Books To Watch Out For In March
March has proved to be a good month for choices, I'm very super heavy... sorry... not sorry!
Stanly is frustrated. Having set himself up as London's protector, he's finding that the everyday practicalities of superheroism are challenging at best, and downright tedious at worst. So it's almost a relief when an attempt is made on his life and Stanly finds himself rushing headlong into a twisted adventure, with enemies new and old coming out of the woodwork. However, even with his friends and his ever-increasing power behind him, he may have bitten off more than he can chew this time. The monsters are coming ...and nothing will ever be the same!
Yet another book where I've missed the first one in the series. Stanly turned sixteen and gained telekinesis and the ability to fly, but by the description of this second book, that hasn't gone quite his way. You know me and superhero stories, I can't resist. This sounds like the sort of reluctant superhero I'm fond of.
When the sinkhole opened there was no time to brake or turn the wheel and the old green Land Rover was snatched off the dirt road over the smoking rim.
The moment a sinkhole swallows the car that Daniel and his father are travelling in, everything changes: suddenly Daniel is the 'miracle boy' who survived unharmed whilst his father is left trapped in a coma.
So how did Daniel escape? Was it luck or something more - was it really a miracle?
Mason, a small-time gangster, thinks so. When he decides the boy has been saved to help him with the biggest score of his career, Daniel is suddenly facing a life or death situation all over again…
Can't put my finger on what appealed to me about this one, I guess it was some good old fashioned intrigue.
A vampire and a werewolf who never fit in. A witch whose spells don't always work as planned. And a mysterious new guy who's hiding something. Together they will discover who they're meant to be...Hidden from the human world, Shadow Falls is a secret camp for teens with supernatural powers. But for four very different teens, it's much more than just a camp-it's where their destinies will unfold. Independent and strong-willed Della Tsang didn't believe in vampires...until she became one. Chase Tallman is the newest member of Shadow Falls, but what made him into the sexy, mysterious vampire he is today? And what led him to Della Tsang? For Miranda Kane, magic has always been something she's struggled with-until she finally has a chance to prove herself a witch to be reckoned with. And for Fredericka Lakota, the one guy who challenges her the most will lead her to the life she's always wanted.
"Secret camp for teens with supernatural powers", it's like they knew exactly what to say to make me want to read this one! It screams Disney Channel movie to me for some reason... and I kind of like that.
What's an editor to do with so many demands? Do you deal with the morning's pile of manuscript submissions first? Or the swine from sales who steals all the chocolate digestives? Or do you concentrate on your ex-lover, whose business partner has just been found dead in their art gallery, slumped over his desk with a gun in his hand? It's another day at Timmins & Ross publishing house, but when sharp-tongued editor Samantha Clair's CID boyfriend is brought in to investigate Frank Compton's death, her loyalties become stretched. And when one of Aidan Merriam's artists is found dead in identical circumstances, Sam takes on the art world and the CID, armed with nothing more than her reliable weapons: satire, cynicism and a stock of irrelevant information culled from novels.
I love a good crime novel and I'm either mass market (James Patterson/Jeffrey Deaver etc) or amusing (M. C. Beaton), and I have the feeling that falls in to the latter.
Connor began his second life at the age of fifteen. A virus in his brain stripped Connor of memory, language and a sense of time, so he at fifteen finds himself back at the very beginning, learning numbers, letters and colours anew. He doesn't remember his parents, his brother or even his girlfriend, Hattie. He certainly doesn't remember the 'old' Connor. This new Connor sees life through rose-tinted spectacles, but soon that begins to change. For the old Connor had a dark past - something which the new Connor cannot escape.
A lot of people toy with the idea of erasing their past, but through choice, not illness. I can't imagine what sort of dark past a fifteen year old would have to make this novel... and I suspect that is why I want to read it.
What happens when mirth turns to murder? When the screams are not from joy, but flesh-ripping pain? Dead Funny is an audacious anthology, featuring tales of terror from some of the brightest lights in UK comedy. Award winners Robin Ince and Johnny Mains team up for this unique exploration of the relationship between comedy and horror to see if they do, as believed, make the most comfortable of bedfellows. Featuring the talents of Mitch Benn, Katy Brand, Neil Edmond, Richard Herring, Charlie Higson, Matthew Holness, Rufus Hound, Robin Ince, Phill Jupitus, Tim Key, Stewart Lee, Michael Legge, Al Murray, Sara Pascoe, Reece Shearsmith, Danielle Ward. You'll die screaming.
Comedy is a great love, and these guys are some great talent. I'm hoping this will be something akin to Crackanory, twisted humour... always fun. Plus short stories are brilliant for quick reading during lunch breaks!
Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High School burned down. The blaze killed three and injured twenty, and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. For two decades, little was revealed about what became known as the Johnson Incident.
Until now.
A diary has been found in the ruins of the school. In this diary, Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly's twin, tells of the strange and disturbing sequence of events leading to the incident.
But Kaitlyn doesn't exist. She never has.
Ooooh, this month's picks are really getting me on the intrigue factor! It's also nice to find so many authors I don't know making it into my picks.
Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.
But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.
In this stunning novel, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and mistakes are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.
Dystopian novel from the already popular author. Fingers crossed for a strong female lead in this one.
'I photographed the moment of my husband's death...' So begins HOLD STILL, a nerve-twisting thriller from bestselling author Tim Adler. How much do we really know about those we love? Kate is visiting Albania with her husband Paul, a much needed break from Paul's stressful website business. 'Hold still,' says Kate, taking a picture as Paul steps onto the hotel room balcony. 'We'll always be together,' Paul responds. Suddenly there is screaming below and a blaring car horn. Kate stares down from the balcony at the broken body of her husband lying lifeless in the street. Overcome with grief, Kate can't accept the truth of Paul's tragic death, and replays the incident over and over again, searching her pictures for a vital clue to what really happened. When she meets the enigmatic Priest at a grief support group, they journey together into a dangerous world of violence and secrets as Kate realises what Paul really meant when he said he would never leave her......
Looks like I'm getting a good fill of crime this month, with a nice bit of ominous suspense at the end of the description.
Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. Lois has lived all over - and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Keep out of trouble. As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won't be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They're messing with her mind somehow, via the high-tech immersive videogame they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it's all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, someone she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy...
One month I'll pick something that doesn't have anything to do with super things... guess March is not that month! It's like a Lois Lane origin story... and I'm a sucker for that. Before they were poised almost perfect beings, superheroes and their love interests/sidekicks were just slightly better versions of us... awkward and gossip prone.
On this day 24th June 1920 I turned fourteen.
I plan to have a very exciting future now that I have thrown off the SHACKLES of SCHOOL! A detective is what I would most like to be. I cannot think of any reason why I could not be one. Except perhaps I am too young. And I don't like blood.
Nancy Parker has recently been engaged in her first position - as a housemaid for the very modern Mrs Bryce. It's not Nancy's dream job (she'd rather be investigating crimes like they do in her beloved six-penny thrillers) but as Mrs Bryce starts to entertain her new neighbours with lavish parties, it becomes clear that something strange and interesting might be afoot. Local burglaries, a cook with a deep, dark secret - and Mrs Bryce's own glamorous but murky past. Will Nancy solve the mysteries while still keeping on top of her chores?
A hilarious and energetic middle-grade mystery, narrated part in the third person and part through Nancy's journal.
I've got a copy of this as a proof on my desk. I picked it up to read a few pages and found I got a bit swept away. Now I just need to find the time to finish it!
Jay, Summer, Dylan and their bands are headed for boot camp at uber-glamorous Rock War Manor. It's going to be six weeks of mates, music and non-stop partying as they prepare for stardom.
But the rock-star life of music festivals and glitzy premieres isn't all it's cracked up to be. Can the bands hold it together long enough to make it through the last stage of the competition, or will there be meltdown?
After so many books from Robert Muchamore out in the market I felt like I had to read one, I still have no idea why I started with this series and not a Cherub novel but I did. The first one was really good, and I would have no hesitation in buying this book or any of his others.
Forty-seven years after NBC killed it off, Star Trek celebrates its half-century in a state of rude health. Boldly going where several other people have been before, Marcus Berkmann tells the story of this sturdy science fiction vehicle from its first five-year mission (rudely curtailed to three), through the dark years of the 1970s, the triumphant film series and The Next Generation, to the current 'reboot' films, with a younger cast taking on the characters of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and co.
With wit, insight and a huge pile of DVDs, he seeks to answer all the important questions. Why did Kirk's shirt always get torn when he had a fist fight? What's the most number of times Uhura said 'Hailing frequencies open, sir' in a single episode? (Seven.) And what's the worst imaginable insult in Klingon? (Your mother has a smooth forehead.)
This is the book I'm going to read at times when I can't be watching a film or TV episode in a massive Star Trek marathon in my nerd room. If you don't want to read this book your mother has a smooth forehead!
An eccentric look at lost Britain through its railway request stops. Perhaps the oddest quirk of Britain's railway network is also one of its least well known: around 150 of the nation's stations are request stops. Take an unassuming station like Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire - the scene of a fatal accident involving thousands of carrots. Or Talsarnau in Wales, which experienced a tsunami. Tiny Stations is the story of the author's journey from the far west of Cornwall to the far north of Scotland, visiting around 40 of the most interesting of these little used and ill-regarded stations. Often a pen-stroke away from closure - kept alive by political expediency, labyrinthine bureaucracy or sheer whimsy - these half-abandoned stops afford a fascinating glimpse of a Britain that has all but disappeared from view. There are stations built to serve once thriving industries - copper mines, smelting works, cotton mills, and china clay quarries where the first trains were pulled by horses; stations erected for the sole convenience of stately home and castle owners through whose land the new iron road cut an unwelcome swathe; stations created for Victorian day-tripping attractions; a station built for a cavalry barracks whose last horse has long since bolted; and many more. Dixe Wills will leave you in no doubt that there's more to tiny stations than you might think.
Filled with Bryson like whimsy (I hope), I love a bit of travel writing that uncovers hidden quirks of the place it's about... and this seems to have such a topic.
Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.
In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.
I'm not sure why I picked this one, it just sounds like it could be a good read. I've never read any of the author's other books either. Generally books that appeal to me like this I enjoy, so here's hoping.
Ace of Spiders by Stefan Mohamed 9781784630676
Yet another book where I've missed the first one in the series. Stanly turned sixteen and gained telekinesis and the ability to fly, but by the description of this second book, that hasn't gone quite his way. You know me and superhero stories, I can't resist. This sounds like the sort of reluctant superhero I'm fond of.
All Sorts of Possible by Rupert Wallis 9781471118937
The moment a sinkhole swallows the car that Daniel and his father are travelling in, everything changes: suddenly Daniel is the 'miracle boy' who survived unharmed whilst his father is left trapped in a coma.
So how did Daniel escape? Was it luck or something more - was it really a miracle?
Mason, a small-time gangster, thinks so. When he decides the boy has been saved to help him with the biggest score of his career, Daniel is suddenly facing a life or death situation all over again…
Can't put my finger on what appealed to me about this one, I guess it was some good old fashioned intrigue.
Almost Midnight by C. C. Hunter 9781250081001
A vampire and a werewolf who never fit in. A witch whose spells don't always work as planned. And a mysterious new guy who's hiding something. Together they will discover who they're meant to be...Hidden from the human world, Shadow Falls is a secret camp for teens with supernatural powers. But for four very different teens, it's much more than just a camp-it's where their destinies will unfold. Independent and strong-willed Della Tsang didn't believe in vampires...until she became one. Chase Tallman is the newest member of Shadow Falls, but what made him into the sexy, mysterious vampire he is today? And what led him to Della Tsang? For Miranda Kane, magic has always been something she's struggled with-until she finally has a chance to prove herself a witch to be reckoned with. And for Fredericka Lakota, the one guy who challenges her the most will lead her to the life she's always wanted.
"Secret camp for teens with supernatural powers", it's like they knew exactly what to say to make me want to read this one! It screams Disney Channel movie to me for some reason... and I kind of like that.
A Bed of Scorpions by Judith Flanders 9780749015480
I love a good crime novel and I'm either mass market (James Patterson/Jeffrey Deaver etc) or amusing (M. C. Beaton), and I have the feeling that falls in to the latter.
Conner's Brain by Malcolm Rose 9781785911354
Connor began his second life at the age of fifteen. A virus in his brain stripped Connor of memory, language and a sense of time, so he at fifteen finds himself back at the very beginning, learning numbers, letters and colours anew. He doesn't remember his parents, his brother or even his girlfriend, Hattie. He certainly doesn't remember the 'old' Connor. This new Connor sees life through rose-tinted spectacles, but soon that begins to change. For the old Connor had a dark past - something which the new Connor cannot escape.
A lot of people toy with the idea of erasing their past, but through choice, not illness. I can't imagine what sort of dark past a fifteen year old would have to make this novel... and I suspect that is why I want to read it.
Dead Funny edited by Robin Ince & Johnny Mains 9781907773761
Comedy is a great love, and these guys are some great talent. I'm hoping this will be something akin to Crackanory, twisted humour... always fun. Plus short stories are brilliant for quick reading during lunch breaks!
The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich 9781510100770
Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High School burned down. The blaze killed three and injured twenty, and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. For two decades, little was revealed about what became known as the Johnson Incident.
Until now.
A diary has been found in the ruins of the school. In this diary, Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly's twin, tells of the strange and disturbing sequence of events leading to the incident.
But Kaitlyn doesn't exist. She never has.
Ooooh, this month's picks are really getting me on the intrigue factor! It's also nice to find so many authors I don't know making it into my picks.
Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson 9781473620995
Dea Donahue has been able to travel through people's dreams since she was six years old. Her mother taught her the three rules of walking: Never interfere. Never be seen. Never walk the same person's dream more than once. Dea has never questioned her mother, not about the rules, not about the clocks or the mirrors, not about the moving from place to place to be one step ahead of the unseen monsters that Dea's mother is certain are right behind them.
Then a mysterious new boy, Connor, comes to town and Dea finally starts to feel normal. As Connor breaks down the walls that she's had up for so long, he gets closer to learning her secret. For the first time she wonders if that's so bad. But when Dea breaks the rules, the boundary between worlds begins to deteriorate. How can she know what's real and what's not?
Superpowers without the superhero. This one seems like a mix of quite a few different stories I'm already familiar with. It seems like one of the hot spots in the YA area, and this one sounds like it has potential.
Flawed by Cecelia Ahern 9780008125097
Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.
But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.
In this stunning novel, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and mistakes are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.
Dystopian novel from the already popular author. Fingers crossed for a strong female lead in this one.
Harry Potter Collectible Quidditch Set 9780762459452
Here is the first officially licensed "Harry Potter Collectible Quidditch Set" that includes: 1 Quaffle, 2 Bludgers, 1 non-removable Snitch and 1 16x24" collectible poster all showcased in a decorative Quidditch trunk. Includes lock and key for trunk.
ADDING IT TO MY NERD ROOM!!!!!!!! *Heavy breathing and palpitations"
Hold Still by Tim Adler 9781910692691
'I photographed the moment of my husband's death...' So begins HOLD STILL, a nerve-twisting thriller from bestselling author Tim Adler. How much do we really know about those we love? Kate is visiting Albania with her husband Paul, a much needed break from Paul's stressful website business. 'Hold still,' says Kate, taking a picture as Paul steps onto the hotel room balcony. 'We'll always be together,' Paul responds. Suddenly there is screaming below and a blaring car horn. Kate stares down from the balcony at the broken body of her husband lying lifeless in the street. Overcome with grief, Kate can't accept the truth of Paul's tragic death, and replays the incident over and over again, searching her pictures for a vital clue to what really happened. When she meets the enigmatic Priest at a grief support group, they journey together into a dangerous world of violence and secrets as Kate realises what Paul really meant when he said he would never leave her......
Looks like I'm getting a good fill of crime this month, with a nice bit of ominous suspense at the end of the description.
Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond 9781782023685
One month I'll pick something that doesn't have anything to do with super things... guess March is not that month! It's like a Lois Lane origin story... and I'm a sucker for that. Before they were poised almost perfect beings, superheroes and their love interests/sidekicks were just slightly better versions of us... awkward and gossip prone.
Nancy Parker's Diary Of Detection by Julia Lee 9780192739384
On this day 24th June 1920 I turned fourteen.
I plan to have a very exciting future now that I have thrown off the SHACKLES of SCHOOL! A detective is what I would most like to be. I cannot think of any reason why I could not be one. Except perhaps I am too young. And I don't like blood.
Nancy Parker has recently been engaged in her first position - as a housemaid for the very modern Mrs Bryce. It's not Nancy's dream job (she'd rather be investigating crimes like they do in her beloved six-penny thrillers) but as Mrs Bryce starts to entertain her new neighbours with lavish parties, it becomes clear that something strange and interesting might be afoot. Local burglaries, a cook with a deep, dark secret - and Mrs Bryce's own glamorous but murky past. Will Nancy solve the mysteries while still keeping on top of her chores?
A hilarious and energetic middle-grade mystery, narrated part in the third person and part through Nancy's journal.
I've got a copy of this as a proof on my desk. I picked it up to read a few pages and found I got a bit swept away. Now I just need to find the time to finish it!
Rock War 2: Boot Camp by Robert Muchamore 9781444914573
But the rock-star life of music festivals and glitzy premieres isn't all it's cracked up to be. Can the bands hold it together long enough to make it through the last stage of the competition, or will there be meltdown?
After so many books from Robert Muchamore out in the market I felt like I had to read one, I still have no idea why I started with this series and not a Cherub novel but I did. The first one was really good, and I would have no hesitation in buying this book or any of his others.
Set Phasers To Stun by Marcus Berkmann 9781408706831
Forty-seven years after NBC killed it off, Star Trek celebrates its half-century in a state of rude health. Boldly going where several other people have been before, Marcus Berkmann tells the story of this sturdy science fiction vehicle from its first five-year mission (rudely curtailed to three), through the dark years of the 1970s, the triumphant film series and The Next Generation, to the current 'reboot' films, with a younger cast taking on the characters of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and co.
With wit, insight and a huge pile of DVDs, he seeks to answer all the important questions. Why did Kirk's shirt always get torn when he had a fist fight? What's the most number of times Uhura said 'Hailing frequencies open, sir' in a single episode? (Seven.) And what's the worst imaginable insult in Klingon? (Your mother has a smooth forehead.)
This is the book I'm going to read at times when I can't be watching a film or TV episode in a massive Star Trek marathon in my nerd room. If you don't want to read this book your mother has a smooth forehead!
Tiny Stations by Dixe Wills 9780749577322
Filled with Bryson like whimsy (I hope), I love a bit of travel writing that uncovers hidden quirks of the place it's about... and this seems to have such a topic.
Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver 9781444786811
Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.
In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.
I'm not sure why I picked this one, it just sounds like it could be a good read. I've never read any of the author's other books either. Generally books that appeal to me like this I enjoy, so here's hoping.
The Wolf Trial by Neil Mackay 9781910449721
Inspired by an extraordinary true case - the first-ever documented account of a serial killer in world history. In the second half of the 16th century, Paulus Melchior, lawyer, academic and enlightened rationalist, travels with his young assistant, Willy Lessinger, to the isolated German town of Bideburg where local landowner, Peter Stumpf, is accused of brutally murdering dozens of people. A society still trapped in a medieval mindset, the townsfolk clamour for the killer to be tried as a werewolf. If their demands are met, his blameless wife and children will also be executed in the most barbaric way imaginable as agents of Satan and creatures contaminated by wolf blood. Paulus and Willy must fight superstition, the cruelty of those who fear what they don't understand, and a zealous church determined to retain its grip on the souls of Bideburg in this compelling, utterly unforgettable, shocking tour de force.
First documented serial killer? That falls into my crime and forensics wheelhouse... and they threw in a werewolf too... I'm beginning to think I'll never stop finding books that I want to read.
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