Beyond cloud nine greg spry

Beyond Cloud Nine

Greg Spry

   
 5 star read

Reviewer: Emily
Author: Greg Spry
 Format:Paperback
Source:Goodreads

 Genre: Sci-fi

About Book

Ace star fighter pilot Brooke Davis lives for pushing hundreds of gees in orbital combat, but she’d give it all up in a moment to become the first human to fly faster than light. When Brooke stumbles upon a conspiracy involving terrorists, aliens, and the highest levels of government, she finds their goals seductive but their methods abhorrent. With the moral core of human civilization hanging in the balance, she must risk her shot at history, her family, and her life to prevent the schemers from forcing their nefarious brand of salvation upon the solar system.

My Thoughts

          

Ok This book has taken me a very long time to write and come up with a review, busy season and all plus i was mind blown. 

I received this book in the goodreads give way in exchange for an honest review so here is goes. 

Beyond cloud nine is not something i would normally pick up, not because it does not have an interesting plot line or beautiful cover because it has both, but because it was more sic-fi than paranormal but i am beyond glad i have had the privilege to read such an amazing book. 

From the first page i was hooked, the main character was female and a strong, determined character. There was never a dull moment, each page had me hurrying to get on with the next, i was pleased with Brooke being a main character in a sic-fi novel compared to the usual male and was even more pleased that she wasn't a damsel being saved all the time. 

Every obstacle in this book was handled well, scientifically sound and brilliantly written, i could hardly believe is was a debut novel. 

Greg Spry is an author i will be on the lookout for in the future. The book was addictive in the best way and will be recommending it.

My life next door huntley Fitzpatrick

My life next door

Huntley Fitzpatrick

   
 5 star read

Reviewer: Emily
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
 Format:Paperback
Source:book depository

 Genre: Young adult, contemporary

About Book

"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.

My Thoughts

         

I picked this book up for a friend for christmas but after reading the blurb again i decided to read it. Im so glad i didnt. i finished it within a few hours and after just sat there a little unsure about how to feel. so now I'm finally going to write what i think. 
first off 9 kids, thats a hell of a lot of kids but they made it work, the house was warm and loving. Parents totally in love and the children fed and very happy. Seeing a mother with two not even show half the affection toward her own children was sad and even in the end i dont feel like the mother redeemed herself enough to be likeable. 
Samantha and Jase come from totally different worlds and even with only a fence between them dont encounter each other often enough to know the others name by sight. The garrets were the kind of family i would want to be in, there house chaotic and often very messy but filled with laughter with parents who are still deeply in love, the Reeds are stiff with sterile surfaces, the Grace the mother, cleaning as a stress reliever. 
Sams older sister is rarely seen and only out to do for herself, Grace the same. The Garrets have each child with big personalities who look out for each other and i feel like sam fit right in. 
What i loved most about this book was the fact both Sam and Jase, even being only 17 years old, were mature. There was no real drama, of course there was the climax and i understood why sam handled it the way she did but it was resolved without much fuss and for that Huntley is now right up there in my top 5 favourite authors. Dont get me wrong i love drama but sometimes its refreshing to have young adults act like young adults and not spoilt 3 year old. 
George by far was my favourite character, funny, cute and wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind but lets face it! what 4 year old is!!!
This book id say is a light summer read, it wasn't heavy, simple enough to read and didnt leave me a balling puddle on the floor. The cover alone is beautiful enough to draw you in but what lays beneath will leave you wanting more. Thankfully there is A SECOND BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 as you can see I'm very excited and will be preordering shortly. 
I can't wait to get to know the hard as nails Alice and slightly messed up Tim a little more. I just hope Tims sister isn't in it because i really dont like her. 

After by amy efaw

After 

Amy Efaw

 4 star read

Reviewer: Emily
Author: Amy Efaw
 Format:Paperback
Source:book depository

 Genre: Young adult, contemporary

About Book

                                 

BEFORE it all, Devon was a good student, a good athlete, an all-round good girl. But then IT happened- the thing that was so horrible, so shameful, so impossible to imagine that Devon simply chose not to admit it to anyone, even herself.

But denial cant make things go away, and now Devon’s in a juvenile detention center, facing a possible life sentence for her actions.

Does she deserve that punishment? Did she know what she was doing? Or was her denial so deep that she was unable to register the seemingly unavoidable changes happening to her?

Told with empathy and precision, Devon’s story is a gripping page-turner that will challenge your beliefs about conscious and consciousness.

                       My Thoughts

                                   

An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . .

Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made - Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there's only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer.

And yet gifted author Amy Efaw does the impossible - she turns Devon into an empathetic character, a girl who was in such deep denial that she refused to believe she was pregnant. Through airtight writing and fast-paced, gripping storytelling, Ms. Efaw takes the reader on Devon's unforgettable journey toward clarity, acceptance, and redemption.

Now whilst both those desciptions sound amazing they really don’t give you an insight as to how heartbreaking this book really is. From the second I picked it up I couldn’t put it down, I just had to know what would happen and how it would end.

In the beginning I hated Devon for what she did and just wanted to see her get punished. Firstly she dumped her newborn baby into the trash without a care in the world. Id only just given birth to my son so I was judging her on something I didn’t truly understand. Whilst I might never have been able to do that I am not her.

Throughout the book we see that Devon is very driven, smart and would do anything for her team. I started to really like her at this point but still had what she did in the back of my head so I was undecided. I wasn’t sure what I would have done, she was so far in denial that she honestly didn’t admit to herself she was pregnant so when it came time for her to have the baby she didn’t know what was going on. I think in the back of her head she knew all along but after the traumatic experience of labor, going through it alone and not really knowing she was pregnant made her react instead of think. She made huge mistakes and ruined her life but I see why she did it, I just don’t agree. In the end she did the first and last good thing she would be able to do for her daughter.

By the end of the book I was crying like I did throughout the book, finding out the baby was ok and Devon accepting what she did as wrong.

Overall id give this book a 4/5 stars because it was amazingly written and really got me into the head of Devon and change my opinion of things and for a mother that’s a really hard thing to do when it comes to innocent babies involved.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking and giving you a look into why some people do things. The mind is a powerful thing and I truly believe that if you think something and will it to be true that eventually your mind will help you overlook the facts.

To anyone who was thinking about reading this but wasn’t sure I say please do, this book is worth the time to read. 

End of year bookshelf

 Hello everyone, Emily here. 
Seeing how the year is almost over i thought i would give you all a look at my bookshelves before christmas. Though i do have about 12 books coming over the next month ill be showing them to you in a book haul later this month. 
My bookshelves are my babies, i had them custom built so the shelves are adjustable to maximise book space and they go from floor to ceiling almost. I'm in the process of getting a third built :)
i have quite a lot of books but to me is just doesn't feel like i have enough yet, so maybe another shelf or two will help with that. 
I have a range of genre on my shelf but YA and paranormal are my favourite, i rearrange them twice a month and its about due to be done as you can see but hopefully ill be fitting in more books by the time i get around to it. 
If you want to hear a review for a particular book just let me know and ill be more than happy to. Ive read every book on those shelves as i keep the ones I'm still reading on my desk so ask away :)

 

So Hi, My names emily, I'm 21 and a mum to a little boy. He's my entire world and his laugh makes the days seem brighter. 

Im a massive book nerd and would spend my days with my nose stuck in a book if i could. I hope to be sharing my book adventures with you so keep checking in because you never know what book ill review next !!!!

Siege Sarah Mussi

Siege
Sarah Mussi

 5 star read

Reviewer: Emily
Author: Sarah Mussi
 Format:Paperback

 Genre: Dystopian

About Book

                                 
Leah Jackson - in detention. Then armed Year 9s burst in, shooting. She escapes, just. But the new Lock Down system for keeping intruders out is now locking everyone in. She takes to the ceilings and air vents with another student, Anton, and manages to use her mobile to call out to the world. 

First: survive the gang - the so-called 'Eternal Knights'.
Second: rescue other kids taken hostage, and one urgently needing medical help. 

Outside, parents gather, the army want intelligence, television cameras roll, psychologists give opinions, sociologists rationalize, doctors advise - and they all want a piece of Leah. Soon her phone battery is running out; the SAS want her to reconnoiter the hostage area ... But she is guarding a terrifying conviction. Her brother, Connor, is at the center of this horror. Is he with the Eternal Knights or just a pawn?

She remembers. All those times Connor reached out for help ... If she'd listened, voiced her fears about him earlier, would things be different now? Should she give up her brother?

With only Anton for company, surviving by wits alone, Leah wrestles with the terrible choices ...

                                                               
                       My Thoughts
                               

I really did enjoy this book, i purchased it from my local big w without bothering to read what it was about since it had no blurb anywhere. I went of the name and gunshot marks on both sides of the book and thought it was about a shooting but nothing more. 
Here i go beginning to read and within the first few pages i begin to think somethings off. i continue reading anyway but before i know it i am hooked. 
I'm brought into a world set a few generations from now, the school systems different and the technology a little more advanced. Enough to be believable. 
Leah is the main character, it follows what she goes through from the the beginning of the day of the shooting until the end. Without giving to much away it begins with Leah, 16, her younger brother Conner who is 14 and younger sister who is 6 living with their single mother who suffers some severe depression. The mother not even getting off the lounge long enough to notice her children are even alive. So leah takes responsibility. She has a concert that evening and it seems to be a massive focus for her, something she can look forward to thats purely her own. Its the brothers day to take the sister to school but he skips out leaving Leah to take her making her late for school and having after school detention. There goes her concert hopes and dreams out the door but before Sarah lets you focus on that too much gun shots sound off. 
From there its a race against time to save whomever Leah can and try and find out who is behind this. Risking her life to save others  like any good heroin and it was believable.  I believed every moment of this book from the first page to the last. Set in a dystopian world that changed are slight, it captures you and draws you in. 

Whilst this is not a light read in the slightest its not a long book but brings forth every emotion we have. i cried, laughed and clapped all through this book. 







I highly recommend this book to those who do not mind a sad story and are not triggered by shootings and death. Sarah Mussi really delivered on this book. 

What happens next
Colleen Clayton

 5 star read

Reviewer: Emily
Publisher: Colleen Clayton
 Format:Paperback

 Genre: Contemporary

About Book

                                 
How can you talk about something you can't remember? Before the sky trip Cassidy "Sid" Murphy was a cheerleader (on the bottom of the pyramid, but still....) and a straight-A student, with two of the best friends a girl could ask for. When Sid finds herself on a sky lift with a hunky local college guy, Dax Windsor, she's thrilled. "Come to a party with me" he tells her, but Dax isn't what she seems. He takes everything from Sid-including a lock of her perfect red curls-she can't remember any of it. After the sky trip, Sid is an insomniac and an obsessive late-night runner, unable to relate to her old friends. Caught in a downward spiral, Sid drops her college prep classes and takes up residence in the A/V room with only Corey "The Living Stoner" Lavingston for company. But as she gets to know Corey--slacker, baker, total dreamboat-- Sid finds someone who truly makes her happy. Now, if only she could shake the nightmares, everything would be perfect....Witty and poignant, Colleen Claytons debut is a stunning story of moving on after the unthinkable  happens. 

                                                               
                       My Thoughts
                                 

I purchased this book having not very high expectations, thinking it wouldnt be a too heavy read. 
i was right yet so so wrong. I had no idea that could happen but Colleen managed it beautifully. 
Sid was a talented, happy, beautiful teenager who was assaulted and left to wake up on her own with a fuzzy memory and blaming herself. 
i dont want to spoil anything but this book had its ups and downs, i cried, laughed and was on the edge of my seat the entire time yearning to find out how it all ended. 
Leaving me with only 2 pages i wasn't sure if id be left questioning everything but everything was answered, wasn't rushed and i applaud any author who can pull this off. Some cannot do so with an entire book to wrap it up but in 2 pages i was left satisfied and though not wanting to leave Sid and Corey i wasn't disappointed. 

SPOILERS

Sid lied and said she just fell asleep to her friends and family, leaving her isolated and having to deal with a traumatic experience by herself. Coming to terms with what happened was very hard for her, if she had opened up things might have been easier but i understood she was afraid. Then she felt it was too late to come clean.
Colleen dealt with rape, drugging, eating disorders and taught readers a valuable lesson or two by the end. 

Corey was Sids rock, he has his own issues that were skimmed over but it gave enough to give us an insight but still kept the story Sids. 







this is a beautifully written book that i would recommend to anyone. Well done Colleen Clayton on this amazing book.

The Friday Edition
Betta Ferrendelli

 5 star read

Reviewer: Emily
Publisher: Betta Ferrendelli
 Format:Paperback
Source:author copy

 Genre: Murder Mystery

About Book

                                 

Christmas is coming to Denver, Colorado, but it isn’t only snow that’s falling.

A beautiful young woman, who also happens to be a Truman County Assistant DA, tumbles from her apartment balcony to her death on Christmas Eve.

The incident is ruled a suicide, but the DA’s sister, newspaper reporter Samantha Church, isn’t buying it.

Feverishly Samantha throws herself into finding out what really happened to her sister. She pursues her sister’s killers, maneuvering through a minefield of intrigue deliberately set out to divert her from the truth. She invariably stumbles when confronted by the inescapable specter of a greater enemy: the alcohol dependency that has already cost her the respect of her peers, and, worse, custody of her daughter.

Samantha must summon the courage to face not only a cartel of criminals, but also her own demons. Physically threatened and betrayed, she nearly defeats herself through her own insecurities and fears. She not only must summon the courage to get beyond her own shortcomings, but she must work quickly to beat her nemesis – a reporter at the major metropolitan daily newspaper, who is also in close pursuit of the developing story.

Can Samantha ultimately prevail, write the biggest story of her career, and finally begin to change her life before it is too late?

                                                               
                       My Thoughts
                                   

i received this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well where to start, i dont read many murder mysteries but when i do i either love it or hate it. Luckily i loved this one.

I was kept guessing at every turn right up until the end. Whilst reading this i felt every emotion, sad, happy, loss and hope.

When Robin Marino, a Truman county assistant DA falls from her balcony from apparent suicide after leaving a bottle of Jack Daniels and a note on the kitchen bench. Being sober and in AA for a year her sister Samantha Church didnt believe it even once it was ruled a suicide.

Sam was an interesting character who had made mistakes whom upon hearing of her sisters fatal fall from a balcony, sets out to solve her sisters murder.

Betta did a wonderful job giving this book life, i yearned for Sams loss of her sister and felt for her with her alcohol addition that lead to her losing custody of her daughter to her ex husband.

Sam Church is a newspaper reporter for the Grandview Perspective, a community newspaper. Throughout the book she investigates her sisters murder, hitting wall after wall being a functional alcoholic herself but pushes through. She lost everything due to her alcoholism which had a lot to do with trauma from when she was younger caused by her father.

Betta Ferrendelli did a wonderful job and i will be piking up the next book asap.