Guest Book Review by M - The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine

Katherine Woodfine's bestselling debut novel. A fast-paced historical mystery adventure for readers aged 9+, with gorgeous Edwardian period detail. Perfect for fans of Enid Blyton, Chris Riddell's Goth Girl and Robin Stevens' Murder Most Unladylike series. 

You are cordially invited to attend the Grand Opening of Sinclair’s department store!

Enter a world of bonbons, hats, perfumes and MYSTERIES around every corner. WONDER at the daring theft of the priceless CLOCKWORK SPARROW! TREMBLE as the most DASTARDLY criminals in London enact their wicked plans! GASP as our bold heroines, Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lilian Rose, CRACK CODES, DEVOUR ICED BUNS and vow to bring the villains to justice… 

*** 

Left penniless when her father dies, Sophie is pleased to find a job in the millinery department of Sinclair’s, soon to be London’s largest and most glamorous department store. There, she makes friends with Billy a junior porter and beautiful Lil, who is one of the department store “manikins” by day and an aspiring actress by night.

Just before the store is due to open, there is a daring burglary, including the theft of the priceless Clockwork Sparrow. When Sophie herself becomes a suspect, the only solution is to solve the mystery of the clockwork sparrow. Her friend's Lil and Billy help her to solve the crime.

I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend that you read it, especially if you are looking for strong female role models. Sophie Turner has had quite a life in regards to fate and fortune but she never gives up and is an intelligent and resourceful heroine who goes against social norms to do the right thing. She is aided by her friend, society beauty Lilian Rose, who exudes a passion for life and who also bucks the social expectations of others. Both do this with great grace and style. 

They are supported in this tale by a range of well developed characters, from true friends, colleagues, police and villains, all who play their part in moving the mystery along at a good pace with great attention to detail. The descriptions of the grandeur of Sinclair's department store to the cold, dark horrors of its basement really do draw you in. The plot has a few well chosen twists and turns, some unexpected and the story has a particularly positive, empowering ending that leaves the reader wondering as to what path Sophie will take next.

Press Release: Jason Bradbury are Hoverboards the future of a car-free London?

Jason Hoverboard Photo's from Stephen Muchmore (Design Agency) Jason Bradbury wows crowds with his Delorean and Hoverboard in Piccadilly last night | Location: London UK -

Timing was everything, so Jason made sure he was ready for the start of Back To The Future week. The crowds couldn’t get their phones out quick enough to start filming the one-off stunt. Dressed in the iconic Marty McFly attire, needing no help with his Nike Power Laces, Jason jumped on his exact replica of Marty's hoverboard and hovered around Piccadilly Circus asking passers-by "What year is it?”. "Wow, unbelievable stunt anyone would think Marty McFly was in town"  "The attention to detail of the Delorean and Hoverboard were epic" "Anything is possible in the future, all you have to do is believe” "Nothing expresses the magic of Technology more than the Hoverboard" says Jason The large crowd of BTTF fans stared in awe at Jason as he flew passed in the coolest way possible, before disappearing off again. (Probably back to the future). Twitter: @jasonbradbury / @design_agencyuk Hashtags: #jasonbradbury #bttf2015 #bttf #BackToTheFuture

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books : Big Book Cover Reveal - Helen Dennis - River of Ink: Genesis (Hodder Children's)

It's always fantastic to be asked to show off a new book cover for the first time and I particularly loved this one. I'm sure it will appeal to most readers and draw them into picking it up with the amazingly eye catching and rather abstract image. It is very imaginative and uses a great palette of colour - it really should stand out from the crowd! 

This new and exciting adventure series will appeal to both boys and girls. With a strong mystery at the heart, the characters cross Europe on a thrilling quest against time! This could be the Da Vinci Code for kids. 

If this sounds like your kind of book, then you will unfortunately have to wait until the 14th January 2016 to read it. I apologise now as I know that is quite a wait for such a fantastic book. River of Ink will be the first installment in this new series and will be published by Hodder Children's Books in the U.K. 

Book Synopsis: What if a teenage boy washed up on the banks of the River Thames, soaked to the skin and unable to explain who he is?

What if the only clue to the boy's identity is a sketch he made of a strange symbol?

Who would help him? 

Who would hunt him?

Who is River Boy?

When a mystery teenage boy emerges from the River Thames drenched, distressed and unable to remember anything about himself, he becomes the focus of worldwide media speculation. Unable to communicate, the River Boy is given paper and a pencil and begins to scribble. Soon a symbol emerges, but the boy has no idea why he has drawn it even thought it's the only clue to the mystery of his identity...
As the boy begins to build a new life under a new name, the hunt for his real identity begins.
A hunt which will lead him on a dangerous QUEST that he has only one year to complete ...
Introducing the first book in a thrilling new series packed with adventure and mystery.

About the Author: H. L. Dennis was born in Brighton, England. She works part time as a Junior School teacher and has done for 20 years. She lives with her husband, daughter and the laziest dog in the world, in a house at the bottom of the Downs on the Sussex coast in Eastbourne. 'Secret Breakers' is her first series of published books and has already been translated into seven languages.

Find out more about H. L. Dennis and enter the world at www.hldennis.com

Press Release: UK YA Literature London Convention Returns (17-19 July 2015)

YALC first took place in July 2014, launched by Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2013-2015 Malorie Blackman as one of her major Laureate initiatives. The event was the first large-scale public literature convention dedicated entirely to teen and Young Adult books ever to be hosted in the UK, and saw thousands of young people attending a weekend of events celebrating reading, featuring 50 Young Adult authors.

YALC will showcase the best of UK YA, as well as continuing to play host to special appearances from US YA stars. This year’s event will also feature appearances from some of the authors shortlisted for The YA Book Prize, a brand new prize for UK and Irish YA books from The Bookseller.

YALC 2015 will take place in a dedicated Book Zone at the London Film and Comic Con.  A host of top YA authors will be joining Blackman for the three day convention, which incorporates a programme of author events, hands-on workshop sessions, drop-in activities and book-signing sessions. 


An initial list of just a few of the authors taking part has been announced today, including US YA superstar and creator of the Mortal Instruments series Cassandra Clare. Also appearing at the event will be TV personalities turned authors Charlie Higson and Arabella Weir; creator of the international bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series Derek Landy; and award-winning Young Adult author Patrick Ness. Joining them are Youtube star Carrie Hope Fletcher; author of the Night School series C J Daugherty; and of course, Blackman herself. See the full fantastic list HERE

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: #1 Book Recommendation September 2014 - Paul Southern - Killing Sound

When Jodie’s parents were killed years ago during one of her father’s experiments with sound waves, Jodie was thought to be the only witness. But something else was released into the room that night. And its silence is deadly …

Jodie is cursed with a terrible gift. She just doesn’t know it yet. When she stumbles across one of her dead father’s old papers on sound waves in the attic, it sets her on a terrifying journey to find out more, leading her across the streets of London to the dark, untrodden tunnels of the Underground, where she is forced to face the truth. Her worst nightmare is about to become real. Worse, she can hear it coming.

Notes from the Author

"I wanted to write a book that, as a teenager, I would love to have read. I also wanted to scare the living daylights out of myself. Killing Sound is a book about the imagination and ghosts and science and superstition. It has a lot of Victorian melodrama and gothic horror to it – very dark and creepy – and I would recommend you sleep with the "I wanted to write a book that, as a teenager, I would love to have read. I also wanted to scare the living daylights out of myself. Killing Sound is a book about the imagination and ghosts and science and superstition. It has a lot of Victorian melodrama and gothic horror to it – very dark and creepy – and I would recommend you sleep with the light on after reading it. It was inspired by a quote I read about the London Underground from 1860: ‘The forthcoming end of the world would be hastened by the construction of underground railways burrowing into infernal regions and thereby disturbing the devil.’ As soon as I saw it, I was drawn inexorably down there to see if it were true."

About the Author

Paul Southern is a former 90’s pop star and academic who has previously written scary crime novels for adults. He was due to be born on Halloween night sometime in the 1960’s, and it still rankles with him that he wasn't . He has lived all over the UK but eventually settled in Manchester (which is quite scary, too). He can be found building various contraptions designed to ward off evil and wearing a top hat on midnight walks.

Mr Ripley's Book Review: Wild Boy and the Black Terror - By Rob LLoyd Jones

Welcome to another roller coaster ride following Wild Boy and Clarissa. In this book the case is known as the Black Terror. It is a Sherlock-esq detective novel set in London, but it has a slight twist. Wild boy is not your conventional hero-type character. He is classed as a circus freak due to his hairy appearance, but he soon finds himself running from the circus and his past. Clarissa, his sidekick and troublemaker from the circus, teams up with Wild boy once again, as they dodge the danger and mayhem that they soon find themselves facing once more.

This story is a delight to read - deliciously dark and very compelling. The duo hurtle into danger. They visit the darkest corners of Victorian London from the vilest slums to the grandest of palaces. Transported into a fantastically imagined plot, a poisoner stalks LONDON leaving his victims mad with TERROR and then dead.

Wild boy and Clarissa are the city's last hope in finding the killer as well as the cure for the BLACK TERROR. The darkness slowly creeps into the readers' bones - a merry dance ensues with the possibilities: Who is the killer?  Many options keep the reader guessing right to the very end of the book. The strong element of intrigue and mystery lives in every pore of the page. It certainly keeps the reader on their little tentative toes.

The crisp narrative of this book is equally as good as the first book, so if you enjoyed the first encounter then you will not be disappointed by this one. It firmly places this series as one of my favourites. The book looks and feels great - the period touches by Owen Davey really enhance the look of the book whilst the effective use of typography and colour really burst off the page. These are all great touches and really build up to the start of a very worthy story.

The book had some very surreal moments to fuel the imagination to the darkest levels. The story hurtles forward at a hundred miles an hour. A frenzy of fast-paced action and humour entertains the reader in every chapter. One of my favourite sections of the book involved the task of breaking and stealing a precious stone in Oberstein's showroom. However, as I don't want to reveal the outcome, I will say no more other than it had me gripped . . . . fantasy gold.

The ending did not let this book down- all of the loose ends were tied together and created a thrilling ending. I would definitely recommend this book and series to anyone and everyone. It is an epic triumph - hopefully more adventures and books will come in the future.

Published by Walker Books - July 2014

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Children's and Teen Books Picks - August 2014

Glen Huser - The Elevator Ghost - Published by Groundwood Books (Canada) - (12 Aug 2014) - Small Press Pick 

When Carolina Giddle moves into the Blatchford Arms, no one knows what to make of her sequin-sprinkled sneakers and her trinket-crusted car. But the parents are happy there’s a new babysitter around, and Carolina seems to have an uncanny ability to calm the most rambunctious child with her ghostly stories.

Armed with unusual snacks (bone-shaped peppermints, granghoula bars and Rumpelstiltskin sandwiches), candles to set the mood, and her trusty sidekick — a tarantula named Chiquita, Carolina entertains the children with some good old-fashioned storytelling and, at the end, a great Halloween party.

Governor General’s Award winner Glen Huser brings his quirky sense of humor and horror to some time-honored motifs. The artistic Lubinitsky girls find out that artists must be wary of the power of their own creations. Holy terror Angelo Bellini discovers that no one can throw a tantrum like a double-crossed pirate. The Hooper kids, including UFO junkie Benjamin, learn about some eerie goings-on in the New Mexico desert. Timid Hubert and Hetty Croop are practically afraid of their own shadows, until they hear the story of a boy who finds the perfect weapon for overcoming his fear of the dark. And Dwight and Dwayne Fergus, two would-be Freddy Kruegers, finally meet their match in Carolina, and her story of the footless skeleton.

As for Carolina Giddle herself, it turns out that she has a timeworn connection to the Blatchford Arms, and to the ghost who still haunts the building — especially its old-fashioned elevator.

Julia Lee - The Dangerous Discoveries of Gully Potchard - Published by OUP Oxford ( 7 Aug 2014)
An improbable hero, a spine-tingling adventure, and a surprising twist of fate.. 
Gully Potchard never meant to cause any trouble. He's just an ordinary sort of boy . . . at least that what he thinks. But when an old acquaintance comes knocking, it isn't long before Gully is tangled up in a mess of mischief and skulduggery. Cats and dogs go astray, a child is kidnapped, and ransom notes are delivered to the wrong people! But as a storm rages and a fire blazes, Gully discovers that he has an extraordinary skill that might just make him an unlikely hero after all . . .

Lucy Inglis - City of Halves - Published by Chicken House - (7 Aug 2014)
London. Girls are disappearing. They've all got one thing in common; they just don't know it yet. Sixteen-year-old Lily was meant to be next, but she's saved by a stranger: a half-human boy with gold-flecked eyes. Regan is from an unseen world hidden within our own, where legendary creatures hide in plain sight. But now both worlds are under threat, and Lily and Regan must race to find the girls, and save their divided city.

Edward Carey - Foulsham (Iremonger Trilogy) - Published by Hot Key Books (7 Aug 2014)

Foulsham, London's great filth repository, is bursting at the seams. The walls that keep the muck in are buckling, rubbish is spilling over the top, back into the city that it came from. In the Iremonger family offices, Grandfather Umbitt Iremonger broods: in his misery and fury at the people of London, he has found a way of making everyday objects assume human shape, and turning real people into objects. Abandoned in the depths of the Heaps, Lucy Pennant has been rescued by a terrifying creature, Binadit Iremonger - more animal than human. She is desperate and determined to find Clod. But unbeknownst to her, Clod has become a golden sovereign and is 'lost'. He is being passed as currency from hand to hand all around Foulsham, and yet everywhere people are searching for him, desperate to get hold of this dangerous Iremonger, who, it is believed, has the power to bring the mighty Umbitt down. But all around the city, things, everyday things, are twitching into life...

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Niel Bushnell - Timesmith (The Timesmith Chronicles) - Andersen

MR RIPLEY'S BOOK REVIEW.....
We have moved on from Sorrowline, which is the first book in the exciting series of The Timesmith Chronicles, to the second book called Timesmith by Niel. Jack is now thirteen years old and his adventures have only just begun. He has the ability to travel into the past through Sorrowlines which are the channels that connect every gravestone with the date of the person's death.  Jack needs to travel back again to 1940s London to find his friends and to prevent the evil Rouland from rising from the dead, as the Paladin search for the fabled lost sword, known as Durendal, so it can be used to resurrect the Paladin Master. 

This story takes you on a bone crushing adventure; a race for time with a quest to get to the sword first. It is a fight to save the world, as well as Jack's family, as he is hunted by the undead knights of The Paladin. We are whisked through the plot by the characters as they travel to and from different fantasy worlds. The story is very well written - it has just the right amount of detail without going over the top and letting the imagination run wild. More importantly, it never talks down to or patronises the reader.

I love the carefree flow of the storyline. In my opinion, this is an easy to read, and easy to follow, book which would be a great read for both young and reluctant readers.  Reading this book, it is easy to recognise how the author has really enjoyed writing about and introducing the colourful characters and the time travelling theme. The characters can just about do anything so you never know what's going to happen as the adventure unfolds. There are some amazing cinematic battles, some spilt blood, a sprinkling of death and a sting in the tale. However I'm not going to say anymore about this as I want to keep my review spoiler free.

I  thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I think that the author has really added to and developed the story from where the first book left off. Although, I would have perhaps loved to have seen more of the 1940s London being infused into the super plot line. Nevertheless, I loved the mysterious side of the Grimnire, always standing in the shadows and casting a dark atmosphere to the story - it felt very Pratchett-esq. I look forward to reading more about them in the next book.

The ending of this book was much better than the first story; it delivered a cracking finale for the next installment. This series is growing from strength to strength  and one that I would definitely recommend anyone and everyone to read who loves a good magical fantasy story.

SMALL EXTRACT - THE SCREAM

The man buried in the cold earth screamed a motionless

scream.

He had long since given up trying to move; his body

was rotten and useless. Every message his angry brain

threw out went ignored by his wasted, pathetic frame.

Yet he felt everything.

Worms moved through him, wriggling, feeding,

persistently tearing at his human remains. Moisture

formed about his darkened flesh, seeping in with needles

of ice-cold indifference that cracked his calcified bones.

And the sword; even after all this time he felt the mocking

metal of the sword impaling his inert heart. In the

age since his demise the pain had not diminished.

Unimaginable, never-ending pain.

Nothing worked any more. Only his soul, his very

essence, prevailed somewhere deep within. He felt the

passing of time like the slow, maddening drip, drip, drip of

a frozen waterfall. Seconds laughed at him for decades.

Decades scorned him for an eternity. He was buried in time.

And yet Rouland endured it all.

One burning thought kept him going. It was a thought

about a boy, a boy who had beaten him. Rouland was

immortal, unstoppable. He had never been beaten before.

The boy’s face came into his mind and a new wave of

hatred consumed him.

Jack Morrow.

He had bested Rouland. He had plunged a sword

through the centre of his heart and suspended his eternal

existence. He had buried him in this patch of earth and

left him to rot, to die like a mortal man.

But Rouland was not mortal, and his rage sustained

him through the lonely, dark years. He waited, and plotted

and schemed. He knew his day would come. His followers

would find him and restore him and he would have his

revenge on Jack Morrow.

Rouland pictured his victory, and he forgot about the

pain. He was satisfied. Then as the notion subsided

the hurt returned, stronger than ever. Inside the prison

of his mind, hate condensed into pools of agony and

Rouland’s soul screamed . . .

Captain Alda de Vienne screamed.

Mr Ripley's Book Preview: Lucy Inglis - City of Halves - Chicken House

Lucy Inglis - City of Halves - Published by Chicken House;  (7 Aug 2014)

London. Girls are disappearing. They've all got one thing in common; they just don't know it yet. Sixteen-year-old Lily was meant to be next, but she's saved by a stranger: a half-human boy with gold-flecked eyes. Regan is from an unseen world hidden within our own, where legendary creatures hide in plain sight. But now both worlds are under threat, and Lily and Regan must race to find the girls, and save their divided city.


Book Preview.

Okay, so what have we got?’ Lily’s dad paced the kitchen in

his shirt and tie, running his fingers through his fading blond

hair.

Lily put her chin in her hand and stared at her laptop. ‘I told

you, Dad. Not enough. The guy who sold her the papers is a

visa-passport-whatever faker. Facial recognition on the CCTV

has had him in the City a few times recently, but he doesn’t stay

anywhere long enough to get caught. And without him, we’re

not going to get any further.’ 

Her father rubbed his face, then folded his arms. ‘What’s he

doing in the City?’

She shrugged. ‘Pubs, mainly. Probably meeting clients.

Although there are a couple of places he goes that I can’t figure

out. Most likely dead drops, just leaving the papers for people

to come and collect. One derelict alley in Bow Lane in

 particular.’

Her father picked up his briefcase, a long black court gown

and the box containing his barrister’s wig. ‘We’ve only got a few

more days on this one. Till next week at the latest. If we can’t

find him, they’ll deport her.’

‘I know. But he’s left no online trail, and officially he doesn’t

exist. He accesses his email from random coffee shops. I’ll keep

trying, but . . .’ She shrugged and took a sip of tea from a large

white mug.

He rubbed her curly head as he passed. ‘Good girl. Wish me

luck.’

She grinned. ‘You don’t need luck. You’ll ace it.’

‘Thanks to my star researcher.’ He winked.

‘For a big corporation with so much to hide, they were

sloppy. That firewall wouldn’t have kept out the cold, let alone

anyone who actually wanted to get into their system.’ She

smiled. ‘Besides, it was you who taught me how to find fraudulent transactions.’

Her father paused suddenly, looking at her.

‘What?’ she said. 

He hesitated before replying. ‘Nothing.’ He blinked. ‘You

looked so like your mother then, I . . . it just caught me up

short, that’s all.’

Lily glanced towards the photographs on the table against

the sitting-room wall. The most recent had been taken in

Temple Gardens on her sixteenth birthday, the vivid autumn

leaves behind her picked up by the colours in her hair. She was

a smaller, sharper version of the mother she had never met, but

they shared the same soft ringlets in a shiny mixture of gold and

bronze. They also shared pale skin and large green eyes framed

by dark lashes and eyebrows. 

Lily’s father turned for the door. ‘There’s money on the table

if you need anything. Why don’t you go and meet your friends?’

‘Thanks. I think Sam’s busy. Her cousins are over from

Canada or something.’ 

‘Right. Well, make sure you eat, please.’ He straightened his

tie in the hall mirror.

‘Yes, Dad. Go, or you’ll be late.’

He reached for the door handle. 

‘And good luck!’ she called after him. The latch clicked and

she turned back to her computer. Through the window the

gulls wheeled against a leaden midday sky. 

Lily and her father lived quietly, in a routine formed around

his work, her school and shared mealtimes. Their flat was

cramped and old, and Lily knew he didn’t earn that much, as

lawyering went. They lived in Middle Temple on the edge of the

City of London, a sort of ancient village full of lawyers with a

dining hall and library, right on the river. Lily’s bedroom had

white bedding, a desk and the Macbook her dad had given her

for Christmas. She adored it. Next to it was her brick of a

laptop, scuffed and scratched from too many accidents. It 

was full of tag ends of code, script written on long, quiet

afternoons. 

Coding was something Lily had discovered she was good at

by accident, after her school had run a short course in

computer programming. But creating programs that compared

consumer interest in products through Facebook ‘likes’ had

soon morphed into hacking Facebook, then the school system,

then the systems of corporations her father was up against in

court. It had become like an addiction, one Lily and her father

tried to put to good use. 

Mr Ripley's Book Review: Dawn Finch - Brotherhood of Shades

This is the debut book from Dawn Finch. Ever since she was a young girl, Dawn wanted to be a writer and librarian; her home was filled with books. She had a love for Edgar Allan Poe that soon turned from a small dream into a large vision once Dawn grew older. Her love of books and reading never went away; one day her dream turned into reality and the Brother of Shades was born.

I've wanted to read this book for quite some time now but, unfortunately, I've never seen this book in any bookshop to buy. I actually find this really hard to believe as it is a cracking read. I really do agree with the quote on the front of the book by Jonathan Stroud stating that this is "a wonderful new fantasy". I love the cover as it really does scream 'read me, pick me up, delve into my pages and read me word for word' - this is exactly what I did and I was not disappointed.

From the very first page, I was gripped by the opening of the story. I loved the feel of it and the excitement that was generated at the prospect of what was to come. I seemed to read this part of the story more slowly, as I was, perhaps, rather absorbed by the world and characters a little too much. However, the more that I read, the more I really loved this book. The author's love of reading oozed from every pore and helped to create a mental picture that held-fast like a good oil painting. Every detail was stored through the clever weaving of historical events, places and people which gave it a sense of reality as you zipped from the 1500's to the present time.

This is a great ghost story but with magical elements such as talking books, scary monsters and some very well-timed twist and turns. The plot is hinged around protecting the living from the world of the dead and mythical legends. The secret order was set up along time ago by a group of monks who named themselves Brotherhood of Shades. One of the first to be enlisted was enigmatic Toby D'Scover who is humorous, dapper and totally dead. He's a saviour of the world of the living - a protector of ancient books. This is an important role as one false move and this could lead to the dead rising again to bring havoc and chaos to the world. This is a dark fantasy, with some lip smacking moments, that will have you gripped and hooked to the point that you cannot put this book down.

The characters were convincing - not too many to get to grips with which really helped to keep the pace of the book flowing. The progressive complexity of the story and the realistic dialogue between the characters supported their role in travelling back in time/spectral realm. A great deal of research has gone into the plot, but the setting really comes to life as a result of this. The ending was an explosive triumph; the climatic battle really got you thinking. I think that both teenage boys and girls will love reading this book - it is a great reading experience full of action adventure, discovery and secrets.

When a book really is this good, it's always sad to get to the end. I do have a feeling that we will be seeing Adam, Toby, Edie and the Brotherhood of Shades again real ghostly soon. This is an author to watch and a series to get very excited about. Bring it on.....

Will you join the Brotherhood?

Published by Authonomy (26 Sep 2013)

Mr Ripley's Adult Book Review: Enter Wildthyme by Paul Magrs

I'd like to think that this book came from The Great Book Exchange in Darlington, but to be honest it was Oxfam in York. They are not worlds apart really, unlike the galactic voyages that take part in this little adventure. One of the main characters in the book has been around for some time, but this is the first full length appearance for them in this trans-temporal adventure. Iris Wildthyme might be familiar to some, as a character from Paul's first book, as well as appearing in the Dr Who escapades but to me, she will always be a special character in fantasy. She's the  feisty granny that you would have loved to have been related to. The gin and tonic drinking time traveller with a mysterious past.

The first part of the book is set in a dusty secondhand bookshop in Darlington. Add in to the mix a celestial red, route master double decker bus and the scene is set for a normal life, but how wrong you would be.  Undeniably, Paul has the most amazing world building skills at his finger tips in this book - the story writing is very cleverly executed. Immediately, the reader is thrown into the action with a whole host of crazy and well imagined characters.  There is Iris, as well as her sidekick (a stuffed panda) originally known as Panda who is about 10 inches high and cooks a very mean breakfast. As well as a talking vending machine called Barbra, an evil poet called Marvelle and many more crazy folk.

I've never had so much fun reading an adult novel before; this was a perfect read for me. It's so crazy and surreal that it was an absolute joy to read. The story is about an object; a glass jar filled with mysterious contents which soon form the focus of a chase. It takes then to the outlandish world of Hyspero, the throne room of the Scarlet Empress and the very brink of the strange pocket dimension called . . . . . The Obverse.

This story is an adventure of good and evil - it is a book to read with a very large gin and tonic. It's fast paced; in a blink of an eye the story moves from the mundane life in Darlington to Montmartre in Paris where an alien invasion is witnessed. Never mind being catapulted to the Hammersmith Odeon to a glam rock concert in the 1970's.  It really is a breathtaking read; a roller coaster ride of mayhem and madness.

This book is very cleverly written and highly imaginative - it is full of zany off-the-wall moments. I connected with this story through the music references as well as the ideas behind the events. I found myself deeply immersed in this adventure; it is a read that I will savour until the next instalment. Five star entertainment - looking forward to the next book very soon ....

EVENT UPDATE: UK'S FIRST YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE CONVENTION - LONDON JULY 2014 - YALC

New York Times Bestseller Rainbow Rowell Completes YA Convention Line Up

Final list of names announced for Young Adult Literature Convention.

Waterstones Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman and the London Film and Comic Convention (LFCC) are delighted to announce the final list of authors joining the UK’s first Young Adult Literature Convention. Heading them is US author Rainbow Rowell, whose first YA title Eleanor & Park spent six weeks in the New York Times Bestseller chart, was voted Goodreads’ best young adult fiction of the year and was chosen by Amazon as one of the 10 best books of 2013. The first draft of her second YA novel Fangirl was written as part of the National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) and was chosen as the inaugural Tumblr Book Club selection.

There are also a host of other names from the YA writing world joining the line-up, including 18 year old author Beth Reekles, who was recently named by Time magazine as one of the 16 most influential teenagers in the world. Publisher and award-winning author of In Darkness Nick Lake and Heart Shaped Bruise author Tanya Byrne are also announced today. Joining them is Robert Muchamore, whose books have sold in their millions and been translated into 27 languages.

The full list of names announced today:

•                     Holly Bourne

•                     Tanya Byrne

•                     Alexia Casale

•                     Lucy Christopher

•                     Cat Clarke

•                     Steve Cole

•                     Sarah Crossan

•                     Kim Curran

•                     Phil Earle

•                     Ian Edginton

•                     Garen Ewing

•                     Frances Hardinge

•                     Catherine Johnson

•                     Nick Lake

•                     Andy Lane

•                     Julie Mayhew

•                     Sarra Manning

•                     Amy McCulloch

•                     Anthony McGowan

•                     Sarah McIntyre

•                     Robert Muchamore

•                     Beth Reekles

•                     Tim O'Rourke

•                     Bryony Pearce

•                     Non Pratt

•                     Andy Robb

•                     Rainbow Rowell

•                     Lucy Saxon

•                     Marcus Sedgwick

•                     C J Skuse

•                     James Smythe

•                     Emma Vieceli

YALC will form a highlight of Malorie Blackman’s campaign as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate. It will take place at the London Film and Comic Con (LFCC), at Earl’s Court, London on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July 2014. YALC will bring together all the UK’s YA publishers to provide a host of author events in a dedicated Book Zone, with talks, workshops, signings, a book sales area and publisher stands promoting new and upcoming titles. Blackman will act as a curator for the two-day convention, uniting authors and publishers throughout the UK community. 2014’s YALC event will be the first time a large scale public convention around YA books has taken place in the UK, and its setting among the fans of cultish film and TV will set books at the heart of entertainment for teens and young people.

YALC is supported by Prudential plc and the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society.

For more information about the London Film and Comic Con, visit their website here: http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/ and follow @YALC_UK on Twitter for all the YALC news.

Names previously announced:

•                     Holly Black

•                     Malorie Blackman

•                     James Dawson

•                     Sally Gardner

•                     Sally Green

•                     Matt Haig

•                     Isobel Harrop

•                     Will Hill

•                     Charlie Higson

•                     Derek Landy

•                     Sophie McKenzie

•                     Patrick Ness

•                     Natasha Ngan

•                     Meg Rosoff

•                     Darren Shan

•                     Holly Smale

•                     Jonathan Stroud

•                     Ruth Warburton

Guest Post: Peter Jay Black - Urban Outlaws - Published by Bloomsbury

Peter Jay Black....

I’ve spent my entire life daydreaming when I should’ve been doing more important things like, oh, I don’t know. . . learning to cook? Every meal I try to prepare gets exterminated in some glorious fashion or another. I even managed to set fire to an oven grill once, just because I didn’t realise the slab of fish had a foam/plastic thing under it. Apparently, you’re supposed to peel that off. Who knew?

So, as you can probably tell, I get distracted, A LOT. I’m often thinking and daydreaming about all sorts of crazy things.

I’ve dreamt about being able to fly – the places I’d visit, the way I’d feel swooping between buildings and over landscapes.

I’ve imagined being a ninja, sneaking up on nasty people and knocking them out with a swift chop to the neck.

I’ve also imagined inventing a time machine and what I’d do with it. In fact, if I did have a time machine, I think I’d probably travel back to the 21^st of October, 1983 (I was seven). I’d hang around outside my old house until six o’clock in the evening and then I’d storm into the dining room and slap the fork out of my seven-year-old self’s hand, just before I had taken the first bite of the dumplings on my plate. You see, I didn’t know it at the time, but my mum had made those dumplings out of a packet that had been two years out of date. TWO YEARS. I was so sick that it took another twenty years before I could look at dumplings without turning pale.

Anyway, you get my point - I’m a daydreamer. Always have been. Always will be. And, the way that I’ve used that is to write it down. To create secret bunkers, gadgets, to live in a world that’s a lot more fun than this one.

In my late twenties, I decided I wanted to be a writer. Now, because of all the daydreaming, I hadn’t done too well in school, and must have been asleep during English lessons. All of them. So, I taught myself basic grammar, worked on the craft, and eight years later I have a five book deal. Easy, right?

I wish it was.

After a lot of hard work, thousands of hours exploring our wonderful language, millions of muttered swear words, and billions of nuked brain cells later, I had a finished novel. I, of course, thought it was a masterpiece. I sent it to an editor, got torn to shreds, learnt from my mistakes, moved on. . .

Next was book number two. I wrote, rewrote, edited, rewrote again. . . You get my point? Finally ready, I slung the novel out to a few agents and one in particular was VERY keen. She suggested revisions, I worked hard and in two weeks I sent it back with high hopes.

I never heard from her again.

Man, the disappointment.

But, I didn’t give up.

That’s the theme here: Never give up. A cliché, yes. I don’t care – it’s true.

After that, I remember talking to a friend of mine and saying, ‘I want to write about five kids, who are independent, outsmart adults and have a lot of fun. . .’ Basically, something to fight back with. Something to pour every ounce of what I’d learnt into. Something that I hoped I could share with as many people as possible.

"And so, the Urban Outlaws were born: Five cool, clever kids, who are trying to do what they think is right."

Thankyou very much Peter for such a great insight into writing Urban Outlaws. This book is being published by Bloomsbury Children's on the 13th March 2014 - so make sure that you all grab a copy.

Twitter: @PeterJayBlack

EVENT: UK'S FIRST ADULT LITERATURE CONVENTION - LONDON JULY 2014

                       

Big names announced for UK’s first Young Adult Literature Convention

Waterstones Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman and the London Film and Comic Convention are pleased to announce an initial list of authors who will be appearing at the UK’s first ever Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC). Among them are bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant author and self-confessed movie buff Derek Landy, double Carnegie Medal winning Patrick Ness, and Red House Book Award winner Sophie Mackenzie. Also on the bill is previous Booktrust Online Writer in Residence Matt Haig, 24 year old debut Natasha Ngan, publisher-turned-author Ruth Warburton and bestselling horror writer Darren Shan. Completing the list announced today is Being a Boy author James Dawson, and of course Malorie Blackman herself. Further names, as well as days and times of authors’ appearances will be announced in due course.

YALC will form a highlight of Malorie Blackman’s campaign as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate. It will take place at the London Film and Comic Con (LFCC), at Earl’s Court, London on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July 2014. YALC will bring together all the UK’s YA publishers to provide a host of author events in a dedicated Book Zone, with talks, workshops, signings, a book sales area and publisher stands promoting new and upcoming titles. Blackman will act as a curator for the two-day convention, uniting authors and publishers throughout the UK community. 2014’s YALC event will be the first time a large scale public convention around YA books has taken place in the UK, and its setting among the fans of cultish film and TV will set books at the heart of entertainment for teens and young people.

The full list of names announced today:

·         Malorie Blackman

·         James Dawson

·         Matt Haig

·         Derek Landy

·         Sophie McKenzie

·         Patrick Ness

·         Natasha Ngan

·         Darren Shan

·         Ruth Warburton

More names will be announced as they are confirmed. For more information about the London Film and Comic Con, visit their website here: http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/ and follow @YALC_UK on Twitter for all the YALC news!