A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan review...(not my average review...)

Title- A Long Long Sleep.

Author- Anna Sheehan.

Publish date- 2011.

Publisher- Candlewick Press.

(Goodreads)

Review...

Synopsis:

Rosalinda Fitzroy wakes up to a new world. She was put into a chemically inchanced sleep called Stasis sixty-two years ago, sleeping through what has become known as The Dark Times, sleeping through the change of the world. And she is awoken by a kiss to find that nothing is the same. Her parents have both died. The boy she loved has died. And Rose is the heir to an interplanetary empire that's been running just fine without her for years. And to face all this Rose turns to painting, the thing she always really loved to do. She paints scenes from her Stasis, pictures of Xavier, the boy she lost, all the while adjusting, as much as she can, to this new world... maybe even falling in love. But, though she may be healing on the face of it, a much darker story is hidden and Rose has to face it, especially when her life becomes at risk.

Thank you to Karis at YA Litwit! I won it!

What I thought:

Page one. Swept up.

Page ten. Equally Swept up.

Page forty-six. Nabinki and Otto are most interesting.

Page fifty. I'm upto page fifty already?

Page fifty-four. She got a dog! He's so sweet!

Page seventy-five. Oh no, what's this? Bad. Very, very bad.

Page eighty-eight. Oh, hi Bren.

Page one-hundred-and-one. Stealthy Rose, stealthy.

Page one-fifty. Am I already almost half way? Bren, don't be so harsh! She's had a tough time!

Page two-hundred. Unfair unfair unfair horrid horrid horrid go away go away go away you nasties!

Page two-twentyfive. Aagh. Aagh. Aagh,

Page two-fifty. I hate you! How could you do that?!

Page two-fiftythree. Best scene ever.

Page two-seventythree. Leave I tell you! 

Page three-zeroeight. No!

Page three-ten. AAAAAAAGGGGHGHHHHH! No no no no no no. No. Please. Why?

Page three-twentyfive. Well I love that.

Page... page... page... page... More? Any more? Please. More?

More?

Genisis by Lara Morgan review...

Title- The Rosie Black Chronicles- Genisis.

Author- Lara Morgan.

Publish date- 2010.

Publisher- Walker Books.

(Goodreads)

Review...

Synopsis:

Rosie Black lives in the distant future. Her world is nothing like the one we now live in- The Melt has vastly changed how people live, destroying many cities along the way and now people are divided into The Haves, who are called the "Centerals", the Have-Nots, called the "Bankers" and those who live on the fringe, the "Ferals."

Rosie's a Banker. She fights to survive, which is more then her father seems to be doing. Really, she's fighting two battles. The one for her life and the one to make sure she's never late home. And things only get harder when Rosie finds a strange box that lots of people seem to be willing to kill for... and when Rosie is forced to go on the run, she is left to trust two complete strangers who she can't help but be unsure of- Pip and Boss- neither appear to be telling the whole story. And when your life is in the hands of others, knowing the whole story is a fundamental part of trust.

Thank you to Walker Books for this review copy!

What I thought:

I had been quite eager to read this for quite some time before I got my review copy; I heard of it shortly after it first cam out and was intrigued. It was one of the first dystopian novels I heard about, but I didn't know dystopian was a genre until much later, and I kept my eye on it over the following years, until I heard about the release of book 2 in the series and then requested a review copy of book 1, interested to see what it was like.

The world is very interesting; the way the different people have been sectioned into different catagories reminded me of Days Like This by Alison Stewart, where those with money live on the inside of the wall, being given luxury and life, and those without it are kept penned out, with nothing; it's a worrying fact the way money threatens to destroy every part of us, and I always find myself interested in reading about future worlds where it's happened; then there is the fact that Rosie goes to Mars, where her aunt is working- it's a questionable venture and was a bit too out there to go along with the rest of the story, a little too unbelieveable.

Really Genisis was like a cacophony of different ideas, some that fit together and some that didn't; it was as if there was just a little too much going on in the almost 500 pages that made up this book, and with a heroine like Rosie, who is a bit of a rebel but not that loveable, Genisis doesn't have me waiting eagerly to find out what happens next.

Two out of Five stars.

Romi.

Win a signed copy of Love Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur!

Hello!
If you've looked at some of my past posts you may (almost certainly is what I mean by "may") have read of a book called Love Aubrey by Suzanne Lafleur, or more likely, read something about the author herself; I have adored this book since just before it was released when I got a proof to review and since that time have had the amazing opportunity to get to know Suzanne herself; she very kindly sent me some copies of Love Aubrey, signed no less, to giveaway here and this is your first chance to win!
First, though, here are some relevant links...

I did a Q&A with Suzanne in December 2010, it was one of the first books I reviewed here on this bloggy, I was lucky enough to get a review copy of her second book, Eight Keys, to review, it was recommended in my GR article and they come up in numerous other posts on this blog.
I am, basically, the head of the Love Aubrey/Suzanne LaFleur fan club.

So, two readers will have the chance to win! I'm giving away a softcover and a hardcover copy for this giveaway...

This is the hardcover.

And this is the softcover.

Now... this competition is open in AUSTRALIA ONLY.
Make sure you don't enter if you're international otherwise I'll have to delete your entry, plus you get your hopes up only to have them dashed, which is sad.
Just follow raffie's instructions and you're set! I'll draw the competition in two weeks!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pan's Whisper by Sue Lawson review...

Title- Pan's Whisper.

Author- Sue Lawson.

Publish date- 2011.

Publisher- Walker Books.

(Goodreads)

Review...

Synopsis:

Pan Harper isn't exactly loving her current life. She's been sent to live with a foster family who already care for two other foster children and she hates the way they act as if she's a permanent fixture now. As if she's never going to leave.
But Pan is damaged. She hates the fact that her older sister stopped protecting her, allowed this to happen and everything seems too hard to bother, because it's almost certain that, if she doesn't make things change, they won't.
Then, when she meets Hunger, she starts to see things differently. And Hunter is testing Pan's most inportant rule to the breaking point... she knows never trust anybody. But maybe she can trust him.

Thank you to Walker books for this review copy!

What I thought:
I really love the premise of Pan's Whisper; the story, told from both Pan's point of view and her sister's, of a young girl who is taken from her family, seperated from the only person who has ever really protected her- her sister. Throughout the story the reader learns what happened that made Pan be put into a foster home, and there are snippets of information relating to her previous life.
Pan finds it hard to forgive and she hates her sister for letting what's happened happen, but she also hates most people, especially her new foster parents and the children they look after, because they live a loving life. They care for the children they look after. And Pan never got that.

It was a really interesting, very sad and moving book- I can't say that I connected with Pan as much as I did with her story; she was missing aspects that I look for in characters- the other characters were all fairly medicor and lacking, I felt- they seemed to be all partially there, but not fully finished off.

Overall I would say the idea struck me more then the book- it gives a lasting memory, but not so much for the actual story, but the story behind the story.

Romi.x

Inspiration of Sorts...

Over the past... month, two months, I have been busy Transcribing the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year. In december I got a notification that I was eligable for 5 free copies, professionally printed, of my work, so as I wrote it by hand, I've been most busy getting it all onto the computer!

I have finished transcribing now and have also revised, once. Now I'm onto a final revise and read through!

I'm so excited and generally thrilled by the whole process, knowing that I'm going to be getting actual copies of my book is such a powerful driving force that I'm not tiring at all!

Some inspirational pictures that I feel suit my story just perfectly are pictured below- all are from the internet and not my own.

Because it's always relevant.

It's so exciting! What do you think?
Romi.xxx

I claim no ownership of any of these images- copyright infringment not intended- if you are the owner of one of these images and would like it taken down, please contact me and I will do so immediately.

Wanda Wallaby Finds her Bounce by Jonathan Emmett review... (Picture Book)

Title- Wanda Wallaby finds her Bounce.

Author- Jonathan Emmett.

Publish date- May 2012.

Publisher- Bloomsbury.

(Goodreads)

Synopsis:

Wanda Wallaby is a marvallous walker, but she can't find her bounce and no matter what her father says, telling her it will come eventually, Wanda knows that she has got to find it; setting off early one morning Wanda looks around and asks many of the different animals she comes across if they have seen it... then she meets a Crocodile who offers to help!

Thank you to Bloombury for this review copy!

What I thought:

This is a very insteresting story, perfect for young readers, many of who will love reading about all the different animals, along with the animal facts in the back! 

The story of Wanda searching for her bounce is simple and sweet, with cute and descriptive pictures that will engage children of all ages, this would be a great gift for mothers with young children or new readers- especially out of Australia, because it features many animals only found in Australia!

Romi.x

The Horse Road by Troon Harrison.

Title- The Horse Road.

Author- Troon Harrison.

Publish date- May 2012.

Publisher- Bloosmbury.

(Goodreads)

Review.

Synopsis:

Kallisto loves horses more then most other things in her life; she is a passionate rider and loves racing her family's horses, but especially her horse, Swan. 

So when Swan is taken with threats to be sacrificed, Kallisto knows that she can't just watch as one of her best friends is taken from her and put to death. So, like the plucky girl she is, she sets out to the city, in desguise, and begins her quest to save Swan, facing many dangers through the process.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia for this review copy!

What I thought:

Hmm... I've never really read a book like this before- to me it was slightly akin to Dragon Keeper by Carol Wilkinson, in the writing style, and it didn't really feel like something brand new and never tried before story, a feeling that I didn't like.

Kallisto is certainly a plucky young character, but I didn't get attached to her, or feel any real fondness for her, she didn't have anything that made me really root for her or her quest.

This would be a wonderful book for major horse lovers and some middle grade fiction readers too, but a lot of people won't really like it, I don't think.

What do you think? Would you read it?

Romi.x

Storm by Bridgid Kemmerer review...

Title- Storm. (Elementals book 1)

Author- Bridgid Kemmerer.

Publish date- 30th April 2012.

Publisher- Allen and Unwin.

(Goodreads)

Review...

Synopsis:

Coming out from a waste of a Self Defence lession, Becca Chandler whitnesses two boys beating up another. Two to one. She knows she can't just watch as he's kicked and punched to pieces, so she goes in and helps the boy. It is then that she enters a world that she won't ever be able to forget. Because the boy she saw being beaten up was Chris Merrick. And neither he or his older brothers, are ordinary. They are Elementals and they are very, very dangerous. And soon Becca is in a lot of danger herself with her life at risk.
Who knew she would need those Self Defence lessions so badly.

Thank you to Allen and Unwin for this review copy!

What I thought:
I'm not sure how I'd class this book, genre wise- it's got that Supernatural element, but it's not really that much of a supernatural book. Neither is it Dystopian or Vampirey. It's YA FIC but that's as far as I get; I was really eager to see how I took to this book- it's very hype surrounded and has been reviewed as incredible, so it was intriguing to see how I took to it.
I don't find the cover particularly enticing and looking at it in a store I wouldn't buy it for the cover, but it is probably preferable to what must be the US/INT cover.
The main character, Becca, she lacked any real unique qualities that make her memorable to me and I didn't get attached to any of the Merrick brothers either- really the book was lacking the quailty that makes a book more then a book- it didn't have a plot line that inspired me and that I could imagine myself traipsing through, it didn't have characters that I liked and so I just didn't get the story. I couldn't let myself go and enjoy the experiance because it never became more then just words on paper, it never became a friend or confident or a book that I could invest all my aspirations into. One I could sink into and be swept into without delay. It was, for me, a book I didn't like.
I do, however, plead with you to try it yourself, because it is going to be many people's favourite books! Many people are going to get the joy from it that I did not and I would hate for those people to miss out on it because they didn't look into it any more after reading this review, it is only a guide from me and an expression of my feelings on this book. If you've been desperate for a copy of it yourself, then read an extract or find a copy in a bookshop and read a few pages. Then make the decision wether it will be able to become a great friend to you. If so or if not, I would love to find out!

Romi.x

Some more winners...

The winner of the Fairytale Giveaway hop was...

Megan Claire Reti.

The winner of the Spring Fling giveaway hop was...

Gecse Zoltan.

Both have replied.

Congratulations everyone and watch out for more giveaways soon!
Romi.x

French Ties by Jane Webster review...

Title- French Ties.

Author- Jane Webster.

Publish date- March 2012.

Publisher- Penguin.

(Goodreads)

Review...

Synopsis:

In this beautifully done book you will learn the second part (though it can be bought as a one off book) of the amazing story of a family from Australia who took their dream of living in France to the next stage. The Websters found and bought a beautiful home, Chateau de Bosgouet, which looks like a beautiful mansion to me, in the French countryside. Since then Jane, the author of this tale, has set up a business as well as living between Australia and France with her family. For all those with alike dreams and for those preparing to take the steps, this is the perfect book! And with a wonderful recipe section at the back, that is all the excuse you'll need!

Thank you to Penguin Australia for this review copy!

What I thought:
As soon as I opened this book I knew I was going to adore browsing through it's pages (Which smell rather nice!) and I did! I love the photography the most, it is enchanting and compliments the story so well- the house that the Websters bought is amazing and the story that goes with it is just as wonderful! I love the whole layout of this book, the cover, even the font! The only thing I didn't quite understand in this book is this- the family move between Australia and France and I don't know what their house in Australia is like, but if you have a house as exquisit as the one they own in France, I have no idea why you would ever leave!
Definitely get this, it's beautiful!

Romi.x

Favourite Quotes of April...

My favourite quotes from some of the books that I read in April...


"The four of them sat down on the floor and gazed around. It was gorgeous. Leslie gave a deep satisfied sigh. 'I love this room,' she said. 'Don't you feel the golden enchantment of it?...'"
Bridge to Teribithia by Kathrine Patterson. Leslie to her parents and Jesse.


"She had been right. The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live. Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness - and love. Books loved anyone who opened them. They gave you security and friendship and didn't ask for anything in return, they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly."
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Elinor.


"My hands closed on glasses from the bar, and I hurled them against the windows, where they smashed satisfyingly, leaving delightful-looking broken shards. I realized after a little while that no one was trying to stop me. In fact, Bren's grandfather had somehow sidled up beside me and was patiently handing me objects to throw. Bren stood in the doorway, out of the way of any shrapnel, with a look on his face that I can only describe as a serious smile."
A long long Sleep by Anna Sheehan. Rose.




I did read more then three books in April, but these were the only ones I wanted quotes from...

Starters by Lissa Price review...

Title- Starters.

Author- Lissa Price.

Publish date- March 2012.

Publisher- Random House.

(Goodreads)

Synopsis:

We are in a future world. The young can let the older generations, those with enough money, rent out their bodies for payment. You are as if alseep and the mind of the person renting you controls what you do, controls your every move. Of course, they have to keep between certain rules. But a murderer isn't really going to go by those rules. Not when all the evidence will be pointing to you.

And Callie is the one who's paying the price. Only, she's not giving up so easily.

Thank you to Random House Australia for this review copy!

What I thought:

I have become a big fan of Dystopian novels in the past year and have found myself being swept into countless different versions of our future society- some are controlled by terrible people, some live your life for you, some let you choose who you want to be and some don't. And some... well some just don't make sense to me.

I don't know if it's because this genre is starting to get overdone and so many ideas are being repeated in slightly different ways or maybe one just can't love every book in a particular genre, even if they sound fantastic, but I just didn't like Starters. I had been hanging out for it for quite some time when I recieved my review copy and I couldn't wait to delve into the pages, but when I did, the excitement left me. The storyline had me lost and confused, and a little disbelieving as well, to tell the truth. And I want to be able to believe in these future societys, because for me that's the reason I like them so much. It's a love hate relationship that I have with dystopian novels, I generally hate the worlds, what's happened to our lives and how we've lost things that we should have held close, but that is one of the reasons I like the books... they keep me greatful for the world we inhabit now and make me want to fight for the things I want to see in the future. Starters, however, was unbelievable.

I didn't really like Callie and though I understand why she rented her body in the first place, I don't understand why anyone would ever let themselves go through that particular methord of torture, because it would have to be mental torture, knowing that someone's been living as you and never really knowing what they've been doing. Never knowing the full story. 

I also feel that it is slightly akin to Unwind by Neal Schusterman, in the layout of the storyline and the writing style, and I couldn't get into Unwind either.

So it got me in the beginning and I never really gained any love for this book, which is always sad, but I do recommend getting it out from the library if you're interested in Starters, make sure you find out for yourself wether it suits you or not!

Romi.x

Random Reads #2.

It's already time for another Random Reads!

Hosted by Imlovingbooks Random Reads is an excellent meme where you go into your to read pile on goodreads (or count your to read books) and then get a website like random.org to choose a random number for you. In that month you have to read the chosen book! It's great fun!

Last month I got The Stastistical Probability of Love at First Sight and I'm still waiting for it to arrive from the library! It's been in transit for over 2 weeks now and I'm desperate for it to arrive!

This week my first pick isn't released until October, so my pick is...

Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo! 

Romi.x

Winners of 100, 200 and 300 follower giveaway!

I have drawn my 100, 200 and 300 follower giveaway and the winners are as follows-

Alisia won the $15.00 to the Book Depository.

Nicola T won her choice of my favourite book from 2012. (She choose The Fault in Our Stars!)

Jess S won the Shaun Tan journal.

All have replied. Congratulations and thank you everyone for entering!
And I'm still working out details for the winner of The Showers of Books giveaway.

Romi.xxx