Graphic made by Eugenia @ Genie in a Book

With the holiday season approaching, we all know the feeling of glancing wistfully at our shelves...and making enormous lists of books we want to add to them for the new year. Thanks to Walker Books Australia and Rachael Craw, I'm giving away the whole SPARK trilogy to one lucky winner from Australia or New Zealand. 

Not to mention...yes - this series is one of my favourites of all time

BUT THEY ALSO LOOK AMAZING. 

You know, for that bookshelf aesthetic that's impossible to turn down.

Image provided by Walker Books Australia

You can also have a read of my thoughts on the series here:

Review: Spark by Rachael Craw
Stray by Rachael Craw Review and Author Interview
Review: Shield by Rachael Craw

Some of my favourite moments from the series

Special post from Rachael Craw

Merry Christmas, friends! A colossal thank you to Walker Books Australia and Spark Army General, Eugenia, for generously hosting week one of the Spark Trilogy Christmas Giveaway on her beautiful blog. And thank you everyone for taking the time to stop by be sure to enter to win a complete set. And if you’re not lucky this week, keep your eyes peeled for Kelly’s blog next week and my newsletter the week after! (Don’t forget to subscribe @ www.rachaelcraw.com)

Since the release of Shield, the final instalment in the Spark series, I have started work on a new novel which is both exciting and daunting. A whole new world to explore, new characters to fall in love with and new dangers and adventures to send me running for the heart medication. Y’all know me well enough by now to expect a story set in the real world with a fantastical/speculative twist. Well, at the moment the twists are giving me whiplash and making my head spin! So, this weekend I indulged in some quality procrastination to ease the agony of drafting my new WIP.

If you’ve been neglecting your nanowrimo or hiding from your TBR here are:

Rachael’s Top 5 No Regrets, Pre-Christmas, Procrastiwriting/Procrastireading Activities.

5. Put up the Christmas tree!

Traditionally, I am a December 1st girl but I have a busy week and no patience for a mid-week decoration project. Besides, our tree is a colossal 6 footer and it takes hours of sweaty, scratchy negotiation to get it up and looking pretty. I must confess to being a bit of a Christmas tree Sergeant Major. I like it, just right. Clearly, I have traumatised my children enough to follow in my footsteps and they all pulled together to produce a dazzler. Can you rope in a sibling or flatmate to get your tree up? Since it’s such a wholesome family activity – bonding over twinkle lights – guilt about avoiding your WIP or TBR recedes nicely.

4. Spring clean a bedroom!

In this case, my little girls’ room. How hard can it be, right? How long could it take? Brace yourselves. My children are chronic hoarders of crap. A dozen supermarket bags full of trash, broken plastic what-nots, bric-a-brac, and miscellanea later and that’s just what was under their beds and hiding in the toy box! I haven’t even started on their wardrobe. It took all of Saturday and Sunday afternoon but oh the glorious smugness of a clear floor. One can’t feel bad about a neglected first draft or review copies waiting to be read when you’re spring cleaning! What’s collecting dust under your bed? Behind your dresser?

3. Pausing over old treasures!

Memory-lane is a sweet place linger. A good tidy up unearths old treasures, photo-albums and journals. Some of my favourite things to keep are the kids’ old “Story Writing” books from school. Dragons, mermaids and talking animals feature a lot. The kids laugh at their handwriting and illustrations. It always warms my heart. See how writing/reading guilt can be smoothed away?

2. Setting aside items for Goodwill or the Salvation Army!

This weekend we culled soft-toys, dress-ups, dolls, tea-sets, books, games and clothes that the girls had grown out of. We put the teddies and costumes through the wash and wiped down the plastic toys. The girls loved choosing things to giveaway – great opportunity to be generous and help others. Have you got anything you could donate to help others have a great Christmas? You can’t feel bad about your draft or your TBR when you’re doing good deeds!

And the number one best way I procrastinated this weekend …

1. Binge watching Gilmore Girls!!!

ARGH!!! I have been binge re-watching the original series in preparation for the Gilmore Girls Revival over the last couple of months and it was AGONISING listening to my eldest daughter squealing and wailing in her bedroom as she watched the new episodes without me! I am halfway through season 6 and live in TERROR of spoilers!!! So, I squeezed in several episodes this weekend and I HAVE NO REGRETS!!! Any Gilmore fans out there?!

Well, I hope I’ve inspired you! Now … I better get back to my WIP!!!! ARGH!!!

Enter here:

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Watch out for more chances to win this series!

Kelly @ Diva Booknerd will be hosting her giveaway and with another special post from the author next week.

Rachael Craw herself will be hosting the final giveaway, keep an eye out for her newsletter for all the exciting details!

Shadowhunters TV Tie-In Giveaway! (AU)

Hi booklovers! With the release of the Netflix Shadowhunters television series and the tie-in book covers hitting shelves, the wonderful Walker Books Australia are offering two copies up for grabs in my giveaway

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Shadowhunters Series Giveaway! (AU)

With the exciting screening of Cassandra Clare's 'Shadowhunters' series on Netflix, there are also new editions of the books in the series (and they look pretty amazing).

Thanks to the lovely people at Walker Books Australia, I'm giving away one full set of the books to a lucky Australian winner!

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What do you think of these new covers, and cover re-designs of popular series in general? 

Birthday Giveaway

I almost can't believe it's been a year since I did my last birthday giveaway, but it's time to celebrate once again!

I have been on a hiatus lately, but consider this post my full return to the blogging world. While taking that break to read some old favourites and spend time away was lovely, it's now time to get back into things and celebrate before uni starts in a couple of months! Hopefully even when that gets busy I'll still make the time to work on the blog and get some posts out which I hope you will find entertaining. I also have a new feature in the works, so stay tuned for that :)

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Genie's Weekly News (44)

The last week has been basically me studying my brains out for the HSC, interspersed with reading and still managing to do some blog posts as well. While I'll be going on hiatus when my final exams start, by the start of November I'll be free and able to read all I want *YAY*.

*Reading Right Now*

Historical fiction, 1930's setting, mystery - I'm in!

*Previous Posts*

• ARC Review: Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
• Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Spring TBR
• Teaser Blast: Wicked Restless by Ginger Scott
• {Blog Tour} The Tribe Series by Ambelin Kwaymullina - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

*Recommendation of the Week*

Showcasing some underrated Australian YA - The Rosie Black Chronicles by Lara Morgan is still my favourite sci-fi series to date. I still remember eagerly awaiting the second book before it was released and reading it in one sitting the afternoon I got it! If you're looking for something dynamic, action-packed and thrilling then I'd definitely recommend giving them a go. #LoveOzYA #bookstagram #favouritebooks #yascifi #bookrecommendations #igbooks #booklover #coverlove #readthisnow #bookish #booklove

A photo posted by Eugenia (Genie In A Book) (@genie_inabook) on Sep 23, 2015 at 8:10pm PDT

I've been looking back on books I love to re-read recently, and this series is definitely one worthy of that!

*From The Interwebs*

• Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity is looking for ARC's from Sarah J. Maas, Maria V. Snyder and Maggie Stiefvater
• Maisie @ Maisie's Marvelous Reviews shared her top 5 Roald Dahl books
• Cait @ Paper Fury talked about how she would improve goodreads
• Kristy @ Booknerd Reviews is doing a brilliant bookish blogs feature
• Emily @ Loony Literate highlighted YA about the senior year of high school
• Jeann @Happy Indulgence did a video on the playlist book tag

*Haul*

Thank  you to Bloomsbury Australia for the review copy!

Flirty Dancing and Love Bomb were both light, fun reads and this one looks like it's heading in a similar direction. I'm looking forward to reading it :)

*What I've Been Watching*

In my searching for a new historical drama to catch my eye (aside from re-watching Downton Abbey from the beginning again), I came across Restless. It's quite an interesting 2-part special which is set in the 1940's and 1970's respectively about a woman who was a spy working with British intelligence and still has some inkling that her occupation during the war is impacting her life in the present. It was first of all interesting to see Michelle Dockery in a very different role than playing Mary Crawley in Downton, and Hayley Atwell played the main role brilliantly. Though I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending, there was a lot of mystery to keep my entertained throughout, and the twist was well played. I'm definitely considering reading the book now to see how it compares. 

*Giveaway Reminder*

Just a quick reminder that my giveaway for 2 sets of the entire 'Tribe' trilogy by Australian author Ambelin Kwaymullina is still going! Closes 9th October and is open to Australian residents only. 

Click the image to go to the entry page!

Have you watched any good historical dramas recently or read any stand-out historical fiction?

{Blog Tour} The Tribe Series by Ambelin Kwaymullina - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

Monday, 21st September The Loony Literate.

Tuesday, 22nd September Cassie the Weird

Wednesday, 23rd September Diva Book Nerd

Thursday, 24th September Inside My Worlds

Friday, 25th September Genie in a Book

THEFIRSTWOOD.COM.AU | AMBELIN-KWAYMULLINA.COM.AU

Series Review

This is a series which takes the typical dystopian novel to a new level with an original slant. Ambelin Kwaymullina has not just written a trilogy which is refreshingly original, but also incorporates the unique elements of Aboriginal mythology in the Indigenous Futurisms genre. I would call these books 'speculative thrillers', as they're set a few hundred years into the future and provide a glimpse into how the world, and people within it who hold special abilities could be. As each book progresses and there is more information revealed, it all gets all the more intense and vividly told.

Admittedly, at the beginning of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf I wasn't completely convinced that I would enjoy it. I felt thrown into this situation where there was a lot going on and obviously some big drama over her capture, but no idea how or why she got there. Though her narrative voice wasn't always fluent and the flashbacks could seem longwinded, I did appreciate the amount of worldbuilding and detail that went into creating this book. The descriptions of each of the young adults in detention and those who had rebelled, as well as how they connected to their animal abilities was fascinating to read about. I could see how the Dreamtime plays a big role in providing a rich symbolic backdrop to the action which takes place.

Following on, in The Disappearance of Ember Crow The Tribe is thrown into a whole new set of issues. The Reckoning may have had lasting effects before, and they still linger now. It was great to see more of Ashala's character development here, as well as the perspective of Ember which added extra depth. For Ashala especially it was lovely to see her act as a strong leader who yes, still had her faults but continued to be gallant and look out for her people. This is about restoring balance to the world, saving a friend, and even finding room for some romance on the side. Once again, like the first novel this is a gripping read with a creativity that is impossible to ignore.

And finally - The Foretelling of Georgie Spider. In this installment, Ashala, Ember and Georgie act as three equally valiant leads who are determined to set things right in their society and make a change. Ashala's voice still comes through as it has since the beginning of the trilogy, though Georgie's is also equally evocative. Building on the abilities of the Illegals and raising some harrowing questions about Australia's history is interestingly done, with a sensitive probing that leaves room for thought. There is enough danger, twists and turns in this book to keep fans of the series entertained, and everything comes together in a satisfying ending.

FINAL THOUGHTS 

This is a series that gets better as it goes - each idea is developed and the world-building is ON POINT. It's so nice to see Australian YA making a hit with novels like this, especially ones that connect with Indigenous heritage as well. If you want a post-apocalyptic trilogy with a unique twist unlike anything else out there, then this is for you.

Guest Post by Ambelin Kwaymullina - Speculative Fiction and Indigenous Futurism

I am a writer of Indigenous Futurisms, which is to say, I am one of the many Indigenous peoples worldwide who use the speculative fiction genre to challenge colonialism and to imagine Indigenous futures. And in so doing I am conscious of both the failings and the promise of speculative fiction. 

Speculative fiction, like all Western literary genres, is guilty of the unthinking reproduction of colonial stereotypes. Indigenous peoples have appeared in spec fic narratives as the ‘primitives’ to be conquered; the spiritual but child-like natives who require a white savior to deliverm them from themselves; and the ‘savages’ who lurk beyond the boundaries of what is said to be ‘civilisation’. But if the failing of speculative fiction is continue colonial story-cycles, its promise is to overcome them. For in imagining new worlds it is possible to discard old ideas and to confront the evils of colonialism in new contexts, free of the preconceptions that hinder understanding.

My ancestors taught me to look to the future. They always spoke hopefully of a better world in the worst of times and circumstances, gazing through time to the point when the injustices that dominated so much of their existence were a thing of the past. We do not yet live in that world - as was reported by the UN’s State of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples report, Indigenous peoples across the globe continue to be subjected to discrimination and live in conditions of extreme disadvantage. But my ancestors never did lay down their hope; they passed it on to be carried by those of us who came after them.

I am a writer of Indigenous Futurisms, which is to say, I am one of the many Indigenous peoples worldwide who hopes for a just world.

Giveaway - 2 sets of the trilogy (AU only)

And now thanks to Walker Books Australia, I'm giving away two sets of the trilogy with all three books to a couple of lucky Australian winners!

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Genie's Weekly News (40)

It has been a while since I've blogged (blame my exams coming up *sigh*). Holidays are a distant memory and now it's right back into the frenzy of study notes and trying to not stress out too much about what's coming up. I might not be as active on the blog for these next two weeks as well, but after that I should have more reviews and discussions happening.

*Reading Right Now*





I'm trying to read this before I see the movie - but 20% in and I'm hoping it gets better.

*Recommendation of the Week*



Such a strange book, but a beautiful one.

*From The Interwebs*

• Jeann @ Happy Indulgence discussed the 3 star debacle
• Aimee @ Deadly Darlings did the real neat blog award
• Cait @ Paper Fury talked about when she unfollows blogs
• Emily @ Loony Literate posted about book series amnesia
• Nova @ Out of Time discussed the representation of culture in YA
• Brett @ Brett Michael Orr questioned What is YA?

*Haul*

This is *the* book of the year I've been waiting for! As the sequel to the amazing #SPARK by Rachael Craw, I can't wait to see what'll go down in this book. I can sense it's going to be a 'read this in one sitting' situation already... STRAY releases on 1st September, but there will be an exclusive short story not included in either of the books coming out July 31st from @walkerbooksaus so look out for that! #SparkArmy #STRAY #yalit #yascifi #series #sequel #readyforallthefeels #bookstodevour

A photo posted by Eugenia (Genie In A Book) (@genie_inabook) on Jul 23, 2015 at 12:26am PDT

A photo posted by Eugenia (Genie In A Book) (@genie_inabook) on Jul 23, 2015 at 12:26am PDT

This week's #booksfortradeau haul! I'm really looking forward to reading some more contemporaries and there seems to be some promising ones here. #bookstagram #bookhaul #bookblogger #bookswap #yacontemporary #booklove #coverlove

A photo posted by Eugenia (Genie In A Book) (@genie_inabook) on Jul 24, 2015 at 5:36pm PDT

I'm especially excited for Stray by Rachael Craw - since I haven't been able to get to it this weekend, it's going to be my big reward to look forward to after exams!

*Bookish News*

Author Jessica L. Brooks is looking for expressions of interest for her new 'early reader program' looking at distributing physical ARC's for her upcoming releases - it's generally much easier to read on paper, and this is a wonderful opportunity to do that.



Though the timing is in the middle of exams, I'm still going to endeavour to participate in the 'Excuse to Read' readathon hosted by Jessica L. Brooks and Cheyanne Young, to get a few books knocked off my TBR. Look out for another post on that tomorrow :)



*What I've Been Watching*

Gossip Girl season 5 has been pretty hectic so far - OH THE DRAMA (well, more than usual anyway). Aside from that though, I've been delving back into historical drama:

Sense and Sensibility



I loved this three-part series! Great acting, and of course a wonderful stoyline (who doesn't want a happily ever after?).

The Paradise



I've only seen the first two episodes so far, and while I have a pretty good idea of the 'twists' which may be coming, it's still a pretty good show. It's interesting to think of how far department stores have come!

*GIVEAWAY*

Just a reminder, I have a giveaway for a YA book of choice up to $10AU from The Book Depository running at the moment!

How has your week been?

Genie's Weekly News (37)

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...

*Currently Reading*

*In The Bookish World*

That's right - The #SparkArmy will be proud to reveal the long-awaited cover for Stray by Rachael Craw this week, and let me tell you - I love it already! 

Author Jessica Brooks has some fantastic US + International giveaways happening on her blog at the moment which are ending soon! Click the image to go to the page.

*Previous Posts*

• The Real Neat Blog Award
• Review: The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward
• Review: Risk by Fleur Ferris
• Mini Reviews: A Soulprint for the Haunting where There Will Be Lies and Miracles
• {Blog Tour} Review & GIVEAWAY: The Girl I Was Before (Falling #3) by Ginger Scott
• Review: Fable - Short Story Collection

*Recommendation of the Week*

Aussie YA at its best - poignant, edgy and memorable.

*From The Interwebs*

• Ana @ Butterflies of the Imagination announced a  new feature
• Emily @ Loony Literate shared her favourite 18 books from the past two years
• Kelly @ Diva Booknerd wrote a lovely review for Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
• Sara @ Deadly Darlings did a book recommendations post
• Cait @ Paper Fury discussed why she always finishes books
• Jeann @ Happy Indulgence did two thriller reviews
• Erica @ Novel Ink did the book blogger TMI tag
• Michelle @ The Unfinished Bookshelf did a Q&A with Maureen McCarthy
• Kat @ Cuddlebuggery took a comprehensive look at Beauty and the Beast retellings

*Book Haul*

Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia and Penguin Teen Australia for the review copies!

• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - I got this in a trade with Chelsea @ Booknerdigans and am so excited to reading it since I've heard only good things!
• Legend by Marie Lu - Another trade with Chelsea, and I've wanted to start this series for what feels like forever. Now I can!
• Letters from Skye - My final trade with Chelsea, and I love the sound of this historical fiction novel told with letters. 
• Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas - I've heard some mixed reviews for this one, but being allergic to electricity is definitely something interesting.
• The Almost King by Lucy Saxon - It's been a while since I'v read Take Back the Skies, which was okay, but I'm hoping this one is better.
• The Devil You Know by Trish Doller - So this is one of those books I've REALLY been looking forward to this year, and I can't wait to get to it ASAP.
• Dumplin' by Julie Murphy - I now have an extra ARC of this since I got one from TeenCon, so I *may* be doing a giveaway for it at some point...stay tuned.
• Pieces of Sky by Trinity Doyle - I won this from Tash @ Confessions From Romaholics and can't wait to read this Aussie YA contemporary.

*Giveaway Reminder*

My giveaway is ending very soon!

How has your week been? 

Genie's Weekly News (36)

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...

*Missed me?*

Basically, with a heap of exams near the end of term I just couldn't blog/read as much as I normally do and had to prioritise. Though this year isn't the 'be all and end all', putting in the effort to get the results is still important to me so I had to do what I had to do and take a step back.

BUT. Exams (for now) are over! And the results I've been getting back so far have been worth it.

So now instead of going like this for studying:

It can now be because I've been up late reading. Much better.

*In The Bookish World*

Other Aussie YA bloggers will have found out about a blogger night happening at one of the major publishing houses...and there is much speculation as to who the big 'special guest' might be.

I have a few theories, but who knows??? Either way, I'm excited!

*From The Interwebs*

• Suze @ Librarian Lavender is having an Australian-themed bookish month celebrating Aussie reads and authors
• Emily @ Loony Literate shared Ten bookish superpowers every reader needs
• Mel @ YA Midnight Reads recapped her American trip
• Amie @ Deadly Darlings gave advice on how to start a book blog
• Cait @ Paper Fury discussed life lessons you can learn from books
• Ely @ A Book So Fathomless gave her thoughts on books with layered perspectives
• Erica @ Novel Ink shared her bookish pet peeves
• Amanda @ Beautiful Bookish Butterflies did a film review for Jurassic World
• Kara @ Diary of a Teen Writer is going to be a published author

*Haul - Physical Books*

Thank you to HarperCollins, Walker Books, Simon and Schuster, Text Publishing and Five Mile Press for the review copies!

Ophelia by Jackie French - If there's one thing to know about me, it's that I love Jackie French's works. I really enjoyed 'I Am Juliet', so this one looking at a character from 'Hamlet' should be just as interesting.

Remix by Non Pratt - I haven't really read books set around music/music festivals, so this looks like a fun read.

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider - I've been seeing some good things about this already, and the premise is a heart-wrenching contemporary with all the feels.

Afterlight by Rebecca Lim - Creepy and thrilling with a touch of the supernatural? I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes.

Burn by Paula Weston - With a very convincing quote from Melanie @ YA Midnight Reads, a very well respected fellow YA Aussie blogger - I just know I have to start this series ASAP! Plus, I haven't read a book about angels since...the Hush Hush series, so it's definitely time for something new.

How to be Bad by E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle and Sarah Mlynowski - A road trip, three teenage girls, secrets and drama - I love a good contemporary.

The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers - This is a trade thanks to Jeann @ Happy Indulgence as part of #booksfortradeAU. Sometimes it's nice to switch up the contemporary and sci-fi with something creepy, so I hope to get to this one soon.

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner - Another trade thanks to Jeann, and since I've had my eye on this for a while, I'm definitely excited to see how it fares.

Inside Game of Thrones Season 3 & 4 - I won this beauty from Hachette Australia! At least while recovering from the season finale, I can find comfort in looking back at the good old days when some characters were actually ALIVE.

*Haul - Ebooks* 

I've been very fortunate on Netgalley to get approved for those first three, and The Girl I Was Before is by Ginger Scott who I am a big fan of! Oh and I'm reading Risk by Fleur Ferris at the moment and really loving it - it's creepy, but addictive and you can see how it could be so real.

*What I've Been Watching*

After that SHOCKING!!!!!!! Game of Thrones season finale, I've been in a bit of a TV-series hangover.

I had...a lot of feelings after that episode. It was EPIC for sure, but STILL. People who have watched it will understand...

But I am on the lookout for historical drama again, so leave your recommendations in the comments below!

*Giveaway Reminder*

How has your week been?