When Alice Forster receives an email from her dead sister it seems like a sick practical joke. Then an invitation arrives to the virtual world of Soul Beach, an online paradise of sun, sea and sand where Alice can finally talk to her sister again.
But why is Soul Beach only inhabited by the young, the beautiful and the dead? Who really murdered Megan Forster? And could Alice be next?
Soul Beach Trilogy:
Soul Beach
I wasn't able to find details of further books in the series at this time
Review:
I love the concept of Soul Beach, the idea of some kind of virtual world where your soul goes after you die isn't one I haven't come across before and although it's creepy it is also fascinating. The beach is portrayed as perfect but for the "Guests" they soon start to get bored of doing the same thing day in and day out, I have to say I don't think I'd want to spend much time there!
Alice is struggling to deal with the aftermath of her sister's murder. The police haven't found Megan's killer and her family is falling apart around her so when she realises she can keep in contact with Megan through Soul Beach she jumps at the chance of spending time with her. The more time Alice spends with Megan and her friends the more real the virtual world becomes, soon Alice is obsessed with spending time there and starts to push away her school friends. It is easy for the reader to see that Alice is spending an unhealthy amount of time with her sister and it makes you think about how hard it would be to let someone go if you were still able to contact them.
I enjoyed the mystery side to the story, Alice is trying to work out who killed her sister but she is also investigating the cause of Megan's friend Triti's death. I did find myself frustrated at the end of the book when I was left with so many unanswered questions, I hadn't realised until then that this is the first book in a trilogy though so at least I know there are more books to come. I have had my suspicions about so many different characters when it comes to who killed Megan that I really have no idea who it will turn out to be!
I did have a problem believing how real Soul Beach became to Alice, she mentioned feeling the breeze and the spray from the ocean on her face but really she was sitting in her room in front of her laptop. I was also frustrated with the romance, why do the main characters always have to fall for the one person the can't have? I'd have preferred no romance to the one we got, or I'd have been happy to see a romance start to develop between Alice and Lewis. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how things progress in the next book.
If you're looking for something completely different then I'd definitely recommend giving Soul Beach a try. The story is fairly fast paced and despite being a long book it was a quick and enjoyable read.
Source: Received from Orion 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.
Back in July I was lucky enough to attend the Orion blogger preview for their new Indigo imprint (you can read my event write up here). We got to find out about some of the very exciting new titles they are releasing and I'm really looking forward to reading them all. I noticed that some of the book trailers have now been uploaded on YouTube so thought I'd share them here for you.
First we have the trailer for The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner, this one is very eerie and has made me very excited about the book. The Double Shadow was released today so you can get your hands on a copy now.
Next we have the trailer for Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, this is a beautifully done trailer that I love, and the book itself is fantastic. I can't believe that this is the first Marcus Sedgwick book I've read but it definitely won't be the last. I'll be posting my review for Midwinterblood tomorrow so come back then if you'd like to read it.
Here is the trailer for Soul Beach by Kate Harrison, I've been looking forward to this one ever since the event so keep an eye out for my review.
This is for Shelter by Harlan Coben, I don't read many thrillers but I may just have to give this one a try as I've heard a lot of good things about it
Last but by no means least we have the trailer for My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher. I read this one a few months ago and absolutely loved it, such an emotional story and an impressive debut (you can read my full review here)
So what do you think of the trailers? I'd love to know which of these books you're most excited about, if you've read any of them please let me know what you thought of them in the comments.
Back in July I was really excited to visit the Orion offices and find out about all the fab new YA titles they have coming out over the next few months with their new Indigo imprint. Trust me there are going to be some amazing books coming soon so Indigo is definitely an imprint to watch out for! We also got the chance to meet 4 fantastic authors - Kate Harrison, Marcus Sedgwick, Sally Gardner and Sara Grant so for this post I'm going to concentrate on their books, I'll post again soon to tell you about some of the other Indigo titles that I'm most excited about.
Marcus Sedgwick, Sara Grant, Kate Harrison & Sally Gardner
After a fabulous presentation by Nina and Louise from Orion it was time for us to get to meet the authors. First up was Marcus Sedgwick who was talking about his book Midwinterblood that will be out in the UK on the 6th of October.
Marcus talking about the painting that was the inspiration behind Midwinterblood
What would you sacrifice for someone you've loved forever?
Have you ever had the feeling that you've lived another life? Been somewhere that has felt totally familiar even when you've never been there before, or felt that you've known someone even though you are meeting them for the first time? Eric and Merle are lovers, tragically torn apart, but whose souls have been searching for each other for ten centuries, longing to be reunited . . .
Doesn't this sound awesome? I really can't wait to read it and am so excited I was able to pick up a copy at the event! Marcus told us that the story was inspired by a painting he saw in Stockholm several years ago (see picture above). The story is about 2 people who keep meeting again across the centuries but who have a very different relationship each time they meet. It is a love story that looks at the question "Why is this the life I was given" and works backwards in time starting with the present and reaching further and further back into the past as the story progresses.
Since my new phone can record videos I decided to try something a little different at this event and I recorded each the author readings for you to watch. I'd love to know if this is something you'd like to watch so please let me know in the comments so I'll know to do it again in the future (or not to bother if you aren't interested lol).
Here is Marcus Sedgwick reading chapter 8 from Midwinterblood:
The next author to speak was Sara Grant who's debut novel Dark Parties is released in the UK on the 20th of October.
Sara Grant reading from Dark Parties
A compelling debut thriller about identity, trust and freedom.
Place: the Protectosphere. Time: the future. Sixteen-year-old Neva plots to escape her world, where everyone looks the same and no one is allowed to leave. But as she does, she discovers what is really happening to The Missing - all those people like her grandmother who have now vanished. The people that everyone pretends never existed . . .
Sara was very nervous as this was one of the first times she'd had to stand up in front of people and talk about her book but you really couldn't tell and she did a lovely job of reading the first chapter for us. Dark Parties started as a short story that Sara wrote as she was emigrating from a small town in the US to London with her husband. The move got her thinking about what would happen if a country closed it's borders and the story grew from there. I really like the sound of Dark Parties, I think it will have a dystopian feel to it and I'm very curious about the world that Sara has created. I managed to snag a copy of this one too so I'll get a review posted as soon as possible for you.
Sara Grant reading chapter 1 of Dark Parties:
Next up was Kate Harrison talking about her first YA novel Soul Beach, even though this is her first YA book it is actually her darkest novel so far and I think it will be an amazing read. Soul Beach is released in the UK on the 1st of September.
Kate Harrison reading from Soul Beach
Welcome to Soul Beach. People are dying to get here.
When Alice Forster receives an email from her dead sister she assumes it must be a sick practical joke. Then an invitation arrives to the virtual world of Soul Beach, an idyllic online paradise where Alice can finally talk to her sister again - and discover a new world of friendships, secrets and maybe even love . . . But why is Soul Beach only inhabited by the young, the beautiful and the dead? Who really murdered Megan Forster? And could Alice be next?
I've been looking forward to Soul Beach for ages now and I think it will be a fab read. Kate Harrison was lovely and I really enjoyed listening to her talk about where the idea for the book came from. I was so engrossed in what she was saying that I ended up recording the whole thing so hopefully you'll enjoy listening to it as much as I did! I have to apologise for missing the first few seconds of the reading but I promise you didn't miss much!
Kate Harrison reading what I think was chapter 1 of Soul Beach:
Last but by no means least was Sally Gardner talking about her new book The Double Shadow that will be released in the UK on the 3rd of November.
Sally Gardner reading from The Double Shadow
If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.
In Sally Gardner's stunning new novel, a girl tries to free herself from the terrifying double shadow of her childhood and forge her own future, away from the shocking memory machine created by her father. As war-clouds gather over 1937 Britain, Arnold Ruben's memory machine is designed to be a utopia, where only the happiest of memories replay forever. But something has gone terribly wrong . . .
The Double Shadow sounds like it is going to be quite a dark read but I love that it is so different from anything else I've read. I wasn't able to pick up a copy at the event but Nina has offered to send me one and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Here is a clip of Sally Gardner reading the first chapter of The Double Shadow:
After the readings we had time to mingle with the authors and get our books signed, everyone was so friendly and happy to answer our questions. As always it was great to catch up with the other bloggers too, it's like getting a chance to chat with old friends (and make some new ones as there are always a few new faces too!).
Group shot of the authors and bloggers
It was a fabulous event and I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone at Orion for organising everything and for inviting me to attend. Also thanks to all of the authors who made it such a great evening. Watch out for another post soon about some of the other Indigo titles I'm most looking forward to getting my hands on!
