COVER REVEAL: Winterkill trilogy by Kate A Boorman

Hello! I have something very special to show you today. This time last year I read a wonderful book, Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman. It was one of those books where I fell into the characters and the setting and the story so easily. It was beautifully written and atmospheric and emotional and I'm really looking forward to reading more in this trilogy!

Faber have rebranded the first book in the series and today I (along with other bloggers!) will be sharing the new covers. I hope you're just as excited as I am. And kudos to Will Steele, the cover designer, and Helen Crawford-White, the illustrator, for these covers. Amazing! ( #picturesmeanbusiness )

Before we get to the exciting Darkthaw reveal, let me show you the new look for Winterkill:

Where Emmeline lives, you cannot love and you cannot leave...

The Council's rules are strict, but they're for the good of the settlement in which Emmeline lives. Everyone knows there is nothing but danger the other side of the Wall, and the community must prepare for the freezing winterkill that comes every year.

But Emmeline struggles to be obedient under the Council's suffocating embrace - especially when she discovers that a Council leader intends to snatch her hand in marriage.

Then Emmeline begins to hear the call of the trees beyond the Wall...


And here is the sequel, Darkthaw in all its glory! Darkthaw will be published 5th November and I will certainly be reading it straight away. I won't add the synopsis here, in case you haven't yet read Winterkill. Minor spoilers!

And, because Faber are very forward-thinking, they have also started work on the third and final book in the trilogy, Heartfire, (I'm assuming) publishing sometime next year. This cover is not final! But it will give you a good indication of what the whole trilogy will look like together.

What do you guys think? I love them.  The original cover for Winterkill was very blue (and I like that cover too!) but having seen these covers now, I much prefer them. I love how each cover has colours that really complement each other and that the whole trilogy sits nicely together. I love the snow and trees and the solitary silhouettes in each of the covers. They're just so pretty.

Now tell me what you think! 

Cover Reveal: Inferno by Catherine Doyle (Blood for Blood, #2)

Here it is in all its glory! Isn't it lovely? Today I, and many other bloggers, are showing off the almost-finished cover for the second book in the Blood for Blood series by Catherine Doyle.

It's going to be called 'Inferno' and will be published (I believe) January of next year.  I'm officially excited. I cannot wait to read more about the Falcone brothers. I neeeed to know what's going to happen next.

If you're not already aware, the Blood For Blood series began with Vendetta, which was published in January of this year and it was a sort of modern-day Romeo and Juliet involving the mob. It has a collection of hot brothers and a scorching hot relationship. (Though I'm totally shipping Sophie with a different brother than she ended up with in Vendetta!) It had lots of action and romance and great characters and relationships. So you should totallly read this series if you haven't already. Especially in time for Inferno's publication date!

If you'd like to know more about Vendetta, Inferno or Catherine Doyle, do visit the following websites:

Catherine Doyle ... Catherine on Twitter ... Catherine on Facebook

COVER REVEAL: House of Windows by Alexia Casale

The Cover

The Product Description 

'The body is a house of many windows: there we all sit, showing ourselves and crying on the passers-by to come and love us.' Robert Louis Stevenson

Nick hates it when people call him a genius. Sure, he's going to Cambridge University aged 15, but he says that's just because he works hard. And, secretly, he only works hard to get some kind of attention from his workaholic father.

Not that his strategy is working.

When he arrives at Cambridge, he finds the work hard and socialising even harder. Until, that is, he starts to cox for the college rowing crew and all hell breaks loose...

Add House of Windows on Goodreads ... Pre-order House of Windows at Amazon 

My reaction

I was absolutely thrilled and honoured when Alexia Casale asked both me and Luna from Luna's Little Library to co-host the cover reveal for Lexi's new book.  Her debut book, The Bone Dragon, is one of my favourite ever books. And I was always going to be crazy excited about anything else she writes.  And House of Windows sounds really intriguing.  I hope you all are just as excited about the cover and this book as Lexi, Luna and I are... 

Now onto my thoughts on the cover! When I first saw the cover for House of Windows, my first reaction was 'OMG, look at the pretty!' I absolutely love the colours in particular. And I love that this cover and The Bone Dragon are very similar in design with the trees and the splash of colour at the bottom leading up to a single figure.  In fact, here are the two covers next to each other so you can see how much they mirror each other. 

Aren't they gorgeous? I love the font that's used here and the softness of the colours. But also how you can see Cambridge in the background of House of Windows. What a pretty cover. I really hate that now it's a waiting game until July! 

In case that cover and the product description are just not enough to get you excited, here is Alexia Casale to bring you further hints about the story line and what you can expect...

Plot hints from Alexia Casale

I'm not allowed to reveal too much about the book, but I can say that it features a graveyard, a police station, tropical fish (deceased), a girl who wants to be a flower fairy (not deceased), a hospital, some very good singing, some very bad singing, an awful lot of coffee, and a very special book.

The story starts on Nick's 15th birthday: his birthday wish is to get a First in his First Year exams at University. The book ends one calendar year later.

Two things that I expect will surprise people after The Bone Dragon:

1. House of Windows is probably best categorised as Literary Contemporary.
2. It's written in the third person, past tense.

House of Windows by Alexia Casale is expected to be published by Faber on 2nd July 2015.  

What do you think? Excited?

Cover reveal: A Whisper of Wolves by Kris Humphrey

When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer – a guardian of the wild. After many years of peace in the kingdom of Meridina, rumours are spreading of a planned invasion – could the demonic Narlaw be returning from the darklands? It is up to the Whisperers and their animal companions to defend Meridina, protect Princess Ona and stop the Narlaw from destroying their world.

When hunters from her village disappear without a trace, Alice suspects that something sinister is at work. With the help of Storm, her wolf companion, Alice fights to save her village. The Narlaw are on the attack and it’s up to the Whisperers to stop them…

In March, Stripes will be published the first book in a four part middle-grade series called Guardians of the Wild.  The first book is called A Whisper of Wolves and it sounds like a wonderful fantasy adventure story from a debut UK author!  I'm very excited today to be involved in the cover reveal.  I think this book sounds really wonderful and has a cover to match!

What do you think?

Blogger tea with Zoë Marriott

Very recently, the lovely Annalie from Walker Books invited me and some other amazing bloggers to have tea with Zoë Marriott and it was absolutely the best time ever...

I'm laughing because of how long it took to get a decent shot of us both! 

There was cake and sandwiches, awesome conversation, a sneaky peek at an excerpt of Frail Mortal Heart, a cover reveal, books being signed and probably (for me) most excitedly, I was able to interview Zoë for the Bookish Brits.  It was wonderful.  It was my first time interviewing someone in person, but I'm quite happy with the ways things turned out. I didn't, in fact, edit a single bit of the footage so that's another first! Here's that interview, do let me know what you think, it was a pretty nerve-wracking experience for me.




I do love Zoë Marriott's books so much.  On our name labels at the blogger tea, it did ask what our favourite of her books is. It was a tough decision, because while I ADORE the Name of the Blade series and know that the trilogy will become a favourite once Frail Mortal Heart is published, my favourite (for now) is still Shadows on the Moon.

Andrew, Cicely, Daphne and Caroline

During the tea, Zoë was absolutely great at answering loads of questions about her research into Japanese mythology and some exciting ideas for future projects amongst other things.  There was also quite a lot of discussion about diversity. It made me really happy that diversity and how important it is to be included in books was at the forefront of so many conversations.  At the same time, Annalie (her editor) and her cover designer were on hand to provide some great insights into how both of their roles shaped the finished books.  I thought it was all completely fascinating and I loved that I was able to share in this whole thing with everyone.  Including some of my favourite bloggers!

Kirsty, Laura and Vivienne

What a fantastic day it was.  I went home with a sackful of signed, dedicated books, the first chapter of Frail Mortal Heart and a big smile on my face. Thank you again to Zoë Marriott, Annalie Grainger and everyone at Walker Books for being super stars.  Here, for you all, is the cover for Frail Mortal Heart which will be published July 2015!

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie by Jeff Norton Cover Reveal and Extract

Earlier this year, I was thrilled and excited to attend a blogger event with Faber Children's books. It was an awesome afternoon and one of the highlights for me was hearing Jeff Norton read aloud from his upcoming book, Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie.  Apparently I laughed quite loudly.  But it just sounded so wonderful and funny and fun that I couldn't help falling for poor Adam Meltzer, a germaphobe and ...zombie. 

I'm thrilled today to share this fantastic cover of the book and also a fun extract. Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie by Jeff Norton is being published by Faber on the 7th of August.

Add Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie to your Goodreads shelf
Find out more about Jeff and his books on his website
Follow Jeff Norton on Twitter

 On to the good stuff! Here is the wonderful cover... What do you think? 

'My name is Adam Meltzer and the last thing I remember was being stung by a bee while swinging at a robot-shaped piñata on my twelfth birthday. I was dead before the candy hit the ground.'

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is narrated by the hilarious Adam Meltzer - pre-teen, worrywart, and now zombie. Adam's family gets the fright of their lives when he turns up at their door desperate for a shower . . . three months after his funeral.

When most people think zombies, they think of eating people, and unintelligent monsters. But Adam doesn’t like germs. Or dirt. Or things being disorganised. So waking up as a zombie was definitely not in his plans, and the idea of eating people is disgusting. Getting stung by a bee doesn’t normally lead to becoming a zombie, and it seems incredibly unfair that it’s happened to Adam.

Soon Adam's back at school trying to fit in and not draw extra attention to himself, but when he sees his neighbour Ernesto transform into a chupacubra, and the beautiful Corina (Adam's number one mega-crush) turns out to be a (vegan) vampire, undead life is never going to bethe same again.

A hilarious adventure caper - if Ferris Bueller met Shaun of the Dead - all about friendship and being yourself . . . even if you're undead.

Extract 7 - Adam sees his new zombie reflection

I came face to face with my ghastly complexion.

Since Mom was a doctor, we’d had all sorts of conversations about what to expect from puberty. I was the best prepared pre-teen for zits, pimples, whiteheads, blackheads, and patchy peachy fuzz. But the boy in the mirror wasn’t puberty personified, he was grotesquely zombified.

My flesh was grey, decomposing, flaking off. There was a five cm skinless patch on my forehead where my skull shone through like a crescent moon on a cloudy night. My eyes had lots their natural hazel sparkle and were now that trendy grey colour that paint stories called urban slate.

I was a monster.

I started at the fresk show in the mirror. I couldn’t really believe what was staring back. Was that really me? I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t look away.

‘It’s not all bad,’ offered my mom, stroking my hair and pulling out a coffin splinter. ‘Tell me one good thing about what you see.’

That was her little cheer-up game that she played whenever Amanda or I were feeling low. I tried to play along.

‘Well,’ I sighed, trying to ignore my skin. ‘My hair actually looks better.’

Death had somehow smoothed out my most unruly curls. I’d tried all of the commercially available conditioners, and none of them had the juice to relax my curls the way three months of coffin confinement did. Of course, my dark brown bouffant was still covered in grave dirt so a shampoo-rinse-repeat was definitely in order.

-----------------------

Now go visit Luna's Little Library for the next hilarious extract...

COVER REVEAL for The Illusionists by Laure Eve (Fearsome Dreamer, #2)

Last year, I read Fearsome Dreamer, a debut book by UKYA author, Laure Eve. And it was incredible. It was a book that was pretty hard to define, in that it crosses a lot of genre boundaries, but it was to me was a magical tale that I got fully swept away in from the start and I loved it immensely.

Just to remind you about the first book in the series here are the product description and cover.

There is a world where gods you’ve never heard of have wound themselves into hearts, and choice has led its history down a different path.

This is a world where France made a small, downtrodden island called England part of its vast and bloated empire.

There are people here who can cross a thousand miles with their minds. There are rarer people still who can move between continents in the blink of an eye.

These people are dangerous.

And wanted. Desperately wanted.

Apprentice hedgewitch Vela Rue knows that she is destined for more. She knows being whisked off from a dull country life to a city full of mystery and intrigue is meant to be. She knows she has something her government wants, a talent so rare and precious and new that they will do anything to train her in it.

But she doesn’t know that she is being lied to. She doesn’t know that the man teaching her about her talent is becoming obsessed by her, and considered by some to be the most dangerous man alive ...


And the sequel, The Illusionists, will be published the 3rd of July by Hot Key Books. I'm so excited to read it and I hope you are as well.  Thanks to Laure for providing me (and a bunch of other amazing bloggers) with this cover reveal. I absolutely love it.  Find out more about Fearsome Dreamer and The Illusionist by visiting the following links...

The Illusionists on Goodreads ... Laure Eve ... Laure on Twitter ... Laure Eve on Facebook

A shocking new world. A dangerous choice. Two futures preparing to collide...

Having left White behind her in Angle Tar, Rue is trying to make sense of her new and unfamiliar life in World. Its culture is as baffling as is it thrilling to her, and Rue quickly realises World's fascination with technology can have intoxicating and deadly consequences.

She is also desperately lonely. And so is White. Somehow, their longing for each other is crossing into their dreams, dreams that begin to take increasingly strange turns as they appear to give Rue echoes of the future. Then the dreams reveal the advent of something truly monstrous, and with it the realisation that Rue and White will be instrumental in bringing about the most incredible and devastating change in both World and Angle Tar.

But in a world where Life is a virtual reality, where friends can become enemies overnight and where dreams, the future, and the past are somehow merging together, their greatest challenge of all may be to survive. 

 

What do you think?

 

Cover reveal and review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I was contacted recently by the lovely people over at Quercus about trying to make a big splash over the UK cover of this new book, The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes which is being published here on the 7th of November.  It's the first in a new series by the author of the Raised By Wolves series and I happen to adore it. All of the psychology that Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes into her stories absolutely appeals to my inner psychology-nerd!

What do you think of the cover? I like it. I love the font used especially.

Here is the official product description:

Cassie Hobbes is not like most teenagers. Most teenagers don’t lose their mother in a bloody, unsolved kidnapping. Most teenagers can’t tell who you are, where you’re from and how you’re likely to behave within moments of meeting you. And most teenagers don’t get chosen to join The Naturals.

Identified by the FBI as uniquely gifted, Cassie is recruited to an elite school where a small number of teens are trained to hone their exceptional abilites.

For Cassie, trying to make friends with the girls, and to figure out the two very different, very hot boys, is challenging enough. But when a serial killer begins recreating the details of her mother’s horrific crime scene, she realises just how dangerous life in The Naturals could be...

 My review:
 
When I was younger, there was a TV programme that my dad and I would watch together called The Profiler. I remember every week we'd watch it and then afterwards we'd sit and discuss the latest plot twists and story progression. I have a real fondness for that show. There have been other more recent crime shows that deal with profiling but that is still the show that has stuck with me. I find it all very fascinating. So with that in mind, when I heard that Jennifer Lynn Barnes was writing a new series involving young people solving crimes using different types of forensic psychology I really couln't request the book quick enough. I loved Jennifer Lynn Barne's previous YA series about werewolves and I loved how her background in psychology gave the story this added depth and another layer to the story that I found fascinating and I was sure that I would love The Naturals just as much. And you know what? I did. More so, even. 

The Naturals was a brilliant read for me. I was hooked right from the start, as we meet our main character, Cassie, as she's approached at her waitressing job by this young man with a strange offer. Cassie has this awful past that's left her with nothing but questions and she hopes that maybe by joining this special unit of 'Naturals' that some of those questions might just be answered... 

The Naturals refer to a group of people that have been gathered together because they have this innate skill of detecting emotion or truth or seeing patterns in numbers. Cassie's skill is that of a natural profiler, who can see the minor details of a person's appearance or behaviour and make a good guess about that person's psychological profile. Which is a real benefit for this new crime-fighting unit of special people that Cassie is recruited into. There's a bunch of talk of using the Naturals to work cold cases for the FBI for their own safety, but when Cassie's past catches up with her and intrudes on her present things start to become very different...

With an interest in psychology myself, I lapped up the different ideas and talents that surround the other characters that Cassie comes to live with.  She ends up meeting some very different and interesting people. I loved straight-talking and snarky Lia, and Sloane, the numbers/statistics girl who becomes Cassie's roommate. The relationships between the three girls was quite interesting to watch enfold, especially as it was a pretty rocky start with Cassie and Lia.  But I think the interactions between Michael, Cassie and Dean were my favourite. Yes, it is sort of a love triangle and some may groan and roll their eyes, but I enjoyed it. Especially when it came down to playing 'Truth or Dare' with people who can spot lies and/or can sense other people's emotions. 

My favourite aspect of The Naturals is, of course, all of the psychology, the characters and their relationships with each other but there is also a really surprising and thrilling mystery at play here as well. With snippets from the mind of a serial killer interspersed with Cassie's narrative, there is a steady build-up to very actiony finale. I was on the edge of my seat and really didn't see that coming! 

I am very much looking forward to reading more in this series! I love the idea of a teenage crime-fighting unit with special abilities. It fills me with excitement!