Caragh Reviews // Enchantment Lake by Margi Preus

Published - 11th March 2015
Publisher - Minnesota Press
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - A disturbing call from her great aunts Astrid and Jeannette sends seventeen-year-old Francie far from her new home in New York into a tangle of mysteries. Ditching an audition in a Manhattan theater, Francie travels to a remote lake in the northwoods where her aunts’ neighbors are “dropping like flies” from strange accidents. But are they accidents?
On the shores of Enchantment Lake in the woods of northern Minnesota, something ominous is afoot, and as Francie begins to investigate, the mysteries multiply: a poisoned hot dish, a puzzling confession, eerie noises in the bog, and a legendary treasure that is said to be under enchantment—or is that under Enchantment, as in under the lake? At the center of everything is a suddenly booming business in cabin sales and a road not everyone wants built.
To a somewhat reluctant northwoods Nancy Drew, the intrigue proves irresistible, especially when it draws her closer to the mysteries at the heart of her own life: What happened to her father? Who and where is her mother? Who is she, and where does her heart lie—in the bustle of New York City or the deep woods of Minnesota? With its gripping story, romantic spirit, and a sly dash of modern-day trouble (evil realtors and other invasive species), Enchantment Lake will fascinate readers, providing precisely the charm that Margi Preus’s readers have come to expect.

Like most people I think, what attracted me the most to this book was the absolutely GORGEOUS cover! You can't deny that this cover doesn't immediately grab your attention and shout 'read me'. I hadn't heard of Preus before and so i'm totally unfamiliar with her writing style and whether this is her preferred writing genre etc so I have nothing to compare it to.

In total honesty, this book had what I like to call 'Darren Shan Syndrome'. By that I mean that as I was reading it, I really wasn't that impressed but by the end of the book I had been caught hook, line and sinker. I don't get through many books these days but I actually finished this in just 2 sittings.

When I requested it for review, I didn't even read the blurb so I went in completely unaware of what to expect. What I found was a cute little mystery novel with an appealing main character. Francie is young, yet sassy and I love that. She takes it upon herself to go out to the lake where her Aunts live and see if she can uncover the mystery going on there. Enchantment Lake is full of mysteries and secrets. If you can imagine a picturesque little island with weird and wonderful residents then you're already 70% familiar with this book.

It wasn't a particular surprise when the answer was revealed at the end but strangely that didn't seem to take anything away. It definitely wouldn't surprise me if this is part of a series as a lot of the book seemed taken up with getting to know Francie and the people around the lake. Plus after the events of Enchantment Lake, I would really like to know what happened next with the bones, the lake, the Aunts etc. It was just a little cute read really and i'm glad I got the chance to read it.

Brianna Reviews // Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Published: 31^st July 2012

Publisher: MIRA Ink

Format: Kindle

Synopsis: They say be a good girl, get good grades, be popular. They know nothing about me. I can’t remember the night that changed my life. The night I went from popular to loner freak. And my family are determined to keep it that way. They said therapy was supposed to help. They didn’t expect Noah. Noah is the dangerous boy my parents warned me about. But the only one who’ll listen. The only one who’ll help me find the truth. I know every kiss, every promise, every touch is forbidden. But what if finding your destiny means breaking all the rules? A brave and powerful novel about loss, change and growing up, but most of all love

I came across this book in a round about way on Goodreads. Its loose sequel (4^th book) Take Me On was nominated for best YA fiction and it’s cover caught my eye, having read the description it sounded really good, and although this series isn’t a strict series – they all take place in the same ‘world’ and some of the characters cross over, each book can be read like a true standalone – I had to start at the start. I downloaded the free sample, and bought the full book as soon as it finished. I’m not sure if I put my kindle down…

So we start off with Echo, when we meet her she is sort of reclusive, keeps to herself, a bit of a loner, but she wasn’t always that way, she used to be popular. That all changed one night when she ended up in the hospital. It was a night that left her arms covered in scars, a night she doesn’t remember. Her parents have split up, her brother died in Afghanistan, there is a court order stopping her mother from seeing her and her dad is in a relationship with her ex-childminder.

Now Noah is the ‘bad boy’ he skips school, his grades are poor, he smokes weed, drinks and often ends up in fights. Noah is a smart kid, his poor grades are a lack of effort and everything else is because in Noah’s mind what is the point, he doesn’t see anything in his future. Noah is also a Foster kid which is where is low expectations have come from.

Echo meets Noah in the school Councillor's office, and they definitely don’t get on, and they are from totally different worlds. Echo’s dad is fairly well off, Noah doesn’t even have a bed. Inevitably they do get together and fall in love, that’s no spoiler – it’s kind of the expectation. But what I really like about this book is how they get there. It’s not a straightforward love story, in fact I would argue that the love story is in the background because what this book is really about is Echo getting her confidence back, to be able to walk through the school without a jumper pulled down over her hands. For her to find out what did happen that night, to forgive her dad, come to terms with Ashley (the childminder) and to basically come to terms with the ways in which her life has changed and to take ownership of that. And with Noah, the story is really about him, his brothers (who were adopted unlike Noah) and the meaning of family. Yes they help each other through those events, support each other and fall in love, but what they gain in this story is much more than love.

Pushing the Limits is written from the POVs of Echo and Noah, roughly alternating between the two of them. It works well, especially as the characters in this book often outwardly show a different emotion to what they are feeling (I suppose everyone does) but the complexity of these emotions mean that it’s nice to be able to have an insight to what they are thinking. To understand why he just did that or why she said that. It also means you have a front row seat to watch how the way in which Noah and Echo think changes. I mean they essentially ‘grow up’ in this book, not all the way they still have some growing to do, which you can read happening in Breaking the Rules which comes into the series as #1.5 (if you enjoyed this book I recommend it... obviously).

Through this story I also fell in love with Noah’s best friend Isaiah and I even warmed up to Beth. I didn’t think much of Echo’s friends. I don’t know if it was just because I didn’t like them or because it doesn’t focus on them much you see a lot of Beth and Isaiah because they are a big part of Noah’s life.  I look forward to reading Dare You To (#2) and Crash into You (#3) and they focus on Beth and then Isaiah.

I might be repeating myself but I love the way this book deals with the issues Noah and Echo have, they aren’t magicked away, they aren’t perfectly fixed at the end. Basically this book deals with real life and it doesn’t give it fairytale endings but it does give a realistic and I think positive end

So in case you hadn’t realised I loved Pushing the Limits, I recommend it to everyone, and I’m going to hopefully devour the next in the series: Dare You To, which I bought as soon as I finished this (at work using wifi from someone’s phone… I needed it that badly).

Brianna Reviews // Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp

Published: 17^th December 2012 (originally 1^st January 1979)

Publisher: Graymalkin Media

Format: Paperback

Synopsis: High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all.

A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed all according to plan. But they haven't counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight to the death. Ho ho ho!

[This review shouldn’t really need the above synopsis, I mean who doesn’t know the general plot to Die Hard which this book is the basis for]

I first heard about Nothing Lasts Forever way back sometime in 2011in a newsletter encouraging people to read the book first before watching the film. Until then I had absolutely no idea that Die Hard was based on a book – This is where I admit that Die Hard is my favourite film, and I don’t care if you judge me for that. Unfortunately when I immediately tried to buy Nothing Lasts Forever I couldn’t, it was no longer in print and all the second hand copies were ridiculously expensive. I broken-heartedly pushed the idea of reading it out of my head. In late 2013 Caragh found out that it was back in print (it’s only writing this review that I realise that it came back in print only a year after – oh well). Once it was attainable there was no doubt that I would read it. I’m also sorry that this review is going to continuously refer to the film, it’s just too hard not to.

Joe Leland (aka. John McClane although it is important to point out that Leland is NOT McClane) is flying to LA to attend a Christmas party at his daughter’s office (that’s right, not his wife). Joe isn’t young; he was in the war before being a detective and at the time of Nothing Lasts Forever he is self-employed as a consultant on security and police procedures. After arriving at Klaxon’s tower block, Joe goes to freshen himself up; which is convenient as a group of 12 terrorists seize control of the building holding the guests hostage. Leland then spends the rest of his time trying to stop the terrorists.

I think the thing that surprised me most about this book is the fact that Joe Leland is not a hero, he’s not dashing and his thoughts are rather dark at times. It’s quite gritty and most importantly this book isn’t Hollywood, (though it does take place near Hollywood) so if you are looking for action where the hero saves the day and everybody. This is not your book.

 Another noticeable difference is that the makeup of the terrorist group is different in Die Hard the terrorists are all male and motivated by greed, in Nothing Lasts Forever a number of the group are young females and they are idealistically motivated. I think it’s a shame that the film sexistly wimped out of killing women, I understand that it came out in a different time, but the book could stomach it a whole decade earlier, I think that if Die Hard was made today it would feature the women. 

The book is written from Joe Lelands perspective. In the film the spaces between the action are filled with McClane’s amusing mutterings to himself. In Nothing Lasts Forever Thorp uses the down time to explore Joe Lelands past; His time in the war (WWII), his career as a detective, the breakup of his marriage, the breakdown of his relationship with his daughter (he didn’t like her husband), his ex-wife’s death and rekindling the relationship with his daughter. He also thinks through strategy (it helps). Over all you come out of the book feeling that you really know who Leland is, I suppose in a way in the 4^th Die Hard Film the John McClane in that is as close to Leland as he gets.

In some places I found the descriptions of the action hard to follow, in some places being able to picture the film helped me to keep track of what he was doing as a lot of the action was taken right out of the book – in fact I have to give the film credit for mostly being fairly true to the book – including the chair bomb down the lift shaft (sorry no Yippe-Ki-Aye Mother******), the fire hose stunt off the side of the building, the glass in his feet. I did not expect it to be so close, which is fantastic as you get the same feel and action from the film but with a whole lot more character depth and grit. 

The head police guy is just as much of an ass, at one point they even hang Leland out to dry, luckily Al is there the save the day. And the news teams are as lecherous as they can be. I like Al Powell, he seems like a general all round nice person, dragged into something huge when all he really wants to do is go home to bed. I think he might be the only main character who’s morals/actions aren’t up for debate, (so long as you discount the incident at the end – I’m still shocked)and he also provides some much needed character interaction for Leland; it breaks up the long stretches of his reminiscing. Leland also has another member to his team in the form of Taco Bill who lends a hand with this impressive radio equipment.

Overall I loved the book, I especially liked the depth to Leland (you would hope he had some as the entire book is centred on him and for the most part he is alone). I also like the fact that it’s not all cut and dry. Even Steffie, his daughter isn’t an innocent party – right and wrong in this are really all in a grey area. And I even learned something: that LAX is the only airport known by its baggage code… I genuinely thought that was the airports name… apparently not, which is good, it’d be an odd name.

I would recommend this book to anyone who even remotely liked the film and to anyone  really unless death, gun fights and explosions isn’t something you like!

Liebster Award

 

Excited!

The absolutely lovely Maddie and Bee from Heart Full of Books nominated Loaded Shelves for a Liebster award. Granted, i'm not entirely sure what a Liebster award is but i'm excited anyway! Thanks girls :)

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog!
2. Give your readers 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions from the blog who nominated you.
4. Nominate a number of bloggers to receive this award.
5. Come up with 11 questions for your nominees!

Oh wow, 11 facts is a LOT. I'll do my best.
1. So very British of me, but I love a good strong cup of tea.
2. I've been to London 3 times in my whole life, and they were all for book related reasons.
3. My favourite snack is Cadbury's fingers dipped in peanut butter and I tell EVERYONE about it.
4. I'm slightly obsessed with avocado and i'm always looking for ways to eat it differently.
5. I am an avid list-maker and have exceptional organisational skills.
6. I love Yankee Candles so much. I pretty much always have one lit when i'm in the house.
7. Once Upon A Time is my current TV show of choice but my all time fave is Charmed.
8. Maria V Snyder said I should be nicer to my boyfriend because he's the best ever! Coincidentally, she's totally right too.
9. Halloween is my favourite holiday and I wish we celebrated it more like America.
10. One of the hardest decisions to make in life is which book to read next.
11. I'm half way through more than 10 series of books because I just can't bring myself to read the whole thing at once.


Questions from Maddie and Bee: 
1. How long have you been blogging?
I've been blogging in general for over 10 years but I didn't start blogging about books until 2009, which is when I started Loaded Shelves.

2. What inspired you to start blogging?
An absolutely terrible memory. Seriously. When I was at University to study English Literature I was reading all the time and just couldn't remember which book had which story! I started just writing it all down to remember and never really stopped.

3. What Hogwarts house would you be in?
Slytherin! I'm highly ambitious and would do almost anything - but that doesn't mean i'm evil! Honest ;)

4. Is there a book that you really didn’t like?
This probably sounds bad but any book written by L.J.Smith. I read the first volume of Night World when it was released and it's still to this date the only book I have ever put in the bin! I later went on to read the early Vampire Diaries books (not knowing it was the same author until much later) and didn't enjoy those either. The books got much better later when I suspect LJ stopped writing them. Her particular writing style just isn't for me.

5. If you could have any fictional creature as a pet, what would you choose?
I'd quite like a dragon like Saphira in Eragon. Badass female AND flying? Yes please.

6. Which fictional character would you like as a best friend?
I could spend hours trying to figure this out so i'll go with the first ones I thought of - Claire and Eve from Rachel Caine's Morganville series! They're both so incredibly different and yet similar to each other and therefore me too. I think we'd have a lot of adventures and awesome girls nights in with Eve doing makeovers.

7. What fictional universe would you choose to live in?
Probably an overused answer but definitely the world of Harry Potter. I'm a little bit lazy with my imagination these days so living in a universe that I already know how to deal with (with added awesome!) is right up my street. The whole idea that there could be another type of world amongst the one we live in, without us ever knowing it, is incredible and exciting. I'm a huge Potter fan and could definitely see myself living in that universe. (Alternatively i'd pick Morganville again.)

8. What are your other hobbies besides reading?
People DO things besides reading? ;) Erm, I don't really know. As I said before my job has crazy hours which means I don't have a lot of daylight hours to do things in. I watch Netflix a lot and post a lot of pictures of food on Instagram.

9. Have you set yourself any reading challenges this year? If so, what are they?
Last year I was incredibly busy. I found myself with a full time (and big time!) job almost straight out of university with crazy hours, a full time boyfriend who I eventually moved in with and away from my comfort zone totally and was left with very little time. This basically meant I failed literally everything I challenged myself to in 2014. So for this year i'm quite content with just the good ol' 50 Book Challenge and see if I can manage that again before stretching myself!

10. What book do you wish more people would read?
I swear i'm not saying this just because I recently met her - but Poison Study! It's been one of my favourite books for years and years and have already pushed it on at least 5 people that come to mind instantly. It should be way more recognised than it is. Yelena is one of my favourite female protags of all time.

11. Which author, alive or deceased, would you like to have dinner with?
He's not an author as such, but i'd have to say William Shakespeare. I've been a huge Will fan my entire life and he has inspired so much of the literature that we've been graced with since. Plus I think he'd be really down to earth and a big charmer!

Bit of  a cop out but i'd like the following bloggers to answer the SAME questions that Maddie and Bee asked me. They're great choices and i'd love to see your answers.

Misty @ The Book Rat
Michelle @ Fluttering Butterflies
Kelly @ The Book Faeries Nook
Anya @ An Awful Lot of Reading

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List

March 31: Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List

1. The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson

2. Everyday by David Levithan

3. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

4. Shadow Study by Maria V Snyder

5. Denton's Little Death Date by Lance Rubin

6. Enchantment Lake by Margi Preus

7. Cleo by Lucy Coats

8. My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp

9. Creature Comforts by Trisha Ashley

10. Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine

Caragh Reviews // I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Published - 29th January 2015
Publisher - Simon & Schuster
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - This characteristically powerful novel follows eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend's shocking suicide.
As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness.

After the recent blockbuster If I Stay, originally a novel by Forman, I think I can safely say this book will do wonderfully and i'm so glad of that. I will be honest and say that I was a little hesitant about reading it as I loved the book I mentioned above. From what i'd heard and read about I Was Here, it sounded too similar and I felt like maybe this book was trying to cash in on what Gayle was already becoming popular with, but I was so wrong.

I learned a few valuable lessons from this book. The main one was to stop pigeon-holing authors; whether that's expecting them to be good from previous books or otherwise! One book does not make an author. Secondly, is that all of my preconceived ideas about books dealing with mental health issues are absolute rubbish. During my hiatus on here, I popped back to review an incredible book I read by Ned Vizzini (which can be found here if you're interested). I guess I didn't learn my mistake then, but i'm definitely thinking differently now.

I Was Here, takes us on a journey with Cody as she tries to discover why her best friend took her own life. From the outside, Meg was bright and full of the joys of life but obviously, not all was as it seemed. I thought that this book would brush aside the minute details of such an illness and focus on Cody's ability to move forward in the face of tragedy. Although that's true to an extent, that's not actually what happened at all. I Was Here is actually quite graphic and in your face and I loved that. The small details of Meg's decision were the focal point of the book for me and nothing was shied away from.

I'm in agreement with most reviews about this book though in one aspect. The romance factor just didn't seem real and nor did it really serve a purpose. It broke up the story in a way that wasn't called for. I understand that perhaps it was to show that Cody's life without Meg isn't empty and could be fulfilled but I think that message came across regardless. 

I Was Here is powerful and beautifully written. It probably sounds strange to hear (read?) but i'm actually inspired. I would love to read more books that focus on mental health issues and also body disorders. It's a pretty unexplored genre for me and i'd love to learn more. If anybody has any suggestions then please let me know in the comments. 

- Don't forget you can also get in touch via facebook! Just search Loaded Shelves :)

Maria V Snyder Blogger Event

Hey guys :)

As some of you now know, on Wednesday I got the pleasure of being invited to a blogger event to celebrate the release of Maria V Snyder's newly released book Shadow Study. The fabulous ladies at Harlequin/Mira Ink were so sweet and welcoming. We drove for a total of 11 hours in one evening and it was worth every minute! It was the first event that Brianna and I had attended but everyone was so friendly that it didn't take long before we were all chatting away and sharing our book related interests.

I've been to a few book signings before but they were pretty rigid and nerve-wracking. Perhaps rightly so, they more often than not focused around the author and left very little time to communicate with both other and other fans. I think there's a bit of stigma that book bloggers like us are cut-off and unsociable but I think we, as a group, definitely shot that down on Wednesday night.

The event was fully centered around us bloggers and the community. Mira and Maria Snyder herself were very interested in the community and asked a lot of questions which was lovely! All of the ladies I met were wonderful and I felt very privileged to share a space with them. I've been a long-time blog follower of Michelle from Fluttering Butterflies so it was great to get to say hi to her in the flesh! Big thanks to Michelle for the picture on the bottom of here too :)

We were the last ones to leave the event, armed with paper plates full of food! I had mentioned to Maria and the folks at Harlequin that my long-suffering boyfriend had been waiting outside for hours after driving us all the way there, and subsequently after we all agreed how he's the best boyfriend ever, got sent away with a signed book and food for him! ;)

I could talk about this event forever but as i'm sat at the kitchen counter at the above boyfriend's parents house to celebrate birthdays, i'm seriously swamped with life this week! Thanks to all the bloggers I met, thanks to Cara who organised the event and was a FABULOUS host! And thanks to Harlequin/Mira for having us :)

Caragh Reviews // The Beach Cafe by Lucy Diamond

Publisher - Pan Macmillan
Published - June 2011
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - Evie Flynn has always been the black sheep of her family - a dreamer and a drifter, unlike her over-achieving elder sisters. She's tried making a name for herself as an actress, a photographer and a singer, but nothing has ever worked out. Now she's stuck in temp hell, with a sensible, pension-planning boyfriend. Somehow life seems to be passing her by. Then her beloved aunt Jo dies suddenly in a car crash, leaving Evie an unusual legacy - her precious beach cafe in Cornwall. Determined to make a success of something for the first time in her life, Evie heads off to Cornwall to get the cafe and her life back on track - and gets more than she bargained for, both in work and in love...

I came about The Beach Cafe in a long roundabout way. Over Christmas I was looking for short Christmassy reads. Partly because I wanted to get into the festive spirit and partly because it was a last ditch attempt to complete my reading challenge (which didn't exactly work out...). I came across a couple of short stories by Lucy Diamond which kind of sucked me in, and then I realised they were actually part of a bigger book!

The Beach Cafe begins with Evie Flynn having some kind of a crisis about the life she is living. Her favourite Aunt has passed away and amidst her grieving, she has to face up to the fact that her long term relationship with Mr Sensible just isn't working out. Evie makes the enormous decision to move to Cornwall and take over Aunt Jo's cafe.

Evie proves that no matter what stage of life you're in, change is always possible and can definitely be for the better. Of course, Evie's transition is far from smooth, but after facing crisis after crisis, she finally lands on her feet. It's not easy but with the right people surrounding you, anything is possible and everything can be overcome. It was definitely a big change from the usual YA that I read and was mostly featuring adults and "adult" problems. I use quotations because i'm no expert in who can experiences particular issues.

The Beach Cafe isn't a book that really stays with you and has some great meaning but I honestly really enjoyed it. It was a simple read and was definitely fun! I'd recommend it as a beach/holiday book for anyone who's already making summer TBRs.

Maria V Snyder's Shadow Study Tour!

Hey guys!
Eek, i'm so excited! Hopefully this post will at least be somewhat coherent. If you know me, then you know my unending love for Maria V Snyder's 'Study' series which currently comprises of Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study (not to mention a somewhat related, Ixia universe, spin off series).
It was announced a while ago now that Maria would be adding 3 more books to Yelena's story.

I think I applied for early review at least 3 different times and sadly, I didn't get accepted. Something good did come of it though!

Maria V Snyder is coming to the UK to celebrate the release of Shadow Study and is doing a book signing tour! The banner at the top of this post shows when and where you can find the woman herself if like me, you need to get those books signed.

In addition to the book tour, Harlequin/Mira Ink are holding an exclusive blogger event to kick it all off and I was lucky enough to be invited! On Wednesday, Brianna and I will be travelling to Surrey to meet Maria and hopefully lots of other bloggers. If any of you guys manage to meet her at one of the upcoming tours, please feel free to post pictures and comments as i'd love to share your experiences. Look out for my write-up of the event next weekend too as i'm sure there will be plenty to say.

Do try and see Maria - details below!

Thursday 24th March

Forbidden Planet, Covent Garden

Book signing and reading: 5.30pm

Thursday 26th March

Waterstones, New Street Birmingham

Book signing: 7pm

Saturday 28th March

Waterstones, Picadilly

Book signing: 1-3pm

Sunday 29th March

Waterstones, Manchester

Book signing: 1-3pm

Monday 30th March

Waterstones, Edinburgh

Book signing: 4:30 - 7pm

Monday 6th April

Waterstones, Bristol Cribbs-Causeway

Book event: 6-8pm

Caragh Reviews // All That Glitters (Geek Girl #4) by Holly Smale

Published - 26th February 2015
Publisher - HarperCollins
Format - Kindle
Synopsis- "My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek." The fourth book in the award-winning GEEK GIRL series. Harriet Manners has high hopes for the new school year: she's a Sixth Former now, and things are going to be different. But with Nat busy falling in love at college and Toby preoccupied with a Top Secret project, Harriet soon discovers that's not necessarily a good thing...

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

So far I've been lucky enough to get access to all of the books in the Geek Girl series and every time I'm so pleased! This series is genuinely heartwarming and hilarious for readers of all ages. The writing style is accessible to all without any 'dumbing down'. Though Geek Girl is clearly aimed at pre-teens and teenagers, don't for a second think that there is nothing an adult can't get out of this book! Harriet is a shining example of how work, education, friends and all types of relationships can have a massive impact on your life.

Harriet is not only of high school age, she is a fashion model with a broken heart. Any child or adult that has had to experience that 'first day' feeling can totally relate to this addition of Smale's series. After her American adventure, Harriet now has to face going back to her old school; but this time her best friends aren't there to help her. 

I will admit, in All That Glitters, Harriet started to make me twitch a little. And not in the good, exciting kind of way. I hate to say this but she was....annoying. But after a while I realised that it wasn't Harriet at all, it was the way I was perceiving her and in my opinion, that was Smale's point. Harriet is highly intelligent and prides herself on her knowledge. She has an answer for absolutely everything but when she begins to doubt herself, I at least began to realise that this was what actually made her special. One of the points of this book is that a person shouldn't have to change in order to make friends and be important - a lesson that people of all ages could do with remembering!

All That Glitters is full of heart-bursting moments and a barrel full of laughs. I'm so excited that this series is ongoing!