Monday 30 September 2013

Review: Skulk by Rosie Best


Skulk by Rosie Best

Author: Rosie Best Website|Twitter
Published: 1 October 2013 (Strange Chemistry)
Format: Kindle e-book (ARC)
Pages: 400
Buy the paperback: Amazon|BookDepository

Source: Received free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry!

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
When Meg witnesses the dying moments of a shapeshifting fox and is given a beautiful and powerful stone, her life changes forever. She is plunged into the dark world of the Skulk, a group of shapeshifting foxes.

As she learns about the other groups of shapeshifters that lurk around London – the Rabble, the Horde, the Cluster and the Conspiracy – she becomes aware of a deadly threat against all the shapeshifters. They must put aside all their enmity and hostility and fight together to defeat it.


My Review:
I'd seen Skulk mentioned on a couple of blogs so when I saw it was available to request on NetGalley I couldn't resist, and kept my fingers crossed! Skulk tells the story of graffiti artist Meg, who stumbles across a fox one evening who shifts into a man before her eyes. Soon she is drawn into the hidden world of the Skulk, a group of shape-shifting foxes.

I've read a lot of shape-shifting novels, usually surrounding wolves or cats, so I was intrigued to see a different take on it! This book not only deals with foxes but with rats, ravens, spiders and butterflies. What was interesting was how the book starts out as this gritty urban fantasy. It's set in London and I loved that location. It provided so much scope to explore the city and I could really get a picture in my head for the locations. Then towards the second half of the book, the book delves into a more magical side of it which sort of shifted the tone. I loved the history of the Skulk and the other groups, and how there's lots of tradition and magic at play.

The most instantly likable thing about this book was definitely Meg. She's artistic and expresses herself through graffiti, and I love how the book has chosen to use that as an art form rather than something frowned upon. The descriptions of the artwork that Meg has come to admire and look up to, such as that of her favourite graffiti artist E3 really shows how passionate these people are and what talent they have. And you could feel that passion coming from Meg.

What also really endeared me to her was that she is completely grounded and kind, despite the fact she is surrounded by pretty horrible people. Her mother is an MP who is determined her daughter should act and look a certain way, and the way she treats Meg is just plain cruel. Seeing Meg trying to battle against that whilst all the time remaining the same likable self just left me really rooting for her. Then there's her friends at school who are the sort of typical popular types. Meg is from a wealthy background yet she's nothing like the snobby girls she has to go to school with. She has to deal with a lot of peer pressure from her friends as well, for example when it comes to the pressure to have a boyfriend or sleep with a guy. I liked that she was different. I love it when you can see yourself being friends with a character, and that's how I felt about Meg.

Once Meg breaks away from her old life and integrates herself with the Skulk, we meet some great new characters. I really liked Addie and Blackwell who sort of take Meg under their wings, plus Mo who appears slightly later in the book. At times there were maybe a few too many characters to get my head around and by the end I was struggling a bit with who was who. I'm not good with lots of characters!

There were plenty of fast paced action scenes and a great underlying mystery surrounding a magical stone that kept he pace moving and stopped my attention from wavering. The writing was snappy and vivid and had me really wrapped up in the setting. I loved the unique feel to Skulk. It didn't feel like any other book I'd read, and I adored just how British it was. I think the first half was slightly more enjoyable than the second half for me, as I preferred the gritty urban fantasy side of the story, and later on in the book it became more complex. The ending of the book certainly suggests that there's more to the story and I hope it's continued into a series. I think there's so much potential for the world Best has created and those brilliant characters.

Rating: 4*
Books like this: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Sunday 29 September 2013

Weekly Book Round Up! 29th September


 Weekly Book Round Up!

Welcome to another recap of my bookish and blogging happenings from over the past week! I did something very unusual this week in that I returned unread books to the library. I never do that, but my TBR is so huge at the moment that I want to focus more on my own books if I can.

I've updated my review policy as well. I'm trying to be a bit more picky about what I read for review so that I make sure I stay excited about those books. Luckily I've got some really amazing looking review books coming up!

I've also added a poll to the right hand side of the blog so that you can help me choose which of my owned books to read next. So far Angelfall and Throne of Glass are winning!

Now onto the round up! Here's what I've been reading, buying, borrowing, acquiring and blogging about this week. Links go to Goodreads/Amazon/my own posts.


Currently reading: 
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

I started this one last night and already I'm really impressed by it. Keep an eye out for my review in the next few weeks!


Books finished:
More Than This by Patrick Ness
Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Carter
Briar Rose by Jana Oliver

Books reviewed:
Model Misfit by Holly Smale

Received for review:

(note: these are US covers. UK covers haven't been revealed yet!)

 Crash Into You by Katie McGarry
Pawn by Aimee Carter

*squeals* I am SO excited about Crash Into You because I loved Pushing the Limits and Dare You To SO much (they were both 5* books for me) and this one has more Isaiah! Katie McGarry has become one of my favourite authors <3 Keep an eye out for my review of that one. I've never read anything by Aimee Carter but the premise of Pawn sounds really intriguing. Thank you to MiraInk for both these incredible titles!

Library books:


Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Squeeeee! I loved Fangirl so can't wait to read this. I've heard amazing things <3 plus it's Banned Books Week this week and this book was recently banned.

Bought:


 Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

This has been on my wishlist for ages and Libba Bray is an author I've been really wanting to read. I saw a tweet about it being 76p for Kindle so I caved!

Kindle freebies:
 As always, these were free at the time but may not be now. Sorry!



Selling Scarlett by Ella James



A Summer to Remember by Jessica Gunhammer

Saturday 28 September 2013

News Round Up! 28th September



News Round Up!

Every week I recap some of my favourite news stories surrounding YA books. If you want to check out a wide range of news stories about all your favourite books and fandoms then be sure to checkout FangirlDaily.com!

Marissa Meyer has revealed her latest book deal. Heartless is an Alice in Wonderland prequel which tells the story of the Queen of Hearts. It will be published in Autumn 2015. Read more on Marissa Meyer's website.

Publisher Walker has announced the launch of a new entertainment imprint which will focus on books from celebrities and TV and film tie-ins. Read more over on The Bookseller.

The cover for Shadowplay by Laura Lam, the sequel to Pantomime, was unveiled this week. See the cover below and read the full post on the author's website.



Veronica Roth has spoken out about the Allegiant leak. A Canadian bookstore shipped copies of Allegiant one month early to some readers. Roth urged those readers to wait until the pub date to read the book or at least keep spoilers to themselves. Read her Tumblr post about it at this link.

Two new posters for Divergent have been released. The posters featuring Four and Tris and their tattoos can be seen over on Hypable.com.

More artists have been revealed for the Catching Fire soundtrack, including Christina Aguilera. You can read more about her involvement over on FangirlDaily.

New releases: 
Model Misfit by Holly Smale
Amazon|Goodreads|My Review

Zom-B Baby by Darren Shan
Amazon|Goodreads

Requiem by Lauren Oliver (paperback)
Amazon|Goodreads

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Amazon|Goodreads

A Radiant Sky by Jocelyn Davies
Amazon|Goodreads

The Paradox of Vertical Flight by Emil Ostrovski
Amazon|Goodreads







Friday 27 September 2013

Book Playlist: Model Misfit by Holly Smale

So yesterday I posted my review of Model Misfit by Holly Smale (out now - go grab yourself a copy!) and I just couldn't resist making a little playlist for it! Most playlists I make are all kinds of serious and full of emotional songs so it was nice to do something a bit more lighthearted and fun, although there's still a few songs with good messages in there that really reflected some of what Harriet goes through. Anyway, enough rambling. ENJOY!


Left My Heart in Tokyo - Mini Viva

Parts of Model Misfit are set in Tokyo and this is one of my all time favourite pop songs so favourite book, meet favourite pop song!

I left my heart in Tokyo,
Down by the river don't you know.
I had to let it go,
Nobody know know knows,
That I left my heart in Tokyo,
Down by the river don't you know.
I had to let it go,
Nobody knows, can bring it home 
 


Who's Laughing Now? - Jessie J

This is such a feel good song and is perfect for Harriet's rise to fame against all the odds!

Oh they pulled my hair,
They took away my chair,
I'd keep it in and pretend that I didn't care...

Oh, so you think you know me now,
Have you forgotten how,
You would make me feel,
When you dragged my spirit down?
But thank you for the pain,
It made me raise my game,
And I'm still rising, I'm still rising...


Mobile - Avril Lavigne

I <3 Avril Lavigne and this song also focuses on the craziness of fame and life changing when you're just trying to be young and get through teenage life unscathed!

Went back home again,
This sucks gotta pack up and leave again,
Say goodbye to all my friends,
Can't say when I'll be there again,
It's time now to turn around,
Turn my back on everything...


Clumsy - Fergie

Well duh, I had to choose this song because of the title.

You got me tripping, stumbling, flipping, fumbling,
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love,
You got me slipping, tumbling, sinking, fumbling,
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love,
 


Every Breath You Take - The Police

So when I think of Toby there is really only one song that comes into my head. I mean I love him, but I just could not resist. (SORRY.)

Every breath you take,
Every move you make,
Every bond you break,
Every step you take,
I'll be watching you...

About the book: 


 
My reviews: Geek Girl|Model Misfit
Buy Model Misfit: Amazon|BookDepository
Author: Website|Twitter
 

Thursday 26 September 2013

Review: Model Misfit (Geek Girl, #2) by Holly Smale

Spoiler warning! This is book two in the Geek Girl series and so this review may contain spoilers for Geek Girl. You can read my review of the first book here instead.



 Model Misfit by Holly Smale
Author: Website|Twitter
Published: 26 September 2013 (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Format: Kindle e-book (ARC)
Pages: 356
Buy the paperback: Amazon|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Received free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks HarperCollins!

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
“My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek.”

Harriet knows that modelling won’t transform you. She knows that being as uniquely odd as a polar bear isn’t necessarily a bad thing (even in a rainforest). And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this.

What Harriet doesn’t know is where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives.

With summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get as far away from home as possible. But nothing can prepare Harriet for the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother’s ‘chaperoning’. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes.

Because, this time, Harriet knows what a broken heart feels like.

Can geek girl find her place on the other side of the world or is Harriet lost for good?


My Review:
So I loved Geek Girl and couldn't wait to start this one! Model Misfit picks up Harriet as she works to balance her new jet set lifestyle with the slightly more down to earth teenage problem of GCSE exams.

This was one of those books that I sneakily started even though I was reading something else, because once I'd downloaded it to my Kindle and read the first few pages I just couldn't stop. The opening few scenes with Harriet on a modelling shoot were just hilarious. She's just as brilliantly geeky and funny as ever!

Model Misfit throws Harriet a whole bunch of new challenges she has to face. She's still getting stick at school, Nat is going away for the summer, exams are upon them and Toby is still hanging around. Then there's dreamy Nick and all the boy drama he brings with him. I thought some of the moments where things get on top of Harriet were so brilliantly done, because she throws these hilarious strops where she knows full well she's being overdramatic, but it reminds me how much of a big deal things are when you're that age and how you wish the world would swallow you up! Her internal monologue is just freaking funny.

One of my favourite parts of Model Misfit was the general presence of Toby, Harriet's friendly geeky stalker. I thought he had great potential in Geek Girl and you get to see even more of his funny side in this book. I would find myself giggling away at the things he comes out with, especially when he's hanging around with Nat and Harriet and trying to be sensitive to girls and their issues. Harriet's dad really steals the show in this book as well, just as he did in book one for me. I thought the introduction of Annabel's mum Bunty was fantastic as well. Holly Smale writes absolutely fantastic characters. Like I could spend all day in a room with each of them and I'd either end up having a really interesting discussion, or come out with my sides in stitches from laughing.

Another real highlight were the parts of the book set in Japan, where Harriet jets off to for a modelling shoot. I love books that can sweep me away somewhere exciting, and reading about Tokyo through Harriet's eyes felt like a real adventure! Plus we get extra doses of Japanese Harriet facts so what's not to love about that?! I thought Rin, a Japanese model Harriet ends up staying with, was a hilarious addition to the characters as well. Her little quirks and observations had me giggling throughout those scenes.

Now getting slightly more serious, I loved seeing Harriet become a little more independent and starting to stand up for herself. There were moments where I was almost standing up and cheering her on as she starts to fight back and take control of things. I think my favourite scene was Harriet's comeback in an argument that involves correcting someone's grammar. I literally wanted to reach into the book and high-five her because that's totally what I would do. I love that Harriet goes on all these ups and downs throughout the book and you get swept along with her in all of those situations. But there were some really uplifting moments, especially towards the end of the book, where my heart felt all warm and fuzzy.

I've mentioned (a lot) how much I love the characters, but the plot in Model Misfit was all so brilliantly pieced together. There's bits of information planted throughout that you don't see as being relevant until the end of the story. I just loved how everything is built up and seamlessly worked into the story. The writing is so clever.

So yes, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. If you loved the first book then you won't be disappointed. I can't wait for book three because I'm missing these characters already. I think this series is going to be my go to comfort read in the future because rarely do books make me giggle so much. I can't wait to re-read them already!

Rating: 5*
Books like this: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil, Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (#13): Allegiant by Veronica Roth

 
 
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted over at Breaking the Spine and gives bloggers a chance to highlight upcoming releases we're excited about.
 
 
 
Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth
Published: 22nd October (HarperCollins)
 
Because who isn't waiting for Allegiant? I'll admit parts of Insurgent didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I adored Divergent and overall I've loved the series so far. I'm hoping Allegiant is saving the best til last. The cliffhanger ending of book two certainly has me desperate to read this one!

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know in the comments!

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Sequels Ever

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week is all about the top ten best sequels! This was a hard list to put together because I've started so many series, but the list of series where I've actually continued onto the sequels is pretty small. Must get on that! Anyway, here's the best of the bunch from those I actually have gotten round to reading:


1. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins
This is my favourite book in the trilogy by far. I loved what they did with the arena in this one and the new characters we get to meet. I'm SO excited to see the film later this year as well.
Goodreads|My Review


2. Prodigy (Legend, #2) by Marie Lu
It had been a while since I'd read Legend when I picked up Prodigy so I was kind of nervous about getting back into the world, but not only did I find myself hooked again, the story just blew me away. And after that ending I am so freaking exciting (and a bit terrified) to read Champion!
Goodreads|My Review


3. Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2) by Katie McGarry
I LOVED Beth's character in this. I mean Pushing the Limits was awesome, but this took it to a whole new level of awesome. And hello amazing chemistry <3 oh and RYAN. How could I forget Ryan? <3
Goodreads|My Review


4. The Madness Underneath (Shades of London, #2) by Maureen Johnson
I was SO nervous to read this book because the reviews I'd seen had been mixed, but I loved it with all my heart.
Goodreads|My Review


5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6) by J. K Rowling
My favourite Harry Potter book! I think it's mainly because of Harry and Ginny (and Ginny in general) but I've always had a huge soft spot for this one and I re-read it more than any of the other books.
Goodreads




6. As You Wake (In Your Dreams, #2) by Amy Martin
I love it when I love a sequel more than the first book. Now that I had fully established myself in the world I could lose myself even more in the exciting book and great characters.
Goodreads|My Review

7. Geekhood: Mission Improbable (Geekhood, #2) by Andy Robb
When the second book makes you laugh even more than the first, you know you are on to a winner. Plus this one had scenes in York which is where I'm from so that made it even more impressive.
Goodreads|My Review


8. City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3) by Cassandra Clare
This is still my favourite book in the series and the one that turned me into a fangirl. I remember finishing this and having all the feels.
Goodreads


9. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
I don't know if this really counts as a sequel because it stands on it's own, but it does follow on from Code Name Verity time wise and it's SO GOOD that I want to include it.
Goodreads


10. Model Misfit by Holly Smale
This is where I'm a massive tease (SORRY!) because this book doesn't come out until this week, but it was just as amazing as the first book and it's fresh in my mind having just finished it, so it makes the list!
Goodreads

What are your favourite sequels? I'd love to hear from you! Let me know in the comments or link me up to your own top ten and I'll check it out.

Monday 23 September 2013

Book Blitz: Deadly to Love by Mia Hoddell

Today I'm excited to be taking part in the Book Blitz for Deadly to Love by Mia Hoddell! Find out more about the book and the author below. 

 



Deadly to Love (Elemental Killers #1) by Mia Hoddell

Published: February 2013
Genre: YA/Romance/Paranormal/Fantasy
ASIN: B00BDQ3QGA
ISBN: 978-1-291-41025-9

Plot summary:
The world is dangerous – but love will kill you.
Little did Serena Jackson know that one simple, flirty remark to an anonymous guy online would lead to her world being changed forever.

She doesn’t know him, but inexplicably, is drawn. She knows it is wrong but she agrees to meet.

His real name is Kai. He is beautiful. And immediately Serena feels herself blindly falling for him even though she senses a lie. She knows he is hiding something and it terrifies her.

What she doesn’t realise is that her entire life has been built on secrets and lies. The people she loved left her in the dark for a reason.

She trusted them. She trusts Kai. But as he pulls her straight into the heart of the danger the lies and deadly secrets are revealed. They overwhelm her, and the person she once was no longer exists as she is thrown into a ruthless world of elemental forces. The price of truth is her life—and now the world wants her dead.

 
Available from:
Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Paperback) | Lulu
Amazon UK (Kindle) Amazon UK (Paperback)

and only 99c / 77p on Kindle for September!

Praise:
“I couldn't put it down. So I finished it last night and all I can say is WOW! This book was amazing and different.” Brianna (Book Blogger)

I loved how the author took a different approach to writing a love story in modern times with the paranormal element present. I thought it was absolutely wonderful and refreshing. Marvelous!” Kathy H (Amazon Reviewer)

I will admit I scoffed at the way it started but in the end I had fallen in love with this story…completely untraditional it was a very original idea, not to mention modern. This story had such a good plot and the story structure was sound. Kacii – The Kooky Bookworm (Book Blogger)


About the Author

Mia Hoddell lives in the UK with her family and two cats. She spends most of her time writing or reading and loves anything paranormal. Mia always had a love of writing but never reading. She was more interested in sports and hated sitting still - despite getting three poems published before the age of sixteen. Finally though, she found some novels that captured her interest and developed a love of reading which is now one of her favourite hobbies.

Mia began with poems before moving on to short stories. Although she enjoyed this, Mia found she had too much to tell with too little space, so later on she created her first series 'The Wanderer Trilogy' and from there other ideas have emerged. With a total of nine books planned at this moment, she is busy working on her second series 'Elemental Killers' before moving onto the next idea on her ever growing list.
 
Author Links
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***Excerpt***

Happy with the amount of photos I had collected I started to head back out of the forest, still flicking through my shots. As well as close ups, I had taken a few landscapes and as I was almost at the edge of the forest I noticed something in one of the photographs that made me stop.
In the left hand corner was a figure that looked mostly human, but was blurred as if they were moving on the spot.
A cold shudder shot through me.
Looking over my shoulder I became slightly panicked and felt as if someone was following me.
My eyes flicked and searched the shadows. Even though there was no sign that anything had ever been behind me, the forest looked different now - dark and threatening.
Instinctively I broke away and ran, still clutching the camera that was displaying the freaky image. Surrounded by trees I didn’t stop until I was free of the forest and back in the open light and sight of my house.
Throwing open my door, I slumped against the inside of it, regaining my breath from the short sprint. Once I had recovered I looked down at the photo once more, just to make sure that I hadn’t been seeing things. The old saying “the camera never lies,” came into my mind and for the first time I wished it not to be true. Sure enough though, as I looked down at the screen, the figure was still there and this time I noticed a red and orange glow around where its feet should have been. The image almost looked like the person was on fire but I thought I would have surely noticed if there had been a burning man in front of me.

***GIVEAWAY***

Mia Hoddell is giving away an Amazon gift card this month only there is a slight twist: the more entries she receives the more money she will put on the gift card to giveaway! For example:


No matter what = $5
100 entries = $10
150 entries = $15
200 entries = $20
and so forth...
So if she gets 1000 entries she will give away $100, there’s no limit!


To enter all you have to do is buy or have bought Deadly to Love. It's only $0.99 or £0.79 on Amazon for the duration of the giveaway! This will also unlock extra entries for you so you can earn more points by sharing the giveaway. Remember the more entries she gets the bigger the prize for you so share!


Sunday 22 September 2013

Weekly Book Round Up! 22nd September




 Weekly Book Round Up!

I've posted some really exciting things this week including my Books Are My Bag post and my stop on The Girl Next Door Blog Tour. You can check out the links to those at the bottom of this post. I also went on a Kindle freebie splurge despite my attempts to be restrained due to the huge amount of unread freebies I have already. Woops! So here's a recap of all my bookish happenings from the past week.

Currently reading: 
Model Misfit by Holly Smale

Books finished:
Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Books reviewed:
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
The Girl Next Door by Selene Castrolvilla

For review:


Model Misfit by Holly Smale

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for this one! I'm so excited! I featured it as my Waiting on Wednesday pick for this week (see below) You can also find the link to the review of Geek Girl further up the page. I've already started it and I am loving every second.


This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Huge thank you to Macmillan Children's Books for this proof copy! I <3 books about music so this sounds like exactly the kind of thing I will love. From the blurb it looks like the main character is a bit of an outsider who struggles to fit in. I usually relate a lot to books like that so I'm excited to see how I feel about it. And how gorgeous is the cover?!

 Library books:


 The School for Good and Evil by Somain Chainani

I've heard mixed things about this one but it looks super cute and sounds like exactly my kind of book. Anything with boarding schools = winning.

Bought:


Switched by Amanda Hocking

This was a charity shop bargain! I've heard good things about this author and I've never read any of her books so I'm excited to remedy that.

Kindle freebies:

Note: these books were free at the time but may not be now. Sorry!


Evolution by Kelly Carrero
Shadows by Jennifer L. Aremntrout


A French Girl in New York by Anna Adams
A French Star in New York by Anna Adams


Vampire Shift by Tim O'Rourke
Cipher by Cindi Madsen


Saturday 21 September 2013

News Round Up! 21st September

 News Round Up!

The title of The 5th Wave sequel by Rick Yancey has been announced this week. The second book will be called The Infinite Sea. The book is due for publication in 2014.

Jennifer L. Aremntrout's Covenant series has been optioned for a TV series. Read more about the deal on FangirlDaily and Aremntrout's blog.

Geek Girl by Holly Smale will now be published in the US after the author signed a deal with HarperCollins US. Smale announced the news on Twitter this week. You can read my review of Geek Girl at this link.



Another quote from Allegiant by Veronica Roth has been unveiled this week, and the latest is a thought from Four. See the collection of quotes over on Hypable.com.

It was revealed this week that Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell had been banned from a library's shelves in the US and the author's invitation to speak at an event receded after parents took issue with the language used in the book. Rowell spoke to Mallory Ortberg over on The Toast to explain what had happened.

And Gennifer Albin, author of Crewel, has revealed she authored a New Adult novel under a pen name. Catching Liam has now been reissued with her name on the front, with the announcement of a second novel titled Teaching Roman releasing this autumn. Check out more about the books on the author's website.

New releases:
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
Amazon|Goodreads

Once We Were by Kat Zhang
Amazon|Goodreads

3:59 by Gretchen McNeil
Amazon|Goodreads

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
Amazon|Goodreads

Friday 20 September 2013

Review: Geek Girl by Holly Smale


Geek Girl by Holly Smale
Author: Holly Smale Website|Twitter
Published: 28 February 2013 (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Format: Kindle e-book
Pages: 378
Buy the paperback: Amazon|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Bought

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.

She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?


My Review:
Geek Girl was a book I've been wanting to read for a long time, partly because anything with the word geek in the title completely has my attention, and partly because other bloggers had been raving about it. When it came up on Kindle Daily Deal I snatched it up! Geek Girl follows geeky Harriet as she is plucked from obscurity and thrown head first into the fashion world.

I knew I was going to love this book right away because I was already giggling within the first few pages. Books that make me physically laugh are so rare and so the humour in Geek Girl was refreshing and became one of my favourite things about the book. I spent the whole weekend devouring it and came very close to sticking a "do not disturb" sign on my door because I just did not want to be interrupted whilst reading!

Part of the reason I adored the humour in Geek Girl so much was because Harriet herself was so hilarious. Her voice throughout the book was so witty and the way she describes her experiences and little anecdotes made me laugh so much. I loved that she's a little bit hapless and clumsy and one of the best things about Harriet is that despite all her disasters throughout the story, she still remains a completely believable character. What's happening to her is crazy but ultimately I could completely believe the story and that is really important to me. Obviously, given the title, Harriet is incredibly smart, but she's also so likable and nice and someone you'd really want to be friends with which is one of the biggest compliments I can give a character!

The ensemble of characters surrounding Harriet were just as brilliant. She lives with her dad and stepmum Annabel and I loved the family dynamic between them. Harriet and her dad are so similar and I adored the scenes where it was the two of them trying to figure their way out of situations. Annabel also was the perfect antidote to the two of them as she's the voice of reason and common sense so they all balance each other out in the end! I loved the up and down friendship between Harriet and Nat which I think will be relatable to a lot of people. When you're fifteen it's so easy for jealousy to get in the way of things are for you to blow everything out of proportion. I recognised their friendship immediately. The boys in this book were great too, from swoon-worthy model Nick to bumbling, fellow geek and Harriet stalker Toby.

The plot of Geek Girl sees Harriet spotted and whisked off to become a model, despite loathing the fashion world and being much happier watching documentaries. Harriet herself sees it as a chance to change herself after the taunting she gets at school for being a geek. I loved the balance of crazy, hysterical plot and realistic teen issues. We've all been there when you start to question who you are because you are teased about it. Some of the moments Harriet has at school were so reminiscent of my own experiences that I really connected with her in those moments. I think the underlying themes and tones of the book are immensely positive and it's all about learning to embrace who you are. I really appreciated the rubbish decisions Harriet makes as well because making mistakes is how you learn! And she learns a lot over the course of the book.

The book had lots of short chapters and every so often you'd get a chapter beginning with a list because Harriet loves lists, and as a list-lover myself books with lists in automatically make me love them a bit more! The fast pace of the book made it utterly addictive as well. I just couldn't put it down because it was so much fun and there was constantly something happening.

There are probably a billion and one things I've forgotten to mention in this review, because trying to remember all the amazing things about a book this awesome is hard! I absolutely adored it. I loved Harriet, I loved the story and I thought the writing was just perfect. It was a quick read but one that really packed a punch and it was exactly the kind of fun read I needed, but I liked that it had its serious moments as well. It was the perfect balance. I'll be recommending this book to pretty much anyone I talk to from now on and the fab news is that there are more Geek Girl books! The sequel Model Misfit comes out this month and I can't wait to read it.

Rating: 5*
What to read next: Model Misfit by Holly Smale, the second book in the Geek Girl series
Books like this: Geehkood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb

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