator – enjoy! Open the image in a new tab for a better quality.

Do you have any favourite similar books, that have fictional worlds within fictional worlds? 🙂

Book Review: All of the Above by James Dawson

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Published September 2015 by Hot Key Books.

23156540 Goodreads Synopsis: When sixteen-year-old Toria Bland arrives at her new school she needs to work out who her friends are in a crazy whirl of worry, exam pressure and anxiety over fitting in. Things start looking up when Toria meets the funny and foul-mouthed Polly, who’s the coolest girl that Toria has ever seen. Polly and the rest of the ‘alternative’ kids take Toria under their wing. And that’s when she meets the irresistible Nico Mancini, lead singer of a local band – and it’s instalove at first sight! Toria likes Nico, Nico likes Toria, but then there’s Polly…love and friendship have a funny way of going round in circles.

My Review: I’ve been excited about this book for such a long time. I’ve been a fan of James Dawson’s books ever since his first horror novels – to see him delving into another genre is really exciting, and he’s done so excellently!

I adore how Dawson writes his characters, and All of the Above definitely has some of his best. I loved the friendship group the story is centered around so, so much – each character was really unique and although the book wasn’t that long, each character was really well developed and explored. Kudos to James for writing a great story where characters just happen to be queer / PoC, without the story being entirely about that. We need more books like this.

I really loved Toria, she was an incredibly relatable protagonist – from her tumblring to her exam pressure, to her process of figuring life out, she just really resonated with me, so I’m sure she’s going to be well received by other readers. Polly was an awesome character: Strong willed, stubborn and completely wild, she felt like a mash-up of John Green’s Margot and Alaska, though was completely unique.

The romance side of the book is brilliant – Toria falls for the local band’s lead singer, Nico, and for a while things are going great. But Polly, Toria’s best friend, is beginning to mean something else to her. The relationships felt so raw and realistic. I think the ways they progressed was perfect, and beautifully written.

The back of the physical copy of the book says “It would be neater, wouldn’t it, if this was a story about self harm or sexuality or eating disorders or ridiculously hot bass players, but it’s a story about all of them. Yeah, it’s a mess. And it’s about to get messier.” ~~Sidenote: Most fantastic blurb ever.~~ And the fact that ‘it’s a mess’ is the reason this book stands out. So much happens. There are parts that will make you grin from ear to ear. There are parts that hit you really hard, parts that will make you cry. Some elements are wrapped up perfectly at the end. Some things are never resolved. But that’s the best thing about it – it’s not sugar-coated and nothing is perfect. And that’s what makes this book perfect.

Overall, All of the Above was an exceptional book, and I can tell it’s going to be loved and related to by a lot of teenagers. As much as I loved James Dawson’s horror YA, (and would love to read more of the genre from him again) I can tell his ‘phase two’ is going to be awesome. Dawson covers so many topics in this book, and so well, it’s admirable. I really recommend this, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

My Rating:

I received a copy of All of the Above from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Book Review: The Bones of You by Debbie Howells