“Stay crazy sister…”

After their parents divorced, 10-year-old twins Ivy and Iris were split up–Ivy lived with Dad, Iris with Mom. Now, after a tragic accident takes their mom’s life, the twins are reunited and Iris moves in with Ivy and their dad. Devastated over Mom’s death, Iris spends the first few weeks in almost total silence–the only person she will speak to is Ivy. Iris feels her life is over and she doesn’t know what to do. Emmy promises her twin that she can share her life now. After all, they’re sisters. Twins.

It’s a promise that Iris takes seriously. And before long, Ivy’s friends, her life at school, and her boyfriend, Tyler, fall under Iris’s spell. Slowly, Ivy realizes she’s being pushed out of her own life. But she’s just being paranoid, right? And Mom’s accident was . . . just an accident. Right? It’s not like she–or Dad–or Tyler–are in any danger. . . .

Summary by Google books

I have never read a book that has made me so angry before. This book was quite possibly my worst nightmare on paper yet I couldn’t out it down. This thriller novel was almost thrown at a wall when I finished reading it. I. Still. Feel. So. Friggen. Angry. Arghhhhhhhh. What. The. Hell. Natasha Preston, hats off to you for creating my worst nightmare. Imagine being set up for small things, leading up to your entire life being destroyed. Except you aren’t dead, but you probably wish you were. The manipulation and deceitfulness from Ivy’s twin sister, Iris, just makes your skin crawl. Each move she makes results in more of Ivy’s life to crumble. Every page you turn gets you deeper into the mess of what has become Ivy’s life. I do know one thing for certain, I must read some of Natasha’s other books because she’s such a talented writer!

The Twin by Natasha Preston will be on sale from the 3rd March 2020!

Thank you to Penguin Random House Publishing for sending me this advance reading copy

A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it–at any cost.

Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds–each with their own magic–together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.

For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie’s brother. It’s where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it’s where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.

But this summer, the impossible happens–a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She’ll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she’s letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie–no one can be trusted, and no one is safe . . .

Summary from Book Depository

I was sent this book by Bloomsbury and I read this book in less than a day. Definitely a book that needs to be added to everyone’s TBR this year. I can’t wait for this book to kick off in March because I NEED to see some damn fan art asap. I was glued to the story line, so many unexpected plot twists. Just when you think you’ve worked out who is betraying who or what kind of secret someone is hiding, bam, Sarah hits you with something unpredictable. There were a few things I could definitely predict like, what’s up with Taya but it was hard to tell if Taya was a trustworthy character or not, along with the Silver Prince and the Heiress.

This book is more than just a pretty cover, prepare to meet creatures from all walks of life, hiding all sorts of secrets. Welcome to HavenFall, enjoy your stay, just try not to stay too long…

Keep reading if you want to build your Instagram account in the bookstagram community or just in general! I had a 24,000 follower instagram account back in 2014 in the acrobatic/dance/gymnastic community! It took me 3 years to get it to where it was but I learnt sooooo many things along the way! When I first began my Bookstagram adventure, I gained 5,000 active followers in under 10 months. It has slowed down in activity now as I don’t have as much time to put into my account but if you have the time, willpower and books, you can succeed!

Continue reading “Tips to gain Instagram followers!” →

I know how hard it can be sometimes to come up with a question or topic to include in your instagram captions. I’ve recently been having the exact same problem, especially being super busy all the time, the last thing I want to do is sit down for 10 minutes trying to come up with an interesting starter to my instagram caption. Here are a few questions/ideas to kick start your instagram caption and get everyone joining in on the fun!

Continue reading “Bookstagram caption ideas!” →

Synopsis:

On the first day of year 10, Shaun sees a dead body. 

When Shaun finds a body floating in the lake of a quiet mining town in outback Queensland, he immediately reports it to the police. But when he returns to the site with the constable, the body is gone. Determined to reveal the truth, Shaun and his best friend, Will, open their own investigation. But what they discover is far more sinister than they expected, and reveals a darkness below the surface of their small town.

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Review up tomorrow. Stay tuned!

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#themaninthewatertour #ausyabloggers @ausyabloggers @uqpbooks

Instagram: @daveburtonwriter

Twitter: @ dave_burton

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

“It’s always wise to be polite to books, whether or not they could hear you.”

Sorcery of Thorns Synopsis:

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery-magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught-about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined

I just finished reading Sorcery of Thorns and was left needing more!!! I definitely think that it needed a bit more romance, something like Sarah J. Maas Rhysand and Feyre smut kinda romance. I looooooved reading a book about books and my first book about sorcery. I’m kinda hoping Margaret decides to write a sequel in the future because that ending had me hooked. I purchased my copy in hardcover from Booktopia and it’s such a beautiful book both on the cover and how it’s written! I recommend this book to anyone who loves Sarah J. Maas writing but on a more innocent scale. I can’t write much more without giving away the plot so go and give it a read!

“Everything seems different at night. Defined. Beyond the window, the world is full of shadows, all pressed together in harsh relief, somehow sharper than they ever were in daylight.
Sounds seem sharper,too, at night. A whistle. A crack. A child’s whisper“

Synopsis:

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. 

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. 

There are no strangers in the town of Near. 

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger, a boy who seems to fade like smoke, appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true. The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Have you ever started reading a book from an author and just had to pause for a moment and admire their creative mind? V. E. Schwab is such a talented upcoming author. I recently finished her series A Darker shade of magic and fell in love with her writing. When I started The Near Witch, from the very first page I knew it was going to be one hell of a book. I read it all in a few hours before bed and was left with shivers down my spine. The Near Witch is a haunting book and left me scared to go to sleep. If a nightmare and a bedtime story had a child, this book would be that child. I can’t compare this book to anything I’ve ever read before but I highly recommend it. I’m so happy that someone wrote not only a book about witches, but a damn good book too. As I said about Pan’s Labyrinth, this book is not for children.

A Lifetime of Impossible days by Tabitha Bird

Synopsis:

Meet Willa Waters, aged 8 . . . 33 . . . and 93.

On one impossible day in 1965, eight-year-old Willa receives a mysterious box containing a jar of water and the instruction: ‘One ocean: plant in the backyard.’ So she does – and somehow creates an extraordinary time slip that allows her to visit her future selves.

On one impossible day in 1990, Willa is 33 and a mother-of-two when her childhood self magically appears in her backyard. But she’s also a woman haunted by memories of her dark past – and is on the brink of a decision that will have tragic repercussions . . .

On one impossible day in 2050, Willa is a silver-haired, gumboot-loving 93-year-old whose memory is fading fast. Yet she knows there’s something she has to remember, a warning she must give her past selves about a terrible event in 1990. If only she could recall what it was.

Can the three Willas come together, to heal their past and save their future, before it’s too late?

Insta review:

3 Willa’s. 1 mango tree. 1 Frog dog. 1 Jar of ocean. 1 heck of a book. Meet the amaze-a-loo Super-gumboots-Willa aged 8, the struggling Middle Willa aged 33 and the forgetful Silver Willa aged 93. The story follows all 3 Willa’s and explores the trauma from Willa’s childhood and how certain decisions can be devastating. You will laugh, you will cry and there are so many lessons to be learnt! But the most important lessons of all… Tea is good for the soul, never forget your stories and it’s never too late to become a picture book writer or a viking. But first, tea and jam drops sounds lovely.

Have you ever read a book that made you sit and think about everything, from your childhood, to having tea and cakes at your nanna’s to even one of your first memorable visits to the beach. This book was nostalgic for me as the more I read, the more childhood memories came flooding in. Once you finish the book, there is a little surprise at the end and I’m just itching to make them. I read this book as part of a book tour with @readthebooktours on instagram. I’m now waiting anxiously for my mum to finish reading it.

“You shouldn’t come in here.

You could get lost.

It has happened before.

I’ll tell you the story one day.

If you want to hear it”

Pan’s Labyrinth synopsis:

Nothing can prepare Ofelia for the fevered reality of her new stepfather’s house, in the midst of a dense forest which conceals many things: half-remembered stories of lost babies: renegade resistance fighters hiding from the army: beasts and fairies: and a labyrinth that draws her ever deeper into her own story.

This enthralling novel, inspired by the 2006 film, illustrates that fantasy is the sharpest tool to explore the terrors and miracles of the human heart.

It’s currently 12:09am as I write this and all I can think is wow. I have never read such a dark fairytale before, one that was so easy to read but definitely not for children. The Goodreads book description states that this book is aimed for readers who like “The Cruel Prince” and “The Hazel wood,” but I’d like to say, that was something else! I can’t write too much without giving the story away but to give you an idea, Vidal is an evil, monstrous man who lives in a big house. Ofelia is the sweetest character you’ll ever meet and you’ll fall in love with her innocence and demeanour. Carmen is Ofelia’s mother who carries Vidal’s child and is in love with Vidal (god knows for what reason) but spends a lot of the time unwell. These are the main characters and along the way you’ll meet characters like Mercedes the maid, Dr Ferreiro, Garcés and most importantly, the faun. You will venture into a world of hatred, murder and betrayal mixed with magic and heartbreak.

This book is not for the faint hearted!!

✨ R E V I E W ✨

Book: Five Feet Apart

Author: Rachael Lippincott

Rating: 4/5

Plot:

Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals. Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment. What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

Review:

Where do I even begin? This book was hands down (I couldn’t even put the book down!) amazing. The love between Stella and Will is to the point of heartbreaking. You’re heart breaks for them but this book also opens your eyes to the daily struggles CF patients have to deal with. This book reminds me of The Fault In Our Stars but about a very unspoken about disease that needs more awareness❤️ I loved reading this book and would read it over and over if I could!