Review: Final Draft by Riley Redgate

Laila Piedra doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, and definitely doesn’t sneak into the 21-and-over clubs on the Lower East Side. The only sort of risk Laila enjoys is the peril she writes for the characters in her stories: epic sci-fi worlds full of quests, forbidden love, and robots. Her creative writing teacher has always told her she has a special talent. But three months before graduation, Laila’s number one fan is replaced by Nadiya Nazarenko, a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist who sees nothing at all special about Laila’s writing.

A growing obsession with gaining Nazarenko’s approval—and fixing her first-ever failing grade—leads to a series of unexpected adventures. Soon Laila is discovering the psychedelic highs and perilous lows of nightlife, and the beauty of temporary flings and ambiguity. But with her sanity and happiness on the line, Laila must figure out if enduring the unendurable really is the only way to greatness.

Review: Wow this book had so many more layers to it than I was expecting. I was expecting a sweet story about someone stepping out of their comfort zone to better their writing because that was their passion. What I got was a coming of age story that covered what it's like to have parents from two different countries from the one you live in, grief, depression, sexual awakening, the pressures of teenage friendship, the pressures of graduation and college and of course making your writing better because that is your passion. 

In case you can't tell I loved this book and was just bowled over by the amount of issues that this author manages to cover in just over 250 pages. For quite a short book, it really packs a punch! I really don't feel like the author was ramming any of these themes down my throat though, they were all interwoven in the story. The characters were diverse and all came from very different backgrounds but I didn't feel like any of them were there for the sake of making the book more diverse, it felt like a natural friendship group and all of their actions felt like things that would happen in real life. 

The writing side of this novel was excellent as well, I think this author was probably writing from experience of trying to perfect a manuscript. I love the fact that Laila was encouraged to step outside of her comfort zone in order to progress and that she did that in a way that would be natural for a teenager. 

Laila was a great character because she is not one of those teens that has it all figured out. She goes through the discovery that you can;'t have it all figured out at the age of 17 or 18. That you might think you know what you want in so many aspects of life but really you don't. I really enjoyed reading about her and going through this story with her. 

This would be a really great book to add to your summer reading list. Do check the synopsis and my breakdown of the themes at the top of this post in case you find any of them triggering first but I really enjoyed this book, it surprised me and I think you would love it too. 

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Blog Tour: Guest Post on Writing from Author of The Mum Who'd Had Enough Fiona Gibson

I am very excited to welcome Fiona Gibson back to the blog today as part of the blog tour for her new novel The Mum Who'd had enough. The Mum Who’d Had Enough, was published as an ebook on June 14, and is out in paperback in July, you can click here to order your copy! Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour after this for other exclusive content and reviews!

Fiona is going to share some writing tips with us today, I will be paying close attention! But first here's what the novel is all about:

After sixteen years of marriage, Nate and Sinead Turner have a nice life. They like their jobs, they like their house and they love their son Flynn. Yes, it’s a very nice life.

Or, at least Nate thinks so. Until, one morning, he wakes to find Sinead gone and a note lying on the kitchen table listing all the things he does wrong or doesn’t do at all.

Nate needs to show Sinead he can be a better husband – fast. But as he works through Sinead’s list, his life changes in unexpected ways. And he starts to wonder whether he wants them to go back to normal after all. Could there be more to life than nice?

GUEST BLOG POST - 10 WRITING TIPS / FIONA GIBSON

When I was younger, I couldn’t imagine being able to write a whole book. I’d try to start one but would dwindle off, convinced I simply wasn’t up to the job. Now I’ve written ten novels for adults and four for children - and it’s still not easy. I don’t think it ever is. But here are some tips I’ve gleaned along the way. 

1.        The cold, hard truth is - you just have to do it. People talk about wanting to write, and that’s fine - sometimes an idea has to simmer away in your brain until you feel ready to get started. But it’s horribly easy to let the simmering go on and on, and nothing real ever gets done (ie, nothing is actually written). So it’s important to just sit down somewhere quiet and private and get started.

2.        What you write at first can be bunkum (in fact, it almost should be). We worry that it has to be ‘perfect’ - that every word we write will be read by millions and reviewed cruelly, and that people will laugh at us. But that isn’t the case. When you start to write it’s generally a first rough draft, and it’ll go through tons of edits and numerous fiddlings before you’re happy with it. That first draft is like laying down the basic foundations of a house. Remind yourself that no one but you is going to see it, and no one will laugh at you in the street.

3.        Perhaps don’t share just yet. It’s tempting to show friends your work at an early stage and say, ‘What d’you think?’ But I truly believe it’s best not to. Friends will generally say, ‘It’s great!’ And you’ll think: she’s only saying that because she’s my friend. It really doesn’t help, and if other people start suggesting ‘improvements’ it just adds to the confusion of what you want to do. While we all crave encouragement, I think it’s best to keep early drafts to yourself.

4.        Try writing in different places. Maybe sitting at home alone, fretting madly, doesn’t suit your temperament. Although I do the bulk of my writing in our flat, I also love to work in cafes and on trains, and to see life going on around me. If you’re stuck, sometimes a jaunt to town with the laptop is the best way to kick-start things again.

5.        Read books in ‘your’ genre. I can’t stress this enough. When I’m lacking in inspiration, I dip into my favourite authors’ novels and somehow feel re-energised. I don’t mean I copy them, obviously - just that their brilliance and cleverness inspires me to try and write as well as I possibly can.

6.        Relax and have fun. We can all sit there thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m trying to write a book! I am frozen with fear and can’t possibly do this!’ But actually, a book consists of scene after scene, all joined together in a way that pulls the reader along. And if you can find a way of telling a story, and somehow enjoying the process, after several months or a year or so - depending on what else is going on your life - you will… have a book! So why not get started?

Thank you so much to Fiona for stopping by today and sharing your writing tips with us. 

Review: The Last Piece of My Heart by Paige Toon

When life feels like a puzzle, sometimes it's the small pieces that make up the bigger picture... Join Bridget on a journey to put her world back together.

A successful travel journalist, Bridget has ambitions to turn her quirky relationship blog about the missing pieces of her heart into a book. But after a spate of rejections from publishers, she accepts an alternative proposition.

Nicole Dupré died leaving behind a bestselling novel and an incomplete sequel. Tasked with finishing the book, Bridget is thankful to have her foot in the publishing door, even if it means relocating to Cornwall for the summer and answering to Nicole's grieving husband, Charlie...

Review: I was so excited to read this novel and once I started it I couldn't put it own. I love how Paige Toon has such a knack for sweeping you off to a new place and leaving all your worries behind. This time we are swept off to Cornwall for a little bit and then to Thailand, what more could we ask for? I still really felt so immersed in Paige Toon's writing, even though I wasn't necessarily somewhere exotic, it just must be the gift that she has! 

I loved the fact that this novel features and author, I wonder how much personal experience was put into this? And yet it is also about so much more. It is about learning to love after being hurt, about what constitutes lies and deception and about grief and how people handle that in different ways. And there are so many characters facing all or some of these issues. And yet I never felt at any time like this was an issue driven book. I just loved getting to know Bridget and in turn her getting to know Nicole and Charlie. 

This book definitely has a slightly slower pace than some of this author's previous novels, I think perhaps because so much of it takes place in one setting. I loved the family aspect of it too, both Nicole's family and Bridget's family. There were some mo moments that made me laugh and others that made me cry. Of course I wanted to be eating fish an chips during the first section of the novel and then during the latter part of the novel, I was desperate for Pad Thai!

If you are a fan of Paige Toon then obviously you will love this novel. If you are looking for a summer read that you can loose yourself in and escape from the real world then this definitely needs to be added to your collection. The slightly slower pace didn't stop me finishing this one in one day and I am sure that you will absolutely fly through this one, tissues at hand and be left feeling all warm and fuzzy afterwards!

To order your copy now, click here!

Review: Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell

Pandy "PJ" Wallis is a renowned writer whose novels about a young woman making her way in Manhattan have spawned a series of blockbuster films. After the success of the Monica books and movies, Pandy wants to attempt something different: a historical novel based on her ancestor Lady Wallis. But Pandy's publishers and audience only want her to keep cranking out more Monica-as does her greedy husband, Jonny, who's gone deeply in debt to finance his new restaurant in Las Vegas.

When her marriage crumbles and the boathouse of her family home in Connecticut goes up in flames, Pandy suddenly realizes she has an opportunity to reinvent herself. But to do so, she will have to reconcile with her ex-best friend and former partner in crime, SondraBeth Schnowzer, who plays Monica on the big screen-and who may have her own reasons to derail Pandy's startling change of plan.

Review: having loved everything Candace Bushnell has written before I was really looking forward to this novel. The reader is dropped right into the action, a little disconcerting at first but definitely necessary after everything this book has to throw at you, you don't have time to stand around getting your bearings. PJ Wallace seems to have it all in New York so be prepared for fabulous scenes with New York socialites, clubs and shopping, very Liptstick Jungle, very Sex and the City, only it seems that Pandy isn't quite ready for all of this and so throughout the book we hear her kind of inner turmoil at all of this and get the sense that she would rather be rucked up somewhere much more relaxing on her own with her thoughts and her writing. 

Drama seems to find Pandy though and so there are moments in the novel where you literally will struggle to believes what is happening to this character. The storyline is definitely as fast paced as it is dramatic. This sometimes meant that I struggled to follow which character was which and then there the illusion character of Monica. Monica is a creation written by our main protagonist but she is also part of Pandy herself and is also played by Pandy's former best freind which gets really really confusing. The symbolism behind the real Monica and the fictions Monica is quite interesting and would be intriguing to track upon a reread of this novel I am sure. 

Obviously I loved the fact that a lot of this book is set in New York and it is really quite fun to have a book that is about a writer under pressure to write another book in a very successful series when she really really doesn't want to. The writing style is quite pacing and a little brief in parts leaving the reader to make up their own mind about what exactly is going in between two characters. The characters felt very realistic and so were easy to relate to and there is one big secret which  sure will keep many readers guessing towards the end. This book offered me a certain amount of escapism from the real world but definitely required my full attention when reading to keep track of who was who and what was what.