Archive | June 2013

Book Review: Storybound by Marissa Burt

A lonely foster child, full of wonder about who and where she came from; Una Fairchild is shocked as she’s transported to the land of Story when browsing her school library.

Now she’s a part of a magical land she never imaged could exist. Story, a world filled with characters one grows up with. Talking animals, princes in training and a school where all the students learn to be either a Hero or a Villain.

Yet not all is well in the land of Story, and twelve-year-old Una is about to discover that she wasn’t brought there by accident. There are secrets waiting in the dark and an evil just bidding time to be restored to Story. With her new friend Peter, it’s going to be up to Una to set a prophecy in motion.

What a fantastic middle grade series! I absolutely loved it! Can you tell? The setting, the characters, the breath of fresh air that brings humour and fun to the fairytale world where there’s more than meets the eye! Not to mention the fact that there is plenty of challenges for all ranges of middle grade readers.

Plus the ending is so AMAZING! I don’t know how else to praise Burt for creating such an intriguing series. Not only are the characters easy to relate to, but the whole creation of Story is an awesome way to get kids to think outside of the book. This is length done right with loads of new characters, places and motives. As the knowledge within Story is challenged, the information is at a perfect rate to keep kids turning those pages!

I’m looking forward to delving back into Story with Burt’s sequel, Story’s End.

Literary Item Spotlight – Watchful Eyes Bookmarks

Jun6

Bookmarks are great. They’re perfect as gifts or little trinkets of remembered travels. This month my literary item spotlight goes to Bliss in a Teacup’s through Etsy, Watchful Eyes Bookmark Series – Women Author’s bookmarks.

Made out of repurposed scraps of wood, the pieces are bonded together, sealed and printed with pictures and the names of female authors. They also do a range of other pictures, but new this month are the batch of women writers and it’s about time they get some recognition!

Useful, educating and beautifully done, these bookmarks are handy, earth friendly and the perfect thing to adorn your book!

The creators behind the bookmarks are based in New Zealand, but the prices for the bookmarks are still very reasonable.

I think one of the best things about this company their items is that they’re open to printing custom-made women authors. Just send a request and they’re willing to work with authors they don’t already have prints for. I don’t think there’s anything they could do to make their products better! Everything is pretty stand out.

Remember they do offer loads of other prints on bookmarks and they come in varying shades of wood. Special requests can be made – outstanding customer service!

Which do you prefer? Dogging earring the pages of a book or using real bookmark or just scraps of paper you have lying around? I myself vary between using real bookmarks when I can find them, but I also use any piece of paper when push comes to shove.

All photos are courtesy of Bliss in a Teacup.

Book Review: MIla 2.0 by Debra Driza

Jun3

Mila was just trying to settle in to her new life in rural Montana. Living with her overly protective mother, the new caretaker of horse ranch, fitting in at the local high school was a challenge.

Especially after discovering she wasn’t just a normal seventeen-year-old girl. Oh no, Mila is actually a robot. She’s not the first either, but version 2.0.

In a span of hours Mila and her mother are thrust from their calm existence to on the run from her creators, the government. What starts as a normal get together with a girlfriend bursts forth with a new sight on truly who and what she is. As secrets tumble, Mila is going to have to choose which she is more of, human or machine if she and mother are going to escape for a future of freedom.

So how do I feel about this book? I did like it but…Long, just way, way too long. The Matched series can get away with 500 pages, but for this premise I felt like it dragged. The focus is primarily on Mila, which as a character is interesting. The story is slow in the beginning, the reader is almost tricked into thinking it’s a clichéd YA book. Then BAM – the story hits sixty and it’s running, running, running and more running until the explosive end.

I wish I could have liked the story more but the length wavered my attention. However, I think it has great potential for a movie or TV series. It just has that feel when you’re reading the story. The author has done a great job of describing the picture and placing the reader right there to witness all the excitement and danger.

Mila 2.0 is great if one wants a break from the soppy, unrealistic romance, but they shouldn’t be afraid to devote time.

The amazing publisher, in exchange for an honest review, provided this book. Many thanks to the publisher and author Debra Driza for letting me review Mila 2.0! I am curious as to what is coming next!

Mila 2.0 was Freshly Publishing in March 2013 – so get your copy now and tell me what you think!

A Rose

Jun3

Harrods. London, England. 2012. Partnered campaign with Disney.

Happy 1st Blog Anniversary!

Jun2

Today is my 1 year anniversary for Through a Seattle/London Looking Glass! One year ago today I started writing about books and book events and I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all my readers, likers and passer-byers!

Thanks for comments, likes, reblogs and post suggestions. You’re best and I hope to continue to to bring you exciting Young Adult reads, publishing events and all around literary awesomeness!

Love,

Ashleyisee