Sunday Summary: 15th March 2020

Sunday Summary: 8th & 15th March 2020!

Hi All!

Weekly Highlights is a feature that I used to do a few years ago that I have deicded to revive and revamp! So on Sunday’s (hopefully every one but it may be every other!) I plan to do a Sunday Summary, detailing what books I have read or am reading, what posts I posted, what books I received or bought and what posts/books are upcoming next week.

It is inspired by The Story Sirens In My Mailbox, Books, Biscuit and Tea’s Showcase Sunday, Kimba Caffeinated’s Sunday Post, and the British Letterbox Love, and Kris’ Wednesday Weekly.

Posts From 2nd - 8th March

It’s been another quiet one on the blog this week.

On Monday, I posted a my TBR for March. You can find that over here.

On Wednesday, I wrote a post about how I’ve been working on increasing my Bookstagram account. You can readhow I did it here here.

And lastly, on Thursday, I posted on World Book Day and shared which books shaped my children. You can read it over here.

Posts From 9th - 15th March

We had another smaller posting week this week,

On Wednesday, I posted my review of Yes No Maybe So. You can read my thoughts over here.

On Thursday, I reviewed Wilder Girls which you can read here.

And lastly, on Friday, I was back with my Book Lover Spotlight feature, you can meet Caroline over here.

Books I Read

Physical Books

Title: Wilder Girls
Author: Rory Power
Publisher: Pan Mac
Published: 6th February 2020
Format: Physical Book
Source:: Review Copy from Publisher
Add It: Amazon UK. Goodreads.
Summary: It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there’s more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.

Audiobooks

Title: The Vanishing Stair
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Published: 22nd January 2019
Format: eAudiobook
Source:: Scribd
Add It: Amazon UK. Goodreads.
Summary: All Stevie Bell wanted was to find the key to the Ellingham mystery, but instead she found her classmate dead. And while she solved that murder, the crimes of the past are still waiting in the dark. Just as Stevie feels she’s on the cusp of putting it together, her parents pull her out of Ellingham academy.

For her own safety they say. She must move past this obsession with crime. Now that Stevie’s away from the school of topiaries and secret tunnels, and her strange and endearing friends, she begins to feel disconnected from the rest of the world. At least she won’t have to see David anymore. David, who she kissed. David, who lied to her about his identity—son of despised politician Edward King. Then King himself arrives at her house to offer a deal: He will bring Stevie back to Ellingham immediately. In return, she must play nice with David. King is in the midst of a campaign and can’t afford his son stirring up trouble. If Stevie’s at school, David will stay put.

The tantalizing riddles behind the Ellingham murders are still waiting to be unraveled, and Stevie knows she’s so close. But the path to the truth has more twists and turns than she can imagine—and moving forward involves hurting someone she cares for. In New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson’s second novel of the Truly Devious series, nothing is free, and someone will pay for the truth with their life.

Books I'm Reading

Physical Books

Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting.

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill … or else everyone dies.

Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?

Funnier. Ruder. Angrier. Izzy O’Neill is back in the hilarious sequel to The Exact Opposite of Okay.

It’s been two months since a leaked explicit photo got Izzy involved in a political sex scandal – and the aftershock is far from over. The Bitches Bite Back movement is gathering momentum as a forum for teenage feminists, and when a girl at another school has a sex tape shared online, once again Izzy leads the charge against the slut-shamer. This time she wants to change the state law on revenge porn.
Izzy and her best friend Ajita are as hilarious as ever, using comedy to fight back against whatever the world throws at them, but Izzy is still reeling from her slut-shaming ordeal, feeling angry beyond belief and wondering – can they really make a change?

One green notebook. Six strangers. The chance to start being honest…

Six strangers with one universal thing in common: their lives aren’t always what they make them out to be.

But what would happen if they told the truth instead?

Julian begins The Authenticity Project – a small green notebook containing his ‘truth’ – to pass on and encourage others to share their own.

Little does he know that this small act of honesty will impact all those who come into contact with the book, and lead to a life-changing world of friendship and forgiveness…

eBooks

AGENT ZAIBA INVESTIGATES is a fun, contemporary new series for fans of The Sinclair’s Mysteries and the Murder Most Unladylike books.

Eleven-year-old Zaiba is obsessed with crime. Her Aunt Fouzia runs a detective agency back in Karachi and has turned Zaiba on to the brilliant Eden Lockett Mysteries. She has every book in the series – and the quilt cover, and the phone case. All she needs now is a crime to solve…

In book one, Zaiba is attending a family Mehndi party at The Grand Royal Star Hotel when she hears that the prized Italian Greyhound of a famous actress has gone missing from the star’s suite. With the help of her best friend and her little brother, the amateur sleuth manages to foil the petnapping plot and save the day.

Tala Warnock has little use for magic – as a descendant of Maria Makiling, the legendary Filipina heroine, she negates spells, often by accident. But her family’s old ties to the country of Avalon (frozen, bespelled, and unreachable for almost 12 years) soon finds them guarding its last prince from those who would use his kingdom’s magic for insidious ends.

And with the rise of dangerous spelltech in the Royal States of America; the appearance of the firebird, Avalon’s deadliest weapon, at her doorstep; and the re-emergence of the Snow Queen, powerful but long thought dead, who wants nothing more than to take the firebird’s magic for her own – Tala’s life is about to get even more complicated….

New Year’s Eve, London.

Outside the Hope & Glory pub, a man has been left to die. A victim of extraordinary violence, he will never walk or speak again. He remains in hospital, nameless, until criminal defence lawyer Sarah Kellerman walks onto his ward.

Sarah barely recognises the man she once worked with – he was honorable and kind – what was he involved in? Who wanted him dead? But in her race to uncover the truth, Sarah comes to realise that there are two men in her life that she never really knew at all…

From one of crime fiction’s most compelling voices, One Dark, Two Light sees the personal and the criminal collide, as Sarah reaches into the darkest corners to bring secrets into the light.

Audiobooks

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

Letterbox Love

Here are the books I’ve received this week!

Physical Books

JUNE, 1905.

Helena and her parrot, Orbit, are swept off to Cambridge when her father is appointed clock-winder to one of the wealthiest men in England. There is only one rule: the clocks must never stop.

But Helena discovers the house of one hundred clocks holds many mysteries; a ghostly figure, strange notes and disappearing winding keys… Can she work out its secrets before time runs out?

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now so I was very happy when this landed on my doorstep as part of my Random Acts of Kindness thread on twitter. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this!

I’ve had this book on my radar for a while so when I was asked to help organise a Bookstagram tour for it, I was very happy. I am already reading this one and will be reviewing it on my Instagram on Friday! Thank you Transworld for this review copy.

Things Tally is dreading about sixth grade:

— Being in classes without her best friends
— New (scratchy) uniforms
— Hiding her autism

Tally isn’t ashamed of being autistic — even if it complicates life sometimes, it’s part of who she is. But this is her first year at Kingswood Academy, and her best friend, Layla, is the only one who knows. And while a lot of other people are uncomfortable around Tally, Layla has never been one of them . . . until now.

Something is different about sixth grade, and Tally now feels like she has to act “normal.” But as Tally hides her true self, she starts to wonder what “normal” means after all and whether fitting in is really what matters most.

Inspired by young coauthor Libby Scott’s own experiences with autism, this is an honest and moving middle-school story of friends, family, and finding one’s place.

I first heard about this book at the Scholastic Showcase and have wanted it since so I was very happy when this landed on my doorstep as part of my Random Acts of Kindness thread on twitter.

Twins Arthur and Maudie receive word in Lontown that their famous explorer father died in a failed attempt to reach South Polaris. Not only that, but he has been accused of trying to steal fuel from his competitors before he died! The twins don’t believe the news, and they answer an ad to help crew a new exploration attempt in the hope of learning the truth and salvaging their family’s reputation. As the winged ship Aurora sets sail, the twins must keep their wits about them and prove themselves worthy of the rest of the crew. But will Arthur and Maudie find the answers they seek?

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now so I was very happy when this landed on my doorstep as part of my Random Acts of Kindness thread on twitter.

All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with.
But that’s tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife. It’s even harder when you live in a house that wanders all over the world . . . carrying you with it. Even worse, Marinka is being trained to be a Yaga. That means no school, no parties–and no playmates that stick around for more than a day.
So when Marinka stumbles across the chance to make a real friend, she breaks all the rules . . . with devastating consequences. Her beloved grandmother mysteriously disappears, and it’s up to Marinka to find her–even if it means making a dangerous journey to the afterlife.
With a mix of whimsy, humor, and adventure, this debut novel will wrap itself around your heart and never let go.

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now so I was very happy when this landed on my doorstep as part of my Random Acts of Kindness thread on twitter.

Bursting with brilliant characters, heart-stopping adventure and tons of laughs, this magical tale is perfect for fans of Nevermoor, Frozen and How to Train Your Dragon!

Way out in the furthest part of the known world, a tiny stronghold exists all on its own, cut off from the rest of human-kin by monsters that lurk beneath the Snow Sea.

There, a little boy called Ash waits for the return of his parents, singing a forbidden lullaby to remind him of them… and doing his best to avoid his very, VERY grumpy yeti guardian, Tobu.

But life is about to get a whole lot more crazy-adventurous for Ash.

When a brave rescue attempt reveals he has amazing magical powers, he’s whisked aboard the Frostheart, a sleigh packed full of daring explorers who could use his help. But can they help him find his family . . . ?

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now so I was very happy when this landed on my doorstep as part of my Random Acts of Kindness thread on twitter.

The summer after senior year is not going as eighteen-year-old Lu Charles expected: after her longtime boyfriend unexpectedly breaks up with her, Lu can’t write a single word, despite the fact that her college scholarship is tied to her columnist job at hip online magazine Misnomer. Then, she meets Cal.

Cal’s ever-practical girlfriend Iris is looking ahead to her first year of college, and her plans do not include a long-distance boyfriend. When Lu learns that Cal and Iris have planned to end their relationship at the end of the summer, she becomes fascinated and decides to chronicle the last months the couple will spend together.

The closer she gets to the couple, the more she likes them, and the more she wants to write about them. The summer unfurls, and Lu discovers what it really means to be in love. On the page, or off it. The book is touching exploration of love and how it shapes us both during a relationship and after it has ended.

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now so I was very happy when this landed on my doorstep as part of my Random Acts of Kindness thread on twitter.

If someone was in your house, you’d know.
Wouldn’t you?
But the Hunter family are deaf, and don’t hear a thing when a shocking crime takes place in the middle of the night. Instead, they wake up to their worst nightmare.

The police call Paige Northwood to the scene to interpret for the witnesses. They’re in shock, but Paige senses the Hunters are hiding something.

One by one, people Paige knows from the Deaf community start to fall under suspicion. But who would kill a little girl?

Was it an intruder?

Or was the murderer closer to home?

This book sounds right up my street and I cannot wait to dive into it! I’m on the blog tour for the book as well so keep an eye out for my review of what is hopefully a stunning book. Thank you to Avon for this review copy.

Fig Fitzsherbert is good at a lot of things: making lists, playing the piano, advanced mathematics. But it’s never quite enough for her high-flying mother, who every New Year’s Day sets Fig an impossible resolution. So one year, Fig decides to set her own challenge instead: she’s going to swim her way round the world. There’s just one tiny problem … Fig can’t swim. Taking it one length at a time, Fig embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. But with her mother closing in, will she be able to keep her head above water and complete her challenge? A quirky coming-of-age story, perfect for fans of Katy Birchall, GEEK GIRL and SUPER AWKWARD.

This looks like such a fun read and was completely unexpected which is always nice. Thank you Stripes Books for this review copy!

Cats in the bath. Cats in the cupboards. A hundred cats everywhere! Everyone in Jack’s class has a pet, but all Jack has is his little brother Freddie. And little brothers don’t make very good pets. But when Jack meets The Man With The Top Hat and his lovely cat Mrs Wilson, he’s about to get the pet he’s always wanted – and many, many more … A furry, funny and very cute Little Gem that’s full of heart from King of Comedy Jeremy Strong

As a cat lover, I love the sound of this book and cannot wait to see what it is all about. Thank you Barrington Stoke for this review copy.

Zinnie and her sisters live in the murky tunnels beneath Edinburgh’s Old Town. They keep out of the way of the authorities and remain undetected. Until, that is, rumours of a ghost bring unwanted visitors into the caverns they call home. Among them, a young Arthur Conan Doyle, keen to investigate, and MacDuff, the shady owner of Edinburgh’s newest attraction, the House of Wonders.

Caught up in a world of intrigue and adventure, Zinnie seeks answers. But how can she discover what secrets lie in the House of Wonders while also protecting the sisters she holds so dear?

A thrilling historical adventure featuring mystery in the tunnels beneath Victorian Edinburgh, for fans of Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine and Jennifer Bell.

Doesn’t this book look amazing? It is one that I am super excited to read soon. Thank you again Stripes Books for this review copy!

In four new novellas, Christina Henry returns to the universe she created for Alice and Red Queen, where magic runs more freely than anyone suspects, but so do secrets and blood.

Lovely Creature
In the New City lives a girl called Elizabeth, a girl who has a secret: she can do magic. But someone knows Elizabeth’s secret–someone who has a secret of his own. That secret is a butterfly that lives in a jar, a butterfly made by a girl called Alice.

Girl in Amber
Alice and Hatcher are just looking for a place to rest. Alice has been dreaming of a cottage by a lake and a field of wildflowers, but while walking blind in a snowstorm they stumble into a castle that seems empty and abandoned…at least until nightfall.

When I First Came to Town
Hatcher wasn’t always Hatcher. Once, he was a boy called Nicholas, and Nicholas fancied himself the best fighter in the Old City. No matter who fought him he always won. Then his boss tells him he’s going to battle the fearsome Grinder, a man who never leaves his opponents alive.

The Mercy Seat
Alice has a secret–a secret that not even Hatcher knows yet, but pretty soon she won’t be able to keep it from him.

I’ve been absolutely fascinated with Alice in Wonderland and specifically Christina Henry’s adaptations of the books for a while so I am really looking forward to this book. Thank you Titan Books for this review copy!