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Nod by Adrian Barnes

Genres: Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Release Date: 1st September 2015

Publisher:Ìý

SYNOPSIS

Dawn breaks over Vancouver and no one in the world has slept the night before, or almost no one. A few people, perhaps one in ten thousand, can still sleep, and they’ve all shared the same golden dream.

After six days of absolute sleep deprivation, psychosis will set in. After four weeks, the body will die. In the interim, panic ensues and a bizarre new world arises in which those previously on the fringes of society take the lead.

Paul, a writer, continues to sleep while his partner Tanya disintegrates before his eyes, and the new world swallows the old one whole.

Book Review ~ ‘Nod� by Adrian Barnes ~ 5 Stars!

This book was sheer brilliance!

Have you ever wonderedÌýwhat would happen if youÌýsuddenly you were unable to sleep?

Day One, you’d beÌýgrouchy but fine; after all, students doÌýall-nighters all the time.

Day Two? You’d be looking forward to a long sleep.

What about Day Seven?

Haunting, psychological, nerve-wracking, ‘Nodâ€� was a perfectly crafted post-apocalypticÌýstyle novel, which had meÌýstill thinking about it long after I’d turned the last page.

I’m not much into zombie fiction, because I don’t believe it’s realistic, so when I read the blurb for ‘Nodâ€� I was instantly excited. Insomnia causing a breakdown of society? Yes, please! It was a believable scenario, which gave the story so much moreÌýimpact. We see people who love each other turn against each otherÌýas the lack of sleep kicks in, and we see morality take a backseat as everybody desperately tries to stay alive.

Adrian Barnes brilliantly questions what happens to human nature when the fundamental Ìýability to sleep is taken away from you.

It is a rollercoaster of a ride, and I guarantee you won’t be able to put the book down until you see how it finishes.

5 Stars!

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Adrian Barnes

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Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

(Into the Dim #1)

Genres: Young Adult, Time-Travel

Release Date: March 1st 2016

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SYNOPSIS

When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.

Book Review ~ ‘Into the Dim� by Janet B. Taylor ~ 5 Stars!

Intriguing, exciting and beautifully written ‘Into the Dim� took me on a journey where I could never guess what would happen next.

When I find a good time-travel story I lap it up, because it has to be done so carefully to work. With ‘Into the Dim� it was the scientific elements mixed with folklore that had me believe in the characters travelling, and I loved how the author brought these elements to life, and twisted them to make a unique portrayal of this fantastical travel.

The author has a beautiful writing style which I think will really appeal toÌýYoung Adult readers. It gives enoughÌýgorgeous detail of the old manor in Scotland and the surrounding country, and the historical detail of the times gone past, without bogging down the reader. It all helped alighten my senses to these different worlds, without being hard work. She also brilliantly contrasted the modern day Scotland and the past London, so I felt as a reader than I had travelled along with the characters.

There is mystery and intrigue that will have you nervous for Hope and her companions, and a sweet, slow-burning romance that I can’t wait to see progress further in the next books, however above all else, it is a story of the strength of family, whether blood or not. Hope’s determination to save her mother is what will have you reaching for a box of tissues.

The only issue I had with this book, was actually notÌýthe fault of the author, but in marketing. Being described as ‘Outlander for Teensâ€� was actually very misleading, as ‘Into the Dimâ€� is an entirely different story. The only similarities I could see were the setting of Scotland, and the element of time-travel, but that was the extent of it. I really hope that this marketing decision won’t affect readers enjoyment of the book, andÌýurge readers to not expect ‘Outlanderâ€�.

5 Stars!

*Review copy was kindly provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Janet B. Taylor

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Paper Dolls by Hanna Peach

Genre: New Adult, Romantic Suspense

Release Date: April 24th 2016.

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Where Dragonflies Hover by AnneMarie Brear.

Genres: Historical, Contemporary, Romance

Release Date: April 8th 2016.

Publisher:

SYNOPSIS

Sometimes a glimpse into the past can help make sense of the future �

Everyone thinks Lexi is crazy when she falls in love with Hollingsworth House � a crumbling old Georgian mansion in Yorkshire � and nobody more so than her husband, Dylan. But there’s something very special about the place, and Lexi can sense it.

Whilst exploring the grounds she stumbles across an old diary and, within its pages, she meets Allie � an Australian nurse working in France during the First World War.

Lexi finally realises her dream of buying Hollingsworth but her obsession with the house leaves her marriage in tatters. In the lonely nights that follow, Allie’s diary becomes Lexi’s companion, comforting her in moments of darkness and pain. And as Lexi reads, the nurse’s scandalous connection to the house is revealed �

Book Review ~ ‘Where Dragonflies Hover� by AnneMarie Brear ~ 5+ Stars!

Wow! Wow! Wow! I was intriguedÌýwhen I picked up ‘Where Dragonflies Hoverâ€�, (WWI Nursing, crumbling old manors and romanceÌýare the perfect combination to me) but as I delved into the story that AnneMarie Brear created, I was captivated, enchanted and completely in love withÌýtheÌýcharacters, story, setting…just everything! This really is a truly special novel.

The modern dayÌýscenes were beautifully wistful of a time gone by, and I loved following Lexi’s journey as she struggledÌýto make her marriage work, but also to embrace the life she wanted to live.ÌýBrear did a fantastic job in creating a believable and heartfelt crack in Lexi and Dylan’s marriage, and not once did I hate Dylan, only felt sad that heÌýwouldn’t fight for Lexi more, and vice-versa. All too often, authors makeÌýtension by creating unlikable, overly evilÌýcharachatures of the men who breakÌýtheir partners hearts, but with Dylan, Brear created a heartbreaking, realistic depiction of aÌýrelationship that was falling apart, no matter how much Lexi and he loved each other.

Alternating between Lexi’s struggle in the modern day, we enter the horrors of the First World War Front Line. Allie was a fantastic character, and brilliantly portrayed the no-nonsense, over-worked but feeling and caring nurse of the military hospitals of WWI. Researched to perfection, and as real to me as any contemporary setting, IÌýbelieved every second of Allie’s hospital work. For anyone who, like me, is still in mourning that the BBC axed ‘The Crimson Fieldâ€� after only one series, then this will fantastic story will give youÌýwhat we all wanted in a second series.

I could blabber away about the perfection of this book for pages, but it wouldn’t be coherent. All I can say is; please, please read this amazing book. It has stayed with me for days, andÌýhas inspired me as a reader and writer!

5+ Stars!

*Review copy was kindly provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

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AnneMarie Brear

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The Girl in the Painting by Kirsty Ferry

(The Rossetti Mysteries #2)

Genres: Historical, Time-Slip, Romance.

Release Date: February 29th 2016.

SYNOPSIS

What if you thought you knew a secret that could change history?

Whilst standing engrossed in her favourite Pre-Raphaelite painting � Millais’s Ophelia � Cori catches the eye of Tate gallery worker, Simon, who is immediately struck by her resemblance to the red-haired beauty in the famous artwork.

The attraction is mutual, but Cori has other things on her mind. She has recently acquired the diary of Daisy, a Victorian woman with a shocking secret. As Cori reads, it soon becomes apparent that Daisy will stop at nothing to be heard, even outside of the pages of her diary �

Will Simon stick around when life becomes increasingly spooky for Cori, as she moves ever closer to uncovering the truth about Daisy’s connection to the girl in her favourite painting?

Book Review ~ ‘The Girl in the Painting� by Kirsty Ferry ~ 5 Stars!

I’m one of those girls that when I hear the name ‘Rossetti� I get all fangirly and swoony. I make no apologies for this. Being born in the wrong century, I think it’s only fair that my celebrity crushes tend to focus on men from different eras. So when I started reading ‘The Girl in the Painting�, I was excited!

I should also point out thatÌýat the slightest mention of Dante Rossetti loving somebody more thanÌýLizzie Siddall, I get very defensive and start war crying “I SHALL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP!â€�, so there were some evocative emotions I was experiencing when immersing myself into Kirsty Ferry’s fantastic time-slip novel.

I adored the contemporary scenes with Cori and Simon, and the return of the brilliant characters from the first book ‘Some Veil Did Fall�. They were all necessary to bring the story together and it was great to see how they are interacted with each other, and worked together to solve the mystery of Daisy. In turn, the historical scenes, where we see Daisy’s embellishment in her diary of her relationship with the Pre-Raphaelites, and Lizzie Siddall, were heartbreaking and I couldn’t stop thinking about them long after I finished the book.

Kirsty Ferry did a brilliant job by bringing together the many elements of Victorian life and weaving them into her story and characters. Daisy’s addiction to laudanum highlighted a huge problem in society, and showed how damaging it could be to mental health as well as physical. To seeÌýthe truth behind her story, her relationships with the members of the Pre-Raphaelite brothers, her devotion and awe of Lizzie Siddall, and how this all lead to her downfall ripped at my heart because of how true it could have been.

With brilliantly connected contemporary and historical scenes, eerie ghostly sightings and hauntings, stories desperate to be told, and romance that keeps people together as well as tears them apart, this is a novel that you will devour from start to finish, and then feel empty as you leave theÌýartistic world behind.

5 Stars!

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Kirsty Ferry

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Love Me for a Reason by Angela Britnell

(Nashville Connections #3)

Genres: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Release Date: March 24th 2016.

SYNOPSIS

Love doesn’t always have to make sense �

When Daisy Penvean meets Nathaniel Dalton whilst visiting a friend in Nashville, it seems there are a million and one reasons for them not to be together. Nathaniel’s job as a mergers and acquisitions manager means sharp suits and immaculate hair, whereas Daisy’s work as a children’s book illustrator lends itself to a more carefree, laidback style. And, as Daisy lives in England, there’s also the small matter of the Atlantic Ocean between them.

But when Nathaniel’s job takes him to London to oversee the merger of a small publisher with a large American company, he and Daisy meet again under very different circumstances. Because Daisy works for the publisher involved in the deal, and if Nathaniel does his job, it could mean she loses hers �

Book Review ~ ‘Love Me for a Reason� by Angela Britnell ~ 5 Stars!

I love the Nashville Connections series, andÌýas this was the first novel in the series following two lovely novellas, I was really excited. Angela Britnell delivers a gorgeous romance, withÌýfun, friends, family and angst all rolled into one delicious package.

I had to warm to our hero Nathaniel,Ìýbecause I could sense that one wrong move and he could really hurt Daisy, who I rooted for from the word go. She was quirky, fun and had a philosophy of life that IÌýreally connected with. So for me, Nathaniel had to work to deserveÌýDaisy, and my favourite parts of this novel were seeing him come out of his work-is-everything shell and begin to accept the imperfect as perfect in its own way. I loved the psychological undertones to Nathaniel’s character development, seeing his flaring up of OCD tendencies when he is reminded of his less-than-normal childhood, and how he clammed up and refused to talk about it.

Daisy was the perfect match for Nathaniel and their romantic moments were perfectly balanced with Daisy’s jokes and banter, which Nathaniel had to come to understand andÌýnot take seriously. I adored how they became better people because of what they had learnt from the other. But it’s not all sunshine and daisies for our main characters, and with the helpÌýof their friends and families, they had to overcome challenges, and make changes and allowances toÌýmake their relationship work.

5 Stars!

*Review copy was kindly provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Paper Dolls by Hanna Peach

Genre: New Adult Romantic Suspense

Cover Design: Release Date: April 24, 2016

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SYNOPSIS

My life comes down to this. Two faces. One choice.

Salem is my twin sister. She loved me. She protected me. She forgave me, even after I failed her. I just got her back after searching for three long, lonely years.

Then there’s Clay. Sweet yet intense and nursing a dark past of his own, he’s all the redemption I don’t deserve. He wants to open me up and know the insides of my soul. I want to let him, but I’m scared he’ll run from what he finds.

But I can’t have them both.

My name is Aria. And today, I must choose. One of the two people I love has to die.

Available for PRE-ORDERÌý

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Prologue

In moments like these, everything slowed. Salem always joked that it was life’s way of making sure you didn’t miss the turning points, the important bits. As if gravity sank heavier and heavier with the weight of the moment until the world was too heavy to turn and everyone held their breath.

It certainly felt like that now. My next action, my next word, would change all of our lives.

“Aria,� Clay’s deep voice reached my ears. “Whatever happens…I love you.� The usual assuredness and authority was gone. Instead, strain and hurt had crumpled up and shoved into his throat. Choose me. Save me. Love me.



Before him my life had felt like a stack of old movies; frames missing or out of order, muted crackling sound, flickering and shuttering away, unloved and unseen in an old unused cinema.

Then I found him. Or he found me.

He created a warm shield around me where I could be safe. He coaxed away all my layers and shed all my masks and his love soaked right into my skin, right into the very soul of me. He pulled out the fossil buried inside that had been my heart and breathed life into me.

How could I give up the man I loved? The one who loved me with a fierce and unwavering passion, the man who made me feel like I could defeat demons as long as he was by my side.

Winking in the threads of sunlight piercing through the solemn gray clouds, seed fluff twirled about me like swirling, dancing couples. Spinning around like Salem and I used to do in our backyard, hands clasped together tightly, turning round and round, eyes to the sky, our twin voices giggling and floating into the air like dandelions.

She had been my shield before Clay.

“I’m nothing without you, Aria,� Salem’s voice trembled, desperation leaking into the breaths between her words. Choose me. Need me. Love me.



How could I end her? I just got her back. For so long we shared almost everything, and she protected me. Her whole life had been about protecting me. Because she loved me that much.

How could I turn against her, toss her away like an old broken toy?

But I had to choose.

I could see us now, the three of us making a chain like when I was a kid, folding pieces of colored paper into rectangles, cutting out an arm, a leg, and half a head, and unfurling my new patterns in the light to reveal a line of paper dolls. Clay, Salem and I � we were all just paper dolls in a paper chain, me in the middle, each end pulling tighter and tighter until something had to tear.

Even now as I stare between Clay and Salem, trying to digest our impossible situation, Hope is still there, that terrible pixie, fluttering on my shoulder, whispering.

Maybe it doesn’t have to end this way?



Fuck you, Hope. Here’s the truth.

Nobody is coming.

No one will save us.

And someone isn’t going to make it out of this forest today.

“Choose,� my sister screamed. “It’s either him or me.�

My fingers tightened around my gun in a reflex. This was it. I either ended her. Or destroyed Clay.

I squeezed my eyelids shut for a moment, just for a moment of peace. Just for an instant I could shut out the inevitable, and in this blessed darkness I believed I could conceive a way that both could exist in my life. A way that I could choose Salem and Clay.

You can’t have both.

You tried.

You.

°ä²¹²Ô’t.



Have.

Both.

Choose now.

But how?

What do you do when someone puts a gun to your head? Clay’s words came back to me, echoing as loud in my mind as if he had just spoken them. You refuse to bend. You push back. You find another way. You take that gun off him and put it back in his face. But you do not give in.



Find another way�

I knew what I had to do. A kind of peace settled on my skin, as delicate as gossamer, as light as silk.

I opened my eyes to a world of bright light until my vision adjusted. The torn and pained faces of the two people I loved came into focus. The only two people I’ve shared air with while we slept, the same two people I’d crawl into Hell to be with, and the only two people I would die for. I forced the ghost of a smile forward.

And turned the gun on myself.

There is a giveaway for signed paperbacks, Amazon gift cards and a Coach wristlet

Enter here:ÌýÌý

Hanna Peach

Hanna is the bestselling author of the Bound romantic suspense series and the Dark Angel fantasy series. Although she writes in more than one genre she can’t write a book without weaving together a complicated plot and filling it with twists. She writes what she believes: good people can do bad things, ordinary people can do great things, and choose love above everything.

Eternally restless, Hanna has lived in Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Scotland, England, Croatia and Ireland � everything she owns fits into one suitcase. She’s planning her next move with her gorgeous (and understanding) partner right now. If not writing, she can be found wandering a dusty market in Marrakesh or trekking a mountain in Peru, often using her travels as settings in her novels.

To WIN a copy of her next release go to

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Cover Reveal hosted by Give Me Books!

You Were Here by Cori McCarthy.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Release Date: 1st March 2016.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire.

SYNOPSIS

Jaycee is about to accomplish what her older brother Jake couldn’t: live past graduation.

Jaycee is dealing with her brother’s death the only way she can- by re-creating Jake’s daredevil stunts. The ones that got him killed. She’s not crazy, okay? She just doesn’t have a whole lot of respect for staying alive.

Jaycee doesn’t expect to have help on her insane quest to remember Jake. But she’s joined by a group of unlikely friends- all with their own reasons for completing the dares and their own brand of dysfunction: the uptight, ex-best friend; the heartbroken poet; the slacker with Peter Pan syndrome; and…Mik. He doesn’t talk, but somehow still challenges Jayce to do the unthinkable-reveal parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

Cori McCarthy’s gripping narrative defies expectation moving seamlessly from prose to graphic novel panes and word art poetry. From the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum to the skeletal remains of the world’s largest amusement park,ÌýYou Were HereÌýtakes you on an unforgettable journey of friendship, heartbreak, and inevitable change.

Book Review ~ ‘You Were Here� by Cori McCarthy ~ 5+ Stars!

How do you review perfection? Likely I’ll just ramble on for a few lines about how amazing this book is, why you need to read it, and then just say wow a few times, but I hope you’ll get the hint and just grab a copy for yourself.

‘You Were Hereâ€� is a book that you need to experience for yourself, because that is the sort of book and story it is. You don’t just read it, you experience it, feel it and come out of it a different person. You grow with Jaycee, you learn from Jake and you see things from perspectives you hadn’t thought of before. Told from five different perspectives, ‘You Were Hereâ€� is the ultimate form of storytelling. Told through words, comics, art and thoughts we see five teens struggleÌýas they comeÌýto the end of an era, and areÌýleaving behind their lives as they know it for the start of adulthood.

Jaycee clings to the pastÌýas she mourns for her brother Jake who died in a tragic accident years before, Mik, a selective mute atones for his past sins,ÌýNatalie and Zach who struggle to end their long-termÌýchildhood sweethearts relationship, and BishopÌýwho has experienced the loss of love for the first time. Together they help each other to understand and grow as theyÌýattempt toÌýlet go of Jake’s ghost, and Cori McCarthyÌýwrote the wholeÌýstory toÌýperfection.

A beautifully written book which captured a part of me, there isÌýsuffering, romance, growing up and heart-ache as our protagonistsÌýhave to learn to let go of the past to make way for the future.

5+ Stars!

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New England TLC by Pia Fenton

Northbrooke High #3

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

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SYNOPSIS

Shy girl. Bad boy. Heading for heartache or TLC?

Kerrie Lanyon’s world collapses when her parents are killed in a horrific car crash. With no relatives to turn to, she gratefully accepts an offer from her godfather, Sir Anthony, to spend time with his family in the US.

Sir Anthony’s daughter, Raven, is attending high school in the little New England town and Kerrie agrees to do the same. Having spent most of her life at an all-girls boarding school run by nuns, however, she has no idea how to interact with boys � especially gorgeous badass ones like Axel Ohlsen. Is the flutter he causes inside her embarrassment or something else?

Axel has an on-off girlfriend, but is intrigued and attracted by Kerrie’s sadness and vulnerability. He wants to make her smile again, even though he knows it’s none of his business. Can he help heal her? Or will his on-off girlfriend throw a spanner in the works?

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Book Review ~ ‘New England TLC� by Pia Fenton ~ 5 Stars!

With all the emotion, excitement and romance of the previous two books, ‘New England TLCâ€� isÌýa fantasticÌýaddition to the Northbrooke High series. This time telling the story of sheltered good-girl Kerrie, Sir Anthony’s goddaughter, who has recently lost her family, and arrives in the US mourning and wide-eyed, and intimidated by the freedom of her new life.

Kerrie was a fantastic character. Her pain eeked through the pages and I could really sense her struggle to keep going when she was reminded of her parents. I loved that we saw some back-story about her family as well, and howÌýshe admitted that when sheÌýrealised that her parents were not as perfect as she may have once thought, but how she accepted it and it didn’t affect how much she loved or missed them. ‘New England TLCâ€� was a brilliant journey for Kerrie as she becomes an adult who sees the world in a different light, rather than through the tinted glasses of a sheltered young girl.

Oh, how I love Axel! . In ‘New England Crushâ€� Axel made me laugh so much with his witty comments, and cunning plan for getting Raven and Liam together, so seeing how this plan backfired for him in ‘New England TLCâ€� when he realises that maybe he’s not the man for the job of changing Brooke for the better, was brilliant. Despite it all though, he was still a good-guy behind his bad-boy exterior, and he was loyal in not wanting to break up with Brooke and ruin her birthday plans despite his feelings for Kerrie.ÌýAlthough Brooke is the cattiest bitch on the planet, I really loved her character, as without her sniping and bitchiness,ÌýKerrie may never have grown to be as strong as she did.

AÌýbrilliant chapter inÌýthe Northbrooke High series, ‘New England TLCâ€� was fun, emotional, sweet and guaranteed to bring you joy!

5 Stars!

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Pia Fenton

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The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy

Release Date: 7th May 2015

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books

SYNOPSIS

The leaves were cold and slightly clammy. There was no mistaking them. She had seen their likeness painstakingly sketched in her father’s journal. This was his greatest secret, his treasure and his undoing. The Tree of Lies. Now it was hers, and the journey he had never finished stretched out before her.

When Faith’s father is found dead under mysterious circumstances, she is determined to untangle the truth from the lies. Searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. A tree that feeds off whispered lies and bears fruit that reveals hidden secrets. The bigger the lie, the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered.

The girl realizes that she is good at lying and that the tree might hold the key to her father’s murder, so she begins to spread untruths far and wide across her small island community. But as her tales spiral out of control, she discovers that where lies seduce, truths shatter. . . .

A beguiling tale of mystery and intrigue.

Bookseller Review ~ ‘The Lie Tree� by Frances Hardinge ~ 5++ Stars!

I don’t normally curse in reviews, but my god, this book was f***ing amazing!

‘The Lie Tree� is one of the best books I have ever read; EVER! And I read a lot of books!

Winner of the 2015 Costa Children’s Award and then the overall 2015 Costa Award (the first Children’s book to do so since Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass in 2001), Frances Hardinge’s Young Adult novel will suck you into the harsh reality of a young girl’s life in the 19th century.

Faith is the kind of heroine that I want in my YA fiction. Restrained by societies ideals and overlooked because of her sex by her father who she idolises, Faith doesn’t let this stop her from being what she wants to be, and when her father is found dead in mysterious circumstances it is up to Faith to uncover the secrets that led to his death and protect the specimen whose secret he died protecting.

Highlighted throughout are brilliantly interwoven elements of the historical issues of the time; feminism, evolution and religion, and a fantastic splattering of fantasy which brings the story together in a way that will enchant and amaze the reader.

This book is everything! Please read it!

5++ Stars!

*Many thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for providing me with a proof copy*

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