Coming tomorrow – the cover reveal for our new UKYA contemporary novel (with a twist …) from award-winning author Rachel Churcher!
Watch this space …
Coming Tomorrow!
Coming this week …
Coming this week – the cover reveal for our new UKYA contemporary novel (with a twist …) from award-winning author Rachel Churcher!
Watch this space …
Book news!
There’s a new UKYA book coming from Taller Books and award-winning author Rachel Churcher! We’ll have more information next week – watch this space …
Read Local!
The Bury St Edmunds Local Author Shelf is growing again! Find 59 books by 32 Suffolk authors (including Battle Ground and False Flag) upstairs at The Bay Tree Café on St John’s Street. All the books are available to sample during your visit, and if you enjoy what you read you’ll find purchase details on the inside front cover.
Please don’t take the books away – the Writers of Bury and Beyond want to share them with all the visitors to the café! With nearly 60 books to choose from, we’re sure you’ll find your next new read.
In October the shelf is welcoming beautiful illustrated fables by Rosie Andersen, and a selection of stories and poetry by Autism Ambassador, Elisabeth Sherriff.
A huge THANK YOU to the Bay Tree Cafe for hosting our books. Happy reading!
YA Review: Finale (Caraval #3)
Title: Finale (Caraval #3)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 4/5
The plot twists continue in the final book of the Caraval trilogy, and both Scarlett and Tella have narrating roles throughout the story. With a new Emperor about to be crowned, the city of Valenda is in a holiday mood, but revelations about their family and their love interests lead both sisters further into danger.
It’s hard to review Finale without dropping all sorts of spoilers. Scarlett and Tella find themselves deeply involved in the struggles of the immortal and dangerous Fates while navigating the complexities of relationships they can’t control and the safety of people they care about. The story is darker than the previous books, and the stakes are higher. There is no Caraval to bring a sense of order and reward to their actions, and failure would mean consequences for the entire Empire.
It’s a complex plot, and I confess to losing track of some of the threads at times, but Scarlett and Tella’s relationships keep the pages turning. While their strong personalities drive the story, each sister learns to adapt to a rapidly changing environment – Scarlett becoming more daring and brave, and Tella drawing closer to the people around her. There’s an exciting climax and a satisfying ending, and an Encore chapter that had me grinning as I turned the final page.
The Caraval series is an exciting – and exhausting – journey through magic, danger, deception and love. I cared deeply about Scarlett and Tella, and about where they might end up, and I’m pleased I finally picked up their story. The series would be a excellent beach or holiday read, and a perfect place to escape to when you have plenty of time to relax with a book. Definitely worth stepping into Caraval and allowing yourself to be swept away.
Have you read Finale? What did you think of the final book in the series? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!
YA review: Legendary cross-posted to GoodReads.
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YA Review: Legendary (Caraval #2)
Title: Legendary (Caraval #2)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 4/5
Scarlett and Tella Dragna are back, and this time Tella has the chance to narrate. With the more daring sister steering the story, this book ramps up the danger and brings complications and plot twists for both sisters, their family, and their love interests.
The Empress has commanded Legend to run another Caraval in honour of her seventy-fifth birthday, so the company travels to the capital, Valenda, to prepare for the game. Scarlett and Tella, having escaped from their father, travel with them. Neither intends to participate in another Caraval, but Tella owes a debt to a stranger and Scarlett is revelling in her new freedom.
This Caraval promises to be more than a game. The Fates, powerful beings imprisoned for centuries, are fighting to return – a disaster that would threaten the Empire, and turn everyone into their playthings. The players are charged with finding the magical object that will destroy the fates and safeguard the future of the Empire. Tella and Scarlett are drawn into the game, only to discover that the solution is more personal than they imagined.
Legendary is a maze of a book, with truth and deception twisting around Scarlett and Tella as they follow their paths through their second Caraval. It’s a story of fear, pain, and surprises, and the lengths Tella, as the younger, bolder sister, will go to to protect her family. The relationship between the sisters remains key to the plot, but both sisters find themselves entangled in love triangles with potentially deadly consequences.
Once again, the final chapter opens up an entirely new facet of the story, and I had no choice but to keep reading …
Have you read Legendary? What did you think of Tella’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!
YA review: Legendary cross-posted to GoodReads.
Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.
YA Review: Caraval (Caraval #1)
Title: Caraval (Caraval #1)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 4/5
The Caraval trilogy has been sitting on my Kindle for ages, and finally made it to the top of my eBook TBR. Why did I wait so long? The story is captivating, the characters interesting, and the setting is literally magical.
The first book of the series follows seventeen-year-old Scarlett Dragna, the older of two sisters, as she prepares for her wedding to a mystery suiter selected by her cruel father. Scarlett is the sensible sister, constantly trying to protect her younger sibling and making sacrifices to keep them both safe from their father’s obsessive controlling behaviour.
But Scarlett has a secret. Since she was eleven, she has been writing to the mysterious Legend, the magical master of Caraval – an annual immersive game where participants experience illusions and puzzles at the hands of Legend’s group of actors, and compete for valuable prizes. She knows that Donatella, her impulsive younger sister, has always wanted to experience Caraval, but Legend never responds to her letters.
Ten days before her wedding, everything changes. Legend writes back, inviting Scarlett, Tella, and Scarlett’s fiance to participate in an invitation-only Caraval on his private island. Tella is desperate to go and never come home, but Scarlett is determined to take her sister with her she gets married, and keep them both safe from their father. Her plan fails, and Scarlett finds herself heading for Caraval with Tella.
Separated from her sister, and accompanied by the sailor who brought them to the island, Scarlett must negotiate the games and illusions of Caraval. Desperate to find Tella, Scarlett has no choice but to engage with the game, and attempt to see past the magic to discover who she can trust, and who might be working for Legend. Along the way she finds love, loss and impossible choices, and experiences everything Caraval has to offer – wonderful, mysterious, and terrifying.
While the magic and mystery of Caraval is gorgeously described and entirely captivating, the heart of this book is its characters. Even with their contrasting personalities, Scarlett and Tella are entirely believable as sisters, used to protecting each other from an abusive father. Scarlett is sensible, careful, and afraid of letting Tella down. Tella is impulsive, confident, and always on the look-out for thrills and danger. Much of this story centres around Tella, but telling it from Scarlett’s point of view invites the reader to care about the younger sister, and fear for her safety as Scarlett does. It’s a clever twist, and it kept the pages turning as I needed to find out what would happen to both sisters at the end of the book.
The short epilogue kick-starts another stage of the story, and I couldn’t help reading on into Legendary, book two of the series.
Have you read Caraval? What did you think of Scarlett’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!
YA review: Caraval cross-posted to GoodReads.
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YA Review: We Are All Constellations
Title: We Are All Constellations
Author: Amy Beashel
Edition: Paperback (Paper Orange Book Box)
Rating: 5/5
The Paper Orange UKYA Book Box continues to deliver excellent YA fiction! I can see why this book came bundled in the book box with a tissue and a restorative eyemask – it’s definitely a tear-jerker.
Iris’s mother died when she was ten, and she’s spent the years since being strong, independent, and fearless. She explores abandoned buildings as a hobby, and thinks nothing of heading into the woods alone in the dark or climbing on rooftops to find a new place to explore.
Life with her dad, stepmum and stepbrother is calm and peaceful, and nothing like the excitement she used to experience with her mother. She remembers joyful dancing in the kitchen, driving out in the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower, and a surprise meal when her mother decorated the living room and pretended they were in France. But there are darker memories, too, and Iris tries not to remember the times when her mother’s behaviour was frightening rather than fun.
When Iris discovers the truth about her mother, she doesn’t know where to turn. Her best friend Tala is distracted by a poetry event, her boyfriend wants to come with her on the very definitely solo gap year she has planned, and the mysterious Orla might hold the key to the secrets of Iris’s past.
It’s a story about grief, friendship, and showing up for each other. What truths we tell, whether our actions match our words, and how we protect the people we love. Iris is a brilliant protagonist – she’s brave, resourceful, and independent, but also romantic, hurt, angry, and not as reliable as she claims to be. There’s a constant feeling that she might make the wrong decision at any moment, and a nagging uncertainty over whether she will push her bravery and independence too far.
I read We Are All Constellations in a weekend. Iris’s story is addictive, and the reader is drawn further into her world as the book progresses. I didn’t want to put it down, and I desperately wanted to find out how her plans, reactions and relationships would resolve in the end. Highly recommended.
Have you read We Are All Constellations? What did you think of Iris’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!
YA review: We Are All Constellations cross-posted to GoodReads.
Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.
Foreword Festival: Writing on the Fringe
We are excited to announce that Taller Books is one of the official sponsors of the first literary fringe festival in the UK!
Looking for literature on the fringe? Searching for something outside the mainstream? The Foreword Festival will bring you graphic novels, SF and fantasy, comedy, poetry, children’s books, non-fiction and more. Meet the authors and discover new genres and new stories, plus we’ll have books from three unique indie publishers, and workshops to develop your writing and publishing skills.
Follow the festival on Instagram (@forewordfestivaluk), Twitter (@forewordfestuk) and Facebook, and head to the website for more information: www.forewordfestival.uk
Save the date, tell your friends, and join us in the historic Guildhall in Bury St Edmunds for an amazing bookish weekend. See you there!
YA Review: The Haunting of Tyrese Walker
Title: The Haunting of Tyrese Walker
Author: JP Rose
Edition: Paperback (Paper Orange Book Box)
Rating: 4/5
Another excellent book from the Paper Orange UKYA Book Box! I’m not usually a horror fan, but this book drew me in – great characters, great setting, and just the right level of creepy.
Fourteen-year-old Tyrese has just lost his father, and his death is still too painful to think about. His mother takes him to Jamaica for the summer to stay with his paternal grandmother and his fourteen-year-old cousin, Marvin. Sleep deprived, grieving, hot, and homesick, Tyrese struggles to adapt. When his grandmother asks him to scatter rice around her house to keep away evil spirits, he can’t see the point. But when inexplicable things start to happen around him, he begins to doubt everything he believes in. Are the spirits real, or is he losing his mind?
With Ellie, a visiting American teenager, Tyrese and Marvin explore the mountains and forests around their grandmother’s house. What begins as an idyllic summer holiday quickly takes a dark turn, as Tyrese’s unsettling experiences start to affect the people around him. There is a growing sense of danger as the story progresses, and Tyrese is never sure whether the things he is seeing are real. Ellie and Marvin confirm some of his experiences, but the reader is left wondering whether his fear is justified, or whether he really is losing his grip on sanity.
The reveal and the finale are excellent, and the mounting dread pays off in the final scenes. My complaint with a lot of horror is that the fear is either an overreaction, or that the Big Bad is too big and too bad for the story. This ending is just right.
This is a book about fear of the unexplained, and the folly of meddling with forces beyond the characters’ understanding. It is also a story about friendship, family, and coming to terms with overwhelming grief. It’s a clever use of the setting and the plot, and the result is a gripping page-turner of a novel. An excellent read.
Have you read The Haunting of Tyrese Walker? What did you think of Tyrese’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!
YA review: The Haunting of Tyrese Walker cross-posted to GoodReads.
Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.