Book Review | Lacey's Story: Skinniness is Next to Goddessness

Title: Skinniness is Next to Goddessness - Lacey's story

Author: Julia Keanini

Genre: Contemporary, YA

Pages: 258

Series: The first of six books 

Publisher: Pickled Plum

Rating: 5 stars

Lacey Steele knows all of life's hardships, her mother's disapproval, her classmates' disdain, and her own lack of self-esteem would be fixed if only she were thinner. With her friend Ashley, they create the Future Goddess Girls Club. All it will take to lose the future? Drop the extra pounds plaguing them. 
As the number on Lacey's scale decreases, the more she feels empowered and the faster she wants results. Extreme calorie cutting may be a bit much, but at least it isn't a real eating disorder.
Lacey and Ashley's shortcut seems to good to be true, outfits they only dreamed of wearing now fit perfectly and boys they'd longed for, now can't help but turn their heads.
But just as life seems to become exactly what they want, the shortcut reveals its price, one much too high to pay.
Skinniness is Next to Goddessness? Lacey's Story takes on a dark subject in a brighter manner combining the difficulties of body image and eating disorders with hope, love, and eventual acceptance.
The Goddessness? books are stand-alone and can be read in any order, but each contain mild spoilers for any previous books in the Goddessness? series.

Its rare but it has happened - I awarded 'Lacey's story' 5 whole stars! This book was totally amazing, as you will see by how much I am about to rant and rave about it. (sorry in advance)

This has to be the first book I have been asked to review that is written in such a fantastic style with a plot that perfectly balances its various twists and suspense in each chapter, meaning I actually couldn't put it down and ended up pulling an all-nighter. (Kind of sad that most people my age are pulling all nighters at parties and such in comparison to mine, which consist of reading). The fact that I was gripped throughout and couldn't get it out of my head even after putting it down is always a sign I've read something really really good.

The writing style was perfect for its genre: conversational, not repetitive, no inappropriately fancy vocabulary and such, but not simple and babyish either. The characters were all written well and maybe could have done with a bit more description as I found a few hard to picture, however, this does allow the reader to come up with their own interpretation of the characters.

The message behind the story and the story itself was my favourite part about 'Lacey's story'. Keanini managed to completely capture the mind of most teenage girls, especially those who struggle with body image or eating disorders, which is an alarming amount in this day and age. it was scary how from a readers perspective it was so easy to see eating behaviour as poor or irresponsible, however, reflecting on it there are times where I know many girls and boys (myself included) have had similar thoughts or feelings to those in the book who have a bad relationship with food and it shows how easy it is to fall into bad habits.

I thought not only was the book funny and well written, but the romance in it was spot on. teenagers have this habit of sort of averting the topic of liking someone and waiting for them to figure it out even when it is blindingly obvious it is meant to be. Keanini let this happen and made the characters more real and more relateable. Nobody was special or out of the ordinary and it made one relate easier to characters especially Lacey herself. 

Overall a really great summer read and would recommend to anyone! 

Happy Reading,

Hebe x

Book Review | Red Hourglass

Title: Red Hourglass

Author: Scarlet Risque

Genre: Thriller, Romance

Pages: 249

Series: First in the Hourglass series

Publisher: N/A

Rating: 4 stars


A POWERFUL, MYSTERIOUS woman finds a homeless girl in a New York subway and adopts her. Janet swears loyalty to the White family and they train her at their Academy as a secret agent. Before long, her transformation into the Red Hourglass—an assassin—is complete. She is ready to start her missions in service of the White Queen.

In order to learn the whereabouts of her real mother from the White Queen, the Red Hourglass must stop the planned expansion of Wilmar Enterprises. She goes undercover to infiltrate Wilmar, and she is hired as the executive secretary to the Chief of Security, Conan Casey.

Janet works diligently to uncover all Wilmar’s secrets. She soon learns that Conan Casey, her target, is heir to the billion dollar Wilmar organization. She falls prey to his dark seductions and twisted secrets … and they leave her gasping for more.

She unwittingly bets her stakes on a dangerous game of love. Where do her loyalties lie? Will she betray Conan for the White Queen, or fall in love with him and give up all hope of finding her real mother? And will they get out alive?

The first in the Hourglass series - a dark coming of age thriller romance novel about finding one's identity with dominance and submission romance scenes against the backdrop of capitalism, undercover agents, poker and tango with an infusion of eastern and western philosophy.

So I have just realised that when I first published this review, it managed to delete itself so this is take 2 of my review for 'Red Hourglass'!

Any synopsis that contains traces of badass female assassins and steamy Romance immediately grabs my attention and so I was super excited when presented with 'Red Hourglass'.

I really loved how original the plot was and the different links tied into the main plot. Although at times I found it a tad predictable, there were times where I was not expecting the twists that arose and this kept me gripped. At times I found I simply couldn't put this book down and every chapter ended with me wanting to squeeze in another before bed time (one more chapter inevitably turned to many many more).

Another feature I loved was the way in which the characters were linked to each other. I thought Conan was so hard to read and it was difficult to gauge how I felt about him. This allowed me to empathise with Scarlet a lot more and really helped me engage with her as the main character. I also loved how the White Queen interacted with her agents and vice versa and thought this relationship was a new concept and fun to get my brain around.

The characters themselves all added to the plot and were more complex than first meets the eye, which was sort of perfect. I thought the skill in which Risque adapted the characters steadily but surely and gave them all different personalities and purpose was really great. I would love to have had more development on Conan's family and thought scenes with them, particularly at the end were rather rushed and crammed in and would have benefitted from more attention.

One thing I was not expecting was the adult nature of the romance in the novel. With the 'fifty shades' craze still at its height, for many the steamy scenes would be an enticement, yet for me they were a little graphic and often laughable I found (this may just be my immature brain of course!)

The writing style was accessible yet not to basic, which was wonderful as you could imagine a lot but your brain wasn't going into overdrive trying to figure out words or over the top descriptions.

Overall, a fast paced, action packed read and would recommend to any adult who is into thrillers and crime reads.

Happy Reading,

Hebe x

My favourite Authors

Hello all!

I realise it is slightly alien for you dear readers to hear from me in a non-review situation. It has been done before admittedly, but not for a while!

So…..ta dah? It’s me?

Not really a grand entrance but I do tend to stumble into the scene rather than slide in with poise.

`

I digress…

Why am I wasting your time I hear you ask? Well, as part of a challenge launched by Eventbrite, I was asked: If I had the chance, which authors would be on my dream panel? Naturally I accepted because meeting the people who have created some of the most magical moments of my life and not only influenced my ambitions but who I am today is a dream anyone would have, right?

But now I think of it…who would I pick? In this situation there is simply too much choice! What if I met them all at once and they didn’t all get on? What if they don’t like me? What if I have to bring them back from the dead? There’s even the social inept part of me that’s screaming: ‘oh god…what if I miss out a favourite and then they feel underappreciated.’ …I’m babbling now, apologies…needless to say at first I was completely stumped for choice.

So ok I won’t be a spoil sport and say ‘I couldn’t possible choose.’ I’m choosing! It may be the hardest decision since Team Edward or Team Jacob (please let’s not start a fist fight I am mentioning it in passing) but I’m doing it. And yes, I realise the waffle I have written so far is a major form of procrastination.

Here we go!

Assuming this is a panel of four…the first author I would invite is Maggie Stiefvater. Admittedly I am yet to read all of her books, however her ‘shiver’ series is really special to me for a number of reasons. There was a time when I was about 12, when I forgot I loved reading and reading no longer had a time in my life. Looking back, I think it was quite a sad time and a time where I felt quite alone. The beginning of teenagehood didn’t favour me (in fact I don’t think it favours many). At the time I had even less of a clue as to what I was doing than now or who I really was. Shiver helped a lot. After I devoured the first one and craved the next in the series a little light came back on, a little more love crept back into me and reading was back with a bang. The first edit I ever made for my fandom Instagram account was indeed a shiver edit, and although looking back it is truly truly terrible, (I just found it in my photos and a little part of me imploded due to cringe levels) the urge shiver gave me to create and to relive the tale is really special to me. The pure reality in the fantasy and the love that didn’t exceed expectations and only let expectations down because everything but the love itself battled against it is sort of genius. It’s so simple that it’s complicated and so so sooooo beautiful. I have also read the Raven boys and thought the style again and the uniqueness of the tale was god damn gorgeous. So Maggie Stiefvater: for changing my life; giving me faith; showing me love and inspiring me to create…welcome to my panel.

Now, I’m assuming here I’m allowed to bring authors back form the dead, because any excuse to have magical powers, right? I thought so too. Anyway, the next author I’d like to invite to my panel is Emily Brontë. Unlike many other bookworms I raise my hand and admit that I struggled to read classics. I utterly refused to read them until about age 14, due to a misunderstanding with D.H Lawrence’s women in Love (oddly raunchy).

Anyhow! For my 16^th birthday my grandmother got me the most stunningly beautiful edition of Wuthering Heights and with a ‘give it a go’ and a wink from her I delved in and loved every minute. The romance was timeless of course and yes the plot was engaging. Her writing, however, is simply phenomenal. I mean phenomenal. If you’ve read any of her poetry, you will know for a fact Brontë was born to write in such a vital and vibrant way as Wuthering Heights projects and she fully deserves to be on anyone’s panel. Not only did Emily spark my love of classics but she lead me on to her sister’s work, Austen, Alcott and many many more which I’d half-heartedly attempted before but never really appreciated.  Brontë has allowed me to be the person who sits in class reading Pride and Prejudice and bursting out laughing along with the teacher at Austen’s wit and shivering over Jane Eyre, not muttering and sighing my way through. Also, to have lived in a time where she had to go under a man’s name to even publish her work and still produced such mastery makes her a pretty cool role model.

My next author is another amazing lady, who I have no doubt will be in almost every bookworm’s favourite authors list. Cassandra Clare. Ohhh yes, her very name sends a crackle of geeky excitement through every fangirl and boy across the globe. Cassandra Clare has managed the momentous challenge of not only creating a whole new world, but she’s done it bloody well. I don’t know how she manages to get her readers loving so many characters from 3 different series but oh my goodness, choosing between Will, Jace and Julian still tears me to shreds. Cassandra Clare makes it to the list not only for her amazing books and characters, but she makes it here because her stories are the ones that have inspired me most. No other author has made me want to write and given me so many ideas or made me want to shout about bookish opinions and thoughts so much. The shadow world Clare has created helps me express myself and has allowed me to be me. The way I see myself so vividly in her characters is incredible. Sometimes Tessa will say or do something and I have to think twice about the fact that it isn’t me imagining myself as her. It makes you feel somewhat important, part of the plot and actually kinda cool. Being so connected and inspired by a book at the same time is truly special. Frankly, Cassandra Clare makes me feel blessed to let her books grace me with their presence.

And finally, probably the most predictable author that you’ve all been waiting for me to mention. The Queen herself. I learnt to read remarkably early. I mean scarily early. By the time I was 6 I had finished all the learner books and was the first in my class by almost a full year to start reading ‘proper books’. I would take 10 books out of the library at one time aged 9 and finish them within a few days. (This is beginning to sound like something out of Mathilda by Roald Dhal so I’ll stop…I’m sure you get the picture!) Despite this, I refused to read Harry Potter, as it was ‘for boys’. The fateful day came, however, when aged 6 and on holiday I ran out of books Dun Dun Dunnnnn (the feeling still haunts me) so I grudgingly began Harry Potter and honestly, it was the start of one of the biggest adventures of my life. Harry Potter is a huge part of me and my childhood. It’s shaped my beliefs and kept me believing and having faith in magic and the power of friendship and courage. Some people might think it’s sad to be so shaped by something that is fantasy, but who in their right mind wouldn’t want a little magic in them?

J.K Rowling: for changing the lives of so many; defeating all odds and giving my rather unremarkable existence a bit of adventure, welcome to my panel.

I realise this post has been a lot about me and a little deep, so sorry for that… let’s try not to get emotional.

There are so so many great authors who I sadly couldn’t squeeze on but Patrick Ness, Ransom Riggs and Aprilynne Pike you made it to the short-list!!

If you're looking to host your own author panel, check out Eventbrite's  conference management page!

Happy Reading,

Hebe x

Book Review | Also Known as Lard Butt

Title: Also Known As Lard Butt

Author: Ann Herrick

Genre: Pre-teen/ YA contemporary

Pages: 80

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: Books We Love Ltd.

Rating: 2 stars


Laura finds out that, Ricky, the boy who created her horrible nickname, "Lard Butt," has moved back into town—and immediately schemes to keep him quiet. After all, she can't let her new swim teammates, especially drool-worthy Noah, hear the horrible name! No way! 
She's determined to put a million years between grade school and junior high—even in the face of a father who drives an éclair, a would-be-movie-star mother who suddenly moves back home, and a past that comes back to haunt her with the dreaded nickname.
Although Laura's embarrassed about how she looks in a swimsuit, she tries to stay true to her vow to take risks. She even lets Maria talk her into going to the school dance, where she braves negotiating a truce for a quarreling couple. New friendships form, Laura's mother starts getting too domesticated for Laura's comfort, and hints of romance start to develop—or do they?

Also Known as Lard Butt is unlike most books I review as it is a novella, rather than a full-blown novel. This, for me, was both positive and negative and I shall try to explain why.

First off, 2 stars may seem like a low rating to many of you, however, looking at reviews elsewhere the book got 4 stars, so it seems my honest opinion is a minority and therefore you shouldn't give this read a miss simply based on my judgment. Anyway, enough ramble - here is what I thought:

Although the book I believe is aimed at YA, I think a more accurate audience would be the younger people in this sector. There was no obscenity and it was all PG, which actually I loved. reading copious amounts of YA leads many younger readers to become completely desensitized to rude language and sexual references, so it was actually sort of nice to come across a book for teens that was, well...tame. This in my view makes it perfect as a sort of step up book from pre-teen to YA, for younger teens basically. Having said this, I still enjoyed it at a ripe old age of 17.

I completely whizzed through this book. Undoubtedly, the short length did help with this but it was strangely gripping. I say strangely gripping, as for me the plot was a little bland. There was no real plot twists nor plot development and I reached the end with a sense of: 'oh that's it?' as nothing really actually happened in the book. Obviously, as a novella I wasn't expecting it to have a huge and complex plot as it simply isn't possible for a book this size. However, I did feel like the storyline would have benefitted from being a novel. I felt the story being told and the themes were far more suited to a full sized book.

having said this, at an age where many struggle to keep reading and don't even enjoy reading, the short and easy plot is great to just get into and read without too much brain power required. However, for those who were like me at age 12 and 13, I felt there wasn't quite enough sustenance to leave me satisfied at the end.

Similarly to the plot, the writing style was accessible and pretty basic and would again have benefitted from development that can be gained from a novel over a novella. I thought the conversational tone, however, was really good and the speech was fluent and realistic.

The characters and moral message of the story were its diadems. The characters were all real and easy to visualise. It was also nice to see the protagonist as an average person. Honestly, YA has some pretty unrealistic expectations for teenagers - we can't all be wizards or shadowhunters or end up with the hottest guy at the school, and Also Known as Lard Butt made that ok. 

Speaking of unrealistic expectations...because body image is so topical in everyone's lives, particularly teenage girls, I think having Laura be a great person who succeeds in what she wants despite being afraid of what people think she looks like is really inspiring and to be honest I think we all need a little more Laura in our lives.

Happy Reading,

Hebe x

Book Review | The Test

Title: The Test

Author: Gregg Bell

Genre: Romance/ contemporary

Pages: 247

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: Thriveco inc.

Rating: 4 stars


It's the last chance for law intern Mary Maloney. Twice she's failed the bar exam and if she fails again, she'll lose her job, her home, and her self-respect. Only love keeps her going, but that too seems to be slipping through her fingers.

Tom Falcone has always “the guy” for Mary. He’s kind, thoughtful, wants a family, and he’s all Mary ever wanted. But Mary always seems to have a way of failing. Even at love.

Now, needing everything she’s got to come through, a stunning revelation sends her reeling. The life she’s always dreamed of is still within reach, but only if she can somehow pass one final test.


As always with Gregg Bell's books, from start to finish I was hooked. This by far is my favourite aspect of this reading experience as it is so vital when writing Romance otherwise I find it just ends up dragging on and being overpoweringly cheesy and slushy. The Test succeeded in avoiding this and was easy to read simply because it was so gripping.

The plot was easy going and fitting for the genre as it made it an easy light read and not too much concentration was needed to follow. I thought in places it teetered on the edge of being predictable, but then again I have an uncanny ability to guess exactly what's going to happen next, so if you're not an easy guesser then it shouldn't be too much of a problem, and again for a Romance novel not too many DUN DUN DUNNNN moments are needed, so this was a very minor issue.

I enjoyed the writing style and thought the characters's dialogue was smooth and realistic, there were no wooden bits of speech that left me groaning internally at the stupidity of what had just been said, another trap many Romance writers fall into. The language also didn't go overboard with the imagery and descriptions so cheesiness was again avoided. The balance of Romance, description, Dialogue and the Character's thoughts was pretty much perfect.



I liked the characters, they were all realistic and easy to picture. The varying personalities in each of them was also expressed really well and the interactions between characters was fluent and played out well. I thought Mary was an admirable heroine, yet at times I found some of the characters a little unrealistic and like part of them wasn't exposed. For example, Rachel. I felt more about her character was needed and that she was only really there as a plot device rather than to be an actual person - very little was ever about her in any situation and she was praised little for the good she did do. Apart from that, I thought the characterisation was awesome.


Overall, If you fancy a really great love story that's easy to follow and has some awesome moral stories and characters, I highly recommend The Test!


Happy Reading,

Hebe x

Book Review | The Faire Pendant: The Ballad of Captain Thatch

Title: The Ballad of Captain Thatch

Author: Leah Price

Genre: Children's fantasy

Pages: 134

Series: 2nd in the Faire Pendant series

Publisher: Talebearers

Rating: 5 stars

Glenna’s life is anything but ordinary. The daughter of Renaissance festival vendors, Glenna’s days are filled with magic and medieval reenactments as she travels the faire circuit with her family. Then one day, Glenna’s life changes forever. With the help of a pendant, she discovers Otherworld. An enchanted realm, Otherworld is the land in which all of the myths and magic woven by the Renaissance players comes to life! To make things even more complicated, it’s pirate weekend at the festival! The faire grounds are crawling with pirates, both in the real world and Otherworld. And, as Glenna quickly discovers, the pirates can do real damage in both worlds. Can Glenna stop the marauding pirates? Can she become the pirate queen the residents of Otherworld need her to be? And, perhaps most importantly, can she find a way to juggle both her life in the real world and Otherworld without damaging either?

I was delighted to once again be invited into Glenna's world, having already visited when reading The Tale of Atterberry, the first in the Faire Pendant series. The Ballad of Captain Thatch definitely did not disappoint, if you couldn't tell by the rare 5 stars I awarded it!

The writing of the book was perfect for its audience and although I'm not a child, I still enjoyed it. It wasn't predictable or over-simplified, but it wasn't too adult for young readers. The book had a promising and wonderful sort of magic to it throughout and stepping into Glenna's shoes made it feel like I was a kid experiencing the magic all over again. 

The plot was well established and engaging, having you hooked throughout so you want to keep reading. The chapters were also great lengths, not too long, not too short - perfect for bedtime reading. I also thought the transitions between Otherworld and the real world were made very smoothly. I liked both worlds, which meant I was kept excited throughout and not just in certain chapters. 

The characters, as always were fun and realistic. The old characters matched their traits from the first book and I found I had missed them, which is always a sign of a great character. The new characters were easy to envision and they were all relevant to the plot and brought a new lesson to the overall message of the book. (I particularly liked Ash and Grace).

I thought the whole book as a concept matched up well with the first in the series but brought something new so it wasn't repetitive. There was an original spin to the book, merging fictional ideas all together in a rather marvellous mixture that is great for the imagination and really quite entertaining. To see sprites and magicians alongside pirates was nothing short of cognitively spectacular.

The morals and lessons learnt from the book and the attitudes and manners of the characters were perfect for children. The sense of friendship, adventure and comradery is something that every child should have access to both fictionally and in the real world. If you're looking for a great read with your children or to reintroduce some adventure back into your life I would highly recommend the Faire Pendant Series, they are a triumph.

Happy reading,

Hebe x

P.S click the link to check out my review of The Tale of Atterberry - the first in the series

Book Review | The Aureate Spectacles

 Title: The Aureate Spectacles

Author: Eliott Mckay

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Pages: 397

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Inkitt

Rating: 3 stars




Would you sacrifice your people for the man you love?

Michaela was a seemingly normal high school senior, hiding behind a pair of hideous spectacles which masked her true identity. When she’s abducted by an intriguing werewolf, she learns that her father was a powerful vampire, and she has been chosen to protect his city from her predatory kind. As the situation grows dire, the fate of the city rests in her hands, and she must choose between peace for her people or the man she's growing to love.

This book is possibly one of the hardest I have had to review simply because I really enjoyed it, however, it was overcast by one thing that by the end made it harder to get through...I shall try to explain a little more eloquently!

So firstly, I loved the writing style. It was fluent and elegant with very few minor errors. Michaela's thoughts were expressed in a conversational way that meant she was more relatable to a younger audience, however in places the writing was also formal and rather lovely. 

The characters were all described well and enough was left to the imagination to make them special to you. I thought the real sense of family ties and inheritance, a theme of the story, was addressed really well and links between generations were made keeping you awake and getting excited along with Michaela over little connections that were pointed out (particularly between her and her father). 

The ideas and concepts were pretty darn good. It had a classic romance, but it was slightly different to any of the similar books I've read. I liked the fantasy world very much and would love to have been given more insight into its geography and how it interacts with our world, with maybe a map insert in the book.

You may have noticed that thus far I have been more restrained with my reviewing than usual and haven't given a lot of detail. I felt before going on I should explain why. The main overriding problem I mentioned at the beginning of this review was the confusion I felt. Unusually, I found the book got worse and worse as it went along. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a disaster! Simply, as the plot thickened and more excitement happened I found myself going back and thinking maybe I had skipped out a chapter or something. Strong relationships between characters seemed to spring up overnight for starters. I found this meant I struggled to feel sad or happy or anything really when things happened to characters, which made it harder to be hooked and get attached. The plot also got very confusing. I don't consider myself to be a stupid person or to struggle particularly with complex plots, however, I got seriously confused in places and felt like it was assumed I knew what certain things were in Michaela's world, where I had no clue. Everything that shouldn't have come as a surprise did and everything that should've been a surprise or a dun dun dunnnnn moment sort of was obvious.

This may sound a bit like a rant and not make much sense to many of you, yet I assure you IT WAS NOT BAD. It's so hard to explain how I feel about it, I think the best way I can come up with to describe it is I feel like if someone verbally explained the plot to me I would love it and 100% get it, but it was almost as if Mckay was so excited in writing such a great story, they forgot the readers didn't have the same knowledge level about the book to keep up.

I feel like if you get this book, it is a winner and I would definitely recommend anyone giving it a go because if it hits the spot, it is worth it. For me, however, I was too confused to bask in its really quite splendidly written storyline.

Happy reading,

Hebe x