Can’t quite believe it’s the end of another year…where does the time go? What a year it’s been – I had a new baby, started studying my third year for my criminology/psychology degree (I’m exhausted), but I also managed nearly 100 books! It’s been ever so hard to narrow it down as usual as everything I’ve read (nearly) has been excellent. Big shoutout to all the wonderful UKYA authors out there who I loved picking up this year!

Book of the year:

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

I waited and waited on this book. I preordered it and it didn’t come for ages – which drove me insane!… Read more >>>

When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent.… Read more >>>

Summary from Goodreads

Twelve. Twelve of the deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So there’s that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything she’s ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life.… Read more >>>

Summary from Goodreads

This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.… Read more >>>

The 12 Days of Christmas – Illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

The very popular ’12 Days of Christmas’ verse is a true classic! Introduce it to your child this Christmas – it’s brought to life ever so gorgeously by Britta Teckentrup!

Have a fun sing-song and delight in each stunning page complete with lovely little peep holes. Each and every page is a feast for the eyes – adults and kids alike will be glued until the very end.

The 12 Days of Christmas is a very well known verse but it has been made into something truly special for the whole family to enjoy together here.… Read more >>>

Summary from Goodreads

Britt Pfeiffer has never been that adventurous, but that’s about to change. Wanting to impress her ex-boyfriend, Britt convinces best friend, Korbie, to take a trekking trip with her. But when a freak storm leaves the girls stranded they seek shelter in a cabin, where they find two knights in shining armour. Or so they think.

Britt quickly realises that the girls need to get off the mountain, fast. In exchange for her life, she is forced to guide the boys down, and as they set out on a harrowing journey through the cold and snow, Britt realises the only way to escape with her life is to pretend she is on their side.… Read more >>>

1 – The book is based on an ongoing conversation I’ve had with my dad about young people and the issues a minority of them cause. I haven’t asked if he minds that I’ve turned it into fiction.

2 – I wrote the book whilst in what was supposed to be my final year at university. Unsurprisingly, I am having to resit a couple of exams in 2015.

3 – Originally, the book was going to have a completely different second half. I have thousands of unused words which will likely never see the light of day.

4 – I listen to music whilst writing, with different playlists for certain scenes.… Read more >>>

Summary from Goodreads

The fourth book in the dark paranormal fantasy series, Eye Of The Storm.

The full moon has been and gone, beginning a new phase of greater surety for the wolves of Surrey and the mated four who lead them. Ryan’s old pack from Wiltshire – a force to be reckoned with – have ensured their immediate safety from The Trident … but what will they demand in return for their protection?

As Lydia and Lawrence heal old wounds, finding solace in each other, Ryan battles with his own past. He’d do anything to keep the pack he loves safe, but ‘anything’ might have consequences he never imagined.… Read more >>>

My Review

Wow! Total picture book perfection alert!!

This is quite possibly the most gloriously moving and captivating picture book I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading with my children!

It’s a wonderful tale about best-friends and what it feels like when something new and sudden upsets their easy rhythm. The story is super fast flowing and bursting with imagination. Trying new things can be scary for little people but with some encouragement and courage they can easily realise that new can be fun (& 2 can become 3).

The illustrations are a stunning work of art and should be framed on a wall to be gazed at all day long!… Read more >>>