Amy | Lost in a Good Book

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016

07 Jan 2016 1 Comment

by Amy in Australian Women Writers Tags: australian women writers challenge, aww, aww16

AWW16 It’s a new year and time for new challenges. This year I’ve signed up for the Australian Women Writers Challenge (AWW). This is something I have been meaning to do for a few years and finally going to commit to doing it. For those that are unaware, the AWW is a wonderful challenge that encourages people to read and review books by Australian women. This is a challenge that anyone can participate in, you don’t have to be a blogger, you can review on Goodreads, Facebook, or other social media!

I have chosen the Franklin level which means I will be reading 10 books with an aim to review 6 of them. This seems manageable and I look forward to discovering some awesome Aussie women writers. There are various levels to aim for, or you can be brave and choose your own goal.

To find out more about the challenge and see if it’s something you would like to participate in, check out the website. The challenge runs from 1st January to 31st December so there is plenty of time to complete your goal, and you can sign up at any time during the year until the end of November.

Two for the Holidays by Ekta Garg

03 Jan 2016 1 Comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Short Stories, Stories in Pairs Tags: ebook, ekta gard, short stories, Stories in Pairs, three stars

Published: 15th December 2015
Publisher: Prairie Sky Publishing
Pages: 130
Format: ebook
Genre: short stories
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

A medium gets ready for one of the biggest days in her career speaking to the dead. An elf accepts an unusual assignment and faces his past. Two stories about people tied to holiday-themed professions. Two stories about the reality of life’s hardships in the last quarter of the year. Two stories for the holidays.

The first story, “Take A Breath”: Marisa Bellini has travelled to a tiny town on Halloween to help people contact the dead. She’s built an empire on the idea that she can talk to ghosts…but can she really? Sometimes even Marisa isn’t sure.

The second story, “The Truth About Elves”: Curtis, an elf, sets the record straight. No, elves don’t have pointy ears, they aren’t three feet tall, and they don’t live at the North Pole all year long. When Curtis gets a special assignment from the big man himself, though, he learns that Christmas magic has the power to transform everything he’s known for the last decade.

Come spend the holidays with Marisa and Curtis, and join the Stories in Pairs journey!

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book from the author for review.

This is the fifth Stories in Pairs set by Garg, and once again two unique stories are presented with a common theme connecting them. As the title suggests Two for the Holidays revolves around the holidays, Halloween and Christmas respectively, and through her characters Garg explores the personal trials and hardships faced during this time.

Each story was interesting and tugged at your curiosity for where it was heading. There are hints at what is hidden and with characters skirting around issues means you are often guessing and trying to work out what has actually happened, but this is intertwined with magic and mystery and other plot elements that keep each story flowing. At times there didn’t seem to be a clear direction, and the hints and things unspoken often made it perplexing, but as the pieces fell into place they offered a revelation that brought each story home.

The first story follows medium Marisa as she puts on a show for a small town during Halloween. While an interesting behind the scenes is depicted of the practice, there is also an ongoing uncertainty about what is real and what is fake. Marisa’s story was interesting because Garg alludes to some things and discredits others, leaving you not entirely sure what is real and what isn’t. What’s unexplained doesn’t leave a cliff hanger exactly, but leaves you intrigued all the same.

The second story I felt explored the themes much better, but it also had a lot to wrap your head around and focus on. Curtis’ story offers a creative approach to Santa and the Christmas season and after you get used to the style and the voice, the story is quite interesting, and certainly creative. Garg alternates between first and third person and there is a lot more not being said and yet continually hinted at. Through this you can piece together snippets of Curtis’ life and as more is revealed the story falls into place nicely.

Overall this pair of stories was not as captivating as Garg’s previous sets, but knowing the message she was trying to tell it is evident she achieved that. The gradual revelations and slow reveals work in building anticipation and curiosity, and the exploration of the anguish and emotional nature of the holidays is certainly clear. Each character struggles with hardships in their life and the unique and creative approaches Garg has taken allows a new look at how loss affects people during the holidays and how it can affect every aspect of their lives.

You can purchase Two for the Holidays via the following

Amazon

Top Five of 2015

02 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

by Amy in Top Five List Tags: heather mccollum, holly black, jade varden, kate forsyth, marissa meyer, megan tayte, melissa grey, nikki rae, top five

Top 5 2014 This year trying to determine a Top Five was a bit harder than in the past. There were a few standouts but there were also so many that could have made the list based on a five star rating but I felt lacked the right feeling. After a lot of thinking and contemplating I finally settled on my Top Five books of the year.

Many of these books were amazing from start to finish, they grab you from the beginning and don’t let go, others draw you in slowly and tighten the hold as you reach the climactic and emotional conclusions. I recommend you read each book on this list, some of these are sequels and funnily enough the first books in the series made my Top Five list last year. If that isn’t a sign I don’t know what is.

For the first time every one of these books was technically a review request book, or offered to reviewers who had reviewed previous books by the author. These authors are amazing writers and are people I would never have read if I hadn’t started this blog so for that alone I am so grateful I finally took the plunge and started doing this.

Broken by Heather McCollum

This is the second book in the Guardians series and is just as fantastic as Siren’s Song. It deals with the consequences and outcomes of the first book and offers a deeper insight into the strange and magical world of Guardians and the cursed. McCollum captures the transition and consequences of the previous book wonderfully, the writing is expressive and intriguing, and there is suspense and mystery that draws you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Saltwater Secrets Series by Jade Varden (Song of the Sea + Death and the Deep)

This series is an absolute joy to read. There’s mythology and suspense, and characters that are flawed and complicated and trying their best. I am being a bit sneaky and adding both books in here but when you read them you will understand. Song of the Sea drags you unexpectedly into this hidden underwater world with this ongoing war, complicating the lives of those above land and below. Death and the Deep deals with the consequences and the aftermath and the creation of bigger problems for all involved. Varden balances the mythology and the real beautifully and brings a touch of reality to the fantasy seamlessly. I almost put Death and the Deep on here alone but realised both books have great stories to tell.

The Girl At Midnight by Melissa Grey

This is a book people tend to love or are not too fussed about. Personally I loved it and I eagerly await the sequel. The story is creative and the world Grey has created is divine. Echo is a wonderful character that you can’t help but love and Grey leaves you wanting the next one as soon as you finish. There is magic and fantasy and drama and suspense that keep you turning the pages and gets your heart racing.

Death Wish by Megan Tayte

There is a touch of paranormal with this book, it simmers in the background nicely though and doesn’t take over completely. Tayte’s characters are complicated and whole, and the way she uses the words to bring them to life is stunning. The story is told very much through the characters and their actions and Tayte is a master at simple complexity where it seems simple on the surface but is actual filled with depth and intricacy the further you read.

Animal by Nikki Rae

Despite featuring characters from The Sunshine Series, this story isn’t really a prequel and isn’t presented one. While it does deal with events before those in the series, it’s more a completely new story about one of the minor characters. Rae’s writing is captivating and I could not stop once I started reading this. Her words pull you along, and with characters that come to life on the page it is an absolute joy to read.

Honourable Mentions

I had to have a few because these were also excellent books with fantastic stories that were beautifully and creatively told.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Beast’s Garden by Kate Forsyth

The Darkest Part Forest by Holly Black

2015: A Year in Review

31 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in Rambles Tags: 2015, new year, new years eve, rambles

NYE This has been an enjoyable, busy, and strange year both on the blog and not. Through book club, Book Bingo, review requests, and book events I read so many great books and discovered many great authors. With mere hours left on the 2015 clock, I read my last Book Bingo book which was also my 80th book of the year. Having met both my Goodreads Reading Challenge and my Book Bingo was a great feeling. I look forward to starting new challenges for both of them.

In January this year I celebrated my two-year blogiversary which was amazing. I gave away so many great books to people all over the world which was pretty great, especially when they email me and tell me how much they love the book and what it means to them. I also attended numerous writers festivals and book events where I got to meet some of my favourite authors for the first time (or for the third or fourth time), adding their books to my signed book collection.

A highlight of the year was my month dedicated to the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Northern Lights. Rereading those books and getting to share it with you all was amazing, and it allowed me to immerse myself in everything about that series I adore. I participated in NaNo again, which resulted in a few quiet weeks on the blog. Though writing every day and focusing on making a word count makes November fly by and the holiday season hit pretty hard, hence the prolonged scarcity of posts and reviews.

I did learn a few things this year though. This is my third year writing this blog and each one has been different from the other. I’ve had overseas holidays, university, family commitments, and varying levels of busy that take up my time. I am (slowly) learning how to pace myself and what reviews I take in, I am learning that perhaps November and December should be intentionally quieter months to prevent guilt over an unattended blog. I am also learning that as much as I think I can take in dozens of reviews at a time, I just can’t. So next year I am prepared for a tighter system and more structure, more so than what I attempted to do this year at any rate.

Despite how neglected and behind I became towards the end of the year, the more I think about this year the more I realise how fun it was. In some ways the year seems so much longer than it was too. Books I read in June or May feel like a lifetime ago, and events early in the year feel so distant. Quite a surreal experience but good in a way, it makes you realise how much you have actually achieved this year, especially when it doesn’t feel like much.

One of the big changes late in the year was that I got myself a job; in a field I wanted and trained for no less. At the beginning of December I got a job as a librarian which was fantastic. Working in a library has been a dream of mine, so to actually be able to work with books and interact with people who read books is pretty exciting. It is scary and intimidating at times but having visited libraries my whole life it also feels familiar. So that is going to really kick off more next year so I’ll see where it takes me!

Thankfully this end of year wrap up hasn’t become too reflective. It is different than the last two years and that is ok. Rereading those I realise how different I am now, how different the blog is and sometimes you don’t need to be overly reflective. It was a fun year, exciting things happened and I achieved a few new things. I really enjoyed doing my first Book Bingo, it widened my reading and made me read things I may not have picked up. I look forward to doing another next year. Even outside Bingo my reading took a new direction; I took chances on books and read uncomfortable things, I also reacquainted myself with book I’ve loved.

As I enter my fourth year (oh my gosh!) it will be interesting to see what comes up and what 2016 has in store. April marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death so prepare yourself for a lot of Shakespeare. As anyone who has been on Facebook or Twitter when it is Shakespeare Week knows I have a thing for Shakespeare. No doubt I will be attending the NWF and SWF again, hopefully being introduced to a myriad of new authors once more. Other than that I welcome whatever the New Year brings and with my insights, experience, and lessons learnt hope to give you a blog that is better than what it was the previous year.

Book Bingo 2015

30 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in Book Bingo Tags: book bingo

And so we reach the end of 2015 which means my first Book Bingo must also come to an end. I started this year rather well; I was filling in squares and was thinking I may actually finish early (ha!). Of course this didn’t happen, mainly because I did so many early in the year I thought I should slow down…which result in me falling behind and having to cram about five squares into the last couple weeks. But we managed it! I am aiming for better Bingo control next year. Like most things regarding this blog, the first half of the year starts off great and by the time October hits suddenly it gets a bit slack.

I really enjoyed my first Bingo experience. I got to read some different things, trying to find things that suited the categories I had created. Many of these books were given reviews, but many didn’t. There was never a conscious decision not to, but it just worked out that some did and some didn’t. I think next year I will aim to get reviews for all of them, and certainly more updates on my progress. Though as I say, there was a lot of boxes filled towards the end that happened to fast to really boast about.

It took until the very last week to achieve any Bingo line, which was followed quickly by two more. Total luck of the draw and what books were read, I definitely need to plan my reading better and maybe actually reach a Bingo before the last week of the year. Technically though, I started this at the end of January, and could have convinced myself to give myself more time, but I would rather finish this year and begin the next one as soon as possible.

I added the books I read to my completed Bingo sheet for those interested. I recall a few people were going to attempt their own Bingo’s this year, did you succeed? How many did you get through? I don’t think everyone is as picky as I am about finishing things before deadlines but unlike me you may also have paced yourself better. If you finished congrats! Good luck if you plan on trying again next year. I will be posting my second Bingo card up early next year. Once again you’re welcome to use the one I have created or hunt down or create your own.

Bingo card w books