Coverlicious: Beautiful Cover Dresses #3 Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Coverlicious is a feature that I post here spontaneously where I feature anything to do with covers from covers I love and cover trends to look-a-like covers and cover reveals.

Beautiful Cover Dresses is a small series that I have been doing for my Coverlicious posts featuring wonderful dresses that I love on book covers!

Anna Godbersen always gets such stunning covers with (of course!) beautiful dresses and her latest book Bright Young Things is no exception, despite the different feel from her Luxe series covers. The silvery tight dress is a very gorgeous flapper style that fits with the setting of the book and the model is looking straight at you in a very confident and defiant way that shows Astrid Donal's character very well. The 'twenties style font just tops it off! I have it on my bookshelf and it looks as striking as it does on the computer screen.

Here's the publisher's synopsis for the book:

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the roaring twenties. Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey have escaped their small Midwestern town to chase their big city dreams. In New York, they meet Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have everything she could ever want.Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls’ fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart.

I enjoyed watching this video of the cover shoot that I found on You Tube that shows the model being prepared and the different shots that were taken. If you love the cover, you might want to take a look:

Book Review: A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master

Blurb

Everybody lies. We all do it. On 14th August 1947, I learnt that everybody lies but that not all lies are equal...

Many years ago I told one lie that has taken on a life of its own. The only time I was sure of anything was all those years ago, when I was a boy. When I was lying. But now the truth needs to be told...

My review and thoughts

 

A Beautiful Lie is set in India at the time of the partition in 1947 and centres around the life and problems of a young Bilal who is witnessing his Father's beloved India  and everything that it stands for fall apart before him. He is determined to protect his ill father from finding out the truth about what is happening in the outside world whatever the cost for he knows that it would break his heart. Helped by the best friends he has grown up with, it seems as though everything will go as planned but keeping up the pretence of the deception proves to be harder than Bilal anticipated and he must go to great lengths for it. But he begins to wonder if he is really doing the right thing even when the only thing he wants is for his father to die in peace. Can keeping the truth hidden really be right even if the lie is so beautiful?

I've never read a historical set novel in India before so I was very interested to find out about life there and I found learning more about India's past very fascinating. The setting really brings something new and fresh to the historical fiction genre. I learnt about the religious conflict that began to cause unrest and divide communities in riots. The little details that are hidden in Bilal's first person narrative make it clear that a lot of research was put into the novel.

Irfan Master's writing deals with a serious situation with sensitive, honest and beautiful writing and above all, Bilal's concern and love for his father can plainly be seen so that it is easier to understand why he spun the lie he did in order to protect him. This special relationship between Bilal and his father was lovely  and convincingly touching to read about yet so sad at the same time. It also turned out to be one of my favourite things about the book.

I also liked the relationship between Bilal and his group of friends because despite their religious differences, which elsewhere were tearing the country apart, stuck with each other and were willing to do anything to help Bilal.The focus on the young boys in the book helped me to see how the events that took place around the partition affected ordinary people and also gave the book a lighter touch as I loved reading about their life at school and the excitement of cricket matches.

The underlying messages of religious tolerance and intolerance are just as important as they were then, as are the themes of truth, friendship and love that are intertwined with the story.

Verdict: A Beautiful Lie is a very emotional and engaging debut novel but also a delightful one that is full of moments of smiles and tears. The vivid setting and characters made me really enjoy it and I think Irfan Master's next books will be ones to look out for!

It has just been shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize.

 

Thank you to Bloomsbury UK for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Why I Love My Local Library

Many of you will know that today is international Save Our Libraries day today and may have seen the Twitter campaign (#savelibraries) it encouraging everyone to USE their library as much as possible. Like many others around the UK, my local library is facing the threat of either cuts or the reduction of council funding, meaning possible closure because there is to be a cap on the number of community libraries that are fully council funded. So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you why my local library is important for a teenager such as me and I'm sure other book lovers feel exactly the same way.

The library has been a big part of my reading experience ever since I was old enough to appreciate picture books and simple stories.  I don't remember ever not having a library card! My first memory of library visits is taking out piles of books from the toddler's section that my mum would read to me before bedtime. As I grew older, I loved browsing the children's section to which books I wanted to read and I remember that I read my first historical fiction book, Blitz-The Diary of Edie Bensen that way. I can try something new without having to worry if I didn't like it and I love the spontaneity of going into the library and picking books that I haven't heard of before but take my fancy.

At the rate I read books, there's no way my mum can buy them all for me so without the library, I might not have the same love of reading today. Where would I be then? More importantly, some families may not be able to afford to read books and that is denying children and teenagers the opportunity to read for pleasure.

The path to my library

It isn't just fictional books I've borrowed. I've had a fascination with Queen Victoria and the Victorians ever since I was two when I visited her holiday home Frogmore (or so my mum tells me I could recognise her at that age) and I always enjoyed taking out non-fiction books about the Victorians and they were invaluable for a school project on the time period. Some people think nearly everything is available on the Internet now for research but it isn't and there's something much more appealing about pouring over several books spread over the table before you trying to find the information you need.

Since I moved to secondary school two years ago, I don't use my local library as much as I did mum and brother go after he is picked up from school when I'm not there and it's much easier to use my school library (which is amazing!) However, I know that I can order a wider range of books from my local library and I often do that.

My brother now goes to a book club for younger children at my library and really enjoys discussing books with others there and finding great new recommendations and hearing about reading challenges throughout the year.

Libraries are an important part of local communities and are key in fostering a love of reading from a young age and providing a wealth of knowledge. Not to mention that they are like a portal to other worlds and lives open to everyone. To think that many could soon be closed is so sad and honestly, disgraceful. My library just went through a renovation and extension for a study area through lottery funding and it would be such a shame to see all that money go to waste.  I have so many happy memories from when I was very small there. The government say that libraries with withdrawn funding will be kept open with volunteers but where are they going to come from and the money needed? Being a librarian isn't as simple as tidying shelves.

Books should be available to everyone- a library shouldn't be a luxury! So make a point of borrowing lots of books are your library this week and show how much you love them with your support.

Why are libraries important to you?

I'm back in the hop!

Welcome to my blog!

The Book Blogger Hop is an event hosted every Friday by Jen at Crazy For Books where book book bloggers connect and hop over to other book bloggers, support each other, meet new friends and find great new blogs to follow!

I'm back in the hop! I haven't participated in the Book Blogger Hop for a long time now, well before Christmas because on a Friday night I go to a club now and it's been hard fitting everything in on the weekend because of schoolwork. However, I did miss connecting more with other bloggers and finding new blogs so I'm back this week!

This week's question is: "What are you reading now and why are you reading it?"

I'm currently reading Thyme's End by B.R Collins (thanks to Bloomsbury for sending it for review), which I started this morning. So far, I haven't really made up my mind about whether I like it or not, I'm a bit on the 'meh' side at the moment having read a few chapters but I've got to give it more of a chance yet. I've never read any thriller type books before so I'm reading this one as part of the Out Of Your Comfort Zone hosted by A Tapestry of Words.

Thanks for stopping by- don't forget to leave a link to your blog so I can drop by :) Happy hopping!

Book Review: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) by Richelle Mead

Note: This review may contain small spoilers for Vampire Academy so if you haven't read it yet, I recommend you check out my Vampire Academy review.

Goodreads Summary:

Rose Hathaway's got serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladmir's on high alert, and the Academy crawls with Guardians-including the legendary Janine Hathaway...Rose's formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks. This year, St. Vladmir's holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose-and her heat-are in more danger than she ever could have imagined.

My thoughts and review:

I liked Vampire Academy enough to try the second in the series although I wasn't enamoured by it. I'm pleased to say I loved Frostbite so much more and understand more about the buzz for the release of Last Sacrifice back in December and Jess from Jess Hearts Books wonderful guest post on why she loves the series so much here. With all the background to the story, setting and characters set up, the plot became much more juicy and action filled. I found  getting deeper into the story and I was gripped..... yes, to a vampire book! A few months ago I would never have picked one up even though I'd never given one a shot.What I love about this series is the world that Richelle Mead has created because her take on vampires and their society is believable and incredibly detailed.

When I was about halfway through, I suddenly hit upon what one of the things I was particularly enjoying was: Rose's voice. The way it feels like she really is talking to you is one of my favourite things and her sassy attitude makes it better.  In my Vampire Academy review, I mentioned that I sometimes found Rose to be very bratty and there were times I felt like this in this book too but I liked seeing here character development further throughout the book because of what she goes through and see her thoughts mature in her narration.
She learns many important new things and they help her to understand what being a guardian really means and improve the relationships in her life. I was especially interested in finding out more about her past with her mother and seeing the relationship between them.

Many of the characters that were introduced in Vampire Academy are present again but I really missed Lissa not being there as much as I would have liked.  I hope she is more involved in the main plot in the next book in the series. We are also introduced to other new characters such as Christian's aunt, which added more interest and complications to the plot.

The events in Rose's life became more exciting in this book as news reaches the Academy that Strigoi are organising group attacks to kill the Moroi royalty, something that has never happened before. For Rose, it means worry sets in about the safety of her best friend Lissa, the last remaining of the Dragomir royal family. Once the action starts, it doesn't stop and the pace of timing of it is brilliant and really got me hooked. I'm not the type of reader who loves fight and battle scenes in books but I thought they worked really well here because it was like the scenes were playing out before me.

The relationship between Dimitri was also fantastic because as much as they try to hide their feelings, the chemistry between them is very clear as is the desire that they have to be together despite the many complications that prevent this. I liked how that even though they couldn't be a couple, Dimitri was there for her the whole time. Rose also struggles with attention from other boys, namely her friend Mason in her class who is completely besotted with her and Adrian, a rather mysterious and flirtatious Moroi royal. Whilst she faces difficult decisions on her feelings, things become even more complicated when Dimitri experiences the same thing.

Verdict: Frostbite completely surpasses Vampire Academy for me and as soon as I'd finished it, I wanted to get my hands on Shadow Kiss straight away (although it will have to wait a bit now!) I'm told this series gets even better each book so if that's true, Shadow Kiss should be amazing!

I read this book as part of the Out Of Your Comfort Zone Challenge hosted by Danya at A Tapestry Of Words. It's out of my comfort zone because books with paranormal creatures (vampires in this case) are far from what I'd normally choose to read and as yet, I'm not completely comfortable reading them. However, as you can tell from my review, I really enjoyed this book and I've decided not to include the rest of the series as challenge books.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Debuts

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish where we share our top ten of a particular topic. I haven't participated for a while but I'm joining in the fun again now :)

This week's topic is: Favourite Debuts

Most of the books I read up until 2 years ago weren't debuts but here are some I've read since then and loved!

In no particular order:

The Declaration by Gemma Malley

This one introduced me to the dystopian genre and was really well written with a very believable world spun. I'm currently reading the third and final book in the series, The Legacy.

Anne Of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

I love Anne and her world in Avonlea, it's just so comforting to read like returning to an old friend. I still think this is Montgomery's best book.

Matched by Allie Condie

When I read Matched in December, I thought it was amazing! The writing was just so beautiful and I was really able to empathise with the characters. I was completely consumed in it. I can't wait to read the sequel Crossed when it's released and any other books by Condie.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The four March sister's story is wonderfully heart warming and every young girl should read it! It really puts a smile on my face.

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

This loose fairy tale retelling of Sleeping Beauty had such a sweet and touching romance but it is Melanie Dickerson's masterful writing and way of spinning the story that makes this one stand out for me. I adored it!

The Queen's Daughter by Susan Coventry

Susan Coventry's historical description is fantastic and I really enjoyed it as I was able to get into the heads of the characters really well.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I love Shannon Hale's incredible lyrical and descriptive writing and The Goose Girl's story is beautiful.

Between Two Seas by Marie Louise Jensen

Marie Louise Jensen is one of my favourite authors and I really liked the unusual Danish setting for this one.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

I featured Heidi in my Wonderful Wednesday's post last week and it's such a charming story that has became a beloved classic.

Girl Missing by Sophie Mckenzie

This one is really fast paced and thrilling with lots of action accompanied by brilliant suspenseful writing!

What are your favourite debuts?