Showing posts with label Allen and Unwin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allen and Unwin. Show all posts

Sunday, March 8, 2015

BLOG TOUR - CHARACTER INTERVIEW & REVIEW - EVERY MOVE by ELLIE MARNEY - EVERY # 3 - ALLEN & UNWIN - YA SUSPENSE ROMANCE


I would like to welcome the amazing Mycroft and Watts to Novels On The Run today for my tour stop of the Every Move blog tour.

I have my review up first and then you can read a Q & A with Mycroft and Rachel.

Go forth and enjoy!


By: Ellie Marney
Published By : Allen & Unwin
Released: 1st March 2015
Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 338 Pages

RATING: 4.5 MYCROFT STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

The sequel to Every Breath and Every Word.After the dramatic events of London, a road trip back to her old home in Five Mile sounds good (in theory) to Rachel Watts, with her brother Mike in the driving seat. But when Mike picks up his old buddy – the wildly unreliable Harris Derwent – things start to go south. Back in Melbourne, Rachel’s ‘partner in crime’, James Mycroft, clashes with Harris, and then a series of murders suggest that the mysterious Mr Wild – Mycroft’s own personal Moriarty – is hot on their tail. When tragedy strikes, Rachel and Mycroft realise they’ll have to recruit Harris and take matters into their own hands…


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I simply adore this series, Mycroft and Watts are a brilliant pairing of characters.

I liked Every Breath, more for Mycroft and Watts  as they totally stole the show, and I was blown away by Every Word with its action and suspense and ...Mycroft.

Seriously the things that Ellie had Mycroft and Watts put up against were crazy exciting and the story I simply couldn’t get enough of.

I wanted more.

Now I have more.

I have Every Move.

Mycroft, how I still love thee. You do have a bit of a smoking problem, but I love thee. You are eccentric and I so love you for it. I would so like to meet you in real life.

Watts has her own demons to deal with and I don’t blame her in this installment.

While Mycroft does his thing, Watts has time on her hands and we get to meet somebody else.

I really liked the idea of bringing Harris into the mix, and he has really grown on me.

I like him!

Damn straight!

I think he grew more on my eyeballs when he lifted his shirt. (I so said that out loud didn’t I) 


Harris Derwent – sun-bleached, Driza-Bone-wearing, dickhead tearaway – takes Mike’s proffered hand and smiles from ear to ear as he pulls Mike into something that could be a hug bit looks more like two bulls bumping chests.


Harris’s back is developed in a way I know only happens when men work hard at a physical task for a long time. I can see the bulges at his trapezius when his shoulder blades flex. His waist is tapered, banded with muscle at the back and down either side of his spine.

I love ALL the Aussie slang littered throughout this installment. I chuckled on more than one occasion.

Now I don’t know if this is the last in the series, but I want MORE.

PUBLISHERS! We need more Mycroft and Watts with a delicious side order of Harris, a BFF serve of Mai and her sweet Gus and a yummy helping of Mike.

There is just something spesh about this full on Aussie series with a dash of British eccentricity thrown in.

It's not often we get to make good use of the word conniption, either.

Back at my place, Mum and Dad will probably be having conniptions, and Harris will be borrowing a dry shirt.

Mycroft got smexy!

The feel of his hands on my bare skin makes me reel. He slides his fingertips under the hem of my slip. Trickles his fingers down my outer thighs to my knee-highs, then all the way back up. My whole body is alive, burning with a kinds of delirium.

Then there was Mycroft and the stars. 

The verandah doors open. I glance over, surprised to see Mycroft. he pulls on his coat, his head tilted up, chin high. His Adam's apple moves as he swallows in the sight of all these stars.

"Is it always like this?"

I breathe out. "Not always. But when it's clear - yeah."

"My god."  He smiles up, like he's three years old. "This is incredible."

"Haven't you seen stars before?"

"Not this way. Not so..." He opens out his hands. "It's so big."

"Yep."

He looks at me. "You're jaded, aren't you? It's all old hat to you."

"No," I say. "No I still feel it." 

We know the how and why, Watts and family made it to the city, but then she reflects on where she came from while she has Harris...

Well, you better have a read and see what all this Harris business is all about.

If I was to complain about anything there wasn’t enough of Harris’s muscles, and Mycroft needs to stub his ciggie out. I do know it is his personality and it is a little rebellious to throw that into his character, but... that’s just me.

I love Pickup, he certainly has his hands full with Mycroft and Watts thinking they can handle situations their way when really there was a much more professional way to handle it. But that is these two crazy kids putting themselves into the craziest, dangerous situations and then calling in the big guns when it looks like they are in too much shite.

A fave scene or two was Mycroft looking rather debonair and somebody doing self defense classes.

Mycroft.

The trousers lengthen his legs, hug his slim hips. Thin black braces snap up from his waist. The white shirt and braces accentuate his height and his lean figure- he looks broad-shouldered and classy. His op-shop suit jacket hangs loosely over his shoulder by one finger. There’s a cigarette tucked behind his ear, and his purple –laced Cos add to his outfit’s offbeat allure.

He looks older, somehow, like a boho sophisticate, as though he’s just stepped off the set of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. He looks good – Jesus, he looks so goddamn good I’ve forgotten to breathe. He’s smooth-shaved, and his dark curls are tumbling, and ...and...


I do love this YA series and hope we get some more time with Mycroft and Watts.

Michelle


In the mean time check out this fun Q & A with this great couple.


CHARACTER Q & A 
WITH
MYCROFT & WATTS


Hi Mycroft and Rachel, thank you for joining me today for this Q & A session.

I’ve really enjoyed watching you two in the Every series. I thought Ellie was pretty tough on you both in Every Word.

Holy smokes! You both took a bit of a beating. Good to see you are both doing well.

Michelle: Mycroft, what five words would you use to describe Ellie Marney?

Mycroft: Ellie who?



Michelle: Rachel Watts, if you could choose five words what would they be to describe Mycroft or do you need more? I have to admit I am rather keen to hear what they would be.

When I wrote my review for Every Breath, I came up with this little list : He is quirky, eccentric, a wild card, spontaneous, a contradiction sometimes, observant, sometimes manic, passionate, seventeen, kind hearted, lonely, curious, angry and a genius.

Rachel: Oh, I think I could probably add a few… How about rude –

Mycroft: Rude? I am not rude!

Rachel: You are totally rude. C’mon, Mycroft, you know you’re rude.

Mycroft: (grumbles) Yeah, well I’m not that rude…

Rachel: He’s also –

Mycroft: I like genius. Can we just stick with genius and ditch the rest?

Rachel: Interrupting is rude.



Michelle: I personally love both of your characters. Mycroft, what song would you pick that best describes Watts and why? I was totally bopping to My Sharona by The Knack in Every Breath. 



Mycroft: That is, actually, my go-to song for Rachel. Only she doesn’t think of it that way – (flails) Rachel, would you please stop hitting me, that’s just – ow!

Rachel: I like Riptide, by Vance Joy. 




Mycroft: What she said.



Michelle: Watts, if you could choose any song that would describe your friendship with Mycroft, what would it be and why?

Rachel: (laughs)

Mycroft: Are you not going to answer this question?

Rachel: (wipes away tears) No, no, I am… Right. Ahem. Okay, right, yes, I have the perfect song – Allies by Mutemath. 



Mycroft: That’s not… Actually, y’know that’s not a bad song.

Rachel: I know. That’s why I chose it.

Mycroft: You don’t wanna go for something more punk? I know a few songs by T Rex that are pretty –

Rachel: No. That’s the song.

Mycroft: For the record, I’m going for What I Like About You by the Romantics. 



Rachel: Hey, you already had a go.

Mycroft: (shrugs) It’s a good song. (aside) It’s the best song.



Michelle: Mycroft you are a rule breaker in Every Breath. You beat to your own drum, how do you think you have evolved as a person from being the guy with his lab in his bedroom to the guy who is in Every Move?

Mycroft: I have a girlfriend now.

Rachel: (laughs)

Mycroft: Shut up! (laughs) Seriously, I think I have, y’know.

Rachel: Evolved?

Mycroft: Yes. I’ve evolved. That makes me sound kind of primordial, doesn’t it?

Rachel: You have fewer bad habits, now.

Mycroft: I don’t think evolution is just about reducing your number of bad habits. I think it’s about improving. ‘Adding to’, not just subtracting from. I’ve gotten better at talking.

Rachel: (smiles) Actually, I always thought you were pretty good at talking.

Mycroft: I mean, I’ve gotten better at being honest.

Rachel: Saying what you really feel?

Mycroft: (smiles) You’ve been a good influence on me.



Michelle: If both of you could each cast somebody to play the other persons part in the Every series THE MOVIE, ( thinking big here, people) who would you choose for each other and why? You go first Mycroft and tell me who you would pick for Watt’s character and while you are at it give me Harris too.

Mycroft: Harris could be played by…a mollusc.

Rachel: James! (hits him)

Mycroft: All right, sorry. Ow. Not a mollusc. Rachel could be played by…god, that’s really hard. I can’t think of you being anybody else but Rachel.

Rachel: (smiles) Thank you.

Mycroft: Well, I can’t think of anyone… I don’t really watch telly, y’know, or movies, so I’m not really up with all the actors and so forth…

Rachel: Someone kick-arse.

Mycroft: Definitely someone kick-arse… What about that girl on that show you made me watch, the one that was really scientifically incorrect, about the space station and the kids that were sent to Earth –

Rachel: The 100.

Mycroft: Was that the one?

Rachel: The one that annoyed you, because you said that radiation levels on the ground would have been too high to support –

Mycroft: That’s the one. The girl in that.

Rachel: The lead character? With the blonde hair?

Mycroft: Actually I was thinking of the fierce girl.

Rachel: Lexa? Oh my god…

Mycroft: You’re fierce.

Rachel: (laughs) Okay, fine. I can be Lexa and you can be…

Mycroft: Oh no, not that aggravating guy with the –

Rachel: Bellamy. You can be Bellamy.

Mycroft: He’s tan! He’s not even English!

Rachel: (laughs)



Michelle: Mycroft, we get a new character in Every Move, tell us your personal thoughts on Mike’s friend, Harris and what was going through your head at the dance in that ...err, moment. You know the one. I personally want to add you looked very well put together that night.

Mycroft: Well, thank you, and you’re looking very well-put-together yourself –

Rachel: James.

Mycroft: It’s a compliment! For gods’ sake… (aside) I couldn’t tell you what was going through my head, sorry, as there weren’t a lot of actual thoughts. There were a lot of, um, emotions. I don’t think I was operating at full capacity in that moment, I have to say.

Rachel: You were emotional, at the dance?

Mycroft: It was an emotional moment. And, y’know, I was jet-lagged…

Rachel: (touches his cheek) Silly.



Michelle: Watts, what were your first thoughts when you first laid eyes on Mycroft?

Rachel: Um, I think my first thought was ‘Wow’.

Mycroft: (smug) Ah. Thank you.



Michelle: Mycroft, what was one of the first things that came to mind when you first laid eyes on Rachel?

Mycroft: That she was hitting some strange guy who was standing too close to her, and she looked incredible, because dress, and also she never primps, so she looked really different, and also Strange Guy needed his head punched in, but that wasn’t really a thought so much as… Look, I’m paraphrasing, but yes.



Michelle: Mycroft do you see yourself as a romantic? If you were to take Watts out on a date, what do you think she would expect from a Mycroft style date? I am imagining some danger along the way, even with good intentions of it being a law abiding date.

Mycroft: I am always law-abiding.

Rachel: That is so not true.

Mycroft: Have we ever actually been out on a date?

Rachel: Y’know, I don’t think we have.

Mycroft: That’s a definite oversight. We should go out on a date. Yes – what do you do on dates?

Rachel: Fun stuff that ends in kissing?

Mycroft: That sounds perfectly acceptable. Yes, I’m excited about this idea now. I think I am a romantic.

Rachel: (rolls eyes) When was that not ever a given?

Mycroft: I think…coffee. Or dinner. And then a visit to the most romantic place I know.

Rachel: If you say the Museum, I’m going to –

Mycroft: Carlton Gardens.

Rachel: (laughs)

Mycroft: And then the Museum.

Rachel: (laughs harder)

Mycroft: Come on, the Museum is awesome! How can you not love the Museum!



Michelle: Mycroft, as you seem to be a drop-everything-and-take-an-adventure kind of guy, how do you see your future with Watts? Normal isn’t something that you currently do. Spontaneous is more your cup of tea.

Mycroft: Spontaneous and tea, in one question! I love this question! But for the future…I don’t know. I think we’d probably better study for a bit, which isn’t very spontaneous, but still kind of necessary. And then…travel?

Rachel: I’d actually like to see London as a tourist, instead of a hostage.

Mycroft: That would make a nice change, wouldn’t it? And I promise to show you all the nice parts of it.

Rachel: (smiles) I’m already looking at the nicest part.



Michelle: What quotes would best describe each of you, where you are at in your lives, now?

Mycroft: A quote? Oh god, another hard question…

Rachel: I like the one you already told me.

Mycroft: About covalent bonds?

Rachel: Yep. The covalent bonds. (aside) Covalent bonds are stronger than anything, you know.



Michelle: To finish off, could you each make a four verse poem that lets the other one know what is the thing you like the most about him or her.

Mycroft: Ah. No.

Rachel: (laughs) What he said. Sorry. Oh, but I know a nice piece of poem, by Walter de la Mare, so I could quote that? Okay, here goes:

‘Flee into some forgotten night, and be

Of all dark long, my Moonbright company.

Beyond the rumour even of Paradise, come;

There, out of all remembrance, make our Home.’


Mycroft: I like that.

Rachel: Me too (smiles)



Michelle: Thank you for chatting with me today, guys.

Mycroft: A pleasure!

Rachel: (laughs) It really was. Thanks for having us! (waves)


Thursday, November 13, 2014

BOOK REVIEW - SPIRIT by BRIGID KEMMERER - ELEMENTAL # 3 - YA PARANORMAL ROMANCE - ALLEN & UNWIN

By: Brigid Kemmerer
Published By : Allen & Unwin
Released : Available Now
Details: Paperback received from publisher for honest review, 301 Pages

RATING: 5 STRONG, GAME CHANGING STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He has learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can't seem to afford any allies.

He's up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there's Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She's not hostile. She's bold. Funny. Hot. But she's got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down - which means he'll have to find someone he can trust.

POWER. ENEMIES. EVERYWHERE.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I have to say I LOVE this YA paranormal romance series. I have been far too long without being in Brigid’s head and all her well thought out characters.

I am back!

Hunter, I loved you in Storm, and I loved you even more in Spirit. You are flawed, vulnerable and misunderstood. I felt for you as a mum. I wanted to give grandpa a kick up the tush.

Michael Merrick, oh did you shine. You became what Hunter needed in his life.

Gabriel, you had a bromance with Hunter in Spark and then you turned all fight club, but then you came back.

Nick, you are such a friend. You don’t judge quite so harshly.

I loved this instalment. Brigid writes her characters with such depth, I get totally immersed in her story telling. One of my fave YA paranormal series.

I have to admit, I had an O.M.G moment. I kept staring at the page thinking, Brigid is playing with me. But nope, she was deadly serious. I did a bit of spluttering. I saw the scene so well in my head. I was a little shocked.

I normally write lots of notes and page numbers for quotes, but I didn’t come up for air while reading Spirit. I kept telling myself to take some notes, but I kept reading rather feverishly.

A very good villain named Silver, kept me on my toes and Calla, man, she is a piece of work. They pulled it off very well. With the villains of this series, I feel like they have been brain washed from a young age and they believe in everything they have been told and trained to do. They don’t stop to look at the facts, they are driven to complete their mission and succeed at all costs. They are always around the same age as the main characters or just a bit older, but they believe in what they have to do, with few exceptions, like Hunter. They don’t blink an eye at what they have to do. The power of their peers to convince them of what needs to be done , no matter what. You can see how little children in war torn countries can without blinking an eye handle a weapon and then they grow up to be hard, unemotional adults believing in the cause they have been taught to not question. They become soldiers at such a young age, they know no different.

I highly recommend this brilliant YA series. Adults can enjoy it as much as teenagers.



Michelle

Friday, July 25, 2014

BOOK REVIEW - WE WERE LIARS by E. LOCKHART - YA SUSPENSE CONTEMPORARY - ALLEN & UNWIN

By: E. Lockhart
Published By: Allen & Unwin ( Aust) 
Releases : 1st August 2014
Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 226 pages

RATING: 4.75 CLEVER STARS!!

Blurb: Goodreads

A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island.

A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.

A group of four friends - the Liars - whose friendship turns destructive.

A revolution. An accident. A secret.

Lies upon lies.

True love.

The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense that will leave you reeling.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

'We Were Liars is heartbreaking, witty, beautiful and disturbing. E. Lockhart's best book to date.' JUSTINE LARBALESTIER

'A haunting tale about how families live within their own mythologies. Sad, wonderful, and real.' SCOTT WESTERFELD



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

This is going to be a short review because I simply CAN NOT SPOIL anything.

I will say the back blurb was absolutely correct. I WAS LEFT REELING and I will add I had a ridiculous cry too. 

I C.R.I.E.D.

I am not sobbing anymore, but tears stream from my eyes without cease.

You know something is coming, but this book is written in such a way that I had all these theories bobbling about in my head. You can't help but try to figure out what is going on. You look for things, but at the same time, E. Lockhart writes in such a way that she is hiding those things, until she is ready to knock you off your perch.

Sometimes I was wondering where everything was heading and I can see how this book won't be everybody's cup of tea, because she writes in a unique way. 

I personally got it. I think it added to the whole feel of her story telling. 

I thought it was very creative, inventive and if you look carefully enough and listen to her words as they enter your head you will actually see what she is doing.

Cady is quite a clever character. Aaand I need to sshhush up now!

Sometimes I thought the characters spoke in a way that sounded almost English/British. Maybe it was me?

This book has garnered on Goodreads alone, over 25,000 ratings since its original release in May 2014. Australia's release date is August 1st 2014 with Allen & Unwin. I think we get the better title font which is more fitting to the story line.

This book is mysterious, intriguing, sometimes you are doing a bit of WT, but you gotta keep reading. E. Lockhart has a beautiful style about her writing. It really is a very different read, when it hits you... my god it hits you!!!


I felt like I was Cadence. I was as lost a she was. Together we wanted answers and together we were finding those answers. I forgot who I was when I was reading. I became Cadence.

I have had a little trouble all day settling down since I finished it this morning. It is indeedy haunting, disturbing, secretive and clever.

A very clever and memorable read.

"The universe is seemingly really huge right now," he told me. "I need something to hold on to."

Be prepared to have your breath knocked out of you.


Michelle

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

BLOG TOUR & 3 BOOK GIVEAWAY - REBEL by AMY TINTERA - REBOOT # 2 - YA SCI-FI DYSTOPIAN - ALLEN & UNWIN

By: Amy Tintera
Published By: Allen & Unwin
Released : Available Now
Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 340 Pages

RATING: 4.5 FAST PACED STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Wren Connolly thought she'd left her human side behind when she died five years ago and came back 178 minutes later as a Reboot. With her new abilities of strength, speed and healing - along with a lack of emotions - Wren 178 became the perfect soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation). Then Callum 22 came along and changed everything.

Now that they've both escaped, they're ready to start a new life in peace on the Reboot Reservation. But Micah 163, the Reboot running the reservation, has darker plans in mind: to wipe out the humans. All of them. Micah has been building a Reboot army for years and is now ready to launch his attack on the cities. Callum wants to stick around and protect the humans. Wren wants nothing more than to leave all the fighting behind them.

With Micah on one side, HARC on the other, and Wren and Callum at odds in the middle, there is only one option left...

It's time for Reboots to become rebels.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Amy Tintera has brought a fast paced, exciting conclusion to her Reboot, duology. This sci-fi/dystopian had me turning the pages.

I found more substance to the plot and the characters brought me what I think I was missing from Reboot, even though I really enjoyed Reboot.

Told from both Callum and Wren’s pov’s we get a deeper understanding of these two characters who are at different ends of the reboot scale.

I loved watching Wren discover more of her human nature, so to speak. She does soften up, her thoughts becoming her own. I liked that Amy gave us reasons for her characters evolving, even though they are Reboots.

A higher number supposedly meant a Reboot was faster, stronger, less emotional, but I thought that was just a line HARC fed us that the Reboots bought into. We all used to be human, before we died and came back to life as Reboots, I didn’t see why the number of minutes dead mattered so much.


It kind of showed the reader that their still was a human underneath all of it. Even if it got lost for a while.

Callum is gorgeous. He was a little soft for me in Reboot, and he didn’t lose his human nature in this installment but he earned my respect. He really is a great character.

These two balance each other out.

This installment takes off at a fast pace from where Reboot left off. You will be turning the pages as this group of rebels go from one situation to the next in a bid to find a solution and release the other Reboots.

Did I think this could all be neatly tidied up in two books? Um, put it this way I got a satisfactory ending, but I still feel like there was more story to be told, more characters to explore.

Amy really has a clever idea with Reboots. It’s different and I could have explored these two characters and their sidekicks more in this world, but that is just me.

There is always a villain in a dystopian read and there are more than one in this one.

I got some sad moments that did surprise me how I felt. My heart got hurt.

I can see how film rights have been optioned by Fox for Reboot. It would make a great movie.

A fast paced, clever idea with some fierce moments and a romance that did flutter my heart like butterfly wings.




Michelle


GIVEAWAY

3 WINNERS!!

The lovely Allen & Unwin are kindly donating 3 x Paperbacks for me to giveaway on my tour stop.



Thanks kindly to Allen & Unwin!

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS!

AUSSIE ENTRIES ONLY

(Publisher is donating and mailing the prizes.)

Leave a comment with either your email addy, twitter or facebook addy's so I can easily contact the winner.

Answer this Q: What was the last Dystopian book you read?

EASY!

Random Org will choose winners.

If you want you can tweet the posting, would be lovely.

If you would like to go 'like' Amy's fb page to keep up on all things Amy then click HERE

If you want to you could go like Allen & Unwins facebook teen page


STARTS NOW

ENDS 18TH JUNE 2014

GOOD LUCK!


Thursday, June 5, 2014

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY - EVERY WORD by ELLIE MARNEY - EVERY # 2 - YA SUSPENSE THRILLER ROMANCE - ALLEN & UNWIN - 5 STARS!!

By: Ellie Marney
Published By : Allen & Unwin
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback from publisher for honest review, 340 Pages

RATING: 5 HELL YEAH STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

James Mycroft has just left for London to investigate a car accident similar to the one that killed his parents seven years ago...without saying goodbye to Rachel Watts, his 'partner in crime'.

Rachel is furious and worried about his strange behaviour - not that Mycroft's ever exactly normal, but London is the scene of so many of his nightmares. So Rachel jumps on a plane to follow him...and lands straight in a whole storm of trouble.

The theft of a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, the possible murder of a rare books conservator, and the deaths of Mycroft's parents...Can Watts help Mycroft make sense of the three events - or will she lose him forever?

Sparks fly when Watts and Mycroft reunite in this second sophisticated thriller about the teen sleuthing duo.



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

WOW!

Loved this installment.

Holy mac and cheese, it has everything.

Every series is set in and around Melbourne, Australia, but in this installment we head off to London. We get to see the true UK version of Mycroft. He is in his natural habitat. I did laugh at his views on how to pull the wool over an English persons eyes.

Mycroft, bless him, he was simply brilliant in Every Word. There are many layers to this lad. I loved him in Every Breath, he is even more, in this installment.

He’s wearing jeans and his black T-shirt, he’s stripped off his red trackie jacket and tied it around his waist, and his hair is like a riot in a rubber band factory. His jaw works furiously as he chews on a tab of nicotine gum -- he hasn’t had a cigarette in eight weeks, so it must help somehow -- but he’s grinning at me.


This is what I wrote in my Every Breath, Every # 1, review about Mycroft :

He is quite an addictive character. He is a different YA male lead that we can crush on.

He is quirky, eccentric, a wild card, spontaneous, a contradiction sometimes, observant, sometimes manic, passionate, seventeen, kind hearted, lonely, curious, angry and a genius. You want to see what he does next.

He is a rule breaker. He sees the inside of a jail cell.

He is interesting.



All of the above, still stands. Mycroft, is just such an addictive character. Ellie writes him so well. I have a fictional crush on him. She gives him highs and she gives him his lows.



He might need to just ... crash and burn a bit before he’s ready to accept support.

He has a tendency to be quite theatrical with his passionate dialogue.

“This is all you get, Rachel -- a pile of fucking debris. The rest of me is just ...smoke.”


But, in the next breath he can be quite the lad.

“Please don’t smoke that in my car,” Walsh says firmly. Actual proof that he sometimes checks the rear-view mirror.

“It’s a rental,” Mycroft complains.

“I’m not renting these lungs. They’re mine.”

I tap my own chest between the zipper teeth. “And these are mine.”

“The boobs?” Mycroft gives my chest an appraising look. “Well, they’re certainly not fake.”

“Mycroft, stop talking.” Walsh says.



There was danger.

Smackdowns!!!


“Watts.” His whole face relaxes when he sees me. He grins. “Have you been having fun without me?”


Smexi YA moments. * waggles eyebrows *


“Shall we try this again?” Mycroft slides his hands around my waist as I turn.

“Yes.” I grin. “Without the crashing this time.”

“Right. No bump and grind. Slow dancing.” Mycroft pushes gently until my back hits the wall. His eyes flare as he leans in. "Got a bit carried away before, sorry. You’re here.”

“I’m here.” I nod and smile.

“Inside my room.” His lips turn up delightfully.

“Uh-huh.”



Ellie did turn the heat up quite a bit with the smexi.

What would it be like with his shirt off, the two of us pressed up against the wall near his bed... What if it was deeper, stronger...

In that instant, I want to know what it would be like.

Deeper. Stronger.

I push him back, yank my T-shirt up over my head.

Mycroft’s blue eyes light with a high, serious burn. He arches and strips off his own T-shirt.



See, now, if you wanna know more, you have to get the book.

But!!

All is not smooth sailing.


This was not that. I don’t know what it was. It had a quality about it... A finality.

It’s rattled me to the core. I stand there, staring at the cracks in the hallway paintwork, completely shell-shocked.


I was rattled too. I was spluttering.

My breath catches in my throat. I can’t knock. I can’t break this spell. This boy who makes my heart lose rhythm, whose hands have touched my skin, whose mind is bright as diamond. This boy who cannot let go, whose past is buried in the ground, in another country...


I love me some Pickup. He's really grown on me.

Detective Senior Sergeant Vincent Pickup, of St. Kilda Road Police Headquarters, Homicide Division, looks like a ginger tomcat that was dumped in a hessian sack and thrown in the river, before clawing its way out and drying on the bank.

He’s wearing what appears to be the exact same suit he had on the last three times I saw him, possibly with the same shirt. His nose and cheeks are a knobbled, pockmarked mass and his ranga hair has been flattened with the palm of his hand.

Pickup’s eyes, though, are steady, like pale blue chips off an Arctic glacier. Right now, he’s got them squarely focused on me.




I just reread my review for Every Breath and Ellie has definitely stepped it up. She made this a brilliant five star read for me, because she made it believable that these two kids could pull off what they did in this book. My love for Watts and Mycroft has only grown.

I have Watcroft love or Mywatts. :D

Man, I am excited for everybody to read Every Word. Like, uber excited. Ellie  brought the party to London, she gave them chaperones, so to speak, not that these two used them a lot, but it made how the plot unfolded believable and highly exciting. I was flipping the pages. I was reading until 2.00am. I didn’t want to put the book down.

Mike, Rachel’s brother was a really cool guy in this book. He really has grown on me.

Ellie really cemented these two kids and their abilities as crime solvers. They are only seventeen, and you do tend to forget that when reading. I think to a certain extent Ellie has listened to the readers reviews for, Every Breath.  She totally brought an exciting, believable adventure, that really did have me wanting to be Watts and have a bit of a snog with Mycroft. It brought back all that brilliant escapism of my youth. I just want to be Watts. She rolls her sleeves up, she is tough, she is there for Mycroft.

The villain, was a darn good villain. Ellie meant business with this villain. Oh, yeah! 

Ouch!

I so could see this as a tv series. 

I can't stop talking about Mycroft!

Mycroft is such an interesting, complex guy who we certainly discover more about in this book, with more seeds dropped. Mycroft is not your normal lead guy, he is different, and I so love him for it.

He is cool, without trying to be cool.

Rachel Watts aka Watts is a really great female lead. I loved her whole thought process when it came to Mycroft. They simply work well together. It may not always be easy with Mycroft, but Watts is always loyal and dependable. 

True to Every Breath, Mycroft is the knight in a shining hoodie when it counts.

I really didn’t want this book to end. It was a non stop ride. Strap yourself in for the emotional. The smexi and the peril.

Oh and there are some pretty hot kisses too.

Double thumbs up for Every Word.

Hell. Yeah!

I'm rather bouncy for Every Move # 3 releases March 2015.

I could so read a pile of books in this series, but Every Move is the conclusion. 

* sad face * 



Michelle



GIVEAWAY 


The lovely Allen & Unwin are donating
 1 x paperback of Every Word

For me to giveaway.

You will want to win this!!

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Aussie Residents Only

Publisher is posting the prize

Leave comment, and email addy or twitter or facebook so I can contact winner, easily.

Answer Q: What was the last book you read by an Australian author?

Go like Ellie's Facebook page HERE


STARTS NOW

ENDS 12TH JUNE 2014


ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Ellie Marney was born in Brisbane, and has lived in Indonesia, Singapore and India. Now she writes, teaches, talks about kid’s literature at libraries and schools, and gardens when she can, while living in a country idyll (actually a very messy wooden house on ten acres with a dog and lots of chickens) near Castlemaine, in north-central Victoria. Her partner and four sons still love her even though she often forgets things and lets the housework go. Ellie’s short stories for adults have won awards and been published in various anthologies. Every Breath is her first novel for young adults.



Tuesday, April 8, 2014

TALKING BOOKS TUESDAY # 39 - 8TH APRIL 2014 - VLOG

TALKING BOOKS TUESDAY # 39

with

Michelle

8th APRIL 2014





CHATTED ABOUT:

Four Seconds To Lose - K.A. Tucker
Maybe Someday - Colleen Hoover
The Year of The Rat - Clare Furniss

Sea of Shadows - Kelley Armstrong
Long Live The Queen - Kate Locke
The King - J.R. Ward
The Geography of You & Me - Jennifer E. Smith
Dreams Of Gods & Monsters - Laini Taylor

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green
While We Run - Karen Healey

Temptation - K.M. Golland
Time Will Tell - Fiona McCallum
From The Feet Up - Tanya Saad
The Forever Song - Julie Kagawa
Flying - Megan Hart
Burning Dawn - Gena Showalter

Tortured Soul - Kirsty Dallas
Quintessentially Q - Pepper Winters
Lick - Kylie Scott
You Can Call Me Miranda - TJ Hamilton
Bomb - J.A. Huss
Fighting Redemption - Kate McCarthy
Breeze of Life - Kirsty Dallas
Bend - Anthology Erotica Consortium
Nash - Jay Crownover

HAPPY READING EVERYONE!!

Michelle

Sunday, April 6, 2014

BOUGHT BORROWED & BAGGED # 4 - MAILBOX 2014 & THE SUNDAY POST # 4 - 6TH APRIL 2014

BOUGHT BORROWED & BAGGED # 4

6TH APRIL 2014



My matey over at TALK SUPE has a weekly meme which you can join where you show what you have got to read or you may have won. I decided for 2014 I shall join in and plop myself on the linky. 

Maybe not every week, depends if I have anything to show.

BB& B is in homage to Barron's Books & Baubles from Karen Marie Moning's - Fever series.




Ok, so I also decided to visit Kimba over at Caffeinated Book Reviewer  and plop onto her linky too. She has the Sunday Post.

So without further ado, here is what landed in my mailbox, I got from the library or my kindle or I won or I bought.






BIG THANK YOU!!
FROM PUBLISHERS:

HARLEQUIN AUST

Time Will Tell by Fiona McCallum
From The Feet Up by Tanya Saad
Temptation by K.M. Golland

SIMON & SCHUSTER AUST

Take A Chance by Abbi Glines
Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
Four Seconds To Lose by K.A. Tucker

HACHETTE AUST

Dreams Of Gods And Monsters by Laini Taylor
The King by J.R. Ward - My review HERE
The Geography Of You And Me by Jennifer E. Smith
Sea Of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
Long Live The Queen by Kate Locke


BLOOMSBURY AUST

Cured by Bethany Wiggins


ALLEN & UNWIN

While We Run by Karen Healey


I BOUGHT 

A gift for my hubby

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green


GIFTED TO ME FROM J.A. HUSS

Signed Copy Bomb by J.A. Huss
& Signed Swag


GIFTED TO ME 
 INDIE DOWN UNDER AUTHOR  EVENT
GOLD COAST - 22nd MARCH 2014

From: T.J. Hamilton -  Signed Copy
You Can Call Me Miranda - Novella

From: Kirsty Dallas - Signed Copy
Tortured Soul - Mercy's Angel's # 3


I BOUGHT FROM AUTHORS AT 
INDIE AUTHOR DOWN UNDER EVENT:

2 Copies signed - Breeze Of Life by Kirsty Dallas
( One is for my friends birthday )
Signed Copy - Quintessentially Q by Pepper Winters
Signed Copy - Lick by Kylie Scott
Signed Copy - Fighting Redemption by Kate McCarthy


All from Indie Author Down Under Event
2 Swag Packs - Kylie Scott



DIGITAL COPIES FOR REVIEW:

Caged by Lisa Edward - Author
Number Thirteen by Bella Jewel - Author
Guns by J.A. Huss - Author
Play by Kylie Scott - Author
The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater - Author
Fury by Charlotte McConaghy - Momentum Books
Hunter by Night - Elisabeth Staab - Author
Bound By Lies by Hannah Peach - Author
The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan - Author


That just about wraps up all my goodies for the last
 three weeks.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE SOMETHING AWESOME 
TO READ

HAPPY READING!

Michelle




Tuesday, March 11, 2014

GUEST POST with AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR MICHAEL ADAMS - THE LAST TRILOGY - FLYING PIRANHAS, ANCIENT PRAWNS & SERIES SECRETS - ALLEN & UNWIN - YA APOCALPTIC

I would like to welcome Australian Author, Michael Adams to Novels On The Run. 

Michael is the author of the YA trilogy - The Last, published by Allen & Unwin in Australia. 

Michael has a written a guest post for you all to read that I totally dug, sit back and enjoy. An interview I had with Michael also HERE .



Michelle











Flying Piranhas, Ancient Prawns & Series Secrets



It’s The End Of The World But Not As We Know It

In The Last Girl I wanted to create an apocalypse unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Hence, the Snap, in which it’s sudden global telepathy that sees civilisation split apart at the seams. What terrifies me about the idea is that there’d be no defence. People couldn’t band together, raise an army against the zombies, blow up the approaching asteroid or build an ark to ride out the floodwaters. The problem’s inside them and it sets them against themselves and each other. Game over, mofos.

Media Blackout

The Snap also allowed me to do away with the usual scenes in which the media relay what scientists and generals and politicians have discovered about the threat as they tell the population how they’re trying to save the world. The Snap happens so fast there’s no time to get answers. The people in power are as vulnerable as the rest of the population. So we’re with Danby, seeing it from the ground up, with no authority left to explain anything or provide any salvation.

Extraordinary Ordinary People

I’m interested in writing about ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances that force them to do extraordinary things while remaining ordinary. That’s what’s heroic to me. So Danby isn’t the “Chosen One”. Similar stories to hers might be playing out in what remains of Chicago or Copenhagen, but what matters is her corner of the world, where she has to go from suburban teen to survivalist tactician. If she doesn’t act fast, she and her brother will die, but she also can’t just pick up a gun and start dropping one-liners like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Danby’s learning curve is a steep one and it takes a tremendous toll. That’s not me being all deep with a “war is hell” theme. It’s me trying to be realistic about how it’d be for any of us seeing most of our loved ones die – and then being forced to fight for our lives against a vastly superior enemy in a world reduced to rubble.

My Ancient Muse

I was given Pepe for my last birthday. He’s a little shrimp who died about 100 million years ago and got fossilised in sediment so he could wind up on desk duty as a constant reminder of the epic scale of time, life and death. “Don’t take it all so seriously,” this tiny prehistoric pizza topping seems to whisper from his ancient sandstone square whenever I wonder whether what I’m writing is any good. “It’ll probably turn out all right. I mean I thought my destiny was to be Plesiosaur poo – and look at how far I’ve come, baby!”

Everyone Has To Start Somewhere

I’ve got a poster on my study wall for the 1981 film Piranha II: The Flying Killers. I love it because it’s a hugely cheesy piece of movie art but also because at the bottom it reads: “Directed by James Cameron.” So that’s where the creator of The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic and Avatar got his start. Flying freaking piranhas. Who knows what’s leading where?

Think Inside The Box

As much as I love books and film, my major inspiration in the past few years has been… television. More specifically: Breaking Bad and now True Detective. These shows are from writers whose visions feel as much like genre entertainments as they do literary fiction. While we’re intrigued by their premises, what really hooks us are the complexities of character, story and theme. This is what I’ve tried to do in The Last Girl and The Last Shot – create a series that rockets along as an action adventure whose realistic characters face unpredictable events that cause them and us to consider very big questions.

But Don’t Think Inside This Box

Just as I take inspiration from awesome TV, I also look to The Walking Dead as a constant source of inspiration for what not to do. It’s populated by characters that almost always choose the most stupid course of action imaginable – and then wonder things turn out so predictably terrible for them. For example, in a world where one zombie bite can turn you into the most abominable creature possible, why would you get around in singlets and shorts rather than, say, mechanics overalls and body armour? Just freakin’ sayin’. I hate it. And yet I watch every week.

Cluetopia

What I love about Breaking Bad and True Detective (and what you’ll never find in Walking Dead) is that they give attentive viewers a lot to obsess over when it comes to clues pointing to the ultimate outcome. The shows encourage and reward reflection and analysis. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy that from a medium we’ve been brought up to think of as disposable.

I’ve seeded a layer of clues into The Last Girl and The Last Shot. Some shed light on character and others predict events. Some do both. For instance, Jack tells Danby he was singing The End by The Doors when the Snap happened. Okay, so the title of the song’s obvious. But if you know the track, you know it’s the sort of song a brooding douche like Jack would embrace – and the incredibly menacing tone it sets. Then there are also lyrics that describe a landscape where all the children are insane, where a killer wakes before dawn, rides the king’s highway west and wants to murder his father. That’s literally the post-Snap environment and Jack, who, after busking in the first light of day, travels west on Parramatta Road (which was built under mad King George III) in order to do something pretty bad to his dear old dad. The song’s also associated with Apocalypse Now, which was based on Heart Of Darkness, both of which also permeate the series, from helicopter attacks to taking boats upriver. There are a lot of other references like that - some are more obvious, Some are buried so deep I’d be surprised if anyone ever digs them up. You don’t need to get any of them to understand the story and character but it’s possible to “unlock” the books by investigating them. And a few even point to real-world theories about how something like the Snap might happen.


About Author


Michael Adams has worked as writer and editor for newspapers, magazines, websites and television. He presently contributes to YEN, Rolling Stone, Empire and Men's Style.

Michael is the author of two non-fiction books: Showgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies, a memoir about a year spent watching bad movies, and Shining Lights, which profiled Australian Oscar winners. He lives in the Blue Mountains with his partner and their daughter.