Waiting On Wednesday #158 - When The Moon Was Ours

Waiting On Wednesday, where we put the spotlight on upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating, is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week's choice is -

When The Moon Was Ours - Anna-Marie McLemore

ISBN - 9781250058669

Publisher - Thomas Dunne Books

Release date - October 4 2016

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

When the Moon Was Ours follows two characters through a story that has multicultural elements and magical realism, but also has central LGBT themes - a transgender boy, the best friend he’s falling in love with, and both of them deciding how they want to define themselves.

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town.

But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

Doesn't this sound perfect? I'm a huge fan of magical realism and although I still haven't finished it I started reading McLemore's previous book, The Weight of Feathers, and loved what I've read so far. Roll on October!

Dewey 24 Hour Readathon

So, it's readathon time again! I debated over whether to take part or not given my current lack of enthusiasm for anything at the moment but decided to go for it in the end! I haven't done any of the mini challenges, I was on Twitter very sporadically and I posted a few picture updates on Instagram. It's not over yet though, still just over an hour to go so there might be a couple more reading/book updates on Instagram up until the end, 1pm BST/8am EDT.

Readathon Book Stack & Sweet Snacks

Maybe slightly ambitious for 24 hours of reading but if I read at least 3 of these I'll be happy!

First Book & Lunch

I'd already started  Dark Days Club before the start of the readathon but was enjoying it so much I wanted to carry on reading it!

Nearly The Witching Hour

Three books finished! Dark Days Club put to one side for now as it's too good to rush!

After Midnight

Some easy reading for sore eyes... Finished Mind Over Murder at 3am and decided it was time to sleep!

Last Books Of The Readathon

After a great 5 hour sleep I picked up the first Fables graphic novel, Legends In Exile, which I have been meaning to read for years. I raced through it and had time to fit in Fables: Animal Farm too!

WrapUp

Not a bad readathon, by my standards! I read 6 books, I slept for 5 hours, I did post a teeny tiny bit on Twitter and I didn't spam anyone who follows me on Instagram with too many pictures. Roll on October!

PS. If you can't wait, Bout of Books 16 is coming very soon...

Waiting On Wednesday #157 - Vassa In The Night

Waiting On Wednesday, where we put the spotlight on upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating, is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week's choice is -

Vassa In The Night - Sarah Porter

ISBN - 9780765380548

Publisher - Tor Teen

Release date - September 20 2016

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters - and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair. . . .

Inspired by the Russian folktale Vassilissa the Beautiful and Sarah Porter’s years of experience teaching creative writing to New York City students.

I can't wait to read this, I love Russian folk and fairy tales. I've always been a bit obsessed about Baba Yaga so I'm looking forward to reading her incarnation as Babs Yagg!

April New Release Giveaway!

Welcome to the April 2016 New Release Giveaway Hop, hosted by It Starts At Midnight! The hop runs from today through to midnight on April 30 2016. Up for grabs is any new release this month up to the value of $22 from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here. 

All you have to do is choose any new release published in April and fill out the rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the linky for lots of other chances to win, thanks for entering and good luck!

Waiting On Wednesday #156 - A Most Magical Girl

Waiting On Wednesday, where we put the spotlight on upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating, is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week's choice is -

A Most Magical girl - Karen Foxlee

ISBN - 9780553512854

Publisher - Knopf Books For Young Readers

Release date - August 2 2016

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

From the author of Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy comes the story of a friendship between two girls set in Victorian England, with magical machines, wizards, witches, a mysterious underworld, and a race against time.

Annabel Grey is primed for a proper life as a young lady in Victorian England. But when her mother suddenly disappears, she’s put in the care of two eccentric aunts who thrust her into a decidedly un-ladylike life, full of potions and flying broomsticks and wizards who eat nothing but crackers. Magic, indeed! Who ever heard of such a thing?

Before Annabel can assess the most ladylike way to respond to her current predicament, she is swept up in an urgent quest. Annabel is pitted against another young witch, Kitty, to rescue the sacred Moreover Wand from the dangerous underworld that exists beneath London. The two girls outsmart trolls, find passage through a wall of faerie bones, and narrowly escape a dragon, but it doesn’t take long for Annabel to see that the most dangerous part of her journey is her decision to trust this wild, magical girl.

Sparkling with Karen Foxlee’s enchanting writing, this is a bewitching tale of one important wand and two most magical girls.

Having absolutely loved Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy and The Midnight Dress I can't wait to read the newest Karen Foxlee book, here's hoping it's as magical as those two!

 

Bookmarked... #18

The return of the (mostly) weekly post letting you all know what I'm reading and have lined up for the week! It's my own version of Sheila at Book Journey's It's Monday What Are You Reading (now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date) and I have her permission to rename it for my own nefarious reasons...

I appear to have completely run out of steam recently. I haven't really been reading, blogging or in fact much of anything. I'm really hoping taking part in the 24 hour readathon on April 23 gets me motivated again. In the meantime here's what's been bookmarked in my life over the last 2 weeks. There's an abundance of British cozy crime as my sister and I bought all 26 Agatha Raisin books between us so I've started reading the ones I haven't read while she starts the series from scratch.

Still Bookmarked

Newly Bookmarked

My 2nd DNF of 2016

Finished

Nearly That Time Again... Dewey!

Yep, it's nearly time for the 24 hour Dewey read-a-thon! I'm really hoping that taking part will kick-start my energy for reading/blogging/social media as I appear to have fallen into a black hole of lethargy and sheer can't-be-bothered-ness. April 23 also coincides with World Book Night here in the UK -I'm giving out Shadow and Bone, yay! - and the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare so it's an all-round bookish weekend.

I have no idea what I'm going to read, I'll have a new stash of library books by then, but what I really want to do is read my own books off my shelves and try to make a dent into my TBR Pile Challenge. I'll be posting photographic updates on Instagram and status updates here on the blog. If you want to join in there's still plenty of time to sign up.