Cover Reveal: The Map of Bones - Francesca Haig (#mapofbones)

I absolutely loved Francesca Haig's debut novel The Fire Sermon when I read it last year (you can read my review HERE) so I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the upcoming sequel, The Map of Bones, which will be published by HarperCollins in the UK on the 7th of April.

I have a bit more information about the book for you but first check out this fantastic cover:

Isn't it gorgeous! It's going to look beautiful on my shelves next to The Fire Sermon!

Blurb:

The map of Bones is the second book in a speculative trilogy set in a future where all children are born twins: one perfect and one deformed. A stunning exploration of human sacrifice and joint destiny.

Zach and Cass have defied the odds and survived the failed uprising of the Omegas, even if it has cost the life of Cass’s fellow rebel Kip.

But with Zach on the opposing side, and steadily rising through the political ranks of the Alphas, the divide between the twins is growing. Just how far will the Alphas go to suppress the Omegas for their own survival?

With the resistance movement nearly decimated, the Omega’s must find the strength to stand against the Alpha tide.

A few interesting facts about the series:

Even the ashes of the past cannot hide the truth forever…

• The Fire Sermon was in the top twenty debuts of 2015
• Sold in 24 countries around the world
• Dreamworks have already optioned the film, and the team behind Marvel’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY are working with Francesca on the screenplay

Praise for The Fire Sermon:

‘This book is a thought-provoking whirlwind of a story, with a fab lead character, grisly politics and brave adventure. I loved it!’ Jessie Burton

‘Set in a vividly realised world of elite Alphas and their ‘weaker’ Omega twins, it holds a mirror up to our obsession with perfection’ The Guardian

‘This terrific set-up spools out into a high tension tale of mistrust and dependency, injustice and optimism, told with poetic intensity’ Daily Mail

About the author:

Francesca Haig is a novelist, poet and academic. The Fire Sermon, her debut novel (2015), is the first in a post-apocalyptic trilogy. Rights for the series have sold in more than twenty countries, and the second novel, The Map of Bones, will be published in April 2016. Her poetry has been published in literary journals in both Australia and England, and her first collection of poetry, Bodies of Water, was published in 2006. Francesca grew up in Tasmania, gained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, and was a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Chester. In 2010 she was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Connect with the author: website / twitter

So who else is as excited about this book as I am? What do you think of the new cover?

Review: The Fire Sermon - Francesca Haig

Born as twins.
Raised as enemies.

One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega, the only thing they share is the moment of their death.

The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.

The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they're free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.

Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.

The potential to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they're not careful both will die in the struggle for power.

Alpha & Omega Series:
The Fire Sermon
Future titles and release dates to be confirmed

Visit Francesca Haig's author page on Goodreads for more information

Review:
British author Francesca Haig has created a really interesting world in her debut novel The Fire Sermon. Four hundred years after an explosion that nearly destroyed the world life is very different for the survivors, technology was blamed for the apocalyptic event and is now banned so in a lot of ways it is like taking a step back in time and living in the past. Ever since the blast babies have been born in pairs, there is always one boy and one girl and there is always one Alpha and one Omega. The Alphas are strong, healthy and physically perfect while the Omegas are born with some kind of deformity and often much weaker and more sickly than their Alpha twin. You might think that natural selection would see to the deaths of the weaker twins but one other thing is completely certain, the twins lives are inexplicably linked and, no matter how far apart they are, the death of one always results in the death of the other.

The Alphas are the ruling class, the are the leaders and the ones with power while the Omegas are treated like second class citizens. The Omegas are forced to leave their homes as soon as they're disability is discovered and sent to live in special settlements with others of their kind. They are not allowed to mix with the Alpha's and they live difficult lives where they only have enough food to barely survive. Cass and Zach are different, where most twins are separated practically from birth they were raised together until they were 13. Cass always knew she was the Omega but because her disability wasn't visible nobody was able to prove it and all she ever wanted was to stay with her brother. Zach had other plans though, Cass was holding him back and preventing him from taking his rightful place in society and he will always hate her for that. Even when they are separated Zach holds a grudge and his hatred may well be the cause of all out war between the Alphas and Omegas.

The Fire Sermon raises so many interesting questions and really makes you look at how humanity can be so quick to judge people. Why do groups of people always find it so easy to turn on each other for such silly reasons? We've seen it time and time again in the past so I don't know why it would surprise me to see it happening here but really you'd expect twins to be protective of each other - especially if they know that they will die if their twin does! That link between the twins also makes it very difficult for the Omegas to fight back, how can they fight the Alphas when for every Alpha they kill they also murder one of their own? Cass seems to be one of the few people who always sees both sides to things but that doesn't mean it's easy for her to convince others that she is right.

I really liked Cass, she has such a unique way of looking at things and in spite of all the horrible things that her brother does to her she always tries to see the good in him. She is in a pretty impossible position and because of her link to Zach she is in as much danger to from the Omegas she is fighting besides as she is from the Alphas who hunt her. I enjoyed seeing her relationship develop with Kip but we never got to know him as much as I hoped to, mainly because he had no memory of his past so was pretty much a blank slate when he met Cass. I was worried at one point that we were drawing into love triangle territory but happily this was completely resolved by the end of the book even if it was in a very unexpected way. Talking of the ending there are some fantastic twists and revelations towards the end of the book, a few that I'd figured out myself but even though I had an idea about some things I would never have guessed how they would resolve themselves!

The Fire Sermon is a great start to the series and it left me desperate to find out what will happen next. The story has already been optioned by Dreamworks and I would love to see it on the big screen too but no matter what happens with the movie the sequel will be jumping straight to the top of my to read pile and I really hope Francesca Haig doesn't keep us waiting too long for it!

Source: Received from Harper Voyager 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.

Hardback / Kindle:

Bookish Nails: Fire Sermon - Francesca Haig

A few weeks ago I was invited to the amazing Harper Voyager offices for a blogger event to celebrate the upcoming release of Fire Sermon, the debut novel by British author Francesca Haig. Having read and loved the book I was super excited about the event and getting the chance to chat with Francesca and she was absolutely lovely. We had such a great time and Harper really spoiled us with delicious cupcakes and some amazing goodie bags. It was great to get a sneaky look at their new offices and their building has the most amazing view across the Thames over St Paul's Cathederal.

I created this slideshow to share a few highlights from the afternoon:


Anyone who follows me on Instagram will know that alongside books one of my other obsessions is nail polish so I decided I wanted to play around and create a Fire Sermon related design before the event. I have done book related nails before but for some reason I've never posted them on my blog so I figured I might as well create a new feature here that combines my two biggest addictions. I'm not sure how often I'll post Bookish Nails pics but I'm going to try and make an effort to make it a semi-regular thing.

I was working from my white Omega proof cover when I decided to keep a clear base and add flames to my nails but I think if I was to recreate the design again I'd be tempted to try a black background so that the flames really stood out more. I think that would be a better match for the finished cover too.

Francesca Haig has created a world where all children are born in pairs, one twin is always the Alpha, the strongest and most healthy twin, while the other is Omega, born with physical disabilities and much weaker than their counterpart. The Alphas are the society elites, they are the ruling class while the Omegas are second class citizens who are ostracised and looked down upon. One thing that is undeniable is that there is a link between the twins though and if one of them dies so does the other which makes for a really interesting dynamic - how do you fight your oppressors when killing them is the same as committing suicide?

Anyway, I wasn't happy with just flames so I thought I'd add the Alpha and Omega symbols to my design and although this was fairly simple to create I was really pleased with the way it turned out and I think Francesca quite liked them too!

Fire Sermon is a fantastic book and it's released by Harper Voyager on the 26th of February so you don't have long to wait before you can get your hands on a copy. I'll be posting my review on the release day but I thought I'd include the cover image and blurb below for you in case you'd like a bit more information in the meantime.

When Zach and I were born our parents must have counted and recounted: limbs, fingers, toes. We were perfect. They would have been disbelieving: nobody dodged the split between Alpha and Omega.

Nobody.

They were born together and they will die together.

One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death.

The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.

The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they’re free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.

Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.

The power to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they’re not careful both will die in the struggle for power.

I'd like to say a huge thanks to everyone at Harper Voyager for inviting me to such a fabulous event & also to Francesca Haig for being so much fun to talk to and for creating such a fascinating world for us to dive into :o)

Cover Reveal: The Fire Sermon - Francesca Haig

I'm sure you've probably already seen this cover all over Twitter by now but The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig is one of my most anticipated 2015 debuts and I absolutely love this cover so I had to share it here in case anyone has missed it!

I mean just check out this beauty! Isn't it GORGEOUS?!

Now that the cover has caught your eye check out the blurb:
(taken from Amazon)

When Zach and I were born our parents must have counted and recounted: limbs, fingers, toes. We were perfect. They would have been disbelieving: nobody dodged the split between Alpha and Omega.

Nobody.

They were born together and they will die together.

One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death.

The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.

The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they’re free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.

Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.

The power to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they’re not careful both will die in the struggle for power.

The Fire Sermon is being published in the UK on the 26th of February and I for one can't wait to read it!

Oh and if you like the cover, check out this awesome video showing how it was made:



What do you think of The Fire Sermon's cover? Is this book already on your wish list?