GIVEAWAY - 2 X PAPERBACKS OF NETFLIX EDITION OF CITY OF BONES/ SHADOWHUNTERS - WALKER BOOKS

GIVEAWAY

The lovely people at Walker Books Australia are giving TWO lucky readers a chance to nab a Paperback Copy each of 

City Of Bones Netflix Edition of Shadowhunters.

Now I have been a fan since 2009 when I was wandering around Big W and spotted The Hunger Games and City Of Bones, City Of Ashes and City Of Glass sitting upon their shelves.

I had been told about The Hunger Games and that is why I was looking at the books in Big W, but, these other 3 books caught my attention.

I was compelled to buy those TMI books that day even though I had never heard of them.

Then I started reading City Of Bones.

I was hooked.

Then I started the blog up down the track and kept on reviewing Cassandra's books.

I flew to Melbourne to meet her.

Now the TV show is a weeeee * cough * bit different to the original tales, but I am rather addicted to watching it.

I chat with a friend and we have eyes for Alec.

Gotta admit the lad has beautiful eyes.

So now we wait patiently for more from Netflix and more Clary, Jace, Alec and the gang.

But what you can do now is have a chance to win one of the paperbacks.

1. Comment below with your twitter handle

( So I can notify winners ) 

2. Follow NOTR @novelsontherun 

3. Tweet : Win a paperback of Netflix Edition Shadowhunters @novelsontherun

4. Follow WalkerBooksAus 

Giveaway open until midnight 8th May

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY

Walker Books will kindly post out to the winners. 

Too Easy.

Good Luck!

Michelle

All The Written Worlds	Tuesday 26 April
Aus Library	Wednesday 27 April
Books for a Delicate Eternity	Thursday 28 April
Confessions from Romaholics	Friday 29 April
Booknerdigans	Saturday 30 April
Diva Book Nerd	Monday 2 May
Genie in a Book	Tuesday 3 May
Inside My Worlds	Wednesday 4 May
Novels on the Run	Thursday 5 May

Please note : Check their FB page and/or Web Page for postings.

FREAKIN' AWESOME GIVEAWAY - FULL SET OF CASSANDRA CLARE THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS PAPERBACKS - WALKER BOOKS

FREAKIN' AWESOME GIVEAWAY

AUSSIE RESIDENTS ONLY!

THE LOVELY PEOPLE AT WALKER BOOKS AUSTRALIA ARE KINDLY GIVING ONE READER THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN

FULL SET OF :

THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS

REBRANDED 

PAPERBACKS

6 BOOKS!!!

SERIOUSLY DUDES!

I WANT TO ENTER!!!!

I freakin' adore this series.

What do you need to do to enter?

Be living in Australia

Like their Walker Books FB page

Follow Novels On The Run's twitter page

In comments state your twitter handle and your facebook name.

This is a brilliant prize so I will be checking up on the name drawn to see you have entered correctly.

Walker Books will be posting the prize to the winner.

GIVEAWAY OPEN UNTIL 20TH FEBRUARY

Go forth and enter

Round of applause for Walker Books for 

donating such a brilliant prize.

Michelle

So preettty

BOOK REVIEW - CLOCKWORK PRINCESS by CASSANDRA CLARE - THE INFERNAL DEVICES #3 - WALKER BOOKS - YA PARANORMAL ROMANCE

By: Cassandra Clare

Published By: Walker Books

Released: Available Now

Details: Paperback, 568 Pages

RATING: 5 EPILOGUE STARS!!

Blurb: Goodreads

Tessa Gray should be happy—aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

“There are so many worse things than death,” he said. 

“Not to be loved or not to be able to love: that is worse.” 

I held off reading the last book in this trilogy purely because I didn’t want it to end. It ended whether I read it or not. 

I finished the book this morning crying my silent tears next to my sleeping husband for fear of waking him up and having to explain myself, which I would not have been able to articulate.

I admit I cried during the book and the epilogue undid me completely.

For me it is the best epilogue I have read to date. It contained so much emotion and I was completely satisfied, if not a little shocked with what I read. I am so glad I didn’t read any spoilers about the epilogue and I do hope reviewers don’t spoil for others.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said about Clockwork Princess? Cassandra Clare is such a widely accepted author around the world, her story telling is addictive. 

I love Will and I love Jem and what Cassandra did to the readers in this last instalment was both fitting and right. 

Will and Jem have such a beautiful friendship and I was crushed reading this story, such a beautifully told last book. From the start, Jem’s illness was not something he wanted sympathy for.

“No,” Jem said softly. He drew his jacket aside and took a knife from the belt at his waist. “Don’t be ordinary like that. Don’t say you’re sorry. Say you’ll train me.” 

Jem was sitting up straight, his eyes blazing. “There is more to living than not dying,” he said. “Look at the way you live, Will. You burn as bright as a star.” 

Jem looked at him with some wonder. “ Just when I think I know you perfectly, you surprise me again. Yes, I will free you.” 

I am steering clear of mentioning any story line. I simply loved Will and Jem’s touching moments.

“All my life, since I came to the Institute, you were the mirror to my soul. I saw the good in me in you. In your eyes alone I found grace. When you are gone from me, who will see me like that?” 

I did not see that epilogue coming and I LOVE how Cassandra finished off this trilogy, it was such a beautiful, sad and shocking epilogue, it twisted me up and brought deep sadness for the trilogy’s ending.

A truly fitting ending to The Infernal Devices trilogy that had me missing all the characters greatly the second I read the last words on the page, and yet my mind couldn’t help wandering towards the future.

I am even more excited to know I can read more about that epilogue on Cassandra’s page. 

After The Bridge can be found HERE

Michelle

GIVEAWAY - 3 PAPERBACKS & 2 X SIGNED BOOKPLATES - CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE by CASSANDRA CLARE - WALKER BOOKS - YA PARANORMAL/URBAN FANTASY

GIVEAWAY TIME

A big thank you to Walker Books Sydney , they have allowed me to giveaway 3 paperbacks of City Of Heavenly Fire for Aussie residents only. But read on I am looking after INTL peeps too.

I know!!!!

How freakin' awesome is that!

Pretty darn freakin' awesome.

Okay I will also do an International giveaway. I will add a signed bookplate by Cassandra Clare. It is from the Infernal Devices series. Suzi Midnight made them for me a couple years ago when I went and saw Cassandra Clare in Melbourne and Cassandra signed a pile of things for me.

Okay, I shall also throw one in with the Aussie giveaway too. 

So, 4 winners in Aussie giveaway = 3 books and 1 signed bookplate.

1 x winner in International = 1 signed bookplate.

Capiche!

Also if you are in Sydney you may want to attend this event. 

RELEASES : MAY 27TH 2014

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID.

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

GIVEAWAY ENTRY DETAILS

AUSSIE GIVEAWAY

4 winners

3 winners = 1 paperback each ( from Walker Books ) 
1 winner = 1 signed bookplate ( from me ) 
Refer image below

1. Be Aussie resident - Publisher is posting the books.

2. Leave your contact details, email addy or twitter or fb in comments.

3. Answer this Q : 

Which character is your fave in The Mortal Instruments and why?

4. Go like Walker Books fb page. 

Give me the number like you are in comments with your other details. e.g I was # 711.

5. Tweet this giveaway by hitting the T at the bottom of the actual posting.

You are now in with a chance.


STARTS NOW

FINISHES 22nd May 2014 -Midnight 

GOOD LUCK!!!



INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY

These are peel and stick bookplates with Clockwork Angel as the background image.
Suzi has like a clockwork frame around the cover image.

1 of these ONLY for International and 1 ONLY for Aussie giveaway.

I just carefully trim and post and then you peel and stick where you want it.

3 Easy Entries

INTERNATIONAL ONLY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TALKING BOOKS TUESDAY # 29 - 21ST MAY 2013 - VLOG

TALKING BOOKS TUESDAY # 29

with

Michelle

CHATTED ABOUT:


Off the library trolley .30c purchases
Obsession Untamed
Succubus In The City
Demon Bound
The Undead Nextdoor
Perfect Chemistry
Blood Ties - Darke Academy


Night Prince - Jeaniene Frost
KGI # 6 - Maya Banks
The Secret Of Ella and Micha - Jessica Sorensen
Triangles - Kimberly Ann Miller
Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare

Full Of Grace - Misty Provencher

HAPPY READING!

Michelle

INTERVIEW WITH ALISON CROGGON AUTHOR OF BLACK SPRING - AUSTRALIAN POET AND AUTHOR

Today on Novels On The Run, I would like to welcome Australian author and poet, Alison Croggon to the blog. She was kind enough to answer my  Q & A's. Without further ado, here is the interview.

Enjoy!

INTERVIEW with ALISON CROGGON

Michelle:   Could you please give me 10 Words that describe Alison Croggon the Poet.

Alison:  Gosh. I’m a lyric poet, which means that I’m really a frustrated singer. I like these words, from George Szirtes: “passion, intelligence and an intense moral honesty”. And playful, I hope. I like play.

Michelle:   Could you please give me 10 Words that describe Alison Croggon the author of fantasy fiction, if there is a difference?

Alison:  I hope the same words apply! But fantasy is longer, and involves story telling. Primarily, I hope to write beautiful stories, that will mean something to the people who read them. And perhaps make them cry (in a good way).

Michelle:   You are the acclaimed author of the fantasy quartet , The Books of Pellinor. For the YA readers and adults in the book world who may not have heard of this series, what is your non book blurb spiel you would in a paragraph say to a group of teenagers to convince them to read this series.

Alison:  Pellinor is my take on trad epic fantasy: the war between the Dark and the Light. It’s one story, across four volumes, which follows the adventures of Maerad, a damaged young girl who comes into her powers and who turns out to be crucial in the conflict against the Dark. It’s really a story about growing up in a threatened world, about discovering what friendship and love can mean, and how joy and sorrow are both deeply entwined. It has some big scenes – war and siege and terror and various battles – and of course, a lot of magic. I really enjoyed inventing a complex world, which traversed many different cultures and languages. I have the map on my desk right now, because I’m writing a prequel, and I’m sometimes a bit surprised I made it all up! Pellinor fans have told me they love it because the characters and the world are very real.

Michelle:   Do other genres of fiction interest you in YA to write about? What was the last YA book you read and couldn’t put down?

Alison:  Probably the last was Alan Garner’s new book, Boneland, which is the sequel to his two earlier books, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath, which I loved as a child. I found Boneland astonishing, beautiful and strange, but I’m not sure if it’s really a YA book! I’m an extremely omniverous reader, I’ll read almost anything. Another I enjoyed enormously recently was the NT writer Barry Jonsberg’s Being There, a very delicate and moving story about the relationship between a young girl and an old woman and the power of imagination.

Michelle:  Where were you, and what were you doing when the idea for Black Spring came to mind?

Alison:  I wish I could remember. It just popped into my head at some point, and then a little later I wrote the first three chapters and thought, well, that might make a book!

Michelle:  You are a highly respected poet having won the Anne Elder and Dame Mary Gilmore prizes for your book of poems, ‘This is the Stone.’ You write in many genres including criticism, theatre and prose and travel overseas to read your poetry.

With poetry, how does your mind choose something to write a poem about? The last poem you wrote, what were you doing when the idea came to you and you thought it should become a poem? I get intrigued with this art and its rules. I personally can wrap my head around Slam poetry. I have been quite enjoying it after being introduced to it through Colleen Hoovers, Slammed series ( YA genre) . I can write a book review using it, but to do what you do, I don’t think my brain is big enough or geared that way.


Alison:  Poems for me just occur. They always begin with a line and a rhythm, as if I’m hearing a kind of music in my head, and then it’s just about following that music until at some point it stops. Sometimes they just come line by line – I remember one happened while I was doing the washing up, and I had to keep interrupting it to write it down. Then I’ll read the poem through and try to work out what it is. I don’t think it’s about having a brain “big enough”. People are taught to read poetry as if it’s a kind of exam. It puts people off it, because they feel as if they somehow fail it. I hated it when I was taught poetry at school for that reason, although I read it all the time at home. You don’t have to “understand” what a poem is “saying”, so much as to feel what the poem is. Like music.

Michelle:  Black Spring is a dark gothic tale inspired by Wuthering Heights, this is your latest release YA book of fiction. You have written for theatre , books of poems and novels, are you drawn more to the darker side in writing or could you see yourself in the future writing a movie manuscript for a comedy or a lighter work of fiction?

Alison:  I think all my impulses to comedy come out on twitter. I am always making bad jokes! I suppose most of my writing emerges out of some feeling of emotional urgency, so there is usually a sense of darkness. Black Spring is rather darker than some of my other work, because of the nature of the story. In the Pellinor books there is a balance of comic lightness.

Michelle: Which author alive or dead would be a highlight of your career to meet, and why? 

Alison:  I would like to have dinner with Anton Chekhov, the playwright. I read his letters and fell in love with him. A lot of writers might be disappointing to meet, but he is funny and fascinating and, when he was a young man, rather dashing.

Michelle: What is one thing Alison Croggon would LOVE to do that does not involve reading or writing?

Alison:  I guess it’s a sign I need a holiday: the first thing that popped into my head is two weeks in a luxury hotel, with absolutely no plans and no deadlines. Perhaps in Paris, so I could get lost wandering the streets. Oh well. I suppose a girl can dream.

Michelle:  What is one lesson you have learnt from the publishing world?

Alison:  That making books is an enormous amount of work! I am always amazed at how much labour goes into a novel: not just my writing it, I mean, but the labour of the editors and designers. The book you end up reading with is the result of the hard work of a lot of people.



Thankyou Alison for your time, have a great day. 

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - BLACK SPRING by ALISON CROGGON - WALKER BOOKS

By: Alison Croggon

Published By: Walker Books

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback,287 Pages

Thankyou to Walker Books for the review copy.

RATING: 3.75 TRAGIC STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

Inspired by Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, BLACK SPRING reimagines the passionate story in a fantasy 19th century society sustained by wizardry and the vengeance code of vendetta.

Anna spent her childhood with Damek and her volatile foster sister Lina, daughter of the Lord of the village. Lina has magical powers, and in this brutal patriarchal society women with magical powers are put to death as babies. Lina’s father, however, refuses to kill her but when vendetta explodes in their village and Lina’s father dies, their lives are changed forever. Their new guardian Masko sends Anna away and reduces Lina to the status of a servant. Damek—mad with love for Lina—attempts to murder Masko, then vanishes for several years. Anna comes home five years later to find Lina about to marry a pleasant young farmer, and witnesses Damek’s vengeful return and its catastrophic consequences.

Passionate, atmospheric and haunting, BLACK SPRING will stay with readers long after they turn the final page.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

“There is luck in being born ordinary.” 

Black Spring is inspired by Wuthering Heights. I have not read any of the classics, yes, I know that may be a tragedy in itself.

Alison’s story within, is of darkness, passion, twisted love, lust, betrayal and vendetta’s, told from three pov’s, Hammel, Anna and Lina’s . Hammel, is more of a narrator at the start.

The story is set in Elbasa, the Red House. These walls have seen a lot.

I was not sure what I was going to find within these pages but Alison took me to several places. The start of the book with Grosz’s warning’s, had me thinking Hammel was going to be getting himself into a whole lot of trouble.....but......

I would be honest and say I found the later half of the book stronger.

Damek and Lina are the major tragedy of this story. There are more, being the vendetta’s.

A vendetta, one man murdered, the relative of the murdered man ,after one month can kill, during daylight hours the one who killed his relative. Then that poor man who by law had to kill the murderer, becomes a murderer and the relative of the original murderer ,male only, after one month can at anytime kill this poor sod. So what you have is a train wreck of villages males being killed until there are no more surviving relatives ( male only) that stemmed on both sides from the original murdered victim.

Lordy, I hope I got that right.

But, in this vendetta, there is also the Blood Tax that must be paid each time. Such a cruel and beyond harsh law, which by the way could be started, due to corruptness as King needs his Blood Tax. As you can imagine, being a male you don’t want to be either murdered or related in any shape or form to anything associated to this crime.

“Blood is blood: and in this country , blood is everything.” 

Harsh. Much.

There is a loop hole, but rarely anybody used it as you might as well take a bullet.

I liked Anna’s story she had to tell us. Hammel is really only there to listen. He gets himself in a pickle with a dog. Were his intentions ever served out?

Lina , her character brings out various emotions within the reader. The more you read, the more you have conflicting thoughts. Is she a witch? Is she a little crazy, blinded by love and her own safety?

Damek is the little boy we watch become a man. An almost, Shakespearean style love, that can only ever be tragic, emerges.

“I know you think me a monster. Maybe you always have,” he said. “But I tell you, I am not so inhuman. I wish I were. With all my soul, I wish I were.”

Damek’s world becomes Lina, he does not think about her position. Lina’s world becomes Damek. When somebody’s world gets taken away from them......as cruel as it may appear, what is healthier?

“Without you, the world is a desert of thirst, with no spring anywhere. Without you, I have no soul, no life. Don’t you understand?”


“Damek is like a rock beneath my feet - I cannot escape him, anymore than I could escape my own soul.” 

Then there is Tibor, fate crossed his path to bring a cruelty to a man that should have been given better in life.

The Wizard Ezra, he is one powerful dude you do not want to mess with. He will mess with you if it suits his needs. You will not win.

This is a tragic tale that I enjoyed reading. Alison does paint a very haunted love affair. I would definitely recommend it to the theater enthusiast and lover of classic tales. For a YA genre book, it is a heavy dark read with no escape of complete happiness for its characters.

Except maybe for...........

Michelle

M & M's MARVELOUS MONDAY MAILBOX # 15 - 29TH OCTOBER 2012

MMMMM...... It's time for
M & M's Marvelous Monday Mailbox , our delicious sweet reads Michelle & Marissa have received to devour.

WEEK ENDING 29TH OCTOBER 2012

Michelle's MmMmm...

NETGALLEY/EDELWEISS

YA Genre

Aussie Author - Harbinger - Peta Crake - Destiny Romance
Scent of Magic - Maria V Snyder - Harlequin Teen
The New Kid - Temple Mathews - Teen Libris
The Rising - Temple Mathews - No longer on NG

ADULT Genre

Release Me - J Kenner - Bantam
Thoughtless - S.C. Stephens - Self Published
The Angel - Tiffany Reisz - Harlequin
The Prince - Tiffany Reisz - Harlequin

LIBRARY

Deliver Me From Darkness - Tes Hilaire - Source Books


FROM PUBLISHERS & AUTHORS

Thankyou to:

Simon & Schuster - Finale - Wooot!! - Becca Fitzpatrick
Walker Books - A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
Aussie Author Lee Chambers - The Pineville Heist


HAPPY READING EVERYONE!

Michelle

TALKING BOOKS TUESDAY # 10 - NOVELS ON THE RUN - 16TH OCTOBER 2012

TALKING BOOKS TUESDAY # 10

16th OCTOBER 2012

CHATTED ABOUT:

Rachel Caine - Morganville Vampires Series

Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

Black Springs by Alison Croggon

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

I made Lattes for a God by Wendy Harmer

Dear Dork - Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell

The Diviners by Libba Bray - Badass Thick Book!!!

Study Series by Maria V Snyder



Michelle

RANDOM POSTING # 64 - BOOK TRAILERS - CITY OF LOST SOULS, THE FORSAKEN, THE GOLDEN LILY, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, GONE, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH,

This one is really cool I love how dark it is!!
For a Cassandra Clare trailer


CITY OF LOST SOULS
by CASSANDRA CLARE

THE FORSAKEN

by LISA M STASSE

THE GOLDEN LILY

BLOODLINES # 2

by RICHELLE MEAD

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK

by NEIL GAIMAN

GONE

by MICHAEL GRANT

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH
BY CARRIE RYAN

THESE ARE JUST SOME BOOK TRAILERS I THOUGHT WERE QUITE COOL TO WATCH.

I have read City Of Lost Souls and loved it, review coming. The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy is an awesome read. Very on your seat reading. Grip that book and hang on, loved them all!

Michelle

BOOK COVER RELEASE - CLOCKWORK PRINCESS by CASSANDRA CLARE - THE INFERNAL DEVICES # 3

In Clockwork Princess, Tessa and her companions travel all over the world as they race to stop the clockwork army before it’s too late. As Jem’s health worsens alarmingly and his friends search desperately for a cure, can Tessa choose between the two boys she loves—even if it means never seeing the other one again?

Ok, somebody slap me, I wake up and I see the cover is released. I love the amount of work that goes into Cassandra's book covers. I was only looking yesterday at my countdown widget and wishing the days away. I knew it was being released in July and here it is.

Tessa is beautiful. Just like I imagined her. What do you guys think?

Due for release March 19th 2013......so long to wait......

Simon & Schuster and Walker Books ( Aust) .

Michelle

BLOG TOUR # 14 - FORGET ME NOT - GUEST POST WITH AUTHOR SUE LAWSON

I would like to welcome author Sue Lawson to Novels On The Run and thank her for taking the time to write this wonderful guest post.

Hi Michelle. Thank you for hosting the Forget Me Not Blog Tour. It’s terrific to visit ‘Novels On The Run’, and I love your question! 

The importance of critique partners you can trust.

Author critique partners vs family member/friends 

Writing can be a lonely business, as the bulk of it is done on my own at the computer. If you’re not careful, you can become isolated and out of touch. I’m incredibly lucky as I’m surrounded by people who support, encourage and help develop my writing and are always there if I need an ear.  

As much as I love my friends and extended family, I don’t tend to discuss my work, especially while I am writing, unless I am quizzing them about something that falls within their area of expertise. For example when I needed advice about a hospital or medical scene, I talk to my sister who is a nurse, or if it’s an artistic inquiry, I seek out my girlfriend who is an artist.  

When it comes to the nuts and bolts of writing – character, plot, grammar etc, I turn to my husband, my critique group and my editors. 

My husband is a journo and former editor of a newspaper, so his skill is immense and invaluable. While I am writing, he’s a patient and invaluable ear when I carry on about plot issues and bits I am excited. This talking process helps me clarify what I am trying to say. I used to pick my daughter’s brain too, but she’s doing VCE and has enough on her plate without me going on about what a character or another has done.  My husband is also the first to read my draft and picks up mistakes, holes and ‘issues’ I’ve missed. This helps make sure my drafts are as clean as possible when I send them to my editor. 

While my husband and my daughter are an incredible support, I don’t rely on them totally. I’m very lucky to have wonderful friends who are also talented writers. We listen, laugh and discuss our work, critiquing, supporting, rebuilding and problem solving. My books wouldn’t anything like they are if it wasn’t for these three friends. And clearly from the photo, we play as well! 

My final most trusted advice comes from my incredible editors. I trust my editor and publisher implicitly and welcome their feedback. Their goal, like mine, is to make the book the very best it can be. My editors have a way of finding within the story and me things I didn’t think I could do. 

For me, the key to receiving feedback is to trust the person who offers it and to remember, especially when the feedback is tough, that it is an invaluable gift that only serves to make my story better, and at the same time develop my skills as a writer.

Thankyou Sue!!!

Here is my review of FORGET ME NOT

GOODREADS

SUE LAWSON'S WEB SITE

FACEBOOK

BOOK REVIEW - FORGET ME NOT - The story of One Family's Voyage On The Titanic by SUE LAWSON

By: Sue Lawson

Published By: Walker Books, Black Dog Books

Released : Available Now

Details : Paperback , 232 Pages

Thankyou to Walker Books Australia for this review copy.

RATING : 4.5 SAD STARS!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

The story of one family's voyage on the Titanic.

"I am filled with the worst feeling. Everyone says it is the safest, most luxurious ship in the world, but something about it is extremely unsettling."

Evelyn Gilmore does not share her brother Thomas’s excitement about travelling on the maiden voyage of the luxurious Titanic.

For Evelyn the ship is taking her away from everything she knows and loves. For Thomas it is taking him to his new life.

How could they know what the trip would bring?

Forget me not, forget me never

‘Til yonder sun shall set forever

BOOK REVIEW:

I am going to come straight out and say this book had me blubbering.

As a rule I have stayed away from anything to do with the Titanic as it just isn’t a happy ending. Human error and ego , made a lot of people lose their lives...... and an iceberg . I just haven’t, to this day been able to watch Titanic the movie by James Cameron. It just makes me too sad.

Walker Books contacted me and asked if I would be interested in joining their blog tour.

Sure! 

Get the truck load of Kleenex ready......

Sue wrote her tale of the Gilmore family setting sail for New York , with a lot of emotion.

The story is told from Evelyn aka Eve , and Thomas her brother’s POV’s.

Eve has bad dreams and is quite fretful of the journey, where Thomas appears to be enjoying the experience.

They each take an alternate chapter and you really get to know them...hence my blubberfest.

Five year old Bea, their little sister is the reason for the voyage to a better climate ,as her little lungs are diseased. Teddy and Bea are a team. Oh , that teddy bear......it tears me up now.

Eve is upset about leaving her friends behind and the worry of the whole voyage. Her mother needed a ‘stinky dead fish slap’ from me the way she talks to Eve....but then you begin to understand a bit of her mother’s behaviour.

A boy catches Eve’s eye by the name of Hugh and we are introduced to some of the Worthington family throughout this story.

Hugh is a bit of a lad and nominates himself as tour guide of the Titanic . I really enjoyed Hugh’s character, he is a fun character who likes to bend the rules.

Sue has taken the reader on a tour via her characters, who mischievously / boldly entered First Class , peeked in the engine room where the ‘black gang’ were hard at work, dip your toe in at the swimming pool, went to the Barber for souvenirs , the hospital and met the staff and generally got us to ‘feel’ the mood of the Titanic and it’s passengers and crew........ready to make me blubber later on. Complete with music and dancing.

The book is broken up into days, just to make me ‘feel’ that much closer to the inevitable blubberfest.

I loved the autograph entries at Eve’s titled chapters. I felt like I was turning the pages of her autograph book. Everybody she asked was putting a little poetry into her pages.

I have read ‘Fateful’ by Claudia Gray, and this is my only other book that weaves the Titanic into the story. I loved what Sue did with her tale of the Titanic and I read it in one sitting.

The thing that I question myself when reading , is, my boys, my hubby, how could I leave them behind? As a mum, it is too hard to think about, but these people, these families had to separate or in some cases chose to stay together and in other cases their class on the ship decided their fate.

Very sad.

The one thing that broke my heart was her stats at the end of the book, showing the different classes and the number of women , children , men,  in each class and crew that survived and were lost, just heart breaking stats.

Sue respectfully weaves real passengers/crew’s names into the storyline....again......* snot fest for me *

It is sad and emotional in parts , but that is the disaster of the Titanic. Although this read is about a fictional family and what comes to pass, the real story is not fictional.

I highly recommend this book, Sue wrote it beautifully . 

100 Years since the Titanic sunk, April 15th 2012

I’ll be thinking of all those lost lives. 

Michelle