The Bomb by Sarah Mussi

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

 My thanks goes to Netgalley and Hachette Children's books for providing me with this e-Arc.

Pages: 336
Publisher: Hodder Children's Book
Released:  7th of May 2015

When Genesis goes on an internet date she is only anxious that this latest guy won't be 'The One'. She's not at all worried about meeting a dodgy bloke or getting in too deep. And when her date appears she texts her best mate, Jackson, to let him know that she thinks this time, he just might be 'The One'. And he texts her back with a huge: I LIKE.

It's the one all right. But not in the way she expects.

For when Genesis wakes up the next day, she can't remember a thing. She can't remember where she is, or how she got there. And she can hardly move because she is strapped into some kind of body armour ... and then a voice sounds in her head: 'Get on to the 37 going north. You are strapped to a vest made entirely of explosives. At the push of one button I can detonate you right where you stand.'


To her horror, Genesis has become an agent of mass destruction. The countdown to detonation begins now...

What I Have to Say 

I absolutely adore Sarah Mussi's books. They have so much suspense and drama to them, while dealing with the big issues that our society is worried about. I enjoyed Riot so much and now I've enjoyed Bomb even more. Although the ending! Why do books do that? They make me so emotional. I really have to stop reading books that end like this in public.

The religion created in the book was really interesting. Obviously based in part on Islam, or at least the more radical Islam/ ISIS, I like how she made it more Westernised, made it so that it was a threat from home that was threatening the country. It made an impact on me.

All the twists and turns were surprising, except one that I saw coming from the start. I expect if you've read the book, you saw it too. But I felt so emotional for poor Genesis despite knowing from the start. I think I may have been crying on the train for that bit too....

If you haven't discovered Sarah Mussi yet and you like suspenseful thrillers, then you have to find her now!

Mind Games by Teri Terry

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 448

Publisher: Orchard Books

Released: 5th of March 2014

Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late? 

Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer. 

The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing...

What I Have To Say 

This lived up to my expectations of it, which were pretty high after how amazing the Slated trilogy was. While the concept of society being controlled by cybernetics is far from new, authors like Terri Terry continue to find fresh and exciting ways to build on the idea, making their stories interesting and unique.

One of the things that I loved about Mind Games, was how Terry looked into the angles of virtual reality and implants that I haven't seen before. She made the world detailed by included Refusers and people who could have implants due to religious or medical reasons and created a whole society of hackers who use their computer skills to play around with the virtual worlds.

I also loved Terry's references to her own books. It was quite nice to get that reminder of the series even though it's now over.

Whether you have read the Slated trilogy or are just curious to see what this book is like. I urge you to check it out.

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 352

Publisher: Mira Ink 

Released: 1st of August 2014

One girl could change four lives forever…

Mysterious Leila, who is on the road trip of a lifetime, has a habit of crashing into people’s worlds at the moment they need someone the most.

There’s Hudson, who is willing to throw away his dreams for love. And Bree, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. Elliot who believes in happy endings…until his own goes off-script. And Sonia who worries that she’s lost her ability to love.

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. But Leila’s trip could help her discover something bigger — that sometimes, the only way to find what you’re looking for is to get lost along the way…

What I Have To Say

This is everything that you look for in a good road trip story. Epic adventures, quirky characters and spontaneity at every turn. I think that's what's great about road trip stories. Anything can happen. 

I loved the different narrators. I liked Leila a lot, but I do think that the story (or stories) wouldn't have been half as good if it hadn't changed voice every few chapters. 

Elliot was my favourite. He had that sassy humour that I love from characters, even if his story was probably one of my least favourite. Bree was another voice I really liked. She felt very real in her avoidance of real life and desire to keep moving. 

This is definitely a good read for the summer.

Seize the Tuesday!

Ramblings: YALC Blogger Workshop, How I've grown as a blogger and other stuff

I'm not going to lie, one of the main reasons I got into blogging was because of the free books. I saw Sophie getting all the latest ARCS and having a successful blog and wanted to be her. Well, I still want to be her really. Yeah, I was naive and I probably started blogging for the wrong reasons.

But! I've grown so much since then. I don't worry about ARCs or followers so much anymore. Yeah, I still want the ARCs, yes I still want more followers and comments and get jealous of the popular blogs (I think most of us do, let's be honest) But even when I feel that no one's listening, I still post. I still try and think of unique stuff to do. Because it gives me a purpose, something to do with my life at a time when I honestly don't have much going on. And I just love doing it, for doing it.

What I learnt at YALC

 

I honestly learnt a lot at the whole event, just talking to other bloggers about the way we do things was a massive learning experience. But I want to focus on the Blogging Workshop that happened on the Saturday of the event. Because that was such a wonderful experience.

The event was run by Kat McKenna (Marketing Editor of Macmillon), Sanne Vliegenthart (Digital Coordinator for Hot Key/ Book Tuber), Holly Bourne (Author of Soulmates and Journalist for Thesite.org) and Natasha Ngan (Author of the Elites and Fashion Blogger). They said many things, half of which I'm sure I've forgotten but here are a few that stuck with me.

• Keep your posts short and use pictures and bullet points to break up the text because readers on the Internet don't have long attention spans. (Today I'm not doing so good at this.)

 

• Publicists want to be your friends (This is something I need to remember because I'm often shy to approach publicists, especially on twitter, in case I'm disturbing them.)

• Events like YALC and socialising on websites like Twitter can be great for getting followers and networking with other bloggers.  

•  If you see something missing, a topic that people aren't posting about for example, write it yourself. 
 

 

Some of these I knew already, others are things that were interesting to hear. They've given me some good ideas for my blog, including a couple of topics I'd like to write post for. So those might be coming your way... well whenever I get around to actually writing them.

I'm also thinking of creating a new blog. Branching out into another field. It's mostly that last point that is making me think of doing it, though I have been thinking about it for a while. I've been studying Japanese for about 4 years now and I can't find much intermediate resources out there and most of the blogs I've seen about Japanese aren't very well labelled. So I might start doing that in the future, I'll probably post links to twitter if you're interested.

So that about sums up all that's in my head recently. I've definitely started posting more since YALC and I'm really having fun doing so, so I'm hoping to keep that up.

Now is the time to say if you'd like to see anything new on my blog. Comments are always welcome.

Event Report: YALC

I'm not posting a review today because this weekend has been far too hectic and tiring. And that's because I was at YALC!

It was a crowded, busy, tiring, stressful and completely and utterly wonderful weekend. My feet are screaming at me for walking too much and my arms are refusing to stretch too far up or even lift the kettle (I just want a cup of tea!) because of all the books I was carrying around with me. But I would do it again right now if I could. In fact I wish I was still there.

I met so many amazing authors that it would take too long to list them all, let alone detail any of the conversations I had with them, but I met a lot of them as well as a lot of really lovely writers who weren't listed, bloggers, Booktubers, writers, publishing people and YA fans in general.

The best thing about this sort of event is that you can just start a conversation with anyone and have a great chat with them. And you couldn't throw a stone without hitting a blogger (not that anyone tried, I hope!). Although I missed quite a few people I wanted to meet, there were so many bloggers who I did meet (both who I already follow on twitter and brand new) and I really feel like some of them will become great friends.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to any of the panels, but I did get into the blogging workshop. It was brilliant and so, so useful. I won't say much because I want to write a post solely about it, listing some of the advice from it as well as my feelings about it and blogger goals that I've taken away from it.

I am so glad that I went as I had a really wonderful time. I really can't wait to go again next time.

Did you go to YALC? Or anything similar? Did you make friends? I'd love to hear your stories.