Book Review - Head Over Heels

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Title: Head Over Heels
Author: Holly Smale
Series: Geek Girl (Book 5)
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Release Date: 28 July 2016
ISBN-13: 978-0007574650

Synopsis
Harriet Manners knows almost every fact there is.

She knows duck-billed platypuses don’t have stomachs.
She knows that fourteen squirrels were once detained as spies.
She knows only one flag in the world features a building.

And for once, Harriet knows exactly how her life should go. She’s got it ALL planned out. So when love is in the air, Harriet is determined to Make Things Happen!
If only everyone else would stick to the script…

Has GEEK GIRL overstepped the mark, and is following the rules going to break hearts all over again? 

My Review
I have always been a fan of the Geek Girl books and usually read them as soon as they came out, this one has been on my shelf for quite a few months but I never had time to pick it up. However last week I was going out somewhere and I knew I would be sitting around waiting for a while so I popped this in my bag to help me pass the time. I knew I needed a light easy read that wouldn't take me too long to get through and this seemed to be the perfect choice. 
Harriet is the ultimate Geek, she knows so many pieces of information and facts that she shares with people whether they want to know or not, but things are looking up for her, she's found a group of friends who love her and she's got plans. Everything is organised but not everyone is up for following her plans and soon she is starting to lose her way a bit. Then she gets offered some more modelling jobs, can she get through these successfully or will they turn out to be disasters like in the past. This time there is more at stake and Harriet has to decide what she really wants.
I've always found Harriet quite charming but slightly annoying in a loveable way but I will admit she started to annoy me a bit in this book, she was just so naive and gullible, she was like a whirlwind just blustering through and not noticing anything that was going on around her. She had one view and nothing else registered with her. Made me want to shake her and yell 'wake up' in her face a bit. I no longer found it endearing but actually just annoying. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy the book because overall I did and by the end of the book I was liking Harriet a lot more again. But then that does show that she is growing and developing as a character. 
I loved the involvement of Tabitha and her crazy Grandma Bunty, they are fab characters and I love Jasper, hope we see more of him.
The next book in the series will be the last and I will be sad that the series is over, but I can't wait to find out what catastrophes Harriet gets into next.
These books are lighthearted and fun and make for a nice refreshing change from all those dark, serious books out there. Geek Girl is full of charm and laughter and always a pleasure to read.

My Rating
   
  

Book Promo - Through the Ashes

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Through the Ashes (The Division: Book Two)
By Connie L. Smith
ISBN: 978-1-945910-09-8
$3.99
BUY LINKS
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W9MR2DP
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/through-the-ashes

The war has begun. The battle’s unfolding. And victory feels so distant…
The Essenced had prepared and trained, but never imagined the true horror of watching demons tearing through the Division to invade the realm. Every claw is horrific—every snarl disgusting—and the responsibility of keeping that vile terror from expanding beyond the battlefield’s borders rests in the teenagers’ hands. They thought they were ready for that challenge…
But then their confidence is shaken when a deadly new weapon emerges from the enemy’s arsenal, and well-kept secrets from the Essenced’s angelic superiors begin to surface.
In the midst of the carnage, can the teens find the strength within themselves, and among themselves, to grasp victory in blood-tainted hands?"


About the Author:
Connie L. Smith spends a decent amount of time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to bake, and might forever be sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she can’t swing dance. Much of her preferred music is severely outdated, and as an adult she’s kind of obsessed with Power Rangers. She has her BA from Northern Kentucky University in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection either), and her MA in English and Creative Writing.

Latest Release: Within the Essence (The Division: Book One)

Websites:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CLSmithbooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/clsmithbooks/

Book Review - Angel's Game

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Title: The Angel's Game
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Series: Cemetery of Forgotten Books (2)
  • Publisher: Orion; Unabridged edition 
  • Release Date: 1 June 2009
  • ISBN-13: 978-1409105282

Synopsis
In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love.
Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home...

My Review
After reading Shadow of the Wind I was desperate for more, i love Zafon's writing style and I was hungry to get back into the world he had created. I found the Spoken word edition in the library and popped it in my car to listen to as I go about my daily drives.
This book is set a few years before Shadow but you still get a few characters you will recognize, Sempere snr and his son Daniel. This book mainly follows David Martin, a young man, a novelist and a bit of a loner. He finds comfort in his creepy old house, but even the house holds secrets that may come back to haunt him. David receives an offer to write a book for a mysterious older man, but once he has agreed strange events start to happen and David wonders what exactly he has got himself into.
The book is full of mystery and intrigue and exciting action. I found I didn't enjoy it as much as the first, it was harder to get into and I wasn't sure where it was going but the more I listened to it the more involved I became. It seems a lot darker than the first one but held me captivated and wanting to know more. 
If you have read and enjoyed the first one I would definitely recommend reading this one, it takes you back into the world you know and I have to say that Zafon is a true master at creating worlds, the visualisation is incredible, I could picture every setting, every character, every event in my head as I listened to it. He really is a master storyteller, and I've just found the third book in the series, so as soon as I can I will be diving into that one. I just can't get enough!

My Rating

Book Promo - Day of Ice

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DAY OF ICE the second installment from a new series by author Andrew Lane. These books are an exciting YA re-imagining of the characters from the original Robinson Crusoe.

Andrew Lane has written some thirty-odd books, ranging from fiction to non-fiction and from science fiction novels based on popular TV series to adult crime novels. He has also written nearly 30  short stories which have been published in various magazines and anthologies. His best known work to date is the highly successful Young Sherlock Holmes series of YA novels, of which eight have currently been published.

TITLE: Day of Ice: A Crusoe Adventure

AUTHOR: Andrew Lane

US RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2017 (Hardcover at Barnes & Noble)

AGE RANGE: 12 - 17 Years

SYNOPSIS: Months after their rescue by the government agency Segment W, Robinson Crusoe and his friend Friday have proven their skills as secret agents. They’re now climbing the ranks of this exclusive group of spies who reports directly to the Crown. Suddenly, in the dead of winter, Friday is shocked to see her father, who once tried to kill her, walking the streets of London. She tries to elicit the help of Segment W, but they are preoccupied with the continued investigation into an organization that staged a kidnapping of the king’s daughter. What will she do? As Friday’s past comes back to haunt her, she, Crusoe, and Daniel Defoe must uncover the mystical Circle of XIII’s sinister plans to recruit new members into the society using dangerous and magical means. How does her father fit into all of this? Will they be able to escape unscathed?

Day of Ice is the second installment of a series that thrusts a young Robinson Crusoe into a new world of espionage, intrigue, and peril.