Contemporary Romance Recommendations for Newbies

The Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge is hosted by Gone with the Words and Love at First Page. As part of the challenge they are setting a different topic every month that participants can choose to join in with which I think is a brilliant idea so you can expect a post like this to appear at random most months throughout the year.

I know I'm a bit late posting this but it's a great topic so I still wanted to take part! Hopefully I'll get the March topic up in the correct month LOL.

The February Prompt is:

Contemporary Romance Recommendations for Newbies

(Links below will take you to my reviews)

I decided to spilt my recommendations into 3 categories, YA, NA and Adult so that hopefully there is something here for everyone. I've chosen 5 of my favourite authors for each category, more often than not I'm recommending a whole series so there are a lot more than 15 books for you to choose from!

My Young Adult Contemporary Romance Recommendations:

1. Simone Elkeles - Perfect Chemistry Trilogy
2. Cat Clark - A Kiss in the Dark
3. Katie McGarry - Pushing the Limits series
4. Morgan Matson - Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
5. Sarah Dessen - Saint Anything

My New Adult Contemporary Romance Recommendations:

1. Nalini Singh - Rock Kiss series
2. Cecy Robson - Shattered Past & O'Brien Family series
3. Mila Grey - Come Back to Me series
4. Colleen Hoover - ANYTHING she writes!
5. Cora Carmack - Losing It

My Adult Contemporary Romance Recommendations: 

1. Jill Shalvis - Animal Magnetism & Lucky Harbor series
2. Laura Kaye - Hearts in Darkness
3. Samantha Young - On Dublin Street series
4. Ruthie Knox - Ride With Me (or basically any of her contemporary romances!)
5. Katee Robert - Come Undone & Out of Uniform series

So what do you think of my choices? Do any of these make your list? Are there any books I've not mentioned that you think are must reads?

Review: A Kiss in the Dark - Cat Clarke

When Alex meets Kate the attraction is instant.

Alex is funny, good-looking, and a little shy - everything Kate wants in a boyfriend.

Alex can't help falling for Kate, who is pretty, charming and maybe just a little naive . . .

But one of them is hiding a secret, and as their love blossoms, it threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their lives.

Passionate, moving and gripping, A Kiss in the Dark will make you feel first love all over again.

Visit Cat Clarke's website for more information

Review:
I'm a huge fan of Cat Clarke's writing, she always creates such realistic teenage characters and her stories never fail to pack a punch. I think A Kiss in the Dark might just be her best book yet which is really saying something!

I'm afraid that this review is going to be deliberately vague because this is the kind of story that would be incredibly easy to spoil and I would hate to ruin anyone's experience of reading it. There are so many things I want to talk about when it comes to this novel and it's killing me that I can't discuss them.

Alex and Kate are attracted to each other from the moment they first meet, they have the same interests, enjoy spending time together and slowly but surely they fall in love. In a lot of ways they are perfect for each other but Alex has a secret, one that has the power to destroy their relationship if Kate ever finds out the truth. The reader actually finds out what that secret is fairly on in the story and because the first half of the book is told from Alex's point of view we get to see just how much keeping that secret plays on their mind. Alex didn't set out to deceive Kate but what starts as a small misunderstanding between them soon snowballs into something so huge that Alex has no idea how to fix things.

I spent half of the book just waiting for the truth to come out, you know Kate is going to be devastated and you're hurting on her behalf but you can't help but feel sorry for Alex even when you're wishing that they could have been honest with each other from the very beginning. After the big reveal the point of view switches so you can see exactly how hurt Kate was by Alex's betrayal. It was at this point she does something incredibly stupid as a way of getting revenge on Alex and although I was incredibly angry at her actions I couldn't help but wonder how I would have reacted in her situation. Kate quickly starts to realise how one small lie can snowball way beyond anything you'd have imagined and I think that probably helps her to see things from Alex's point of view. The real question is whether she will do the right thing by the end of the story or will she see her revenge through to the bitter end.

A Kiss in the Dark is a gut wrenching read, I was so emotionally invested in both of these characters and it's very hard to imagine that the outcome of this relationship is going to be anything but heartbreaking which makes even the good times they spend together rather bitter sweet. This is the kind of book that makes you ask uncomfortable questions and I loved it for that. I would like to take a copy of this book and place it in the hands of every teenager I come across, there is a lot we can all learn from Alex and Kate's story and I applaud Cat Clarke for writing such an incredibly emotional book.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Foyles 2nd Creative Voices Event & Afternoon Tea with Kimberly Derting - 12th May 2012

Neil from Foyles introducing the authors

A couple of weeks ago I was very excited to be invited for afternoon tea with Kimberly Derting thanks to Headline and Allison & Busby. Before the tea Kimberly was making an appearance at Foyles for their second Creative Voices event so of course I jumped at the chance of attending the event to get the chance to see the other authors who would be there - Cat Clarke, James Dawson and Tanya Byrne.

Kimberly Derting, Cat Clarke, James Dawson & Tanya Byrne

Kirsty and I made our way to London early so we could meet up with Sammee for lunch, I can't tell you how much I love having time to catch up with my blogging buddies. One of the best things about blogging has been the awesome friends I've made! We were all understandably excited and a bit hyper so we made our way to Foyles early to make sure we got good seats. Before the event started we had a chance to chat with some of the other bloggers who were attending the event and some of the lovely publicists I've met over the last couple of years.

After an introduction from Neil it was time to hear from each of the authors.

Kimberly Derting

First up was Kimberly Derting who told us a bit about both of her latest releases The Last Echo which is the third book in her Body Finder series (you can read my review here) and the first book in her new dystopian fantasy series The Pledge (you can read my review here). I'm a massive fan of Kimberly's writing so if you haven't read any of her books I'd definitely recommend them! The Body Finder books are about a young girl called Violet who has the unusual ability to find dead bodies, each body has an echo - a taste, a smell, a colour or even a sound - that Violet can detect. The echo is also left as an imprint on the victim's murderer and Violet uses her ability to help the police hunt serial killers. In her new series Kimberly has created a unique dystopian world where the class system isn't just about how much money you have or the jobs your family do. The class you come from also controls the language you speak and it is forbidden to even look at someone from another class if they are speaking in their own language. Main character Charlie has the ability to understand all of the languages, even though she has never been taught them, but she has always been warned that it is vital to keep her power a secret. If anyone discovers what she can do it would be the death of her but where did this ability come from and what will it mean for her future?

Cat Clarke

Next up was Cat Clarke talking about her second novel Torn (read my review here) which was published in the UK earlier this year. I first met Cat back before she was a published author and couldn't have been more excited when her debut novel Entangled (read my review here) was published last year. Torn is a fantastic novel about a group of teenagers on a school activity holiday in the wilds of Scotland. When some of the students decide to get revenge on one of the popular kids who has made their lives a misery things go horribly wrong and they are left to face the consequences. Nothing will ever be the same again but they all deal with their guilt in very different ways. Torn was one of those books that really makes you think, the scariest thing was how realistic it felt and you could easily picture something like that happening in real life!

James Dawson

James Dawson's debut novel Hollow Pike (read my review here) was one of my most anticipated reads of 2012 so I was incredibly excited to get a chance to meet him! I'm telling you now he was one of the funniest authors I've ever met and I absolutely loved listening to his reading from the book. James decided to read out a scene where there is a fight between two of the main characters Laura and Kitty, this isn't just an argument - it's a proper bitch fight with hair pulling, scratching and even a tumble down the stairs - so it was a great scene to listen to, especially as James got really into it and even gave the characters different accents! Hollow Pike is a fantastic book that tackles the difficult subject of bullying and does it with honesty and realism. I wish there had been more books like it when I was a teenager who was being bullied horribly on a daily basis because it would have been nice to have felt less alone. I really can't recommend the story highly enough.

Tanya Byrne

Last but by no means least was debut author Tanya Byrne who was talking about her book Heart-Shaped Bruise. Now this was the only book mentioned that I haven't read yet but after listening to Tayna's reading I've definitely added it to my wish list! Heart-Shaped Bruise sounds like an emotional and heart breaking read and I'm looking forward to picking it up.

After all of the authors had spoken about their books and answered questions from the audience there was time for a book signing and we got to have a quick chat with them all. Here are a few more pictures I took at the event:

I'd like to say a massive thanks to Neil from Foyleswebsite to keep an eye out for future events.

After the Creative Voices event finished it was time for us to make our way to Drink Shop Do (visit their website here) for afternoon tea. Luckily we had Hannah & Lynsey from Headline to help us get there or I'm pretty sure I'd have ended up getting lost. It was a bit like being on a school trip as we all negotiated the underground trying to make sure that nobody was left behind! I have been to Drink Shop Do before and I have to say if you're ever in London & looking for somewhere a bit different to go then it's well worth a visit. The afternoon tea was fabulous but they also do all sorts of themed evenings that look like a lot of fun.

Nom nom nom!

We were well and truly spoilt with sandwiches, scones and sweets washed down with tea of course. Have you ever heard of cherry bakewell tea? I hadn't but it tasted delicious & was exactly like drinking a bakewell tart!!

Sammee, Kirsty, Kimberly Derting & me

It was wonderful to have a chance to chat with Kimberly and find out more about her plans for future books. She was very careful not to give us any spoilers though no matter how hard we begged her to lol. I was really shocked that Kimberly remembered writing a guest post for my blog way back in 2010 when she was promoting The Body Finder! She wrote a fab post about how her (male) cat ended up being given the name Princess Beachball and has been having a bit of an identity crisis ever since! You can read the post here if you're interested.

We had an absolutely fabulous time chatting about books, authors and life in general along with eating way too many sweets! I got a little bit addicted to the strawberry licorice straws lol. I'd like to say a massive thank you to Kimberly Derting for taking time out of her holiday to spend the afternoon with us all. I'd also like to say a massive thanks to Sam, Hannah & Lynsey from Headline and Chiara from Allison & Busby for organising the event and inviting me to go along.

Who Was There:

Cat Clarke - Website

James Dawson - Website

Kimberly Derting - Website

Tanya Byrne - Website

Neil - Foyles

Sam, Hannah & Lynsey - Headline

Chiara - Allison & Busby

Andy & Dan - The Pewter Wolf

Kirsty - The Overflowing Library

Leanne & Sue - District YA

Michelle - Book Club Forum

Sammee - I Want To Read That

Review: Torn - Cat Clarke

Four girls. One dead body.
A whole lot of guilt.

Alice King isn't expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she's not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares . . .

Alice and her best friend Cass are stuck in a cabin with Polly, the social outcast, and Rae, the moody emo-girl. Then there's Tara - queen of mean. Powerful, beautiful and cruel, she likes nothing better than putting people down.

Cass decides it's time to teach Tara a lesson she'll never forget. And so begins a series of events that will change the lives of these girls forever . . .

A compelling story of guilty secrets, troubled friendship and burgeoning love.

Visit Cat Clarke's website for more information

Review:
When Alice and her best friend Cass get stuck sharing a cabin with the school queen bee Tara and social outcasts Polly and Rae they know they're not going to enjoy their school trip to Scotland. But after a plan to get revenge on Tara goes horribly wrong things take a devastating turn for the worse and nothing will ever be the same again.

I loved Cat Clarke's debut novel Entangled when I read it last year so I couldn't wait to get my hands on her latest book Torn. I'm happy to say that this book was just as gripping as I expected it to be. Cat manages to write such realistic teenagers that it takes you straight back to your school days. I remember going on a similar school trip and having the same feelings of horror about the activities that Alice did which instantly helped me to connect with her. Luckily for me all of my classmates made it back to school in one piece which is more than can be said for Alice and her friends.

Alice is the kind of girl that most of us are able to relate to, she isn't one of the most popular crowd but she isn't quite at the bottom of the social pecking order either. Instead she hovers somewhere in the middle of the two groups and although she would desperately like to be more popular she isn't blind to the faults of the mean girls who run the school social scene. I love the way you slowly unravel more of Alice's past and as you do you discover some things about her previous friendship with the school queen of mean Tara that will surprise you. Torn really does show you just how far teenagers will go to change their social standing and just how brutal school politics and relationships can be.

Alongside Alice you really get to know some of the other main characters and although the accident was horrific and their actions afterwards are unforgivable you can't help but feel sorry for the way they ended up in that situation. The scariest thing was how believable it all was - I was left thinking that I wouldn't be shocked to find that this was based on a true story (although hopefully it wasn't lol).

Torn is a book about grief, about bullying and the long term effects it can have, it is also about guilt and how that emotion can completely change a person. At times it is a dark and difficult book to read and it is one that leaves you with plenty to think about. At the same time there are also funny moments, there is an adorable romance that captures the excitement of first love perfectly and there are lessons to be learnt about the importance of friendships and not betraying those who have always been there for you. Torn is an engrossing read and one that I couldn't put down - definitely a book I'd recommend to fans of YA thrillers and mysteries.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Winners: 1st Blogoversary Giveaways for 9 signed books

With the help of random.org I can now announce the winners of by 1st blogoversary giveaways!  There was such an amazing response to the giveaways so thank you all for entering and helping to spread the word.  Congratulations to all of the winners!

Giveaway 1 - Fallen & Torment by Lauren Kate:

I had left it up to you to decide if there would be 1 winner receiving both books or 2 winners receiving 1 book each.  I took the following screen shot of the poll results after the giveaway closed and as you can see the result was 1 winner

So I can confirm that the winner who will receive signed ARC copies of both Fallen and Torment by Lauren Kate is:

Laura Soucek (email address starting noevus32@...)

Giveaway 2 - Entangled by Cat Clarke:

Winning a signed ARC of Entangled by Cat Clarke along with a cover flat is:



Julie Renaudin (email address starting pique.a.chou@)

Giveaway 3 - A Summer Fling by Milly Johnson:

Winning a signed copy of A Summer Fling by Milly Johnson is:

.Ambur. (email address starting ambiepie_6@)

Giveaway 4 - Girl Missing by Sophie McKenzie:

Winning a signed copy of A Girl Missing by Sophie McKenzie is:

Alice Reed (email address starting ccs_bm@)

Giveaway 5 - Randon & Hellhole:

This giveaway was UK only unless international entrants were prepared to pay postage costs because of the weight of these books.  If you are an international winner of one of these books I will let you know how much postage will cost when I know your address, I will pay the postage cost if you are a UK winner.

Winning a signed hardback copy of Randon by Craig Robinson is:

NatD23 (email address starting natlovestoread@)

Winning a large paperback of Hellhole by Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson (signed by Kevin J Anderson) is:

Melodie (email address starting ashlinn_riddle@)

Giveaway 6 - Shiver & Linger by Maggie Stiefvater:

Again I left it up to you to vote on how many winners there would be and as you can see from the screenshot below you voted for 1 winner

So winning signed UK copies of Shiver & Linger by Maggie Stiefvater we have:

Nina (email address starting nina.happyendings@)

 

Congratulations to you all!  If you can email me at sarahsreviews at ymail dot com with your full address I will get your books posted to you.  If I don't hear from you within 48 hours then new winners will be chosen.

1st Blogoversary Celebration Giveaway: Entangled by Cat Clarke - NOW CLOSED

* UPDATE - THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED - Winner announced here *

So it's day 2 in my blogoversary celebration giveaway week and today I'm giving away a signed copy of Entangled by Cat Clarke.  It is an advanced copy so doesn't have the finished cover but it is a very pretty pink ARC and I'm also including the cover flat shown in the picture below.  Entangled is a fantastic 2011 debut and I was lucky to be invited to Cat's launch party in January.  You can read my review of Entangled here or my write up for the launch party here for more information

More giveaways to come every day this week so make sure you come back and enter them all.

Giveaway Details:

• This giveaway is international so anyone can enter no matter where you live.
• The winner will be chosen at random from all entries received.
• To enter the giveaway all you need to do is fill in your name and email address in the form below (please have permission from your parents if you are under 16). Extra entries are available but they are entirely optional.
• Only one entry per person please, any duplicate entries will be deleted
• You have until the 28th of February to enter the giveaway and I'll announce the winner soon afterwards on my blog.  The winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their postal address or another winner will be chosen.
• Winners addresses will only be used by me to send out the prizes and will be deleted afterwards.

Book Launch for Entangled by Cat Clarke - 20th January 2011

I first heard about Entangled when I met Cat at the London YA blogger meet up last May so it felt like I had to wait a long time before I finally got to read it.  When I finally did get my hands on a copy I absolutely loved it (you can read my review here) so I was over the moon to be invited to the launch party arranged by Quercus to celebrate the Entangled release.

I went up to London early on the day to meet up with Liz (My Favorite Books) and Becky (The Bookette) and was lucky enough to be invited to lunch with them and Nina from Orion.  We went to a lovely Italian restaurant (please don't ask me to tell you where it was as I'm sure I'd never find it again) and while we were all filling up on delicious food Nina was telling us about all of the exciting books they have coming this year.  I can tell you now Orion have a lot of exciting looking books coming out but the ones that I'm particularly excited about are My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher, The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence, An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons and Soul Beach by Kate Harrison.  We also got given an ARC of The Hunting Ground by Cliff McNish which sounds like a terrifying ghost story that I'm going to need to read in the daylight!  Those are definitely some to watch out for in the next few months and if you'd like more information you can check out the Orion website.  I'd like to say a massive thank you to Nina for a lovely lunch and all the exciting book news.

After lunch Becky had to head home as unfortunately she couldn't make it to Cat's launch party but it was nice to get to see her for a bit.  Liz and I found a Starbucks near Charing Cross and had fun nattering about books while we waited for Carly (Writing from the Tub) to arrive.  I have to confess I'd been a bit nervous about the journey to Hampstead Heath for the launch as it looked like a nightmare journey on the underground but luckily Nina had given us some decent instructions so it wasn't anywhere near as bad as we were expecting.

Entangled Cupcakes!

The launch was hosted by Daunt Books and we made it with plenty of time actually being some of the first to arrive.  Niamh greeted us and we spent some time admiring the cupcake tower and taking pictures of the books.  Caroline (Portrait of a Woman) arrived not long after we did and have fun posting a couple of live tweets about the event for those who hadn't been able to make it.

Caroline & Carly live tweeting

Carly with the cupcakes

It didn't take long before the room had really started filling up, I don't think we could have fitted in many more people and it was lovely to see such a great turn out to support Cat.  It was great to see author Kaz Mahoney and bloggers Lauren (I Was a Teenage Book Geek), Andy (Pewter Wolf) and Sya (Mountains of Instead).  I hadn't met Sya before and she'd travelled all the way down from Scotland for the launch, it was great to meet you Sya!

Andy, Sya, Lauren & Carly

Caroline & Kaz

Me & Caroline

Cat arrived to a massive, well deserved applause and I think she was quite overwhelmed by the number of people there.  She gave a lovely speech about becoming a published author and then spent time mingling with the crowd and of course signing books for everyone.  It was lovely to see you again Cat (and a nice surprise to see you without a hat on lol!)

Cat giving her speech

Cat getting ready to sign my book

My signed copy

Alongside Cat & Kaz there were a few other authors present, we spotted Michelle Harrison but I was a bit too nervous to go and say hello and I didn't realise until afterwards that Tamsyn Murry was also there.  Perhaps next time I'll pluck up the courage to talk to them!  There was also a special surprise guest who'd come all the way from Sweden - the cover model.  She looked just as pretty in real life but unfortunately I didn't manage to get a picture of her.

It was a great event & I'd like to say thanks to Quercus for inviting me and thanks to Daunt Books for hosting it.  Massive congratulations to Cat on the publication of her debut novel - if you haven't already got your copy of Entangled what are you waiting for?  If you'd like to check out the rest of the pictures I took you can find them all online in this album.

Who was there?

Cat Clarke - Website - Blog - Event Report

Niamh from Quercus - Website - Event Report

Liz - My Favorite Books

Carly - Writing from the Tub

Caroline - Portrait of a Woman

Lauren - I Was A Teenage Book Geek

Andy - Pewter Wolf - Event Report

Sya - Mountains of Instead

Kaz Mahoney - Website - Blog

ARC Review: Entangled - Cat Clarke

Seventeen-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget.  There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal.  But there's something missing.

Grace must face the most important question of all.  Why is she here?

A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction.

Entangled is released in the UK on January 6th 2011

Visit Cat Clarke's website for more information

Review:
When Grace wakes up locked in a plain white room she has no idea how she got there.  Held captive by the mysterious Ethan the only distraction she has is some pens and paper so she starts writing her story.  As she writes about her friendship with Sal and falling in love with her boyfriend Nat we begin to unravel the mystery of how she ended up in the white room in the first place.  What does she need to do to escape?

Entangled is a captivating and powerful debut and one that will take the reader on a roller coaster of emotions from laughter to tears and everything in between.  When I sat down to read I was only intending to read a couple of chapters but I became so caught up in Grace's tale that I finished the entire book in one sitting.  This is a dark and uncomfortable read at times but that just makes it even more compelling and it does manage to leave you feeling hopeful by the end.  I really admire the fact that Cat Clarke made me laugh out loud despite the difficult topics covered.

I've seen several reviewers say that they didn't find Grace very likable in the beginning but I have to say I didn't have the same problem with her.  I didn't like some of the things she was doing or her attitude at times but her character really spoke to me on a personal level and in some ways she reminded me a lot of myself as a teenager.  Grace is in self destruct mode, she has so many emotions that she just doesn't know how to deal with and this shows in the way she acts.  In many ways she comes across as a normal teen - she seems friendly and outgoing and is doing well at school but this is just a front that she puts on.  Underneath it all she is messed up - she uses alcohol to escape from reality, sleeps with boys she has just met and resorts to cutting as a way to feel in control of her life. 

Her reasons might be different to mine and her behaviour differs to some extent but at her age I was in a very similar destructive pattern.  Grace's voice was so real to me and made for painful reading as I watched her make similar mistakes that I did.  I just wanted to reach into the book and be the voice of experience to tell her that things can and will get better.  This particular quote has stayed with me for days since reading the story and for me it captures the essence of Grace perfectly:

"It's when I'm alone that the doubt sets in.  It's been that way for years.  As long as there are people around, I can pretend everything's OK.  But I need that audience to pretend for, otherwise it doesn't work.  Alone, I'm not that easy to fool." Page 214

It is hard to go into too much detail about the rest of the story without giving spoilers, I really do think that this is one of those books that the less you know about before going in the better the reading experience will be.   I will say that although I thought I'd figured out the twist at the end (well I had several theories anyway and was sure one of them would be correct) Cat Clarke still managed to surprise me.  Entangled is a gripping and powerful read and one that I would thoroughly recommend, I know this is a story that will stay with me and one that I'm looking forward to reading again now I know how it ends.

Source: Received from Quercus in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Author's Animal Antics - Cat Clarke

Author's Animal Antics is a regular blog feature here at Sarah's Book Reviews where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets or share animal related stories.  I'm thrilled to introduce the lovely Cat Clarke as my guest today...

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Lots of my writer friends have cats. I have cats. So what is it about cats and writers? I mean, cats can be REALLY annoying when you’re trying to write. They step all over your keyboard, albeit in a dainty, elegant feline fashion. They sit on your lap, which means you can’t sit close enough to your computer. It’s an ergonomic disaster waiting to happen. They sit on whichever piece of paper you happen to working on...

Cute? Yes. Irritating? Definitely. This is Jem, my lovely three-and-a-half-legged friend. She’s possibly the cutest cat in the universe (I admit to being slightly biased on this matter). Her partner in crime is Scout, who is the second cutest cat in the universe...

Jem and Scout were rescue cats. They’d been abandoned on a shop roof when they were tiny little kittens. (Don’t even get me started on this subject... I get VERY angry). They’d been in the shelter for over three months. Nobody seemed to want them. The staff at the shelter said it was down to two things: their colouring and Jem’s gammy leg. Shelters across the country are often left with black cats. Some people are very strange – black cats are the coolest. Anyway, I saw a picture on the internet and knew they were the cats for me. I was right.

I wouldn’t be without Jem and Scout, even though they interrupt my writing ALL THE TIME. Hmm... perhaps that’s one reason I heart them so much. They provide a welcome distraction from the darkness of my writing. Especially when they pose like this...

If anyone has any other reasons why cats and writers are a match made in heaven, please let me know!

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Thank you so much for visiting today Cat, Jem and Scout are adorable but I can completely relate to how they are always getting in the way - my 2 cats are the same!  I really don't understand why some people are so against black cats, how could anyone resist those cute little faces?

Cat Clarke's debut novel Entangled is released in the UK in just 3 days time on the 6th of January.  I was lucky enough to get hold of an advanced copy and I have to say I absolutely loved it, I'll be posting my review later today.  I'd definitely recommend getting hold of a copy as soon as possible!  Doesn't it just have the most beautiful cover?

Find out more about Cat and her work here - Website / Blog / Twitter / Goodreads

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here

News: Entangled by Cat Clarke Blog Tour

I'm very happy to announce that I'm taking part in the blog tour for Cat Clarke's debut novel Entangled.  This is a book I've been looking forward to reading since meeting Cat back in May so I can't wait to start reading my copy.  Make sure you stop by on the 3rd of January when I'll be posting a guest post by Cat, my review of Entangled and a giveaway.  You don't want to miss out!

The tour has already started so make sure you check out the previous stops - I've even included links to the blogs taking part so you don't have to go searching for them!

Where the tour is visiting:

• 1st Dec - Mountains of Instead
• 8th Dec - Mile Long Bookshelf
• 15th Dec - Once Upon a Bookcase
• 22nd Dec - Writing from the Tub
• 29th Dec - UK Book Tours
• 1st Jan - Wondrous Reads
• 2nd Jan - The Bookette
• 3rd Jan - Sarah's Book Reviews (right here lol)
• 4th Jan - I was a Teenage Book Geek
• 5th Jan - My Favorite Books
• 6th Jan - Quercus Publication Blog