Novelicious - The Female Fiction and Chick Lit Blog

The Hunger Games Giveaway!

2012-02-24T22:09:00+00:00

Today marks the one month mark for fans of The Hunger Games books awaiting the film's release. That's right folks - we are now only one month away from seeing The Hunger Games on the big screen.

To celebrate, the lovely folks over at Scholastic have kindly donated not one but three books! We at Novelicious have the entire trilogy of books written by Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay - to give away to one lucky Novelicious reader. These classic editions look set to be the new talked-about young adult crossover books for 2012 so don't miss out.

To win all three books, simply tell us why you want to win in the comments below. Competition is UK only and a winner will be picked on Wednesday 29th February. Good Luck!

The Hunger Games on Amazon

Review - Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

2012-02-24T14:28:02+00:00

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

A car accident has left Luke in a vegetative state in hospital and his daughter Cara recovering from surgery on her shoulder. Cara's mum Georgie wants to be there for her daughter but has the twins and her new husband waiting for her at home and as she is no longer married to Luke, she has no say when the doctors start talking about life-support and using extraordinary measures. At 17 years old, Cara is underage so the only person who can legally make any decisions is Edward, the son who left the country six years ago and hasn't spoken to his father since.

An author known for dealing with taboo subjects, Jodi Picoult has chosen to explore who should have the right to switch off life-support when the family is as fractured as this one. But of course, as this is Picoult, the conflicts don't stop there. Luke is not your average father, having spent a lot of his adult life infiltrating wolf packs in order to study their behaviour from the inside. Famous in his field and respected the world over for his results, Luke has developed his animal senses to the point where he often struggles with basic human interaction. He loves his family, but he loves the wolves just as much and feels incomplete with either of them. Georgie still blames her ex-husband for all his prolonged absences and obsession with the wolves and for all the time spent away from his family to be with them. Edward still can't bring himself to talk about what really happened the night he left without saying goodbye. Cara blames her brother's departure for the breakdown of her family and clings on to her dad as the only place she still feels at home.

Cara cannot let go and wants to keep her dad on life support as long as it takes - but is she too emotionally involved to really see what her father would want? Edward, on the other hand, wants to honour his father's wishes and let him go in peace - but is he still holding resentment from all those years ago and relishing the opportunity to have the last word?

The many issues of blame, resentment and conflicting love and loyalty will resonate with any reader. The book jumps perspectives as it moves between chapters, which some readers may find jarring. However, in this book it is essential. There is not meant to be just one protagonist to follow and empathise with - there are many. Picoult takes her reader on an emotional journey, explaining each person's perspective in order to properly show exactly why there is no right or wrong answer. She looks closely at what might happen if something horrendous were to happen to everyday people and what they might do when pushed to the brink. She rather bravely doesn't spell anything out for you either, choosing instead to let you come to your own conclusions about what is right.

In Lone Wolf, as in her many other novels, Picoult has dealt with a highly controversial issue with both courage and sensitivity. Lone Wolf is another fine example of her incredible storytelling, offering no easy answers, no simple ways out and no clue what is going to happen on the following page! She once again shows the joys and heartbreaks of everyday life and how every person - no matter how infallible, how flawed and how very human - has an opinion and has the right to be heard.

Once you start, you will struggle to put it down.

8/10

Lone Wolf on Amazon

Jodi Picoult's Website

Review - The Queen's Secret by Victoria Lamb

2012-02-23T13:38:00+00:00

REVIEWED BY CESCA MARTIN

The year is 1575 and Queen Elizabeth I has arrived at Kenilworth Castle – home to her favourite at court, the dashing Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Her “Robin” has pulled out all the stops to ensure his Queen is in no doubt as to his intentions. The clocks are stopped and in this timeless haven he is her King Arthur and she is to be wooed like there is no tomorrow. The trouble is “Robin” is having it away with the Countess of Essex – cousin to the Queen and younger model to her majesty. There are also plots afoot that her spymaster Walsingham needs to sniff out: Italian bear baiters, suspicious looking acrobats and other glamorous strangers are all on this summer progress with the court. Then there is Lucy Morgan, a young black singer, who seems to find herself caught up in all the court intrigue. Who will lose their heads? Who will survive the summer?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The sights and smells of Tudor England were on every page – the grim ride across country, the smells of unwashed people crammed together in the July heat, the splendour of the castle and all the royal trappings were fantastically drawn. I was fascinated by Lamb’s depictions of some of the more colourful characters of the era; Leicester, Walsingham and of course the Queen herself. The unknown black singer Lucy Morgan was a sympathetic character and it was her story I became most interested in as I turned the pages. There was a great energy throughout and a rip-roaring ending that will get your wigs askew!

Any fans of books by Philippa Gregory and the like need look no further. This book has been thoroughly researched and should therefore prove popular even with the Tudor boffs on the lookout for errors. Thank you to Bantam Press (Transworld) for sending me this book.

8/10

You can keep up to date with Victoria Lamb on her blog and also follow her on Twitter @victorialamb1

Review - Never Coming Home by Evonne Wareham

2012-02-23T07:54:00+00:00

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR

All she has left is hope. When Kaz Elmore is told her five-year-old daughter Jamie has died in a car crash, she struggles to accept that she’ll never see her little girl again. Then a stranger comes into her life offering the most dangerous substance in the world: hope. Devlin, security consultant and witness to the terrible accident scene, inadvertently reveals that Kaz’s daughter might not have been the girl in the car after all. What if Jamie is still alive? With no evidence, the police aren’t interested, so Devlin and Kaz have little choice but to investigate themselves. Devlin never gets involved with a client. Never. But the more time he spends with Kaz, the more he desires her – and the more his carefully constructed ice-man persona starts to unravel. The desperate search for Jamie leads down dangerous paths – to a murderous acquaintance from Devlin’s dark past, and all across Europe, to Italy, where deadly secrets await. But as long as Kaz has hope, she can’t stop looking…

Devlin and Kaz can’t help their mutual attraction for each other. There is so much about him he can’t tell her and the more she discovers the less she seems to know. His past is not something he discusses with people and as Kaz slowly learns more about the man she’s trusting to help her, she has to decide if she can hold this knowledge against him. She also has secrets from her past that quickly catch up with them both and as the two realize just how much danger they’re in, each has to make decisions about their own lives and what they’re getting into.

Devlin is a darker character than usual for Choc Lit heroes, but exciting, exuding danger and very attractive. Despite his need to protect Kaz, he also wants to be as honest with her as he can possibly allow himself to be. What starts out as a problem she’s paying him resolve, turns into a cat and mouse chase across Europe and USA where no one seems to be safe from the underworld the threatens to swallow them whole.

I began the novel thinking it was an enjoyable romantic tale, only to quickly discover that this story gets darker and more tense as you read on. It’s violent, but realistic and thoroughly satisfying. Devlin is everything you want in a hero, flawed, but tough, resilient and above all, sexy. Loved it.

8/10

Never Coming Home is published by Choc Lit Publishers and as this review is part of the 'Wispa It ...' blog tour they're offering a free copy of the book together with a Wispa to one lucky winner. Please leave a 'Pick Me' comment below to be in with a chance of winning. Winners will be announced next Thursday.

You can find out more about Evonne Wareham on her blog and follow her on Twitter @evonnewareham

Review - Chance (A Strictly Come Dancing Novel) by Alex Hines

2012-02-22T12:09:26+00:00

REVIEWED BY KIRA SLAUGHTER

Close your eyes. We’re in a town square in 1950’s Cuba. You’re going to have to use dance to get the attention of the one you want. Now dance!’

Ava Dunne dreams of a different life. Her job is stressful, her boyfriend unromantic. It’s time for a change- in fact, its way overdue. But shaking some glamour into her hum-drum life isn’t easy.

But then Ava meets Viv, the dress designer for Strictly Come Dancing, who sparks her interest in dance. As passions begin to run high, Ava’s eyes suddenly open to the world of chances around her. Especially the tall, dark handsome one she’s been trying not to dream about...

Can Ava find enough courage to take her chance when it comes? Can one moment really change your life?

When I received this book I was excited to read it; I am a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing. I love the drama, the costumes and of course, the dancing. However, when I eventually got into the book (which in itself is not a good sign) I found the initial plot to be lacking and it just seemed to plod along. Now, I’m the kind of person who, if a book doesn’t grab me straight away, will carry on reading just to give it the benefit of the doubt. Yet with this one I found that I didn’t want to carry on reading because it just wasn’t taking hold like I expected it to.

The main character Ava is not very happy with her life and wants to change it, particularly her boring, unromantic boyfriend and her stressful job. With most protagonists it takes a few chapters for me to really get to know them, yet with CHANCE Ava just bored me from the off. There was nothing interesting about her and it took such a while for her story to get going. Even when it did eventually pick up, by then I wasn’t particularly interested in finding out what happened. I must admit that this was one of those rare cases where I didn’t actually finish the book - I found myself getting more and more bored as the story progressed.

5/10

Chance on Amazon

Lots of Marian Keyes Baking Videos!

2012-02-22T11:34:42+00:00

There are four new Marian videos online now, which you can find at Penguin's Book Boutique Youtube channel. She's so brilliant. I especially love this one about the Drawer of Dreams; prepare to gasp along with Marian!

Saved By Cake is out now

5 Tips for a Great Book Opening from Avon Commissioning Editor Caroline Hogg

2012-02-21T13:16:37+00:00

We've just launched our fabulous Novelicious Undiscovered writing competition and in it we ask for entries of the first 3000 words of your novel. Caroline Hogg, Commissioning Editor at Avon (HarperCollins) AND one of our lovely prize-givers, tells us her must-haves for a great book opening...

Try and make the reader blink

Caroline Hogg, Avon Editor

An agent or editor has likely read hundreds upon hundreds of opening chapters. What's going to surprise them in yours? Is it a razor-sharp sense of humour? Powerful emotions? The hint of secrets about to unfurl? Make them blink in surprise and go back to reread something and you'll have hooked them.

Proffread like crazy

Agents and editors also have a sharp eye for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Make sure you check your work several times before submitting and ask a trusted friend to read it too. Fresh eyes are always good at catching simple but telling mistakes.

Don't blame it on the weather man

I think it’s a common temptation to open a novel with a tempestuous storm or hot sticky heatwave to get across an instant feeling of drama. Make sure you're not relying on the weather to do all the work for you though, as this can quickly turn your novel into a wet weekend. It should be your characters and storyline bringing in the drama.

Be yourself

If you’re writing in a genre because you think it’s in demand or the next big thing but it’s actually not your cup of tea, your voice will never ring true and make a convincing read. Write what you love and write it confidently – your readers want to start that first chapter and feel instantly they’re in good hands.

Show, don’t tell

Perhaps the trickiest thing to balance in the opening of a novel is making sure your readers can quickly pick up all they need to know about your characters but without explicitly telling them. Don’t be tempted to take shortcuts but redraft, redraft, redraft until you’re painting a fully formed picture subtly and evocatively.

Avon is an imprint of HarperCollins. You can catch up with the latest from Avon at their twitter feed.