Coveted Cover: The Brides of Rollrock Island

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

This book dropped through my letterbox yesterday and I was really impressed with the cover. The sea, the rocks, the title, the girl, THAT DRESS! The blurb makes it sound pretty interesting too so I hope it lives up to the hype!

From Amazon:

Rollrock island is a lonely rock of gulls and waves, blunt fishermen and their homely wives. Life is hard for the families who must wring a poor living from the stormy seas. But Rollrock is also a place of magic - the scary, salty-real sort of magic that changes lives forever. Down on the windswept beach, where the seals lie in herds, the outcast sea witch Misskaella casts her spells - and brings forth girls from the sea - girls with long, pale limbs and faces of haunting innocence and loveliness - the most enchantingly lovely girls the fishermen of Rollrock have ever seen. But magic always has its price. A fisherman may have and hold a sea bride, and tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she is. He will be equally ensnared. And in the end the witch will always have her payment.

Margo Lanagan has written an extraordinary tale of desire, despair and transformation. In devastatingly beautiful prose, she reveals unforgettable characters capable of unspeakable cruelty - and deep unspoken love. After reading about the Rollrock fishermen and their sea brides, the world will not seem the same.

Review: The Fallen By Watchbird by Jane Weaver

Read my full review of The Fallen By Watchbird at Mostly Reading YA

My Rating: 2/5

The Fallen By Watchbird is a hard book to place in terms of readership, although the story is short and it was written for children I am not entirely sure how many children would be drawn to it. It strikes me much more as a book that an adult would want to pick up and then maybe share with their child, rather than the other way around...

Page Turners: The History Keepers #1

The History Keepers - The Storm Begins by Damian Dibben

I haven't actually started this one yet, but I am starting it today! I get the impression that it's a bit like Percy Jackson, but I might be wrong. Looks can be deceiving. The blurb makes it sound super exciting and I love the whole time travel aspect, not something you see very much of right now and also something that could go terrible wrong if not handled carefully. So we will see! On the downside, I'm not sure how I feel about this barely-teenage boy staring at me, and would he really be able to hold a sword up like that? Those things are heavy. I like the rest of the cover though, very pretty and most importantly, intriguing.

From Goodreads:

Imagine if you lost your parents - not just in place, but in time. Jake Djones' mum and dad have gone missing and they could be anywhere in the world - at any time in history. Because the Djones family have an astonishing secret, which for years they've managed to keep - even from each other. They belong to the History Keepers: a secret society which travels through the centuries to prevent evil enemies from meddling with History itself. In the quest to find his parents, Jake is whisked from 21st Century London to 19th century France, the headquarters of the mysterious History Keepers, where he discovers the truth about his family's disappearance - and the dastardly Prince Zeldt's plan to destroy the world as we know it...

Listen To This: Imogen Heap

Imogen Heap - Loose Ends

Okay so this song is old (like from 2005) but it's still great and deserves a listen. I also still come across people who have never heard of Imogen Heap which kind of astounds me because she's so good! If you haven't heard of her then you might know 'Hide and Seek' which was used in The O.C. (not that I ever watched it) or 'Can't Take It In' which was used in the new The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I say new because I grew up with the BBC version!

Anyway, enjoy!

Sunday Catch Up

Well what have I done in the last week? Not much really. I've mostly been working which isn't particularly exciting to talk about (but feel free to contact me if you do what to know what work I do).

When I haven't been working I've spent most of my time playing Skyrim, which if you haven't got around to yet then you should. It's amazing. I got to the Greybeards a while ago and have since been doing nothing but side-quests for the last few weeks, there are tons of side-quests and the world is so gorgeous that I just love exploring it.

Allison Harvard

I've also been catching up with America's Next Top Model and watching the All Star cycle which is fantastic because my favourite, Allison Harvard, is back. She is so stunningl quirky and well...weird, which I adore. I love her huge eyes.

Zooey Deschanel

I've also been watching New Girl starring one of my favourite actresses Zooey Deschanel. It's very cute and silly. I think that this is very much a series in which Zooey gets the chance to be as adorable and wacky as she wants, whereas other roles have called for her to reign that in a bit. My only issue is that Channel 4 and E4 over advertise it to the point that I feel like I've already watched about half the episode before it airs.

Image source

Oh, and I've also kick-started my running again by going out three times a week. I go along by the sea wall, which is right by the beach, and then up along the cliff on the way back. Lovely and quiet!

Something For The Weekend

I so did not totally forget to update this morning...nope, not at all.

Okay so maybe I did. I've spent today catching up with some things in iPlayer because our TV decided that it wouldn't get a decent signal today, playing Skyrim and going out for hot chocolate at Morellis. But more about that tomorrow.

Hopefully you are all having love Saturdays but if you're feeling at a loss for what to do then why not give these a whirl?

Something to read:

Learn how to juggle! Because, after all, adults need to know how to juggle (figuratively speaking) and writers definitely need to know how to juggle!

Look at this adorable puppy and try not to 'awww'. Also check out the rest of Elsie's blog because it's awesome.

Something to do:

Not sure where image is from, found it on Tumblr

Go out for hot chocolate like I did!

Again, from Tumblr

Go puppy spotting! I do this a lot, partly because I love animals and partly because I really want a puppy. A small part of this might also be because I'm not entirely normal. When we go out anywhere I am on the look out for cute dogs (and cats but you don't see them so often) and where we live EVERYONE has an adorable dog. It's also a nice way to pass time and it's good to go for a walk. 

Feature Friday: Art

This week I thought I would feature some of my favourite artists.

Fruit drops by Deathofrats

Afternoon chores by Tir-ri

Rapunzel by Karioks

Think Pink by Loish

Aenima by Sullivan

These guys and girls are all super talented so I hope you like what you see and check out the rest of their galleries!