Top 5 Tuesday: Kelly's Summer Romance Reads
This week Kelly brings us her Top 5 Romance Reads
With summer just around the corner in our part of the world, we're all looking to kick back, relax and spend the summer months immersed in a great book. So set the air conditioner to chill, grab an iced drink and add these heartwarming romance reads to your TBR lists.
Words In Deep Blue is a legacy for lovers of the written word. For readers who find themselves within ink pages breathing in the scent of romance.
Marlowe's single mother is a vegan warrior, opening a small business selling vegan products next to a family owned butcher, igniting a rivalry between 17 year old heart transplant recipient Marlowe and apprentice butcher Leo. Like a modern day Romeo and Juliet set in the suburbs of Melbourne, Tin Heart is a funny and wildly entertaining romance with plenty of heartt. Pun totally intended.
What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume
Marlowe's single mother is a vegan warrior, opening a small business selling vegan products next to a family owned butcher, igniting a rivalry between 17 year old heart transplant recipient Marlowe and apprentice butcher Leo. Like a modern day Romeo and Juliet set in the suburbs of Melbourne, Tin Heart is a funny and wildly entertaining romance with plenty of heartt. Pun totally intended.
More so a coming of age than a romance, although Jacob Coote and John Barton, amirightladies?
This is the book that will make you fall in love with not only Josie but Melina Marchetta. Looking For Alibrandi is a right of passage for every Australian teen.
Bisexuality, Chinese Australian protagonist, sex positive, same sex female relationships, positive friendships, support networks. Queens Of Geek breaks down the barriers of body shaming, toxic relationships, slut shaming, Austism, mental illness, societal illnesses and the reality of expectations young adults place upon themselves.
What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume
Maisie is the heroine. She's me at sixteen, she's probably you at sixteen, she's the girl that lives next door or the girl that sits in front of you in social studies while you draw genitals in your textbook. She's the girl with moxie and doesn't know it, the girl who is constantly evolving and finding herself. She's the girl who'll set the world ablaze, who deserves more than the assholes trying to extinguish her fire. She's the fat, funny and beautiful girl. She's us.
Follow Kelly at Diva Booknerd, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
What's your pick for this week? Share on your blog, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or in the comments below! Make sure you tag your posts with #AusYABloggers so we can share the love.Seventy-Seven Saturday: When Michael Met Mina
Every Saturday we will bring you a short snippet from page 77 of a book. It might be a book one of us is reading or perhaps just the book closest to us.
The Rules:
- Pick up a Book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
- Turn to page 77(or 77% if you are on an e-reader)
- Find a Snippet, Sentence or Paragraph you like.
- Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to us (AusYABloggers) and use #77Saturday
Brooklynne's Choice
Title: When Michael Met MinaAuthor: Randa Abdel-Fattah
Released: 28 July 2016
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Add it to Goodreads
Michael Growls Terrence to shut up.
'Sorry, sorry,' Terrence says, not maliciously, but insincerely. I'm still trying to figure him out. He's part malevolent douchebag, part class clown.
Brooklynne's Thoughts
I picked this book up originally for last year's buddy read. Unfortunately, it arrived too late for me to participate so it has been sitting on my shelf since then. I am really fascinated by this book especially from the passage above which seems to be from Mina's perspective. Perhaps I will move it up on my TBR now.
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Seventy-Seven Saturday was inspired by The Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. If you decided to share your Seventy-Seven Saturday on your blog please link back to us and tag us on Twitter of Instagram @AsuYABloggers and #77Saturday
Author Interview: Bonnie Wynne
Debut #LoveOZYA author Bonnie Wynne took the time to answer some questions from @SarahSacaKat earlier in the week.
Firstly, thank you Bonnie for taking the time to answer my questions. Just reading the synopsis for The Ninth Sorceress gets me excited and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
Q: Where did the inspiration for The Ninth Sorceress come
from?
A: It’s tricky to say
exactly where the seed came from. I’m a bit of a bowerbird when I’m reading or
watching TV or playing games, and when something strikes me as interesting then
I always think ‘ooh, how can I use this in my book?’
So I’d say my inspiration
for The Ninth Sorceress came
from a lot of places over the years. But I definitely credit the authors I
loved while I was growing up, like Robert Jordan and Isobelle Carmody and Frank
Herbert and Anne McCaffrey. They were big influences on my work, and without
them, The Ninth Sorceress probably
never would have been written.
Q: Did much change from the first draft to the final copy
of this book?
A: I wrote The Ninth Sorceress really, really
slowly. There are parts I wrote over 15 years ago! So it’s safe to say a lot
has changed between the first draft and the final copy.
My original concept
skewed a lot more sci-fi (there was at least one scene set in space!) The
characters changed, the world changed, the ending changed… It’s almost
unrecognisable.
I also cut about 60,000
words before submitting to Talem, and trimmed another 20,000 words after that.
It was tough to cut all that material I’d spent so long writing, but ultimately
it was for the best.
Q: If you could go back to when you first started writing
The Ninth Sorceress and give yourself any advice, what would it be?
A: I would advise
myself to make an outline before I started writing! While I was working on this
book, I took a ‘make it up as you go along’ approach, and I ended up wasting a
lot of time pursuing plot threads that ultimately went nowhere and ended up
getting cut.
These days, I try to
leave room to experiment and make changes as I go, but also plan where I want
to end up and what plot points I want to hit along the way. It saves a lot of
stress.
Q: Did you always want to be a writer?
A: Being a writer is
the only thing I can remember ever wanting to be. Even when I was in
kindergarten I used to write ‘books’ (on printer paper, folded and stapled
together) and try to sell them to my neighbours and friends.
Q: What advice do you have for young people who want to
become writers?
A: Critique, critique,
critique. Both giving and receiving. It’s really scary at first to have people
reading your work and looking for problems, but it’s the only way to improve.
You also learn a lot from reading other people and paying attention to what works
and what doesn’t.
I think we’re all
precious about our work at first, which is normal because writing is such a
personal thing and it can be hard to separate a criticism of the work from a
criticism of you as a person. But
ultimately it’s not personal, and the faster you can get used to it, the
better.
Q: Do you have habits/rituals to help you write – be it
background music, a fave snack etc?
A: I don’t really have
habits or rituals, but I do have a few quirks.
For starters, I need
complete silence (I can’t write at all if there’s music playing). Even a
ticking clock can annoy me. I admire all the mums and dads who can write in a
house full of screaming kids! I could never.
I also prefer to write
in really big chunks. I’m not somebody who can sit down and write 1,000 words
and then head off to work. I need a six-hour stretch to write non-stop. There’s
a cabin on the South Coast that I really love, and I try to get down there a
few times a year so I can just get in my ‘zone’ and work without distractions.
Although I’m always kind of weird and spaced-out when I come home from a week
with no human contact!
Q: What are you reading at the moment (or what was the last
book you read)?
A: I just finished Queen
of Nothing by Holly Black – a great finish to the series, with some crazy
twists and turns! I really want to read Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows
duology next. I’ve been avoiding it because I normally hate ‘heist’ stories.
But all her other books are amazing, so it might finally be time to take the
plunge.
Q: The #AusYABloggers are all about promoting and
supporting Aussie and Kiwi Authors. Do you have any favourite #LoveOzYA or
#LoveNzYA books (other than your own of course)?
A: I really can’t give
enough praise to my fellow Talem Press author Bronwyn Eley’s debut novel Relic. I gobbled it up in about two days when it came out last
year, and it was such a fantastic
start to the series. Bron has a real gift for dialogue, and I love that she
gives all her scenes room to breathe. It never feels like she’s just sprinting
from one plot point to the next. She won’t give me any spoilers for future
books, so I have to wait to see what happens next!
Once again, thank you
so much Bonnie for taking the time to answer my questions.
Keep your eyes on the
#AusYABloggers blog on Feb 13, as Jade from @romanceanddragons will be sharing
a review of The Ninth Sorceress.
THE NINTH SORCERESS,
Bonnie Wynne's debut fantasy
novel, is slated for release February 13.
Title: The Ninth Sorceress
Author: Bonnie Wynne
Publisher: Talem Press, Writer's Edit
Release
Date: February
13th, 2020
In the blackest dungeon of the Clockwork City, a prisoner lies bound in silver shackles. Who is she? And why are the wizards so afraid of her?
Seventeen-year-old Gwyn has no family and no past. Apprenticed to a half-mad herbalist, she travels the snow-blasted High Country, hawking potions in a peddler’s wagon. Her guardian hides her from the world like a dark secret, and she knows better than to push for answers.
But when she discovers she is hunted by the goddess Beheret, Gwyn is drawn into a deep and ancient tale: of chained gods and lost magic, of truths long buried and the rising of a war she never could have imagined.
Wizards and their magic-sniffing hounds pursue her – as does a stranger in a smiling mask, who calls her by an unfamiliar name…
But what really terrify her are the dangerous gifts she’s spent her life suppressing. Now, Gwyn must step out of the shadows and take charge of her destiny – even if the price is her own soul.
The Ninth Sorceress is the breathtaking first instalment of The Price of Magic, a sweeping fantasy saga full of rich storytelling and tangible magic.
About the author:
Bonnie Wynne studied Writing and Cultural Studies at UTS, and completed her law degree at the University of Sydney. After a brief stint in legal publishing, she now works for the Australian government, deciphering ancient law tomes.
She lives in Sydney with her cocker spaniel, Percival Hector (Canine Inspector). When she's not reading or writing, she can be found playing video games, booking her next holiday, or elbow-deep in flour.
THE NINTH SORCERESS is her debut novel and the first book in her series, THE PRICE OF MAGIC.
Top 5 Tuesday - Kelly's Most Anticipated #loveozya of 2020
This week Kelly brings us her Top 5 books I wanna read in 2020
I have a list as long as my arm but I've managed to narrow it down to my top five #loveozya or #lovenzya books I'm hanging for in 2020.
The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks
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Sorrento, Victoria - 1999
Fred's family is a mess. Fred's mother died when she was six and she's been raised by her Pop and adoptive father, Luca, ever since. But now Pop is at the Rye Rehabilitation Centre recovering from a fall; Luca's girlfriend, Anika, has moved in; and Fred's just found out that Anika and Luca are having a baby of their own. More and more it feels like a land-grab for family and Fred is the one being left off the map.
But even as the world feels like it's spinning out of control, a crisis from the other side of it comes crashing in. When 400 Kosovar-Albanian refugees arrive in the middle of the night to be housed at one of Australia's 'safe havens' on an isolated headland not far from Sorrento, their fate becomes intertwined with the lives of Fred and her family, as she navigates one extraordinary year that will change them all.
Jane Doe and the Key of All Souls by Jeremy Lachlan
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Jane Doe is in more danger than ever before. Her father is still imprisoned. The Manor – the hallowed world between worlds – is still dying. The villainous Roth is still searching for the mythical, all-powerful Cradle Sea. Worst of all, Jane has learned that she is the key to stopping him and saving the Otherworlds. Problem is, she’s stranded in the dying land of Arakaan – Roth’s home – and its people have some surprising secrets of their own.
With a little help from her pyromaniac pal, Violet, and her doubtful ally, Hickory, Jane must find the courage to accept her destiny and face her darkest fears, even if it means losing everything she holds dear.
From the desolate plains of Arakaan to the shifting halls and devious booby traps of the Manor, Jane’s Cradle quest is about to explode.
There are sandstorms. There are scorpions. There are new friends and foes. And every soul in every world hangs in the balance.
Please Don't Hug Me by Kay Kerr
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Erin is looking forward to schoolies, at least she thinks she is. But her plans are going awry. She's lost her job at Surf Shack after an incident that clearly was not her fault, and now she's not on track to have saved enough money. Her licence test went badly, which was also not her fault- she followed the instructor's directions perfectly. And she's missing her brother, Rudy, who left almost a year ago. But now that she's writing letters to him, some things are beginning to make sense.
Kay Kerr's Please Don't Hug Me depicts life on the cusp of adulthood-and on the autism spectrum-and the complexities of finding out and accepting who you are and what's important to you.
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Add to Goodreads
First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.
Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.
And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.
Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.
When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.
Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.
Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans
Add to Goodreads
Ever since the witch cursed Babs, she turns invisible sometimes. She has her mum and her dog, but teachers and classmates barely notice her. Then, one day, Iris can see her. And Iris likes what they see. Babs is made of fire.
Iris grew from a seed in the ground. They have friends, but not human ones. Not until they meet Babs. The two of them have a lot in common: they speak to dryads and faeries, and they're connected to the magic that's all around them.
There's a new boy at school, a boy who's like them and who hasn't found his real name. Soon the three of them are hanging out and trying spellwork together. Magic can be dangerous, though. Witches and fae can be cruel. Something is happening in the other realm, and despite being warned to stay away, the three friends have to figure out how to deal with it on their own terms.
Iris grew from a seed in the ground. They have friends, but not human ones. Not until they meet Babs. The two of them have a lot in common: they speak to dryads and faeries, and they're connected to the magic that's all around them.
There's a new boy at school, a boy who's like them and who hasn't found his real name. Soon the three of them are hanging out and trying spellwork together. Magic can be dangerous, though. Witches and fae can be cruel. Something is happening in the other realm, and despite being warned to stay away, the three friends have to figure out how to deal with it on their own terms.
Follow Kelly at Diva Booknerd, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
What's your pick for this week? Share on your blog, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or in the comments below! Make sure you tag your posts with #AusYABloggers so we can share the love.
Seventy-Seven Saturday : We Are Blood and Thunder
Every Saturday we will bring you a short snippet from page 77 of a book. It might be a book one of us is reading or perhaps just the book closest to us.
The Rules:
- Pick up a Book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
- Turn to page 77(or 77% if you are on an e-reader)
- Find a Snippet, Sentence or Paragraph you like.
- Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to us (AusYABloggers) and use #77Saturday
Kelly's Choice
Author: Kesia Lupo
Released: April 4th 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Add it to Goodreads
In a sealed-off city, it begins with a hunt. A young woman, Lena, running for her life, convicted of being a mage and sentenced to death. Her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear - those with magic.
On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. She knows only too well how the people of Duke's Forest loathe magic. Years ago she escaped before her powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.
A powerful and terrifying storm cloud unites them. It descends over the dukedom and devastates much in its wake. But this is more than a thunderstorm. This is a spell, and the truth behind why it has been cast is more sinister than anyone can imagine ... Only Lena and Constance hold the key to destroying the spell. Though neither of them realise it, they need each other. They are the blood and they have the thunder within.
Kelly's Thoughts
As it grew closer, the fleck transformed into a rider on a dark horse, a long silvery cloak billowing. Emeris had noticed him too. The rider was galloping straight towards towards their carriage and Emris's mouth set itself into a firm, thin line. He pulled on the reins and the two horses drawing the carriage stopped, bizarrely, in the air. Floating.
I'm currently reading We Are Blood and Thunder for the second time, the first time I only reached a few chapters in and wasn't particularly in the mood for a fantasy read at the time. I'm so glad I picked it back up again and absolutely loving it this time around. Mages, strong female characters and an incredible and intricate world building.
Follow Kelly at Diva Booknerd, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
Seventy-Seven Saturday was inspired by The Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. If you decided to share your Seventy-Seven Saturday on your blog please link back to us and tag us on Twitter of Instagram @AusYABloggers and #77Saturday
Book Review: Heaven Sent by S.J. Morgan
Heaven Sent by S.J. MorganAdd to Goodreads
Published in 2018 by Midnight Sun Publishing
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Page Count: 333
Brooklyn's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Sypnosis:
At almost sixteen, Evie’s life isn’t all she’d hoped it would be. She lives in the dodgy end of town with her mum and her mum’s deadbeat boyfriend, Seb; and adolescent scoliosis means Evie’s forced to wear a back brace until she’s stopped growing.
Then one night, she meets Gabe. Breathtakingly handsome, he crashes, spectacularly, into Evie’s life. He says their meeting was no accident and convinces Evie he’s been sent to turn her fortunes around. Evie’s best friend, Paige, dismisses him as a pot-head, but Paige has issues of her own and has started spending all her time chasing older men instead of higher grades.
As the weeks go by, Evie’s luck seems to be on a constant upswing and she begins to wonder if she and Gabe really were ‘meant’ to meet; even if she’s noticed that so many aspects of Gabe’s story don’t add up…
But there’s someone else waiting in the wings and, for Evie as well as for Gabe, life is about to get a whole lot more complicated.
Brooklyn's Review:
Heaven Sent may just be one of the most thought provoking and fascinating novels I've read in a while!Purchase Links: Angus & Robertson | Dymocks | or a book store near you!
I had the pleasure of meeting S.J. Morgan earlier in 2019 at an event at Dymocks celebrating YA and Middle Grade with a selection of Adelaide Authors - I was instantly curious about Sue's first YA Novel Heaven Sent - and I definitely can't wait to read her recently published, Hide.
I can safely say I've not read anything similar to Heaven Sent before and all through the book I didn't know what to think of one of the main male characters, Gabe. He definitely makes a dramatic and dangerous entrance to the story, literally crashing into Evie's bedroom wall! Claiming to be fated to find her, to protect her, he instantly unnerved me! Was he genuine? Was he a bit unusual? I could never really tell! Well, his character definitely became more unnerving to me as the story progressed, his intensity just grew! I really wanted to believe his care for Evie was genuine, yet I couldn't help but wince when he delivered one of his impassioned declarations, often quoting the bible's various passages as he mulls over his pledges to keep Evie safe and how it was fate that brought them together.
Evie is just such a great main character to read about, I definitely couldn't help but get swept up in her life - from her constant suffering from Scoliosis, having to wear a back brace, to her dealing with her Mother's toxic boyfriend, the much younger Seb, to her non existant relationship with her Father, who packed up and left Evie and her Mum for another woman, to Evie's best friend, Paige, who appeared questionable at best, I just felt like I wanted to reassure Evie that everything would be okay!
I say questionable in regards to the friendship between Paige and Evie because whilst it seemed both had one another's backs, there were just various points throughout the book where Paige would just completley go silent to Evie, not saying anything at all - I mean, do true friends do this? Of course though as the story developed and things were announced, there was definitely more than met the eye about Paige's agenda and I was just so surprised at that reveal! It just seemed that Paige was as weary as Evie was about Seb! I was so shocked!
I must admit, I think, despite my weariness of Gabe, despite my uncertainty of him, I wanted him to be trustworthy! I mean, he did help Evie in bringing her closer with her estranged Father, I felt like he did just want Evie to be safe, it was just when his mind started unravelling, when we discovered his true mindset, that Evie starts to learn about who Gabe really is.
What struck me the most remarkable about this book was just how real it felt! I love how it had an Adelaide setting, too. I absolutely love reading books set in my hometown, it's just a lot of fun reading about familiar places and picturing these characters there!
This is definitely a must read Contemporary Fiction Novel, it had quite the mystery aspect too! Even though Gabe had quite literally come crashing into Evie's life, as I mentioned I never quite knew what his deal was and I was just so addicted to finding out! It's just such a heartfelt read, I really recommend it to everyone!
You can find Brooklyn sharing her love of books via Brooklyn the bookworm | Twitter | Instagram
Top 5 Tuesday – Star's Auto-Buy Authors
This week Star brings us her Top 5 Auto-Buy Authors
I feel like each of us have an author that we automatically reach for – whether that’s
at the bookstore, or pre-order, or library, however it is, most of us are
likely to have an author we’ll buy everything from.
Here are my top 5!
1) Fleur Ferris
She is, without a doubt, my favourite Aussie author. I don’t
think there is a book of hers I haven’t just straight-up loved. This year, she released her first book for younger readers,
and it’s so cute and so precious. Her first 4 published books are all YA, so
definitely go check them out!
I have loved every single book of Ashley’s that I have read
(the only one I haven’t read is Suffer
Love, but I own a copy, so that is half the battle!). She has three YA
books and two middle-grade books and 4/5 of her books are about queer girls and
I love love love them!
3) Angie Thomas
Though she only has two books out, she’s an auto-buy author
for me. I love her writing and her books, and I am eager to see what she comes out
with next!
Yesss I have only read The Raven Cycle and Call Down the
Hawk by Maggie, but I do own several
of her other books, and I think that makes her a contender for auto-buy author
for me.
5) Lynette Noni
*coughs* But Star, haven’t you only read Whisper and Weapon? That may be true, but, I do
own her Medoran Chronicles series, and I have full intentions of reading them very soon. I swear!
Follow Star at Little Miss Star, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
What's your pick for this week? Share on your blog, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or in the comments below! Make sure you tag your posts with #AusYABloggers so we can share the love.
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