Guest Post: Kirsty talks Escapism

Today here at Dark Readers we welcome Kirsty from The Love Of A Good Book. Kirsty and me became good friends after sharing Nell's beautiful story and I asked her if she wouldn't mind guesting for us and here she is....

Last year I travelled to Paris, Rome, San Francisco. New York on several occasions and Thailand, 
In fact looking back, I pretty much travelled the world.

But look at my passport and you won't find a single stamp for any of these destinations and that's because I travelled within my mind! 

I love nothing better than to escape within the pages of a book, to be transported to another would. 
There's something magical about the feeling a book can give you, the way it can consume your imagination and leave you at a loss when you close that last page.

When I went to San Francisco with Miranda Dickinson's 'Take A Look At Me Now' I found myself overcome by the beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge, hungry from the thought of the delicious sounding American dishes and bereft as I turn that final page and left the story I'd been enchanted by.

I'm in awe at the way an author can impact my thoughts and feelings, how their characters and descriptions can change the mood I'm in that day. 
Like with music, there is a book for every emotion.

I can run my hand along my bookcase and pick out a book that will make me smile, a book that will restore my faith in romance and on days when I need a good cry, I can locate several for that too.
I feel like I owe so much to authors, through them I've not just travelled but I've discovered things about myself.
I've got to use my imagination daily in a more sensible way, instead of daydreaming about running off with Shemar Moore, I'm enthralled by the written word of others.
So to authors everywhere, I say THANK YOU!

@minionsofbooks

http://theloveofagoodbook.wordpress.com/

@loveofagoofbook

Facebook: LoveOf A Good Book 

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Extract: Marianne Curley's Broken.

Hey Guys! so I am a huge fan of Hidden By Marianne Curley and her sequel -  BROKEN is out 13th of March.  Bloomsbury UK/AU were kind enough to give me an extract to tease you guys! so check it out!

Jordan

The moment I step out of B Block, Skinner is waiting and motioning with his head to follow him. This is all I need after Sophie’s insightful revelation.

About twenty metres past the new Drama Block extension, there is an old white building made from cement blocks. This eyesore used to be the original school toilets, but today it looks a lot more like an abandoned convict prison. Since the school opened two new facilities about fifty years ago, the local council condemned the structure, fixing steel grid gates to both male and female openings. These entrances are both tightly secured with solid brass padlocks.

Skinner produces a key, unlocks the female entrance and walks in.

I stand outside and stare at him. Even though it’s fifty years since the last kid peed in there, it still reeks of urine and, well, other stuff.

Right now, with pre-lunch classes underway, there’s no one around, not even the usual bunch of Year Seven boys that congregate at the back sometimes for a smoke.

Skinner sits on a timber bench inside, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles. ‘Come in.’

‘It stinks.’

‘You’ll get used to it.’

‘I don’t think so. I’m not coming here again.’

He gets up and stands right in front of my face. He gives me a condescending smirk, like he’s privy to information so secret and important I could die from not knowing what it is. ‘Is that how you greet your best friend?’

‘No, but you’re not my best friend. You’re no friend at all. Not any more.’

He swings an arm round my shoulder. I don’t see it coming and I flinch and try to get away. But his grip is solid, like he’s been working out at the gym. He hauls me inside where it’s grey and cold and damp. ‘That’s why I’m here,’ he says.

‘Huh?’

‘To clarify the status of our renewed friendship.’ His face is too close. It feels wrong on every level. I stretch my neck as far away as I can. ‘We’re going to hang out again, just like we used to.’

‘Like when we were eleven?’ He can’t be serious.

‘Exactly, dude.’

He releases me and I stumble backwards in my rush to put space between us. My back hits a stained cement wall.

I’m not sure in the dim light whether the stain is a shadow or mould or something else.

‘Too much has happened since then, Adam. We can’t go back.’

He’s in my face again, forehead to forehead, eyeball to eyeball, nose to nose. He moves fast, and with aggression.
‘You’ll do what I say, all right, Jordy-boy?’

I try to shove him. ‘It’s not all right. And don’t call me that.’

He pouts like I hurt his feelings.

‘What are you doing here?’ I ask.

He steps back, laughing. ‘You’re touchy this morning. Did my ex not give you the good news you were hoping to hear?’

I don’t say a word. He laughs. ‘Just relax, dude, I’m not here to hurt you.’

‘No? So why are you bugging me at school where anyone can see you?’

He swirls his hands in the air. ‘Take a look around. This is where we’re going to hold our official meetings.’

‘What are you talking about?’

He pokes his finger in my chest, his face turning serious.

‘My employer is adamant I keep my eye on you to ensure you’re sticking to the terms of your arrangement with him. So when Principal Eckard reinstates me into Year Eleven tomorrow, we’re going to be friends again, meeting down here in our matching free periods two or three times a week for an update.’

My stomach drops. ‘You’re coming back to school just so you can check up on me?’

He takes his finger from my chest, points it at my head like a gun and makes a clunking noise in his mouth. ‘You got it, bro.’

‘Don’t call me that either.’

‘Why not? You used to like it.’

‘In that other time before you tried to kill me.’
He waves his hand in the air dismissively. ‘Oh that. Well, you killed my brother, so I say that makes us even.’

‘Dude, it doesn’t work that way. Whatever’s going on with you, whatever you’re on, keep me out of it. I’m not going to meet you here, Skinner. Tell your “employer” you don’t have to check up on me. I have until Ebony turns eighteen to break them up. And I told you I would do it. I’m not backing down on the deal.’

I try to push past him to leave, but he doesn’t budge. He sticks his chest out to block me while scrutinising me with narrowed eyes. Then he lifts his right shoulder and lets it drop. ‘If you say so.’

Something’s not right. Adam Skinner doesn’t give in, not unless it’s part of his plan.

I go along with it for now, keeping wary. ‘Yep.’ I point to the exit. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I’m leaving.’

He doesn’t stop me. But before I feel the sun on my face he says, ‘Of course, there is another way’

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DR MAKEUP - LOOKS ON BOOKS #9 -SPLINTERED BY A.G HOWARD

 

Hey guys! Casey here! today my LOOKS ON BOOKS is based on the epic novel by A.G Howard called Splintered.

Summary: This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own 

Makeup you will need:

1. Dark Green and Light Green Eyeshadow

2. Black Liquid liner

3. Red Lipstick

4. Mascara

5. Foundation

1. Apply your foundation

2. The only way to explain how to do the butterfly design is to look closely at this picture and try to use it as a template. A good tip: When you use the liquid liner for a steady hand balance your pinkie on your cheek.

3. Once you've done the outline get your dark and light green eye shadow, Apply the light eye shadow at the beginning of the butterfly, and then blend with the dark on the edges of the butterfly.

4. Get your liquid liner and add tentacles on your forehead.

5. Then apply your red lipstick and mascara and there you go :)

Splintered by A.G Howard is out in the UK and It is one epic take on Alice in Wonderland. Read my review HERE!

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Valentine's Ninja Book Swap

Happy Valentine's Day all!!!!!

Thanks to the joys of Twitter I discovered the Valentine's Ninja Book Swap @ninjabookswap.

The idea behind it is to sign up and be assigned a partner, although you will not actually know who is sending you a parcel until you receive it.

I recieved an email with my persons name, address, blog, wish list, likes and dislikes and based on that information you are to provide a book or two and a gift inspired by the likes and dislikes that you have been given.

Yesterday I finally sent my parcel off to Ellie who should hopefully receive it today. This is what I sent her...

I really hope she's just as chuffed as I was.

My Ninja pal was Hanna from @bookinginheels and this is what she sent me...

Somehow The Book Of Tomorrow has passed me by and this makes me feel like an awful Cecelia Ahern fan. As for Jojo Moyes Me Before You. This book has been recommended to me by a fair few people so I cannot wait to get stuck into that. I've already eaten a few of my Freedo's, I look forward to eating my slab of chocolate and to using my Lush soap. So thank you Hanna for making my day :) 

The Ninja Book Swap was a fun treat and I cannot wait to get involved again. The next swap will be in June. So do make sure you add @Ninjabookswap on Twitter to see how you can get involved. I will be participating again in June. 

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Book Review: One Tiny Lie By K.A Tucker

Name: One Tiny Lie
Author: K.A Tucker
UK Release date: OUT NOW
Summary: Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.

Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?

As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows

Review: I hadn't heard about this novel before and when I posted a picture online everyone was gushing about it. My god I can see why.

I love everything about new adult and I'm always looking for new stuff that isn't repetitive and one tiny lie is beyond amazing. I loved the characters in this novel. Ash is one devilish lead male that you literally can't get enough of in all senses of the word. He's charismatic, hot, funny, cheeky and addicting! He makes this book what it is.

 K.A Tucker writes his perfectly. Livie is such a lovely character. She's going through a lot and she's a really relatable character! Her and Ash are the best NA characters out there! I think this is one of the best NAs I have read. The pace was awesome. The relationship between Ash and Livie wasn't rushed at all. There was some good humour in this novel too.

I think the sexual tension in this book was sky high. I got that little pain in my chest at scenes, and if you get that you KNOW this is an epic book. I loved K.A Tucker's writing she's a genius in the NA scene. Her writing isn't like anything I have read. If you love a VERY good love story with hot scenes and an epic story line then this is a book you need to buy! Any NA virgins out there? its time to break your cherry with this book.

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Book Review: Bird By Crystal Chan

Name: Bird
Author: Crystal Chan
Publisher: Random House

Summary: A girl, who was born on the day her brother Bird died, has grown up in a house of silence and secrets; when she meets John, a mysterious new boy in her rural Iowan town, and those secrets start to come out.

Review: I really do feel like I say, well what can I say at the beginning of a fair number of my reviews and I am sorry for that. All I can say is OH MY! Bird will suck you in from the very beginning.
I would say I would give one lucky winner my copy but I have to say I adored this book sooo much that I shant be able to part with this gem. It's not a very long read but it does cover a number of subjects including: Grief, Friendship, Family, Loneliness, Forgiveness, Acceptance, Secrets, Lies, Self Confidence, Adoption, Death, Life and fear...Jewel is a girl I instantly like and I feel sorry for her as she is forever living in the shadows of her brother Bird/John who she doesn't know, as he died on the day she was born. Poor Jewel is forever in his shadow, and she doesn't feel like she's good enough. No child should feel that way.
Most of the story is about Jewel but along the way, us readers discover more about her family and the relationships within her superstitious family.
What I really loved about Jewel is that considering so much is kept from her she's an intelligent free spirit, regardless of what her family think of her, and she knows exactly what she wants from life. Jewel is also prepared for whatever hardships that come her way.
Bird is a truly inspiring tale that really makes you think about your own life your hopes and dreams.

When Jewel meets John she's instantly in awe of him, he's clever and he talks to her like an equal not like a child. She's never met anyone like him and she's never had a real friend.
Although when she finds out he has a secret she feels betrayed and stupid. So she hurts John in the only way she knows by hitting out. There are soooo many OMG moments with Jewel, John her parents and her grandpa. This book is sooo different to anything else out there and if you're not deeply moved by Jewel's tale then you really are heartless.

A lovely book that must make your to be read pile NOW GO AND READ BIRD.

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An Update On Blogger Events...

Hello all Hannah here!!!

There have been several book events lately highlighting upcoming YA titles. With so many books to mention, I’ve picked 3 titles from each event that will at the top of my to-read piles.

Random House Children Publisher’s YA titles

Bird by Crystal Chan

Published 30th January 2014

Twelve year old Jewel never knew her brother, but all her life she has lived in his shadow. Then one night, she finds a mysterious boy sitting in her oak tree. His name is John. And he changes everything. Me and Hayley were well and truly blown away with the sound of Bird. I know Hayley has already read this so her review will be up shortly.

Hexed by Michelle Krys

Something witchy this way comes... Forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

Published 19th June 2014

Hurt by Tabitha Suzuma

Published 3rd September 2014

Matheo hides a secret so terrible it could destroy everything. A deeply moving novel, perfect for fans of Jenny Downham and JodiPicoult.

Random House Children Publisher’s YA Crime Fiction

The RHCP team didn’t hold any punches with crime scene tape, editors handcuffed together, and even a victim’s body outlined on the floorat their YA crime fiction event! Their upcoming titles look to be very exciting, dangerous and just as bold as their parties!

Running Girl by Simon Mason

Published 12th January

The first book in a fantastic new crime series for young adults, starring the elusive, laid back Garvie Smith (who has been liked to a young Sherlock Holmes).

Meet Garvie Smith. Highest IQ ever recorded at Marsh Academy. Lowest ever grades. What’s the point, anyway? Life sucks. Nothing ever happens. Until Chloe Dow’s body is pulled from a pond

Web of Darkness by Bali Rai

Published 5th June 2014

A dark thriller about online stalking and obsession from the master ostories.

When the incredibly attractive Benedict befriends Lily online, she is thrilled. He is so much more mature than boys her age and he seems to know exactly how she's feeling. She finds herself opening up to him, telling him things she wouldn't tell anybody else.

And she needs someone to confide in more than ever before as a spate of apparent suicides rocks her school - and her group of friends.

But is Benedict the kind, charming person that he seemed to be initially? Lily soon realisesthat now, with half our lives spent online, you can be found - even if you try to hide...

Bet Your Life by Jane Casey

Published 13th February 2014

Second in the Jess Tennant series. Jess has now been living in Port Sentinel for three months, and is just beginning to relax and think of it as home after the murderous events of the summer. But in the small hours of a dark night, a teenage boy is left for dead by the side of the road. Seb Dawson has a serious head injury and may not survive - and Jess decides to find out who beat him up, and why?

Faber

With the introduction of a new children’s publisher, Faber is set to publish some very exciting YA titles this spring/summer. These 3 are at the top of my radar:

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genvieve Tucholke

Published 6th March 2014

Thrilling gothic romance meets horror in thisfreamy YA romance.

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard.

Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale

Published 3rd April 2014

Evie's shattered ribs have been a secret for the last four years. Now she has found the strength to tell her adoptive parents, and the physical traces of her past are fixed - the only remaining signs a scar on her side and a fragment of bone taken home from the hospital, which her uncle Ben helps her to carve into a dragon as a sign of her strength.Soon this ivory talisman begins to come to life at night, offering wisdom and encouragement in roaming dreams of smoke and moonlight that come to feel ever more real.

The Girl who Walked on Air by Emma Carroll

Published 7th August 2014

Louie, who was abandoned at Chipchase'sTravelling Circus as a baby, dreams of becoming a 'Showstopper', but Mr Chipchasekeeps her hidden, tucked away in the ticket booth. No Death-Defying Stunts for her. But Louie has been secretly practising her act; the tightrope and dreams of being the Girl Who Walked on Air - she just needs to be given the chance to shine.

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