OUR SONG -Ashley Bodette Blog Blitz

BLURB:

Becca: I broke up with Trip four months ago. But with the exception of my parents, I haven’t told anyone why. Not my friends, not my little sister, not even Asher. 

Asher: I’ve been missing my best friend every day for the last nine months. Even though Becca broke up with Trip months ago, she’s still been distant, even when we’re in the same room. 

Trip: She thinks she can break up with me and then go on a “family” vacation with him? I’m going to prove to both of them that she never should have left me.








About the Author

Ashley Bodette is a soon-to-be MA publishing graduate from Kingston University London. She started her venture into the book world as a book blogger, never imagining that one day she'd write a book. Now, you couldn't stop her from writing if you tried.



Along with writing and providing editing and other author services, you also might find Ashley crocheting, watching British television shows on Netflix, playing piano, singing around the house, or, of course, curled up with a good book.

Polly and the Puffin: 02 The Stormy Day by Jenny Colgan

Polly and the Puffin: 02 The Stormy Day by Jenny Colgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Polly and Neil are back in the second gorgeous children's book from Sunday Times bestselling novelist Jenny Colgan. Perfect for reading aloud and including fun activities based on the story.

The boat masts jangled louder and louder. Above their heads, black clouds gathered. Polly shivered, and then the rain started to fall: plop, plop, plop.

Polly is waiting for something important to happen. But waiting is hard. It's even harder when it's raining and you can't go outside...

Can Polly find enough to do to keep busy ALL day? And what will happen when her puffin friend, Neil, decides to fly off into the storm?

When this copy arrived for me to share with my class I couldn't wait, they had previously loved 'Polly and the Puffin' and I knew this would be another they would enjoy.

Polly and Neil's adventure starts on a stormy day, Polly is waiting for her dad to come home, as he is out at sea and Neil disappears into the big black cloud.

I loved this story as well as the children, it is easy to read and the illustrations, although only a few colours come across as really powerful. I enjoyed reading about the village that Polly and Neil live in, this is something new, as before we only got snap shots of the dock.

The children were completely quiet during the story and they really took it in. They particularly liked the activities at the back of the book, which I think is unique and would love to see more of in other books. They all said they would recommend it to others and they enjoyed continuing on with the series. They have asked me if there will be another as they loved it so much, I really hope there will be!

What I like about the book as much as the children is that it is quite a nice book to pick up if you are just becoming an independent reader, the language isn't too challenging, however does offer a few words which could be used as discussion. It is also not an intimidating book for a child to read if they are not too confident.

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

The Madam - Jaime Raven

Three years and eleven months. That's how long Lizzie Wells has been banged up inside Holloway prison, serving time for a crime she didn’t commit.

Six months. That's how long it’s taken Lizzie to fall in love with her fellow inmate, Scar.

Now they are both finally free and, together, they are about to embark on a vengeful search to find those who framed Lizzie . . . and to make them pay.

THE BUSINESS MAN. THE COPPER. THE MADAM.

I have been lucky enough to be able to bring you an audio clip from the book to help promote the release. You can hear this below. 

https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio/the-madam-by-jaime-raven

Don't forget to stop by on the other tour days:

An Audible Announcement

Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book wins Excellence in Production and Best Audio Drama Audie Awards for [Audible Originals]

Eight wins for [Audible Originals], Audible Studios and ACX also include Excellence in Marketing and Best Original Work

[London, UK – Audible Originals], a production arm of Audible.com, won the ‘Excellence in Production,’ and ‘Best Audio Drama’ Audie awards for its original, full-cast production ofRudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book: The Mowgli Stories. Announced Wednesday at the Audie Awards Gala in Chicago, this dual honour for The Jungle Book highlighted an evening during which Audible productions were recognized with eight Audie Awards including the ‘Excellence in Marketing’ award for the best-selling, multicast recording of Joe Hill’s graphic novel series Locke & Key, and ‘Best Original Work’ award for Jeffery Deaver’s audio original The Starling Project.

“Congratulations to all of the fine actors, producers, marketers, designers, and audiobooks recognized this year,” said Audible EVP and Publisher Beth Anderson. “Our full-cast performances of The Jungle Book, The Starling Project, and Locke & Key featuring state-of-the-art sound design and an original scores demonstrate our commitment to creating high-quality, innovative, original productions that delight our veteran listeners and attract new ones to the format. We are thrilled that they have been praised so many times and in so many different categories.”

[Audible’s full-cast dramatization of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book – The Mowgli Stories, was produced in association with charity partner Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the cast included Bill Bailey, Richard E Grant, Colin Salmon, Sacha Dhawan and Celia Imrie.]

2016 winners for [Audible Originals,] Audible Studios and ACX include:

·         Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book: The Mowgli Stories in the ‘Excellence in Production’ and ‘Best Audio Drama’ categories

·         Locke & Key, the bestselling audio dramatization of the critically acclaimed graphic novel series written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, performed by a full cast including Haley Joel Osment, Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mulgrew and over 50 professional actors, in the ‘Excellence in Marketing’ category

·         The Starling Project by bestselling author Jeffery Deaver, an Audible original production performed by Alfred Molina and a full cast in the ‘Best Original Work’ category

·         Two wins for titles submitted through the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) including ‘Best Erotica’ and ‘Best History’

Among the acclaimed performers who have narrated works of literature for Audible are Thandie Newton, Lily Collins, Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike, Dan Stevens, James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kate Winslet and Tim Robbins. In 2013, Audible Studios won its first Grammy Award, for its production of Janis Ian’s memoir Society’s Child, and also won the Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year, for Colin Firth’s performance of Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair. Audible won its first Audiobook of the Year award for The Chopin Manuscript, written by an all-star cast of mystery and thriller writers and narrated by Alfred Molina in 2008. With Audible Studios and ACX, Audible has become the largest producer of audiobooks in the world.

Audible, the world’s largest seller of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, invented and commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In 2015, listeners around the world downloaded 1.6 billion hours of audio from Audible.com outlets; Audible members downloaded an average of more than 17 books over the course of the year. Two thirds of new Audible members are first-time audiobook buyers.

ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.

Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 250,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store.

The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane - Ellen Berry Cover Reveal!

The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane

Ellen Berry

Ebook and Paperback: 14^th July 2016

In the beginning…
Kitty Cartwright has always solved her problems in the kitchen. Her cookbooks are her life, and there isn’t an issue that ‘Cooking with Aspic’ can’t fix. Her only wish is that she had a book entitled ‘Rustling Up Dinner When Your Husband Has Left You’.

Forty years later…

On Rosemary Lane, Della Cartwright plans to open a very special little bookshop. Not knowing what to do with the hundreds of cookbooks her mother left her, she now wants to share their recipes with the world – and no amount of aspic will stand in her way.

But with her family convinced it’s a hare-brained scheme, Della starts to wonder if she’s made a terrible decision. One thing’s for sure: she’s about to find out…

Lose yourself in Della’s world of food, family and friends. The perfect read for fans of Trisha Ashley and Carole Matthews.

Break Up Club by Lorelei Mathias

 You may think you have read this post before, that's probably because you have. Except there is something a little bit different about it this time. Reader I dumped him, has had a makeover! It now has a new title and a new cover see this below!

I have included the original information in this post in case you missed it last time. I hope you love it as much as I do. I love the title, I think it is much more catchy than before. 

Blurb:

This story is a celebration of the people that bring you back to life when your world closes in: your mates.
Relationships come and go, but the Break-up Club membership never truly expires.

Holly Braithwaite and loveable loser Lawrence have been together for five years. But the obvious cracks in their relationship can no longer be ignored and Holly soon finds herself saying ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’

In the shock aftermath of their break up, Holly finds unlikely companions in Olivia, Harry and Bella. Together, they form the Break-up Club, as they support each other through their mutual melancholy and find ways to love, laugh and function as human beings again.

Break-up Club meets every Sunday. Each week, as the comedy and drama unfolds, they discover a new BUC ‘rule’. And, one by one, the rules become vital markers on their journey to recovery . . .

‘BREAK-UP CLUB’
To our members, we’re the first emergency service











GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT YOU’D BE WITHOUT YOUR FRIENDS – LIFE IN THE REAL BUC, by Lorelei Mathias
One lovely reviewer of Reader, I Dumped Him said they couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous of the friends in the book - ‘unlike some pals who come and go, this lot stick around, and bring wine!’ Well, I feel like a smug git saying this but - THEY’RE REAL! Sure, the storylines and characters in Reader I Dumped Him are different. But the essence is the same – they’re funny as hell, and we’d take a bullet for each other.

It’s fair to say my time in ‘The Real BUC’ has inspired the odd scene. Like when we accidentally went camping in Zone 3. It was the Glastonbury weekend, Michael Jackson had just died and we were all going through our second perfectly synchronised break-up together, 18 months after the first. Getting ‘out of London’ and dancing in the rain to a tinny stereo turned out to be a tonic – so much so that since then we try and keep up the annual tradition of ‘The BUC Bleak Day Out’.


Our last AGM - in Margate – went by in a heady daze of seaside beers, giggly interpretations of modern art, running into the sea in the freezing rain, shit-chatting over nuggets in the Margate Wimpy… and singing all the way home on the last train to St Pancras. A perfect day!

There’s a kind of candy-flossed tragedy about a British seaside town in Winter, and that’s just the kind of ambience you want for a Break-up Club excursion. Forget ten days in Marbs. You want the Withnail & I ‘We’ve come on holiday by mistake’ – kind.

Bleak holidays aside, why are friends are so important in a break-up? What gives them the edge?

I think it’s to do with your peers understanding what you’re going through – more so than your parents or your siblings. Dating in your late twenties/thirties – it’s a ball-ache because every relationship, you’re thinking - is this it? Are there yet? So there’s something special about all being ‘in the same boat;’ all shielding your ears together from the deafening ticking clock. It makes your friends better qualified to scrape you off the floor when you turn to an emotional blancmange. Again!

Even though I’ve not been single for a long time, not a day goes by that I’m not thankful as hell to ‘The Real BUC’. Reader, I’d marry them.


Read more at breakupclub.co.uk

Loreleimathias.com Loreleimathias.wordpress.com @loreleimathias

Solomon and Mortimer by Catherine Rayner

Solomon and Mortimer by Catherine Rayner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Solomon Crocodile and his friend Mortimer are bored. They want to find some fun, but what can they do? Tree-climbing is tricky, chasing lizards doesn't end well and flying turns out to be a lot harder than it looks. But then they spot the biggest hippo in the river. Just imagine the splash he'd make if two naughty crocodiles were to surprise him! But Solomon and Mortimer are about to get a whole lot more than they bargained for...

Sure to delight fans of the original Solomon Crocodile, which has sold over 100,000 copies worldwide, this warm, funny and charming tale from the Kate Greenaway Medal winning Catherine Rayner is one that young children will ask for again and again.


This is quite a naughty book, where the crocodiles are playing and attempt to creep up on another animal in the lake. To begin with you don't know that they are playing and initially the children I read this to were generally worried about this.

The story however was a cheeky one, which was humourous, only a few of the children I read this to got the joke. Although those who did found it very funny.

It would have been nice to have read the previous book with these characters in but it didn't stop the children enjoying this one.

This is a fun tale of how crocodiles like to play. The illustrations and the colouring in the book are lovely. It looks really fresh and clean.

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

The Secret Wife - Gill Paul Cover Reveal

Today I can bring you the cover of The Secret Wife  look how stunning it is, you will find some information about it below.

Publishes: 25^th August 2016

A Russian grand duchess and an English journalist. Linked by one of the world’s greatest mysteries . . .

1914

Russia is on the brink of collapse, and the Romanov family faces a terrifyingly uncertain future. Grand Duchess Tatiana has fallen in love with injured cavalry officer Dmitri, but events take a catastrophic turn, placing their romance – and their lives – in danger . . .

2016

Kitty Fisher escapes to her great-grandfather’s remote cabin in America, after a devastating revelation forces her to flee London. There, on the shores of Lake Akanabee, she discovers the spectacular jewelled pendant that will lead her to an extraordinary, long-buried family secret . . .

Haunting, moving and beautifully written, The Secret Wife effortlessly crosses centuries, as past merges with present in an unforgettable story of love, loss and resilience.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Ten by Gretchen McNeil
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From Possess author Gretchen McNeil comes this teen horror novel inspired by Agatha Christie s And Then There Were None. Perfect for fans of Christopher Pike s Chain Letter and Lois Duncan s I Know What You Did Last Summer, Ten will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page!

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie are looking forward to two days of boys, booze, and fun-filled luxury. But what starts out as fun turns twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. And things only get worse from there.

With a storm raging outside, the teens are cut off from the outside world . . . so when a mysterious killer begins picking them off one by one, there s no escape. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on one another, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?



After going to see 'And then there were none' at the theatre I was obsessed with this and wanted other adaptations to watch and read. On the BBC over Christmas they put on their own version of this which I enjoyed watching, I then found Ten. I was so excited with this, what could possibly be better? It is also a YA so I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately I think my expectations were too high and although I finished the book, it was just O.K.

Ten is about a group of students, who get invited to a party on an island for the weekend. All of the people couldn't wait to get there as it sounded like it was going to be the weekend of their lives, and it was going to be, but not for the reasons they thought. Everyone has a reason for being there and although they don't know everyone, they each know a couple of people.

Soon it becomes apparent that their host is not going to show up and things start to happen in the house, beginning with a DVD that they stumble upon.

Like I said before this book was O.K, it passed a few evenings but I thought it didn't live up to my expectations. I found it relativity slow initially and at one point I was questioning giving up with the book. I am glad I stuck with it, as it did get a little better, however I didn't care for any of the characters and I thought I knew very little of them. I guess that's the point of the story and we weren't meant to know much about them. I did find this difficult to get into though and this could be why I found it such a struggle initially.

I did like the fact I hadn't worked out the killer, and around the 150 page mark the novel picked up a bit.

LILY COLLINS PERFORMS PETER PAN FOR AUDIBLE

LILY COLLINS PERFORMS PETER PAN FOR AUDIBLE

NEW RECORDING OF J.M. BARRIE’S MAGICAL MASTERPIECE ARRIVES JUST IN TIME FOR FAMILY ROAD TRIP SEASON

Audible Studios, a production arm of Audible.co.uk, today announced the release of acclaimed actress Lily Collins’s audio interpretation of J.M. Barrie’s beloved novelPeter Pan. This exuberant new recording is now available for download at audible.co.uk/PeterPan.

Watch Lily Collins behind the scenes in the video below. 

"What an absolute honor and privilege it is, as an actress, to have the opportunity to put my own spin on a character as well-known as Peter Pan,” said Collins, whose film credits include The Blind Side, Mirror Mirror, and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. “Performing this magical story with my voice alone, without the assistance of props, costumes, or a supporting cast, made me appreciate J.M. Barrie’s genius anew. I hope listeners will experience Neverland in an entirely new and special way through this recording just as I did.”


“With summer approaching, and parents looking for meaningful activities that will entertain the entire family, this enchanting performance of Peter Pan is going to be a household and road trip staple,” said Audible EVP and Publisher Beth Anderson. “Children will be captivated, and parents will relish the opportunity to go back to Neverland once again.”



With a 30-day membership trial at Audible, new listeners can enjoy any one audiobook, including Newton’s performance of Peter Pan, free.



In addition to Collins, among the acclaimed performers who have narrated works of literature for Audible are Thandie Newton, Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike, Dan Stevens, James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kate Winslet and Tim Robbins. In 2013, Audible Studios won its first Grammy Award, for its production of Janis Ian’s memoir Society’s Child, and also won the Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year, for Colin Firth’s performance of Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair.


To listen to a sample from this audio book please follow this link - http://www.audible.co.uk/mt/peter_pan


Audible, the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, invented and commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In 2015, listeners around the world downloaded 1.6 billion hours of audio from Audible.com outlets; Audible members downloaded an average of more than 17 books over the course of the year. Two thirds of new Audible members are first-time audiobook buyers.



ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.

Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 250,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store.

Team Awkward by Katy Birchall

Team Awkward by Katy Birchall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The brilliant sequel to The It Girl. Hilariously funny and deliciously romantic – perfect for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison.

If everything Anna does is going to be seen by more than 10 million people, then she’s determined to find something that she’s really good at. Everyone else seems to have a ‘thing’ – especially the new girl at school, who’s been distracting Connor with their shared love of art. Luckily the school sports day is looming, and Anna is limbering up!

What could go wrong?


I absolutely loved The IT Girl last year and I knew I wanted to read the second in the series. I was very lucky to be sent a copy for review, thank you Egmont.

This book continues with the characters we got to know and love in the first IT girl, with a few new faces a long the way. It is funny and easy to read, exactly what you need to lighten your mood on a dull and damp weekend.

It didn't take me long to get back into the IT Girl world, Anna is as still as awkward as ever and trying to get to grips with now being 'famous' due to her father marrying an actress. There are a couple of story lines going on in this novel, Anna trying to get to grips with her fathers wedding to Helena, Helena trying to include Anna as much as possible in her big day and Anna trying to prove that she is a good role model for younger girls. She is determined to show the press she 'can' do something useful to stop them labeling her 'a waste of space.'

This is a pacey sequel that is perfect for teenagers, it will have them hooked right from the beginning. I enjoyed the different layouts within the book, some of the text is presented in the for of emails and notes.

This is a light hearted fun novel for teenagers, one that I would recommend. There is going to be a third in the series so I can't wait for that.

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

BIND - Sierra Cartwright with blog post

Only one man can help her. The only question is, what price is she willing to pay?

Faced with the potentially overwhelming loss of her family's fortune, Lara Bertrand turns to the one man who can help her, the gorgeous and powerful Connor Donovan. She knows he's dangerous to her on every level. Only desperation would drive her to make such a risky proposition. After all, she knows all about his ruthless nature and relentless determination to succeed.

When the classy, elegant Lara walks into his office with an outrageous proposal, Connor is stunned and more than a little intrigued. Ever since he first met her, he's been attracted to the cool beauty, but she's more than kept her distance.

Connor is absolutely willing to help her out. For a price. He not only wants her hand in marriage, but also her total submissive surrender…

About the Author:
Sierra Cartwright was born in Manchester, England and raised in the US. She is the acclaimed author of more than twenty erotic romances. She has won numerous awards and is a USA Today bestselling author. Sierra contributed to the Clandestine Classics project from Total-E-Bound, with her retelling of the classic Jane Eyre. The project generated international interest, and her book was featured in segments on shows including Jimmy Kimmell and Anderson Cooper Live. Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly.

Sierra Cartwright has stopped by with her A-Z of Bind hope you enjoy. :)

I wanted to give you a little peek into the naughty world of Bind and Lara's introduction to Connor's delicious world of BDSM. Once she agrees to his terms, she'll never again be the same...



A – Attraction / authority

B – Bind

C – Connor / corset /Corpus Christi

D – Donovan Dynasty (Demi-bra)

E – Engagement ring

F – First woman he's really considered marrying/ frustration / flush / frenzy / family / focus

G – Genius—Julien makes a cameo Green jay (the bird she’s hoping to see)

H – Helene (Lara's mommy) handsome/heat/humidity/Houston

I – Intensity

J – Jewelry that he buys her K – Kink / Key lime pie

L – Lingerie

M – Marriage/ Marriage of Convenience / Merger

N – Negotiation

O – Objection to Connor’s demands / Orgasm / Oval-shaped diamond ring

P – Purple wedding dress

Q – Quiver

R – Relationship

S – Six (number of spankings Lara got pg 193)/silk stockings/Suzy-Q (the dog they adopt)/stilettoes

T – Tied/Trusting (pg 295)

U – Ultimatum

V – Vows / Vibrator / vortex of authority

W – Wedding / Wants

X – Connor puts electrical tape in the shape of an X across her nipples/ClimaX

Y – Yikes! / yelp

Z – Zipper

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard Extract

DISTRESS SIGNALS

Catherine Ryan Howard

Debut crime published 05 May 2016 in Trade Paperback (£12.99)

eBook also available

When Adam’s girlfriend fails to return from a business trip, he sets out to find her – putting him on a collision course with a deadly predator who may have found the perfect hunting ground.

A deeply compelling, cleverly plotted thriller.



‘There’s no evidence of a murder, but a person is missing. And what’s a missing person minus a body? Not a murder. Oh, no. Never a murder. It’s a disappearance.’
The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.
Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before. To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...


Extract:

A familiar shape: a lifebuoy.

Someone must have thrown it in.

I wonder what that someone saw.

The edges of my vision are growing dark. Everything is cold except for the spot where my right arm meets my torso; a fire burns in there. The pressure in my chest is pushing my lungs to rupture and burst.

I tell myself I can do this.

All I need to do is get to the lifebuoy.

I kick, harder and stronger and quicker now, somehow. Soon the Celebrate starts to grow bigger. I keep kicking. Then the moon gets bigger too, the water around me brighter still. I keep kicking. And just before I am sure that my lungs will burst, when they are already straining and ripping and preparing to explode—

I break the surface, gasping, sucking down air while my body tries to expel it, coughing and choking and retching and spluttering.

I can breathe.

I’m close enough to the lifebuoy to reach out and touch it. I grip it with my right arm and throw my left – hanging limp, the elbow at a disconcerting angle – over, but now all my weight is on one side of the buoy and it starts to flip.

I realise it’s only assistance, not rescue, and that even though I’m utterly exhausted I’ll have to keep my legs moving just to keep my head above water.

I’m not sure how long I can do this for.

One thing at a time. Don’t panic. One thing at a time.

I’m panting, hyperventilating, so my first task is to slow my breathing down. Breathe in. The right side of my face is stinging. Breathe out. My teeth are chattering. Breathe in.

I can’t see anyone else in the water.

In the distance off to my left are the lights of Nice, emerging from behind the Celebrate’s bow, the amber streetlights following the curve of the promenade first and then, crowded into every available space beyond, hotels and office buildings and apartment blocks. Behind me I know there is nothing but sea for hundreds of miles.

The Celebrate is towering over me, a gargantuan monster jutting out of the water and rising to two hundred feet above my head. I think perhaps I can hear tinkling music drifting down from her

decks. The only other sounds are my breaths and the splashes I make in the water.

I try to be quiet, to be still, and listen for someone else making the same noises, or someone calling out—

I hear it then, faint and in the distance.

Whump. Whump. Whump.

I know the sound but I can’t remember what makes it. I’m trying to when I see something maybe fifteen or twenty feet beyond my left arm: a dark shape bobbing on the surface.

Whump, whump, whump.

The noise is getting louder.

As I stare at the shape, the gentle rippling of the water and the moon conspire to throw a spotlight on it, just for a second, and I catch a glimpse of short brown hair.

Hair I know looks a lighter colour when it isn’t soaking wet.

The body it belongs to is facedown in the water and, as far as I can tell, moving only because of the gentle waves beneath it.

Whump-whump-whump-whump-whump—

There’s a blinding glare as a helicopter bursts into the sky above the Celebrate, the noise of its motor so loud now that I can feel the sound thundering through my chest.

Its search beam begins sweeping back and forth across the water.

They’ve come for me.

To continue reading, head to Boon’s Bookcase tomorrow, 7th May.

#DistressSignals www.distresssignalsbook.com 

Lucy Locket: Online Disaster by Emma Moss

Lucy Locket: Online Disaster by Emma Moss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



NEWSFLASH . . . VLOGGING IS GO!

It's bad enough having to move house, school and country all at the same time, without making a fool of yourself on the first day of term. But that's just what Lucy's done - and one of her classmates has videoed the whole thing and put it online!

Lucy's so stressed, her stammer's become worse than ever. So when a friend encourages her to create her own videos, she thinks it's a terrible idea - surely she's embarrassed herself enough for one lifetime!

But when Lucy finally gives vlogging a try, she's amazed to find that people actually want to watch . . .

Includes tips for making your own vlogs!

I bought this book on a bit of a whim today, I wanted something light and easy to read. This book is certainly that.

This story is about Lucy, she has moved over from the US as her mother got a job as a vet. (Not really sure why that meant they had to move abroad...surely there are vets in the US??) Lucy has left her life and her best friend (Morgan) behind, she is dreading her first day at school and is worried she won't make any friends.

Morgan is a vlogger and wanted to encourage Lucy to get into it. Lucy doesn't feel comfortable in front of the camera, especially without Morgan there and feels she couldn't ever vlog. Morgan has bought Lucy a camera as a leaving present in hope that perhaps she will use it.

Lucy's first day at school is a total disaster, one that encourages her stammer to come out. Lucy suffers from this when she is nervous or stressed, so trying to keep her awful day from her parents, doesn't go down too well as they can spot something has been up right from the beginning.

This is a story of friendship, new beginnings, struggling with new situations and discovering who you are.

I did enjoy this story, it did exactly what I wanted it to do. It was light-hearted, had an element of romance and a lot of friendship. I would however question the age this book is aimed at. It is suggested for audiences 10 and up, there is no bad language or anything in the book, but personally I wouldn't want a child of 10 reading how to start their own YouTube channel, which tips are given at the end of the book. I would say due to the nature of the story 14 and up would be more appropriate. That is just my personal opinion and others may not agree with me on that.

Overall I did enjoy the book and I read it in one sitting. If you are looking for a fun quick read I would recommend this to you. This kept me entertained for a couple of hours in the afternoon. :)

The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas

The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fun, bright pop-up book about a monster who explores colour through his emotions. The story of a sweet little monster who wants help from his friend to understand the feelings he experiences. On each spread is a vibrant and striking pop-up the conjures up feelings and emotions connected to different colours; black, yellow, red and green.

I was so lucky to be able to get a copy of this stunning book to share with my class to review.

This is a story about a monster, who has go into a muddle with his feelings, his colours have all been mixed up. A child helps him sort out his feelings and shows him what they are and how they can make you feel.

The class I read this to were a group of year 2 children, who are 6 and 7. They instantly picked up on the connection with 'Inside Out', this is a children's film. (I have never seen it, however they assure me this have people in it of different colours to represent feelings.) They also loved the art work and were able to link the feelings to their own experience.

Once we had finished reading the text I asked them if they would recommend it and to who? They said that they loved the book, however they felt it was better suited to younger children to help them learn about their feelings and how they feel during these emotions. Saying this, all of them said they would like to read the book again as they enjoyed it so much.

From a teachers point of view I would agree with them, I think this book would be perfect for very young children to introduce emotions and feelings to them. I also think this would be very good for autistic children, who sometimes find it difficult to recognise emotions.

Finally all the children said they liked the text, so much so one of them said they would give it 10 stars if they could.

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