#TBWSH Book Blitz!
Welcome to The Boy Who Steals Houses Book Blitz, to celebrate the second novel from blogger, author and our dear friend C. G. Drews or Paper Fury as she's widely known. Thank you for everyone who is taking part in the promotion and don't forget to pick up a copy of The Boy Who Steals Houses or enter to win a signed and annotated copy below plus an exclusive art print.
The Boy Who Steals Houses
Written by C. G. Drews
Publisher Orchard Books
Add to Goodreads
About the book
Written by C. G. Drews
Publisher Orchard Books
Add to Goodreads
Can two broken boys find their perfect home?
Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he's ever known. Now Sam's trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he's caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing - each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.
But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.
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About The AuthorC.G. Drews lives in Australia with her dog, a piano, and the goal of reading every book in existence. Consequently, her brain has overflowed with words and she spends her days writing novel after novel. She blogs at Paper Fury, never sleeps and believes in cake for breakfast.
You can find her at
Amazing giveaway!
Top Five: Tash's Favourite Speculative Reads
Hi, it's Tash here. For this week's Top Five post. I thought I would share my top five speculative reads. This wasn't easy considering the amount of books I read and love every year in this genre. Without further ado I give you my top five reads that I would never get tired of re-reading over and over again.
Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy
There has been some awesome 2019 releases so far. However this book stole my heart. Not only it is a retelling of King Arthur. It's awesome queer retelling that isn't afraid to cross the galaxy in the name of love . Bonus points goes for it's setting which is set in the future making this Arthur retelling beautiful and unique.
There is so much going on with this book . However at the heart of it, is a team of rag tag superheroes who deemed themselves as Zeroes They had a falling out but they come together once more to help a friend after a crazy day that spirals out of control. It's a refreshing reminder that everyone has a place and that you will find you place in the world. And that not even superheroes are perfect
#LoveOZYA [View on Goodreads]
#LoveOZYA [View on Goodreads]
Spensa had a one dream. To see the sky and become a elite pilot, However life had other ideas and now she lives with the stigma of her father's mistakes. But she never gave up and now as she comes of age. Spensa's life become a tailspin as we follow her on an adventure of discoveries and much more. Spensa is determined to be brave and no fear but this book shows that it's alright to embrace the unknown and let life and love surprise you. Whilst succeeding in the most unexpected way.
You cannot want to finish this series once you pick up the first book. As whilst it may be Jane Austen vibes a galore with this book. Lady Helen's story is very much a dark take and story of discoveries, love and much more. It's a coming of age tale that is dictated by choices and in a era where this isn't supposed to happen. Lady Helen is refreshing and not afraid to get her hands dirty. Plus the whole dark mystery who are they are going to drive you mad as you join the endeavours to discover the mysterious bad guys.
#LoveOZYA [View on Goodreads]
A space opera from two of my favourite local authors is a match made in heaven. The creativity use of mix media in this book , makes it an interesting reading experience. Given that our leading characters have a mixed history and their planet just got blown up. There is a thousand things going on but the beautiful sci-fi is a book that will have you engrossed from start to finish. You will fall in love with this duo despite everything that possible going wrong has already. Plus Adrian do I need to say anymore.
Hi there. Do you have a Top Five you want to share?
We know we would love to read them!
We are asking for our readers to share their bookish Top Five’s for the group blog.
We are hoping to get enough interest to make this a regular post – email your Top Five ideas to australianyabloggers@gmail.com to be featured.
You can find Tash via ThoughtsbyTash Twitter Instagram and Goodreads
We Are Okay book chat with Sarah & Jade
Hello again bookish friends. We were honored from the 18th to 25th of this month to host a tour in conjunction with the University of Queensland Press for the austrlian release of Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay. Most of us #AusYABloggers moderators had already read the book or read along with the tour. Jade and I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about this book and promote it a little bit more.
(first published February 14th 2017)
You go through life thinking there’s so much you need…
Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.
Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.
* * * * *
Sarah: Had you ever heard of Nina Lacour before we took on this tour? I had only heard of her from the book she wrote with David Levithan, You Know Me Well.
Jade: This was the first book I have heard of by Nina Lacour, but I really enjoyed her style of writing and will defiantly read her other works in the future.
Sarah: I finished this book and was absolutely shattered by its honest and beautiful account of a young woman drowning in, then dealing with her grief. I think it ended perfectly.
Were you happy with the ending or did you want to experience more with Marin?
Were you happy with the ending or did you want to experience more with Marin?
Jade: I have always been the type of reader that wants more from books, needing to know what happens after the story. As much as I loved the ending, I felt as though readers were kind of left on a cliff hanger. It would have been nice to see how Marin grew as she started to move on from her grief.
Sarah: Reading a book like this can be utterly heartbreaking. My heart ached for Marin and my eyes were swimming in tears during those last few chapters. But I felt like in the end my heart had been healed and warmed. Did you find you had the same experience?
Jade: Yes! There were so many parts in this book that had my heart torn. The ending defiantly started to heal it but after connecting with Marin so strongly I know it will still take time for her to fully accept everything that happened.
Sarah: I think we can safely say that all us #AusYABloggers mods would highly recommend this book. Wouldn’t you agree Jade?
Jade: We are all humans, we all go through grief and heartache and this book is perfect for all readers.
You can go back HERE and check out the We Are Okay tour the schedule,
the post links to all the participants.
OPEN NOW Shauna's Great Expectations Instagram Tour.
OPEN NOW Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories Review Tour.
Running the 1st - 10th June. More info HERE.
You can find Sarah via The Adventures of SacaKat Twitter Instagram and Goodreads
You can find Jade via Twitter Instagram and Goodreads
Top Five: Star's Favourite F/F YA Books
Hello again bookish friends, Sarah here. I'm very excited as today we have a guest Top Fiver.
The lovely Star has submitted her Top Five lesbian & F/F young adult books.
Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough
Harriet Price has the perfect life: she's a prefect at Rosemead Grammar, she lives in a mansion, and her gorgeous girlfriend is a future prime minister. So when she risks it all by creating a hoax to expose the school's many problems – with help from notorious bad-girl Will Everheart, no less – Harriet tells herself it's because she's seeking justice. And definitely not because she finds Will oddly fascinating.
But as Will and Harriet's campaign heats up, it gets harder for them to remain sworn enemies – and to avoid being caught. As tensions burn throughout the school, how far will they go to keep their mission – and their feelings for each other – a secret?
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
Synopsis from GR:
Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.
When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.
So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.
Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno
Synopsis from GR:
A magic passed down through generations . . .
Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.
An island where strange things happen . . .
No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask.
No one questions the weather, as moody and erratic as a summer storm.
No one questions the (allegedly) three-hundred-year-old bird who comes to roost on the island every year.
A summer that will become legend . . .
When tragedy strikes, what made the Fernweh women special suddenly casts them in suspicion. Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, of love, of salt—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms.
How To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake
Synopsis from GR:
All seventeen year-old Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn't have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.
Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace's mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on.
Skylarks by Karen Gregory
Synopsis from GR:
We watch the bird as it flies high above us, singing like it's the only thing in the world that matters.
And I feel it - that life can be beautiful. That there are possibilities.
Keep your head down and don't borrow trouble is the motto Joni lives by, and so far it's seen her family through some tough times. It's not as if she has the power to change anything important anyway. Like Dad's bad back, or the threat of losing their house.
So when Annabel breezes into her life, Joni's sure they're destined to clash. Pretty, poised, privileged - the daughter of the richest family in town must have it easy.
But sometimes you find a matching spirit where you least expect it. Sometimes love can defy difference. And sometimes life asks you to be bigger and braver …
The lovely Star has submitted her Top Five lesbian & F/F young adult books.
Synopsis from GR:
Two very different girls, and one giant hoax that could change – or ruin – everything.
Harriet Price has the perfect life: she's a prefect at Rosemead Grammar, she lives in a mansion, and her gorgeous girlfriend is a future prime minister. So when she risks it all by creating a hoax to expose the school's many problems – with help from notorious bad-girl Will Everheart, no less – Harriet tells herself it's because she's seeking justice. And definitely not because she finds Will oddly fascinating.
But as Will and Harriet's campaign heats up, it gets harder for them to remain sworn enemies – and to avoid being caught. As tensions burn throughout the school, how far will they go to keep their mission – and their feelings for each other – a secret?
Synopsis from GR:
Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.
When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.
So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.
Synopsis from GR:
A magic passed down through generations . . .
Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.
An island where strange things happen . . .
No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask.
No one questions the weather, as moody and erratic as a summer storm.
No one questions the (allegedly) three-hundred-year-old bird who comes to roost on the island every year.
A summer that will become legend . . .
When tragedy strikes, what made the Fernweh women special suddenly casts them in suspicion. Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, of love, of salt—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms.
Synopsis from GR:
Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace's mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on.
Synopsis from GR:
We watch the bird as it flies high above us, singing like it's the only thing in the world that matters.
And I feel it - that life can be beautiful. That there are possibilities.
Keep your head down and don't borrow trouble is the motto Joni lives by, and so far it's seen her family through some tough times. It's not as if she has the power to change anything important anyway. Like Dad's bad back, or the threat of losing their house.
So when Annabel breezes into her life, Joni's sure they're destined to clash. Pretty, poised, privileged - the daughter of the richest family in town must have it easy.
But sometimes you find a matching spirit where you least expect it. Sometimes love can defy difference. And sometimes life asks you to be bigger and braver …
* * * * *
Star describes herself as 95% man-hating lesbian, an angry feminist, a Ravenclaw introvert and Aussie bookworm. - I'm totally feeling your vibe Star!
You can find Star booking it up on Twitter as @LilMisStarBooks and on Instagram as @LittleMissStar55
* * * * *
We know we would love to read them!
We are asking for our readers to share their bookish Top Five’s for the group blog.
We are hoping to get enough interest to make this a regular post – email your Top Five ideas to australianyabloggers@gmail.com to be featured.
You can find Sarah via The Adventures of SacaKat Twitter Instagram and Goodreads
Top Five: Chiara's Favourite Retellings
Hi, it's Chiara here :) For this week's Top Five post I thought I'd share my top five retellings, which wasn't as easy as I thought it would be because once I went to my retellings shelf on Goodreads there were so many books I love! But I did narrow it down to five that I would recommend in a heartbeat to anyone looking for an awesome retelling:
This queer retelling of Snow White is absolutely beautiful. I was blown away by this book and I wish more people were reading it. It is quiet and stunning, and not only focuses on a lovely f/f romance but also the relationship between the main character and her stepmother. There is so much to love about Girls Made of Snow and Glass and I highly recommend it!
Splintered is a book that drew me in because of that incredible cover. And much to my delight the words inside captivated me just as much. This modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland had me riveted from start to finish. Nothing is what it seems in Alyssa's world, and the journey she takes you on is unforgettable. There's also a classic love triangle that will have you going back and forth on who she should really end up with.
A retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Wildwood Dancing is hands down one of my absolute favourite books of all time. I have re-read it more times than I can count because there is no way I could tire of the beauty within its pages. This book is about sisters, family, love, and most of all: magic. There is so much to love about this book, and just thinking about it makes me want to go and pick it up again.
Another Juliet Marillier book because this is an author that knows how to write an amazing retelling. Heart's Blood is Marillier's take on Beauty and the Beast and it was stunning. I have shelved this book as New Adult as I think it would appeal to older YA readers and the overall feel of the novel didn't quite hit the strictly adult fantasy fiction realm for me. So I added in my little made up hashtag of #LoveOzNA at the bottom here because I think we need to celebrate NA more. But anyway. Heart's Blood is magical and romantic and will have you swooning from start to finish. Bonus: there are a lot of books in this book, as well as a beautiful library!
#LoveOzNA [View on Goodreads]
#LoveOzNA [View on Goodreads]
And I Darken is a retelling of the famous tale of Vlad the Impaler. This book is brutal and badass and I absolutely love it. Watching Lada and Radu grow up brings you so much closer to them as characters. There's also a huge focus on their relationship as brother and sister, and as a reader I think it is the most important relationship in the book. Shamefully, I haven't read the sequels but I have a feeling I'll love them just as much as I did this one.
You can find Chiara via Books for a Delicate Eternity | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
Hi there. Do you have a Top Five you want to share?
We know we would love to read them!
We are asking for our readers to share their bookish Top Five’s for the group blog.
We are hoping to get enough interest to make this a regular post – email your Top Five ideas to australianyabloggers@gmail.com to be featured.
Kindred Blog Tour
If you haven't already seen, last week we announced our next tour! We have partnered with Walker Books and Michael Earp to celebrate the release of Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories with an own voices blog tour!
If you haven't had a chance to check out Kindred here is the synopsis;
What does it mean to be queer? What does it mean to be human? In this powerful #OwnVoices collection, twelve of Australia’s finest queer writers explore the stories of family, friends, lovers and strangers – the connections that form us.
Compelling queer short fiction by bestsellers, award winners and newcomers to the #LoveOzYA community including Jax Jacki Brown, Claire G Coleman, Michael Earp, Alison Evans, Erin Gough, Benjamin Law, Omar Sakr, Christos Tsiolkas, Ellen van Neerven, Marlee Jane Ward, Jen Wilde and Nevo Zisin.
We are so excited to be part of this release and we want you to help! This is open to Aus and NZ Queer bloggers, Instagramers and YouTubers!! If you want to be a part of this #OwnVoices tour, sign up here! 😁
You can also check out all the authors socials below!
Erin Gough; Twitter
We Are Okay Tour Schedule!
Welcome to the We Are Okay reading tour, celebrating the paperback release of We Are Okay in Australia, brought to you by University of Queensland Press, The #AusYABloggers and award winning author, Nina LaCour.
We Are Okay
Written by Nina LaCour
Published by UQP
240 pages
ISBN: 9780702262562
Add to Goodreads
Purchase from UQP or all great bookstores.
$19.95 AUD
Follow the tour below
March 18th
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March 19th
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March 20th
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March 21st
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March 22nd
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March 23rd
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March 24th
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March 25th
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About the book
Written by Nina LaCour
Published by UQP
240 pages
ISBN: 9780702262562
Add to Goodreads
Purchase from UQP or all great bookstores.
$19.95 AUD
Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even far away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.
An intimate whisper that packs an indelible punch, We Are Okay is Nina LaCour at her finest. This gorgeously crafted and achingly honest portrayal of grief will leave you urgent to reach across any distance to reconnect with the people you love.
About the author
Nina LaCour is the author of the widely acclaimed HoldStill, The Disenchantments, and Everything Leads to You.She is also the co-author, with David Levithan, of You Know Me Well.
Formerly a bookseller and high school English teacher, she now writes and parents fulltime. Still firmly rooted in the Bay Area, Nina loves cooking, gardening, and daytripping through the inspiring regions of Northern California with her wife and their daughter.
Find Nina on her
Top Five: Sarah's feel good reads
Hi, Sarah here. These are my Top Five Feel Good Reads for when you need a heart hug.
This story follows Clancy as she discovers who she is and how she fits into the world. It is a believable and beautiful coming of age, while coming out story. I cannot praise Mr Currie enough for managing to capture the pure hell and internal conflict of being a teen. I do not think there is anyone that hasn’t at some stage felt about themselves the way Clancy feels. She is relatable, regardless of her sexuality. We’ve all been teens (and maybe you still are) AND being a teenager sucks.
Dubbed as a YA retelling of You've Got Mail, but it is so much more than that, it is awkward and adorable and captivating. AH so freaking ADORABLE! The story is set in California and follows Bailey as she moves to a new town. The story is filled with surfers, museums, classic movies, first love and friends helping each other out. Oh, there is nothing like first love! Bailey and Porter are both so damn loveable, I fell for them both.
Set in northern Sydney The Sidekicks is the story of three very different boys. While on the verge of manhood they suffer the loss of a mutual friend. The story follows each of the boys as they go on to deal with their friend’s death. The trauma initially separates them, but by the end of the book it has brought them together with a closeness they never had before. This is a story of love, loss, friendship, sexuality, homophobia and just wanting to fit in.
You cannot finish this book without having a massive smile on your face, it’s just not possible. Ask anyone who has read it and they’ll tell you the same.
Simon vs. is a story of self-discovery, friendship, blackmail, being outed and love. A quirky coming of age tale that is so easy to get lost in. Simon is freaking adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him struggle, fumble and come out on top.
Simon vs. is a story of self-discovery, friendship, blackmail, being outed and love. A quirky coming of age tale that is so easy to get lost in. Simon is freaking adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him struggle, fumble and come out on top.
The Simple Gift is a story of friendship and second chances, of healing and new love, written in verse. The characters Caitlin, Billy & Old Bill are three people from different walks of life brought together by circumstance, with the result being that they all end up making each other’s life better.
Hi there. Do you have a Top Five you want to share?
We know we would love to read them!
We are asking for our readers to share their bookish Top Five’s for the group blog.
We are hoping to get enough interest to make this a regular post – email your Top Five ideas to australianyabloggers@gmail.com to be featured.
You can find Sarah via The Adventures of SacaKat Twitter Instagram and Goodreads
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