Drummer Girl by Bridget Tyler

For Review: Templar
Published: 1 May 2013

From Templar: Gossip Girl meets American Idol, meets Glee's evil twin

It was supposed to be the summer of her life. Instead, 17-year-old Lucy finds her best friend Harper shot dead in an LA swimming pool. How did it come to this? Lucy Gosling is the drummer in Crush, a rock band formed by five London schoolgirls that has just won the UK semi-final of an international talent contest. But when the band lands in Hollywood for the big final, things are not quite as they seem. The band's lead singer, Harper, has just one thing on her mind – using sex, drugs and rock and roll, not to mention Crush itself, to win back her bad-news exboyfriend.

Lucy must decide whether she's playing to Harper's tune, or setting the rhythm for the rest of the band…

As soon as I read the synopsis for this I knew I had to read it! 'Gossip Girl meets American Idol, meets Glee's evil twin' Hell yes! And I absolutely loved it! I love this kind of setting - the whole behind the scenes of fame - putting relatable characters into that setting and seeing how they cope!

I love how this starts too. It kind of reminded me of the beginning teaser of a TV show - giving you a taste of what is going to happen and then taking you back to watch it all unfold. Usually I prefer first person narrative but for some reason with this I loved getting the story from different points of view and I didn't really notice the third person narrative. I still felt as if I were in the head of the person telling the story at that time. And the jumping back and forth could have been confusing but it really wasn't - plus there was so much going on and many different story threads - all equally compelling. I really enjoyed it.

This story certainly shows the darker side of fame - how easy it is to be lead in a direction you wouldn't have thought you'd take. It makes for very interesting reading - and it gave the story much more depth than I was originally expecting.

I have to say I would love for this to be a series - or at least have a sequel. I really enjoyed the characters and would love to catch up with them again. Especially Lucy! And there is one storyline I would like to see tied up a little bit more...

Brilliant - I can't wait to read more by this author!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun

[Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at Broke and the Bookish]

So yes I'm going to cheat slightly and give you my top ten authors / series - there were too many books to choose from!

Kristen Walker - Match Made in High School and 7 Rules to Winning You are both hilarious and perfect for when you want something fun.

Marni Bates - Loved Awkward and Decked With Holly.  I think I died laughing reading Awkward and Decked with Holly is just as fun. Fab characters, light and definitely fun!

Ally Carter  -   I love the Gallager Girls series!  Perhaps it's a bit silly (in a really good way!) but I love it and it definitely ticks the box as light and fun.

Amanda Ashby - Zombie Queen of Newbury High and Fairy Bad Day - sooo good! And really funny!

Jennifer Echols - The Boy Next Door, The Ex Games and Major Crush are all great fun!  In fact, all her books are awesome so you can't go wrong...

Jessica Brody.  Love them all - they have depth but are great fun.

Gemma Halliday Deadly Cool and Social Suicide. These are so funny!

Luisa Plaja - all of her books are full of charm.  They have depth but still remain light and fun (usually with a sprinkle of magic!)  I love them all!

C J Skuse - Rockoholic!!! One of my favourite books ever!!

Stephanie Perkins - do I really need to say more about these?  Love them (and can't wait for Isla and The Happily Ever After)

Of course there are loads more - Eileen Cook, Keris Stainton (how awesome are her love interests???), Simone Elkeles and Sybil Nelson's Priscilla the Great Series.  And I loved Robin Benway's Audrey Wait and Also Known As... Plus both Love, Maybe and The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler were fun.  Oh and Adorkable by Sarra Manning...

Yes okay.. I could probably go on for ages. I shall shut up now lol.

What about you - which books (or authors) would be on your top ten?

I want to read that...

Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young

From Goodreads: Caroline is at a crossroads. Her grandmother is sick, maybe dying. Like the rest of her family, Caroline's been at Gram's bedside since her stroke. With the pressure building, all Caroline wants to do is escape--both her family and the reality of Gram's failing health. So when Caroline's best friend offers to take her to a party one fateful Friday night, she must choose: stay by Gram's side, or go to the party and live her life.

The consequence of this one decision will split Caroline's fate into two seperate paths--and she's about to live them both.

Friendships are tested and family drama hits an all-new high as Caroline attempts to rebuild old relationships, and even make a few new ones. If she stays, her longtime crush, Joel, might finally notice her, but if she goes, Chris, the charming college boy, might prove to be everything she's ever wanted.

Though there are two distinct ways for her fate to unfold, there is only one happy ending...

Er... Yes Please! This sounds so good! Plus it's written by not one, but two authors I love - so win!

It's published August 2013 by Simon Pulse (US)

Heroic Blog Tour (Cover Discussion)

As part of the Blog Tour for Phil Earle's new book, Heroic, I was asked to talk about the book cover designs (one of my favourite subjects!!!)

Here are all three of the books covers:

I really like the colours on these covers and the fonts used.  I love that the titles on Being Billy and Saving Daisy are big!  Plus they both have this kind of distressed look - with all these kind of scratches over the cover.  For some reason this really pleases me!  I have to admit I wasn't sure, at first, about the people on both of them but the more I looked the more I started to like it.  The boy on Being Billy creates energy - the idea that Billy doesn't like to stay still - whereas the girl on Saving Daisy looks sad and defensive - as if something bad has happened.  I think they help create a good sense of what the book is about.  Add in the brilliant tag line for each book and I really like both of the covers.

Heroic is my favourite of the three though.  It takes all the elements I liked from the other two (the big (ish) title font, a strong solid colour and an awesome tag line!) but amalgamates it better with the image. Like the previous covers I have a really good sense of what the story will be about and it definitely catches my eye!

I also like that all three covers tie in together.  Being Billy and Saving Daisy look very similar - which is good since they are set in the same world - and Heroic has a very similar feel as well, creating a nice theme across the covers.  Take the author's name off the cover and I would still think of Phil Earle which I can't help but think is a sign of a great cover!

What do you think? Do you agree?  Which is your favourite out of the three covers?  Let me know in the comments below!

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

For Review: Simon & Schuster
Published: 28 March 2013

From Goodreads: An ambitious intern.
A perfectionist executive.
And a whole lot of name calling.

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He's exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.

Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family's massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who'd been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he's never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe's so tempting he's willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office.

As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they're willing to lose in order to win each other.

Originally only available online as The Office by tby789—and garnering over two million reads on fan fiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.

Firstly, I should mention this is definitely an adult book.

Secondly, apparently I blush easily...

Still, I have to say I thought this book was great fun.  I enjoyed the love/hate relationship between Chloe and Bennett (sorry, should I say Miss Mills and Mr Ryan?) and there were quite a few occasions I laughed out loud. I'm not completely sure that the story was always intending to be funny but whatever, as long as you enjoy it right?

While I would have liked a little more characterisation (we don't really know much about Chloe or Bennett except their attraction to each other) I liked the way their relationship progressed.  I also loved the banter and the way they both gave as good as they got. Plus I really liked Bennett's family.

Overall, a good, quick read and I will be picking up Beautiful Stranger when it's published in paperback in June.