Weekly Tales – 07/12/2014

Welcome to my weekly wrap up on Tales Of Yesterday where I share what I have been reading this week, what books I have bought or have been privileged to have received and any general bookish or sometimes not so bookish things I have been up to over the past week.

Currently Reading

I am currently reading this wonderful children’s book by debut author Abi Elphinstone which is due to be released 26th February 2015.  I received my copy from the lovely people at Lovereading4kids and the publisher Simon and Schuster.  I am only around 50 pages in (I started today) and I am completely hooked and at present worried for the character Molly and wildcat Gryff!  My review will follow shortly after I have finished the book.

This week I also finished Trouble by Non Pratt which was a fantastic read.  My review will definitely be up this coming week sometime – this week has flown by so quickly.  As promised on my previous weekly wrap up last week I hopefully should have a special treat in store too!

This week I also read a wonderful adult book called Petit Four which is a collection of love stories all involving cake!  I was lucky enough to be part of the blog tour for this book and you can see my review here.

I have not yet started any of my Christmas / December reads….I need to get cracking!

 Book Post

I have been extremely lucky and privileged this week to have received some books from publishers to review.

Firstly I would like to thank the wonderful Lovereading4kids , the publishers Scholastic and Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copies of these little beauties which I cannot wait to read and review for lovereading4kids and my blog.  Both of these books are out early 2015.

Publisher – Hodder & Stougton

Publication Date – 19th February 2015

Rose Elmsworth has a secret. For eighteen years, the world has been divided into the magically Gifted and the non-magical Ashkind, but Rose’s identity is far more dangerous. At fifteen, she has earned herself a place alongside her father in the Department, a brutal law-enforcement organisation run by the Gifted to control the Ashkind. But now an old enemy is threatening to start a catastrophic war, and Rose faces a challenging test of her loyalties. How much does she really know about her father’s past? How far is the Department willing to go to keep the peace? And, if the time comes, will Rose choose to protect her secret, or the people she loves?

Publisher – Scholastic

Publication Date – 5th March 2015

Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince, Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court. She’s the executioner. As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company. But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen. However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

I have also been lucky enough to have won a couple of competitions on twitter / through blogging websites.

Publisher – Scholastic

Published – 4th September 2014

Won via @wondrousreads – Thank you Jenny

Two girls…one guy…things could get complicated! Zoe and Layla have been friends all their lives, despite being very different, and have never had secrets from each other. Then Layla’s big brother Kyle brings home a new friend from school and everything changes. Both Layla and Zoe fall for the mysterious new boy despite the fact that he might not be all that he seems. And despite the fact that the boys who are right for them have been in their lives all along. Will they let a boy scupper their friendship? Told in alternating voices, this is a dreamy, hugely enjoyable and romantic read.

Publisher – Indigo

Published – 6th November 2014

Won via @yayeahyeah – thank you Jim!

Disguised as a boy, Jin Ling searches for her missing sister, Mei Yee, who was sold into the brothels of the Walled City. It’s a cut-throat world of gangs, drug-dealers and warlords and every day is a struggle to survive. Jin Ling relies on her speed and cunning but how long will her luck hold? When a mysterious boy, Dai, requests her help with a dangerous mission Jin Ling’s inclined to say no – this is a world where no one can be trusted – but the mission offers her a vital chance to see inside the brothel where her sister may be being held.

Jin Ling and Dai join forces, but will either of them survive the mission? Is Mei Yee still alive? And how will any of them ever escape the stifling city walls?

Netgalley

I have also been lucky enough to have been approved for these wonderful books on NetGalley – I can’t wait to read!  Thank you to all of the publishers who approved these reads for me.  As always reviews to follow shortly.

Publisher – Random House Childrens

Publication Date – 29th January 2015

And these are they. My final moments. They say a warrior must always be mindful of death, but I never imagined that it would find me like this . . .

Japanese teenager Sora is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Lonely and isolated, Sora turns to the ancient wisdom of the samurai for guidance and comfort. But he also finds hope in the present; through the internet he finds friends that see him, not just his illness. This is a story of friendship and acceptance, and testing strength in an uncertain future.

Publisher – Random House Childrens

Publication Date – 29th January 2015

Malorie Blackman brings together the best teen writers of today in a stunningly romantic collection about love against the odds. Featuring short stories and extracts about modern star-crossed lovers from stars such as Gayle Forman, Markus Zusak and Patrick Ness, and with a brand-new story from Malorie Blackman herself, Love Hurts looks at every kind of relationship, from first kiss to final heartbreak.

Publisher – Gecko Press

Publication Date – 1st February 2015

Dorrity is the only child in magic-free Owl Town. When she finds an enchanted book with dire predictions, she must face her enemies. And who is the strange boy who has appeared in the Beastly Dark?

This stand-alone pre-teen adventure/fantasy novel is the third book in the “Tales of Fontania” series of novels.

Publisher – Pan Macmillan

Publication Date – 15th January 2015

Who needs friends when you’ve got MONSTERS?

An incredibly funny adventure story for the Pixar generation, perfect for fans of Frank Cottrell Boyce and Cressida Cowell.

Everything was happening so fast and it was all so . . . mad. It was as if someone had taken reality, made it into a jigsaw, thrown the jigsaw on to the floor and then said, “Now, hurry up and put it all together!” as they danced all over the jigsaw pieces in a clown suit, blowing a trumpet.

This January, Macmillan Children’s Books and award-winning director Garth Jennings introduce you a very unlikely hero, and a completely unique cast of Monsters…

When eleven year-old Nelson’s beloved big sister goes missing on a school trip, he is devastated – he’s not that good at making friends and his sister is the only person he can talk to. His parents join the search party and leave Nelson in the care of his mad Uncle Pogo, a plumber, working on St. Paul’s Cathedral. In the dark catacombs of the cathedral Nelson stumbles across a strange and ancient machine, designed to extract the seven deadly sins. Once extracted, the sins become living, breathing monsters and Nelson accidentally extracts seven deadly monsters from his own little soul.

Ugly, cantankerous, smelly (not to forget FUNNY) and often the cause of much embarrassment, Nelson’s monsters are the last thing he needs in his life… but when he learns of their individual powers he realises the monsters can be put to good use, and together Nelson and the Deadly 7 set out on a quest across the globe to find and rescue his big sister.

On the way they have an adventure beyond Nelson’s wildest dreams, and he learns that good friends come in all shapes and sizes…

Book Event

I had the absolute honour of meeting the wonderful author E Lockhart on Friday at Watersones Birmingham. E Lockhart was super lovely and I got to meet the wonderful Rosie from www.eatreadglam.com too which was an added bonus and we even resisted buying more books…well sort of for me but those details will come shortly when I write a quick blog post of the event in the next coming week.

If you fancy a read of my favourite E Lockhart novel check out my review of We Were Liars here.

General Bookish News

With thanks to some wonderful UKYA authors I posted a post asking the question – Does music influence books in teen fiction?  I really enjoyed putting this together and found it so interesting.  You can read this post here.

Thank you for everyone’s support on this and for all the retweets, links and favourites.  I hope you all enjoyed it has I had putting it together.

#IndieAdvent

Don’t forget to join in with #indieadvent.  Jim over at YA Yeah Yeah has been doing a fab job of running this and posting a guest post everyday in December featuring and celebrating our favourite independent bookshop each day.

I am over the moon to be writing a guest post for Jim over at YA Yeah Yeah ‘s #indieadvent. Look out for my guest post behind door number 19 and for daily guest posts from fab bloggers.  Jim is also encouraging people to join in the conversation using the hashtag #indieadvent on the following days – join in the chat.  I think this is a wonderful idea and big congrats to Jim for all his hard work and effort with such a wonderful project.

Have you read any of the books above or would you like to chat about anything else in this post?  Will you be joining in with #indieadvent ?  Have you been to any book events or did you get to meet E Lockhart? I would love to hear from you.  Please feel free to comment using the reply button at the top of this post or why not follow me on twitter and send me a tweet – @chelleytoy 

Happy Reading