Book Club September 2013

Good morning everyone, 

Sean Cummings and Andy Robb

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I do apologise sincerely for pulling a Sherlock on you; I’ve been completely snowed under with work recently. This is the blog post for our rather fabulous September get together with the fantastical Andy Robb and Sean Cummings. And, no, fantastical may not be a word, but it’s the only way that I could ever try to accurately cram the personalities of those authors into one impossibly tiny word. This is mainly because both of them are charming, funny, polite and immensely talented people that know how to hold a good conversation. Almost more importantly, they can write a good book (or two)!
 

On that note, we shall sashay onto the reviews…

Strange Chemistry Book Launch by Rosie

Bryony Pearce and Kim Curran

Salutations people of the internet,

Now, this post is long overdue, but better late than never, right?

A while ago the book club was lucky enough to be invited to the Strange Chemistry book launch for ‘Control’ and ‘The Weight of Souls’ (which are both fantastic, I assure you) down at Forbidden Planet in London. Not only did we meet the fabulous Kim Curran and Bryony Pearce but we were blessed with some pretty awesome cake and some marvellously munch-tastic cake pops.

The evening kicked off with an introduction from Amanda Rutter, which was really nice and created a brilliant atmosphere for the rest of the night. However, the highlight of the evening for me was hearing the authors read out a chapter or so of their new books.

Out In the Wild

Hi Guys!


Here is a new slot I'm doing for the blog, you can probably guess what it is from the title there, but in case you can't, here's the run down. It's basically a post full of pictures of various books out in the wild! *ta-da!* I'll try and post one every few weeks or so and here is this weeks. Enjoy...

Here is shot of one of our displays in the Teen section. It's our Thrills and Chills bay and there are soooooo many good books on it. If you're looking for something exciting to read this summer, this is the place to look! You will notice a few of our monthly books on there too, we have been going through an action phase as of late and this will continue in July with The 5th Wave....

Review - Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells

Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells

ISBN - 9781908844484

Published by Strange Chemistry

Released 4th April 2013

Four out of Five stars **** 

Hi Guys, 

I have literally just finished this book and I loved it! It is another great book from Strange Chemistry. I am continually impressed with the books that SC are releasing. Some of my most favourite reads of recent times have come from this imprint. Keep it up guys! I can't wait to see what else is on its way. I'd like so say thank you to Amanda, the editor of SC, for sending me a proof of this for  review. So.... Here it is. Enjoy...

Review - The Holders by Julianna Scott

The Holders by Julianna Scott

ISBN: 9781908844422

Published by Strange Chemistry

Released 7th March 2013

Four out of five stars ****

Hi guys!

So, I've been getting through books at a rate of knots the last few days. Here is the first of many reviews to come over the next week. I'm trying to get through my TBR\Review pile. Lucky for me that they all look like really good books. The only thing I'm struggling with is which one to pick! lol

So here is The Holders by Julianna Scott. I really enjoyed this book. I gave it four out of five stars. Here is what Goodreads has to say about it...

Book Club - March/April 2013

Hi there guys!

I seem to be having some techie troubles at the moment. That's why this post is so late! Blogger seems to be behaving at the moment though, so fingers crossed! :D Let's see if it will let me both finish and post this...

This will be a joint post for both March and April's meets. Let's hope I don't get myself all muddled up! lol

Reading Group Book for March 2013

Hi there :)

The next meeting is 14th March and we will be reading Pantomime by Laura Lam. I LOVED This book!!! Hopefully you guys will too. There is definitely loads to talk about within its pages. Here's what Goodreads has to say about it...

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Book Club - Feb 2013

Hi there!

A huge thank you to the members who showed up last night, despite the fact it was Valentines Day! We had a good time chatting about all sorts of book related things. 

Our book this month was Dogs of Winter by Bobbie Pyron. We gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Overall we loved it! It was so different from many of the books most of us had read before. Each of us connected with it it a different way. The mums in the group found Mishka's story heart wrenching. The animal lovers found the pack fascinating. 
We all loved that it was a fictional story based on true events. We found ourselves thinking about what we would have done in a similar situation, or how our kids would have coped (not very well we have so say, they can barely get dressed without help!).

Bookclub January 2013

Hi there, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I'd like to start off, as per usual, by saying thank you to all of those who came last night, and a huge thank you to Kim Curran too! :D

Last night we had our first meet of 2013, and what a good one it was! There was loads of chatting, laughing and tweeting! Yes, that's right, Tweeting!  Our book this month was Shift by the awesome Kim Curran. We were joined by Kim via twitter, for a Q&A session throughout our meeting. Here's what we asked her...

Review - Pantomime by Laura Lam

Pantomime by Laura Lam

ISBN - 9781908844361  

Published by Strange Chemistry

Released  7th Feb 2013

Five out of Five stars *****

Well, where do I start?! I had no idea what to expect from this book. I listened to Laura read the first chapter at the Strange Chemistry launch. I was mesmerised and I knew this was a world I wanted to know more about!  I had received the first few pages in my goody bag from the launch, but decided not to read them, as it would be a while before I could get hold of the whole book. That was back in August.

Cover Reveal - Emilie and the Hollow World

Hi there!

This morning the guys and gals over at Strange Chemistry revealed the awesome cover for one of their up-coming books, Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells. It's a fantasy adventure due for release in April 2013. Here is what the blurb says;

      "While running away from home for reasons that are eminently defensible, Emilie’s plans to stow away on the steamship Merry Bell and reach her cousin in the big city go awry, landing her on the wrong ship and at the beginning of a fantastic adventure.
Taken under the protection of Lady Marlende, Emilie learns that the crew hopes to use

Guest Post - Ingrid Jonach

Hi there!

We have a treat in store for you today :0) It's a guest post by Ingrid Jonach, one of the growing number of brilliant authors that have been signed to the Strange Chemistry label. Ingrid hails from Australia, and is here to talk about the YA scene down under. Enjoy....

 

 

The Young Adult Scene Down Under

If you were to walk into an Aussie bookstore or library, you would find the shelves groaning under the weight of novels from abroad, particularly the US.

We too were swept up in the Harry Potter, Twilight and The Hunger Games Series’. We have grown accustomed to international slang and even spelling if the novel has been ordered from overseas (note there has been a lot of robust discussion around parallel imports in Australia, but that is another blog post altogether!). And we Aussies are actively engaging with international readers and writers through social networking sites like Twitter and Goodreads.

Review - Broken by A E Rought

Broken by A E Rought

ISBN 9781908844309

Published by Strange Chemistry

Published 3rd January 2013

Four out of five stars ****

 

 

 

I genuinely really enjoyed this book! It grabbed my attention right from the moment that I heard about it, (which was when the blog was part of it's cover reveal a few months back). here's what goodreads has to say...

 

"Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

TAC Competition Winner!!

We have a Winner!!


Each of the nine blogs taking part in the blog tour will select a winner, these lucky nine with then be entered into a single draw, and the winner of that will receive a very special prize! They will become the proud owners of an annotated copy The Assassin's Curse :D



So here is the winner....*drum roll*

Blog Tour - The Assassin's Curse

Hi there everyone! I'd like to start off by saying a HUGE thank you to Cassandra and Amanda for letting me be involved with this blog tour! :D I would also like to say sorry for not posting it yesterday! We had a bit of trouble with our ISP Grrr!

Make sure you read all the way to the bottom, for there is an AMAZING giveaway for the tour!

So here is the #YABluewater interview with the wonderful Cassandra Rose Clarke! Enjoy...

 

Strange Chemistry Winner!!

OK so the winner has been chosen. At yesterday's book club we randomly selected one of the entrants. Here's a quick reminder of what was up for grabs...

The winner is..... *Drum roll*

Review - Katya's World by Jonathan L.Howard

Katya's World by Jonathan L.Howard

ISBN - 9781908844125

Published by Strange Chemistry

8th November 2012

4.5 out of 5 * 

Well where to start! I loved this book! It was great not to read anything with romance in it! lol
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against romantic plot lines, but they do seem to be everywhere at the moment!! Katya's World doesn't have one, and doesn't need one either. It's full of tension and mystery and more than a little humour.

Strange Chemistry Book Signing!

I am very excited to say that we will be hosting a multi-author book signing on the 7th October with some of the Strange Chemistry authors!!! I am so excited about this, can you tell?! lol

We will have Sean Cummings, author of Poltergeeks and Kim Curran, author of Shift. They will both be in store from 12pm signing their book's on that Sunday. It is also Sean's birthday on that day too, so I will be making some cake-pops!! I will make as many as I can, so I hope there will be enough to go around! lol  We will have more copies of both books as we draw closer to the event, as well as Gwenda Bond's Blackwood, so make sure you keep an eye on instore, and you keep your receipt as proof of purchase may be required.

Did I mention that I am SUPER EXCITED!! lol

Feel free to leave a comment, and be sure to spread the word!

See you next post,

Kaylie :0)

Author Interview - A E Rought

Hi there folks! Here is the last in my current set of interviews for you. It is with A E Rought, the author of Broken, due for release in January 2013. This book is released through Strange Chemistry and looks amazing!

Enjoy...


How did writing Broken compare to the other things that you have written?
 
In many ways! But I’ll just give you a few.
First, I felt Broken, before I wrote it. I tried story after story, but nothing fit the dark, aching, sweeping romance of what I was feeling. When I finished Broken and looked back, I was shocked by the story I’d managed to write.
Second, it’s the first book I plotted as completely as I did. With the layers, and amount of character heartache I created, it was really necessary, too!
Third, I loved it so much, I horded it for a while, just my alpha readers and me for the first few chapters. 

 

Strange Chemistry Giveaway!!

It's Giveaway time!!! I have one Strange Chemistry goody bag to giveaway, fresh from the Imprint Launch a few days ago. It's full of some really awesome stuff!! Take a look....