Not Enough Bookshelves

New Blog

2012-05-20T19:21:00.002+01:00

I've finally taken the plunge and moved to WordPress. My new blog is Look at the Stars. Do come over and say hi! A BIG thank you to everyone who has read and commented here over the years. When I started it, I never knew what a huge part Not Enough Bookshelves would actually play in my life, or how many friends I would make because of it. Hopefully I will make even more on my new blog as well, of course, keeping in touch with the ones I have. Thanks again!

Giveaway - The Right and the Real

2012-04-26T10:37:00.000+01:00

Happy Book Birthday to my my wonderful friend Joëlle Anthony and her wonderful book THE RIGHT AND THE REAL. In stores and online today!

I love THE RIGHT AND THE REAL so much I want to run around giving it to everyone I know, but I'll have to settle for giving one copy away here.

Just fill in the form below. As long as you live where the Book Depository ships this giveaway is open to you.

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow b Robin Wasserman

2012-04-24T20:40:00.003+01:00

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora’s best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life. (from Goodreads)

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately and THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW by Robin Wasserman dragged me right out of it.

I'm a sucker for a good mystery, especially a historical mystery. Add in a dead best friend, a vanished boyfriend (who couldn't possibly have done it, could he?), a fabulous main character main, and great writing and the slump was well and truly over.

I whipped through this book, biting my nails most of the time. While the technique of reminding me
something bad is going to happen can drive me doolally in this case it just had me reading faster, hoping the back cover copy was a lie.

Of all the things I loved in A BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW, I loved Nora best. Nora is the shinning centre of this novel. Thank you, thank you Robin Wasserman for giving me a heroine who is the heroine because she is smart, and determined, and independent. Not one who has a destiny.

Actually I loved all the characters; Adriane, Max, Eli and Chris. While I didn't always like or trust them, I utterly believed in them due to the many fabulous little details that made them feel completely real. I was as conflicted as Nora over who to trust and who to believe in.

The last quarter of the book does descend into Indiana Jones territory. The writing remained addictive, keeping me up till gone midnight, but I did have to fling my disbelief aside, and just go with it. That was a little disappointing, but hey who doesn't love an Indiana style finale?

The Right & the Real Book Trailer

2012-04-18T20:51:00.001+01:00

A big Happy Birthday to my dear friend Joelle! She's celebrating with the release of the book trailer for her amazing new book, THE RIGHT AND THE REAL.

I love this book, be sure to add it to your TBR pile. Or pre-order it. It's out April 26th

5 Things About March

2012-04-09T09:42:00.002+01:00

Long time, no blog! I've busy moving house. Although I feel like we've been unpacking forever, we still have a lot of boxes - hard to know what is in them now! Although I did find a collection of ten jam jars, which I apparently had planned to do something with, at some point, maybe.

Anyway on to bookish things.

1) I went to see The Hunger Games movie and I loved it! I thought they did a really good job and Jennifer Lawrence is amazing! Is there anyone who didn't well up in the reaping scene when she shouts I volunteer!

2) Then I re-read the book and remembered exactly how addictive and powerful it is (and how much they cut to to get the 12 certificate, that last scene in the cornucopia is truly horrific). Even knowing the ending I stayed up till 1am reading.

3) I was very excited to hear both Elizabeth Scott and Sarah Dessen have announced new books. Miracle and The Best Ever After (whose heroine has one of my favourite names - Emmeline)

4) A Game of Thrones is back! It makes Mondays bearable, although I do have to hide behind cushions a lot. I love Jamie and Cersei as villains (I also love their story arc in the books), but my favourite character is Arya.

5) I have fallen under the spell of Sarah Addison Allen, but I have now read all her books :( So recommendations please, any authors who write similar books?

6) Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner have announced a new title for their book THESE BROKEN STARS. It's being called Titanic in space. Go add it on Goodreads

What have you been reading and watching?

Book Review: Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

2012-03-11T10:01:00.000Z

Blood sings to blood, Froi . . .
Those born last will make the first . . .
For Charyn will be barren no more.

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home... Or so he believes...

Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess.

And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

Last year I completely lost myself in FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK and I have been waiting ever since to get my hands on FROI OF THE EXILES. As 2012 was ushered in I was finally back in Lumatere.

My first book of 2012 has set a high bar for the rest. This is one wonderful, mesmerizing, turn off the phone, and lock the door book. It’s a lengthy 506 pages, but I just flew through it.

Wonderful as it is this is a dark book, darker than Finnikin, and I think it may not be to everyone’s tastes. A lot of bad things happen, a lot. And they happen to good people, to innocent people, to people you love and care about. While most of these things that happen aren’t actually experienced by the reader, the effects are, and that makes Froi a heart breaking and often uncomfortable read.

But it is definitely a worthwhile one, definitely.

The world is rich, unique, and yet recognizable. The politics, history, cultural tensions and divides are woven into the story, so it felt like something I’d always known about. And the characters, oh the characters! They are vivid, wonderful and real. I fell in love with Froi and Quintana, even though they are not the most instantly lovable of characters. They are both damaged, slow to trust and prickly. Yet they are brave, good, funny, and working for things greater than their own happiness.

I also have a huge soft spot for the twin Gargarin and Arjuro. Their backstory is heart wrenching, but their dialogue just sparkles. Their scenes with Froi, and with each other, were some of my favourites.

It was also wonderful to revisit Isaboe and Finnikin. Now married, with a daughter, and struggling to return Lumatere to what it once was. I love how Melina Marchetta writes couples living their happily ever after. She did it brilliantly in THE PIPER’S SON and she does is brilliantly here too. Plus I adored Princess Jasmine, anyone with a two year old will relate!

FROI OF THE EXILES was wonderful, but the ending, argh the ending! It’s going to haunt me until I can Quintana of Charyn and find out what the heck happens next.

RTW: Best Book of February

2012-02-29T13:45:00.000Z

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic

What was the best book you read in February?

Despite being the shortest month I read more books than usual in February, 8 in fact. While many of them were good, even excellent, the hands down winner was

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

I have been waiting over a year for this book, after reading some amazing reviews and, oh it was so worth the wait! It is amazing, and beautiful, and just perfect!

I am in deep, deep love with this book. It may even be rivaling Saving Francesca as my favourite YA ever. I am exhausted today because I stayed up very, very late finishing it, but I couldn't stop. I had to know what happened to Ed, Lucy, Leo, Jass, Daisy, Dylan, Shadow and Poet. Plus (and I do this very very rarely) I am re-reading already. It is just that good and I'm not ready to leave the world yet.

Run, RUN!, to your nearest bookshop to get your hands on this.

Full review to come soon, when I am more coherent.

Guest Post: Mary Pauline Lowry

2012-02-22T07:59:00.002Z

I am delighted to be hosting Mary Pauline Lowry on the blog today. I’m really looking forward to reading her book, The Earthquake Machine, it sounds fabulous. Thanks for stopping by Mary!

THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE:

Traveling Through Mexico

I’m so excited to be featured on NOT ENOUGH BOOKSHELVES. Since our fab blog host ALEXA spent time living in MEXICO CITY, I want to write a little bit about why most of my novel THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE is set in Mexico.

As a little girl, I often traveled with my family to Cuernavaca, Mexico. The foods, smells, language and culture were so different from anything I’d experienced before. Going there was like entering a fantastical otherworld.

When I was 15 years old, I ran away from home and traveled all the way to Matamoros, Mexico. That was such an exhilarating, scary experience. And I always wondered what it would have been like to travel deeper into the country’s interior.

So when I was 21 or so I traveled from my hometown of Austin to Oaxaca on a bus. That was a fantastic adventure and I wanted other people to be able to experience it vicariously through fiction. So I wrote THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE.

The novel’s protagonist RHONDA runs away while on a river rafting trip in Big Bend National Park. She swims across the RIO GRANDE RIVER to MEXICO. Once there she cuts her hair and dies it black so she can pass as a Mexican boy named ANGEL and travel alone to the state of Oaxaca to find her family’s yardman.

RHONDA/ANGEL senses as soon as she crosses the border that MEXICO, and the Mexican people, language and culture, are all incredibly different than what she knows. But she’s lived in such a bland, stifling American neighborhood that she’s eager to drink in the culture that’s as rich as Oaxacan hot chocolate. She travels across the desert on a burro, walks through a jungle at night, and goes on the run from a band of Mexican boys who are angry she’s discovered their secret; and it’s by being in a strange and magical country that she learns about her true self.

THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE is an adventure story about the amazing and enchanted things that are possible for a girl who takes risks.

Book synopsis:

The Earthquake Machine

The book every girl should read,
and every girl’s parents hope she’ll never read.

The Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14 year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda’s world, but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in Rhonda’s life is her family’s Mexican yardman, Jesús. But when the INS deports Jesús back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her increasingly painful family situation.

Determined to find her friend Jésus, Rhonda seizes an opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends to Big Bend National Park. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the border town of Milagros, Mexico. There a peyote- addled bartender convinces her she won’t be safe traveling alone into the country’s interior. So with the bartender’s help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for Jesús. Thus begins a wild adventure that fulfills the longing of readers eager for a brave and brazen female protagonist.

Mary Pauline Lowry has worked as a forest firefighter, screenwriter, open water lifeguard, construction worker, and advocate in the movement to end violence against women. Due to no fault of her sweet parents, at 15 she ran away from home and made it all the way to Matamoros, Mexico. She believes girls should make art, have adventures, and read books that show them the way.

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

2012-02-16T09:16:00.000Z

I closed 2011 with this book and it was the perfect way to end the year because books don't get much better than this.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is an utterly gorgeous read that immediately drew me into it's world and left me absolutely desperate for book two.

The writing is beautiful. I wanted to pull the words free of the page and wrap them around me. It felt like every sentence was something I wanted to remember, or read out loud, because they were just that lovely. Laini Taylor's writing is superb, not only is it gorgeous, my goodness does she have you flipping the pages like crazy to find out what happens next.

We start with Karou, a young art student in Prague, who has blue hair, knows an amazing amount of languages, can kick some serious ass in a fight, and whose family consists are three demons who barter teeth for wishes, and who send her on errands around the world, through magical doorways.

Karou is one of my favourite heroines. A girl I'd like to be (she can pull off blue hair!), but also the girl I'd like to be friends with, she was continually making me laugh. Her many gifts and abilities are balanced out by her longing to know who she really is. I loved her from the first page, and I was utterly enchanted by her story.

The world building is fabulous, I can totally believe that they're doorways somewhere in the world that open into other places, if they're opened from the inside rather than the outside. I loved that wishes have different levels. From the tiny wishes Karou is allowed (and which she uses to get revenge on an ex in a rather fabulous and very funny opening scene) to the huge wishes that grant amazing powers. The magic of wishes is always balanced out though, by the whisper, that turns into a scream as the book progresses, that magic must be paid for.

The first half of this book is incredible. One of the most wonderful reading experiences I have had. I loved the setting (I need to go to Prague). I loved the characters, grouchy Brimstone, the wishmonger and Karou's father figure, Issa guardian of the threshold and half snake, and Zuzana, Karou's human friend who is oblivious to her other life. I loved how the threat to the magically world was balanced and contrasted by everyday concerns in the our world.

About half way I did have a moment of panic, because I suddenly saw where the plot was heading and it was not in a direction I cared for. I should have trusted Laini Taylor though because I ended up really enjoying the second half of the book. It wasn't quite the love affair I had with the first half, but the ending, which is the best kind of cliffhanger, more than made up for it.

I highly recommend this one, gorgeous writing, brilliant characters and a wonderful original world. In fact I'd be willing to trade teeth for Book 2 Days of Blood and Starlight.

Book Love

2012-02-14T20:51:00.001Z

My Valentine's Day books of choice,

My One True Love

Well that would have to be Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta. However blown away I am by her new books (The Piper's Son, Froi of the Exiles!) this one remains my all time favourite.

To me,

it is,

perfect.

Plus Will Trombal!

My Funny Valentine

Just seeing The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty on my bookcase makes me smile.

My New Crush

Oh I want to read it again already, and stay up late thinking about it, and know all it's secrets. I'm pretty much head over heels for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Who Needs Valentines when you have Sylvia Plath?

It may have a heart on it's cover, but And Then Things Fall Apart by Arlaina Tibensky is more about soul searching than two souls meeting - still love it though.

Happy Valentine's Day dear blog readers, whose your book Valentine?

Book Wishes

2012-02-08T15:15:00.001Z

A few books that I want to add to my overflowing bookshelves this February!

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily. M. Danforth

This reminds me a little of The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don't Mind. I have very high hopes. Plus I love the title and the cover is gorgeous

The Fine Art of Truth and Dare by Melissa Jensen.

This sounds adorable and is billed as Pretty in Pink meets Anna and the French Kiss - I do hope so! Also loving the cover of this, for some reason I always love covers that show feet rather than faces. You can tell a lot about someone from their footwear!

And

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

FINALLY! I have had this pre-ordered since June last year. I can not wait. I fell in love with A Little Wanting Song and I have only read rave reviews for this one, so I can't wait to be charmed by Lucy, Ed and Shadow. Severe cover love for this one too, it is epically pretty.

What books are you buying to light up the dark days of February?

A Long and Rambling Post

2012-02-07T16:06:00.002Z

I can't believe it's February already (edit - I actually started this post of Feb 1st, but blogger is being highly annoying*). I hope you've all had a good start to the year, and are keeping your resolutions! I am doing really well, for the first time ever! Thanks to my The Happiness Project resolution check list. There is something so satisfying about putting a star on a star chart, and as Gretchen says we manage what we measure.

As you might be able to tell blogging was not on my resolution list. It just seemed weird to have to make myself do something I do for fun, but it is getting squeezed out, so maybe I'll add it to my March resolutions. I need to blog more because I've read so many great books already this year. The two I must want to write (gush) about are;

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. This deserves all the accolades it has received. It's mesmerizing and utterly gorgeous.

and

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta. An absolute tour de force. It's truly amazing and it flies by despite being a weighty 592 pages long. It's out in the US March 13th, but you can buy it from FishPondWorld. Meaning you get the lovely Australian cover too. Although I was gobsmacked to discover that Melina Marchetta does not have a UK publisher. WHAT THE HECK! I feel like I should start a campaign or something.

As well as reading, a lot, I've been;

Writing (slowly).

Watching TV, Sherlock, Series 2 = outstanding! and I've finally started watching The Vampire Diaries, which is exactly my kind of thing, but I can only watch it when my husband is out as he took one look at the cover and said an emphatic no.

Watching films Super 8. I so see why it was on so many end of year lists, and The Artist, best picture at the Oscars I think, not that I've seen the other films, but it's so good.

Cutting off my hair. I like it, but my neck keeps getting cold. It's so cold in England at the moment.

Exercising

Baking

Playing on Pinterest - it's addictive. If you want to follow me, I'm here

I'm also planning on doing more on Tumblr, like favourite quotes and things I like, which seem a bit short for a blog post. If you're on it, let me know so I can follow you. I'm Of Starry Skies

So more regular post in february I hope!

* is anyone else having huge problems with blogger signing them out all the time? It got so bad I went to have a look at wordpress, but someone already has the Not Enough Bookshelves address :( Still I might have to leave if it keeps eating my posts, and not letting me upload pictures - sorry about the very wordy picture-less post.

The Raven Boys

2012-02-02T21:46:00.003Z

I'm back, form the blogging wilderness, to go completely crazy over Maggie Stiefvater's announcement of her new novel The Raven Boys. The first in the four part Raven Cycle.

The Cover!

The Title!

The Concept!

Then I read this quote on GalleyCat

“I grew up on a diet of exceptional fantasy series for children— The Dark Is Rising, The Black Cauldron, A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia — and I’ve always wanted to write one of those sprawling epic sagas built from intimate moments."

And I was completely sold. I Can. Not. Wait.

Roll on September!

Book Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stievfater

2012-01-10T11:21:00.000Z

The Scorpio Races was far and away the best book I read in 2011.

You know how some books just suck you in, and hold you captive, and are just completely magical and perfect? And when you finish, you are so happy because it's a perfect ending when you didn't think that was possible five pages ago, but your are also bereft because you've left that world? That's how The Scorpio Races was for me. Thank goodness books can be re-read!

The story begins with the ominous and intriguing words, "It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die." For on the island of Thisby, every November, the deadly Scorpio Races are held. A brutal and dangerous ride along the beach on capaill uisce, vicious and deadly water horses, who emerge from the sea and must be caught, and controlled, if you want to survive the races.

Kate "Puck" Connolly is the first girl to ever enter. She is driven by a desire to change her family's fortune and stop her elder brother from leaving for the main land. No one wants her in the race, and Puck isn't even sure if she'll survive it, but help comes from an unexpected quater, four times champion and loner, Sean Kendrick.

The thing Maggie Steifvater really excels at is mood and atmosphere, and the writing in The Scorpio Races is as beautifully descriptive and evocative as in her other books. The setting, while being richly described, was also vague. As was the period events are taking place in. Which made it easier to believe in the fairy tale like aspect of the water horses and the rituals the riders had. It also gave the book a kind of old world charm. It is also full of amazing characters who are all so richly and well drawn I think they might be out there living on Thisby.

The Scorpio Races begins slowly, but the undercurrent of tension, caused by Puck announcing her intention to ride, builds and builds and after chapter forty I simply couldn't be separated from this book until I had finished. It's heart pounding, nail biting, stay up way past bedtime stuff.

I was so invested in both Puck and Sean's stories, The Scorpio Races is told in a duel narrative, and so you get a chance to see into both their hearts and minds. I was desperate for them to get a happy ending, while being sure it couldn't possibly happen. There can only be one winner in the races, and they both have everything to lose. Without giving too much away, the ending is perfection. . . and had me in floods of tears.

The romance is less, fornt and centre than in The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy, but I loved it more. There is more hesitation and self consciousness and so I was willing them to give in to their feelings. Also Sean Kendeick might be a man of few words, but the ones he does utter are pretty much perfect. "It's late for that Puck" - oh happy sigh! Plus bread is clearly the new chocolate for those of you courting.

So yes, my book of the year. If you haven't picked it up yet, you really must. It's gorgeous and heart wrenching and a keeper.

12 for 2012

2012-01-03T23:57:00.000Z

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

A new book by Sarah Rees Brennan. I. Can. Not. Wait.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

I have heard so many wonderful things about this on Aussie blogs and I loved A Little Wanting Song

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

A new books by Diana Peterfreund again I. Can. Not. Wait. Especially as it's a retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Book 2 - Laini Taylor

Flew through the first one and I am desperate to see what happens next.

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Sounds so gothic and great.

The Right and The Real by Joelle Anthony

I've read this and can confirm that is is amazing! I can't wait to see a finished version though because the cover is gorgeous!

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cooke

Gothic mansions and ghosts! Out today!

17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma

Would read anything by her.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

This sounds like it will break my heart, but I do love her writing so I'm prepared to have it broken. plus a Pump Up the Volume style radio show.

Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta

I've just started Froi and it's brilliant so far, I'm sure the last volume will be too.

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Ah the title alone makes me smile

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

How will it all end??

Plus I am hoping the magical novel Maggie Stiefvater keeps mentioning will be out this year, but I can't see any information on it yet.

What are you looking forward to this year?

Apologies for the lack of links and pictures, but this is my third attempt at this post and blogger keeps publishing a load of random numbers. Fingers crossed that this time it works

12 for 2012

2012-01-02T22:23:00.001Z

%3Ci%3E%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F10866624-unspoken%22%3EUnspoken%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fi%3E+by+Sarah+Rees+Brennan%0D%0A%0D%0ANew+book+by+Sarah+Rees+Brennan.+I+Can.+Not.+Wait.+Dying+for+this+one.%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Ci%3E%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F8306761-for-darkness-shows-the-stars%22%3EFor+Darkness+Shows%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fi%3E+the+Stars+by+Diana+Peterfreund%0D%0A%0D%0ANew+book+by+Diana+Peterfreund.%26nbsp%3BAgain%26nbsp%3BI+can+not+wait.+Especially+as+it+is+a+retelling+of+Persuasion+and+it+will+look%26nbsp%3Bbeautiful%26nbsp%3Bon+my+bookcase.%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F7863274-graffiti-moon%22%3E%3Ci%3EGraffiti%26nbsp%3BMoon%3C%2Fi%3E%3C%2Fa%3E+by+Cath+Crowly%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27ve+been+hearing+such+wonderful+things+about+this+book%2C+from+bloggers+I+love.+It+sounds+amazing.%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Ci%3E%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F12812550-untitled%22%3postTime=23%3A31

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T23:28:00.000Z

I hope you all had a Happy New Year! We celebrated with champagne, mint chocolates and Star Wars - good start to the New Year! Then I went running this morning :D

Anyway, to recap, here are my favourite couples of 2011

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stievfater

The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

And Then Things Fall Apart by Arlainia Tibsensky

A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley

The Sky Aways Hears Me and The Hills Don't Mind by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Guitar Highway Rose Brigid Lowry

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

The winner fo the giveaway who can choose two books from the above is

Rivka Belle! Congratulations! I emailed you.

Thanks for reading this year, I'll be back tomorrow with my 12 for 2012! Here's a great year for books.

Couples Countdown No 1 - Puck & Sean

2011-12-31T23:25:00.000Z

So finally we reach the end!

My absolutely favourite couple of 2011 has to be Puck and Sean from the wonderful The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I fell in love with both of them. Then I fell in love with them falling for each other.

Theirs' is a quiet, restrained falling, but it is so beautiful (and beautifully written), because I was already so invested in the characters small moments had a huge emotional punch. This exchange, for example, reduced me to a small gooey pile of swoon.

"I say, "I will not be your weakness Sean Kendrick."

Now he looks at me. He says, very softly. "It's late for that Puck."

Couples Countdown - No 2 Alan and Sin

2011-12-30T20:32:00.000Z

Couple Number two is Alan and Sin from The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan. Last year Alan and Nick were my couple number two - they started the whole it doesn't have to be a romantic couple thing. I ended that post by saying I hoped Alan would make the list again with a different partner. I'm delighted that Sarah Rees Brennan didn't let me down - it's clear Alan and Sin were meant for each other, even if neither of them thinks so.

In fact they don't care much for each other at all and I never gave a thought to them ending up together (I had Alan paired with someone else) until near the end of The Demon's Covenant when Alan thinks something like "well I couldn't care less what Cynthia Davis thinks." Which we all know is code for I quite fancy Cynthia Davis and care very much what she thinks, although I'm not about it admit it, even to myself!

So I was rooting for them from the start and intrigued at how they were going to get together. The answer would be in a very rocky, but absolutely fabulous way. They had me giggling and swooning. Together these two are dynamite and I just love them to bits. Writing this just makes me want to go read the whole trilogy again - which actually sounds like a great start to 2012.

Apologies for the lack of quotes, but my copy is in the bookcase behind the Christmas Tree and I dare not try and find it. Angie wrote a wonderful post about why she loves Alan and Sin and included two of my favourite quotes.

Number One couple tomorrow, who could have knocked Alan and Sin from the top spot??? And there is still time to enter the giveaway.http://www.notenoughbookshelves.com/2011/12/christmas-coutndown.html I'm closing it New Years Day 12pm GMT

Couples Countdown No 3 - Keek and Sylvia Plath

2011-12-28T22:14:00.000Z

Resuming the countdown (guess we'll be counting down to 2012 now!) after it was interrupted by an evil virus and then a big celebration!

Couple number three is Keek and Sylvia Plath from Arlainia Tibensky's wonderful And Then Things Fall Apart. This book snuck up on me, I wasn't expecting to fall quite as in love with it as I did. One of the biggest reasons for that is Keek and her obsession with Sylvia Plath and The Bell Jar.

So for all of you who have re-read a certain book until it grew dog-eared, and who were made a little less lonely or a little more brave by a friend you found among it's pages, couple three - Keek and Sylvia are for you!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and for those of you who watch wasn't The Downton Abby Christmas Special brilliant!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T12:00:00.000Z

Merry Christmas

and

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

The Christmas countdown will finish up on the 27th - I got sick!

Couples Countdown: Guest Post by Cath Crowley

2011-12-20T18:58:00.001Z

I'm very excited to welcome Cath Crowley, author of A Little Wanting Song. Her guest post is on Six Impossible Things, a book I've heard wonderful things about, but haven't been able to get hold of yet ~ come on UK publishers buy Aussie!

Enjoy!

My favourite couple from a book that I’ve read this year is Dan and Estelle from Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood.

“There’s this girl I know.

I know her by heart. I know her in every way but one: actuality.

Her name is Estelle. I yearn for her.” (p.1)

Dan and Estelle are so beautifully drawn. They’re real and they’re detailed and they’re funny and they make me want to be with them after the last page. They don’t meet on page one and fall in love. They find out the faults of each other. They find out the secrets they both keep. They find out the good bits in each other.

I love that Dan is unsure how to kiss a girl. “It’s a classic learning-by-doing activity… How difficult can it be? And there is the crux of the matter: I have no idea how difficult it might be.” (p.229) I think the biggest risks are showing someone your vulnerabilities. Dan’s humour and his lack of know-how make me love him. So I know exactly why Estelle falls for him.

The great thing about Estelle is that she’s real. She starts out as an idea for Dan. And then he begins to know her. It’s the slow-knowing that happens between couples that I love in fiction. It’s the missed kiss and the awkwardness. It’s the truth in them. That’s why I love Dan and Estelle.

Fiona Wood is a spectacular writing. After finishing Six Impossible Things I sat in my chair for a while, not wanting to leave the world created. I’ve read it three times and I always feel the same way.

Thanks so much Cath!

Cath Crowley can be found blogging here. A Little Wanting Song is available now. Graffiti Moon come out on the 14th February ~ I can't wait I have heard amazing things about this book!

Couples Countdown No 4 Charlie and Dave

2011-12-19T22:36:00.000Z

Charlie and Dave from A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley.

This is such a beautiful, beautiful book. I loved it. It's told from both Charlie and Rose's point of view and they have such a fabulous dynamic ~ Charlie is shy and quiet, Rose is loud and dramatic, but they're both scared and lonely. I almost went for friendship and picked them as my couple. . .

but I just adore Charlie and Dave and I'm feeling romantic. They have one of those gorgeous, hesitant romances that I absolutely adore. Lots of looks, and almost touches, and awkward conversations.

Here are a few favourite bits.

He stands there rolling his bike back and forth and I want to ask him in. For a girl who doesn't talk all that much, strangely I have a million or more things I want to say to Dave. They're not even important things. It's stuff like Grandpa ordered in some Muppet Show toothbrushes, and I've been using one even though it's too small because I really like Frozzie Bear. But then I stopped using it because I wasn't sure if it was a sign of disrespect to use Frozzie that way.

and

We hover. Lips feathering. Chests spinning crazy. Skin burning. After a while I take out my iPod and give one earpiece to him and keep the other for me. I put it on shuffle and voices swirl around us and it's the strangest feeling. I'm nowhere and somewhere at the same time. The last song we listen to is one of mine. He doesn't know it and I don't tell him. I feel stranger still. As if the singer and me are different people.

Have you read A little Wanting Song? Did you love Charlie and Dave?

Couples Countdown: Guest Post by Kirstin Cronn Mills

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000Z

I'm delighted to welcome Kirstin Cronn-Mills, author of the fabulous The Sky Always Hears Me and The Hills Don't Mind. I haven't read BROOKLYN BURNING but I really want to after this post! Thanks so much for sharing Kirstin!

Have you ever been in the kind of love where you need someone, not just need-need them, but you need them for something, like to do something important, but you don’t know where they are so you look for them all over town in places they might go, but they’re not there, so you keep searching even though you might not find them, but you have to find them? And then when you do find them, or they find you, you breathe a sigh of relief, because they’re there again, thank god, and you can rest a little bit? Ever feel like that? Yeah. That’s Kid’s love for Scout. That’s BROOKLYN, BURNING, by Steve Brezenoff.

BROOKLYN, BURNING is the story of the different people Kid loves. There's Konny, his longtime friend, but there's also Jonny the hustler, Fish the bar owner, and Felix the junkie. And then there's Scout. Scout becomes Kid's summer love, and their passion twines around and through their guitar and drum kit. Anybody who's been a teenager recognizes Kid and Scout their shy but connected affection, their hesitation to get too close for fear of losing and hurting. We hope for them, we root for them. We want them to kiss, dammit! And when they finally do, it is sweet for everyone.

What's most lovely about Kid and Scout is Brezenoff's decision not to tell us who they are aside from their names. We know Felix is a guy, Fish is a woman, Konny is a teenage girl, and Jonny is a male for sale. But Kid and Scout are just Kid and Scout. We see them—hair flapping over Scout's eyes, shirt pulling up out of Kid's pants to show Kid's stomach—but those vague descriptions are as far as Brezenoff goes. They're just two kids, trying to find themselves and finding each other in the process. Their relationship moves past pronouns. To me, this is the essence of love—it doesn’t matter who we are or who we’re loving, it just matters that we keep loving.

(A side note: my other favorite couple in this book is Brezenoff and Brooklyn. He’s clearly in love with her, and because of it, so are we. )

Kirstin Cronn-Mills can be found blogging here. The Sky Always Hears Me and The Hills Don't Mind is in bookstores and at The Book Depository. Kirstin's new book Beautiful Music for Ugly Children is out 2012 and sounds amazing!

Couples Countdown No 5 - Morgan and Rob

2011-12-18T18:03:00.001Z

Couple Five! Morgan and Rob from The Sky Always Hears me and The Hills Don't Mind by Kirstin Cronn-Mills. I have such a crush on this book. I absolutely loved it.

I am a big fan of happy ever after, swoony, love stories. But sometimes a relationship sneaks in that's a a bit more thorny and complicated, where love might not conquer all, and maybe that's a good thing. In The Sky Always Hears Me and The Hills Don't Mind, Morgan is going out with Derek, crushing on Rob, and sharing a late night kiss with next door neighbour Tessa - recipe for heartbreak right there. Added to that the major incident in the book, involving Morgan's family it could be a bleak and depressing read. But it has lots of laughs, due to Morgan's wonderful voice, world view, and habit of writing fortune cookie fortunes on every piece of paper she finds. Plus there is plenty of swoon due to Morgan and Rob's banter.

I simply adored that in the beginning Morgan spent less time wondering what Rob was like and more time admiring his cute ass.

Their relationship felt real and I loved reading it. Here's a taste

Rob grins. "Come help me stock cigarettes." I wander over while he studies me. "You must be thinking very serious thoughts."
I am not going to tell him the truth; I was pondering his very cute ass, which he displayed as he was working on the smokes. Where has that ass been all my life.