Review - A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews

Title: A Thousand Perfect Notes

Author: C.G. Drews

Pages: 300

Publisher: Orchard Books

Release Date: 7th June 2018

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Beck hates his life. He hates his violent mother. He hates his home. Most of all, he hates the piano that his mother forces him to play hour after hour, day after day. He will never play as she did before illness ended her career and left her bitter and broken. But Beck is too scared to stand up to his mother, and tell her his true passion, which is composing his own music - because the least suggestion of rebellion on his part ends in violence.

When Beck meets August, a girl full of life, energy and laughter, love begins to awaken within him and he glimpses a way to escape his painful existence. But dare he reach for it?

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US









My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Hachette Children's Group and NetGalley*

Beck has a tough life - his once famous pianist mother forces him to play the piano for hours on end, and if Beck isn't good enough she punishes him by using her fists. Since her stroke, his mother can't play, so she pushes Beck, determined to carry on the Keverich line.

When he's not playing the piano, Beck tries to look after his little sister, Joey, and to hide that he composes his own music.

Then a girl called August enters Beck's life, bringing light and possibilities with her.

Can Beck stand up to his mother?

Is he stuck in a life he can't escape?

I was drawn to A Thousand Perfect Notes by the author and the blurb. There's a lot of hype about this book in the blogosphere and, unfortunately, this was one of the occasions where, for me, the hype led to the book disappointing me.

Beck and August were both interesting characters, but Joey was my favourite character overall.

The plot was interesting and held my attention but nothing happened that surprised or shocked me (apart from the physical abuse!).

The romance was quite sweet and it didn't overshadow other aspects of the story.

There are some tough subjects tackled in this book and I thought they were handled well.

While I did enjoy this book, I do feel slightly disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more.

Overall this was a solid debut and an enjoyable read.

 

 

Cover Reveal + Giveaway - The Witch’s Tower (Twisted Ever After, #1) by Tamara Grantham

The Witch’s Tower (Twisted Ever After, #1) by Tamara Grantham
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: March 11th 2019
Genres: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Young Adult

Gothel is a witch. Punished for the actions of her mother, her choice is simple: either she stands guard over Princess Rapunzel—or she dies. But just because a choice is easy doesn’t mean it’s pleasant. Protecting Rapunzel means watching as the princess lays trapped in a tower, bedridden by hair that is so long and heavy it’s slowly driving her insane. Gothel’s life has become one of imprisonment and solitude as well—until a prince and his handsome squire appear at the tower.

Only one object can cut Rapunzel’s hair and end the curse: a pair of magical shears. But the shears are guarded by the most terrifying witches in the land, who also happen to be Gothel’s aunts. As Gothel and the prince’s squire, Raj Talmund, work to form a plan, she finds herself more and more drawn to the mysterious young man from the Outerlands. Unfortunately, his destiny is far more dangerous than she wants to admit: to save a princess, he must kill the witch who’s been forced to guard her.

THE WITCH’S TOWER is the first in an inspired new series of fairy-tale retellings from award-winning fantasy author Tamara Grantham.

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Author Bio

Tamara Grantham is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series and the Shine novellas. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB’S Book of the Year Awards, a RONE award for best New Adult Romance of 2016, and is a #1 bestseller on Amazon with over 200 five-star reviews.

Tamara holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Lamar University. She has been a featured speaker at multiple writing conferences, and she has been a panelist at Comic Con Wizard World speaking on the topic of female leads. For her first published project, she collaborated with New York-Times bestselling author, William Bernhardt, in writing the Shine series.

Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. She rarely has any free time, but when the stars align and she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels, taking nature walks--which fuel her inspiration for creating fantastical worlds--and watching every Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made. You can find her online at www.TamaraGrantham.com.

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Top Ten Tuesday - Best Books I’ve Read In 2018 (So Far)

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature that was created by The Broke and the Bookish, which is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week the topic is

 Best Books I’ve Read In 2018 (So Far) 

 Here are my ten favourite books I've read so far this year . . .

  Somebody to Love by Aurelia Fray

Ms. Marvel, Volume 7: Damage Per Second

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost, #2) by Brigid Kemmerer

The Belles (The Belles, #1) by Dhonielle Clayton 

Ms. Marvel, Volume 8: Mecca

  

 To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Hero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands, #3) by Alwyn Hamilton

 

We Shall Fight Until We Win, edited by Laura Jones

Uprooted by Naomi Novik 

 

 Bonus Book!

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

What are your favourite books of the year so far?

FairyLoot Unboxing - June - Rebels in Ballgowns

The June FairyLoot box's theme was Rebels in Ballgowns.

Here's what was inside! 

This exclusive cushion cover was designed by Miss Phi and features a quote from Legendary by Stephanie Garber. I love the colours, the roses and the tarot cards.

 This Sea Witch sampler is a poster on one side and also has an excerpt from the novel.

The exclusive iron-on patch was designed by Ink and Wonder and features a quote from The Selection by Kiera Cass.

The candle is an exclusive 'Corvere' candle from Geeky Clean. It was inspired by Nevernight by Jay Kristoff and smells of strawberries and pepper.

The masquerade mask necklace is from Team FairyLoot and is really pretty!

The magnetic bookmarks are exclusive and are characters from the Shatter Me books. They were designed by Taratjah Art.

The reading journal is exclusive and runs from July-December 2018. It was designed by FictionTea Designs and features art from Stella's Bookish Art. I'm really looking forward to using this. 

 This month's book is Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart.

This hardback is a FairyLoot exclusive - the standard UK edition is paperback and comes out at the end of July so FairyLoot subscribers got it a month early!

As usual the book came in a FairyLoot bag with a bookmark of the month's theme, as well as signed bookplate, a letter from the author and a postcard.

I'm looking forward to reading Grace and Fury - with sisters, rebellion and a ball, it sounds just up my street!

Here is everything altogether!

What was your favourite item in this month's box?

I can't wait to start using the reading journal!

Review - Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Title: Starfish

Author: Akemi Dawn Bowman

Pages: 320

Publisher: Ink Road

Release Date: 5th April 2018

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin.

But then Kiko doesn’t get into Prism, at the same time as her abusive uncle moves back in with her family. So when she receives an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the West Coast, Kiko jumps at the opportunity in spite of the anxieties and fears that attempt to hold her back. And now that she is finally free to be her own person outside the constricting walls of her home life, Kiko learns transformative truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.

A luminous, heartbreaking story of identity, family, and the beauty that emerges when we embrace our true selves.

 Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US









My Review:
 

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Black & White Publishing and NetGalley*

Kiko Himura has never felt comfortable in her own skin. She's half-Asian and finds confrontation and social situations stressful. Kiko blames herself for her parents' divorce and seeks approval from her mother who puts Kiko down at every opportunity.

Kiko escapes in her art and dreams of leaving home to study at Prism, an art college.

Kiko's plans fall apart when she doesn't get a place at Prism. To make things worse, her abusive uncle moves in.

Then Kiko bumps into her childhood best friend and she gets the chance to leave town and look at art schools in California.

Can Kiko overcome her anxieties and become the person she wants to be?

Can Kiko ever have the relationship she wants with her mother?

Starfish is an emotional and powerful read about learning to accept yourself.

I really liked Kiko as a protagonist and felt sorry for the things she had been through.

I liked Jamie, Emery and the friends that Kiko made.

The romance was sweet but not overpowering.

I thought anxiety was portrayed very well.

The plot was interesting and held my attention. I found myself blinking away tears several times.

I enjoyed the writing style and definitely plan to read the author's next book.

Overall this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.