Red Queen Blog Tour: Win the book and a Red Queen necklace!

Hi Guys! Today I am celebrating the release of the Red Queen paperback by taking part in the blog tour and today I'm thrilled to be giving one of my lucky readers the chance to win a copy of the book and a special Red Queen necklace! I can't wait to read this amazing book soon and am thrilled to be giving you the chance to read it too! To enter simply read the rules and fill in the Rafflecopter. Good luck!

Giveaway

Rules 

 To enter you have to fill in the Rafflecopter 

 Open to UK residents only 

 End date: Monday 20th July 2015 

 The winner will be drawn and contacted by email with 1 week to reply else another winner will be selected 

 Make sure you complete what the form asks of you - I do check! Any winner who has not completed an option will be disqualified

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review for One by Sarah Crossan

One by Sarah Crossan 
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Release: 27th August 2015
Genre: Contemporary, UKYA
Source: Proof Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review



Synopsis:

"Grace and Tippi are twins - conjoined twins. And their lives are about to change. No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world - a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love?

But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. A decision that could tear them apart. One that will change their lives even more than they ever imagined."

Review 
After reading the synopsis I knew that One was going to break my heart but what I didn’t expect was for it to break my heart on every single page to see how conjoined twins Grace and Tippi were treated by those around them.

One opened both my eyes and my heart to a life I’ve never looked at too closely before, a life as a conjoined twin. Grace and Tippi’s relationship was like no other I’ve ever encountered, it’s a bond that runs even deeper than love; it’s the very essence of who they are. I loved getting to know them as individuals and also as a team as they live their lives as one person.

Grace and Tippi are at the front and centre of this book but Sarah Crossan also takes a look at how the twins’ being one affects those closest to them: their mom, dad and younger sister. Grace and Tippi’s situation also has a knock-on effect for those they love as the family struggle with medical bills and witness first-hand how cruel people can be when somebody is different.

One was the first book that I’ve read written in free verse. I’ve always been put off by this style of writing before but One sounded too incredible to miss and I’m so glad that I gave it a go. The writing style worked beautifully and I can’t imagine this story being told in any other way. Every page is ripe with emotion the few carefully selected words carrying so much weight. Nothing goes to waste here with every word adding something vital to the story. Sarah Crossan’s writing is fluid, flawless and something to behold.

Not only is One easily my favourite book of 2015 so far it’s also one of the best books that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. It’s truly a masterpiece in YA Fiction with massive crossover appeal. I haven’t been this emotionally moved by a book since The Fault in Our Stars and urge you to pick up this beautiful book so that you can experience Grace and Tippi’s story for yourself.

June Round Up and Book of the Month

June's Book of the Month is Remix by Non Pratt

Remix was the perfect summer read! I picked this up to get me even more excited to go see Taylor Swift in concert with my best friend and it certainly did the trick! I loved the focus on best friends here rather than romance and how real both Kaz and Ruby felt. This is a must read UKYA book. For more of my thoughts check out my review here.

Read in June
48.) Remix by Non Pratt (4.5*)
49.) The Cake Shop in the Garden by Carole Matthews (3.5*)
50.) Seed by Lisa Heathfield (4*)
51.) Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe by Milly Johnson (4.5*)
52.) The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine (3.5*)

To my shame I only read five books this month - half of my usual total. It's been a very busy month though and I've also made my return to blogging, planned YALC Month and have started working on my very first novel. With July being YALC Month I hope to fit in more reading time even though July is also going to be busy for me.

 Monthly Book Awards 
Best Plot: Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe by Milly Johnson
Best Writing: Remix by Non Pratt
Best Cover: Seed by Lisa Heathfield
Best Characters: Remix by Non Pratt
Best Ending: Seed by Lisa Heathfield
Best Romance: The Cake Shop in the Garden by Carole Matthews
Most un-put-down-able: Seed by Lisa Heathfield
Most Memorable: Remix by Non Pratt
Best Moral: Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe by Milly Johnson

Top 3 Most Recommended Books: Remix, Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe and Seed.

Books I’m Looking Forward to Being Released in July
First Class Murder by Robin Stevens
The Great Village Show by Alexandra Brown
The Little Flower Shop by the Sea by Ali McNamara
The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements
 Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton
The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

 What did you read and love in June? 

 And what are you looking forward to reading in July?

The Lost and the Found Blog Tour: First Chapter and Giveaway!

Cat Clarke is one of my all time favourite authors and so I am thrilled to be the first stop on the blog tour for her new book The Lost and the Found today. I'm sharing the first chapter to read and giving away one copy of The Lost and the Found to one lucky reader!

 

Giveaway

Rules 

 To enter you have to fill in the Rafflecopter 

 Open to UK residents only 

 End date: Monday 6th July 2015 

 The winner will be drawn and contacted by email with 1 week to reply else another winner will be selected 

 Make sure you complete what the form asks of you - I do check! Any winner who has not completed an option will be disqualified 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Stop by Adventures With Words tomorrow for the next stop on the tour!

Announcing YALC Month!

Banner by Faye at A Daydreamer's Thoughts

It's that time of year again! YALC 2015 will soon be upon us! Last year I hosted the YALC Readathon which I had so much fun with but a week was nowhere near enough time to read all of the books I wanted to ready for YALC and so with even more authors announced this year I decided to turn the YALC Readathon into a themed reading month.

For YALC Month the goal is simple: read as many books by authors attending YALC 2015 during July as you can! Authors attending can be found here. I know that a lot of us attending YALC have massive TBR piles and review book obligations so you do not have to read YALC books exclusively. With YALC itself happening in the middle of July this also gives us a chance to read the books we buy at YALC afterwards. I remember having a lot to get through last year!

I won't be reading YALC books exclusively in July because I have other review books I need to get to so I'd like to read at least 5 books for YALC Month and I have a great pile to choose from. What do you recommend I pick from this pile?

To sign up share your intention to join us either on your Blog, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Goodreads and share the link to your post in the linky below. If you'd also like to share the banner, your TBR or goals for the month then please do, although this isn't mandatory. When talking about the event on social media please use the hashtag #YALCMonth so we can all follow each others updates and progress! I hope you want to join me in reading YALC books throughout July! If you do please sign up here