Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics or Ten Comics

I own Comics but they're mostly Iron Man ones with a few Avenger and Fantastic 4 ones thrown in there.  Unfortunately I owneed nothing else with visuals in so I cant really do this Top Ten Tuesday list.

I could have interpreted the topic as most pleasing book covers or something along those lines but I really want to try and stick as close to the orgininal topic.

One book though that I loved the design and page work was The Girl Of Ink and Stars  by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.




Top ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Around the World in 80 Tales - Dave Tomlinson

Book Summary: 
80 Stories, 25 Countries, 5 Continents, One Heck of a Ride! A journey of captivating true travel stories from that will inspire, amuse and amaze. This fascinating kaleidoscope of people, places, food and culture brings to life the colourful experiences of travelling the world on a budget!

Review:

I've always wanted to travel, since I've been a child I was always thinking of where I should go, for how long and what I would do there and most importantly how I would get there. As I grew I begun to see the full picture, how much it was going to cost to go to places I craved to visit, I even made plans for a road trip through American once with a few friends, we planned the majority of and I still quite embarrassingly have the notepad document on my laptop that I typed  it all in. The plan of course fell through, distance grew between me and everyone involved yet the very need in me to visit America and everywhere else to see all of these beautiful things still lingered within me.

So when Dave contacted me and told me about his new travel book Around the World in 80 Tales I really couldn't say no. It is one of the greatest things I've gotten to read about the world, the people scattered around it and the wonderful views and experiences to be had outside of my home.  I'm beyond envious of Dave's journeys, incredibly in awe of the photo's he took, the experiences he had and those who gave him a glimpse into their life and were so generous on his travels through each place.

Each story is short and engaging, accompanied by beautiful photos. Reading each story at home tucked under a roof in between 4 walls I was in a constant state of seeing myself in each situation, even in those not so very 'glorious' ones Dave will know which ones I'm talking of! and a state of pure envy which would physically ache my chest. Each story is pure and true, in no way exaggerated or altered for our pleasure, they are real life moments, memories and breath taking moments. Dave made me envious but reading his tales, poured gasoline on the flame inside of me that wants to travel.

I am beyond thankful for Dave having shared with not only me but you, his stories, its been a great experience and a very much eye opening one. As you know before now I have wanted to travel, to experience cultures and peoples generosity whilst experiencing great things, now I don't 'want' to travel, I thrive to, I pray and hope to do so even if its only to a few places, it's still an adventure or several, all of which I would be thankful to have experienced.

Having bought me so much joy and laughs I can't reward this book anything less than a 5/5. I recommend it to anyone who wants to travel but haven't got the time or money or are going to be traveling and want some ideas on where to go and activities to do. Thank you to Dave who provided me with a copy for a review.

All We Know Book Club

IT'S HERE!

Back in December, me and my best friend partnered up to bring the world another Book Club. Admittedly we have very little to no experience with this sort of thing, we just share the mutual love for books and authors.

It took up time to figure out even the most basic of things like what we would actually be called, in the end we settled for All We Know, we just felt like it fitted and so we let it stick. The logo was a lot less thought out, I chose a font, and a picture from just a few in a list, picked a colour and arranged them into a way I felt looked good and the end result wasn't at all bad.

From then till now has been a while and somehow it feels a lot longer if I'm honest. In those days Sophie and I have sat and spoken about the finer details of the club. The Club went live on Goodreads on the 30th of December 2016, since then we've been calling for members who just urge to discuss their opinions on books and authors with us.

We came to a joint decision to not hold a discussion this month just don't to the fact it would have been short notice for everyone and we didn't exactly have people knocking on the door to join. So the first book club in February.

Below is all you need to know;

• Book Club is held on the 2nd to last Saturday of each month
• The first book club will be held on the Saturday 18th February 2017
• Time is not relevant due to personal schedules and time zones, just discuss and respond whenever you can once the set discussion day has come.
• Follow the rules of the book club which are displayed on the page itself.
• After the initial discussion of the book we will give suggestions of the next book in the same session, this then gives everyone 1 week to get a hold of the book before the month starts which will then give them 2-3 weeks to read the book at their own pace and prepare for the discussion.








If you feel like we at the book club for you come on over and join us (click here to be taken to the book club page), introduce yourself on our first discussion and if in time, suggest your book idea for the first ever book up to discuss on the 18th of February, then get reading and join us later to discuss.

Cardiac: A Jack Getty Thriller - Jeffrey Monaghan

Synopsis:

What if the one thing meant to keep you alive was used to kill you?

Embattled CEO Jack Getty is nervous. This is his final chance to save his company. He is announcing his firm's breakthrough discovery at the world’s largest annual biotech conference. A discovery that trials show will extend human life by 75%. But as Jack approaches the podium, he suffers a major heart attack and collapses onto the stage, stunning the conference attendees.

Jack is rushed to the emergency room where surgeons implant the latest Wi-Fi enabled pacemaker, saving his life in the process. What Jack doesn’t know, however, is that an underground hacking group has its sights set on manipulating his “secure” pacemaker to get information only he can provide. Despite the hackers unrelenting terror, Jack refuses to give them what they want and soon starts to uncover the true motives of this mysterious and powerful group.

Fast-paced and complex, this medical/techno thriller twists and turns as it stays one step ahead of the reader. Readers will find it a heart-pounding novel that dances on the fringe of the dangers lurking within today's modern technologies.

Review:

Cardiac is the perfect story to make anyone paranoid about any wireless device yet alone pacemakers. You are taken right into the story, there's really not much fussing around when it comes to starting. Everything is perfectly fine until Jack gets on the stage where he suffers a huge heat attack. The pace seems to slow down a lot, I feel like it happened just so suspense was built and so that you were really able to connect and get to know the characters and the ins and outs of their actions.

I found it really easy to fall for Jack, he was just a relaxed character, charming and very family orientated and caring and not only just to his family but also all of those that work for him at his company. Cynthia, Jacks wife was a great character, she always had her head turned on and she was always doing best for her kids and husband, she was never anything less than a great mother and wife in her situation. I felt like Declan who is Jacks youngest son at the age of 13 was portrayed as a perfect 13 year old like he was portrayed perfectly, a kid who behaved and was rewarded for that and loved Minecraft and had a great creative flare. Yet he also had that 'still a 7 year old' flare when it came to his emotions. Michael was a casual 18 year old, a grown up in the way of he was doing what he loved, which was playing for his band that was made out of his friends whilst also having independence and responsibilities and a perfect emotional range.

The plot was really intriguing and thrilling, it made me truly wonder what if. I felt my heart do a few very weird things during the reading of this book. Cardiac is definitely a masterpiece of a new kind, a kind of creativity that is unique and thrilling. Cardiac was the first book I tested my new level of love for a book chart on, every 25 pages I would pause and colour in a square next to the title in the shade of crayon that I had linked with my emotions towards the progress, its clear to say that Cardiac was a clear Great scorer throughout and the perfect try out for my new chart.

I didn't really want to go into too much detail about the goings on's from the book just because if I did that would ruin all of the tension the pages were meant to build up, it is a definite read for someone who like technology and their possibilities and also thrillers just because it was a really great one. Different from other thrillers but still on the same wavelength.

4.5 out of 5, a great read that I'm glad I got around to reading, I hope you like what I had to say about this book and feel free to grab a copy and come back and share your thoughts with me, I cant wait to see what Jeffrey has in store for the future.

Top Ten Tuesday - Underrated Books I've Read

The Food Of Love - Amanda Prowse

The Easy Way Out - Steven Amsterdam

The Two O'clock Boy - Mark Hill

 

Ravens Peak and Ravens Fall -  Lincoln Cole

          

    

  Risen, Ascent and A Strange Chemistry - M.T.Miller

 

The Edge of Juniper - Lora Richardson

Just Juliet - Charlotte Reagan

 

The Sign of One - Eugene Lambert

Gravedigger - Michael Israel Jarvis

 

The Flight Of The Pickerings - John Grayson Heide

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish

The Dry - Jane Harper

Synopsis:
A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.

After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.

Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.

Review: (I'm going to try to not give away too much)

You're thrown into the deep end when you begin this book, Aaron Falk returns to his hometown after decades away to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend Luke. The majority of the town believes Luke had shot his eldest son and wife dead in their family home before killing himself in a clearing not far from his house. The town accept it and grieve the loss of the family as well as trying to get by in a drought.

Aaron Falk doesn't want to stay in the town longer than a day, but after the funeral Luke’s father approaches him asking him for help and he just can't refuse. He agrees to stay a little longer but after that he's definitely gone.

Each and every day Falk has is interesting, When certain things happen we get to see a little into the past of the Aaron all the way back to when it was him and his best friend Luke as they hung out with 2 other friends.

The characters were so well written,so interesting and engaging. I loved how much of a great main character Aaron was. It was just so exciting to see him pull all of the pieces of the puzzle together. Thankfully there was no super sloppy romance like some of the other novels of this genre that I have read. It was quite nice to spend the large majority of the story on the main plot line instead of swerving off to a out of place romance.

I enjoyed how quickly the tide would turn, you'd be lead in one direction and you'd believe you had it all figured out and then all of a sudden you're ripped away and in the other direction taking you back to square one. It kept me gripped and I found it hard to put down.

The ending took me completely by surprise and other did have to sit in silence for half an hour after finishing it, clutching it to my chest trying to fully absorb everything I had felt I had experienced.

Jane did an amazing job right from the start, she created scenes so well written I swear I could feel the hot unforgiving sun bearing down on me. It is an incredible thrilling debut from Jane and I can't wait to see what else she has up her sleeves for us in the future.

It's a 5/5 from me, it'd be an 11/10 if I went that high. It's a definite must read for some of you out there that just can't wait to sink into a mystery. Give it a shot and let's see if you can figure it out before the end what happened to the Hadler family.

Blog Tour: The Dry by Jane Harper

THE DRY

JANE HARPER

Published in hardback by Little, Brown on 12 January 2017, £12.99

‘One of the most stunning debuts I’ve ever read . . . Every word is near perfect. The story builds like a wave seeking the purchase of earth before it crashes down and wipes out everything you might have thought about this enthralling tale’ David Baldacci

‘Terrific characters, unique and evocative setting, knockout plot construction. This book has it all’ John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Fall

‘You will feel the heat, taste the dust and bling into the glare. The Dry is a wonderful crime novel that shines a light into the darkest corner of a sunburnt country’ Michael Robotham, CWA Gold Dagger Winner, bestselling author of Life or Death

‘Every so often a debut novel arrives that is so tightly woven and compelling it seems the work of a novelist in her prime. That’s what Jane Harper has given us with The Dry, a story so true to setting and tone it seemed I fell asleep in Virginia only to wake in the Australian heat. It’s rare, that sense of transportation, and I loved every minute of it’ John Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Redemption Road

‘It’s extremely rare and exciting to read a debut that enthrals from the very first page and then absolutely sticks the landing. Told with heart and guts and an authentic sense of place that simply cannot be faked, The Dry is the debut of the year’ C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Off the Grid

I just can’t understand how someone like him could do something like that.

Amid the worst drought to ravage Australia in a century, it hasn’t rained in small country

town Kiewarra for two years. Tensions in the community become unbearable when three

members of the Hadler family are brutally murdered. Everyone things Luke Hadler, who

committed suicide after slaughtering his wife and six-year-old son, is guilty.

Policeman Aaron Falk returns to the town of his youth for the funeral of his childhood

best friend, and is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. As questions mount and

suspicion spreads through the town, Falk is forced to confront the community that

rejected him twenty years earlier. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret, one

which Luke’s death threatens to unearth. And as Falk probes deeper into the killings,

secrets from his past and why he left home bubble to the surface as he questions the truth

of his friend’s crime.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jane Harper has worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK.

She lives in Melbourne and currently writes for the Herald Sun. Jane is originally from the

UK and moved to Australia in 2008. The Dry is her first novel.

Janeharper.com.au

FURTHER PRAISE FOR THE DRY

‘Every now and then an Australian crime novel comes along to stop your breath and haunt your dreams…There is about The Dry something mythic and valiant ... This is a story about heroism, the sins of the past, and the struggle to atone.’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘A razor-sharp crime yarn dripping in the sights, sounds and smells of the Australian bush…The storytelling is accomplished, with a bald sparseness to the writing that draws you in and characterization that rings resoundingly true…as the action twists and turns, the pace build[s] to a fantastic finale that will leave you breathless.’―Australian Women’s Weekly

‘A tightly plotted page-turner that kept me reading well into the night…Harper shines a light on the highs and lows of rural life – the loyalty born of collective endurance in adversity, as well as the loneliness and isolation, and the havoc wrought by small-town gossip. She also explores the nature of guilt and regret, and the impact of the past on the present. In this cracker of a book Harper maintains the suspense, with the momentum picking up as it draws to its nerve-wracking conclusion.’

―Australian Financial Review

‘The Dry is a page-turner written with a maturity of style rarely seen in a first-time novelist and it’s here the writer excels. Harper’s exploration of the pressures of a small town where people are not able to escape the past is thoughtful and mature. Her plot twists and layering are intricate and subtle and keep you guessing to the end while the townspeople grow on you despite their dirty secrets. Harper’s well-executed final scenes are both filmic and tense, and sure to spark a few did-you-guess-it discussions.’ ―The West Australian

‘Devastating debut…a suspenseful tale of sound and fury as riveting as it is horrific.’ Publishers

Weekly, starred review

‘A stunner…It’s a small-town, big-secrets page-turner with a shocker of an ending.’ Booklist, starred review

‘You can almost feel the searing heat of the Australian drought in this intense, gripping, atmospheric read.’ Kate Hamer, bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat

‘Put up your tray table, buckle your seatbelt, and sit back: you’ve found the right book for this flight. Set in the flash-ready tinder of a town going under, The Dry is a cracking good read that will have you hoping the pilot decides to circle the airport before landing.’ Laura McBride, author of We Are Called to Rise

‘Debut author Harper plots this novel with laser precision, keeping suspects in play while dropping in flashbacks that offer readers a full understanding of what really happened . . . A chilling story set under a blistering sun, this fine debut will keep readers on edge and awake long past bedtime’ Kirkus Reviews

For further information please contact Grace Vincent

For further information please contact Grace Vincent

Grace.Vincent@littlebrown.co.uk / 020 3122 6590

What I have to say

The Dry is one of those books that grips you from the very beginning; throwing you right in at the deep end, the funeral of a young family that was, on the surface, a murder suicide as a result of economic depression within a small town. Returning home for the first time in so many years is Falk, who has hidden secrets about his shared past with the friend everyone assumes killed his wife and eldest child.

I fell in love with the setting of this book, you can really feel the suffocating heat. Falk had gotten out years ago, and is prepare to do it all again but after he's done what he came back to do, he is drawn back in to the low whispers and secrets of his small town home.

The writing is beautiful and really draws you in to this crime mystery, It incorporated small town drama whilst also being sensitive to the tragedy at the very centre of the story. I love crime thrillers so I really did enjoy this.

A full review of this book will feature on this blog this coming Saturday, return then to find out everything I have to say about this masterpiece.

Top Ten Tuesday - 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To (But TOTALLY plan to)

This Savage Song  by Victoria Schwab

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

When We Collided by Emery Lord

Ruined by Amy Tintera

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish

Inkitt Android App Launches Globally

The Inkitt App brings thousands of novels by indie authors to android. 

Inkitt empowers readers and publishers to discover world’s next best sellers

BERLIN, JANUARY 7, 2017: Inkitt, the world’s first readers and data-driven book publishing house is introducing an Android app for phones and tablets, globally available from today.

Inkitt’s iOS app became available back in November and was well received by users: The app was not only featured on the US App Store but also on numerous other App Stores around the world, as well as on the front page of Product Hunt, ranking in the top 10 in Tech.

Following the warm welcome by the iOS community, and in order to meet the demand of their own fast growing user base, Inkitt is now bringing their digital library with thousands of novels by emerging authors to Android devices.

“It was a great reward to see Inkitt featured as a top app in numerous App Stores around the world and receive such great feedback from users” says Inkitt’s Founder and CEO, Ali Albazaz. “Readers were really excited about the iOS app but kept asking when we’re launching on Android too. We heard them, worked really hard and today we’re bringing Inkitt to Android devices. All readers will now be able to discover tomorrow’s bestsellers on the go and read great novels by upcoming authors wherever they are.”

Inkitt for Android - 4 key features:

● Access to thousands of novels from all fiction genres: fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, horror, romance, drama, action, adventure, YA and more
● Personalized reading suggestions: hand-picked novels based on a reader’s favorite fiction genres
● Customizable look to match user preferences (e.g. font size, color combinations)
● Online/Offline: readers can save novels to their offline library to access them anytime

Beyond being a platform connecting aspiring authors with book lovers, Inkitt’s mission is to become the world’s fairest publishing house: Its in-house developed algorithm analyzes reading behavior to determine the potential of a novel to become the next bestseller. Using this unique data-driven approach, Inkitt wants to ensure that great works by new and talented writers never again stay in the dark.

Since July, Inkitt has published 7 novels: Catalyst Moon: Incursion by Lauren L. Garcia (Fantasy), Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan (YA Romance), I Was A Bitch by Emily Ruben (YA Romance Mystery), Esper Files by Egan Brass (SciFi) and Caged by Onaiza Khan (Psychological Thriller),  King’s Lament by Lilia Blanc (Fantasy Romance) and Three Fat Singletons by J.M. Bartholomew (Humor Romance), six of which became bestsellers on Amazon.

Inkitt for Android will be available to download on Google Play from the 7th of January 2017

Download the app using this link:
https://inkitt.app.link/androidglobal
And enjoy.


About Inkitt

On the surface, Inkitt (www.inkitt.com) is a platform where aspiring writers can share their novels and inquisitive readers can unearth fresh content. But under the hood, we are democratizing publishing: The Inkitt algorithm analyzes reading behavior to predict future bestsellers. In other words: if readers love it, Inkitt publishes it.







All material sourced from:

MEDIA CONTACT

marvin@inkitt.com

Just Juliet - Charlotte Reagan

Synopsis:

Juliet represents the road less travelled. Will Lena take it?
Lena Newman is 17, her best friend’s a cheerleader, her boyfriend’s a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that’s before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian.

Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested.

Review:

(copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.)

Just Juliet follows Lena, a senior in high school and pretty satisfied with life: she has a boyfriend who’s sweet, has friends she loves and unproblematic parents. But at 17 years old she's in a relationship that isn't exactly thrilling even though her other half is a football player, the romantic feelings are nil void mostly on her part. She simply thinks he's too nice for what she deserves.

Then Juliet comes along, she's tall, beautiful and artistic. Lena finds herself quickly, completely preoccupied with her and she cant understanding why. As their friendship grows, she begins to realise that she is attracted and borderline obsessed with Juliet. Never having questioned her sexuality before, and only having dated boys before, Lena goes through a period of confusion, trying to make sense of her feelings. She researches the topic and confides in her new gay friend, Scott. At the end of this journey, Lena discovers and learns to accept she is Bisexual.

Just Juliet  is not only about self discovery, but the struggles of "coming out". It deals with a variety of situations ranging from love and acceptance to physical end emotional abuse, drug abuse, loss of loves ones. Reagan does a wonderful job of including a range of real-life struggles for homosexual and bisexual teens without straying from the story or bogging it down.

I feel bad that Lena's parents are always too busy to spend time with her, that they would much rather work all the time instead of cherish their time with their daughter who's growing up quickly. However Mr James, Juliet's father was really a parent figure anyone would ever want, caring, accepting, utterly brilliant at being both cool and a responsible human. like what else could you want as a parental figure?

I fell in love with each character that played a main part in the story, from the start I could see how great Juliet and Lena would be together, they seemed to instantly click. I felt like if they were real people who were in my life, I'd be drawn to them, they seem like they would be great people. As for Quin I could instantly feel that he was going to be either a huge jerk or over protective, turns out he can be a little of both. Best friend Lacey kind of got on my nerves a little, it wasn't anything about her part in the story I just had a feeling she was the typical cheerleader chick, goby and way to overpowering to anyone who isn't a cheerleader. I felt she sort of always felt the need to be one above everyone else or be really flashy.For Lena's other friends whom she sits with each lunchtime were nice characters and although not a huge part of the story, they were helping the storyline progress and it was nice to see more than just one friend all the way through. To see Lena meet new people and develop a friendship with them was actually beautiful to witness, it just felt like that should be how every friendship should form and survive.

The ending of the book really blew my emotions way out of line, I mean by the end I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, run up and down the street doing both? I mean it was that good. I did think the ending was going to be a bombshell of a ending but it was like putting a bath bomb into a bath, slowly fizzling out completely, slow enough to cherish its beauty. Like for real people, I'm not even sure the bath bomb explanation worked out but I'm sticking with it.

Defiantly a 5/5 for this book, definitely worth getting, its such a pleasant read and really doesn't take long to get through. loved it from cover to cover.

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten 2017 Debuts I'm Excited For

Caraval - Stephanie Garber

Empress Of A Thousand Skies - Rhoda Belleza

Song Of The Current - Sarah Tolcser

It Started With Goodbye - Christina June

The Dry - Jane Harper

Cold Summer - Gwen Cole

How To Break A Boy - Laurie Devore

The Continent - Keira Drake

Wing Jones - Katherine Webber

It's Not Like It's A Secret - Misa Sugiura

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish