Bookish Babble

Bookish Babble: Quotes Collection Part Four

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I have Quote File where I write down sentences/paragraphs that for whatever reason at the time I was reading them jumped out of the page at me. It might’ve been because I was having a bad day and something the character said encapsulated my emotions perfectly or I just loved the poetic way a sequence read or the imagery it inspired etc.

You can’t tell me that isn’t one of the most beautiful sentences you’ve ever read. It’s whimsical and magical and all sorts of wonderful.

I read and reviewed Strange the dreamer via an e-ARC back in April 2017. I enjoyed it/was haunted by it so much that I bought my mum a paperback once it was released to force her into reading it. As soon as she finished it she rang me up to find out when the sequel was coming (Muse of Nightmares is to be released this October).

Laini Taylor’s writing is immaculate and beautiful. Strange the Dreamer is an enthralling story. And the cliffhanger ending is EPIC!

Oh, Lazlo. I Weep for you.

My Review of Strange the Dreamer | Strange the Dreamer on Goodreads

Links to my other Quote Babbles: Part Three | Part Two | Part One

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
It you want to make my day, just Like this post, simples.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

#LoveOzYABloggers – Indigenous

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#LoveOzYABloggers: 'Indigenous'

#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature.

This Month theme is ‘Indigenous’.

Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!

Three books! I could have just used all three books in The Tribe Series because they are brilliant. But I’m just going to use the first. The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf will have you racing to get your hands on the second and third books. Ambelin Kwaymullina has managed to bring something extra to the dystopian genre and breathe new life into it.

I Could have just used only Jared Thomas books, I’ve got three of them on my TBR shelf. But I’m just going to use Songs That Sound Like Blood. How could I not. It is a coming-of-age story exploring cultural identity and sexuality with interracial F/F romance, dah enough said.

And for number three, a coming-of-age tale of personal and cultural discovery with the backdrop of 80’s Melbourne, bring on Becoming Kirrali Lewis.

13552764The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf (The Tribe #1) by Ambelin Kwaymullina

“There will come a day when a thousand Illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below. . . . And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.”

Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala’s Tribe — the runaway Illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind.

And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move.

Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

27803898Songs That Sound Like Blood by Jared Thomas

Roxy May Redding’s got music in her soul and songs in her blood. She lives in a hot dusty town and is dreaming big. She survives run-ins with the mean girls at high school, sings in her dad’s band and babysits for her wayward aunt. But Roxy wants a new start. When she gets the chance to study music in the big city, she takes it. Roxy’s new life, her new friends and her music collide in a way she could never have imagined. Being a poor student sucks… navigating her way through the pressure of a national music competition has knobs on it… singing for her dinner is soul destroying… but nothing prepares Roxy for her biggest challenge. Her crush on Ana, the local music journo, forces her to steer her way through a complex maze of emotions alien to this small town girl. Family and friends watch closely as Roxy takes a confronting journey to find out who the hell she is.

25580726Becoming Kirrali Lewis by Jane Harrison

For Kirrali, life in 1985 was pretty chill. Sure, she was an Aboriginal girl adopted into a white family, but she was cool with that. She knew where she was headed – to a law degree – even if she didn’t know ‘who she was’. But when Kirrali moves to the city to start university, a whole lot of life-changing events spark an awakening that no one sees coming, least of all herself.

Story flashbacks to the 1960s, where her birth mother is desperately trying to escape conservative parents, give meaning to Kirrali’s own search for identity nearly twenty years later. And then she meets her father…

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Three

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The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom – Chapter 7, Gwendolyn contemplating:

“…if no one else is going to act for me, then I have a choice: remain a child and do nothing, or become an adult and do it myself. That, it seems to me, is the difference between the child and the adult, the difference between the girl hunted by wolves and the woman who hunts them.”

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom – Chapter 23, Bohdan to Sofia (Gwendolyn):

“A woman who seeks to rise in this world must be crueller than even men.”

I read the YA action spy thriller The Cruelty back in March 2017. I enjoyed reading it and was feeling the killer girl vibe at the time. I was drawn to these strings of words so much that I wrote them down in my Quote File and now i’m sharing them with you. These quotes still resonate with me. I believe that; unfortunately in the world we live in, most girls have to grow up way too soon and women need to be ten times stronger than the men to succeed.

My Review of The Cruelty | The Cruelty on Goodreads

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

The #AusYaBloggers 2018 Reading Challenge: January

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It’s Back Baby! The challenge is based on four prompts each month, including one prompt that will be specifically for a #LoveOzYA title.

YA Graphic Novels can be counted, as can YA Novellas and MG novels, but only one can be used each month and a book may only be used once per prompt. There are three YA book price packs up for grabs and it’s not too late to join.

Disclaimer: to be eligible for the prices you must be either an Aussie or Kiwi, be a member of the #AusYaBloggers and signed up for the challenge.

> > Find out more here < <

My Pick #1: Shadows of the Realm, is a self-published #LoveOzYA fantasy novel that is the first in a trilogy. I’ve had this book on my shelf and TBR list since I met Dionne at a Hunter Writers Centre event in 2013. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to crack it open.

My Pick #2: The YA romance Every Day, is another one that has been on my TBR list for a while now and as above, this seemed like the perfect opportunity read it.

My Pick #3: The 2017 highly anticipated #LoveOzYA Contemporary Take Three Girls went on my TBR before it was even published and I got my hands on a copy as fast as I could. Bring it on Cath, Simmone and Fiona.

My Pick #4: And last but not least, Gemina. Ah Gemina, I pre-ordered you back in 2016 because I loved Illuminae so much, but *sigh* I haven’t had a chance to read you yet – this is the perfect excuse to push you forward on my TBR!

Happy New Year Everybody!

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I sat down to do a Fave Reads of 2017 post, but have realised it is going to be way too hard to narrow a few down. I gave 31 five-star reviews on Goodreads this year (94 read all up).

I will say that The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Marsh and Me by Martine Murray, No Stars to Wish on by Zana Fraillon, No Limits by Ellie Marney, Never Again by Lily Luchesi, Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor and Fence #1 & #2 by C.S. Pacat (Author) & Johanna the Mad (Illustrator) were highlights,

 but there were also many more.


I am Super excited for continuation of Fence in 2018.

And have already pre-ordered Lynette Noni’s February and May new releases.

Bring on 2018.

Happy Reading Everybody.

 

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Two

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I read The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout back in March 2017. The following quote is from Chapter 9 where Mallory is describing Rider’s smile.

Ah, nothing like being punched in the chest by a man’s beauty – ummm what! For whatever reason, back in March, I was drawn to this string of words so much that I wrote them down in my Quote File.

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout ia a story about abusive foster homes, social labels and second chances.
Mallory and Rider, the two main characters live in the same foster home as youngsters and are each others worlds. Separated by a horrific turn of events, they are then reunited in their late teens.
While the romance/plot of was rather predictable and the pace was a little slow at times, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it did touch on some deep issues.

And in March I was obviously loving the idea that a person could be so beautiful it causes physical harm. Or something like that.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

#LoveOzYABloggers – Gift Recs

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#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature.

The theme for this fortnight is ‘Gift Recs’.

Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!

I’m a little slow, but I still made it to the party! Here are my picks for this fortnights (although it’s closer to the next fortnight’s) prompt.

Gift recommendations, hmmm. What’s the best thing you can do for a loved one – get them addicted to something! Just stick with me here.

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Get them addicted to an awesome YA fantasy a series with the first book in The Medoran Chronicles.

Akarnae (The Medoran Chronicles #1 by Lynette Noni

With just one step, sixteen-year-old Alexandra Jennings’s world changes—literally.

Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her… but he’s missing.

While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora’s boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can’t ignore her fear that something unexpected… something sinister… is looming.

An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex’s shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race’s survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home?

Will Alex risk her entire world—and maybe even her life—to save Medora?

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Get them addicted to a brand spanking new aussie authored YA comic series.

Fence (Fence #1) by C.S. Pacat (Author) & Johanna the Mad (Artist)

Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is an outsider to the competitive fencing world. Filled with raw talent but lacking proper training, he signs up for a competition that puts him head-to-head with fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama…and on the road to the elite all-boys school Kings Row. A chance at a real team and a place to belong awaits him—if he can make the cut!

Get them anything by Ellie Marney, Melissa Keil or Amie Kaufman – because once you’ve read one of their books you’ll wanna read more!! More I tell you!

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

#LoveOzYaBloggers – Short Stories

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#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature.

The theme for this fortnight is ‘Short Stories’.

Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!

I have eleven short story anthologies, sadly only four have Aussie authors and out of those four only two are YA!

In this photo I have the only four authored by Aussie’s and the only four that are YA (not the same four), the rest of my collection are either adult or eBook short story anthologies.

Sproutlings: A Compendium of Little Fictions and Novascapes: A Speculative Fiction Anthology from the Hunter Region Australia are authored by Aussie’s from my neck of the woods :-). Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean is a duo of Aussie and Indian YA authors. And last but not least Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology is, yep you guessed it, Aussie YA authors.

Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean:

Be transported into dystopian cities and other-worldly societies. Be amazed and beguiled by a nursery story with a reverse twist, a futuristic take on TV cooking shows, a playscript with tentacles – and more, much more. Plunge in and enjoy!

A collection of sci-fi and fantasy writing, including six graphic stories, showcasing twenty stellar writers and artists from India and Australia: Isobelle Carmody, Penni Russon, Justine Larbalestier, Margo Lanagan, Lily Mae Martin, Kuzhali Manickavel, Prabha Mallya, Annie Zaidi, Kate Constable, Vandana Singh, Mandy Ord, Priya Kuriyan, Manjula Padmanabhan, Samhita Arni, Alyssa Brugman, Nicki Greenberg and Amruta Patil.

Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology

The YA event of the year. Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all. With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.

Goodreads Links:

 Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean | Begin, End, Begin | Sproutlings | Novascapes

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
It you want to make my day, just Like this post, simples.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part One

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This year I started a word document where I’ve been keeping quotes from the books I read. I intend to do the same thing next year, the year after and so on. I’ve decided to start sharing them with you week by week. Obviously, whatever is going on in my head and home at the time I’m reading a book makes a big difference to what words grab me and I find this interesting to look back on – I hope you do to.

I really wish I’d thought to start doing this years ago (the quote collecting word document thing). Other than a quote about needing a cunning wizard, the opening lines from Pride & Prejudice and some Dr Seuss, I can’t verbatim remember any quotes from books I’ve read.

It seemed fitting to share the “cunning wizard” quote that’s been randomly popping into my head since 2015 for the first post. The quote is from a book I read in September 2015, The Soul Thief by Majanka Verstraete.

It’s a little too long ago for me to remember what was going on in my life at the time. One could assume my husband was really pissing me off? Or maybe I was taking part in some dangerous underworld activity (ok we all know my life’s not that extreme). Whatever the reason these words hit me hard while I was reading, so hard they’ve never left me.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
It you want to make my day, just Like this post, simples.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

#LoveOzYaBloggers – Maps

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#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature.

The theme for this fortnight is ‘Maps’.

Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!

MAPS! I love it when a book includes a map!

These three #LoveOzYa masterpieces all have maps and are all sitting on my shelf waiting to be explored.

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Heart of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles #1) by Helen Scheuerer

In a realm where toxic mist sweeps the lands and magic is forbidden, all Bleak wants is a cure for her power.

Still grieving the death of her guardian and dangerously self-medicating with alcohol, Bleak is snatched from her home by the Commander of the King’s Army, and summoned to the capital.

But the king isn’t the only one interested in Bleak’s powers.

The leader of an infamous society of warriors, the Valia Kindred, lays claim to her as well, and Bleak finds herself in the middle of a much bigger battle than she anticipated.

Heart of Mist is the gripping first book in The Oremere Chronicles, a fantasy series of epic proportions.

Esme’s Wish by Elizabeth Foster 

This was her last chance.

Her hand twisted high in the air.

When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother, Ariane – so why can’t she?

But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.

After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about her mother, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all.

Esme’s Wish is the first book in the Esme series.