Hi everyone and welcome to my weekly blog feature to recap the week with bookish news and what to expect coming up! So without further ado...

*Reading Right Now*



I didn't manage to get through much of this so far, but what I have read is fantastic.

*Previous Posts*

• Gayle Forman Interview Blog Hop
• ARC Review: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver  
• {Blog Tour} 'Every' series by Ellie Marney GIVEAWAY (AU)  
• Review: Every Breath by Ellie Marney  

*Recommendation of the Week*




There's a good reason why people say this book is so good!

*From The Interwebs*

• Christy @ Novel Ink reviewed Dangerous Boys
• Emily @ Loony Literate has a new selection of Loony Blurbs
• Jeann @ Happy Indulgence shared how do you cope with a slow book?
• Amanda @ Beautiful Bookish Butterflies posted the month of series sign-ups
• Cait @ Paper Fury wrote about the 10 types of writers
• Angel @ Angel Reads has an Insurgent Tote and Book Giveaway

*Haul*

• The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie - If this doesn't look like a creepy book, I don't know what does!

*Other News*

Just for the heck of it - here's a little (somewhat dramatic) gif story I made that explains the rollercoaster that is the HSC:

                                     

In all seriousness though, at the moment it's going okay despite the massive workload and SO MANY ESSAYS - it's just a matter of knuckling down and studying! (and finding time to read)

On another note: Aussies don't forget to enter the giveaway for the entire three books of the 'Every' series! (click the image to go to the post)

Any great books you've read this week?

Review: Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Every Breath by Ellie Marney
Released: 1st September 2014
Series: Every #1
Published by: Allen and Unwin
Genre: YA Mystery
Source: Bought
Pages: 335
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Bookworld | Dymocks

Rachel Watts is an unwilling new arrival to Melbourne from the country. James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old genius with a passion for forensics. Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. And when Watts and Mycroft follow a trail to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den - literally.

A night at the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again...

Every Breath takes a fresh new spin on crime solving, with two teens who sure are good at being a Sherlock and Watson team. I'm so glad that I've finally gotten around to starting the 'Every' series, and I can say with confidence that I really did enjoy this book. With just the right amount of intelligent detective work, suspense and a relationship building - I can definitely see why people are praising this series, and it sure does deserve it.

He might think he's on some dark quest to find a murderer, but in reality he's just looking for the same answers that everyone who loses somebody looks for.

What's makes up half the fun in this book is the banter between Mycroft and Watts - the two of them have such an interesting friendship, and all the sleuthing going on just strengthens that. On their hunt to find out who killed James's friend 'Homeless Dave', the pair get up to some mischief, but more importantly some smart deducing to figure out who the murderer was. From interrogation techniques to investigating the crime scene, these two teens definitely know how to be bona fide dedectives.

There's also the matter of their personal lives though, which added another dimension to the story. Mycroft doesn't have the best stability with his aunt taking care of him, and Rachel is having a hard time adjusting to a city lifestyle after living on a farm. The fact that these tensions are underlying just add to the depth of the characters, and Ellie Marney did a wonderful job at that. 

Live or die - Every breath is a choice.

As with any good crime novel, you're going to want a twist that you don't see coming, and I liked the way the author orchestrated this one. I'm not going to give too much away, but aside from the mystery being solved itself, it was interesting how much of the action took place in the zoo as opposed to some other cliched setting like with underground mafia and the like. Having it set in Australia also makes that much more relatable, and bravo to Aussie authors like Elli Marney writing books like this which are so successful!

And finally - the romance. I SHIP IT. (and I so thought they'd be good together). Let's face it - we'd all see it coming from the very beginning, but it just works. It's realistic, there's no insta-love, and the way that these two look out for each other all the time and have that slow-burning sort of relationship brewing is nice to see.

FINAL THOUGHTS


I'm so happy to be reading some great YA mystery novels this year, and I can't wait to continue with this series. Every Word, here I come!

PS. Don't forget to check out my giveaway for the whole series on now! (ends 26th March 2015, AU only)

Genie's Weekly News (24)

Hi everyone and welcome to my weekly blog feature to recap the week with bookish news and what to expect coming up! So without further ado...

*Reading Right Now*




I'm binge-reading this series, and loving the first book so far!

*Previous Posts*

• Waiting on Wednesday: Mind Games
• Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand  

*Recommendation of the Week*

Emotional and heartbreaking, told beautifully.

*From The Interwebs*

• Lucy @ Queen of Contemporary showed pictures of her book pigs
• Emily @ Loony Literate talked about second book syndrome
• Jeann @ Happy Indulgence shared 10 Wordpress Plugins for Book Bloggers
• Ebony @ Daring Damsels made a video on books she's bringing to uni
• Stephanie @ Chasm of Books tips on sharing your writing
• Aussie author Kylie Fornasier shared her last post and interview with questions from me adn some other bloggers at Inside A Dog

*Haul*

Thank you to Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster and Jen @ YA Romantics for these books!

• The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski - Yay for more Kestrel and Arin! I can't wait to start this.
• Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook - This sounds like a touching contemporary which I'm looking forward to reading. 
• What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick - I won this and since I love a good contemporary romance and heard great things about the author, I definitely can't wait to dive into this one. 

*Other News*

• On Saturday morning I volunteered at the St Vincent de Paul Brekky Van, providing breakfast to the homeless. Although it meant a really early start, it was ultimately a rewarding experience which does help the community, and I'd love to do it again.
• 'Finding Nemo' was on last night and I remember just how much I loved it - it brought back so many good memories as my favourite movie from my childhood. Not only do I now pick up those hilarious one-liners, but I also found some great pieces of advice which will come in handy for me now as the workload of the HSC continues:

On that note - how has your week been?