Dark and Magical, But It Didn't Live Up To The Hype // REVIEW: Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Title: Furyborn (Empirium #1)
Author: Claire Legrand
Publication Date: May 22nd 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Part of a Series?: Yes, Book 1 on 3 of the Empirium Trilogy
I Got A Copy Through: Sourcebooks via NetGalley + I BOUGHT ONE!
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.
When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.
A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

Furyborn was surrounded by ALL THE HYPE for MONTHS before it released. It was EVERYWHERE, and as a huge YA Fan, I knew I would have to read it, sooner rather than later.

Furyborn was essentially:

1)      A magnificent tale told across two millennia by two young girls

2)      One lives in a land surrounded my magic, and the other in a land where magic is a fairy-tale of the past and all they know is the Empire that conquers all

3)      One of these girls is an assassin and one is a temple acolyte

4)      A story surrounding a prophecy about these two girls – a Sun Queen and a Blood Queen, one with the power to destroy the world and the other with the power to save it.

5)      It has kingdoms, swoony princes, power, magical trials, angels and it’s just SUCH A GORGEOUS BOOK TO OWN!

MY THOUGHTS:

1)      I expected a LOT going into this book. A majority of the early reviews I read RAVED about this book, and I was very hopeful that I had found the NEXT THING I WOULD FALL HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH. Now, as I sit at the end of Furyborn, I find that while I ENJOYED it, for the most part, this story was predictable and kind of MEH, except for ONE TWIST on page 343.

2)      If I had to choose between Rielle and Eliana, I would definitely choose Rielle’s story. They were both a little predictable, but I definitely loved Rielle’s dark and twisty viewpoint better!

3)      Furyborn was QUITE a long book. I feel like a lot of it was running around, especially in Eliana’s story when she kept travelling from place X to place Y, and not much happened that we DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW?

4)      I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Audric and Rielle together, with their forbidden, best-friend romance.

Honestly, I liked Furyborn, but I didn’t fall in love with it. There was a lot of hype around it, and it just didn’t live up to all that hype for me. A 3.5 star novel, but I hope I will continue on with the series!

Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn't stop thinking about the stories in her head. A native Texan, she is now a writer and librarian living in central New Jersey.

Her first novel is THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, one of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing in 2012. She is also the author of THE YEAR OF SHADOWS, a ghost story for middle grade readers, WINTERSPELL, a young adult re-telling of The Nutcracker, and SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS, a middle grade story about mental illness, family secrets, and the power of storytelling. SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS is a 2017 Edgar Award nominee and one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2016. Her latest novel, FOXHEART, is a fast-paced fantasy-adventure and a 2016 Junior Library Guild selection. She is also one of the four authors behind THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, an anthology of dark middle grade short fiction that was a Junior Library Guild selection, a Bank Street Best Book, and among the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing in 2014. 

Coming up for Claire is FURYBORN, the first book in the Empirium trilogy, due out May 22, 2018, followed by SAWKILL GIRLS in fall 2018, and THORNLIGHT, a companion novel to FOXHEART, coming in winter 2019.

Visit Claire at claire-legrand.com and at enterthecabinet.com.

Have you read Furyborn or any other of Claire Legrand's books? What did you think of them?

What are some of your FAVOURITE YA Fantasy novels that you've read recently?

I'm always looking for more recommendations!

 

Eloquent Writing In A Harsh World // REVIEW: Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young

Title: Sky In Th Deep
Author: Adrienne Young
Publication Date: April 24th 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: I bought it!
Buy Links: Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo ||

Blurb Description: OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.
Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield — her brother, fighting with the enemy — the brother she watched die five years ago.
Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.
She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

SO THIS BOOK WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST HYPED OF 2018 THAT I KNEW I WOULD HAVE TO READ THE MINUTE I HEARD ABOUT. Compared to Vikings and Wonderwoman with that gorgeous dark cover and the promise of a forbidden romance?

HOW ABSOLUTELY BREATH-TAKING DOES THAT SOUND?

And, from all the hype around the internet and the hype I created for myself, I DIDN’T END UP LOVING IT AS MUCH AS I HOPED I WOULD.

Not that I didn’t like it, because I did. The book was powerful in a lot of ways and the romance was enjoyable, but I just felt removed/ didn’t connect with the book as much as I wished I would.

I guess, in a nutshell, I was hoping this book would be a new favourite, but it turned out that it was just one of the many.

THINGS I LIKED:

1.       THE COVER: Yes, hello, please let’s talk about that MARVEL of a cover that caught my eye and ‘Breathe Fire,’ and if that isn’t the COOLEST THING EVER, I don’t know what is.

hasn’t let it go till date. Also, there’s an inscription when you open the dust jacket of the book that says

2.       THE WRITING: Even as a debut author, Adrienne Young had this unique way of storytelling and her writing was poignant as she wrote about a harsh world and, well, I really loved it. I read her book in just three days and I can’t wait for the next one.

3.       THE RIKI: I actually fell in love with certain members of the rival to Eelyn’s clan, the Riki, namely Inge, Fiske and Halvard. I wish we saw more of Runa, Kerling and Gyda and ESPECIALLY Iri, but I did love the Riki.

THINGS I WISH HAD BEEN BETTER: 

1.       IRI: A brother our main character thought was dead because SHE LET HIM GO during war is REALLY ALIVE AND LIVING WITH A RIVAL CLAN? I felt like this was such a brilliant part to the storyline and yet, I saw nothing of Iri and Eelyn reconnecting or even being siblings. All I got in the end was a measly line of about how ‘it would have to be worked on’ and I was honestly QUITE DISAPPOINTED.

2.       REALLY, I DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE BUT STILL: Like I said before, there was something that stopped me from FALLING IN LOVE that I can’t name till date. It just didn’t get my fangirl side fangirling or my hopes raised.

Will I read more from Adrienne Young? DEFINITELY.

An enjoyable read with poignant writing in a harsh world + a forbidden romance. I’d definitely recommend it, even though it wasn’t the BEST fantasy I’ve read. 

Adrienne Young is a born and bred Texan turned California girl. She is a foodie with a deep love of history and travel and a shameless addiction to coffee. When she’s not writing, you can find her on her yoga mat, scouring antique fairs for old books, sipping wine over long dinners, or disappearing into her favorite art museums. She lives with her documentary filmmaker husband and their four little wildlings beneath the West Coast sun.

For information on release, appearances, ARCs, giveaways, and exclusive content, sign up for the newsletter at https://adrienneyoungbooks.com/
Instagram: @adrienneyoungbooks
Twitter: @adriennebooks

What are some of your most anticipated 2018 releases?

(Sky In The Deep was one of mine, and I'd love to hear yours!)
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

 

BLOG TOUR: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold - Review + Quote Graphics

Hi Everyone!

I am so so pleased to be a part of this International Blog Tour hosted by Penguin Random House International as a #partner. My post was supposed to go up yesterday but because I was very very sick, I simply wasn't able to complete designing the quote graphics you'll find below for this post and hence, wasn't able to post!

Still, despite the day long delay, I hope you enjoy my review and graphics for this AMAZING book, and once again, thank you to PRH International for the free book for this tour.

Title: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik

Author: David Arnold

Publication Date: May 22nd 2018

Publisher: Viking Books

Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone

I Got A Copy Through: PRH International (THANK YOU!)

Buy Links: Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: This is Noah Oakman → sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend.
Then Noah → gets hypnotized.
Now Noah → sees changes—inexplicable scars, odd behaviors, rewritten histories—in all those around him. All except his Strange Fascinations . . .

The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is hilarious, and whimsical, and bizarre, and quirky and reading it was a wild ride that I questioned at times, but ultimately fell in love with.

And yet, if I had to describe this book in just one word, it would have to be STRANGE. (I mean the title already tells you that, but yes, THIS BOOK IS STRANGE.)

Let’s break this down:

THINGS I LOVED ABOUT THIS BOOK:

1.       David Arnold’s writing: If David Arnold’s writing wasn’t as quirky and bizarre and just in general, as STRANGELY ELOQUENT as the plot itself, this entire book would have fallen flat for me. I absolutely loved the way he found connections within the most unconnected things, brought out the teenage experience and made me laugh out loud and shake my head in wonder at the same time. THIS BOOK HAS SOME SERIOUSLY PECULIAR YET STUNNING WRITING.

2.       All the Concise Histories: This could probably be a part of David Arnold’s writing (^), but I

thought it was worth mentioning separately. I absolutely loved how this book’s narrator, Noah, created these ‘concise histories’ connecting himself to the world at large through seemingly random dates and pieces of information.

3.       Alan and Val: IF THESE AREN’T THE BEST PAIR OF BEST FRIENDS/ TWINS EVER, I DON’T KNOW WHO IS (Par only to Fred and George Weasley.) I loved Alan and Val as individuals, as siblings and even as friends to Noah. They were all kinds of awesome.

4.       Penny (AKA THE MOST ADORABLE SISTER EVER): I ABSOLUTELY ADORE SEEING LITTLE SIBLINGS IN BOOKS. And Penny, with her Audrey Hepburn phase, her overuse of the word ‘darling’ and her daring, up-for-anything attitude.

THINGS I THOUGHT COULD’VE BEEN BETTER:

1.       NOAH: This is probably the most unfortunate part of the book, because Noah is the MAIN CHARACTER. Unfortunately, he was the thing I liked least about this book. SURE, it’s a coming of age, finding-yourself kind of book, but Noah ‘Hypnotik’ was an A SELF-CENTRED IDIOT AND UGH I COULD NOT BRING MYSELF TO LIKE HIM. He was so wrapped up in his own pain and ‘problems’  and his ‘strange fascinations; that he failed to look at the consequences for:

a)      His little sister (LEAVING HER ALONE IN A PARKING LOT OF A BAR FOR 2AM SO HE COULD TALK TO A WASHED UP MUSICIAN?)

b)      His parents (make two GENUINE, KIND HEARTED ADULTS who struggle a little to make ends meet PAY FOR FLIGHT TICKETS TO NEW YORK TO ‘VISIT’ A COLLEGE HE HAS NO INTENTION OF GOING TO? JUST SO HE CAN MEET SOME RANDOM WOMAN?

c)       His best friends (Ignoring, ghosting and the works)

2.       NOAH: See above^

3.       NOAH: Kindly refer to #1

So, that’s it. IF I had like the protagonist better, this would definitely have been a five star read for me, but at the end of the day, I really did like The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik. 

David Arnold lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his (lovely) wife and (boisterous) son. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland, Kids of Appetite, and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik; his books have been translated into over a dozen languages. Learn more at davidarnoldbooks.com and follow him on Twitter @roofbeam and Instagram @iamdavidarnold.

Have you read any of David Arnold's books? What do you think of them?

I'd absolutely love to hear your thoughts on my quote graphics, if you can spare a moment!

Hilarious, Satirical and Slightly Insane // REVIEW: The Bitter Pill Social Club by Rohan Dahiya

Title: The Bitter Pill Social Club
Author: Rohan Dahiya
Publication Date: April 2018 
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Bloomsbury India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Flipkart || Infibeam || Google Books

Blurb Description: Witness the private life of the world’s most beautiful animals. 
You know exactly who they are. The ones who walk right past club lines, who get what they want before they ask for it. It’s a familiar cast: the centre of attention, the shameless flirt, the loudmouth, the narcissistic writer. You’ve seen them all. You’ve felt their Gucci-anointed aura. Laughing and dancing. Kissing the wrong people at the wrong time. Swaying to their own beat. Going out every night they’re sad. Finding solace in the crowd in a city paved with mildly good intentions and cocaine lines. A city of smooth talkers, armchair activists, and the rich brats of Instagram. A place to talk pop spirituality and purple prose in connoisseur-only jazz clubs.
The Bitter Pill Social Club takes a look at the lives of the Kochhar family, who find themselves drifting apart in the city of djinns, gins, and fake friends wrapped up in cigarette smoke. As one of their own gears up to tie the knot, three siblings come home to the neurotic parents who raised them. Meanwhile the parents face the family patriarch’s constant judgment. Divorce, disappointment, and disasters ensue as the entitled Kochhar brood dodges old lovers and marriage proposals.

 

It usually take a while for me to get into a book and then, as I move in further, start falling further and further in love. Or hate, depending on each individual book.  

Surprisingly, the opposite was the case for The Bitter Pill Social Club. All it took was the first of its many hilariously ludicrous chapters and I was laughing and basically HOOKED to the book. It was such a raw, riotous take on the lives of the rich and Instagram famous in the capital city and I loved it.

I did find the actual structure of the book lacking somewhere in the middle, which I will explain down later.

Let’s break it down:

Image from Bloomsbury India

PLOT:

I initially thought I knew what this book was about on a basic level, but there were so many twists and curveballs thrown at me that I was amazed. The story didn’t stay static but kept shifting between characters, places and time. I also liked that we had so many varying viewpoints in the Kocchar family and the messed up lives they lead.

STRUCTURE:

Honestly, here is where the story got dicey for me.

While it started off with a certain amount of flair and grounded-ness (girl gets dumped by ex, reunites with a former flame sort of basic storyline), the structure of the story completely disappeared somewhere in the middle. Months flew by in the blink of eye, a previously depressed girl was suddenly working at a hotel in the mountains and I was just CONFUSED. I love books that show you character growth over time, but I do need some structure inducing elements in the character growth. Even if there was a “three months later” or different chapters for different characters’ viewpoints, it would have felt SO MUCH BETTER STRUCTURED.

WRITING:

Rohan Dahiya’s writing was the essence of the story. It brought to life, and made believable all the insanity of the everyday lives of the Kocchar family. The story of three generations of this family were closely woven together in this 300 something page book, and filled with enough content to make you laugh and shake your head in adoration.

CHARACTERS:

Image from Bloomsbury India

Within the first few chapters, I was quite attached to the Kocchar family and all their, for lack of a better term, insane antics. Parties, flying away to Europe, car rides in the rain and shopping sprees were all an integral part of their daily lives amidst divorces, fake friends, being ghosted and the occasional stabbing of gold-diggers.

Sunaina and Surya were perhaps my favourite characters, though I also loved certain parts of Kama’s story and how it was all handled.

CONCLUSION:

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Rohan Dahiya’s second novel. The Bitter Pill Social Club was a hilarious, satirical and slightly insane novel that made me laugh, and those are the best kind of books.

Rohan Dahiya is a writer/visual artist based in Delhi NCR shuffling between café desktops and foldable pool chairs. His first novel Grey Skies was published last year and was well received for its exploration of mental health. On most days he can be found at Chapter 101, an independent bookstore in the city with a coffee cup not too far from reach. He derives inspiration from music recommendations, bad dreams, and the people he meets while traveling through the country.

What are some of your favourite books set in India?

What are some of the most hilarious books you've ever read?

Witty, Sharp and Sassy - I NEED MORE // REVIEW: Swear You Won't Tell? by Vedashree Khambete Sharma

Title: Swear You Won't Tell?
Author: Vedashree Khambete Sharma
Publication Date: March 25th 2018
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Harper Collins India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Flipkart || Infibeam || Google Books

Blurb Description: When Mumbai Daily journalist Avantika Pandit is asked to interview her childhood nemesis Aisha Juneja, she knows it'll like an express bikini wax - painful, but quick. Then Laxmi, her former best friend, shows up dead. And suddenly Avantika finds herself turning into the reporter she used to be - a nosy little newshound with the self-preservation instincts of a dodo. Now, she has to meet old acquaintances she'd hoped never to run into again, try to unravel the puzzle of Laxmi's death, and ask the questions nobody seems to be asking: Who is the man Laxmi was in love with? Why hasn't anybody heard of him? What does he have to do with her death? The answers could get her killed. But if the choice is between churning out listicles on handbags and death, dying might not be that bad after all. 

Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars

THINGS Swear You Won’t Tell? Contained:

-          A SASSY PROTAGONIST (Yes for sassy people)

-          Who also tackled Indian Society and the Patriarchy on so many fronts

-          And was also fearlessly trying to solve a murder-mystery

-          Some ADORABLE chemistry (and awkward moments)

-          A GENUINE male and female friendship (how do we not see more of this in books?)

-          DID I ALSO MENTION THAT THIS LADY’S HUMOUR AND SASS WAS ON POINT?

If you can’t already tell, I kind of LOVED this book.

When I first read about this book on a Harper Collins press release, I knew I had to get my hands on it somehow. I LOVE the murder mystery genre, but for some reason don’t read nearly enough as much as I’d like. Combine the genre with that beautiful cover and the praise it’s been getting, I knew it was a must read. I waited a matter of DAYS before picking it up from my TBR and diving in (*looks apologetically at the books that have been there since 2014*)

Swear You Won’t Tell was, in a nutshell, SUCH a fun book to read. Each time I picked it up, I simply did NOT want to put it down – it was THAT good. There was always something happening, I was rooting for the protagonist from the very first chapter, I let out laugh after laugh at her snarky disposition and her misfortune and honestly, this book made me CARE. I cared about the whodunit and the why and I wished Avantika Pandit got her happy(ish) ending. I cared about the secondary characters, what happened to Swati, about Avantika’s boss and even Ganesh, the Gandhian. (You HAVE to read this book!)

The only thing that I didn’t like – and the thing that’s stopping me from giving this book a five star rating is the flashback scenes to Avantika’s childhood. I felt like the writing suddenly turned a little awkward, and I just didn’t enjoy the scenes as much as I did with the present day ones.

All in all, Swear You Won’t Tell? Is a rambunctious, snarky witty little book with a true whodunit element that will leave you craving more. 4.5 stars.

Vedashree Khambete-Sharma is an award-winning copywriter in her mid-thirties. For the past twelve years, she has peddled everything from moisturisers to magazines, like some kind of a one-woman corner shop. 

She has contributed to several websites and blogs and is the author of the widely unrenowned novel There May Be An Asterisk Involved.

She lives in Mumbai with her husband, daughter and the niggling feeling that she should be writing more.

amazon.com/author/vedashreekhambete

What are some of your favourite murder mystery novels?

Whar are som eof your favourite novels with INDIAN characters/ by Indian Authors?

Which sassy literature character is your favourite?

 

A Poignant, Real Book // REVIEW: Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

Title: Goodbye, Perfect
Author: Sara Barnard
Publication Date: February 8th 2018
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Pan Macmillan India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Wordery || Infibeam || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Google Books

Blurb Description: When I was wild, you were steady . . . Now you are wild - what am I? 
Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn.
Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.
As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

I’ve had my eye on Sara Barnard’s shiny cover books for YEARS now – each of them sound so intriguing and real and I was eagerly waiting for the day I got the chance to dive into one. And so, when Goodbye, Perfect showed up in a surprise package from Pan Macmillan India, I was over the moon!

Let’s break it down:

·         I read the entirety of this book in LESS than a day. It was its own kind of addicting. For the first time in a long time, as I was reading Goodbye Perfect, I found that teenagers were portrayed as REAL people – partially grounded, figuring things out, learning to love themselves, and I absolutely loved that.

·         I also REALLY loved the mature relationship that our protagonist had with her boyfriend, Connor. I loved how they just hung out together without any life-altering drama, and how they handled pressure and sex as a couple.

·         I ALSO LOVED EDEN’S FAMILY, AND HER BACKSTORY. I loved her sisters, especially Valerie, because we got to see more of her and also her adopted parents. It was such a beautiful thing, and I absolutely loved it. It was so nice to see INVOLVED parents, actual examinations that don’t magically fly by, “ teenage rebellion” that wasn’t the whole story and a blended family.

·         CAN WE ALSO TALK ABOUT THIS HAPPY, SHINY COVER BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT IT MAKES ME FEEL – HAPPY AND SHINY AND IT’S THE BEST FEELING!

·         While there was so much I loved about Goodbye Perfect, I kept waiting for the protagonist to make the right decision in regard to her friend, Bonnie, running away, but she never did. Not until the last 50 pages of the book, and then the impact on Eden and Bonnie’s friendship was SO RUSHED OVER that I felt like it was an incomplete ending/ pages had been ripped out of my copy.

·         I really liked this book – REALLY – but I feel like what would have made it EXCEPTIONAL was if we occasionally heard from Bonnie as well, over the course of The Week. I loved seeing it from her best friend’s perspective, but I wished we saw her thinking as well.

ALL IN ALL, I would DEFINITELY pick up another Sara Barnard book, and I would DEFINITELY recommend this one.

A poignant, real look into the life of two teenage girls, Goodbye Perfect handles a taboo topic with grace and maturity and it was a stunner of a book!

Sara lives in Brighton and does all her best writing on trains. She loves books, book people and book things. She has been writing ever since she was too small to reach the “on” switch on the family Amstrad computer. She gets her love of words from her dad, who made sure she always had books to read and introduced her to the wonders of secondhand book shops at a young age.

Sara is trying to visit every country in Europe, and has managed to reach 13 with her best friend. She has also lived in Canada and worked in India.

Have you read any of Sara Barnard's books? What do you think of them?
Which one is your favourite?
What are some of your FAVOURITE YA Contemporary reads?
I'd love your recommendations!