Weekly Wrap Up week 14 and 15 31/8/14

Welcome to this week's weekly wrap up! This wrap up includes two weeks as I have been on holiday so missed a week out. As it is the last day of the month, this has also included titles that I have read in the month.

I am just going to break down the books I have managed to read and if I have received any/ bought any. 

This week I have been sent: 

Don't Tell Mum by Simon Haggart
WTF Knits by Gabrielle Grillo 
Cute Emergency by Tony Heally 
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 
All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
Crossing the Line by Kerry Wilkinson
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

This week I have bought: 

I have been really good and have not bought anything. 

Books I have read this week:

It had to be you - Ellie Adams
The Extraordinary Journey of The Fakir who got trapped in an IKEA wardrobe - Romain Puertolas
Confessions - Kanae Minato
Dear Daughter - Elizabeth Little
The Story of Us - Danni Atkins

Books I have read in the month:

The Beach Hut Next Door
The 100 
If I stay
The Boys School Girls 
The Extraordinary Journey of The Fakir who got trapped in an IKEA wardrobe 
It had to be you
Dear Daughter
Confessions
The Story of us
Your Beautiful Lies (currently reading)

As you can see I have had a good reading month in August, I did go on holiday for one week which really helped me. Unfortunately I don't think my reading is going to be this good for a long time as I am starting back at work full time next week. 

All these books I have read I have reviewed, look out for the reviews on The Book Corner soon.

What have you received/bought this week?

How much reading have you managed to get done? Leave me a comment below to connect. 

I hope you all had a great reading week and thanks for stopping by today.

The Boys' School Girls: Tara's Sister Trouble - Lil Chase

The Boys' School Girls: Tara's Sister Trouble by Lil Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hillcrest High Boys' School is admitting girls for the first time, and Tara couldn't be more excited. New friends? Check. Cute boys? Check. Mean sister gone? Wrong...

When she discovers Maxie is joining the school too, Tara is crushed. How can she be her own person when her cleverer, prettier sister seems determined to outshine her? And sibling trouble isn't Tara's only problem.

With only ten girls in the year, they're going to have to stick together to survive. Boys against girls? Bring. It. On.




Tara has just been transferred to Hillcrest High Boys’ school which for this year are introducing girls to the school. The main reason is that she has a crush on a boy who attends and thought this would be the perfect way of him noticing her. On arriving at the school Tara finds out that she is one of 9 girls who are attending the school, one of which has also followed her from her old school and is her enemy.

Tara has a sister, one who is only 11 months older than her, but thankfully attends a different school. Tara’s world comes crashing down when it is revealed that Maxie (her sister) is going to be attending Hillcrest along with Tara as she has been expelled from her school for gifted children.

This story is about friendship and family. Throughout the story many issues are covered and at times I felt the girls have behaved very maturely as they are only 11 going on 12. I feel this is a good beginning of a series and will appeal to many, those who are feeling isolated and alone will also benefit from reading this. I remember falling out with friends when I was this age and felt the whole world was against me. This book would have helped me realise this is a normal thing, and many go through feeling this at some point.

As an older reader I was quite surprised, sometimes when reading a middle grade book I get a little annoyed or cross as the level of immaturity irritates me. I didn’t feel this while reading it. Tara came across as quite a feisty girl but one who cared about her family and friends. While Maxie was not likable at the beginning, however my opinion of her changed towards the end. The other characters are a little 1 dimensional; this I feel is because there are so many of them in the book and you as a reader never really get to know them well.

The book was read in one sitting, it is an easy read which passed the time well. There is not a lot of substance to it, so if you are looking for something meaty this may not be for you. However I believe this has captured the target audience and will do very well. The book does open your eyes to what is important in life and perhaps what the girls think is important to begin with actually isn’t. This is something though that I feel a lot of girls entering teenage years feel and at the age the girls are this is not uncommon.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Spare Brides - Adele Parks

Spare Brides by Adele Parks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The 1920s: a time of hope, promise - and parties. But not all the men came home, after The War.

Meet the spare brides.

Young, gorgeous - and unexpectedly alone.

Ava relishes the freedom of being single.
Sarah fears no one can replace her hero husband.
Beatrice finds it hard to shine, next to her dazzling friends.
And Lydia is married, rich, privileged: so isn't she one of the lucky ones?

Then a chance encounter changes everything.

Angry, damaged and dangerously attractive, Edgar Trent is an irresistable temptation.

And the old rules no longer apply...



Spare Brides is essentially about four upper class ladies and their adjustment to life after WW1. Friends who have previously lead silly giddy lives where the most difficult decision they have had to make in a day is what dress or shoes they should wear suddenly are given responsibility, jobs and a purpose in life. In reality this is a book about awakening, friendship, the search for direction and happiness and Adele Parks takes us on a journey that changes each of these women's lives forever.

The characters are flawed before the war but these flaws are made all the more visible to themselves and those around them when the war ends and the heavy price that victory has cost them is painfully brought home to them with the loss of loved ones, and the realisation that nothing will ever be the same again.

With thousands of men lost, and damaged and crippled survivors coming home this means challenges for everyone. For the upper class women it means fewer husbands available forcing those who don't find marriage the turmoil of what they will do with their lives, they have no purpose and no direction. Beatrice falls into this unenviable category; sister to Sarah whose husband is killed in the war leaving her with two children to bring up alone, Bea was hoping to find happiness and marriage before the war but being less attractive than other girls her 'coming out' was a disaster due to the start of the war and dashed all her hopes of happiness. Her story is of loneliness and tragic acceptance to a life of emptiness. Then there's Sarah who loses the love of her life and spends every day mourning for him and trying to bring up two children alone. Sarah and Bea become the 'spare parts' and looked on with pity, being offered invitations to events as a courtesy.

We meet the beautiful Ava, enchanting, mesmerising, scandalous, vivacious, most of the men lust after her and most of the women secretly envy her. Seemingly a frivolous and self-centered flapper, Ava is a much more complex and fragile character than she first appears. War work has given these women some purpose in life and they are enjoying their new found freedom it's inconceivable that things can return to the way they were before the war and of course they can't. Ava doesn't just want to be a wife she wants to have a career or make a difference in this new world. She is absolutely determined not to end up like Bea just because she doesn't want to marry, she wants a career. She fights to find herself and surprisingly uses her new found courage to help her friends not least Bea to find strength within themselves to try something new.

Then there's Lydia; having made a successful marriage to Lord Chatfield and soon to become a Countess when her father-in-law dies, she is tormented by being unable to produce an heir although she is envied by others as she is spared the grief of losing a husband to war. When she is drawn to Edgar Trent it is difficult for those who know her to believe she would be willing to sacrifice a husband and grand lifestyle that the others most want for what they believe to be a silly infatuation. To her friends it seems equally unfair that she should have two men when some women have none. She embarks on a dangerous affair but learns a lot about herself along the way and what really is important in her life.

Beautifully written, Adele Parks does not disappoint in this novel. Passionate and at times poignant she takes the reader through the giddy, lavishness of pre war frivolous trophy women and pompess Victorian men to a very different country post WW1. Four friends each with their own secrets and desires, each facing their own demons and trying to adjust to a post war life that is trying to hold on to the old values while having to move forward into the new world where social boundaries were blurred and embracing change was frightening and exhilarating in equal measure.

Returning soldiers who managed to come back relatively intact had the pick of the 'spare brides' leaving no room for those less fortunate plain women. My heart ached for Bea the wallflower when the war ended, with no great looks or dowry to rely on she has to face the painful realisation that she'll be left on the shelf and die an old maid. Parks takes us from the eager intelligent puppy like girl to the resigned, often humiliated and wary woman that she becomes.

But this novel is not all doom and gloom; there are some unexpected twists and turns which I won't reveal that go on to make this a satisfying and happy read. Each of the four characters are well developed; it is easy to identify and sympathise with them all and each one brings something fragile and raw to the story to touch your heart. It seems that the war fought on the front was a prelude to the war that inevitably has to take place once the men return and the fighting is over. This war did change lives forever, it opened up opportunities, it broke down social barriers, it left families destroyed by the horror of war and the guilt of profiteering from it but it also meant new beginnings which comes across very well in this novel. It was awful, it was brutal, the struggles of both men and women during this time were monumental and Adele Parks deals with this brilliantly in her book.

I have to give this book a 5 star rating, it was beautifully written, brutally honest, heartbreakingly real but mostly it was a book that I would not have wanted to miss - it would make a great film. You have to read it.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

If I Stay - Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The last thing Mia remembers is the music.

After the accident, she can still hear it. And she can see her damaged body being taken from the wreck of her parents' car - even though she can't feel a thing.

All she can do is watch as doctors rush to save her life, as her friends and relatives gather outside her room, as the boy she loves struggles to be near her.

As the next twenty-four hours unfold, Mia must come to terms with what came before the crash - and what could come after. And she knows she must make the most difficult choice of all.



When I got sent this from the publishers to read and review I couldn’t wait; I heard that it was going to be made into a film and I was keen to read this before its release. Being just over 200 pages I knew it wasn’t going to take me long.

At the beginning we are introduced to Mia, a seventeen year old who has a typical teenager’s life. We can identify with her, her family relationship and the relationship she has with her boyfriend Adam. Although this story is a Young Adult’s novel, I feel there are adult themes in the book and adults can relate to aspects of Mia’s life. Looking back and reminiscing.

The opening chapter of this book we discover the close relationship Mia has with the rest of her family, I particularly loved Teddy, her younger brother. I have a younger brother myself so some of the feelings Mia have towards her brother I could relate too as I have felt myself. It doesn’t take long though for the tension and suspense in the book to shift and by page 11 or 12 we are thrown into a family tragedy.

Mia is awake and can see what is happening in front of her, she can hear, speak and see. She is unable to feel anything though and soon realises that something is wrong, she is not the same as she was, when she woke up this morning and where are her family. Mia has to make one of the most difficult decisions anyone would ever have to make over the next 24 hours or so and that is should she stay?

The book alternates from the past and to the present, along the way we discover more about Mia and her family. This is truly a touching story and one that has evoked many emotions. I rarely feel sad during books; this one however has really got to me. I have found myself sitting thinking about what I have read and questioning myself. This is a deeply touching story that will have a lasting effect on anyone who reads it.

Although the book is just over 200 pages I found that I thought it was a lot longer and this is because of how it has been written and how it makes you feel. It is truly moving and touching. I didn’t read this in one sitting; however it is completely possible to do so. I am so glad that I have been able to read this before the release of the film. This is a book that I urge everyone to read, it also makes you realise how short life is and that you should embrace it. You never know what is round the corner and should live life to the full.

I cannot wait to read Where She Went the sequel of If I Stay.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this in exchange for an honest review.

Below is the trailer for the film...

The Late Scholar - Jill Paton Walsh - Dorothy Sayers

The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A new murder mystery featuring Lord Peter Wimsey - now a Duke - and his wife Harriet Vane, set in an Oxford college in the 1950s.
Peter Wimsey is pleased to discover that along with a Dukedom he has inherited the duties of 'visitor' at an Oxford college.When the fellows appeal to him to resolve a dispute, he and Harriet set off happily to spend some time in Oxford.
But the dispute turns out to be embittered. The voting is evenly balanced between two passionate parties - evenly balanced, that is, until several of the fellows unexpectedly die.The Warden has a casting vote, but the Warden has disappeared.
And the causes of death of the deceased fellows bear an uncanny resemblance to the murder methods in Peter's past cases - methods that Harriet has used in her published novels .


I had never read any of the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L Sayers and therefore had no pre-conceptions about what another writer would achieve by resurrecting these characters. I felt I was at a disadvantage by not having read any of these novels since Jill Paton Walsh made references to a previous case solved by this detective that I could not relate to.

The book had good descriptive passages to acquaint the novice with both Oxford and the University but I felt that the language was too chewy and the Latin references were lost on me since I have not studied Latin and this is such a huge part of the Oxford University clique.

Essentially this was about the Duke of Denver (Peter Wimsey) discovering he is a Visitor to Oxford and he is asked to settle a dispute among the fellows on whether to go ahead with the sale of a medieval book to get funds to buy some land next door which has come up for sale. When the fellows are asked to vote the death of one of the fellows brings the vote to a tie and as the Duke of Denver delves deeper into the sale of the land and the medieval book so there are more deaths along the way and he and his wife and butler work together to unravel the mystery and uncover the murderer/s.

I found the story although pacy enough in terms of building tension and atmosphere was just too laborious to hold my interest beyond halfway through the book. I could not summon enough enthusiasm to continue to the end of the book, it was just not my type of novel in terms of language and therefore not for me. Having said that, it was well written and if the language had been lighter and more made of connecting the relationships of the characters I may well have stayed with it to the end. I just found the characters lacked the sparkle that could have kept me reading - as it was I really didn't care enough to read on to the end. DNF

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review

Summer Feature 2014 by Shaun Gust Post

Today I would like to welcome Shaun to The Book Corner, he is sharing with us his books he would take on holiday with him.

Sam is one of my favourite bloggers so I am very excited to be writing this guest post for The Book Corner. I've chosen to write about five books that I would take on holiday with me (if I was going on one this year that is!). They are books that I love and think are perfect for Summer reading.




Books are listed in a random order (apart from On the Island which is my favourite). 

On the Island - Tracey Garvis Graves



So this book is amazing. I absolutely loved it and it was one of the best books I read in 2012. Despite not being the intended audience, I believe if a book is good then it can be enjoyed by just about anyone. Every so often a book will come along that it's a struggle to put it down, people call books unputdownable but this one actually is. I rated it five stars but I wish I could give this book more than five stars, it really is that good. If someone asked me to recommend them the perfect book I would name this one.

Tracey is a fantastic author and one that has quickly became one of my favourites after reading the books that followed this, Uncharted and Covet. I would love to reread this book lying by the pool in Cyprus with an ice cold pint of Keo (local lager!).

One Hundred Proposals - Holly Martin


Do you like books that take you to fantastic, exotic locations? Well how about books that take you on many different trips within one book? I loved this book, easily one of my favourites of the year so far and one that I have no trouble recommending to people to read this Summer. Holly was a new author to me but one who is loved universally amongst the bloggers whose opinions I trust so I picked this up expecting big things and was not disappointed. The story in this book is just faultless. It's perfect but at the same time believable. 

Power Games - Victoria Fox


Perhaps not one to read if you are off to a luxurious island, okay so the events depicted here take place on a remote and less than exotic island but at the same time are still situations you wouldn't want to find yourself in! Very few authors deserve the Jackie Collins comparison but Victoria definitely does. This book has all the hallmarks of the perfect bonkbuster and I loved it. Outrageous characters finding themselves in even more outrageous situations this is a book everyone should have in their suitcase!

Aimee Duffy's Summer Flings Series


The Summer Fling books are a series currently being released by HarperImpulse. The first book is Trouble in Tinseltown and which despite being short I found to be quite action packed and fun. I'm not usually a fan of short stories but having finished all the shorts it is essentially a book cut up into pieces but I find that with the covers and title of the books it definitely works and I'm a huge fan of how the books have been released. 


Following three girls, Ciara, Gem and Elle we go from LA to Miami, Paris to Greece, Ibiza to Florence before finishing in Dublin. If you aren't going away this year then what better way to see the world? Fun, flirty with plenty of sex they are easy reads but at the same time touch on some serious storylines. Our main character Ciara faces decisions about her life and her relationship and she is such an amazing character. Each book takes around half an hour to read and whilst on holiday looking for something quick and easy to read you can't really go wrong here.

Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop - Abby Clements

Every so often a book comes along that you just fall in love with and want to tell everybody to read. This is that book. I wanted to read it from the minute I laid eyes on the cover, it looks great. And luckily the story contained within is even better.

If ever a book was written to be read in Summer then it is this one. An absolutely amazing book that I just loved. Perfect for reading on the beach, by the pool or even by the seaside in the UK if the weather can remain nice for a few hours. Beware though this book will make you drool and develop the biggest cravings for ice cream. This is one of those books you will fall in love with and recommend to everybody you can.

I would like to thank Shaun for stopping by at The Book Corner today, he has selected some fab books. You can follow him on twitter here and make sure you check out his great blog here

A Place for Us - Harriet Evans

A Place For Us Part 1 by Harriet Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The FIRST of four exclusive part-serialisations of a A Place for Us by Harriet Evans - you'll be desperate to read on ...

The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day.

So opens A Place for Us by Sunday Times bestselling author Harriet Evans, a book you'll dive into, featuring a family you'll fall in love with ... and never want to leave. If you devour Rosamund Pilcher and Maeve Binchy and have discovered Jojo Moyes, you'll be thrilled to add Harriet Evans to your collection of favourite authors.

The house has soft, purple wisteria twining around the door. You step inside.

The hall is cool after the hot summer's day. The welcome is kind, and always warm.

Yet something makes you suspect life here can't be as perfect as it seems.
After all, the brightest smile can hide the darkest secret.

But wouldn't you pay any price to have a glorious place like this?

Welcome to Winterfold.
Martha Winter's family is finally coming home.



It's difficult to rate a novel when you are only given the first part but based on my impressions that this first book really was not a story but more of a coming together of a family for the 80th birthday of the matriarch Martha and an exercise in setting the scene and building atmosphere. This first part concentrates on the individual characters and members of Martha's family to build tension and drama leading up to a secret that it appears they are all somehow involved in.

Each chapter deals with a member of the family having received an invitation to the party where an 'announcement' will be made and the reader along with the family are left trying to guess what this announcement could be. We are given little snippets of information about Daisy who appears to have been a rather difficult child and so perhaps the announcement has something to do with her. However as each family member is introduced we discover they all have their own secrets and any one of these could be to do with the announcement that Martha so tantalisingly will reveal at the party celebrations.

The first part of this book is a slow burner, nothing really happens in terms of the story but it nicely builds the tension and atmosphere for what hopefully happens in the second and remaining parts of the novel.

I feel sufficiently intrigued to want to discover more about this family and their secrets and would like to read the other 3 parts before making a final judgement. However based on this first part I would say this is building nicely and if the rest of the book maintains the tension and drama I feel that this could be a very good read especially if there are a couple of curve balls and an unpredictable ending.

I look forward to reading more - for now I would give this a 4 star rating.

I would like to thank the publisher for ending this in exchange for an honest review.

The Summer Feature 2014 by Charlotte Foreman Guest Post

Today Charlotte has stopped by to share with us who she would love to go on holiday with. I would just like to thank everyone who has participated in The Summer Feature, we have had such a wonderful selection of content to bring all the readers and I personally really enjoyed reading everyone's posts. 

Holiday Dream Team

By Charlotte Foreman

If I were planning a summer holiday, my first choice of companions would be my family. However, if I were embarking on a girly week in the sun, my getaway dream team would consist solely of authors. Not a great surprise, I know. While I would obviously spend hours mercilessly grilling them on their entire back catalogs, those who made the cut did so for very specific reasons:


Lisa Dickenson - After penning her new book You Had Me at Merlot, I reckon Lisa knows a thing or two about decent vino. Being the ultimate lightweight, I’ve tried unsuccessfully to mature my drinking tastes and graduate onto alcohol that costs more than six pints of milk. I’m confident she’d be able to wrestle the glass of Lambrini from my hand and point me in the direction of a nice fruity Rose that won’t have me up to my neck in porcelain after only a few glasses. Classy I know, but a situation that repeated itself only very recently.



Mandy Baggot – Why would I take Mandy with me? Because after meeting her a few times, I know without a shadow of a doubt that at some point during our holiday - probably more than once, tbh - we’d end up wearing cowboy hats on a stage somewhere belting out classic karaoke songs. Plus wherever Mandy is, there’s always sausage and mash so I’m guaranteed a few decent meals too.



Lucy Robinson - I know it’s not very ladylike but I do love to swear and basically talk like I’m a member of the Shameless cast. I’m not a chav or anything, I just like to let loose with the curses when in the right company. Now, strike me down if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Lucy and I could have a whole conversation using nothing but profanities. Yes, we might sound like old fishwives but it would probably be very cathartic . . . holiday relaxation done sailor style.



Jamie McGuire - If you follow Jamie on any of her social media accounts, you’ll know that she films and photographs everything. Therefore, not only would she never miss an opportunity to commit every shenanigan to electronic memory but we’d probably also come away with lots pictures of us looking fairly decent. She also strikes me as the kind of women who could drink the average man under the table and her bad language may rival a Danny Dyer film.


I reckon we’d have an unforgettable time that could prove inspirational for a crazy scene or two in some upcoming releases!


Do you have a dream team in mind for your perfect getaway?


NB: If any authors included on my list actually to read this and fancy a holiday, I’m only an email away (Charlotte@BestChickLit.com).

Once again I would like to thank Charlotte for participating. You can follow her on twitter and please check out her wonderful blog here

Quarter Past 2 On A Wednesday Afternoon by Linda Newbery Blog Tour with Prologue sneak peek and Giveaway!

Published: 14th August 2014

Publisher: Doubleday

Blurb:

It was the day when everything stopped, and something started that was quite different, that couldn't be controlled or shaped or ended.

At quarter past two on a hot afternoon in August, Anna's beautiful, headstrong older sister, Rose, disappears.

Twenty years later, and Anna still doesn't know whether Rose is alive or dead. In her early thirties now, she sees her life unfolding - with sensible, serious Martin and a grown-up, steady job - and finds herself wondering if this is really what she wants.

Unable to take control of her life while the mystery of her sister's disappearance remains unsolved, Anna begins to search for the truth: what did happen to Rose that summer's day?

Prologue sneak peek:



August 1990

It was the day when everything stopped, and something started that was quite different, that couldn’t be controlled or shaped or ended. From then on, a ringing telephone could terrify; a knock on the front door could numb the house into petrification.

Prompted at first by her parents, then by the police, and ever after by her own search for overlooked significance, Anna went over and over the events of the morning, the lunch time, and her parting from Rose. She replayed and replayed until she couldn’t tell if she was really remem-bering what happened. Maybe she was only recalling memories.

For Anna it had started as an uneventful weekday in the summer holidays, a Wednesday. Mum and Dad were at work, and the girls spent most of the morning in Rose’s room, Rose sketching with the radio on, Anna sprawled on the bed, reading. Early haze cleared to unbroken sunshine; after a sandwich lunch, Rose fetched the garden lounger from the garage and put it under the pear tree, then sat sideways to paint her toenails before settling with a book.


Bored with being at home, Anna decided to go the shops.

‘See you later,’ she called from the back door, and Rose, already engrossed, replied without looking up. What were her exact words? Anna couldn’t remember, though in the days to come she strained to hear, squeezing her eyes tight shut to open her ears to the echo of what she’d missed. Rose had said nothing, she was sure, about going out, or meeting anyone. She looked as if she intended to stay all afternoon in the quiet of the garden, reading and sleeping in the tree’s dappled shade.

Asked what time this was, Anna thought it must have been about a quarter past two, because the radio was still on in Rose’s bedroom and she’d heard the two-o’clock pips as she went upstairs. Some two hours later she returned, letting herself in with her own key. She had felt no more than mild surprise to find the house empty, the garden deserted. Sometimes, still, she dreamed of returning to that day and making it so ordinary that it would merge into dozens of similar featureless days. Rose would be in the garden, or if not she would soon come home, preoccupied, a little i mpatient at being questioned. But there.

No sign of a break-in; the police asked her closely about that. No sign of anyone having visited. Nothing any different from how it usually was. The blue garden lounger was there under the tree, with an empty glass tipped over on the grass. Anna poured a cold drink, took Rose’s purple varnish and painted her own toenails, although it was for-bidden by Mum, who said that Anna was too young, so she’d have to keep her feet hidden in socks and shoes. Soon after five, Mum returned from work and asked where Rose was; six o’clock came, and seven, and now Dad was home as


well. At eight-thirty, Mum phoned Rose’s friend Christina. No, Chrissie hadn’t seen Rose that day, and had no idea where she might have gone. They’d spoken on the phone last night, when Chrissie got home from her holiday, and were to meet tomorrow, A-Level results day. They planned to be at school to open their envelopes together, compare results and go into town to celebrate or c ommiserate.

Anna didn’t see why Mum was getting so worked up; it wasn’t particularly late. Dad reassured them both that everything was fine, that Rose would be back any moment now. She’d met someone she knew, or she and Jamie had got back together and were making up for lost time. Or, likeliest of all, Dad said, she was anxious about her A-Level results.

‘Remember the state she got into about her O-Levels?’ ‘GCSEs, Dad,’ Anna corrected.

‘You know she’s set her heart on getting three As,’ said her father. ‘Let’s hope to God she gets them. It’s the waiting, it’s got to her. She’s met someone from school, gone home with them.’

‘She’d have phoned,’ Mum said flatly; it was her reply to all his suggestions. ‘She wouldn’t stay out without telling us.’

‘She’s eighteen now, love, old enough to take care of her-self. We’re not going through this every time she goes out for the evening. She’ll turn up, right as rain.’ Dad kept saying that, as if saying it over and over could make it so.

Sent up to bed, Anna stood for a while with her elbows on the windowsill, looking out at the garden. Dusk was falling now; the shrubs were heavy with leaf, and it had begun to rain – light, refreshing rain that Anna could hear through the open window as a faint hissing, and smell as wetness on dry earth. It was almost the middle of the school


holidays. At first, the six weeks had stretched out with no end in sight, but already the nights were creeping in earlier. It didn’t seem fair that midsummer, the longest day, was back in June, before the holidays had even started. After what Dad called ‘the year’s turning’, the days immediately began to shorten towards autumn and September, and the return to school.

In bed Anna propped herself up, reading Forever, her library book, anticipating drama, and the earful Rose would get when she turned up. Eventually she turned off her light. It was a way of hastening Rose’s return; when she woke up it would be morning, Rose would be asleep in her room, and no one would remember why they’d been so worried.

But she woke instead to Mum’s voice from the downstairs hall. ‘It’s Sandra Taverner, Rose’s mother. I’m sorry to bother you so late, but we’re a bit worried about where Rose is. She’s not with Jamie? No, no. Yes, I know, but I thought perhaps...’

And it was still dark; not morning, but a few minutes before midnight. Anna sidled to the top of the stairs. Her mother stood for a moment still holding the phone, then replaced it and went back into the sitting room. Surely Rose would come in at the stroke of midnight, or risk being turned into someone else or frozen into a statue. Anna waited, her eyes on the front door, confident. The hands of her watch aligned themselves at twelve, and the minute hand moved barely perceptibly into the frightening orbit of next day. It was tomorrow now, and Rose hadn’t been here since yesterday, and that made it immensely more serious.

She crept halfway down the stairs.

‘I’m going to phone the police,’ her mother was saying.


‘Don’t you think we should—’

‘No! No! I can’t wait any longer!’ And now Mum’s voice rose in a wail; she ran to the telephone table in the hall, both hands clamped to her mouth. Seeing Anna, she stopped dead. Dad followed, put an arm round her shoulders and led her back into the sitting room. He hadn’t seen Anna huddled on the stair, shivering in her pyjamas.

She heard him say soothing words, and Mum’s quiet sobs. When he came back to the phone there was a long moment of breathing as he reached for the receiver, h esitated, then picked it up. He was going to dial 999, Anna supposed, and although this was exciting she wanted to yell at him No, don’t, because to make that phone call was to stop pretending everything was normal, and to move into a new phase.

‘I want to report a missing teenager,’ Dad said. ‘Yes, yes.

My daughter.’



About the Author:

Linda Newbery began by writing teenage fiction, but has now written for all ages, with books ranging from a picture book, POSY, to her first novel for adults, QUARTER PAST TWO ON A WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. She is a winner of the Costa Children's Book Prize, for her young adult novel SET IN STONE, and has twice been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, as well as for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and for numerous regional awards. She has served as a judge for the Whitbread award and for the Guardian Prize.

Linda is a frequent visitor to schools, libraries and festivals, and has tutored several times for the Arvon Foundation. She lives in a small village in north Oxfordshire with her husband and two cats. She loves yoga, reading, gardening, walking and swimming, and is currently trying her hand at stone-carving.

For more information, visit Linda's website: www.lindanewbery.co.uk


My friends at Transworld have very kindly given me 3 copies of this wonderful book to giveaway! Just enter via the rafflecopter and good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Don't forget to stop along on the other blogs for this tour, they all have lots of exciting content to be read. 

The 100 - Kass Morgan

The 100 by Kass Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Hunger Games meets Lost in this spectacular new series. Now a major TV series on E4.

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries - until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents - considered expendable by society - are being sent on a dangerous mission: to re-colonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves - but will she ever forgive him Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.

I have been watching The 100 T.V series and when I found out that this was based on a book, I couldn’t wait to read it. Science fiction/fantasy is not my type of thing and I always struggle to read books of this genre. The 100 was different though, I actually really enjoyed it.

When I began reading it, I expected it to be very similar to the T.V show, the plot is similar but not the same, some of the characters are different and some have less importance in the book as the show.

The 100 is about 100 teenagers sent down to abandoned Earth from a colony in outer space, to see if it is safe enough for everyone to return. It is told from the perspective of 4 main characters; Clarke, Wells, Bellamy and Glass, all these characters have different reasons for being sent to Earth. Throughout the book, we get flashbacks to before the characters arrived on Earth and for the reason they have ended up there. This was excellently done; sometimes I find books that have flash backs very confusing and you do not know whether they are in the past or the present. This however was written in a way that was easy for you to recongnise the flashback and the writing was also written in a different font, this made it very clear.

I thought that this book was very faced paced, which I enjoyed as it kept my interest and I was able to get through the book very quickly. I liked the balance in the book, for me as not a sci fi fan, I enjoyed other elements of the book, the love interest and the relationships developed through the book. I also really enjoyed reading about the past, on the spaceship and the different stories there.

I would have liked to have found out what had happened to the human race on Earth before it was abandoned, as we don’t know anything about this. This is just a personal opinion though and the book doesn’t feel like it’s not complete without not knowing. I thought the middle of the story felt a little flat from the beginning and building up to the end, and wow what an ending, which was unpredictable. This has you hooked into wanting to read the next book! If you love the T.V show, you will enjoy this; just don’t expect it to be identical.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Summer Feature 2014 by Louise Guest Post

Today I have Louise who is talking about her Summer Reads, thanks so much for taking part Louise, and I'm excited to hear about what you are reading this summer!

Hello, I was delighted to be asked by the lovely Sam to write a guest post for her blog feature about Summer Reads. I thought I would share with you the five books I am looking forward to taking with me and hopefully reading on this year’s holiday.



As parents to a child under school age, we are lucky enough to be able to take our holiday outside of the main school holidays, so our holiday is likely to be in September or October this year which means I will be able to take some books that won’t be out til later in the year.



1. The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah I adore Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot and his famous moustache and I love Sophie’s complex and psychological thrillers and so am beyond excited to read Sophie’s new story featuring the one and only Monsieur Poirot;

2. No Safe House by Linwood Barclay. I love reading thrillers on holiday as it’s a time I usually get to read a lot all at once so it is perfect to read an unputdownable page turner and am on tenterhooks to read this sequel to No Time for Goodbye as I can never work out whodunit;

3. Power Games by Victoria Fox – Every summer holiday needs a bonkbuster and this sounds fantastic where seven celebrities are trapped on an island together and that’s when the fun starts. It’s described as “sexy, fun and full of scandal” which sounds perfect for a lazy read by the pool together with a cocktail – make mine a Strawberry Daiquiri please!

4. The Best Thing that Never Happened to Me by Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice As an antidote to all the scandal and crime I plan to read, I am after a good old fashioned romantic comedy to sweep me off my feet and give me something to daydream about and I have only heard fantastic things about this book and I’m interested to see how having two writers will affect the dynamic of the story.

5. The Scarecrow’s Wedding by Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler As our holidays now include our own little bookworm, I will be reading my way through our little girl’s TBR pile too which includes this gem. I am looking forward to it as we adore The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom so looking forward to how Julia Donaldson will deal with some romance – I am sure there will be laughs along the way too!



So there we go, there is what I am hoping to read on my late holiday this year.



Wishing Sam and everyone a wonderfully relaxing Summer filled with fantastic books and lazy, fun-filled days and thanks to Sam for hosting my guest post – I had fun!



Louise Wykes (@jaustenrulesok)

Thanks so much Louise and I am very interested in The Scarecrow's Wedding! As a school teacher I love to discover new books for my class and this is one I think I will be looking into! Thanks again for participating in the summer feature and I loved to read about your list! I hope you manage to read them all! You can follow Louise on twitter

Summer Feature 2014 by Charlie - Guest Post

Today Charlie from Miss Book Eater has stopped by to share her top 5 summer reads. Thanks for taking part Charlie. 

Top 5 Summer Reads on my TBR pile

For me Summer Reads are books that are light hearted and fun, but it can also range from Mysterious to a thriller or a novella in the Romance section; New Adult or Paranormal. I guess it still always depends what my mood is. As long as the books can be read in a couple of days or even a day sometimes for me, but as always I am rambling on. ^_^



Let me now introduce you to my top 5 books I really would love to read this Summer. They are either on my TBR pile or I on my wish list to buy. So here it goes!

1. The Bookshop on the Corner (A Gingerbread Café Story) – Rebecca Raisin

Who said that only real heroes could be found in fiction?

Sarah Smith had an addiction – she was addicted to romance novels. The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut.

Ever since her close friend Lil, from The Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find – especially in a tiny town like Ashford. That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner stepped into her bookshop…

Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too!

2. Dear Lizzie – Annie Lyons

Two sisters. Twelve letters. One year that changes everything.

Lizzie and Bea Harris were always very close. They were sisters nothing could tear them apart. Until Bea dies at the age of thirty-five, leaving her sister twelve letters and a mission that change Lizzie’s life forever.

Alone for the first time Lizzie is left trying to pull together the pieces of a life she has for so long ignored. With Bea’s list of last requests, Lizzie has a chance to finally find a place for herself in the world - out from under the shadow of her sister.

3. You Make Me (Blurred Lines Book 1) – Erin McCarthy

The guy she wants…

Growing up on the coast of Maine with a revolving door of foster siblings, Caitlyn Michaud spent one intense and passionate year falling in love with her foster brother, Heath. Then he left without a word.

Isn’t the guy she needs…

Determined to move on, in college Caitlyn has risen above her small town impoverished roots and has joined a sorority, reinvented her appearance, and landed the right boyfriend in frat president Ethan.

But the perfect world she tried so hard to attain is ripped apart when Heath appears one night out of nowhere. Out of the military, Heath is as brooding and intense as ever, and he is determined not only to win her back, but to exact revenge on everyone who kept him from her…

And when one love allows her to breathe, but the other feels as essential to her life as air, how does she choose between them?

4. The Little Coffee shop of Kabul – Deborah Rodriguez

In a little coffee shop in one of the most dangerous places on five very different women come together.

SUNNY, the proud proprietor, who needs an ingenious plan - to keep her café and customers safe.

YAZMINA, a young pregnant woman stolen from her remote village and now abandoned on Kabul's violent streets.

CANDACE, a wealthy American who has finally left her husband her Afghan lover, the enigmatic Wakil.

ISABEL, a determined journalist with a secret that might keep her from the biggest story of her life.

And HALAJAN, the sixty-year-old den mother, whose long-hidden love affair breaks all the rules.

As these five women discover there's more to one another than meets the eye, they form a unique bond that will for ever change their lives and the lives of many others.

5. Give me Grace – Kate McCarthy (Give Me Book 3)

Book #3 in the Give Me series.

Casey Daniels has a past forged in Hell. Despite the friends, the endless supply of women, and the muscle car he spent years restoring, it still eats away at him.

Grace Paterson is in Sydney as a temporary bassist for tband Casey handles security for. She’s also infuriating, off-land completely irresistible.

A deal is struck, and despite their intense and powerful connection, both think it will be easy to walk away. But life can be more ruthless than either of them ever imagined. Not only does Grace have a secret she’s desperate to keep, Casey has questions from his past that he’s willing to do anything to get answers for.

It’s not until someone wants one of them dead that Casey realises his love for Grace is the one thing he could never walk away from.

In a story of revenge, betrayal, secrets, and love, Casey will need to reconcile his past with his present, before the future he never knew he wanted is snatched away.

*Please Note: Kate McCarthy is an Australian author and Australian English, spelling and slang have been used in this book. This book is recommended for 18+ due to adult language and content.*

I would like to thank Charlie once again for sharing her 5 top summer reads. You can find Charlie on Twitter she also has a fab blog that if you haven't checked out yet you should now missbookeater

The Summer Feature 2014 by Dane Guest Post

Five Chilled Out Beach Reads to Take On Your Summer Holidays

Hi, I’m Dane from SocialBookshelves.com, and today I’m going to tell you about my five top beach reads! Ain’t life a beach?

I was lucky enough to be invited by Sam to write for The Book Corner as part of her summer celebrations, and so I leapt at the chance to talk to you about something that I love. In return, Sam was kind enough to write a guest post over on my site about a week in the life of a book blogger – you can check that over here.



So now it’s time for you to don your bathing suit, cover yourself with sunscreen and get your reading glasses on – without further ado, here are my top five chilled out beach reads:





1 – Sarah Henshaw – The Bookshop That Floated Away

The Bookshop That Floated Away tells the true story of Sarah Henshaw and her book barge, as she travels up and down the waterways in mainland Britain selling books from a houseboat and trading them for showers, haircuts and even dental work. Sarah’s writing is beautiful and humorous, and her book is made even better if you can hear the gentle lapping of the shore while you’re reading it.

Buy The Bookshop That Floated Away.



2 – Terry Pratchett – Guards, Guards!

Terry Pratchett has a knack for entertainment, and while each and every one of his Discworld novels makes for a great holiday read, this one stands out in particular as the first book in the series to introduce the Ankh Morpork city watch. It’s a hilarious read and a fantastic book for escapism, so prepare to follow Sam Vimes and his fellow watchmen as they try to tackle a secret society and stop a dragon from wreaking havoc on the city.

Buy Guards, Guards!



3 – Philip Pullman – The Ruby in the Smoke

Philip Pullman is loved by millions for his His Dark Materials trilogy, but his Sally Lockhart series is, in many ways, superior. The Ruby in the Smoke is the first book in the series, and it follows the young Sally Lockhart as she investigates the mystery behind her father’s death in Victorian London. It’s easy to read and even easier to fall in love with, so think about packing the whole series if you’re going to be gone for a while. 

Buy The Ruby in the Smoke.

4 – Agatha Christie – And Then There Were None

The Queen of Crime wrote literally scores of novels which make for great reading in any situation, but And Then There Were None is her masterpiece, a suspense-filled novel that will keep you reading from start to finish. It’s the sort of book that you can start and finish in a single day as you relax in the sun, which is good because by the end of it, you’ll be itching to know who the killer is! 

Buy And Then There Were None.

5 – John Biggs – Mytro

Biggs is arguably more well-known as a journalist for TechCrunch than he is as a writer, but his debut novel makes for a thrilling read for ages eight to eighty. Mytro tells the story of a teenage boy who discovers a mysterious underground rail network which can transport you from one side of the world to another in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, some devious and unsavoury characters have plans of their own… 

Buy Mytro.



Now that you’ve got your beach reads sorted out, you just need to worry about the rest of your packing – if you’re taking an e-reader then don’t forget your charger, and remember to stay safe in the sun, too. It’s all too easy to get absorbed in a good book and end up burning all over – trust me, I know!

What summer reads are your favourites? And where are you off to this summer? Let us know with a comment, and have a fantastic time – we’ll see you at the seaside!

I would like to thank Dane for wanting to participate in The Summer Feature, and thank you for some of your suggestions; there are a few I have not heard of but they sound really great! (Hosting the Summer Feature was bad on my part - TBR is just growing and growing now!) As Dane said you can check out my guest post on his blog SocialBookshelves.com, thanks once again and don't forget to follow him on twitter here