2017 Love-a-Thon: X Meets Y

The Love-a-Thon is hosted by Alexa of Alexa Loves Books, Cee of The Novel Hermit, Kristin of Super Space Chick, and Mel of The Daily Prophecy. Follow along on social media using the hashtag #LoveaThon

My Love-a-Thon posts so far:
Introduction
Mad Libs: Fairytale Edition
Mix and Match Challenge

Book Spine Poetry

Sweethearts Candy Messages

Other places to find me this weekend:
Bookstagram
Twitter

♥  ♥  ♥

The idea for this challenge is for us to combine the books and TV shows/movies we love in some way, in order for other people to find new recommendations for things to check out.

I took three of my favourite TV shows and paired them with three awesome books with similar themes or characters.

If you like Doctor Who, try Jackaby by William Ritter. When it first came out, it was being advertised as 'Doctor Who Meets Sherlock', which a) excited me because I love both, and b) made me slightly wary since those are two popular shows and books advertised that way often don't like up to their hype. However, this is one of those books that totally does live up to it. It definitely has a Doctor Who and Sherlock vibe with its own unique elements and characters. 

If you like Sherlock, try Every Breath by Ellie Marney. The premise of this one is 'What if Sherlock Holmes was the boy next door?' and it is SO. FREAKING. GOOD. Set in Australia and featuring a female 'Watson' character, this is one of my absolute favourite Sherlock-related books.

If you like Supernatural, try Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. This book is so spooky and creepy, and is totally the type of thing you'd see Sam and Dean dealing with in an episode of Supernatural.

Do you watch any of these shows? Have you read any of these books? Are there other books you'd pair with my choice of shows?

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Blog Tour: Every Word by Ellie Marney

Welcome to my stop on Tundra's Every Word Blog Tour! If you know me at all, you'll know I'm obsessed with all things Sherlockian. I've read my fair share of Sherlock-related books, but Ellie Marney's Every Breath and Every Word are definitely my favourites. I'm going to share a short playlist I created of songs I think fit Every Word, plus talk a bit about visiting Baker Street in London.

{Read my review of Every Breath || Read my review of Every Word}

~Marie's Every Word Playlist~

Song for Someone ~ U2
Amsterdam ~ Coldplay
Wonderwall ~ Oasis
Dare You to Move ~ Switchfoot
Do It For Me Now ~ Angels & Airwaves
Radioactive ~ Imagine Dragons
Home ~ Phillip Phillips
London Calling ~ The Clash

Visiting Baker Street in London

In June I fulfilled a lifelong dream: I got to visit London for the first time! I fell head over heels in love with the city. One of the places I was looking forward to visiting most was Baker Street. My travelling companion and I decided beforehand we wouldn't go into the museum; we wanted to see the outside once it was closed because we figured that'd be a good time to get pictures with less people around (we were right). A good portion of Every Word is set in London (yay!). When Rachel and Alicia set out one day to do some sightseeing, I had a feeling I knew where they were going...and then when they emerged from the tube station and Rachel mentioned seeing a Pizza Express across the street, I knew for sure where they were going: 221 Baker Street! I clearly remember the Pizza Express because we were looking for a place to eat and we were so hungry we were willing to eat almost anything. There was a Pizza Hut down the street, but my friend said if we were going to have pizza, she wanted to eat it at a place we don't have at home, and we don't have Pizza Express. Luckily we decided to venture a little further and found a restaurant called Bill's, where we had a delicious three-course meal, but that Pizza Express was stuck in my brain. I thought it was brilliant how Marney worked a visit to the museum into the book.

Ellie Marney was born in the tropical northeast of Australia, and has lived in Indonesia, Singapore and India. Now she writes, teaches, talks about kids' literature at libraries and schools, and gardens when she can, while living in a country idyll (actually a very messy wooden house on ten acres with a dog and lots of chickens) near Castlemaine, in north-central Victoria. Even though she often forgets things and lets the housework go, her partner and four sons still love her. Ellie's short stories for adults have won awards and been published in various anthologies. Every Word is her second novel for young adults.

Find Ellie online: {Website || Twitter || GoodReads || Instagram}

Want your very own copy of Every Word? (Hint: yes, you do.) Tundra and Ellie Marney are generously donating a copy of this fantastic book to one lucky winner in Canada or the US! Enter using the Rafflecopter below - you can do as many or as few entries as you like.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you read Every Word? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Do you like books about Sherlockian characters? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

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Review: Every Word by Ellie Marney

Every Word by Ellie Marney 
Series: Every #2
Published: September 8th, 2015
Publisher: Tundra Books
352 pages (eARC)
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult Thriller/Romance
Acquired this book: Via NetGalley in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
{GoodReads || Buy this book: Amazon || Chapters/Indigo}

{Read my review of Every Breath}

James Mycroft has just left for London to investigate a car accident similar to the one that killed his parents seven years ago...without saying goodbye to Rachel Watts, his 'partner in crime'.

Rachel is furious and worried about his strange behaviour - not that Mycroft's ever exactly normal, but London is the scene of so many of his nightmares. So Rachel jumps on a plane to follow him...and lands straight in a whole storm of trouble.

The theft of a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, the possible murder of a rare books conservator, and the deaths of Mycroft's parents...Can Watts help Mycroft make sense of the three events - or will she lose him forever?

 

Anyone who knows me well knows I love anything even remotely Sherlockian, so when I discovered the Every series, I was incredibly excited. I loved Every Breath, and couldn’t wait to get my hands on Every Word, although I’ll admit I was nervous…I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the first book or that it would lose that spark that made the first one so special. Having now devoured Every Word, I can say I think I might love it even more than the first book, and that’s saying a lot!

Every Word picks up several months after the events of Every Breath. Rachel is still on house arrest, and her time with Mycroft is limited, but their relationship is going strong…until he takes off suddenly for London to help investigate an accident similar to the one that killed his parents and left him with unspeakable emotional scars. Knowing what Mycroft is like, Rachel is sure he’ll need help - specifically her help - so she goes after him.

What ensues…London! Sexytimes! Excitement! Intrigue! Horrifying, gruesome events that will possibly leave you traumatized and having nightmares!

Seriously, this book has everything. And it was so much more than I expected in a lot of ways - a lot sexier, a lot more disturbing, a lot more twisted, a lot more exciting. It was incredibly mature and yet maintained its YA feel. Mycroft absolutely broke my heart. He was so damaged, and there were things he said and did that made me want to just break down and sob. He and Rachel are both such vivid, real characters, I feel almost like I’m Rachel and I’m right there with Mycroft as he says these things that alternately break your heart, piss you off, and make you swoon.

Marney does an incredible job of making you feel like you’re part of the story - you can see everything unfold with perfect clarity. Having just been to London for the first time in June, it was thrilling to recognize places mentioned in the book (especially 221B Baker Street, which I recognized the moment they emerged from the tube station and mentioned the Pizza Express across the street!), and it was one of many, many elements that made me feel connected to the story. I’d be reading and when I had to go back to real life, it was almost jarring because I was so sucked into the story. These books would make a terrific TV show or movie.

I can’t recommend Every Breath and Every Word highly enough. I’ve read a lot of Sherlock-esque books, and I think these books - Every Word in particular - are my new favourites. With tons of action, a romance that will leave you breathless, and a mystery that keeps you guessing (and raises even more questions by the end), Every Word is a must read.

“This boy who makes my heart lose rhythm, whose hands have touched my skin, whose mind is bright as diamond. This boy who cannot let go, whose past is buried in the ground, in another country...” ~ 10%

“I have seen the aftermath of death, the incredible mechanism of the body laid bare, and I know now that each person is a kind of miracle. A spark nestles like a bird inside our chests, so deep that we can’t find where it lives, but it is everything. It’s what makes us dream and think and feel and laugh and sing. And it is a mystery, and it is mundane, and, above all, it is fragile. Any moment could be our last.” ~ 41%

“Nothing on earth could’ve kept me away.” ~ 66%

*All quotes taken from the ARC version of Every Word by Ellie Marney

Have you read Every Word? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Do you like books about Sherlockian characters? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

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Review: Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Series: Every #1

Published: October 14th, 2014

Publisher: Tundra Books

350 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Young Adult Crime Thriller/Romance

Acquired this book: From the library

Warning: May contain spoilers

{GoodReads || Buy this book: Amazon || Chapters/Indigo}

When James Mycroft drags Rachel Watts off on a night mission to the Melbourne Zoo, the last thing she expects to find is the mutilated body of Homeless Dave, one of Mycroft's numerous eccentric friends. But Mycroft's passion for forensics leads him to realize that something about the scene isn't right--and he wants Watts to help him investigate the murder.

While Watts battles her attraction to bad-boy Mycroft, he's busy getting himself expelled and clashing with the police, becoming murder suspect number one. When Watts and Mycroft unknowingly reveal too much to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den--literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning to Rachel Watts again...

I wanted to read Every Breath from the moment I heard about it, especially after I saw the tagline: “What if Sherlock Holmes was the boy next door?” I will read or watch anything even remotely Sherlockian, so I knew this was a book I needed to read.

Rachel Watts is miserable living in Melbourne. She’s a country girl, and she didn’t want to leave the only home she’d ever known to move to the city, but her family didn’t have much of a choice. She’s made the best of it for the most part, but she’s becoming more resentful and bitter by the day, and the only thing keeping her relatively grounded is Mycroft. Eccentric, brilliant Mycroft, who lives two doors down and needs reminders to eat, and someone to take care of him and keep him from getting into too much trouble…or since that’s a fairly tall order, at least help him in the aftermath of the trouble he gets himself into.

Rachel had a great voice - snarky and sarcastic and smart. I loved her strength, but also her vulnerability. She had to grow up quickly and was thrust into the role of caregiver while her parents and older brother worked long hours to keep the family going. It seemed natural for her to take care of Mycroft. Oh Mycroft. *sigh* I loved him so much. It was easy to see him as a young Sherlock - intense, brilliant, socially awkward, easily consumed by things - but he was different, too. He didn’t have that cold distance that Sherlock sometimes exhibits, and while he was socially awkward, he wasn’t as anti-social as Sherlock. He spent a lot of time by himself and lived in his own little world, but he was also genuinely kind to people and made connections with people.

Together, these two were magic. Their interactions were my favourite parts of the book, whether they were being silly or serious or SWOONY oh my god so swoony. I was hoping there would be a romance, but with the Sherlock spin to the book, I worried it would be Rachel secretly longing for Mycroft while he was completely oblivious. Not so - thank god! The chemistry between them was electric, and I felt it from the very first chapter. There were a few scenes that were so ridiculously sexy while actually being quite innocent, and I loved them. LOVED THEM. I wished there were more, but I get that they wouldn’t really have fit in the story, so I’ll just have to imagine it myself…I mean, hope there’s more sexy-swooniness in the next book.

Rachel and Mycroft weren’t the only great characters. The side characters were equally well fleshed out, especially Rachel’s brother Mike, who reminded me of my own big brother - very protective and would do anything for the people he loves. Mai and Gus (Rachel and Mycroft’s school friends) were nice additions, and there were a few other characters that really stood out. All of the characters, whether they made a brief appearance or several appearances, were vivid and had a purpose, which I appreciated.

I suppose I should mention the mystery and not just gush and fangirl over Mycroft and Rachel, right? ;-) The whole thing was really well done - gruesome, exciting, chilling. There were parts that had me on the edge of my seat, wondering how things could possible turn out okay. Lots of twists and turns and surprises, and I loved how the mystery, while being a big part of the book, was seamlessly woven through the contemporary aspects like the romance and real life family/friend/school issues. 

Every Breath is simply fantastic. It gave me the giggles, made my heart alternately ache and race, and it also made my stomach turn a time or two. Rachel and Mycroft practically leapt off the pages, and were wonderful separately and together. I loved their friendship, and I loved it even more when their relationship started to evolve. If you enjoy books with mystery, swoony romance, great friendships, strong characters, tons of chemistry, and lots of action, I highly recommend Every Breath. 

    

Have you read Every Breath? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Do you like books that have a Sherlock-type character? Or the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

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