The Overflowing Library

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Published by Hodder Featuring necklaces made of wishes; an underground shop dealing in teeth; magical tattoos; a wishbone on a cord, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE is a thrilling story about Karou and her secret life as an apprentice to a wishmonger. Karou manages to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she is a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to an inhuman creature who deals in wishes and is the closest thing she has to family. Her life is surrounded by mysteries she is desperate to unveil. *** Daughter of Smoke and Bone is probably one of the most original books I have read this year and a gripping read. I was hooked from page one and didn't want it to end. At the start of the book you meet the main character Karou. I loved her as a character. She is a mysterious 17 year old art student with crazy blue hair and the ability to do magical things alongside a hidden life which she hides from ...

The name of the star Published by HarperCollins The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities. ...

Today I am very very excited to be hosting the book tour story for VIII by Harriet Castor as it has to be the best Historical fiction novel I have read this year so far. When I’m asked how long it took me to do the research for my new book VIII , a YA novel told through the eyes of Henry VIII, my answer is ‘more than thirty years’. I’m not being facetious (and neither am I a gazillion years old – although my youngest daughter is convinced that I grew up in the Olden Days, probably with dinosaurs), it’s just that Tudor history grabbed me when I was at primary school, and has never let go. It used to be the dresses and the executions that fascinated me most – a slightly queasy combination. My gran had Antonia Fraser’s satisfyingly chunky biography of Mary Queen of Scots on the shelf by her armchair, and I could never stop myself from pulling it out and turning to the final pages, to read about the dramatic red petticoats revealed on the scaffold, and the little dog that hid in Mar...

VIII by HM Castor Published by Templar Challenge: BBC Series: Given by owner of Norfolk Children's Book Centre If I had to think of how to sell this book I would describe it as being along the lines of the Tudor TV series but toned down to be more suitable for a YA audience. I enjoyed every page and thought it was a prime example of how YA historical fiction should be written. I do get quite a bee in my bonnet when it comes to YA historical fiction. I get sent a lot of it for review because I am a history teacher and I have found of late that some of the stuff out there is just too weighty and too boring to engage youngsters especially things written about historical events pre 19th century. What I loved about VIII is that it the author seems to know the age range she is writing for (which always helps) and uses story telling in an engaging and effective manner to put across historical events in a way which would be entertaining for teens. The first thing I l...

Love Story by Jennifer Echols Published by MTV books Source: Purchased myself She's writing about him. he's writing about her. And everybody is reading between the lines.. For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment? Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And af...

Love Inc by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout Published by Allison and Busby Source: Review Copy Zahra, Kali, and Syd would never have met if their parents' marriages hadn't fallen apart. But when the three girls collide in group counseling, they discover they have something else in common: they've each been triple-timed by the same nefarious charmer, Eric, aka Rico, aka Rick. Talk about eye-opening therapy.Cheerful, diplomatic Zahra is devastated. Rico had been her rock and sole confidant. How could she have missed the signs? Folksy, flirtatious Kali feels almost as bad. She and Rick had only been on a few dates, but they'd felt so promising . Hardened vintage-vixen Syd is beyond tears. She and Eric had real history... Or so she'd thought. Now all three girls have one mission: to show that cheater the folly of his ways. Project Payback is such a success, the girls soon have clients lining up for their consulting services. Is your boyfriend acting...

In my Mailbox is hosted by Kristi www.thestorysiren.com I got four fab books this week for review Mist by Katherine James (UK paperback) This looks awesome Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (UK proof) I  have been looking forward to this one for ages now! The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima  (UK paperback) Another one from the new Orion Imprint. I have loved everything they've published so far 15 days without a head by Dave Cousins (UK proof) My lovely blogging friend Sarah managed to get me one of these. She is my book star

Today's Bookcase Showcase Post is by  Christopher Edge, author of The Dead Ways and the forthcoming Twelve Minutes to Midnight. First, an apology – when I heard you were coming, I had to start tidying my shelves. There’s an imminent house move on the cards here and, for some reason, this has resulted in chaos blooming amidst the bookshelves.   So, to protect you from the full horror of my book collection in its current state of disorder, here is an abbreviated and sanitised tour of my shelves. The first picture shows the bookshelf next to my desk in the study. This is where I keep the books I need for research depending on the books I’m currently writing. As I write fiction, non-fiction and have even recently turned my hand to gift and novelty books, these shelves can end up being a strange mix of bedfellows. Currently there are lots of reference books here about the strange and supernatural, as well as books covering topics such as stone circles, silent cinema, Victori...

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott Published by Source: Swapped on www.readitswapit.co.uk The thing is, you can get used to anything. You think you can't, you want to die, but you don't. You won't. You just are. This is Alice. She was taken by Ray five years ago. She thought she knew how her story would end. She was wrong. *** When I first opened this book I really didn't know what to expect from it but I most certainly did not expect the book I then read. This book pulls no punches and doesn't shy away for one second from the horrors it portrays. The result is that you are left at the end feeling heartbroken for this tragically awful tale which continues to play on your mind long after you put it down. Living Dead Girl is the tragic tale of a teenager who was kidnapped as a child and forced to live a terrifying life with a man who uses her to serve everything one of his nasty and horrible whims. It makes for uncomfortable reading throug...

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter Published by Mira Challenge : DAC Source: Review copy It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. *** I really enjoyed reading The Goddess Test and loved how the book was based on the ideas of Greek Mythology.The characters were interesting and the plot line was really engaging. At the start of the book the reader meets Kate. S...

I love twilight and I love the artwork in the first volume so I am very excited about this even though I don't really read graphic novels coming out October 2011

Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper Published by Bloomsbury Challenge: BBC Source: Purchased from Topping and Co Grace Parkes has just had to do a terrible thing. Having given birth to an illegitimate child, she has travelled to the famed Brookwood Cemetery to place her small infant's body in a rich lady's coffin. Following the advice of a kindly midwife, this is the only way that Grace can think of to give something at least to the little baby who died at birth, and to avoid the ignominy of a pauper's grave. Distraught and weeping, Grace meets two people at the cemetery: Mrs Emmeline Unwin and Mr James Solent. These two characters will have a profound affect upon Grace's life. But Grace doesn't know that yet. For now, she has to suppress her grief and get on with the business of living: scraping together enough pennies selling watercress for rent and food; looking after her older sister, who is incapable of caring for herself; thwarting the manipulative a...

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien Published by Simon and Schuster Challenge: DAC IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future. In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother's footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying. *** Birthmarked is one of those books that I have been waiting to read for a while as the concept is a fascinating one. I have read a lot ...

 In my Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at www.thestorysiren.com I got some fab books this week. For Review Darkness Falls by Mia James (UK hardback) I was so excited to receive this in the post. I can't wait to get started on it. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (UK proof) I got this via Amazon Vine after hearing quite a bit about it over the past few weeks. I am actually gutted because the author is coming to Norwich in October but it is during the day which means I can't make it. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (UK paperback) I just finished this one last week. This is the finished UK copy. The review will be on the blog in October but is already up on my goodreads account if you are interested. Won Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson (UK paperback) Won in a competition on The Crooked Shelf (If you've never seen Carla's blog check it out because it is totally unique) A year without Autumn by Liz Kessler (Signed UK paperback) I won this from Liz herself ...

 Today's Bookcase Showcase guest post is by Scattered Laura from Scattered Figaments I went back to work this week (I'm a teacher in mourning for the summer holidays), and after just two days my desk is groaning under the weight of books, desperate-to-be-filed paperwork, notebooks, stickers and hastily scribbled notes-to-self. These latter are a particular indication of my muddled madness. They read like fortune cookies or vague advice from a spiritual guru. This week's gems include: "Values and Philosophy  are in the bottom of the schoolbag" "The curly tree needs thumbprints and leaves" "Bumblebee is still missing - needed a holiday?" Now  I   know what I mean. But to the more sensible eye, these are surely the writings of a mad woman. I'm sure there are plenty who would agree with that conclusion.  If my desk is a mess, then my handbag is confused chaos. There are books, notebooks, pens, a purse, contacts, deodorant, ma...

Sister Missing by Sophie McKenzie Published by Simon and Schuster Series: Girl Missing #2 Challenge: BBC Source: Review copy   I was a huge fan of Girl Missing and was very very excited to hear that there was another book in the series. I am pleased to say I enjoyed this instalment just as much as it was just as entertaining including all of the things I have come to expect from Sophie's novels: Fast pace, engaging story line, likable characters and loads of twists and turns to make for a thrilling read. Sister missing follows a similar format as Girl Missing but goes off in its own direction which makes it different in its own right. Lauren is spending her holidays with her American family at a seaside resort in the UK. She takes her 8 year old sister to the beach and whilst there her sister is kidnapped in circumstances similar to her own abduction. The story which follows is a fast paced rides with several twists a...