Love Letter Convention, Berlin June 2019

Back in June I was lucky enough to go back to the Love Letter Convention in Berlin, it's a fabulous romance focused convention that always has about 40 different authors. Obviously as it's organised by German publishers a lot of those authors are German, and unfortunately a lot of them don't have books translated into English which is disappointing when you hear someone talking about a story that sounds fabulous, but they always have some international authors there too from places like the UK, America and even Australia and they have a range of panels as well as meet and greets in English so international readers are made to feel welcome.

I wish UK publishers would organise something similar in London because it has such a friendly and relaxed atmosphere and you really get the chance to spend time with the authors and chat. I think because there are less English speaking readers at the convention those panels are always less crowded than the German speaking ones which is definitely a bonus for me too.

I have to admit the main reason I wanted to go this year was to meet up with a group of friends I have from all around Europe, most of whom I met at LLC a couple of years ago. We've stayed in contact ever since in a WhatsApp group (isn't technology wonderful!) and this was a great chance for us all to meet up again and spend the weekend together. Sadly one member of the group couldn't make it but we still had a fabulous time.

Me with Aly, Karin, Peggy (back row), Freya & Diana

(There are actually 6 different countries represented in this group: Austria, Belgium, 

England, Germany, The Netherlands & Romania, which I think is brilliant)

I have to confess that I was rubbish at taking notes in any of the panels so I can't really give you any info about what we all talked about. Instead this post will be more of a photo diary that I can look back on to remind me of the highlights!

Day 1:

We had an early start on day 1 to get to Cafe Moskau and register but it was worth it, the queues were already forming even before 8am and it only got worse after we arrived.

Diana & Freya with Ella Quinn

Getting there early meant we had even had time to hang out with author Ella Quinn in the courtyard before the first events even started. I love Ella's historical romances so it was great to meet her.

Clockwise from top left: Julie Cohen, Diana & Peggy with L.J. Shen, 

Aly with Kerrelyn Sparks, Cathy Maxwell & Freya

Our first stop was a Blind Date where you get a chance to chat with a whole bunch of different authors, almost like speed dating as they move around the room every 15 minutes or so. We got to talk to Julie Cohen, L.J. Shen, Kerrelyn Sparks and Cathy Maxwell. As a huge paranormal romance fan I was really excited to meet Kerrelyn but I've also fallen in love with Cathy's historical romances recently.

Next was a panel with Ella Quinn, Kerrelyn Sparks, Jenny Colgan, Dani Atkins and Monica James where they all talked about how they first started writing and ended up getting published.

Next was another panel with Helena Hunting, Cathy Maxwell and Lara Adrian. If you've been following my blog for any length of time at all you'll know that Lara is one of my favourite authors so I was ridiculously excited to get the chance to see her again and I also really like Helena's contemporary romances so that was an extra bonus.

Top Row: Kerrelyn Sparks, Karin & Ella Quinn

Bottom Row: Jenny Colgan & Freya

Next up was another Blind Date, this time with Kerrelyn Sparks, Ella Quinn and Jenny Colgan.

After lunch was a panel with Julia K Stein, Ella Quinn, Cathy Maxwell, Mona Silver & Monica James.

Top Row: Lara Adrian & Monica James

Bottom Row: T.M. Frazier & her husband

Another Blind Date, this time with Lara Adrian, Monica James and T.M. Frazier. I've not read any of Monica or Tracey's books yet but they're both so funny that I definitely want to in the future.

Lara Adrian and me

I took a break from panels after that to spend an hour hanging out with Lara as she signed autographs for fans. I'd taken about 13 of her books with me so that took a while but we also got to chat in between her signing for other fans which was really fab.

Ella Quinn & Cathy Maxwell

The last event of the day was a Q&A with Ella Quinn and Cathy Maxwell. They both write fantastic historical romances but while Ella really focuses on getting every historical detail right Cathy is a little more relaxed about that as long as she's happy with the characters and the story.

Cathy Maxwell, Gwen Overland, Aly, Ella Quinn & me

In the evening Aly and I got to attend a blogger event organised by the LLC team. We didn't end up staying for long as it was mainly aimed at German bloggers but we did get to meet Gwen Overland and hang out with her, Cathy Maxwell, Ella Quinn.

Day 2:

Lara Adrian & Kerrelyn Sparks

We had a bit of a lay in the second day as we didn't have to be there super early for registration. The first panel was with Lara Adrian & Kerrelyn Sparks so it was all about paranormal romance and their mutual love of vampires. Definitely my kind of panel LOL.

The next panel was with Lara Adrian, Helena Hunting, Gwen Overland, Monica James and Cathy Maxwell. I can't really remember what they talked about but I do know that Cathy was in charge of asking the questions and we spent practically the whole hour laughing. I even had a chance to chat with Helena for a few minutes afterwards which was great as I've been a fan of hers since I read the Clipped Wings series years ago.

Helena Hunting & me

Kerrelyn Sparks & Ella Quinn

Next we got to listen to Kerrelyn Sparks and Ella Quinn reading from one of their books, Kerrelyn chose to read from one of the early Love at Stake books while Ella read from her upcoming release in the Worthingtons series.

Next was a workshop with Cathy Maxwell and Kerrelyn Sparks where we all spent time discussing the characteristics we look for in our heroes and heroines and how that sometimes differs when it comes to fiction compared to in real life.

Aly, Karin, Peggy, Freya & me with Cathy Maxwell

The final panel we went to was with Kerrelyn Sparks, Bianca Iosivoni, Mona Kasten, Inka Loreen Minden, Mona Silver and Lara Adrian.

Me, Aly, Cathy Maxwell, Ella Quinn & Freya

We just had time for a final chat with Cathy Maxwell and Ella Quinn before the afternoon signing session started. Most of the authors only have German books with them so I don't usually bother going to the signing. Especially since we had all managed to get the books we'd brought with us signed over the rest of the convention. Kerrelyn Sparks and Ella Quinn both had English books with them though so we braved the very, very long queues in the awful heat and came away with some new books for our efforts.

Later that evening, after the convention had finished we all went out to dinner at a restaurant near where we were staying and funnily enough Cathy Maxwell and Kerrelyn Sparks ended up there too with their husbands. We had a laugh about how they had started stalking us for a change and took a few pictures before we all enjoyed our meals.

So that was my experiences of LLC this year and we had a brilliant time. It was fab to catch up with friends, we had a lot of fun with the authors we met and we all came home with a mountain of books added to our wish lists. Sounds like a winning weekend to me!

Event Report: Walker's YA Wonderland

Earlier this week I was really excited to be invited to the Walker YA Wonderland blogger event to meet some of their authors and find out all about some of the exciting books they have coming out in 2019. I always love Walker's events and this was no exception, we got to meet some fantastic authors and I'm so excited to start reading all the books I came home with!

Me with Lauren James

The first author we got to hear from was Lauren James who was talking about her upcoming book The Quiet at the End of the World, we actually had a sneaky early copy of this one in our goodie bags and I can't wait to read it. Lauren was inspired to write this story by the idea that eventually the human race is going to go extinct which means that at some point (hopefully in the distant future!) there will be a last living human. Just imagine being the one of the last few people alive and how knowing that would affect you.

I've been lucky enough to meet Lauren a few times now and I love how passionate she is about all things science but particularly women in science. All of her stories have some scientific basis behind them and at the event she was talking about physical evolution but also the way languages change and how difficult it can be to interpret messages left thousands of years ago. Imagine how we're going to warn people 10,000 years in the future to avoid the nuclear waste that we've buried today, will they even recognise the symbols we use for toxic waste?

About The Quiet at the End of the World:

How far would you go to save those you love? Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking and looking for treasure – until a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Now Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide what to sacrifice to save the whole human race...

Publishing in March 2019

Me with Zoe Marriott & Faye from A Daydreamer's Thoughts

The second author to speak was Zoe Marriott who was there to tell us all about The Hand, the Eye and the Heart, her upcoming novel inspired by Mulan and set in a fantasy world inspired by Chinese history, especially Tang Dynasty. Zoe wanted to be clear that it isn't a straight Mulan retelling but there are similarities with the character's journey. Zhilan is also gender fluid which I think is fantastic. You can read all about Zoe's inspiration for the story on her blog here.

I've been a huge fan of Zoe's books for years now so I'm ridiculously excited for this book and it was really cool to get to see the cover revealed for the first time at the event. Walker always put so much effort into their cover designs and you can really see that here!

About The Hand, the Eye and the Heart:

Zhilan was assigned female at birth. Despite a gift for illusions, they know they are destined to live out their life within the confines of the women’s quarter. But when civil war sets the empire aflame, Zhilan is determined save their disabled father from the battlefield. By taking his place. Surviving brutal army training as a boy – Zhi – is only the first challenge. In the glittering court of the Land of Dragons, love and betrayal are two sides of the same smile, and soon the fate of a nation rests on Zhi’s shoulders. But to win, they must decide where their heart truly belongs…

Publishing April 2019

Me with Tom Pollock

Next up was Tom Pollock who told us all about his upcoming novel Heartstream. It's not due to be published until next July and is so new that it doesn't have a cover or official blurb yet but it sounds like it's going to be a fab read.

The story is set in the not too distant future where technology allows people to share their actual emotions online just like we currently share our thoughts and feelings via social media. Tom was inspired to write the story after watching vloggers and thinking about how they all create an online persona that their followers can relate to. The main character ends up becoming famous after sharing their emotions while their mother was dying but it all goes horribly wrong when they come home from the funeral to find someone inside their home holding a bomb! Heartstream sounds like it's going to be deliciously twisty & I can't wait to read it.

About Tom's last novel White Rabbit, Red Wolf (since I can't share a blurb or cover for for Hearstream yet):

A taut thriller about murder, maths and the mind. Peter Blankman is afraid of everything and must confront unimaginable terror when his mother is attacked.

Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a maths prodigy. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. Afraid of everything, he finds solace in the orderly and logical world of mathematics and in the love of his family: his scientist mum and his tough twin sister Bel, as well as Ingrid, his only friend. However, when his mother is found stabbed before an award ceremony and his sister is nowhere to be found, Pete is dragged into a world of espionage and violence where state and family secrets intertwine. Armed only with his extraordinary analytical skills, Peter may just discover that his biggest weakness is his greatest strength.

Neal Shusterman & me

Last but definitely not least was Neal Shusterman talking about his latest novel Dry (written with his son Jarrod) and also The Toll, the final book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy which is due to publish next September. I absolutely LOVED Scythe (read my review) and Thunderhead (read my review) so I can't wait to get my hands on The Toll and the hints we were given about what to expect just made me even more excited about it! It looks like there have been all kinds of hints woven into the first book, right down to Scythe Goddard's name, and I can't wait to see how everything comes together in the finale.

Neal talked about how bored he was with YA dystopian stories at the time he was getting ready to start writing Scythe and how he wanted to do something completely different. The Arc of a Scythe trilogy was supposed to be about what would happen if everything went right in the world rather than if it all went horribly wrong but if we were able to cure diseases and make people practically immortal then it would cause all kinds of problems with overpopulation. Eventually that lead to the idea of the Scythes who were supposed to be unbiased and willing to do an awful job to keep society running smoothly, interestingly enough they were actually inspired by the Jedi!

About Dry:

When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions in this harrowing story of survival from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.

The drought – or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it – has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.

Until the taps run dry.

Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbours and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life – and the life of her brother – is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.

Dry is another fantastic book from Neal, cowritten with his son Jarrod, and you can read my review here.

After hearing all of the authors talk about their books, along with listening to some of the Walker editors and publicity team talking about other upcoming books (another highlight to watch out for is definitely On the Come Up by Angie Thomas due in February 2019!) we had time to mingle with the authors and other bloggers while getting our books signed and enjoying a few tasty nibbles.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone at Walker for organising such a brilliant event and allowing me to tag along. The hardest part about coming home with so many fab books is trying to decide which one to read first but I'm particularly excited about the ones I've mentioned in this post so watch out for reviews coming as soon as I can!

Event Report: Hotkey Blogger Brunch with Alexandra Christo & Sebastien de Castell

Back at the end of September I was really lucky to be invited to Hot Key's Blogger Brunch with authors Alexandra Christo and Sebastien de Castell. I'm a huge fan of both of these authors so I was really excited to get to meet them and it's always fantastic to get the chance to meet up with blogging friends too.

When we first arrived at the event we had time to mingle while we munched on the delicious array of treats Hot Key had laid on for us before we got to hear both of the authors give a reading and talk about their books.

Sebastien de Castell reading from Soulbinder

First up was Sebastien de Castell reading from the fourth book in his Spellslinger series, Soulbinder. If you're familiar with this series you'll already have met one of my favourite fictional characters, squirrel cat Reichis, and one of the threats he loves to make is that he's going to eat someone's eyeballs. Well apparently Sebastien is always being asked the question about whether Reichis is going to finally get the chance to carry out that threat and let's just say that the reading he gave answers that question in gloriously revolting detail during this reading! I've not had a chance to read Soulbinder yet but I loved the first two books in the series and you can read my reviews for Spellslinger and Shadowblack by clicking these links. I'm looking forward to reading Charmcaster and Soulbinder very soon so keep an eye out for my reviews.

Alexandra Christo reading from To Kill a Kingdom

Alexandra Christo treated us to not one but two readings, the first from her debut novel To Kill a Kingdom, which is a fabulous retelling of The Little Mermaid that I'd highly recommend (you can read my review here). Then she gave us a super early sneak peak at the book she's working on right now called Into the Crooked Place which she described as a darker version of Six of Crows. Unfortunately that book isn't due for publication until October 2019 so we've got a year to wait but let me tell you now you NEED to put this book on your wishlist because the preview we were given was absolutely fantastic!!

After the readings and a Q&A we had the chance to speak to both authors and get our books signed which is something I always love to do. I had taken my copies of the first three Spellslinger books with me and was thrilled to get given a copy of the fourth book, Soulbinder, and Alexandra's To Kill a Kingdom too.

Sebastien de Castell and Alexandra Christo

I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Hot Key Books for inviting me to the event, I had a brilliant time and really enjoyed getting to meet the authors. Thanks also to Sebastien de Castell and Alexandra Christo for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and chat with us!

September 2018 Recap

Books read in previous months but reviewed in September:

(Links will take you to my reviews)

1. The Queen's Gambit - Jessie Mihalik (Read Twice) (Read in March & August, review coming soon)
2. The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden (Read in April, review coming soon)
3. Steal the Day - Lexi Blake (Read in April, review coming soon)
4. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman (Read in April, review coming soon)
5. Recklessly Royal - Nichole Chase (Read in May, review coming soon)
6. Temeraire - Naomi Novik (Read in May, review coming soon)
7. Monstress, Vol 2: The Blood - Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda (Graphic Novel) (Read in May, review coming soon)
8. Spellslinger - Sebastien de Castell (Read in June, review coming soon)
9. Theirs for the Night - Katee Robert (Novella) (Read in June, review coming soon)
10. Vengeance in Death - J.D. Robb (Read in June, review coming soon)
11. Barbarian's Prize - Ruby Dixon (Read in June, review coming soon)
12. Her Cocky Doctors - Tara Crescent (Read in June, review coming soon)
13. The Bone Farm - Dean Koontz (Audiobook Novella) (Read in June, review coming soon)
14. Lifel1k3 - Jay Kristoff (Read in June, review coming soon)
15. Thunderhead - Neal Shusterman (Read in June, review coming soon)
16. The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling (Read in June, review coming soon)
17. The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang (Read in June, review coming soon)
18. Okami - Renee Ahdieh (Short Story) (Read in June, review coming soon)
19. Yumi - Renee Ahdieh (Short Story) (Read in June, review coming soon)
20. Make Me Crave - Katee Robert (Read in July, review coming soon)
21. No Mercy - Sherrilyn Kenyon (Read in July, review coming soon)
22. Archangel's Prophecy - Nalini Singh (Read in July, review coming soon)
23. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown - Seanan McGuire (Read in August, review coming soon)
24. To Kill a Kingdom - Alexandra Christo (Read in August, review coming soon)
25. Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox - Forthright (Read in August, review coming soon)
26. Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik (Read in August, review coming soon)
27. Beautiful Beast - Kayla D. Knight (Read in August, review coming soon)
28. Diamond Fire - Ilona Andrews (Novella) (Read Twice) (Read in August, review coming soon)
29. Three Trials - Kristy Cunning (Read in August, review coming soon)
30. The Nightshade's Touch - Pippa DaCosta (Read in August, review coming soon)

Books read in September:

(Links will take you to my reviews)

1. Siren in Waiting - Lexi Blake
2. Okami - Renee Ahdieh (Short Story) (Read for the 2nd time)
3. Yumi - Renee Ahdieh (Short Story) (Read for the 2nd time)
4. Wild Hunger - Chloe Neill
5. Mirage - Somaiya Daud (Review coming soon)
6. Jealous in Honor - Seanan McGuire (Short Story)
7. Quick in Quarrel - Seanan McGuire (Short Story)
8. These Antique Fables - Seanan McGuire (Short Story)
9. Theirs for the Night - Katee Robert (Novella) (Read for the 2nd time)
10. Night and Silence - Seanan McGuire
11. Suffer a Sea-Change - Seanan McGuire (Short Story)
12. In Bed With the Devil - Lorraine Heath (Review coming soon)
13. Forever Theirs - Katee Robert
14. Fighting for What's His - Laura Kaye
15. And the Ocean Was Our Sky - Patrick Ness (Illustrated by Rovina Cai)
16. Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
17. Rebel Hard - Nalini Singh
18. Muse of Nightmares - Laini Taylor (Review coming soon)
19. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Picture Book - Kim Smith (Picture Book)
20. Courted by her Cougar - Felicity Heaton
21. The Dowager Magus - Sebastien de Castell (Short Story)
22. Shadowblack - Sebastien de Castell
23. Lost in Bliss - Lexi Blake
24. A Blade so Black - L.L. McKinney
25. Hour of Darkness - Lara Adrian
26. Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge - Lisa Jensen (Review coming soon)
27. Phoenix Unbound - Grace Draven (Review coming soon)
28. Leads & Lynxes - Rebecca Chastain (Beta read so I'll be reviewing this once I've read the final version)
29. Daughter of the Blood - Anne Bishop (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)

Other September Posts

1. Book Box Club Unboxing - August 2018 "Tech Tribes"
2. Blog Tour: Siren in Waiting - Lexi Blake
3. Spotlight: And the Ocean Was Our Sky - Patrick Ness (Illustrated by Rovina Cai)
4. Preorder Blast: Forever Theirs - Katee Robert
5. Release Day Launch: Fighting for What's His - Laura Kaye (Excerpt & Giveaway)
6. Cover Reveal: Gone Hunting - Cecy Robson
7. Blog Tour: Forever Theirs - Katee Robert (Excerpt & Giveaway)
8. Blog Tour: Fighting for What's His - Laura Kaye (Excerpt & Giveaway)
9. Blog Tour: Courted by Her Cougar - Felicity Heaton (Excerpt & Giveaway)
10. Blog Tour: Lost in Bliss - Lexi Blake
11. Teaser: Shadow and Ice - Gena Showalter
12. Blog Tour: A Blade so Black - L.L. McKinney (Guest Post: Mad Hatters Tea Party)

September Books of the Month:

(Choices are made from books reviewed this month and the links will take you to my reviews)

My top YA read in September:

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (read my review here)

My top adult read in September:

The Nightshade's Touch by Pippa DaCosta (read my review here)
Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire (read my review here)
Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh (read my review here)

September Events:

I was really lucky to be invited to the Hot Key Blogger Brunch on Saturday and have the chance to meet authors Alexandra Christo and Sebastien de Castell. Both authors read from their latest books (To Kill a Kingdom and Soulbinder) and Alexandra even gave us a VERY early sneak peek at her next book Into the Crooked Place which isn't even going to be published until this time next year! We also had a chance to chat with the authors and get our books signed which is something I always love to do. I'll write about the event properly soon but I wanted to say a huge thank you to Hot Key for inviting me to the event!

My Challenge Updates:

Here are the 2018 challenges I've signed up for:
2018 Read 100 Books in a Year Challenge - Read 157/200
2018 British Books Challenge - Read 17/20
2018 New Author Challenge - Read 19/20
2018 Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Challenge - Read 84/100
2018 Contemporary Romance Challenge - Read 20/20 - Complete

Event Report: Penguin YA Secret Society Party

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Penguin YA Secret Society Party which was a fab event with Sally Green, Melissa Albert, Elizabeth Klehforth and Emily Barr. It was one of the hottest days of the heatwave so we practically melted on the journey up to London and with the venue being in a basement pub it was a super hot night but we had such a fab time that it was definitely worth it.

Penguin had gone to so much effort to decorate the venue and each author had their own section that was decorated with something that had a meaning to their book and there were even four different cocktails to try, one inspired by each story!

The first section was where we got to meet Elizabeth Klehforth who was there to talk to us about her book All These Beautiful Strangers which sounds like a really exciting thriller that I'm really looking forward to reading! In this section we all got to choose props and pose for polaroid photos which was a lot of fun.

Charlie Calloway has a life most people would kill for.

With her wealthy family's pedigree, a loyal set of friends, and a fast-track to whichever college she chooses, she's all-but untouchable at her exclusive East Coast boarding school.

But Charlie isn't interested in what most people want.

She's a Calloway. She's been taught to want more.

So when she's invited to join her school's exclusive secret society- the A's - her determination to get in is matched only by her conviction that she belongs there.

But behind their mysterious facade is a history of lies and cruel games which threatens to unravel everything Charlie thought she knew about herself... including the story behind her mother's disappearance ten years ago.

In the second section we entered the Hazel Wood to meet Melissa Albert and talk about her debut novel The Hazel Wood which is a modern fairytale that sounds just up my street! I have a feeling I'm going to love this book so I'm definitely planning on reading it very soon.

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels.

But when Alice's grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate - the Hazel Wood - Alice learns how bad her luck can really get.

Her mother is stolen, by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world from her grandmother's stories.

Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD.

To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began . . .

The third section was where we got to meet Sally Green to talk about the first book in her new series, The Smoke Thieves. I've already read and loved this one (you can read my review here) so I'm impatiently waiting for the sequel but if you're a fantasy fan you definitely need to pick up a copy! Here we also got to choose a glitter tattoo to represent one of the main characters and of course I picked the demon hunter!

A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief. Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Five nations destined for conflict.

In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father, while her true love, Ambrose, faces the executioner's block.

In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town.

And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell.

As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our five heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war.

Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize?

Last but not least we got to meet Emily Barr and talk about her latest book The Truth and Lies of Ella Black. I have to say that even though I don't read much contemporary YA these days I'm really intrigued by this one and looking forward to giving it a try!

Ella Black seems to live the life most other seventeen-year-olds would kill for . . .

Until one day, telling her nothing, her parents whisk her off to Rio de Janeiro. Determined to find out why, Ella takes her chance and searches through their things.

And realises her life has been a lie.

Her mother and father aren't hers at all. Unable to comprehend the truth, Ella runs away, to the one place they'll never think to look - the favelas.

But there she learns a terrible secret - the truth about her real parents and their past. And the truth about a mother, desperate for a daughter taken from her seventeen years ago . . .




I'd like to say a huge thank you to Penguin for inviting me to the event and to all the authors for taking the time to talk to us. I had such a fantastic time and can't wait to read all of the books I came home with!