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SPLINTERED BY A.G. HOWARD

29/2/2016

62 Comments

 
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This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Fans of warped dark classics will adore this all-new retelling of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. – Abooktopia
Before I start, can I just say how gorgeous is that cover? Like seriously it is perfection. Oh, and the writing inside? Purple. What a fantastic idea. It really is something special to behold.

Alyssa is the great-great-great granddaughter of Alice Liddell, who told Lewis Carroll of her strange dreams, which inspired his classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The female descendants of Alyssa’s family have suffered from a great curse of madness that has stricken the women in her family with insanity. When her mother is taken away to a mental asylum after attempting to kill her own daughter, Alyssa knows that she will suffer the same fate. What Alyssa doesn’t know, is that what she once thought was fiction, is actually a terrifying reality.

The real Wonderland is a world far darker than Lewis Carroll ever let on. In a race against madness, Alyssa must travel into the world of Wonderland with her bestfriend and secret boy crush Jeb, if she wishes to remove the curse that was placed upon her family. She must go down the rabbit hole and travel into dark abyss of Wonderland to undo all of Alice Liddell’s mistakes. There Alyssa must first face a series of tests, before she can accomplish her goals.

Upon arriving to Wonderland, Alyssa meets the surreptitious Morpheus who has been appearing in her dreams ever since she was just a girl. With Morpheus, who may have darker motives of his own as her guide through Wonderland, Alyssa becomes unclear on who are her enemies and who are her friends.

I instantly fell in love with Alyssa’s character right from the start as she was strong willed and faced her obstacles stealthily.

I don’t know how A.G. Howard did it, but she managed to create a whole new world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with a far darker twist than any of Tim Burton’s movies, and a whole lot more creepy… I can tell a lot of research went into this novel as A.G. cleverly wove the original story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into her very own.
***I received a copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review***
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A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened if Alice had grown up an the substle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland had taken her stage in her story, and she hopes her dardeeer and funkier tribute to Caroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

Her pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.


Splintered by A.G. Howard:
BOOK 1: Splintered
BOOK 2: Unhinged
BOOK 3: Ensnared
62 Comments

PIECES OF SKY BY TRINITY DOYLE

15/2/2016

49 Comments

 
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Lucy's life was going as smoothly as any teenager's could. She was in the local swimming club, and loved it; she lived with her parents and her brother, Cam, in the small coastal town she'd known all her life. She had friends, she had goals - she had a life. Now Cam is dead, her parents might as well be - and Lucy can't bear to get back in the pool. All she has to look forward to now is a big pile of going-nowhere.

Drawn to Steffi, her wild ex-best-friend who reminds Lucy of her mysterious, unpredictable brother, and music-obsessed Evan, the new boy in town, Lucy starts asking questions. Why did Cam die? Was it an accident or suicide? But as Lucy hunts for answers she discovers much more than she expects. About Cam. About her family. About herself.

Pieces of Sky is a beautifully written debut novel about the effects of death, and the overcoming of fear. - Abooktopia
Lucy Taylor had her whole life planned out. She was the state backstroke champion, and swimming obsessed. But things have changed. Now she can’t get back into the water without hyperventilating and may suffer from a diagnosis of Aquaphobia.  She can’t handle it. Not after Cam, her brother lost his life in the surf drowning.  Was it a foolish accident or a suicide that took her brother’s life? And who is this mysterious girl that he went through all the trouble of hiding?

Unable to venture back into the water, and face her squad with the shame of being Aquaphobic, Lucy reconnects with her wild ex-bestfriend, Steffi. Now with a time table of free-time that had once been taken up by training, Lucy finds that she was once much too caught up in her own swimming career to notice what was truly happening around her.

Desperate to find out what exactly happened that night when her brother left her world, Lucy becomes obsessed with finding out just who this mysterious person is behind the text messages that still appear on Cam’s phone, even though he’s gone now… She may have feelings for new boy, Evan Harris, though all her emotions are muddled up and she can’t seem to disperse how she feels, with her emotions for her brother’s death getting in the way.

I truly adored this all-new debut novel, by Australian author, Trinity Doyle. Trinity tackles the aspects of heartache, friendship and love all in one journey as we explore the true meanings of life. Pieces of Sky was beautifully written packed with hurt and longing, but also filled with hope and love.
***I received a copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review***
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Trinity grew up in the suburbs of Lake Macquarie. The kind of kid who would rather write lines than play sport she found her home in books, writing and art. She’s worked as a music photographer, graphic designer; been one half of a diy record label and played bass terribly but enthusiastically in various girl bands.

At 25 she took her vague emo poetry and wrote a novel. Then she spent five years rewriting it. The ASA called her work ‘edgy [and] convincing’ and she thinks that’s pretty neat.

Trinity lives in Newcastle NSW, with her husband, daughter and cat. Pieces of Sky is her first novel

Pieces of Sky by Trinity Doyle

49 Comments

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