My Expanding Bookshelf

Title: Your Voice Is All I Hear Author: Leah Scheier Published: 01/09/2015, Sourcebooks Fire Pages: 336 Source: Netgalley & Sourcebooks Fire Format: Ebook Rating: 4.5/5 "I was the one he trusted. I was the one he loved, the only one who believed him, even when his own mother had locked him up and thrown away the key. And now, I was going to pass down the white tiled hallway, knock on his doctor's office door, slam his secret notebook on her desk and make her read it, make her understand what he was hiding, make her see what only I had seen. April won't let Jonah go without a fight. He's her boyfriend - her best friend. She'll do anything to keep him safe. But as Jonah slips into a dark depression, trying to escape the traumatic past that haunts him, April is torn. To protect Jonah, she risks losing everything: family, friends, an opportunity to attend a prestigious music school. How much must she sacrifice? And will her voice be loud enough to drown ou...

Title: A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale Series: Twisted Tales #1 Author: Liz Braswell Published: 01/09/2015, Disney Press Pages: 384 Source: Netgalley & Disney Press Format: Ebook Rating: 3/5 What if Aladdin had never found the lamp? This first book in the A Twisted Tale line will explore a dark and daring version of Disney's Aladdin. When Jafar steals the Genie's Lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war. What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and The Bookish . This week's topic is my top ten books that would be on my syllabus if I taught Scottish authors 101 (from what I've read). Yes, I'm being patriotic this week and it's actually a really weird mix.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of  Parajunkee’s View  and Alison of  Alison Can Read . Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

I saw this tag a while back on Downright Dystopian so thought I’d give it a go! Feel free to take part too! 1. Do you have a certain place for reading at home? Kind of… I tend to read in my bed a lot, but I read on the sofa or in the garden too. 2. Bookmark or random piece of paper? I’ve got a few bookmarks but if I can’t find them I will use a bit of paper. My newest bookmarks... 3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter or a certain number of pages? I can just stop reading if need be. Years of taking buses to university led me to doing so. However, I do much prefer to stop after a chapter - but then sometimes I can't stop. 4. Do you eat or drink when reading? Sometimes, usually just snacks/sweeties though. I don’t like trying to read whilst eating a meal – I don’t have enough hands - though I still do it. 5. Do you watch TV or listen to music whilst reading? When I read in the living room, my parents tend to have the TV on ...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and The Bookish . This week's topic is the top ten auto-buy authors. I don't really have that many auto-buy authors, I tend to just pick up what looks good, so this list will probably be quite short.

Title: Divergent Series: Divergent #1 Author: Veronica Roth Published: 02/02/2012, HarperCollins Childrens Books Pages: 489 Source: Bought Format: Paperback Rating: 4/5 Three flying birds... one for each member of the family I left behind.  Sixteen-year-old Tris is forced to make a terrible choice. In a divided society where everyone must conform, Tris does not fit. So she ventures out alone, determined to discover where she truly belongs. Shocked by her brutal new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choice lies ahead.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of  Parajunkee’s View  and Alison of  Alison Can Read . Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

Title: Mile High Author: Rebecca Chance Published: 13/08/2015, Pan Pages: 496 Source: Netgalley & Pan Format: Ebook Rating: 1/5 First class is about to get dangerous... Pure Air's new LuxeLiner is flying from London to LA - its inaugural journey - with a first class cabin packed with A List celebrities. As the feuding crew compete to impress their famous passengers, the handsome pilot tries to win the attention of a pretty young stewardess. But one VIP singer is battling something seriously sinister: watching her every step is a very determined stalker, someone who will go to any lengths to get the star to satisfy their desires. At thirty thousand feet there is nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide...

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of  Parajunkee’s View  and Alison of  Alison Can Read . Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

July has been a very busy month. The very first weekend I had both my brother's birthday and I went to see Madness. It was amazing apart from the drunk old woman dressed like she was a teenager and constantly banging into everyone around her. I've also been quite ill recently and this put a pause on my blogging for a week or so. I'm still not feeling 100% but there's really no choice but to get on with things seeing as my doctor can't figure it out. I also spent 2 weeks alone in the office this month when my boss went on holiday. This was pretty boring as I only had a handful of calls and emails and nothing to do. I did manage to get a couple of posts set up though. You may have noticed that I have redesigned my blog this month too. I'm not quite happy with it yet - I want to do something with the header but I'm not too sure what. Lastly, I finally set up a Twitter account for the blog. I'm still getting the hang of it but at least I'm getting ther...

Title: Nothing Left to Burn Author: Patty Blount Published: 04/08/2015, Sourcebooks Fire Pages: 368 Source: Netgalley & Sourcebooks Fire Format: Ebook Rating: 4/5 Dear Dad,  I promised Matt I'd do this - become a Junior Cadet. That I wouldn't let you break me down. I know you hate me. Blame me for everything you lost. But that day I lost my brother and my dad. You could never be proud of me, could you? I was too "different". So, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm saying goodbye. Maybe someday, you'll miss me. Reece. Reece's words made her ache. Amanda understands wanting to belong. As a foster kid, the firehouse where she volunteers is the only place that feels like home. She wants to help Reece, but his dad is her boss. And she won't risk her place as a Junior Cadet - it's all she has. But then a string of arsons suddenly point to Amanda, her whole world is about to go up in flames. And the only way to save themselve...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and The Bookish . This week's topic is the top ten books fairy tale retellings I want to read. I love fairy tale retellings but have hardly read any. However, in the past week I've watched Cinderella and Mirror Mirror and I also started to watch Grimm with my brother and sister-in-law and we are half way through the first season already.

Title: Dogs Don't Look Both Ways: The Primer on Unintended Consequences Author: Jane Hanser Published: 10/04/2015, Ivy Books Pages: 162 Source: Review request from author Format: Ebook Rating: 3/5 Joey, the chocolate Labrador, is an incredibly well-socialised dog who also loves to run and run. Living in the neighbourhood of the Boston Marathon, he runs as many as twelve miles a day in the morning, with his dad. But after they return home from a run, Joey still wants more, much more. Keenly observant, he allows no opportunity to explore the world pass him by. Will his insatiable sense of discovery lead him to gratification? Or to danger? Preparing his shenanigans well in advance, a decision Joey makes early one morning forever changes his life and the lives of his mom and dad, his running partner, and leaves them to deal with the consequences. Dogs Don't Look Both Ways is a true story with a unique voice and a lot of adventure. Readers love it for it's colourful and...