Beware of the book dragon!

Who doesn’t have a goal that they set from childhood? Above All Else focuses on Rose and Tate’s big goal that they came up with when they were young- to climb Mount Everest! This gripping tale of childhood climbing friends will definitely make you feel like you’re right there with them! Levy wrote this book with two points-of-views, one from Rose, and the other from Tate. Whilst Rose’s storyline generally progresses in the right then and there, Tate’s story flicks back and forth between the past and the present- giving some background for some very important points towards the back-end of the book. Personally, I loved how everything was intertwined and I wasn’t missing anything, which is always a great sign! Rose is portrayed as the smart, headstrong girl who keeps on going when everything else is falling apart around her, especially as her mum suddenly falls ill and is unable to climb. Tate on the other hand feels very much in the shadows of his family and of Rose, often comparing...

   To celebrate the release of Indigo Owl, here's my blog tour stop with thanks to AusYABloggers and Wakefield Press! Check out more stops on the tour  here! Here's a brief synopsis: After Earth was destroyed by climate change and overpopulation, private corporations colonised new planets. On one such planet, Galbraith,the fertility of its citizens is tightly controlled. But at what cost? When Scarlet Bergen leaves her childhood home to be trained at the Arcadia Institute, harnessing her psychic Solitaire talents, it feels like the beginning of her future. But on the Institute steps, her father whispers a life-changing secret about the past. Her mother, a geneticist who disappeared when Scarlet was ten, had enemies … Scarlet vows to discover the truth about her mother – and is joined in her mission by fellow cadets with their own family secrets and special talents: tech-savvy Rumi, a tenacious truth-hunter, and Dylan, the aloof classmate who can literally read her mind. T...

What if you were contracted to kill someone, but killed the wrong guy? Exit, Belinda Bauer’s newest book unfolds exactly this when bumbling pensioner Felix Pink and a ‘co-worker’ Amanda manage to accidentally kill the wrong person.  The book focuses on two perspectives, that of Calvin, a police officer, and Felix Pink, who works as an Exiteer- a person who helps someone basically helps out with assisted euthanasia, without bending any legal rules. After learning that the wrong person had died, he goes to figure out why it happens- ultimately finding that he was set up. This leads him to ask several questions towards his co-worker, boss, and befriending the old guy who was meant to die. Calvin’s perspective serves to link up the gambling background and the other ordinary life details in the town where this is set. I enjoyed how this book explored the grey morality of Felix, and the other themes of death, ageing, loyalty and friendship. These themes are rather broad, but Bauer brough...

  To celebrate the release of Furia, here's my blog tour stop! Here's a brief synopsis: .Camila Hassan lives a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far her talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North American university, but the path ahead won’t be easy. Her parents, who don’t know about her passion, wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol—and she needs their permission to go any farther. Meanwhile, the boy she once loved, Diego, is not only back in town, but has also become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Things aren’t the same as when he left: Camila has her own fútbol ambitio...

 I loved the concepts in this one, but sadly, it felt like it fell flat for me.  The characters didn't gel with me, and I got lost between the different viewpoints. Some of the concepts seemed plausible, but others were just out right not gelling with me like I'd hope it would. I did however, kind of like the whole "new internet" idea post some hackers causing "the Spill". I wish I enjoyed this one a little more than I did. Rating: 2.5/5

I kinda really loved the concept of this one, and it was executed pretty well. Sloane was one of my favourite characters, and I would also die for Essy. I loved how fun the banter was, and also how they were thrown into another dimesnsion. I devoured it whilst on the trains to/from uni and I don't regret this one a single bit. Rating: 4/5 Note: I won a copy of this book back in April thanks to the publisher!

This is such a bittersweet story! It has hope, courage, and family. I listened to this on audiobook whilst on my daily commutes, and I cried. A lot. I adored hearing the two timepoints and characters come to life, in a seemingly authentic way. The writing is vivid and definitely captured the soul of the story! Rating: 4/5

Content warnings for the book: bullying, homophobia, racism, being publicly outed, anxiety, panic attacks, mentions death. I love how cute this book is. It has standing up for yourself, it has small town f/f romance. It had music. It had high school drama. I was a big fan of this one and devoured it. I loved the way the topics were dealt with and the storyline. The characters felt real too, and of course I was rooting fo Liz Lighty!  Definitely lived up to the hype, and I was glad to be gifted this one by the lovely Star! Rating: 4.5/5

This was definitely an enjoyable listen! It had magic, it had a cult, it had coming-of-age. All of these things made it an excellent story, even though I didn't gel with the characters as well as I would've liked. That being said, the storyline was enjoyable enough for me to keep listening.  I found the friendships were true to real life (i.e. characters being more one group member's friend than the others) and the jealously from some characters reminds me so much of high school. Rating: 3.5/5

Claire G. Coleman’s second novel, The Old Lie packs a punch (or five). It’s a gutsy science fiction novel that has all the bells and whistles that come with such a story, but also has pointers and critiques to some of the issues of colonial Australia. Whilst this is very much a space opera, with intergalactic war (as soon as I think that, I think Star Wars), the social issues within The Old Lie are very current. There are themes of racism, displacement, and violence interspersed throughout the story. I found this to be cleverly written, and really puts life as a person of privilege into perspective. The writing was rich and vibrant, and you could distinctly tell the differences between character voices. The pacing was also spot on, tension had fast pacing where it was needed, and slower where the story was building up. I also enjoyed the largely slow burn nature of this story, as it was rather refreshing to have in a sci-fi book. The characters were all varied in their ways of life, bu...

This was such a cute audiobook to have on whilst I was commuting. Imagine being able to go live out of the city for a while. That would be bliss. The characters and sentiments they had, and the willingness to try new things was kind of the feel good moments I needed at the time, and it made me really happy. It had the light romance, it had the gooey heartwarming moments, it had laughter and sadness. It had old ladies gossiping. It was a delight! Rating: 4/5