I'm sorry

If you don't want to read a personal post, then don't read any further :) I just want to explain where I've been and what I've been doing.

At first it was lack of time I had that kept me from reading or blogging, then new things came into my life and I progressively got busier and busier (and slacker and slacker), then I started my new job and I had MORE time on my hands and I had all intentions of starting to blog again. I was even happier than I am usually.

Then everything went downhill. It's like every aspect of my life that was great before just went down the drain. I had two friends commit suicide within a day of eachother, I was/am having constant trouble with some of my family members, money (as always) seems to disappear as soon as I get it (on rent and bills, yay) my relationships with people started to fail and I failed two of four units at university for the semester. There is more to this, but all of that happened in a week. I felt like I had noone I could turn to for help and I had no idea who I could talk to about this which made it all worse. I've now confided in a couple of people who I know I can trust with my everything and that has made me feel a lot better and I'm slowly getting happier again. But I'm still at one of the lowest points I've ever been at in my life and I lack the motivation to do anything I used to love.

I don't want to feel like this anymore. I'm sick of losing people and I'm sick of feeling like I'm not good enough for anybody. I'm not trying to fish for compliments or anything like that, it's genuinely how I feel at the moment and I hate it.

Everytime I've attempted to clear my head and sit down and read a book, I can't do it. All of these horrible thoughts and feelings come creeping back into my head as soon as I try to. I can't blog because I have nothing to blog about and I'm so unmotivated that I barely wanted to see or talk to anybody for a couple of weeks (I'm an extrovert so this is a big deal for me) and I haven't been able to clear my head - even reading hasn't been able to do that for me, and reading, as you know is a great way to escape the world and to just relax and forget everything.

But I can't do it. Even as I'm starting to feel happier again and more sociable, there are times (out of nowhere it seems) that those terrible feelings come creeping their way back into my head and I find myself either crying, wanting to cry or just feeling horribly numb.

I'm sorry for the sob story and the huge amount of venting but I wanted to explain why I have disappeared for a long time so far and why I haven't been reading or blogging. I want to - I really do - but I literally haven't been able to.

Sorry and I'll be back soon, I love you all <3>

Guest Post: Kate Cuthbert from Harlequin!

Now, now. I know I haven't been blogging at all lately and I haven't been reading at all either. I am working two jobs at the moment on a daily basis :( However, I start a new job with regular hours next week and better pay so I will finally have some time to myself to blog, read and do whatever I like :)
So, I'm sorry and I love you all <3 i="i" nbsp="nbsp">

Oh, and sorry for not contacting the giveaway winners yet, that's completely my fault! I will contact them soon and send the books away next week when I get paid :) 

Anyway, here on the blog today, I have Kate Cuthbert - editor at Harlequin Australia! She will be guest posting about Harlequin's new digital publishing imprint; Escape Publishing which I did a post on back in September too!

Hi Taneika! Thanks so much for inviting me along to Flipping Through the Pages today. I'm super excited to talk to you and your readers about Escape Publishing, and our newly launched titles. 

I'm Kate, and I'm the Managing Editor of Harlequin Australia's new digital-first imprint, Escape Publishing. This means that I get to read romance novels for a living. This makes me the luckiest person that has ever lived ever. Ever.

Part of my role here is to choose the titles that Escape Publishing publishes, so I'm behind our launch titles. And I love that they're now out in the world for everyone to experience.

All of our books, including our launch titles, are DRM and geographic restriction free, competitively priced, and available at the biggies (amazon, iTunes, B&N, etc) and smaller e-book retailers.

Want to know about our launch titles? Well, first, the  most important thing to know is that they are all on sale for a limited time to celebrate the launch: Christmas Wishes, Chaos Born, In Safe Hands, and Grease Monkey Jive are available for $0.99, and our erotic novella Chains of Revenge is available for free. So get thee to your download machine of choice.

The launch titles are:

Chains of Revenge by Keziah Hill is erotic, it's violent, it's got an enslaved prince and a spoiled princess, a faked death, and a triumphant return. And a delicate gold harness, designed with one purpose only – to enslave the slaver.

Chaos Born by Rebekah Turner revitalised urban fantasy for me. It's deep, it's complex, it's morally ambiguous, it's frequently and surprisingly funny, it's got a flawed heroine, it's got community, it's got a love triangle with no clear choices, it's got a militant religious order, and it's got a deep, dark, dangerous secret just waiting to be revealed.

Christmas Wishes by Rhian Cahill is a steamy and sweet holiday story about best friends realising that all they really want for Christmas is each other! It's hot, it's friends-to-lovers, it's Christmas-y, it's gorgeous!

Grease Monkey Jive by Ainslie Paton is a lovely, meaty, get-your-teeth-in, contemporary romance. It's got a ballroom dance teacher, it's got a mechanic, it's got a dance competition, $50 000, friendships, family, and the power of a little sizzle.

In Safe Hands by Lee Christine is a Sydney-set, sophisticated romantic suspense novel. It's got a highly successful lawyer, it's got a youthful indiscretion, it's got privacy breaches, and financial obligations, and it's got a gorgeous ex-SAS Commander who steps in to help

You can get more information about each of the titles and Escape Publishing itself on our website: www.escapepublishing.com.au which also has a ton of feedback mechanisms, including social media. So let us know what you think. Are we succeeding in our novel approach? How can we do better?

Thanks so much, Taneika! 

Thankyou so much Kate, great post!

Although this is a YA blog, I'm personally really looking forward to Chaos Born.... 
Are you looking forward to any of these new titles?   

 Kate (third from right) with the launch authors

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature at Breaking The Spine which allows you to spotlight upcoming releases that you're really keen for!!

Author: Ellen Oh
Release Date: January 2nd 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Add it: Goodreads

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

Why I'm Waiting: DRAGONS. DEMON SOLDIERS. EVIL SHAMAN. COME ON. ENOUGH SAID! Ahhahaha! This sound utterly awesome :)

Author: Megan Shepherd
Release Date: January 29th 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Add it: Goodreads

London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.

Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Why I'm Waiting: I'll be honest, I've hardly read any YA historical fiction, scratch that - I've read NONE - and I would really like to start purely due to the fact that history has always been one of my favourite topics! And the whole premise of this - mad scientist in London 1894, fascinates me. It sounds awesome and delightfully scary too :)

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
Release Date: August 1st 2010
Publisher: HarlequinTeen Australia
Add it: Goodreads
Overall: ♥♥♥♥1/2
 
So I finally picked up The Iron Daughter... WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE TELL ME FORCE ME TO READ THE SEQUELS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE?
 
I've decided that rather than writing proper reviews for this series, it'll just be like a sort of collection of feelings about the books because I just can't...

I adored the Iron King, I thought it was fantastic - the plot, characters, world building, EVERYTHING were just brilliant. Although I'd heard so many people say the Iron Daughter lived up to it's precessor, I was so scared due to the hype and due to 'second book syndrome'. I.. Just... I wish I had have read this sooner!

The plot was brilliant as usual; action-packed, funny, tear-jerking and exciting, although the only thing I wasn't a fan of was Meghan's obsession with Ash in the beginning but that soon died down a bit and you get to really see Meghan grow and mature. In fact, all of the character matured an incredible amount. It's so lovely to see that events such as those that occured in Iron King and Iron Daughter, ACTUALLY mature the characters - and not just having the MC tell you they are a stronger person for what they've been through, with Meghan you're shown exactly how she has matured; her way of thinking is different, her priorities change, her attitude changes... Basically, it's just wonderful to see how Meghan has grown in this book.

As for the other characters... Well, we have the usual; Grimalkin, Puck, Ash, Oberon, Mab... But there are some characters who were in the Iron King who I was not expecting to see in Iron Daughter, the main one being Ironhorse and GOD DAMMIT I LOVE HIM OKAY.  (spoilers in GR review) Ironhorse added a bit of humour to the overall tone as well because of the way he would just YELL FUCKING EVERYTHING NO MATTER WHAT CONTEXT IT WAS. I think I'm more obsessed with the fey animals in this series than the actual faeries or humans. Another new addition who I loved was Charles, this sub-plot is just perfectly executed and helps add more character to Meghan, Puck and Ash in particular. Seriously, Julie Kagawa knows how to write... Just wow.

I just adore everything about this series so far (I haven't yet read the Iron Knight but it's on order as we speak) and I love how everything is so nicely wrapped up in a pretty little bow in every book, yet there is continuous plot and character development. There are so many more things I want to say about this at the moment but I'll wait until I finish Iron Knight :)

If you haven't read this series already, please do... It's magical, brilliant and exciting. The world that Kagawa has built is so rich, beautiful and terrifying that you can't help but be sucked in.

Stacking the Shelves (4)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature over at Tynga's Reviews which allows us all to drool with one another over any books that have been added  to our bookshelves both physically and virtually!

WOW haven't done one of these in a while! I DID have a post planned about a month ago - I filmed it and everything, however then everything changed  when the fire nation attacked....
Wait. That isn't right... I just ran out of time haha, I filmed it but then had no time to edit it and IT WAS LONG. IT NEEDED EDITING! So yeah. Excuse me for that! But I got a massive haul (which isn't included in this one) mostly thanks to HarlequinTeen Australia so I'd just like to thank them :)

Moving on! This week on Taneika's Adventures in Spending Money She Doesn't Have: Book Depository Edition, comes three lovely hardbacks *drools*

They are all so pretty and I'm going to make sure I buy hardbacks online from now on because ugh. They are just beautiful! The Treachery of Beautiful Things also has a matte finish! IT FEELS SO NICE TOO!

Bought:
What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang - I have been hanging out for this for AGES and preordered it, but little did I know, my Aunty also preordered the paperback for me and we didn't realise! So she kept that copy, read it IN A DAY and says it is fantastic so I can't wait to start this one :)
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff - I am actually going to get the UK edition too because I love them both but the US edition just makes me die a little inside... But I am so excited to start this baby
The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long - According to my local Dymocks, this is literally impossible to order in Australia at all so Book Depository it was because I have been hanging out for this since it was released in January!

Oh yeah, so just to tease you all because I'm such a good person... Guess what I got to see last week?
POTTED POTTER! A 70 minute parody of all 7 Harry Potter books and OH MY FREAKING GOD. I SWEAR I GAINED ABS BECAUSE IT WAS FANTASTIC!

I got to participate in a real game of Quidditch and everything! Although, I was at the top of the theatre so I couldn't actually play but I got to cheer on either Gryffindor or Slytherin! The left hand side (the side my family was on) were Slytherin's supporters and supporters of Gryffindor were on the right.... I WAS SMACK BANG IN THE MIDDLE SO I WASN'T EITHER. So I decided to stick with my Pottermore house and I secretly cheered on Hufflepuff :)

What did you add to your shelves this week? :)

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
Release Date: October 1st 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen Australia
Add it: Goodreads
Overall: ♥♥

As soon as I heard about Alice in Zombieland, I immediately thought of a weird, wacky, crazy fantasy world riddled with zombies (or even like the Alice game) and thought it would be an awesome retelling of the classic tale. I was disappointed. What was one of the most brilliant concepts I've ever heard fell flat completely.

Alice's dad was always considered bat-shit crazy by everybody including Alice because he could see zombies when noone else could. But when Alice is the soul survivor of the car crash that killed her entire family, she finds that her dad was right all along - because now she can see the zombies too.

Alice in Zombieland more closely resembles Twilight rather than the classic tale. If you're a fan of dark, brooding romances, dangerous bad boys and teenage high school melodrama then you might enjoy this. However, while I do enjoy the occassional light-hearted, fluffy high school read (think Crave by Melissa Darnell - I LOVED that), when I see an awesome concept that is so poorly executed like this, I just can't find it in myself to love it.

First of all, Ali is the typical Mary-Sue:
- Her family is dead
- She moves to a new school as a result
- The popular crowd immediately love her and she captures the attention of two of the hot guys at school
- Later on in the novel, she is a special snowflake with the best and rarest of abilities (this was predictable as well)

Okay, so I sort of understand why she manages to have friends when she first starts - she meets her best friend Kat in the hospital after the car accident - but that still doesn't explain why everybody else seems to love her. I also get why Cole was interested - they had a shared vision of the two of them making out the minute they laid eyes on eachother. But that just adds to the Mary-Sueness of Alice's character and seems like an excuse for their romance. There are some things I liked about Ali though; I liked that she could stand up for herself (against the Zombies), her determination, the fact she didn't just forget about her parent's dying after she falls for a boy (which happens WAY too often in YA), that she didn't back down in a fight and I liked that her confused and mixed thoughts about Cole were realistic. I could actually believe that those things would go through a 16 year old girls head if they were getting mixed signals from a guy.

Speaking of, Cole is an ass. He is one of those characters (Edward, Patch etc) that are hot because the MC says he is but in reality he is an arrogant, controlling douchebag who can't seem to grasp the concept that they don't live in the 1800's anymore. Cole may be hot, but he is controlling, over protective, demanding and condescending. I just couldn't really find any characteristics that I really liked.

Can we just talk about Kat for a second? This will be quick because I plain loved her. I loved her sassy attitude and how good of a friend she was to Ali. Kat was bubbly, funny and frantic and I think she is awesome. Although, I'm just gunna say right now - and people who've read the book will understand - FORESHADOWING MADE THINGS PAINFULLY OBVIOUS BUT I LOVE YOU KAT.

The writing overall was okay but the character dialogue annoyed me; the dialogue of the 16 year olds sounded outdated and like they lived in the 90's and Ali's 8 year old sister sounded MORE LIKE A 16 YEAR OLD THAN ALI DID. One thing I did appreciate were how the zombies and (the majority) of the fight scenes were described. Things such as Cole's barn and the school were described well and gave me a very vivid image.

As far as plot goes... Well.
It does have a reasonably solid plot and the ending answered some questions whilst leaving questions to be answered in the next installment, although the main thing I wasn't happy with was all the teenage melodrama and how little relevance it had to Alice in Wonderland at all! I mean, I get it. Her name is Alice, the chapter titles were cool (although they had nothing to do with the chapter content whatsoever) and there was a white rabbit.... But...
*falls silent* *crickets begin chirping*

Overall, whilst it was interesting enough to keep me reading, it was more like a compulsive "is this going to get better, it has to get better" read rather than a "HOLY SHIT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN OMG THIS IS SO GOOD" compulsive read. I think my expectations were way too high for this because as I said, I was expecting awesome, gory zombies in a weird and twisted Wonderland, but instead I got teenagers in a highschool fighting spirit zombies.

If you love bad boy romances (like the Hush Hush saga) or if you simply like the idea of highschool vs zombies (HAHA, now I feel like watching Highschool of the Dead, bye bye reality), then I think you might enjoy this more than I did so I'd still recommend it to some, especially considering it was admittedly a compulsive read :)

Thankyou HarlequinTeen Australia for providing me with a review copy. This has in no way affected my review

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Speechless by Hannah Harrington
Release Date: August 28th 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen Australia
Add it: Goodreads
Overall: ♥♥♥♥♥

How do I even begin this review? I'll be honest, I had no idea what I was expecting but it was what I got. Speechless has got to be one of my favourite contemporary reads, well, ever.

Chelsea Knot is one of those girls in highschool, she is a sarcastic, gossip spreading bitch who knows everything about everyone (that's why her hair is so big, it's full of secrets - it's not really that big, and I just had to throw that in there) and has absolutely no problem with that being her reputation as long as she is at the top of  the social ladder. Until, that is, a secret she tells nearly costs somebody their life. Chelsea is overwhelmed with guilt and goes on a vow of silence, not for a spiritual journey, but to learn to keep her mouth shut once and for all.

At first, Chelsea is someone who is written to be hated, but no matter how judgemental and stuck up she was in the beginning, I still loved her character from start to finish. Maybe because she was such a real character or maybe it was because hell, she reminds me of myself. She is sarcastic, swears too much ('asshole' and 'fuck' seem to be a favourite of hers, as well as mine) and can be a snappy bitch. Also, I feel as if Chelsea and I have the same sort of vocabulary, for example she says "This is legit" at one stage - that is basically my motto if life lately, and GOD, the way she ends her silence is so sassy and ugh. I just love her. Her best friend is the prettiest, most selfish, popular chick at school and their friendship isn't what you'd call real. It's an illusion created by the need to fit in. After Chelsea spills that secret, and the person in question almost dies, she turns the culprits in which results in Chelsea being shunned, ridiculed and bullied - she finally realises what it's like to be on the other end of bullying and this is what makes her grow so much; not only the vow of silence, but being on the other side of the fence. So while I understand she isn't likable to begin with (although, dammit she is FUNNY - I appreciate sarcasm, it's actually a quality I love!), her character development throughout the novel is incredible. She doesn't just take the vow of silence and learn nothing from it; she meets new people, learns what TRUE friendship is (none of this self-righteous "I'm better than you" shit) and learns that it can be better for you as a person to be a nice person because being nice makes you feel better than being nasty.

The entire novel is really about Chelsea's growth as a person. Some very nasty things happen to her and none of it is deserved in my opinion - no matter how nasty you were, everybody makes mistakes - and just when you think Chelsea might give up her vow of silence or retaliate to the bullies, she doesn't. She handles everything so admirably considering how horribly she is bullied and then you begin to see her break. It's when she starts to break that she truly begins to realise how much her old friends are assholes and that it's so much easier to treat people like human beings.

The friends she makes as a result of her ordeal are wonderful. They are all such unique, real, beautifully flawed characters and are the perfect kind of friends for Chelsea to learn from. Her friends aren't all open arms to her at first (except Asha because she is waaay too kind!) which is completely understandable on many levels but they eventually grow together and all of the characters end up meshing together in one perfect not-perfect little group.

There was romance in this too and OMG IT WAS EXECUTED BEAUTIFULLY. The romance had a perfect pace and started off slowly. Sam is my new fictional crush (I don't care if he would realistically be too skinny for my liking, he is so sweet). That's it. Just wanted to put that out there. The romance is realistic, cute, awkward and just a bit painful to read (COME ON, YOU KNOW YOU WANT EACHOTHER) and the two of them together just made me feel all happy and giddy inside.

Speechless was one of the most powerful novels I've ever read. It affected me so much because words can hurt people and words are powerful. I was a firm believer in trying to see the best in people and not deliberately hurting people beforehand anyway, but I highly recommend this to everybody. It's such a powerful message and I think every single person who reads this will take something away from it. I've not read Saving June, but I will be soon! (Oh look, that rhymed).

Thankyou HarlequinTeen Australia for providing me with a review copy. This has in no way affected my review