Book Review - The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global. 

A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she’s along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn’t as easy as she had hoped. 

Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main character, Poppy, right from the start. She was engaging and I love the way she spoke and acted around her friends.

The story had me laughing quite a bit, which I think is great. It's so fun to read a light, playful novel with likeable characters. I think the novel is written for this day and age. The author captured the essence of teens beautifully - the way they talk and dress, the things they are into. I know I am generalizing here - obviously teens are different in lots of way - but you know what I mean. She really nailed it for me. I felt like I was reading a teen novel about realistic teens. It was cool.

The love triangle had me guessing right up til the last page and I've gotta say, Poppy didn't end up with the guy I thought she would. At first I was really disappointed, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized she ended up with the right guy for her.

I think Ms. Billington did a wonderful job with this book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes an easy, entertaining read that will make you laugh.

4 stars from me!

If you'd like the check out the current blog tour that's happening, you can find the schedule here:
THE KISS OFF BLOG TOUR

You can find THE KISS OFF on Amazon, Smashwords and Goodreads.

And you can connect with SARAH BILLINGTON here:
Twitter
Facebook
Website
Blog

Friday Favourites - Characters You've Created

This one is for all the writers out there, whether you're published or not. Actually - it really is for anyone with a good imagination :)

One of the coolest things about writing is getting to create these people and bring them to life on the page. I was asked at one of my school visits last week how close I got to my characters. Was I sad when the book finished because it was like saying goodbye to a friend?

The answer was a very quick, YES!

Although imaginary, these characters become real people. We get to know them so well. You think for them, move for them, react for them... in some ways you leave a small piece of yourself inside each one of them.

So - my question for you today is: who is the best character you've created? Why do you like them so much?

For me - the first one that pops to mind is Gabe Hunter from the Time Spirit Trilogy. I love him so much. He is like the ultimate father figure. He's cool, he's relaxed, yet strong and decisive when he needs to be. I can picture him so clearly in my head - the way he moves, the sound of his laughter - he just... rocks!

Another character I really love is Mica Latham from Forbidden Territory. I find her really funny. She's say things and does things that I would never dream of. I think that's why I like her so much - she is the me I was never brave enough to be at high school.

Now it's your turn - who do you love?

Love scenes in YA Novels

When I was at school there was one book that was read more than any other in the library. It was 'Forever' by Judy Blume. And there were a couple of pages in particular that were quite worn... you guessed it, the pages about sex. 

Personally I don't actually love graphic sex scenes in novels. I prefer the author to leave it up to the readers' imagination as to what's happening, but when it comes to kissing I prefer full emotional and physical details! Do I have double standards? I don't think so. I actually think that making love is a very personal and emotional experience that gets thrown into too many books, just because. I like it to be there for a reason, not just a page filler. 

I also think movies have too much sex without enough of the responsibility. Do the characters ever use contraception? I think we, as authors, have to promote safe sex at least. Unless getting pregnant or a STD is part of your story. 

Anyway what are your thoughts? 

Book Review - Breakaway by Michelle Davidson Argyle

When Naomi Jensen is kidnapped, it takes her parents two days to realize she’s missing. Escape isn’t high on her list of priorities when all she has to return to is an abusive boyfriend and parents who never paid much attention to her. For the first time in her life she’s part of a family—even if it is a family of criminals. But she’s still a captive. In a desperate attempt to regain some control in her life, Naomi embarks on a dangerous plan to make one of her kidnappers think she’s falling in love with him. The plan works too well, and when faced with the chance to escape, Naomi isn’t sure she wants to take it.


The first thing I loved about this book was the cover. It's so emotionally captivating and I wanted to read the book as soon as I saw it. I thought the premise of the book was fantastic and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.


The story played out very differently to what I was expecting. I guess I was a little disappointed by this, but it didn't stop me from finishing the book in two days.


I really like Ms. Argyle's writing style. It is so subtle and unobtrusive, you don't notice at all, which allows you to delve into the story with no interruptions. 


The book is written with raw emotion and I found myself sometimes confused on how I felt about each character. Were they good or bad? Should I be cheering for them or not? I think this was very clever as it kept you on an emotional roller coaster throughout the book.


I liked seeing Naomi's journey. It was very realistic. I don't want say too much, because I don't want to give anything away, but I felt the ending was appropriate for the style of the story. It definitely left me thinking.


I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an emotional journey that deals with some of life's heartache in a very raw way.


3-stars from me :)


To find out more about The Breakaway check out: 
Goodreads
Breakaway Official Author's Page 

You can find out more about the author on her:
Website
Blog

Friday Favourites ~ Jewellery

I'm not a BIG jewellery person, but I do wear a few things daily, in fact I probably never take them off: watch, wedding rings, earring studs and my twisted maori carving pendant from my bestie. I do have about 20 different pendants, mostly very cheap and from countries I've visited, but they only really come out for special occasions.

When I'm writing though I'm not sure I always remember that my characters probably wear jewellery too and should be mentioned. Like sucking on their pendant (which I constantly do) or something. Perhaps another character fiddles with their watch or is constantly beeping the buttons.

At the same time it's important that the jewellery suits your character and fits with the story. No point making a list of all your characters jewellery if it has no bearing on the story.

Can you remember any books that have important jewellery or if it's even mentioned?
The only one that jumps to mind for me right now is the Twilight books where Jake gives Bella that little carved wolf and does she wear it on a bracelet?

Have a great weekend
ZG

Novel Climax

As I plan out my next manuscript I'm thinking a lot about the final climax. When should the climax come? How big should it be etc.... It made me wonder when I prefer the climax to be. Do I like it to be on the last page with little or no story after it, or do I prefer there to be a scene or two following the climax so we can see everyone is happy or all is okay?

Let's look at both extremes: (spoliers)

Romeo and Juliet. The climax is obviously when they both die. The story basically ends there, there can be no happy ending or anything else. Their deaths kill the story. But man, what an ending. Sudden, unexpected and you'll be thinking about it for weeks.

Twilight's Breaking Dawn. Is there a climax in this? Without an actual fight happening, Breaking Dawn sort of just ends with the Voltaire leaving with their tails between their legs and then we get the super gooey romantic stuff between Edward and Bella, with the added little twist of Bella's new power. Personally I loved all that gooey stuff and like Romeo and Juliet still thought about it for weeks.

How important is it that the climax is big and unexpected?
 What are your favourite books and how important was the climax to you enjoying it?

Interview with Mica from Forbidden Territory

Forbidden Territory is due out July 1st this year, so Brenda and I thought it would be fun to do some character interviews and share little tid-bits about their world before the book is launched. Don't worry - this will be spoiler free :)

Brenda interviewed Lexy a little while ago - here is the link: Lexy Interview.
And now it's my turn to interview Mica Latham. Now I thought I'd include a little model pic, so you can get an idea of what she looks like in my head. I couldn't find the perfect photo, but this was pretty close... this is how I imagine her hair anyway :)

Thanks for joining us, Mica.
No worries :)

So - let's start with some basics. 
How old are you and how long have you been living in Te Anau?
I'm 16. I'll be 17 soon though.
I've lived here since I was 3, so you know, forever.

Do you like it?
Yeah, it's okay. I mean it's pretty and everything. It can get a little boring and majorly claustrophobic. I guess it's lucky I like Lexy so much, huh. She grins. We hang out a lot. She keeps me sane.

What's she like?
Lex is great. She totally cracks me up, because she's my opposite. I mean her room is like, pristine - everything has a home and makes it there at the end of everyday. You can see the carpet and everything. She works really hard and is smart and good at school. She seems to like it, unlike moi. She totally knows what she wants out of life and isn't afraid to go for it.  Um - what else? Oh yeah - she's gorgeous and I'm only a little bit jealous of that. If she wasn't so sweet and unassuming about it, I'd probably hate her. She laughs. She's also really responsible and keeps me out of trouble unless my persuasive skills are on overdrive... then we get up to mischief.

Is there...?

Oh yeah - one other thing. She has the world's hottest brother, who also happens to be sweet and generous and strong and wonderful and everything I could ever possibly want in a guy.

I assume you're talking about Eli?
Grabbing her necklace, she fidgets with the carving and gives a blushing nod.

By the sounds of things you three had quite the adventure hiking over Easter.
Yeah, with Tom as well. Lexy's like totally in love with him, I'm sure she's told you. He's pretty cool actually - the closest thing I've ever had to a brother. I really love him. He's a sweetheart.

But yeah, hiking was... very adventurous. I mean, hell scary and not something I'm overly keen on repeating in a hurry, but in spite of all the crappy stuff that happened, some cool stuff happened too. So I'm still glad we went. I wouldn't change it.

I think we'll stop there for today, but I might ask you and Lexy back in a week or two for some quick fire questions.
Sounds like fun. I'll be there.

Thanks, Mica


If you want to find out a little more about Mica and Lexy, you can check out Forbidden Territory on Goodreads, LIKE the Mica & Lexy Facebook Page and there is also a FREE SAMPLER available with the first few chapters of Forbidden Territory.

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone :)