Guest Blog: #100Blogfest by Martin King

Author Martin King is attempting to write 100 blogs at 100 different websites, all in the month of August. He has been writing about different childhood memories and I am honoured to be involved in this, particularly on the last day. Over to Martin...

 

I’m sat at home writing one of my final memories. It’s been a wonderful journey and it is lovely and toasty sat in my nice comfortable, warm office. But life didn’t always used to be like that.

Picture life growing up in a time with NO central heating, NO double glazing, draughts blowing everywhere. In fact our house was colder than a fridge, not that I knew what a fridge was when I was young, we didn’t have one. That’s right, we didn’t have a fridge, we had a pantry.

Anyway, I digress... so as you can imagine the house would be pretty cold in the winter. Back in those days when the temperature used to drop to way past minus ten, you can picture how cold it was. I would wake up in the morning to see ice an inch thick formed on my bedroom window – on the inside!

There was no way in this world I was going to wake up and get dressed for school. But as always, my genius mind had a cunning plan. It consisted of going to be, with my clothes on. That way when I woke up in the morning, I was already dressed for school.

Some nights I would let the cat snuggle under the blankets with me. We kept each other toastie and warm.

These blogs are all about fun and sharing. Thank you for reading a ‘#100blogfest’ blog. Please follow this link to find the next blog in the series: http://martinkingauthor.com/blog/7094550076

Silence (Hush, hush)... coming soon

To finish up Hush, hush week, I am giving you guys a preview to the third and final book in the trilogy, Silence. The wonderful people at Simon and Schuster have finally released the official Uk book trailer... and not to worry, it wont spoil anything for you if you havent read the previous books.

For those of you that have read the previous two, Silence continues where Crescendo left off... Patch and Nora have fought their own personal battles and discovered their love can stand the test of time, even knowing who Nora's father is. It will be the final test of their relationship, where we will get to see what happened after the final chapter of Crescendo and how the battle between Fallen angels and Nephilim will end.
I look forward to reading Silence!

Release Date: 4th October 2011 (Hardback)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Childrens Books
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Review: Crescendo (Hush, hush)

The second book in the Hush, hush trilogy by Becca Fitzpatrick is Crescendo.
Crescendo continues on from where Hush, hush left off.

Life gets a bit complicated for Nora, with Patch now as her guardian angel; he still has his secrets that Nora can't figure out and it doesnt help that the archangels have forbidden their relationship. Nora is also on the hunt to discovere the truth about her fathers death.
Expect drama, jelousy and more action! With a battle brewing between Nephilim and Fallen Angels, you can expect there to be a little hostility as everyone is in a war to protect their best interest.

First impressions can be deceiving and we are left to figure out who to trust. Nora gives us a bit more teenage drama than usual and her best friend Vee is drawn into the mix. It's times like these, I wish I could step into the book and give Nora a wake up call because when it comes relationships, Nora is a bit clueless. I imagine the author chose to make that a strong part of Nora's personality as that seems to attract the drama and conflict in the story.

I wont spoil the rest of the book but the author leaves us wanting more at the end, and I for one can't wait for Silence to find out what happens next!



Cover:
Once again the cover is brilliant. The image is stunning, the contrast and dark, mysterious feeling of it gives you a sense you are in for drama and anguish from the get go.

Final Comments:
I have to admit, while I loved the first book in the trilogy, I love this book the most. While we still had all the teenage drama, we got to learn more about the main characters and overall it was a more thrilling read.

Rating: 5/5
Release Date: October 2010 (Hardback), April 2011 (Paperback)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Childrens Books
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Review: Hush, hush

Hush, hush is a YA trilogy by Author Becca Fitzpatrick. The first book in the trilogy is titled "Hush, hush."
Hush, hush is a first person story told by Nora Grey who falls for a mysterious and bad boy/fallen angel named Patch. The story follows Nora as she tries to learn more about Patch, particularly since he already knows everything about her. She runs into several hiccups along the way, such as trying to protect herself and her friends from danger.

As she is so determined to get her way and know everything, you can expect this not to be your boring and predictable teen romance; there is action, jelousy, drama and an interesting turn of events. What is even more interesting is that the author introduces something new to the genre; Nephilim, who act as vassals for fallen angels for two weeks during the Hebrew month of Cheshvan.

There is a great collection of characters that support the story, such as Nora's best friend Vee, who is your typical sidekick friend. Elliot and Jules; both of which I will let you figure out and Rixon, an Irish fallen angel who brings some fun to the mix.

I instantly fell in love with this book after reading the Prologue and first chapter. Unlike other books, it doesnt take hours for the reader to get into the book. In the prologue we are given a short introduction to explain the difference between fallen angels. nephilim and humans (read the book if you would like to know what the difference is.)

Cover:
As an art school graduate, I tend to be picky when it comes to book covers. I am in fact a huge fan of the cover art for this series. A combination of the photography, contrast, colour and font are perfectly combined, drawing in anybody walking past. I happened to be one of those suckers. I was walking to the checkout at Waterstones to pay for a book in my hand, when I walked past hush, hush and replaced the one in my hand for it.

Final Comments:
The thing that separates this book from others in the genre firstly is that its not about vampires or witches, its about fallen angels. There is something more pure about the idea of falling in love with a fallen angel as opposed to a monster. It also doesnt leave teenage girls asking boys to bite them, and yes I am referring to Twilight.

Becca Fitzpatrick turns a teen novel into an exciting and modern tale of romance, mystery and drama, with a dash of humour. I highly recommend this series!

Rating: 5/5
Release Date: May 2010 (Paperback)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Childrens Books
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush Hush week!

As a big fan of Becca Fitzpatrick, I thought I would dedicate a week to her Hush Hush trilogy, sans the third book "Silence" as we are still eagerly awaiting its October release. While I love the first two books, I will be reading them again this week so I can give a fresh review on them.

For a young adult fantasy series, I think it is amazing! It is written by the one and only Becca Fitzpatrick. The story is told by the main character Nora Grey who is a young student, thrown into a world of fallen angels, not surprisingly, she falls for the fallen angel Patch. What I like about this trilogy is that its not your typical girl falls for guy who she really shouldnt story.... but we get more action and a whole group of other characters thrown into the mix. To learn more about the series, keep track of my blog this week for reviews and comments. The third book is going to be amazing!

For those already a fan of the series, the author is also going on a UK tour! Details below.

The books in the series are:
Hush Hush
Crescendo
Silence (out October)

UK Tour details:

Tuesday October 18
6:30 pm
Talk & Signing at Foyles Bookshop
The Gallery space
Foyles
Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0EB

Saturday, October 22
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Signing at Eternal Twilight 6
Hilton Metropole,
Birmingham NEC

For more UK locations click here.
For US tour details click here.

Review: The Watchtower

The Watchtower by Lee Carroll is the second novel in the trilogy by author Carol Goodman and her poet husband Lee Slonimsky. It makes for interesting reading as it's not your typical urban fantasy book but it combines great writing with creative poetry!

The first book in the series, Black Swan Rising was about jewellery design Garet James and her journey to discovering about her life and heritage on her mothers side. We are introduced to a love interest by the name of Will Hughes who is a four hundred year old vampire with a history attached to Garet's ancestors. We follow the story from Garet's perspective as she uncovers the truth about who she is while she is trapped into an never ending fight with multiple forces of evil coming from every angle. I suggest reading this book before you move on to the second.

The Watchtower continues from the first book where the dashing Will Hughes steal's Garet's magical antique box and runs off to Paris, leaving Garet a tip on where to start to find him.
Will is on the quest to reach the Summer Country where in an attempt to reverse the vampire curse and become mortal so that he can be with Garet.

There are new characters introduced and old ones who have come back with a vengeance, obviously not giving up on their goal to control the world.Throughout the book, we learn more about Garet's past and are now introduced to Will's past and how he became a vampire. Garet learns that her ancestors are more powerful than she imagined, they are in fact guardians of the line between the earth and the mythical world.

 

The entire novel alternates chapters between the past featuring Will's story and the present where Garet is speaking. It does get a bit confusing at times, but once you get into a few lines of each chapter, you can figure out which story you are following.
There's alot more poetry, action, drama and interesting turn of events which the first book was lacking. I was very pleased with this book and can't wait for the third.

My only disappointment is that Will as one of the main characters isnt as strong or smart as I initially imagined him to be... he seems to live off his good looks more than anything.
The author duo have done a superb job for a team effort.

Rating: 4.5/5

Release Date: August 2011

Publisher: Bantam

Author: Lee Carroll

Review: Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

In my last post I reviewed Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict which is a story about a 21st century LA girl named Courtney, who goes back in time to Regency England and experiences life in another body, of a girl named Jane. 

 

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict is not a continuation of Courtney's story, it is in fact a parrallel to her story and is about Jane and her experience in the 21st century in Courtney's body.

While the first story is one that we dream to be transported into, this story is the opposite, showing us how someone from our favourite books could cope today, in our time, where dating is completely different and public displays of affection do not turn you into an outcast where you have no future chance of marriage or a happy life.

 

In Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict Jane wakes up and discovers she is living life as Courtney. Just like Courtney, Jane believes it to be a dream, until time passes and she realises she isnt going anywhere. Where as Courtney has books, movies and recollections from history to guide her through Jane's life, Jane had no previous knowledge to guide her through technology and modern day life.

Jane is completely thrown into a different scenario she isnt used to; the freedom of choice, living alone, no servants, an ex and a job! While it is something we are accustomed to, Jane on the other hand has a tough time getting a hang of it.

 

In the story, Jane learns more about Courtney, and while she initially sees Courtney as a lower class woman with no respect for herself as she had slept with men before marriage, she eventually discovers with the help of a Fortune Teller (the same from the first book) that you shouldnt judge people without knowing their story. This book in fact had alot more life lessons about respect, choices, relationships and free will.

 

Just like in the first book, Jane is given the task to deal with Courtney's past relationships with the ex that apparently cheated on her. Therefore we get to see how Jane handles the break up and how she uses the memories triggered from Courtneys life and her own to strive for a better life of love through her own choice and not forced by society or her mother.

 

I highly enjoyed reading this book, as I got to see how a woman from a time where society governed your life, coped with freedom and the ability to think and make choices on her own. The author still gives us romance, so dont expect a boring story about a girl trying to fix someone elses life... Jane has her own life too after all.

 

Rating: 4/5

Release Date: February 2011

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Author: Laurie Viera Rigler