First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers, hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, it’s author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines.
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally … reveal the book!
Chaya looked at the bronze spear pointing at her neck. “Stop right there,” said the guard.
Any ideas?
I’ve heard lots about this one and was very excited to see it out slightly early in Waterstones, Coleraine, so I just had to buy it!
Goodreads Synopsis:
Chaya, a no-nonsense, outspoken hero, leads her friends and a gorgeous elephant on a noisy, fraught, joyous adventure through the jungle where revolution is stirring and leeches lurk. Will stealing the queen’s jewels be the beginning or the end of everything for the intrepid gang?
The December theme for Six for Sunday, hosted by A Little But a Lot, is It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year! and today’s wish is for: All I Want for Christmas is … Obviously, there’s going to be a few books on my wish list, but also a few other things!
I’m hoping I get a few of these wonderful books. I love hardcover books and there are a couple here. I know this just adds to my TBR but I can’t resist having a few more!
I’ve been wanting this book for ages as, IF I ever get round to doing some writing and it’s a big IF, I will begin my research with this one.
The next thing I want for Christmas, and the most important, is just to be able to spend some time with my family. I haven’t been home to Ireland for Christmas for quite a few years as I’ve tended to spend Christmas with my husband’s family in Wales for various reasons. I am beyond excited to get to see my parents, my sister and her family and to spend Christmas Day with my sister, something I haven’t done in about ten years!
I’ve been lucky enough to get a little something from Tiffany & Co in past years, so I’m hoping my husband may just have treated me again!
I’m hoping to get lots of time over Christmas to just relax, play board games, read, read and read some more, watch movies and generally recharge my batteries, ready for next term – and eat lots of chocolate!
I’ve finally finished work for this term, and am so looking forward to a relaxing Christmas break, catching up with family and friends – and getting lots of reading done! I was given a mention by the lovely Becky on her fantastic blog, Becky’s Book Blog (thank you Becky!), so I thought I’d give this one a go as it a fun tag – and I have a little more free time!
My favourite genre is easy: middle-grade fantasy all the way! It’s much harder to choose just one book to recommend as I’ve been blown away by the quality of the books I’ve read this year. If I’m pushed, I’d have to go for Sophie Anderson’s incredibly beautiful second novel, The Girl Who Speaks Bear steeped in Slavic folklore. This book is beyond gorgeous and speaks to me about everything that is entrancing, heart-warming and magical about middle-grade fantasy books. I bought multiple copies of this for our class and school libraries.
Recommend a short book
I recently read the second book in the Relic Hunters series, Wild Sky by Lexi Rees. I read the first book to my class last summer (seems a LONG time ago now) so was excited to read the second one which is 192 pages long. This is a really interesting world filled with nature-inspired magic, some wonderful young characters and an abundance of tension and action.
Recommend a book-to-screen adaptation
When I went to the cinema to see The Fellowship of the Ring, I hadn’t read any of the books, but the film had such an impact on me that I absolutely couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I bought the books the next day, and loved them. These books re-ignited a love of fantasy which I’d had as a child, but had left behind in my late teens. These books were my way in to reading many other great fantasy series including The Belgariad by David & Leigh Eddings, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E Feist.
Recommend a book out of your comfort zone
I don’t read a lot of contemporary books, especially in the young adult section. I was sent Jackpot by a Book Review site to review for their online magazine, and really wasn’t sure what to expect and whether I’d like it. But, I was completely captured by Rico’s story of hardship, determination and courage.
Recommend a book series
This is an completely engrossing series with rabbits as the main characters, told through the eyes of an elderly bard as he relives stories of Podkin One-Ear and his friends and family. There is plenty of action, tension and darkness mingled with an equal measure of bravery, friendship and loyalty. I’m going to read the first one to my class after Christmas, and am really looking forward to seeing their reactions.
Recommend a standalone
I was utterly spellbound by Wildspark, full of jaw-dropping discoveries and unexpected twists, led by the most wonderfully realised cast of human and personifate characters, mechanimals who embody the souls of dead people without their memories . This story is just so clever and heartfelt. It raises fascinating moral questions which centre around the exercise of free will, the entitlement to knowledge and the right to equality for all.
Recommend a book you don’t talk about enough
This is the book that reawakened my love of middle-grade fantasy as an adult. I read it at Christmas last year, months before I started my blog so I haven’t written a review for it, but I definitely intend to read it again. I met Sinead O’Hart at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival and she signed and dedicated the book for me. I loved the two main characters, Emmeline and Thing who become firm friends on her quest to save her scientist parents who have been kidnapped by the sinister Dr Siegfried Bauer who has world domination in mind!
Recommend your ‘staple’ book
I very rarely re-read books, but this is the one that I just keep coming back to every year. I’ve read it to classes and for myself. If any books take me back to my childhood and make me feel completely content and at home, it’s this one! It never fails to capture me and give me that lovely warm feeling I get from reading a special book.
Recommend the book(s) that got you into reading
My first real memory of books I read at school were the Norse and Greek myths and legends that my teacher, Mr Little, let me borrow. I also remember loving The Secret Garden and the Beatrix Potter books. And, for some reason (maybe because I grew up on a small farm in the middle of nowhere!), I loved the James Herriot books!
Recommend 3+ bloggers who recommend great books
I’m definitely going to recommend the wonderful Lily over at Lily and the Fae who is responsible for continually adding to my TBR as we have the same love of middle-grade books. She writes THE most amazing reviews and has been so supportive of my blog since I started it back in April. Thank you Lily!
Rachael at Bellis Does Books is another fantastic middle-grade and picture-book blogger who makes brilliant book recommendations. I love reading her reviews and adding to my TBR.
Finally, I love catching up with Amy’s bookish and non-bookish blog posts and tags at Golden Books Girl, and again she is responsible for adding to my TBR. Which is a good thing – definitely!
Time for Tags!
I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you’d like to do this, I’d love you to link your post to me so I can read your recommendations.
Published by Simon & Schuster Publication Date: 17th October 2019
Thank you to the publishers, Simon & Schuster, for sending me a copy to review for an online review magazine. My review is my honest opinion of the book.
Jackpot is a hard-hitting and thought-provoking story told mostly from the viewpoint of Rico Danger, a seventeen-year-old high school student, who is determined to track down the winner of a huge jackpot, after she discovers that the winning ticket has been sold in the place where she works, Gas ‘n’ Go.
Money – or rather, lack of it – is a huge deal to Rico as she and her family face the constant struggles that living on the breadline brings. Rico works long hours, goes to High School and helps look after her younger brother Jax, who she clearly adores. Her mother has made sure they are living in an area where her children can go to ‘good schools’, but living beyond their means makes the hardships they face even more difficult. Rico’s mother is unable to pay the rent and bills without her daughter’s earnings, so Rico has let go of her childhood and dreams in order to help support her family.
Rico’s resolve to find the owner of the lottery ticket brings her something she seems to be sorely lacking: friendships, fun, and even a little romance. She enlists the help of one of her classmates: the handsome, rich Zan who is not at all what she was expecting for a privileged, rich boy. A really authentic feeling relationship forms between the two, which is brimming with quick-witted banter, uncertainty and honest revelations. As they cleverly chase clue after clue to track down the lottery ticket, will they be successful, or are they following a dead end?
Another relationship I enjoyed was the heartfelt, genuine friendship which develops between Rico and Jessica, who lives in her complex. Jessica is also living on the breadline, but she shows Rico that her poverty doesn’t need to define her, and that being poor does not mean giving up on your dreams.
Rico is an incredibly likeable character who fights through her feelings of helplessness and desperation to show a resilience, grittiness and protectiveness towards her family that is admirable.
Yes, this is a story about chasing a missing lottery ticket, but I think it’s about so much more than that. It is a story about chasing your dreams, despite the hardships you may face, and having the courage to take a chance on friendships and on yourself. I’m so glad Rico does just this!
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
There was once a powerful witch who lived alone on the edge of a marsh. She lived alone except for her familiar: a large black raven.
Any ideas?
I was very excited to be approved to read this on NetGalley as the first book, A Pinch of Magic was one of my favourite reads this year. This is being released by Simon & Schuster on 6th February. I will definitely be buying a copy!
Goodreads synopsis:
The family curse has been lifted and the Widdershins sisters: Betty, Fliss and Charlie are free to leave the prison island of Crowstone. But when a mysterious girl arrives at the Poacher’s Pocket with a pocketful of hagstones and accompanied by a will-o’-the-wisp, it seems another adventure has landed on their doorstep. And when Charlie goes missing, it’s up to Betty and Fliss to journey through misty marches, past wisp catchers and on to a secret island that doesn’t exist on any map…
I’ve just been approved on NetGalley to read this, and it has jumped straight to the top of my TBR. I absolutely adored the Widdershin sisters in A Pinch of Magic and can’t wait to join them again.
This week I finished The Mercies which is Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s first adult novel. I don’t read very many adult books nowadays as I spend most of my time reading middle-grade, but I couldn’t resist this one when I saw it on NetGalley. And I was not disappointed: it is a powerful, brutal, earthy story of the strength of some to endure the manipulation of others, based around the Vardo witch trials in Finnmark in the early 17th century. This is being released in the UK on 6th February. If you are a fan of historical fiction, witchcraft and character-centred stories, this is definitely one for you! I’ve just finished reading Where the World Turns Wild by Nicola Penfold which is a dystopian environmental middle-grade, which tore at my heart. THE most amazing book which was utterly compelling. The two main characters, Juniper and Bear are perfectly written: completely believable and sympathetic. This is being released in the UK on 6th February. I think this will be another bumper release date for books I want!
I have just received a Proof of this one to read from the publisher on behalf of a Book Review site. I don’t read a lot of middle-grade sci-fi, so I’m really looking forward to this! And it has been recommended by the wonderful Lily over on her amazing blog at Lily and the Fae so I know just know I’m going to love it!
The December theme for Six for Sunday, hosted by A Little But a Lot, is It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! and today’s wish is for: Fireside reads. I love the period between Christmas and the New Year when I tend to get more reading done than usual. I’ve decided to focus on books I have been sent (e-ARCS and paperbacks) for review/Blog Tours.
I asked to be part of the Blog Tour for Below as the story, based on Inuit mythology, sounds fantastic. I was lucky to get a spot on the Tour, so am really looking forward to reading this which will be released at the start of February.
As soon as I saw this one on NetGalley, I knew I wanted to read it as it says it is perfect for fans of The Train to Impossible Places and The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club, both of which I’ve loved! It isn’t being published until April next year, so I feel very lucky to get to read it before then!
I was lucky enough to win this one on a book review site, so am really looking forward to cosying up with it, as I adore Raymond Brigg’s The Snowman, and am really looking forward to Michael Morpurgo’s version as he is one of my favourite children’s authors.
This is another one I was approved for on NetGalley, and which is being published on 9th January. I’ve read some very positive reviews of this one, and am really looking forward to starting the adventure over Christmas.
My NetGalley addiction grows! This one is a New York Times bestseller, and it is now being released in the UK by Simon and Schuster in March next year. It sounds like my perfect fantasy read.
I was lucky enough to be sent this one via a review site which was asking for teachers to review books. I watch a lot of science-fiction, but haven’t found a lot of middle-grade science-fiction (apart from Christopher Edge) so am keen to board the Orion.
Thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour and to the author, Lexi Rees for providing me with a copy of the book to review. My review is my own honest opinion of the book.
After delivering the pearl, Finn and Aria thought life would return to normal. But with the survival of the clans still in peril, they must continue their quest. Can they find the next relic before the forces of evil? Not everyone is who they appear to be. And time is running out …
My Review:
Oh my! This is a truly fantastic and completely engrossing return to the adventures of the Relic Hunters. I read the first book, The Eternal Seas, to my class last summer and both they and I loved it. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the second book. It has exceeded my expectations: a perfect blend of fast-paced action, edge-of-your-seat moments of danger, unexpected twists and revelations, and wonderfully engaging and likeable characters.
The world is familiar, yet unfamiliar, as it is set in the UK but not quite the UK! It has a really interesting blend of technology, history and dystopia grounded in magical fantasy. I really enjoyed linking places in the story to real places, and loved the reference to the Emerald Isle with its chatty people!
The action opens immediately after the events of the first book. Aria (Air-Rider) and Finn (Sea-Tamer) are blood-magic children who can harness the power of the sea and the air. The children soon find themselves in an action-packed hunt for the Air-Rider relic, the fate of their clan magic being at stake should it fall into the hands of their nemesis, Sir Waldred who wants to harness the power of the relics for himself and destroy clan magic forever.
Aria, Finn and their young friend Pippin find themselves on a dangerous, time-driven quest to find the Relic, aided by their magical abilities. Their daring journey takes them from England aboard The Alcina across the seas to their eventual destination, the Himalayan Mountains. Sir Waldred never feels far from the children which really makes the tension palpable as they fight to stay one step ahead of him. Will they succeed in finding the Air-Rider relic, or will Sir Waldred be the final victor?
I loved the close bond of friendship, and the support, between the children which really helps them to find the courage to deal with the many dangerous situations they are faced with. Their resilience, resourcefulness and quick-thinking makes them excellent role models as does their teamwork and kindness. Both Aria and Finn continue to strengthen their magical abilities: I loved how these abilities are linked to the forces of nature and celebrate both the wonder and the power of nature. I adored Pippin who is such a bundle of excitement, full of confidence and eagerness, but her past is something of a mystery! I must admit that my favourite character has to be the young monk Rahfi who is wonderfully witty, courageous and himself something of an enigma!
This really is the most wonderfully engaging story with incredibly sympathetic young characters which will appeal to any children of 8+ who crave stories of adventure, friendship and magic – with just the right amount of danger and darkness! And, what an ending! I can’t wait for the next Relic Hunters adventure.
Lexi Rees writes action packed adventures for children. The first book in The Relic Hunters Series, Eternal Seas, was awarded a “loved by” badge from LoveReading4Kids and is currently longlisted for a Chanticleer award.
She’s passionate about developing a love of reading and writing in children, and as well as an active programme of school visits and other events, she has published a Creative Writing Skills workbook, is a Book PenPal for three primary schools, and runs a free online #kidsclub and newsletter which includes book recommendations and creative writing activities.
In her spare time, she’s a keen crafter and spends a considerable amount of time trying not to fall off horses or boats.
I didn’t get very much of this one read last week, so I’m continuing to read it this week.
I’ve finished reading Esme’s Wish which is a Young Adult fantasy novel. I really enjoyed this story which revolves around a young girl’s refusal to believe that her mother is dead, and her subsequent portal journey to a different world. Review to follow shortly.
I’m hoping to read Where the World turns Wild next. I was approved to read this one via NetGalley, and have heard so many wonderful things about it that I’m very eager to get started!
Thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour and for providing me with a copy for review. My review is my own honest opinion of the book.
My Review:
I read the first book in this series, The Age of Akra, just before this one which allowed me to delve straight into the events in this action-packed, character-driven story. I would recommend reading the first book to allow understanding of the world within which the story is set.
There is a really helpful section at the end of the book which gives information on the Powers of the Seven Nations: who these different peoples are and their abilities.
Akra, the Starchild, holds the powers of all nations within him and is prophesied to unite the nations, but first he must harness all their powers.
Mai and her brother Long, along with their friends Sahib and Akra (the Starchild), have just overcome some terrifying opponents, and are intent on helping Mai continue her pilgrimage to The Valley of a Thousand Thoughts so that she can perfect her thoughtbanker skills. Thoughtbankers are able to read people’s thoughts, remove and add memories and create illusions.
The children, however, do not make it to their destination as they are attacked by sand slavers and deadly Melkarie creatures. Help arrives just in time, and they are taken to The City of Souls, home to the Soulbankers who are the regulators of life and death. The children are in extremely difficult circumstances as they arrive: Sahib has been left with no memories and Long is concealing a terrifying secret …
Although the Soulbankers do not welcome foreign visitors, the Queen allows the children to stay at the request of her daughter, Marlie. It is not long before trouble finds them as one of their group is unable to resist the temptation put in his path and the power he is promised, and is led towards a path of lies and treachery.
Akra’s destiny draws him towards the call of the lost Silvershade, an ancient and wise soul, hidden within the City, which can show the past and the future. He needs to reclaim this soul to continue to fulfil the prophecy. However, dark forces are intent on claiming it first …
Will Akra be able to fulfil another part of the ancient prophecy, or will a treacherous act succeed, setting the path to the destruction of the seven nations in motion?
Brimming with action, revelations, rich world-building and brilliantly realised characters, this is definitely a series which I want to continue reading, so much so that I have now bought a paperback copy of the third book, The Healing Stone,as I really want to follow this incredible journey.
This is a perfect series for children of 8+.
Author Bio – Vacen Taylor is a children’s author with a portfolio of screenwriting and stage play achievements. A selection of her poetry has been published in Art and Literature Journals. One of her plays was selected to be part of the Playwrights Program 2017 and then directed and performed as a performance reading at HOTA (previously the Gold Coast Arts Centre).
Her feature film script received a special commendation for Best Unproduced Screenplay titled Grandfathers at the British Independent Film Festival in 2018. The logline can be found under Special Commendations for Unproduced Screenplays here.
Her TV pilot for a series (teleplay) was selected as a semi-finalist in the Hollywood Just4Shorts Film and Screenplay Competition in Los Angeles, CA. This pilot was listed in the top 50 for the Cinequest Screenwriting Competition in 2018.
She presented the first mental health panel at OZ Comic-Con in 2017. This panel was a fantastic opportunity to discuss openly and honestly about artists and their mental health to help support wellbeing, foster connectivity and provide a culture of support.
In 2018 she presented the panel, ‘An artist’s guide to creative happiness: How to strengthen your creative performance’ at Oz Comic-Con in Brisbane. Her panels are extraordinary opportunities to explore ideas with people who are currently working in the industry. She aims to discuss subjects like individualism, the community, mental health, wellbeing, happiness, creativity, co-creating and self-awareness which often leads to interesting questions from the audience.
What else does she do? Vacen is also a creative workshop facilitator and proficient in, teaching, speaking and concept creation. Guest Speaker. Workshop Presenter. Creative Panel Facilitator. Mentor. Support Worker. Counsellor. Social Welfare Advocate.
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers, hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, it’s author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines.
I’ve heard lots about this one and was very excited to see it out slightly early in Waterstones, Coleraine, so I just had to buy it!
Book Craic 