Feeling Fictional: Kevin Brooks

Showing posts with label Kevin Brooks. Show all posts

Thursday, 1 September 2016

July & August 2016 Recap

You may have noticed that the blog was a bit quiet in August, I ended up taking a completely unplanned blogging break after having a run in with some wasps. The little buggers managed to sting me on my forehead and on my arm and I ended up having a really bad reaction. I was stung on a Thursday afternoon but it took until Saturday morning for the swelling to come out and then it just kept getting worse and worse throughout the day. I ended up having to go to A&E on the Sunday morning to get it checked out because I could hardly open my eye when I woke up. You can see from the pictures how much it changed in less than 24 hours - I looked like I'd been punched in the face by a boxer LOL.

I ended up being prescribed a week's course of antibiotics, told to take enough antihistamine tablets to make me rattle when I walked and having to use ice packs to help bring the swelling down. I felt rather sorry for myself for a while there! Reading went completely out of the window (it's hard to focus when you can only see out of one eye properly!) and I didn't even bother switching my laptop for a couple of weeks. The meds left me exhausted so even after the swelling went down it took absolutely ages for me to start feeling better. I'm now even more nervous about wasps than I was before and I think this sums up the evil little bastards perfectly:

So apart from the whole wasp incident this has actually been a pretty awesome summer what with a camping trip and various friends coming to stay. It's been a very long time since I last took a blogging break (in fact, I don't think I've ever gone this long without posting regularly in the six and a half years I've been writing this blog!) so it was quite nice to just put it all to one side and forget about it. I'm actually having a bit of trouble motivating myself to get started again but I'm hoping I'll get back into the routine soon because I do miss it really :o)

Books read in previous months but reviewed in July & August:

(Links will take you to my reviews)

Allegiance of Honour - Nalini Singh (Read in April, reviewed in July)
The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh (Read in June, review coming soon)
Stripped Bear - Kate Baxter (Novella) (Read in June, review coming soon)
Dead Witch Walking - Kim Harrison (Read in June, review coming soon)
Blood Shadows - Lindsay J. Pryor (Read in June, review coming soon)
Hard Ever After - Laura Kaye (Novella) (Read in June, reviewed in July)
Glory In Death - J.D. Robb (Read in June, reviewed in July)
Ride Hard - Laura Kaye (Read in June, reviewed in July)
Seven Up - Janet Evanovich (Read in June, review coming soon)

Books read in July:

(Links will take you to my reviews)

Hard to Serve - Laura Kaye (Novella)
City of Shadows - Pippa DaCosta
Oblivion - Jennifer L. Armentrout
Magic Slays - Ilona Andrews (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Animal Querkles: A puzzling colour-by-numbers book - Thomas Pavitte (Colouring Book)
Hidden Blade - Pippa DaCosta
Lured - Rebecca Chastain (Novella)
Lord of Chaos - Robert Jordan
Taking the Bait - Audrey Noire (Novella / Serialised Novel)
200 Cupcakes: Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook - Joanna Farrow (Cookbook)
Taking Sides - Audrey Noire (Novella / Serialised Novel)
Desiring Red - Kristen Miller (Novella / Serialised Novel) (Review coming soon)
Magic Tests - Ilona Andrews (Short Story) (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Magic Gifts - Ilona Andrews (Novella) (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Gunmetal Magic - Ilona Andrews (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Retribution Clause - Ilona Andrews (Novella) (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Magic Rises - Ilona Andrews (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
The Emperor's Arrow - Lauren D.M. Smith (Review coming soon)
Immortal in Death - J.D. Robb (Review coming soon)
Who's Afraid - Maria Lewis (Review coming soon)
Monstress, Vol 1: Awakening - Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda (Graphic Novel) (Review coming soon)
Nevernight - Jay Kristoff (Review coming soon)
Magic Binds - Ilona Andrews (Review coming soon)

Books read in August:

(Links will take you to my reviews)

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne (Review coming soon)
Angel Dares - Joss Stirling (Review coming soon)
A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan (Review coming soon)
Haunted by the King of Death - Felicity Heaton (Review coming soon)
False Hearts - Laura Lam (Review coming soon)
Rock Wedding - Nalini Singh (Review coming soon)
Magic Steals - Ilona Andrews (Novella) (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Magic Breaks - Ilona Andrews (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Archangel's Heart - Nalini Singh (Review coming soon)
The Sight - Chloe Neill (Review coming soon)
Magic Shifts - Ilona Andrews (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Magic Stars - Ilona Andrews (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Front Lines - Michael Grant (Review coming soon)
Day Zero - Kresley Cole (Review coming soon)
Witches' Bane - Pippa DaCosta (Review coming soon)
Angels' Blood - Nalini Singh (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Barbarian Alien - Ruby Dixon (Review coming soon)

Other July & August Posts:

July & August Books of the Month:

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

My top YA reads in July & August:

Oblivion by Jennifer L Armentrout (read my review here)
Animal Querkles by Thomas Pavitte (read my review here) (Yes I do know that this is an adult colouring book but I love it so it totally counts LOL).

My top NA read in July & August:

City of Shadows by Pippa DaCosta (read my review here)

My top adult reads in July & August:

Allegiance of Honour by Nalini Singh (read my review here)
Hidden Blade by Pippa DaCosta (read my review here)

July & August Events:

I've been pretty hopeless at writing up events recently so I've decided to start mentioning them in my monthly wrap up posts so they at least get a little attention!

6th July - Chapter 5 Proof Party

It seems like a long time ago now but back in July I was incredibly excited to be invited to the Chapter 5 Proof Party, especially when I found out that Jennifer L. Armentrout would be there as the special guest! I've been a fan of Jennifer's writing for years now so I was incredibly excited to meet her. She was absolutely lovely and signed a HUGE stack of books for me (a couple that may be being used for giveaways on this blog over the next few months so make sure you keep an eye out!).

Meeting Jennifer L Armentrout & getting

my huge stack of books signed!

Chapter 5 also treated us to some super exciting proofs for some of the novels they'll be releasing in the second half of 2016 (and even a couple from 2017!). I picked up copies of Frostblood by Elly Blake, Replica by Lauren Oliver (which both sound fantastic) along a book I'm INCREDIBLY excited about, Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Caraval was described as perfect for fans of The Night Circus and Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series so that has definitely caught my attention.

Books, glorious books and delicious

cupcakes inspired by Jennifer's books

Thanks Chapter 5 for a brilliant evening and for the awesome books, I can't wait to read them all!

11th August - Egmont Blogger Day

In August I was invited to my first Egmont Blogger Day which was being held at Drink, Shop & Do, one of my favourite event locations in London. The Egmont team had pulled out all the stops and spoiled us with plenty of delicious nibbles and enough tea to sink a ship. Not to mention a selection of awesome authors and an amazing goodie bag!

Sarah Driver, Michael Grant, Eugene Lambert & Kevin Brooks

plus the fabulous goodie bag we came home with!

We got to meet debut author Sarah Driver whose middle grade adventure story The Huntress: Sea will be released in 2017, this sounds like such a fun read - I just wish we didn't have to wait so long to get our hands on it. Then we listened to Michael Grant talking about his alternate history WWII novel Front Lines where he reimagines the war with one major difference - young girls were allowed to fight alongside the boys in the American army! I've actually already finished this book (I'll get my review posted ASAP) and it's brilliant so definitely one to grab if you enjoy historical fiction. Eugene Lambert was talking about his science fiction novel The Sign of One and he gave the aspiring writers in the room some interesting tips on how to write their own sci-fi story. Last but not least we heard from Kevin Brooks about his upcoming novel Born Scared which is about a young boy who is terrified of pretty much everything but who has to find a way to put his fears to one side when he's forced to leave his home in an emergency. This sounds like a story I'm going to find it very easy to relate to and it seems like Kevin has drawn on his own experiences to help him write it so I'm expecting it to feel very true to life.

Thanks to Egmont and all of the authors for a brilliant day, I'm really excited about all of the books mentioned so I'll try and get them read and reviewed ASAP!

House of Minalima

After the event Kirsty and I decided to visit the House of Minalima's Harry Potter exhibition on our way home. Minalima are the design team behind a lot of the props for the Harry Potter movies (all the posters, the Hogwarts letters, Hogwarts school books, the Marauders Map, packaging for the sweets (like the Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavour Beans) and so much more. It's completely free to get in and you can see some of the real movie props on display and take photos until your hearts content so it's well worth a visit if you're in London. They have some of the posters and other items on sale in their shop too but I'll warn you now it's on the expensive side.

House of Minalima & bumping into Laura Kaye

The funniest thing was bumping into one of my favourite authors the lovely Laura Kaye while we were there! I was lucky enough to meet her a couple of years ago when she did a signing in London but this time she was just visiting with her family for a holiday so it was a complete coincidence that we happened to be at Minalima at the same time. I didn't want to keep her for long but we did manage to get a quick selfie before we both got back to our sightseeing & it was a lovely way to round off the afternoon.

My Challenge Updates:

These are the challenges I've signed up for in 2016:

2016 Read 100 Books in a Year Challenge - Read 133/200
2016 British Books Challenge - Read 20/50
2016 New Author Challenge - Read 25/50
2016 Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Challenge - 65/100
2016 Contemporary Romance Challenge - 15/20
2016 Romantic Suspense Challenge - 11/20

Monday, 4 March 2013

Review: The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks

Room meets Lord of the Flies, The Bunker Diary is award-winning, young adult writer Kevin Brooks's pulse-pounding exploration of what happens when your worst nightmare comes true - and how will you survive?

I can't believe I fell for it.

It was still dark when I woke up this morning.

As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was.

A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete.

There are six little rooms along the main corridor.

There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out.

What's he going to do to me?

What am I going to do?

If I'm right, the lift will come down in five minutes.

It did. Only this time it wasn't empty . . .

Visit Kevin Brooks on Myspace for more information

Review:
I'm finding it really difficult to write a review for The Bunker Diary, it is the kind of book that I can't say too much about because I don't want to give spoilers but that makes it hard for me to express my thoughts about it! This is one of those books that will make you think, it makes you question how you would cope in the very worst of circumstances. How would you get through it? Would you fall to pieces or would you find a way to stay strong and hope for the best? Would you be brave enough to fight or would you just curl up and wait for it to be over?

Linus has been facing all of those decisions and many more ever since the morning he was kidnapped and woke up alone in an underground bunker. What does his captor want from him? Is there a way to escape? Will be always be alone down there? You get to watch the story unfold by reading the entries Linus makes in his diary and it was a fascinating look into his mind as he dealt with everything that was happening. Once I picked up this book I found it incredibly hard to put it down, I kept thinking to myself just one more chapter and before I knew it I had reached the end.

As much as I'd enjoyed the journey I did find myself feeling slightly disappointed with the ending, mainly because I'm the kind of reader who prefers to get answers to their questions rather than being left to guess or make my own mind up about what happened. I had so many questions about Linus's captor and what his goals were and I felt slightly frustrated to get no answers. I reached the last chapter and found myself desperately flicking through the blank pages hoping to find more. The more I think about it though the more that ending makes sense, I just can't see how else things could have played out to a more satisfactory (for me) conclusion.

If you're looking for a story that will make you question everything then I'd highly recommend The Bunker Diary, the story is grim, dark and at times terrifying but it is compelling reading and I'll definitely be looking out for more from Kevin Brooks in the future.

Source: Received from Penguin 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.

Paperback / Kindle:

Blog Tour: Extract from The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks

Today I'm taking part in the blog tour to celebrate the release of The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks. I will be posting my full review later today but it is one of the most unusual books I've ever read and one that I found it really difficult to put down.

I have a fabulous extract from the first chapter of The Bunker Diary to share with you today but first let me give you a bit more information about the book:

********************

The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks

Extract from Chapter 1

(posted with permission from Penguin UK)

Monday, 30 January

10.00 a.m.
This is what I know. I’m in a low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete. It’s about twelve metres wide and eighteen metres long. A corridor runs down the middle of the building, with a smaller corridor leading off to a lift shaft just over halfway down. There are six little rooms along the main corridor, three on either side. They’re all the same size, three metres by five, and each one is furnished with an iron-framed bed, a hard-backed chair, and a bedside cabinet. There’s a bathroom at one end of the corridor and a kitchen at the other. Opposite the kitchen, in the middle of an open area, there’s a rectangular wooden table with six wooden chairs. In each corner of the open area there’s an L-shaped bench settee.

There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out.

The whole place looks something like this:

In the bathroom there’s a steel bath, a steel sink, and a lavatory. No mirrors, no cupboards, no accessories. The kitchen contains a sink, a table, some chairs, an electric cooker, a small fridge, and a wall-mounted cupboard. In the cupboard there’s a plastic washing-up bowl, six plastic dinner plates, six plastic glasses, six plastic mugs, six sets of plastic cutlery.

Why six?
I don’t know.
I’m the only one here.

It feels underground in here. The air is heavy, concrete, damp. It’s not damp, it just feels damp. And it smells like a place that’s old, but new. Like it’s been here a long time but never been used.
There are no light switches anywhere.
There’s a clock on the corridor wall.
The lights come on at eight o’clock in the morning, and they go off again at midnight.
There’s a low humming sound deep within the walls.

12.15 p.m.
Nothing moves.
Time is slow.

I thought he was blind. That’s how he got me. I still can’t believe I fell for it. I keep playing it over in my mind, hoping I’ll do something different, but it always turns out the same.

It was early Sunday morning when it happened. Yesterday morning. I wasn’t doing anything in particular, just hanging around the concourse at Liverpool Street station, trying to keep warm, looking out for Saturday night leftovers. I had my hands in my pockets, my guitar on my back, my eyes to the ground. Sunday morning is a good time for finding things. People get drunk on Saturday night. They rush to get the last train home. They drop stuff. Cash, cards, hats, gloves, cigarettes. The cleaners get most of the good stuff, but sometimes they miss things. I found a fake Rolex once. Got a tenner for it. So it’s always worth looking. But all I’d found that morning was a broken umbrella and a half-empty packet of Marlboro. I threw the umbrella away but kept the cigarettes. I don’t smoke, but cigarettes are always worth keeping.

So there I was, just hanging around, minding my own business, when a couple of platform staff came out of a side door and started walking towards me. One of them was a regular, a young black guy called Buddy who’s usually OK, but I didn’t know the other one. And I didn’t like the look of him. He was a big guy in a peaked cap and steel-tipped shoes, and he looked like trouble. He probably wasn’t, and they probably wouldn’t have bothered me anyway, but it’s always best to play safe, so I put my head down, pulled up my hood, and moved off towards the taxi rank.

And that’s when I saw him. The blind man. Raincoat, hat, dark glasses, white stick. He was standing at the back of a dark-coloured van. A Transit, I think. The back doors were open and there was a heavy-looking suitcase on the ground. The blind man was struggling to get the case in the back of the van. He wasn’t having much luck. There was something wrong with his arm. It was in a sling.

It was still pretty early and the station was deserted. I could hear the two platform men jangling their keys and laughing about something, and from the sound of the big guy’s clackety-clack footsteps I could tell they were moving away from me, heading off towards the escalator that leads up to McDonald’s. I waited a little while just to make sure they weren’t coming back, then I turned my attention to the blind man. Apart from the Transit van, the taxi rank was empty. No black cabs, no one waiting. There was just me and this blind man. A blind man with his arm in a sling.

I thought about it.

You could walk away if you wanted to, I told myself. You don’t have to help him. You could just walk away, nice and quiet. He’s blind, he’ll never know, will he?

But I didn’t walk away.

I’m a nice guy.

I coughed to let him know I was there, then I walked up and asked him if he needed any help. He didn’t look at me. He kept his head down. And I thought that was a bit odd. But then I thought, maybe that’s what blind people do? I mean, what’s the point of looking at someone if you can’t actually see them?

‘It’s my arm,’ he muttered, indicating the sling. ‘I can’t get hold of the suitcase properly.’

I bent down and picked it up. It wasn’t as heavy as it looked.

‘Where do you want it?’ I asked.

‘In the back,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’

There was no one else in the van, no one in the driving seat. Which was kind of surprising. The back of the van was pretty empty too, just a few bits of rope, some carrier bags, a dusty old blanket.

The blind man said, ‘Would you mind putting the case up by the front seats for me? It’ll be easier to get out.’

I was beginning to feel a bit uneasy now. Something didn’t feel right. What was this guy doing here? Where was he going? Where had he been? Why was he all alone? How the hell could he drive? I mean, a blind man with a broken arm?

‘If you wouldn’t mind?’ he said.

Maybe he isn’t completely blind? I thought. Maybe he can see enough to drive? Or maybe he’s one of those people who pretend they’re disabled so they can get a special parking badge?

‘Please,’ he said. ‘I’m in a hurry.’

I shrugged off my doubts and stepped up into the van. What did I care if he was blind or not? Just get his suitcase into the van and leave him to it. Go and find somewhere warm. Wait for the day to get going. See who’s around – Lugless, Pretty Bob, Windsor Jack. See what’s happening.

I was moving towards the front seats when I felt the van lurch on its springs, and I knew the blind man had climbed up behind me.

‘I’ll show you where to put it,’ he said.

I knew I’d been had then but it was already too late, and as I turned to face him he grabbed my head and clamped a damp cloth over my face. I started to choke. I was breathing in chemicals – chloroform, ether, whatever it was. I couldn’t breathe. There was no air. My lungs were on fire. I thought I was dying. I struggled, lashing out with my elbows and legs, kicking, stamping, jerking my head like a madman, but it was no good. He was strong, a lot stronger than he looked. His hands gripped my skull like a couple of vices. After a few seconds I started to feel dizzy, and then . . .

Nothing.

I must have passed out.

********************

So what do you think of the extract? Are you hooked yet? I'm afraid that if you want to know more you're going to have to buy the book!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour for more information about The Bunker Diaries.