What I'm Reading: Heart-Shaped Bruise

Remember when I was all like, 'Hey, I'm totally going to read these 8 books before the 1st September!". You know, like two weeks ago. Well, here is your first (of many, I hope) progress reports.

I finally finished A Feast for Crows on Monday. After a frantic tweeting session with one of my friends, I've decided to have a break from Westeros for a little while. Actually, I didn't so much decide it, as I opened up the fifth book and as the prologue starts with a new character set the book down. If ever there was a sign to take a break, that was it.

So, what to read next?

I quickly grabbed my copy of Heart-Shaped Bruise and settled in for a fantastic, if frantic, page-turning read. Heart-Shaped Bruise is the story of Emily Koll, an inmate at Archway Young Offenders Institution who has been put away for a heinous crime. A crime so terrible that she's been dubbed 'evil' by the press. But, its also a crime that the reader doesn't know about. I'm 50 pages from the end and the big 'henious crime' reveal hasn't happened yet. I have to keep myself from flipping ahead to find out what it is. The tension in the book is great. You spend most of your time almost siding with Emily and then remembering she's an unreliable narrator.

Who is Emily Koll? Is she a monster? It's difficult to say (and I'm nearly finished!). Emily's beloved father is sent to prison for murdering a police officer (in his own home). He was only caught because Juliet Shaw, the police officer's daughter heard the commotion and stabbed him. Emily wants revenge. But not just any kind of revenge. She had no idea her father was a mobster. Juliet didn't just take her father away from her, she took away the carefully crafted lie of a life Emily had been leading.

Now, armed with a fake ID, Emily is determined to snake her way into Juliet's new life. The life Juliet has been forced to rebuild in the witness protection programme. What follows is a tense story told in diary entries that look at Emily today (locked away) and the girl Emily became (Rose Glass) in order to exact her revenge.

I can't recommend this book highly enough! I've not been able to put it down. Part fantastic thriller and part psychological study, this is a book about broken people and the terrible things they do to try to become whole again. It reminds me a lot of the fantastic Ketchup Clouds and I'm not just saying that because I worked on it in my day job! (Ketchup Clouds won the Waterstones Children's Book of the Year this Year!) Both books are told in a series of diary entries and are compelling, tense and brilliant. Both narrators are keeping dark secrets about the horrible crimes they committed and confessing to the reader the only way they can, with words on paper. Both are stories not to be missed. They will break your heart. Trust me.

Right, now to finish Heart-Shaped Bruise so that I can start another book from the pile.

Happy Reading!

What I'm Reading: A Feast for Crows

First, let's just start with the obvious. Here at Cupcakes and Karma we've got new avatars which will be accompanying all our posts. We might change these up from time to time, but the idea is to help make it a bit easier for you to see our posts and interact with us on the blog, on Twitter and on Tumblr. My avatar has a tiara. Not sure why, I was just told: 'the tiara suits you' so I've gone with that.  I'd like to say this is because I'm a benevolent princess, but it's probably because I'm high maintenance  My star earrings say I'm funky though. My hair is actually that colour red. Now, back to your regularly scheduled posts. 

Much as it pains me to admit this I was super late to the Game of Thrones book party. The thing is, my invite was't lost in the mail. Jenny has been raving about the Game of Thrones books for years. One Christmas she even gave me a copy of the book with a plea for me to start reading it as soon as I'd pulled off the wrapping paper.

But the book was so so so BIG. I know how stupid that sounds. But the book is big. My time is limited. Reading a book like A Game of Thrones could take me a month or more. I wasn't ready to give up that much time. I know how stupid that sounds. Trust me.

I packed A Game of Thrones away in my suitcase. I was determined to read it on the 8 hour flight back home to London. I never did.

Then came the HBO teaser trailer for the first season. ZOMG! I knew that I needed to read the book that had been languishing on my TBR pile for about a year (maybe more). 

I started reading it and then promptly put it down. I just couldn't get into the narrative. 

((Warning here be spoilers. Turn back now. You have been warned!!))

Then there was the first episode of the TV series. That episode! Zombies, kids going out windows, intrigue  . . . . I was hooked! I zipped through the first book in a month and carried on to read A Clash of Kings. 

Then came A Storm of Swords. I read that book in a week. I barely stopped to sleep I was so engrossed. My husband came home from work on a Friday evening to find me sobbing over my copy of A Storm of Swords. If you've read the books or seen the most recent TV series you'll know exactly what part of the book I was reading (hint: Red Wedding). He took the book away, put a bookmark in it and gently closed the cover. 'I think you need a little break from Westeros.' 

He was right, you know. I finished the book over the weekend and picked up a copy of A Feast for Crows. I got through the first 100 pages and just . . .  I was going through post Red Wedding withdrawals. My heart was a bit broken. It just wasn't in Westeros anymore.

So, I let the book fall back onto the TBR pile. Another book came along and another and another. Soon my little break was turning into two years away from Westeros. 

But every time I looked at A Feast for Crows, my heart gave a little stutter. I wasn't ready. 

On Monday morning just as I was setting out for my weekly commute I picked up my copy of A Feast for Crows. It had been a while since I'd read something solely for pleasure and that's what this was. Reading for  pleasure. I was hooked immediately and immersed back in the world of Westeros. Yeah, there are a ton of new characters. Yes, some of my favourite characters are gone. Where the hell is Tyrion and why do I have to wait an entire 800 page book to see him again? And Dany? And Jon Snow!! But those gripes aside, A Feast for Crows is fantastic, gripping and a perfect book vacation. Which is good because I seriously need a vacation and an actual holiday isn't in the cards for a while.

I fully expect to finish A Feast for Crows in the next week or two. I can't tell you how excited I am to be really immersed in the book I'm reading. It's been a while since I've read something that makes me feel like a true reader. Not a writer, not a fan, not a professional in the publishing industry, but a reader. Someone who reads books for the sheer joy of consuming a well-told story. 

I suspect I'll be onto A Dance with Dragons in the near future. I'm hoping my husband doesn't have to take the books away from me again. (No spoilers please). But, I'm certainly enjoying my time in Westeros. 

Are you reading (or watching) Game of Thrones? I'd love to know what you think. Either Tweet me @gennmcmenemy or leave a comment here on the blog. 

What I'm reading: Book ADD Edition

Ok first, first I need to share this with you. OMG! I am still laughing. I'm laughing so hard there will be typos. Oh, Jon Snow. Oh, CW. Oh, why has no one done this before? And where is my copy of A Feast for Crows? I seriously need to get back to Westeros. Pronto!



Next, as this title implies I'm a bit scattered with my reading lately. This is because at the moment I am working my way through a LOT of books for work. Books that won't be published until next year. Books that are so bloody fantastic it is impossible not to list them all right now. In this blog post. I won't. You see, I always feel a bit torn about writing about these books so far in advance. On one hand, I'm a passionate reader, if I love what I'm reading (and I do, I really really do!) I cannot wait to share. On the other . . . it seems almost cruel to tell you what I'm reading when it might not come out for another year or two.

So, with that in mind, I'm going to be taking a bit of a cop out this week. I'm not going to tell you what I'm reading. Instead I'm going to tell you what I should be reading. I should be reading A Feast for Crows. I promised the lovely Jenny that I would read both this and A Dance With Dragons this year. It was one of those New Year's Resolutions. Wine was involved.

I've kind of failed on that front. I'm a big fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, I got to interview George RR Martin for work earlier this year (I know, I know, ignore my name dropping, its so tacky! I am ashamed. But it happened. It was awesome. My inner fan girl was like-- AHAHAHA, but my outer professional was all like: So, can you tell us about the inspiration behind . . ..)

I loved A Storm of Swords so much. I read it last year. I read the first three books in the Song of Ice and Fire back to back in a breathless rush. I couldn't stop myself. And then I got to the end of the third book. I'm not going to spoil this for anyone. But stuff happens. Stuff happens that made my husband look at me (there might have been tears) and declare I take a little break from Westeros.

And I have. But, I'm missing Westeros like crazy. I miss Westeros like penguins miss being known for being assholes, and not tap dancing freaks. I seriously love penguins.

So, what I should be reading is A Feast for Crows. And maybe, this Christmas, I'll put on my big girl reading glasses (oh yeah, I now need reading glasses) and return to Westeros. Because people, guess what: Winter is Here!