REVIEW || The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

***please note, this review may not be spoiler free***

The Loney is one of those books that just intrigues you. It's cropped up out of nowhere, and when you read the first few pages, you cant help but wonder if it's for you. Then suddenly, you're halfway through, not knowing how or when this happened, yet still wanting more.

Or at least it was for me.

The Loney is an isolated retreat/shrine that is visited by the same family and some of their fellow worshippers year in, year out. This year is the first year they have visited The Loney with their new priest, Father Bernard. Between the struggles of coming to terms with Father Bernard not being Father Wilfred (the previous priest), and boredom setting in,and tempers fraying, things are not all that they seem.

Years later, Hanny is a grown man who no longer depends on his brother. But then, a child's body is discovered..

I've finally finished this. Yes, it was something that gripped me, and I didn't quite know how, yet it still took me some time to get through. In all honesty, I felt that it took a LOT of time to get to the point.

The book is set out in a reflective manner, which we get to understand as being result of going through Counselling and the discovery of a body on an isolated beach. This isolated beach just happens to be in the same area as the sacred shrine the family would visit year after year. The year we get to hear about however, is the same year where said body gets dumped, with the story being recalled in light of its discovery.

Whilst I enjoyed the final chapter, and sevral chapters here and there, I felt the book was lacking in something. Most likely, it was lacking in pace. There was one chapter which I felt was completely unnecessary toward the end of the book, which I feel could have easily been summarized in a conversation between the main character and the priest or his counsellor. Other than that, the interest in the other characters' perceptions and experiences is really what kept me captivated throughout the book.

The book does have a very religious-heavy theme throughout, which should be a given considering they're visitng a sacred shrine. However, this shouldn't put you off. At times, it did get a little overwhelming, but I personally believe that this is down to where the narrative was going, and was essential for the character development.

Overall, I'm rating this book 3 out of 5 stars. Some parts of it where enjoyable, whereas others bored and frustrated me, making me think 3 out of 5 is a fair decision.

Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments so we can discuss it!

REBECCA RECOMMENDS: eARCS

Everyone who reviews books knows that there are means and methods to reading ARC books. As in, books that are given to reviewers and bloggers before or around publication date in order to boost their profiles on social media. So, how does a blogger get around to gaining eARCS?

There are a number of methods to getting to this point in your blog. Firstly, you need to make sure you have a blog with book content, reviewing or showing hauls. Posting frequently also helps, although this is not completely essential, as in some cases you can post reviews on websites such as Goodreads or NetGalley (a website I'll be telling you about in a moment).

How can a beginner blogger start reviewing unreleased titles?

Your best place to start is most probably going to be NetGalley. This website is a godsend for bloggers and reviewers alike. Signing up is completely free, and although they prefer you to have a blog or somewhere you post reviews, it isn't actually essential, which is a bonus for those just starting out. This is because they ask for your feedback on the book after giving it a rating, as well as asking you to answer a couple of questions before confirming you've read a book and submitting the piece. Once you read and review a book, it gets added to your 'Feedback to Approval Ratio'. This ratio is preferred to be over 85% by those at NetGalley, which means that the more you are approved for, the lower your ratio actually becomes. However, this ratio increases with the more books you read and review, meaning you're also more likely to be approved for books too! If you're reading and reviewing a load of books from NetGalley, and they all just happen to be from a particular publisher, you may be added to an Auto-Approval list, meaning that from that point, if you request a book by that publisher, you will receive that book almost instantly into your downloads.

NetGalley has a range of books for review, so there usually is always something for everyone. Whilst this is just an introduction to NetGalley, Elizabeth over at The Owlery has created a great video guide to getting to know NetGalley a little bit better, which can be found here.

Is there anything other than NetGalley?

Yes. There's other websites available, and sadly, I haven't tried them, due to the fact that I really got on well with NetGalley. One website is Edelweiss, and although I haven't looked at it, I know a few others who have tried this website an do enjoy using it. E;lizabeth has also looked at this in one of her videos, again, really helpful, which can be found here!

Another option is entering giveaways. Authors (particularly on Twitter), often host giveaways to win a copy of their newest releases. Yes it means that you're one of x amount of people entering, but hey ho, it feels great to enter and then even win a competition!

 My final recommendation is following authors or agents on Twitter/Instagram/any social media. This is because they tend to advertise if they are looking for people to review authors work. For example, I was in contact with an agent who supplied me with a synopsis and cover of an upcoming book, and asked if I would be interested in a copy to review. From that, other authors and agents will get in touch with you, particularly if you're also quite active on social media.


So there we go, if you have any questions, or tips yourself, let me know down below!

Readathons - Where Do I Stand?

The majority of people who blog about books or partake in 'BookTube', will have participated in a readathon at least once. Or have heard of readathons at the very least. There are so many out and about in the world of book reviewing (be it blog, video or tweets), that I thought I would have my own little say on them, because why not ey?

Readathons, for those who don't know, are periods of time where you read books following a certain theme (usually). For example, some people do an author readathon, where they read ONLY that author (I'm currently doing that myself partially with Stephen King books). Others will do readathons with common themes such as dystopian, YA (Young Adult), LGBT, mental illness, disability, to name but a few. This allows the reader to choose their own books by their own preferred authors on a topic they all have in common. There are also two more types of readathon: a free-style one, and a slightly-structured-but-not-strict one. For a free-style readathon, the participants read whatever the heck they want, and this tends to be in readathons such as Deweys 24-hour readathon (I suggest looking up Little Book Owl on YouTube for more info, found here). For this readathon in particular, you have 24 hours to read whatever you want. The pieces you read can be graphic novels, manga, fiction, non-fiction, long, short - you get the picture. The choice is yours. And the best bit? It's usually organised to suit your time zone, for example from 2am April 3rd to 2am April 4th. This tends to work best for people with busy schedules who need to just relax for a day or two, and it's particularly helpful if arranged for a weekend! For our slightly-structured-but-not-strict-one, I've chosen RYBSAT as an example. RYBSAT stands for Read Your Book Shelf A Thon, and happens regularly around the year (videos can be found here). In this readathon, the rules are simple: pick a point on your bookshelf, and just read. Which is good, particularly if you pick a point on your shelf where there are a number of shorter books!

So, now we've explained the various types of readathons (I'd like to point out this is not an exclusive list, and there are a number of other readathons happening every single day which are great), what's my thoughts on them?

Well, I kinda, sorta, LOVE them. I love them so much, I've done a couple of my own. Granted, they haven't taken off as well as others, but I benefited from them, which is what counts really. For example, I'm currently doing the Season of Stephen King, where I'm just reading Stephen King books. BUT, as this is a lengthly readathon, I'm reading other items alongside it so I don't get bored. Which is very likely to happen.

For me, readathons are s beneficial to those taking part. They're excellent for those who are trying to hit their reading goals and are falling behind, or are good for a bit of a kick up the bum if you're feeling slumpish. Well, they're just fun in general to be honest!


So there we have it! My thoughts on readathons. Do you know of any readathons, or take part in some I haven't mentioned? Let me know down below so I can find out more!

REVIEW || Last Light by CJ Lyons

*** I was approached by the author with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts and opinions.***

In this novel, we follow Lucy, a former FBI agent who has been given the opportunity to lead an office-based task force solving crimes from the past. Which is great for Lucy really. During her FBI days, she and her family were targeted by a violent predator, leaving Lucy with a life-altering injury. However, when Lucy hears of the case her taskforce are trying to crack, she can't resist going back out onto the open road to try and crack the case. Along with her team, Lucy tries to solve the case of a murder from 29 years prior, which sees her travel to rural Texas to discover who actually murdered Lily Martin and her family. As she and TK, a former Marine who struggles with her life transition from action to rural life, do the field work in Texas, not all is as it seems in Blackwell County, and the further the investigation develops, the more foul play arises.

*This review may contain spoilers*

I've been updating my status a lot on Goodreads as and when I find something incredibly interesting happening in the plot, which actually turns out to be the majority of the time! These updates can be found here (granted, they are short and snappy and trying to predict the killer but still, "called it!").

I don't know why I didn't pick this up sooner. It's fast-paced, action around every corner and has an average reading speed time of roughly 3 hours on Kindle. That's an afternoon. Not long at all! The book reminded me of a crime series episode (take your pick, an hour long, typical setup), which kept my attention well and could be paused at any time. It was so easy to pick back up again after setting down, that I had no concern over leaving it a few days just because I 'wasn't in the mood for reading' (it happens to the best of us).

***SPOILERS***

I adored the character development throughout the book, with perhaps the most surprising development coming from TK. I expected her to be a hard nut to crack, constantly fighting this imaginary battle in her head. However, when she met David, it was easily noticeable that she softened ever so slightly. He taught her to ease up a little and not take things so serious, got her to unwind at the bar, although it did end in arrest! The fact that the novel went from being all about solving the crime to also solving TK's own personal crisis was a wonderful touch from the author also.

***SPOILERS END***

Overall, I'm going to give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. Watching character developments as the novel unfolded was extremely fascinating, and I found myself understanding and relating to almost every single character in one way or another - even the bad ones! An excellent start to what I hope will be a substantial crime thriller series!

REVIEW || Sweet Tooth: Volumes One and Two

I read these at my local library, taking roughly half an hour for them both. These were my first ever graphic novel reads, and I went in with high expectations. I don't know why, maybe because it's such a big craze at the moment in the BookTube community, but sadly, I was a little disappointed. I do believe though that this was down to my own personal extremely high expectations rather than anything else!

Sweet Tooth Volume One: Out of the Deep Woods

In this initial volume, we find ourselves following the story of Gus, who lives in the woods with his father. Gus' father tells him he must only stay in the woods, and never stray, as there are fires and very dangerous men on the other side of the fence. Oh, did I mention, Gus has deer ears and horns?

Before Gus was born, there was an illness epidemic that wiped out quite a high proportion of the population. Those that were left, and were lucky enough to go on to have children, did so. However, after this epidemic, every child that was born, was some sort of animal hybrid. Now, 8 or so years later, we find Gus living in the woods with his father, as his mother died giving birth to him, and there is a heavy bounty for those that manage to capture these hybrids. 

However, when Gus' father dies, he dares to brave the new world outside of the woods, where he comes across Jeppard. We first meet Jeppard as he saves Gus' life, and convinces him to go with him to a safe haven. With Gus looking up to Jeppard as a new form of father figure, what could go wrong?

*

I didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting too. The premise sounded amazing, and I had such high hopes, what with this being the first graphic novel of mine, that I think the expectations became too much of me. The story was good, and did set us up for the rest of the series, but I felt it lacked somewhat, somewhere along the line. I'm just not too sure where. 

I did feel for Gus though. He'd had such a sheltered life and didn't know where to begin after his fathers death, thus he just jumped on the first 'kind' person he met. Which ultimately led to his downfall. Overall I gave this graphic novel 3 stars.

***

Sweet Tooth Volume Two: In Captivity

The second installment picks up where the first left off. Good old reliable Jeppard is actually a bounty hunter, and hands over Gus in exchange for a duffell bag which we later find out to be the remains of his wife.

I much preferred this installment to the first one. We get to see more of Jeppard and his backstory, which was something I felt I actually needed to know in order to continue. The revelations that follow upon discovery of the other hybrids are also quite shocking, and well, Gus is actually quite naive, which is to be expected considering his upbringing.

Overall, I gave this installment four stars out of five, and reviewed both on my goodreads too.

REVIEW || The Sword that Saves: A Sam Stone Novel by Ambrose Merrell

I was sent this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

* How could an orphan, living in Vancouver, end up in 16th-century Japan, fighting against the terrifying forces of Darkness in a battle to save the world?

The tragic deaths of Sam Stone's parents leave him lost and alone. Fostered separately from his two younger sisters, he sets out to track them down and meets Kensho Iwata. This extraordinary Japenese martial arts teacher has a mysterious sword that the evil powers of Darkness seek to steal.

As Sam, Sophie and Zoe journey back in time and develop their own extraordinary gifts, they are drawn into a battle it seems impossible to win.

The power of Darkness is growing...

*

Firstly thanks to Vicki for sending me a copy of this on behalf of the author/publisher!

I throughly enjoyed this book. It sits at 265 pages, meaning it can easily be read in one sitting or two, or about twenty if you're like me and keep getting distracted! Initially, when I was contacted, I was given the brief synopsis of this book, I was attracted to the martial arts area of it, whilst in a YA concept - this really did intrigue me! When I was younger I did Kickboxing, and I have often wondered how a martial art would entwine into a YA novel, and Ambrose does it so well!

The plot wasn't too difficult to follow, and any martial arts terminology - particularly aikido - weren't that difficult to understand, as all terms were explained to us as they were to Sam. It was actually quite interesting to read the author notes too, as Ambrose is actually trained in Aikido, so hats off to him for utilising what he knows for the sake of the novel. Often, there's a tendency to "overwrite" something an author has a passion for, but this isn't the case. The author takes all readers into consideration in terms of terminology, explains everything at least once (actually twice if you count telling Sams sisters) and therefore you come out of the book with new martial arts knowledge to wow others with!

Overall this was an enjoyable read. The characters developed well, particularly Sophie and Zoe, whose developments I admired the most throughout the book. I'm giving this book a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, meaning I'd recommend it to most readers, or those with a particular interest in the topic.

See you all soon with another review!

Being Ruthless

If there's one thing I've learnt so far in 2016, it's that life is too short. Far too short. In the midst of family issues, and celebrities dropping like flies, along with career alterations and just life in general, I've started to focus on things that matter the most to me, and spending more time doing the things I love. Whilst this includes reading, some 'light' crafting, and filming for my YouTube channel and writing blog posts, it also means spending time with family, fiance, and friends.

So what does this mean for my blog and YouTube?

Absolutely nothing.

As soon as I finish a book, I'll be posting a collective review of my thoughts and feelings surrounding the book, its plot, characters etc. I'll still be posting videos as and when I can, with hopefully a variety of content.

But what about my reading?

Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk about in this post to be honest. I've FINALLY decided to make the executive decision of being ruthless toward my reading. I have such a huge TBR pile that it just has to be done. So how am I going to do it?

It's simple. If I'm reading a physical book, I'll give it 3 chapters, or between 30 and 50 pages, depending on what I reach first. If the book seems promising and I'm enjoying it, I'll see it out. If it isn't tickling my fancy, it'll have until the 50 page mark to redeem itself, or else it will be going on my DNF pile. If I'm reading an eBook, it will have between 10 and 20%, depending on the size of the book. If the book is large, I'll apply the 50 page rule, as long as my kindle has the page number option available. If not, it'll have up to 30% to redeem itself, or else I will be leaving it unfinished, It's a shame to have to be strict on myself and my reading, but when I have such a busy schedule, along with a continuous growth spurt of my TBR, it has to be done.

Have any of you had to be ruthless with your TBR? Or with anything else for that matter? If you have any more tips or tricks about being ruthless, let me know down below!

See you all soon with another post!