Changes and Upcoming Blogoversary!

Hi lovely followers, So if you’re reading this post then I take it that your noticing the changes I’ve made to the blog. I’ve wanted to change the blogs look for a while. I wanted to go for a simpler, cleaner look that wasn’t so girly and would appeal more to boys. I really love my new look and I hope that you guys do too! I have my very first blogoversary coming up next month and so decided to get the blog all fancy pants for that. I’ve made a lot of changes and commenting is now easier than ever so feel free to have a look around and explore. For the blogoversary I’m planning lots of exciting stuff including an international giveaway of a book of your choice from a list of my very favourite books. Also a little post on what I love most about blogging and how my reading and life’s changed since starting up Jess Hearts Books. I also have a lot of exciting stuff coming up for the summer with guest posts, my summer reading list and my summer reads recommendations for you guys! Times have been tough lately with my computer not working properly for months and personal things at home but your constant support and encouragement never fail to amaze me and always make me eager to provide regular quality stuff for you guys to enjoy. Anyway the dog days are over and things in my life seem to be coming together more and more. I can’t wait to see where this next chapter in blogging takes me and am sending huge thank you’s to anybody who’s ever followed, commented, or supported this blog in any way. Hope you enjoy the new changes! Jess

Kick-starting the Swim the Fly blog tour! The Importance of Dude-lit

It gives me great pleasure to be coming to you today with the first stop on Don Calame’s UK Swim the Fly blog tour. I recently read this book and it was amazing, laugh out loud hilarious about three boys setting a summer time goal to see a real live naked girl. With plenty of boisterous mischief and mishaps along the way this makes for a very funny read- think John Green meets The Inbetweeners. Anyway it really got me thinking about how little dude-lit there is out there for guys. Sure there are guy’s books but there mainly all about action and spies and what not which is great but what about books about the truly tough stuff like growing up? Yep barely a drop. Especially when you take into comparison the amount of chick-lit and magazines girls have to read about all those embarrassing problems whilst growing up. I’m a firm believer that it only takes one book. One book that really speaks to you that can develop a lifetime love of reading and upon reading Swim the Fly I truly believe that if enough word gets out about this book and boys are encouraged to pick it up this could be that special book that sparks a lifetime’s love affair with reading. Here’s what Don Calame author of Swim the Fly had to say on the importance of there being some decent dude-lit out on the shelves...

The Importance of Dude-Lit By Don Calame

"Boys aren’t reading. You hear it all the time. In the newspapers, from teachers, from parents, from librarians. But if you take a look at the teen section of most bookstores you might get a clue as to why. The majority of the books that are geared toward teenagers are meant to be for girls, about girls, doing girl things. Whether that’s finding out that they are secretly a princess, learning that their friend has the problem du jour (anorexia, cutting, drugs, alcohol, pregnancy), or perhaps most disturbing of all, discovering that the boy they are in love with is a vampire (or werewolf, or zombie, or angel, or alien from another planet). And then there are the books the students are meant to read in school. Novels by Steinbeck, Melville, Shakespeare, Bronte, etc. All very important works of literature, all having absolutely nothing that might appeal to a teenage boy. And nothing that a teenage boy can relate to in his current life. In fact, it takes quite a lot of effort to find those really good books that address what it’s really like to come of age as a teenage boy. And believe me, I’ve tried, with the help of some very knowledgeable booksellers. I’m not sure why this is. Because guys are half the population. These types of books should and need to be published. “Well,” some people say, “teenage boys won’t read even if you do publish them. Because they have short attention spans. And because they like sports. And because they play video games.” I’m sorry but I don’t buy it. Why? Because I’m a guy. And I have a short attention span. And I like sports. And I play video games. I also happen to love reading. And I learned to love reading when I was a teenager. Beyond that, most of my friends are exactly the same. I honestly believe that if you hand a boy a book that he can relate to, that feels realistic to him, that presents guys the way guys really are, with all the humor and confusion and awkwardness that we experience at that age, then boys will not only read that book, but they will thoroughly enjoy it and ask for another one just like it. And hopefully, more and more of them will be published, so that when they do ask for that next book it’s available for them to pick up." Big thank you’s to Don for stopping by the blog today and to Templar for setting this whole thing up. To learn more about my thoughts on Swim the Fly you can stop by my review here. The tour will next be stopping at Chicklish where they’ll be offering up an exclusive extract plus your chance to win a signed copy of Swim the Fly! Exciting stuff right? For more info on the tour you can check out Templar’s post here to find out more about what will be taking place and to watch the trailer for Swim the Fly (trust me you don’t want to miss THAT!)

Swim the Fly is out in the UK 1st June 2011. Don is currently in the UK promoting Swim the Fly so be sure to give him a warm British welcome and check out his website here.

Review for Swim the Fly by Don Calame

"Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Sean and Coop, always set themselves a summer-time goal. This year’s? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time. As far as Matt is concerned, they’d have better luck finding the lost city of Atlantis. But seeing a girl in the buff starts to seem like child’s play compared to the other summertime goal Matt sets for himself: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) in order to impress Kelly West, the hot new girl. So what if he can’t manage a single lap, let alone four? He’s got the whole summer to perfect his technique. What could possibly go wrong?" As you can probably tell from this blog I am very much a girly girl and that is definitely reflected in what I enjoy reading. My favourite genres have to be contemporary young adult fiction and chick-lit and so when Swim the Fly was pitched to me as “dude-lit” the male equivalent to the kind of books I love I HAD to read this book. Swim the Fly will make even the most reluctant teenage reader compelled to read more. Don Calame spins a tale that is effortlessly funny and surprisingly heart warming. Laugh out loud hilarious I could not put this book down because I just had to know what crazy scheme Matt, Coop and Sean would come up with next on their summer quest to see a real live naked girl. The fantastic characters were definitely the biggest highlight of this book for me. Each character is so hilarious and hugely likeable right from main character Matt to secondary characters like the lovable Grandpa Arlo. I really became attached to the characters and even developed a teeny tiny book boy crush on sweet, dorky, Matt. Matt is a fantastic main character at the beginning of the book he’s so naive and young but as the book goes on he really grows. Matt’s definitely a character you can get behind and cheer on through embarrassing and at times impossible situations. Despite Swim the Fly being a debut novel Don Calame already has a boisterous, mischievous, effortlessly funny writing style that will speak to teenage boys. Swim the Fly is a strong addition to the dude-lit genre that’s good enough to make king of dude-lit John Green’s toes curl with envy. If you’re looking for a mood boosting, feel good read Swim the Fly is the book for you. I absolutely flew through this book because it was so effortlessly readable and most importantly enjoyable. This book cheered me up and took my mind off things and brought some sunshine to a gloomy day. This is the kind of book that I could happily read forever and I was so sad as I got closer to the end and even made a conscious effort to slow my reading down savouring every last page. I’m ecstatic that Don is carrying on the boy’s story in a second book Beat the Band told from my personal favourite character Coop’s point of view. I hope the boys have many more exciting adventures to come because I for one can’t get enough and spring 2012 seems oh so very far away. Overall Swim the Fly is a very much needed breath of fresh air in Young Adult fiction. Perfect for the nerdy teen, fans of The Inbetweeners, Napoleon Dynamite, Adrian Mole and anybody who can remember those socially awkward, hormone ridden, acne filled years will love this book. If you’re looking for a book with warts and all characters, laugh out loud humour and not a supernatural creature in sight this is the book for you and comes with the highest of recommendations from me. My Rating 5/5 stars Synopsis taken from goodreads Thanks go to Templar for sending me this book to review

If you enjoyed this review and are interested to learn more about Swim the Fly be sure to stop by the blog on Friday for my tour stop where Don will be discussing the importance of dude-lit. I got the post through today and let me tell you Don raises some very interesting points! For anyone interested in following this tour here is a list of blogs participating.

In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren Hello happy readers! As I very fortunately didn’t die from the rapture yesterday I thought I would bring to you an IMM 1.) As evidence of my existence and 2.) To celebrate another week of undisturbed reading ahead! As some of you may know I’m on a book buying ban and with the computer not working IMM posts are few and far between however I got some great books this week and wanted to share so without further ado let’s bring out the books!

Bought

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown But I Love Him by Amanda Grace Ellie Andrews Has Second Thoughts by Ruth Saberton

For Review

Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen So that’s what I got this week I’m so excited about every single book it was definitely a good book week! If you’ve read any of the books I got this week and want to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought please do and make sure you leave me a link to what you got in your mailbox. Here’s to another week of fantastic reading ahead :-)

Review for City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

This is a review for the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series. Although there will be no spoilers about City of Fallen Angels there may be spoilers about the first three books in this series. "City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels." Unlike a lot of you reading this review I only just recently read and discovered the awesome that is Cassandra Clare’s books. I’ve been working my way through The Mortal Instruments and when I finished City of Glass I knew at that point that the story was going to be carried on. Now I thought City of Glass tied things up very nicely and was a little apprehensive as to where Cassandra Clare was going to take not only City of Fallen Angels but the next 2 additional books after that. Regardless I was still beyond excited for this book and didn’t even question reading it because hello? It’s by Cassandra Clare! And when Cassie writes a book you read it. Even if it’s just because she created Jace Wayland because that after all shows the obvious genius that is there. ANYWAY yes, SUPER excited but also a little anxious, but no need to bother yourselves worrying folks because City of Fallen Angels is amazing, an excellent addition to the series and complements City of Glass and the previous books so well that if you didn’t know Cassie only originally planned to write 3 books you never would have guessed it. In CoFA Cassandra completely evolves her story showing us the aftermath of the events that took place in City of Glass. I thought that everything regarding that story line was finished but Cassie brings to the table a whole lot of questions I hadn’t even considered. Like how will Simon’s life be affected now that he bares the mark of Cain? Will Jace being brought back from the dead have any consequences? And how can Alec and Magnus pursue a relationship together when Magnus can never age or die? All of this is mentioned during this book along with brand new problems and the epic twists and turns that Cassandra Clare is famous for. What I really enjoyed about this book was how it really revolved around Simon. Simon is by far my favourite character from this series and I loved delving more into his life especially now that he’s increasingly more interesting with his vampy day lighter status and his mark of Cain that brings sevenfold on to anyone who harms him. Underneath all of his new found awesome he’s still the lovable, dorky, teenage boy that we all fell in love with and I found it interesting watching him juggle his old life with his new one. This book features all of our old favourite characters and some new faces. If you’ve read Clockwork Angel there are also some references from that thrown in which I found fun to read. I would love if Cassie intertwined her stories even tighter in the future. The ending of this book finishes on an intense cliff-hanger and I’m already pining for the next book. With City of Fallen Angels Cassandra Clare expertly entwines events in past books with a new exciting plot mixing the old with the new to keep things fresh but still maintaining what the fans love about this series. Cassandra’s mind is a labyrinth of awesome stories and ideas and this woman’s writing never fails to amaze me. I can’t wait to see where she takes us next! My Rating 4.5/5 stars Synopsis taken from goodreads Thanks go to Walker for sending me this book to review

Review for Flawless by Lara Chapman

"Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She's got killer blue eyes, gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There's just one tiny-all right, enormous-flaw: her nose. But even that's not so bad. Sarah's got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame. On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it's like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do-she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking? This hip retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with hilariously misguided matchmaking, sweet romance, and a gentle reminder that we should all embrace our flaws." I love modern retellings and Flawless is a retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac about Sarah a seemingly beautiful, funny, intelligent girl if it wasn’t for her one flaw- her unusually large nose. For Sarah this one imperfection cancels out the rest of her perfect life ultimately defining who she is and the decisions she makes. So it really comes as no surprise that when she befriends hot new guy at school Rock she’s willing to cast aside her new found feelings for him to help her beautiful bff Kristen nab him for her own. When I first started this book the thing that really drew me in were the characters. I loved Sarah so much she’s hugely likeable given the fact that she’s intelligent, funny and despite feeling self conscious about her nose doesn’t take any rubbish from anybody regarding it. As for Sarah’s best friend Kristen she’s a character I really wanted to hate, after all she is putting Sarah through emotional hell by dating her crush, but I just couldn’t because deep down Kristen has a heart of gold and would be mortified to know what she was putting her best friend through. Despite everything Kristen is an excellent best friend standing by and sticking up for Sarah when she’s ridiculed for her nose and even trying to set her up with a cute guy. Sure Kristen’s a little ditsy but her heart was always in the right place making her a really great character. Sarah and Kristen share a true but complicated friendship that feels very real and is a key feature to the book. I for one certainly envied the fiercely loyal relationship between the girls. This book has everything a girl wants in a book. It’s got a hot forbidden romance, best friend drama, and struggles with body image and self confidence making Flawless relatable to pretty much any girl! But despite this book having a good dash of romance above all this is a story about the true meaning of beauty and coming to terms with who you are and how you look. The one strong message throughout being should Sarah change her nose to fit in with society’s idea of beauty? Is her flaw really her nose? Or is it actually how Sarah see’s her nose that’s the problem? I loved the little quotes at the start of every chapter on beauty and found that they provided a lot of food for thought on the concept of beauty and the role it plays in this story. As a reader I’m hugely surprised that this is Lara Chapman’s debut novel. Already she has such a strong distinctive voice as a writer that takes many authors years to perfect. Lara writes with confidence and humour making Flawless quite literally its names sake! I can pick no fault with this book and flew through it constantly thinking just one more chapter that chapter turning into 3 more! Overall I think that Flawless is an important book for teenage (or older!) girls to read given the pressures to look perfect in today’s society. I can’t recommend it enough and will be eagerly awaiting another book by Lara Chapman. My Rating 4.5/5 stars Synopsis taken from goodreads Thanks go to Bloomsbury for sending me this book for review

Random Ramblings (2) My Self Imposed Restraining Order on Books

So June is coming up and June will be a very busy time for me. Fun times but busy times that are going to need MONEY. June is always a busy month for me because I have a lot of family birthdays at that time but this year even more so with it being the blogs 1st blogoversary and me attending the Manchester Blogger Meet Up. On top of that I’m trying to save for a new laptop with my computer going bust so as you can see there are a billion reasons why I need more money and so have enforced upon myself a book buying ban. However I am sadly not a normal person. I’m addicted to buying books and so instead of going cold turkey I have a set of rules to insure that I save money but do not go insane which would prevent me from enjoying and taking part in the numerous fun activities I have planned for June. So here are my rules, I wanted to type them up and post them on the blog so it’s all official and so you guys can hopefully support me. Rules 1.) I am allowed to buy a grand total of 4 books per month. For some people this might seem easy but for somebody who can easily buy 4 books each week this is like eating scraps of ham when I’m used to steak with all the trimmings. 2.) HOWEVER I am only allowed to buy books that I REALLY want/need e.g. next book in a series I love, new release from a favourite author. 3.) Books can only be bought if they are on a special offer. Which can be anything from cheap books on Amazon to 3 for 2 offers. Not allowed to buy books for the full price. 4.) Kindle books cheaper than £2 are allowed and don’t count. Swaps on Read it Swap it are allowed and do not count towards 4 book total. 5.) Avoid IMM’s and new releases posts like the plague because they are evil temptress posts that will be the death of you! How strict is that!? Ok not super strict but it’s enough for me to still buy the books that I desperately want and save some money. I think it’s about time I started behaving like a responsible adult and took more care with my money and spending especially when I already have so many books to read. I seriously have about 3 years worth to get through. I think 4 books a month is a reasonable amount especially with all the books I get for review and the books on my to be read pile. I don’t know how long this bans going to go on for. In some ways I think it would be a good thing to limit myself from now on as I’ve already noticed how much more I appreciate the books I do buy and how much extra cash I have so I guess it’s something I’m going to go along with for as long as possible. The small print is that these rules go out of the window if I’m going to a blogger event, author signing or whatever because honestly? How can someone *not* buy books at an event like that? So I’m going to allow myself more leeway then but still try not to go crazy. If fellow bloggers practically force books on to me though then I cannot be responsible for my actions ;-) So far I’ve actually strangely been enjoying saving my money and buying less books but I’m just starting out and I know there will be hard times ahead so if any of you have any advice or tips please let me know in the comments.

Review for A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd

"The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming... The monster in his back garden, though, this monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth." Having just turned the final pages of this book I am feeling emotionally exhausted as if I have took one long, brutal journey and in some respects I have. Firstly let me talk about what you will see first upon picking up this book. A Monster Calls is beautifully presented, Walker have done a fine job putting together this wonderful book making it so that it looks really special, definitely something you want to keep and treasure. I’m guessing that secondly after reading the blurb you would skim through the pages noting the haunting and poetic illustrations by Jim Kay. Starting at the beginning you will notice the author’s incredibly beautiful and respectful note on how this book came to be in your hands right now. A Monster Calls was never originally Patrick Ness’s idea: Instead the idea for this book was sparked by the much acclaimed author for young adults Siobhan Dowd. Fans of Siobhan will know that due to her untimely death she was unable to complete this story, in stepping Patrick Ness writing A Monster Calls with one thing in mind: To write a story that Siobhan would enjoy. If the fact that this book is written by two award winning authors, has the most stunning illustrations, and sounds so lyrical and special from the blurb alone doesn’t make you want to read this book then I don’t know what will. You must be a very tough person to please so allow me with this review to elaborate on what makes this book so spectacular. There really are no words that can fully express how much I hope you read this book. How much I hope that parents and children will share it and bookclubs will read and discuss it because this is a book that needs to be read, that demands and screams to be noticed and talked about. This is a book that’s truthful, and harrowing and so incredibly frightening. Yes frightening, because I think I can safely say that as human beings this book discusses the biggest and scariest truth of our world. That one day each and every one of us is going to lose someone we love. It’s something we’ve all experienced to some extent so far in our life whether that’s from the death of a beloved pet or the greater extent of losing a parent. This book deals with the most frightening thing of all and however much we want to silence it and believe that we our invincible like it or not this is our story. Patrick Ness honestly portrays the thoughts and feeling of a young boy whose mother is being treated for cancer. Although Connor’s mother has cancer this isn’t technically a story about that horrendous disease. This isn’t a book about cancer, or illness or death. Ultimately it’s a book about grief. It’s a book about a young boy having to face the unfair reality that he is shortly going to have to say goodbye to the person he loves most in the world. Before reading A Monster Calls I had never read anything written by Patrick Ness or Siobhan Dowd despite hearing phenomenal praise for them. Patrick’s honest and creative way of storytelling along with Siobhan’s brilliant imagination makes me definitely interested in checking out their separate work. This book is like nothing else out there at the moment and in its short 215 pages packs one of the biggest punches a book has dealt me in a long time. A Monster Calls isn’t the kind of book that you gobble up in one action packed frenzy but is the kind of novel you take your time over absorbing the beautiful and haunting language and images. It’s the kind of book that is packed with lessons and life changing quotes that will make you stop and think for a moment before continuing reading. It’s a book that despite being short will stay with you for weeks, the lessons it brings to the table eternal. Needless to say I cried whilst reading this book. I defy anyone not to. I got angry and I lived along with Connor. To say that I recommend this book or even give it 5 stars is an understatement. It somehow seems unfair to it because this book deserves so much more than that. It deserves to be picked up and read and loved and cherished and talked about amongst friends and family. It deserves more praise than I alone can give it. If you have this book sitting on your shelf don’t put it off, read it next. If you have it on your wishlist buy it now above all other books. I sincerely promise that the tears, the tissues and your time will be worth it. My Rating 5/5 stars ***** Synopsis taken from goodreads Thanks go to Walker for sending me this book to review

Review for The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

"Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island. Until now. Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet." I loved Kelley Armstrong’s first series for Young Adults The Darkest Powers trilogy and was so excited to read her latest book The Gathering the first book in the new Darkness Rising series a companion to The Darkest Powers. As a companion series I was expecting some answers that I didn’t get with The Reckoning and it to have some scenes with Chloe and company. Instead this book is really quite separate and easily read on its own. The only common theme at the moment seems to be that both series are set in the same “world” so to speak. After I got use to the different setting I really started to enjoy the story. I absolutely love Kelley Armstrong’s writing and how seamlessly it all flows together. She is definitely one of those authors where you plan to sit down for a few chapters and before you know it hours have flown by because you’re so engrossed in what’s going on. Kelley certainly possesses that talent of really captivating her audience. I loved the characters in this book maybe even more so than The Darkest Powers cast. Maya is a very different heroine compared to Chloe. She’s confident, self assured and funny. She’s kind of bad ass and adventurous and is definitely the type of girl I can see becoming one of my book bffs. This book to me felt like a cocktail of Shiver, The Body Finder and The Summoning which I have to say is a recipe for awesome! If you enjoyed any of the above books you’re bound to love The Gathering. I was desperate to know more about the town of Salmon Creek and its strange small town goings on from the beginning. The mystery, suspenseful plot and awesome characters to boot made for a fantastic read. The only thing that let this book down for me was the lack of answers at the end. I was so curious to know more and although Kelley gives us enough to keep us interested I wasn’t completely satisfied. I’m so curious to know what happens next and how Maya’s story fits in with Chloe’s. Although you do get some hints throughout the book nothing is confirmed and I so desperately want to know more, kudos to Kelley coz you can bet I’ll be devouring the next book as soon as possible! Overall Mrs Armstrong again has written a fantastic book setting herself up for another potentially awesome series. Kelley sure knows how to write and is a born storyteller. If you haven’t discovered one of her truly captivating books yet you really should and The Gathering is as good a place to start as any. My Rating 4/5 stars **** Synopsis taken from goodreads

Random Acts of Kindness: April Thankyous!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Random Acts of Kindness it’s a feature hosted by Book Soulmates where every month bloggers link up their wishlists in the hope that a generous blogger will grant one of their book wishes! This can be by giving away one of your own books, or buying and sending a new copy! RAK is a selfless act and nobody expects something in return other than a nice gesture in a post at the end of the month saying thank you. In April I received 4 books from my wishlist so let me show you what I got!

Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier This one was sent to me from Lisa at Baffled Books, it’s been on my wishlist for such a long time and I was absolutely thrilled to receive this one as a surprise, THANK YOU! One Seriously Messed-Up Week: in the Otherwise Mundane and Uneventful Life of Jack Samsonite by Tom Clempson I received a £5 Amazon gift card to pre-order this one from the lovely Birgit of The Book Garden, it sounds right up my street and I can’t wait for it to be released THANK YOU! Girl on the Run by Jane Costello This one was a lovely surprise from my good friend Ellie at Musings of a Bookshop Girl who recently discovered RAK through one of my IMM posts. I’d been eyeing this one since it came out and was so happy when this arrived as a total surprise in the mail! THANK YOU! Life of Pi by Yann Martel My last RAK is a book I’ve wanted forever just because it’s one of those books that you HAVE to read because of the amount of praise it’s received this was sent to me from Lainy at So many books, so little time. THANK YOU!

Huge HUGE thank yous to all the lovely generous people who sent me books last month! If you want to learn more about Random Acts of Kindness you can find out all the details and how to take part here. For anyone taking part this month here’s my wishlist :-)

Top books I’m wishing for

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt Bitter End by Jennifer Brown Beauty Queens by Libba Bray But I Love Him by Amanda Grace Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Dead Beautiful Tour Stop: Soulmates with Yvonne Woon

Hi guys today I’m coming to you with a post from Yvonne about the concept of soulmates in Dead Beautiful. Now we’ve all heard couples in fiction desciribed as soulmates but in Dead Beautiful it really is quite literal! The romance and soul aspect of Dead Beautiful really comes together beautifully and was one of my favourite things about the book. So without futher ado let me introduce and welcome the author herself to talk a little bit about why her soulmates concept is a little different from most! "The simplest way I’ve seen soul mates described are in movies. It usually happens like this: a woman wakes up in the middle of the night, craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but realizes she doesn’t have any peanut butter. She goes to the grocery store, to the preserves aisle, where she bumps into a man. As they part, she realizes he’s holding a jar of strawberry jelly. She smiles. He smiles. Regardless of what happens after that, we know they’re meant for each other. Even thought it doesn’t always happen this cleanly in literature, I think this encapsulates the essence of all soul mates. Both people are searching for something, and when they meet, they eventually realize that they complete each other. This is true of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre, of Jenny & Oliver in Love Story, of Bella and Edward in Twilight... Renée and Dante are just a more literal representation of the soul mate, as they not only complete each other emotionally, but physically. And like the characters that have come before them, they spend much of their time together trying to overcome obstacles—obstacles that force them to consider whether or not soul mates actually exist, and how they can be sure if the person they love is the right one." Thanks for stopping by the blog today Yvonne! I personally LOVED Dead Beautiful and to learn more on my thoughts you can check out my review here. The tour will next be stopping with Bookbabblers tomorrow where they will be doing a giveaway of the book itself! Exciting stuff right? So for your chance to win be sure to check that out!

Dead Beautiful is published in the UK by Usborne on May 1st. www.deadbeautiful.co.uk / www.twitter.com/DeadBeautifulUK