Book Review; The Ghost Tree- Christina Henry

Publication date Sept 2020/ Publisher Titan 

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in her hometown, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won’t find the killer. After all, the year before her father’s body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids. So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can’t just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realises that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the centre. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.

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Book Review; Even If We Break- Marieke Nijkamp

Are you ready to play?

Page Count 336

 Publication date September 2020/ Publisher SourceBooks Fire

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

FIVE friends go to a cabin.
FOUR of them are hiding secrets.
THREE years of history bind them.
TWO are doomed from the start.
ONE person wants to end this.
NO ONE IS SAFE.

Are you ready to play?

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Book Review; A Deadly Education- Naomi Novik

Lesson One of the Scholomance

Page Count 336

 Publication date  2020/ Publisher Del Rey

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere. El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

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Birthdays And Blogiversarys

Today is my 32nd Birthday and 2 years since I officially relaunched An Average Life!

Since life has gotten so busy I’ve taken to mostly posting book reviews in 2020, although I do have a LOT of half written discussion posts saved in various places calling out to be scheduled. One day my pretties. One day.

Right now I should be in Minehead visiting family and checking out the EAT! Food & Drink festival.
I’m willing to bet it’s raining since in my 32 years of August birthdays I have had FIVE sunny ones. FIVE. The rest were either torrential rain and/or thunderstorms.

I am cursed.

I’ve accepted it. If you could do a little sun dance for me today though I would so appreciate it.

So to mark the 32/2 occasion here is a freestyle post I whipped up just for me!

On the subject of BIRTHDAYS; Top 10 novels on my Wishlist

Every birthday I receive book vouchers without fail and I am certainly not complaining. I’ll be agonising later over which to choose from my horrendously long Wishlist including..

Afterland – Lauren Beukes

The Hollow Ones – GDT & Chuck Hogan

Into The Drowning Deep – Mira Grant

Winterwood – Shea Ernshaw

Malorie – Josh Malerman

The Tenth Girl- Sara Faring

Brother- Ania Ahlborn

Piercing- Ryu Murakami

Neverwhere- Neil Gaiman

Dream Fall – Amy Plum

I’m also hoping JB has remembered I desperately wanted one of those wooden trays that sit over the bath so I can finally be trusted to read in there without dropping my tablet! I am THE clumsiest.

———-
On the subject of BLOGIVERSARYS; 10 things I’ve learned about book blogging so far.

Limit your time spent on Netgalley and always check the publication date.
Lord knows you don’t really need more books on an already tight review schedule.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to publishers.
What’s the worst that could happen? Keep trying.

Drama drama drama. Ignore it. Block it. Mute it.
Whatever you need to do to get back to the topic on hand, BOOKS.

Pick a theme and format your review posts in batches before you read the books.
All you have to do is add the review text when ready, I do that in batches too. I schedule several book reviews at a time to keep my engagement steady if I get too busy to post.

Write the review before you start your next read.
It needs to be fresh. Especially if like me you forget every character name the very next day!

Stick your nose in.
Are people tweeting about a book you’re interested in? Jump on into that thread. They can’t see you, they can’t hear you, sure they might ignore you a few times but you won’t know if you never speak up.

Read for yourself and only yourself.
You know what you like, don’t feel pressured to buy the latest releases or read them before anyone else. You’ll only waste your own time and money.

Interact with the newbies.
We’ve all been there, feeling like an outsider, wishing someone would converse with us, busting your ass for minimal views. Lend a helping hand, these are the people who will become loyal followers and bonus- they aren’t yet tainted by the dramarama.

Massive discord/ DM groups are a time suck and a battery drain.

Find your tribe or make your own.
Everyone belongs, you just need to discover where.

Well I hope that was interesting if not entirely useful to you! Thankyou all for reading my rambles. Here’s to the next year of living and blogging.

It’s gotta get better than 2020 right?

 

Book Review; The Year Of The Witching- Alexis Henderson

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy…

Page Count 320

 Publication date July 2020/ Publisher Transworld 

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

The daughter of a union with an outsider that cast her once-proud family into disgrace, Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol and lead a life of submission, devotion and absolute conformity, like all the women in the settlement.

But a chance mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood that surrounds Bethel – a place where the first prophet once pursued and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still walking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the diary of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realises the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her . . 

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