Bed with Books

Stardust is an adult fairytale by Neil Gaiman. When the beautiful, unattainable Victoria states that the only thing Tristran Thorne could do to win her hand would be to bring her the star they watched falling from the sky – Tristran is determined to do it. However, this means venturing beyond the relative normalcy of their village Wall and slipping into the unexplored, magical faerie land outside it. Past the ancient wall that has guarded their town from the oddities and dangers of the enchanted realm, Tristran must keep his head as adventures and perils meet him that he could never have imagined… Stardust was my first Neil Gaiman book! I’ve heard of Neil Gaiman forever – and being a lover of quirky, clever books I thought it was about time I tried him out. I have to say – Stardust was a bloody, unique, adventurous adult fairytale that was quite interesting and very good. I wouldn’t say it was as FANTASTIC as I expected – but that could be partially because of my high expectations. F...

Death Wish - Megan Tayte Blurb IN SEARCH OF THE MEANING OF DEATH, SHE’LL FIND THE MEANING OF LIFE. Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Blake is haunted by death. Her estranged sister has made the ultimate dramatic exit. Running away from school, joining a surfing fraternity, partying hard: that sounds like Sienna. But  suicide ? It makes no sense. Following in her sister’s footsteps, Scarlett comes to the isolated cove of Twycombe, Devon, with grand plans to uncover the truth. Alone. But she hasn’t reckoned on meeting two boys who are determined to help her. Luke: the blue-eyed surfer who’ll see the real Scarlett, who’ll challenge her, who’ll save her. And Jude: the elusive drifter with a knack for turning up whenever Scarlett’s in need. As Scarlett’s quest for the truth unravels, so too does her grip on reality as she’s always known it. Because there’s something strange going on in this little cove. A dead magpie circles the skies. A dead deer watches from the undergrowth. Hands glo...

Title: Just Like Fate Author: Cat Patrick & Suzanne Young Publisher: Electric Monkey Release Date: 27 Feb. 2014 ISBN-13: 978-1405268073 Synopsis Caroline is at a crossroads. Her whole family is on her back, and her grandmother, the only person who really understands her, is sick, maybe dying. All she wants to do is escape. So when her best friend suggests a night out to forget her troubles, Caroline must choose: stay by her grandmother's side, or go to the party and live her life . . . and maybe meet the boy of her dreams. This decision will split Caroline's fate into two separate paths - and she's about to live them both. But there can only be one happy ending . . . My Review This is another book on the list for Children's Book Day at work and it sounded interesting to me, I was actually looking forward to it. The synopsis reminded me a bit of the film 'Sliding Doors' starring Gwyneth Paltrow which I enjoyed so thought this could be g...

Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) is a YA contemporary novel by Amy Spalding. Catching her best friend and bandmate Lucy with fellow bandmate Nathan caused a ripple of shock in sixteen-year-old Riley and Reid. Suddenly painfully aware of their naiveté, lack of experience and romantic prospects, they strike a deal with each other. They will Make Something Happen and document their experience in a shared notebook. While Reid struggles with insecurity and the moral issue of pretending to want to adopt a dog to spend time with a girl who works at an animal shelter, Riley tries to figure out how to make progress with cute, quiet, possibly slightly nerdy Ted Callahan. Yet, when Riley is confronted with other cute boy options – how can she turn down the experience? But is she getting in over her head? Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) was a modern, fun book with, at times, laugh-out-loud first-person, present tense narration. Full of awkward brimming high school romance, loads of po...

Autumn Falls is a YA contemporary novel with a fantasy twist by Bella Thorne and Elise Allen. After a tragedy strikes sixteen-year-old Autumn and her family, their planned move to Aventura suddenly seems less traumatic, though still terribly difficult. Being the new girl with flaming red hair and a penchant for clumsiness, it’s not long before Autumn catches unwanted attention at her new high school. However, she also makes friends and all would be improving if it weren’t for the fact that the uber-popular queen bee seems to have a target on Autumn’s back, due to the fact that cute, sweet Sean seems to be possibly interested in Autumn. So, when Autumn begins to write her feelings into a journal from her late father and events begin to take place that seem eerily similar to personal wishes she’s jotting down… is it coincidence? Or is this her chance solve all her problems? Autumn Falls was a very quick read – and pretty entertaining! I wouldn’t say it was terribly original – and I per...

Dead Girl Walking (Royal Reaper) by Ruth Silver Published: November 25, 2014 Publisher: Booktrope Forget everything you know about grim reapers. Princess Ophelia Dacre sneaks out of the castle to visit her boyfriend in secret. A perfect night cut short when she’s brutally murdered. Ophelia is given the rare chance to become a grim reaper. She must become Leila Bele, cut ties with her old life, and follow the rules of the reapers. Her greatest adventure begins with death. Now includes the prequel Ashes to Ashes as a bonus story in the Booktrope edition. Available in eBook & Paperback. Add to Goodreads Licensed to Ruth Silver ON SALE FOR JUST 99 cents!!! Available on Amazon | Barnes & Noble Excerpt “Listen, kid, I don’t care what you believe in. It’s not for me to say what’s true and untrue, real or unreal. My assignment was you. You get to be one of us, if you want it. Otherwise, you move on, life is over, kaput.” Ophelia backed away from the stranger. For the first time, she ...

Title: Half my Facebook Friends are Ferrets Author: J.A. Buckle Publisher: Curious Fox Release Date: 30 Jan. 2014 ISBN-13: 978-1782020745 Synopsis Fifteen-year-old Josh fantasises about becoming a death metal guitarist complete with tattoos, piercings and hoards of adoring fans. But it’s not easy when his super-strict mom won’t let him grow his hair! Luckily Josh has a way of coping with life’s setbacks; it’s only a diary, but it contains all Josh’s hopes, dreams and frustrations (not to mention some great ideas for band names and lyrics!). There’s a lot he wants to get done before his 16th birthday, but things never turn out quite like he plans… What Josh doesn’t know is that his mother also kept a diary, back about the time he was born, and a secret in there holds the key to Josh’s life becoming a whole lot more metal.   My Review This was another book on our Book Day list at work that I had to read, but after seeing one of my colleagues reading it and giggling away...

Mistborn is the first book in the high fantasy epic The Final Empire trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. Sixteen-year-old Vin knows that you cannot trust anyone. Her mother tried to kill her. Her brother abandoned her. And now, in order to survive, she works with a group of poor Skaa thieves – the group leader utilizing her as a sort of “good luck charm”, due to her strange ability to be able to make people less scrupulous than normal. Kelsier is a Mistborn that Snapped after a sequence of terrible incidents. Now he’s using his abilities and brash confidence to begin an uprising against the tyrannical thousand year reign of the Lord Ruler. But how do you get a people – the Skaa – to stand up and fight after they’ve no will to do so any longer? When Vin meets Kelsier, her life dramatically changes. She is roped into their planned rebellion – a scheme that is so outlandish to Vin she can hardly believe they’re attempting it – and is told that these odd powers she has are actually the result o...

Title: Angel Author: L.A Weatherly Series: Angel (Book 1) Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd Release Date: 1 Oct. 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1409521969 ASIN: B004A93MSE (Audio Book) Synopsis Angels are all around us: beautiful, awe-inspiring, irresistible. Ordinary mortals yearn to catch a glimpse of one of these stunning beings and thousands flock to The Church of Angels to feel their healing touch. But what if their potent magnetism isn't what it seems? Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. But she has no idea where she gets this power from. Until she meets Alex… Alex is one of the few who know the truth about angels. He knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds...

The Night Circus is a historical fantasy romance by Erin Morgenstern. When Prospero the Enchanter is presented in 1873 with a surprise, young daughter – possessing natural magical ability that is as of yet untrained – he sees a perfect opportunity for a new game. Reaching out another enigmatic man, they agree to terms and the competition selects a young orphan boy as his participator in the game. The two children grow up knowing very little of what the game means – no rules or clear instruction is given – and their preparation of their magical skills are very different. They do not even know who their opposition is. Then comes the venue: the night circus. A stunning, black-and-white feat of the imagination, the adult Celia and Marco are placed in their prospective positions – with still no understanding of what is expected of them. Yet it is a dark game – a game in which only one of the two can be left standing. They do not know this. But as Celia and Marco begin to fall in love, the ...

Title: The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig Author: Emer Stamp Series: Pig (Book 1) Publisher: Scholastic Release Date: 30 Oct. 2013 ISBN-13: 978-1407136370 Synopsis Hello. I is Pig. This is my diary. It's super Top Secret, but Duck and me agrees that you needs to read it so you can help us, because we is in a bit of a pickle. I hopes you will be believing what I has written, because Duck says it is UNBELIEVABLE. But it isn't. It's my life. You will see. Love, Pig   My Review This is another book on our 'Children's Book Day' list that I have to read for a course at work. I have to admit that when I saw it my heart sunk a little and to be honest it didn't get any better. Pig has decided to write a diary of his life, not expecting much to happen, but with his best friend Duck, the cows, sheep and evil chickens life on the farm has more to write about than you would think. Then pig discovers what Farmer really wants him for and everything turns ar...

Title: Half Bad Author: Sally Green Series: Half Bad (book 1) Publisher: Penguin Release Date: 3 Mar. 2014 ISBN-13: 978-0141350868 Synopsis Wanted by no one. Hunted by everyone. Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves? My Review This book hit the shelves with a storm last year, I remember everyone talking about it, it was nominated for a YA book prize and you couldn't go to a book store without seeing it. And a lot of people were raving about it, I wil...

The Dresden Files: Grave Peril is the third book in the adult urban fantasy series by Jim Butcher. To get the maximum reading enjoyment, I suggest reading these books in order – therefore reading Storm Front first and then Fool Moon . I wouldn’t say that this review will really spoil anything from the first two books, but you can never be too careful!!! Ghosts are going haywire lately. Becoming more menacing, more violent and more… more … Harry has his work cut out for him lately. Unfortunately it’s not the paying kind – it’s the moral wizard responsibility kind. But when Harry and Michael – a knight, literally – attempt to rid yet another location of an unruly ghost, it becomes clear that someone is causing this. Someone is stirring up trouble purposely. And the fact that many of the victims have ties to Harry cannot be ignored… As I’ve said before, I loved the TV show The Dresden Files – based on this book series. I’m still not feeling as much love for the book series… yet. I’m still...

Frostfire is a contemporary fantasy by Amanda Hocking, as well as the start of the Kanin Chronicles . As an outcast in the powerful troll tribe of Kanin, her half-breed heritage betraying Bryn with something as simple as her blonde hair, there has been one thing she has been determined to do: climb up the ladder of success as a tracker to eventually become one of the King’s Guard elite. When a shocking attempt on her father’s life occurs during her first official tracker duty, that aim is met with another strong aspiration – to catch, and potentially kill, Konstantin, whom before the startling incident was a rising star in the King’s Guard and a secret crush of Bryn’s. Now, four years later, Bryn and all of Kanin are rattled by the kidnapping of changelings. And when a connection to Konstantin is made, will Bryn sacrifice one of her goals for the other? Frostfire appears to be a spinoff of a successful prior Amanda Hocking series called the Trylle Trilogy . I have to say that after r...