TRAVEL THURSDAY: The Great Reef of Australia

It's time for AJ to tell you about another one of his wonderful adventures. After visiting the stinky heights of Rotorua last week, this week he's sailing across the deep blue sea...

Rotorua wasn't the first tourist venue I visited. Late last year I enjoyed a trip across the Tasman Sea to Cairns, a Queenstown city closer to the Solomon Islands than to the state capital, Brisbane. Surrounded by jungle views and beautiful shimmering water, Cairns is the only place in the world where two UNESCO World Heritage sites are found side by side and - while I sadly missed out on a chance to stand between Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef - I did get to visit the latter. 

I woke early in the morning and waited for a lift from my hostel, which would take me to the docks at Cairns. There, me and sixty other people boarded a Tusa Diving boat.

Some of me fellow passengers, taken on the brand new GoPro I purchased exclusively for this trip

As I was travelling alone I felt inclined to mingle as we headed to the reef; make friends with strangers and get to learn the stories of others. There was an old Californian couple who had recently retired and wanted to get away from the States for a bit (at least until the whole "Donald Trump" thing subsided), a stocky German lad named Paul, an English couple who were more than happy to discuss football, and two gorgeous Canadian girls - Emily and Lanette - who were in Australia for a work holiday. My experience with Cairns, having lived near there previously, is that the locals rarely visit the reef unless it's literally their job, and this seemed to be backed up with not a single Australian on-board. 

As we were approaching Hastings Reef, our dive spot of the day, I was pulled aside with Paul and another man, and we were given a crash course on diving. I had never done it before, and I figured I might as well lose my virginity at the world's most famous reef, right? 

The view as we approached Hastings Reef

However, I am a naturally anxious person, so in hindsight diving was probably not a good investment. The instructor took us down 20 meters below water, and already I was starting to feel incredibly claustrophobic and trapped. All my instincts were telling me to float to the top, but with the extra weights they'd put on me I couldn't. I started freaking out. Anxiety attacks are bad enough when they happen above water: that far underwater they are potentially lethal. Desperately I pointed up and my instructor inflated the emergency floater bags on my diving suit, and in no time at all I was back in the open. I gasped for air and got out of the water, shaking and breathing jagged. Diving was no longer as exciting as I thought it would be. 

Sadly this is a fact with anxiety. Sometimes it tampers with beautiful experiences. I wasn't going to let it suck my fun away, though. I grabbed a snorkel and joined the members of my travel team who had decided not to dive, and I just swam. I'd never been snorkeling before either, and it took awhile for me to get past my natural instinct of bobbing my head out of the water every second stroke. Once I conquered that, it was absolutely beautiful. 

Hastings Reef is one of the most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef system, and it shows. My eyes were treated to a beautiful array of colours in the coral, with schools of clown fish bobbing up every so often. Not only did I find Nemo, I also found sea turtles, parrot fish and a gorgeously yellow butterfly fish. I even got up close to a shark (albeit a harmless reef shark!). I got lost in this new world I was discovering, and just as I was getting into it we had to leave. 

The way home was the most fun I've ever had on a boat. I sat at the front of the boat, outside, with the English couple and the Canadians, and the conversations we were having about the reef, what we saw and how we need to help save it were compelling. While we were snorkeling the wind had picked up significantly, meaning that the waves were way choppier than they were coming in. After twenty minutes, once we hit speed, we started to feel the effects of that. The boat was getting some good air every 20 seconds, like being on your own rollercoaster. Our conversation stopped and we focused on the upcoming waves as we got good air between our buttocks and the seats every time we hit a massive one. The g-force and general excitement of what was happening was incredibly fun and exhilarating - not least because Emily decided to cling to me, as I was the closest thing to grab on to! After some time it became too dangerous to stay outside and the weather started to look upsetting, so we adjourned back inside and played a round of cards while we waited to arrive in Cairns. 

All credit to Tusa Dives, they were more than happy to refund me for not doing a dive and they were fantastic assistance through my anxiety attack. My decision not to go head with the dive is not one I regret. I still got to see a beautiful wonder of the world without spending an insubordinate amount of funds, and I've got stories to tell. As we arrived in Cairns we heard the news of two people suffering heart attacks while diving at another reef just moments before, so perhaps I felt a little less guilty about pulling out at that point. While I do hold some regret for not getting past my fears on that day, I am incredibly pleased with what I did do. Perhaps one day in the future, now that I know what to expect, I will return to the reef and dive properly. I just hope the conservation efforts work, and this beautiful world can survive. 

Donate here to help save the Great Barrier Reef. 

This is the best picture you get of the reef: the GoPro died before I went in the water! 

A big thank you to AJ, for sharing another of his travel stories with us. I've always wanted to visit the Great Barrier Reef, so I'm definitely going to donate to the conservation efforts.

GUEST POST: Kelley York and Rowan Altwood (+ review of 'Other Breakable Things')

Welcome to my post on the 'Other Breakable Things' blog tour! I'm stoked to welcome Kelley and Rowan to the blog today, and need to say a huge thank you to both Entangled Teen and Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours for allowing me to be involved.
Before you hear from the writing duo, I've written my review to get you even more excited to read this novel...

According to Japanese legend, folding a thousand paper cranes will grant you healing.

Evelyn Abel will fold two thousand if it will bring Luc back to her. 

Luc Argent has always been intimately acquainted with death. After a car crash got him a second chance at life - via someone else's transplanted heart - he tried to embrace it. He truly did. But he always knew death could be right around the corner again. 

And now it is. 

Sick of hospitals and tired of transplants, Luc is ready to let his failing heart give out, ready to give up. A road trip to Oregon - where death with dignity is legal - is his answer. But along for the ride is his best friend, Evelyn. 

And she's not giving up so easily. 

A thousand miles, a handful of roadside attractions, and one life-altering kiss later, Evelyn's fallen, and Luc's heart is full. But is it enough to save him? Evelyn's betting her heart, her life, that it can be.

Right down to the thousandth paper crane. 

'The rain is coming down in sheets. It has reduced visibility by 50 percent, but damn if it doesn't make for great mood lighting for two people driving down the freeway near midnight with only the glow of the dashboard for company.' 

An appropriately romantic opener, the prologue jumps us to the end of Luc and Evelyn's road trip. Things don't stay this rosy for long, putting you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire novel as you wait to reach this point.

Three years ago, Evelyn Abel had to move to Arizona with her mom and her new boyfriend, Robert. Her mom's relationships normally lasted a couple of months, so three years was a personal best for her, but now they've split up and they're moving back in with Evelyn's grandmother.
Evelyn is nervous to be back. The first thing she does is drive to the home of her childhood best friend - and almost sweetheart - Luc Argent, leaving an origami paper crane on his doorstep. Luc's been unresponsive to her emails, so she's putting the ball in his court: if he wants to see her, he knows where she is.
Luc sees the crane, and can't stop himself for rushing straight to Evelyn's grandmother's house. He's been trying to keep her at arm's length because the week after she left town he had a heart transplant, and the replacement is beginning to fail him. He doesn't want to go through another transplant so he knows he's going to die, and he didn't want to hurt Evelyn by getting close to her but he can't resist the chance to reconnect.
Tensions are high between the pair, because they're both keeping secrets. Evelyn knows Luc's hiding something, and he's not willing to confide in her because he doesn't want to see the pity in her eyes. Evelyn is the only person who treats him like he's not fragile, and it's one of the many things he loves about her.
But when Evelyn's mom and Robert reconcile, Evelyn shares her pain with Luc: Robert was acting inappropriately towards her, and while he didn't physically touch her she's never going to feel comfortable living with him again. She can't tell her mom

"She doesn't need me to be happy. She needs a relationship. When she isn't in love, she's miserable all the time. That's how it's always been. And that's okay, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm second place in her life, but I guess I couldn't stand the possibility of hearing her say that she didn't believe me because Robert was more important to her." 

but she can't go back to Arizona, and she can't think of a way to get out of it.
Luc can. He's been researching the Death With Dignity act, which is legal in Oregon. He'd been planning to travel up there and not return, and while taking Evelyn with him fills him with guilt he has to protect her, and it's the only way he knows how.
Luc's in no rush to meet the end of his life, so he's picked a bunch of tourist locations on the way for them to explore. But as the two of them get closer and the miles stretch behind them, Evelyn uncovers the truth: about Luc's original operation, the rejection, and his interest in euthanasia. Will she support him, or will Evelyn be unable to let the love of her life go?

Luc and Evelyn put the slow in slow burn romance. I'm not a fan of relationships in novels that move this slowly, but I know that aspect will appeal to a lot of people! The 'life-altering kiss' doesn't happen until halfway through the book, and I could feel myself getting bored: there's no point in having a will they won't they relationship if the outcome blatantly spoilered in the synopsis.
As soon as their relationship starts, it gets serious very quickly. Luc proposes to Evelyn and they get married, giving him the peace of mind that she'll be cared for after he dies because she'll get his insurance money.
Evelyn can't bring herself to do anything sexual because it makes her think of Robert, but the second they're married all of her misgivings go out the door. Just because you're married, it doesn't mean you have to have sex. Yes, the tradition calls for you to lose your virginity on your wedding night, but it's not a rule that's set in stone! It would have been better if they'd had a conversation before Luc suggested showering together - just because he assumed it was going to happen, doesn't mean it actually had to!
While I didn't adore the relationship, I really enjoyed the rest of 'Other Breakable Things' (even though it tore my heart out at times). The tourist attractions were brought to life and made me feel as though I'd experienced them myself - particularly the Winchester Mystery House, a place I've always wanted to visit! All of the stops on the trip filled me with an uncontrollable sense of wanderlust, and I don't think it's going to go away any time soon.
The family relationships were also brilliantly explored. The contrast between Luc's smothering parents and Evelyn's self-absorbed mother, the way that their actions caused their children to behave... It's been a long time since I've seen intricate family situations handled delicately and honestly, I just wish we'd been able to see more of the parents before they embarked on their road trip!
The best thing about 'Other Breakable Things' was the way Kelley and Rowan handled illness, which is painfully realistic. They definitely don't make it romantic, showing the harrowing effects that imminent death has on your body. They also show the stress and strain that the relationship experiences without making it over-dramatic. There's no blaming each other or lashing out without reason; all of their arguments and disagreements are because they want the best for each other but they just don't know how to go about it.
You'll have to read for yourself to discover whether Luc decides to go through with his decision to die with dignity, but reading this will make you appreciate your life and your health much more than you already do. I want to make the most of the time I have. I want to see the world and do crazy things (but maybe not as crazy as sleeping in an abandoned army barracks!).

I didn't love the love, but this book has given me a newfound appreciation for life. Make sure you keep the tissues close at hand, because it is a tear-jerker; even the happy bits had me bawling my eyes out!

Because the road trip that Grace and Gabe take is such an integral part of the book, I asked Kelley and Rowan if they could tell me what their ideal road trip would look like: where they'd want to go, and what music they'd want to listen to on the way...

Kelley: I've never gotten to travel much, unfortunately, so there are thousands of places I want to visit. Among my top three, however, are Japan (especially during the winter! The snow there looks so beautiful), Ireland, and the Pacific coast. For someone who grew up in California, there's so much of it I haven't seen. I'm hoping within the next few years, Rowan and I can take a nice, long road trip and hit up places like Disneyland, Monterey, San Jose (Winchester Mystery House, like in the book!), Mare Island, Point Reyes National Seashore (one of our favorite places), Muir Woods, all the way up into Oregon and Washington.

Anytime Rowan and I go on a trip, we have to compromise on music, usually trading off. I prefer a lot of instrumental stuff, like Thomas Bergersun and E.S. Posthumus. Though during our anniversary trip to Point Reyes back in November, I think we listened to a lot of Coldplay and that made me happy. 

Rowan: Haunted road trip! I love abandoned places especially if they're said to be haunted. If I could do a cross-country vacation where we visited places like Waverly Hills and other hospitals, graveyards, and asylums, I'd be happy. For music, I'd load up my iPod with dramatic 70's rock.

Author info:

Kelley York and Rowan Altwood are a wife and wife writing team living in central California with their daughter and way too many cats. Kelley is the author of 'Hushed', 'Made of Stars' and 'Modern Monsters', and 'Other Breakable Things' is Rowan's debut. 

Once again, I'd like to thank Kelley and Rowan for visiting my blog. It's been a pleasure to have them, and I really enjoyed 'Other Breakable Things' (even though it did bring a tear to my eye!).

If you're interested in reading some of the other posts from this blog tour, view the full schedule and visit some of the other hosts. If you'd like to read 'Other Breakable Things', you can purchase a copy here.

TRAVEL THURSDAY: How to Hit the Road

Last week, my friend AJ wrote a one-off guest post about why he loves to travel. That post went down so well that I decided to hand the reins of the blog over to him every Thursday, and now he has his own weekly feature.
If you're the kind of person that read 'Paper Towns' and wanted to hit the road straight away, AJ has advice on what you must do before you get in your car and drive:

Imagine a scenario in which you and three of your closest chums are packed into a tight space for hours at a time, spreading banter and jokes and seeing the world. The good old-fashioned road trip is almost a right-of-passage for some people, and is has given me some of my best memories. 

Before you get in your car and sod off to Middle Earth, there's quite a few things you need to sort out (unless you want to end up like those poor bastards in that Wolf Creek film...)

1. Companions 

You don't want to travel with the wrong people. This is true not just for road trips, but in general. I spent a lot of time travelling to Auckland with a fellow so self-absorbed and entitled he took out his phone to record himself complaining that the tigers were in the vets and the otters were knackered at Auckland Zoo. It ruined the experience for me a little. 

Get together some like-minded people whose company you enjoy, whose banter you can handle, and whose experiences you'd like to share.

2. Music

Now you need a rocking playlist, as there is going to be a lot of downtime between conversations. The best road trip playlists have a plethora of songs that almost everyone knows the words to. If your car isn't blasting some old-school Busted tune? You're doing it wrong.

In addition, you're going to be seeing some beauty and wonders on your trip. Add Ed Sheeran. Makes it 100% more gorgeous. 

3. Portable Chargers

You will need them. You're somewhere new and you want to be the very best that no one ever was, and you can't be a Pokemon Master without at least three pocket chargers.

More importantly, though, you need maps. Your phone's GPS doesn't work when you battery is more dead than Lil' Bow Wow's career. 

4. Plan Ahead

If you want to do small things in a town, like go on a brewery tour or visit a bar made out of pure ice, you should book in advance. Figure out what you want to do, but leave enough space to be spontaneous if you need to be. Find out if you can freedom camp or not where you're going, or if you need to get a hostel. Get a ballpark figure on how much gas money you need.

5. Have Fun

Don't be fucking shy, start whatever random conversation you can think of. On my road trips in the past we have discussed magnets, kangaroo testicles and threesome mechanics. Anything is free game. 

Chat, sing, enjoy yourself. Pick up a hitchhiker if you like! They're always a great addition to any road trip, and they probably won't murder you. 

Probably.

 If I had my own car (or could drive...) I'd be hitting the road right now. Anyone want to come pick me up? Anyone?!

GUEST POST: 'Why I Love Travel' by Anthony Wright

I've always been amazed by people who travel, because I feel as though I don't have the money, time or organisation skills required to do it. My passport has been expired for three years, and I've been meaning to get it updated for almost two!

AJ, my very close friend from New Zealand, constantly travels back and forth to Australia. He always tells me the best stories about the places he's been, the things he's discovered and the friends that he's made along the way.

I'll pass you over to AJ. He's going to tell us the reasons he loves to travel: hopefully he'll inspire some of us to see more of the world!

When I was a young boy, my mother took me into the city to see a marching band. The city being Preston, in England, about 18,619km away from the wine-obsessed town I call home. I was about 5, this was the first time in my life I had left New Zealand, and evidently I didn't get my shots, as I've since become infected with a travel bug that hasn't gone away in nearly two decades.

 

I've spent a large portion of my life putting travelling at the forefront of everything I do. Every holiday is planned out meticulously, every activity is researched and paid for with each week's paycheck, I live off of a university diet just to afford to spend more time on the road, and in my downtime I watch travel documentaries more often than an excitable cat would run up and down the hallway at 4am in the morning. 

However, when I speak to others about this passion of mine, they often ask "Why though? You have more money than sense, why don't you start saving for a house, a car, a degree?" So here's a quick list on why I travel, and why you should too. 

1. New Experiences

Perhaps the biggest reason I travel is so I can come home and tell some semi-interesting stories. Imagine going up to a long-time friend and saying "So we went to this street market and my mate decides we should buy the weirdest thing on the menu. Next thing you know we're eating roasted scorpion off a kebab stick!". Step into the unknown, get out of your comfort zone, and be open to new experiences as they will happen a lot while you're out and about. If you've never gone diving, skiing or spelunking, do it now. The experiences will last forever, and the memories will continue to taste as good as that emu jerky. 

2. Different Days

I absolutely loathe walking the same street to the same work and doing the same tasks day in day out. While I'm travelling this isn't an issue as everything is all brand new. Sometimes curiosity will get the better of you, and you'll walk a direction you've never been before just because "That looks different, what's over there?". Sometimes these decisions are where the best memories come from as well, as they often contain hidden gems. 

 

3. Mental Health Remedy

I'm less depressed when I'm away from home, and less anxious too. I'm taking in the sights, the sounds, the smells, and thinking to myself how great it is to be able to experience all of this. I love the euphoria and excitement, and when I'm back home I long to be gone again. Ever since I started travelling my anxiety and depression have been significantly easier to contain and I hope the trend continues. 

4. Other People's Stories

Everyone has one to tell; why they're travelling, what brought them to this country, what they do back home. While you're travelling you will meet with lots of people from all walks of life and their stories will greatly impact you. Talk to that person next to you on the plane, stay at hostels, whenever there's a tour group just sit and talk and listen. Their knowledge is incredibly enriching and a good way to have somewhere to stay all over the world if you play your cards right.

5. Life's Too Short

I don't understand why people fall into the same routine. Get up, go to work, come home, repeat until marriage, get a house, get kids, work every hour to pay for said child. Too many people I know live their lives to work, and work their lives to live like everyone else. I don't want to be everyone else. I have no need for a house yet. I don't want to fit with the rest of society in this mundane existence where small talk is the only talk you'll ever get. The world is vast, and beautiful, and I've got 40 years left to see it all. I want to make the most of it, I want to see it all. I want to haggle in a Moroccan market, climb the steps at Machu Picchu, find out whatever the hell is in Burundi. I don't want to settle down, not while I'm still young, healthy and fit. I won't settle down.

Anthony is a 23-year-old bartender whose home is where his feet are. Although knowledgeable on all things music, football and alcohol, his passion for travel is second to none.

A huge thank you to AJ for this guest post (and for triggering my uncontrollable wanderlust...). 
Now, lovely readers: which place would you like to visit more than any other in the world?

GUEST POST: Sarah Mussi

Hello, and welcome to my stop on the 'Here Be Witches' blog tour! 

'Here Be Witches' is the second novel in Sarah's Snowdonia Chronicles - a young adult fantasy series retelling old myths and legends of Wales - continuing the story of Ellie Morgan, the protagonist we were introduced to way back in book one. 

For the post today, I'm going to pass you over to Sarah, who's going to tell you all about how important setting is to a story...

I'm totally thrilled to be with Everything Alyce for my blog tour for book two in The Snowdonia Chronicles: Here be Witches. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME EVERYTHING ALYCE!!!!!

During my blog tour I have been interviewing myself on HOW TO WRITE A SEQUEL!

And today...

Sarah continues her interview of Sarah on how to write a sequel in a thrilling and compelling romantic fantasy.

Sarah: Welcome to the world of WRITING A SEQUEL. I am going to use Here be Witches to explain my thinking on how to give it a go.

Sarah: Okay. I'm going to continue to ask Sarah lots of questions to find out all her writing secrets! 

Q. Can you recap on Here be Witches again?

A. Right, Here be Witches is the second story in the series The Snowdonia Chronicles.

Here be Witches

THE SEQUEL TO HERE BE DRAGONS - A PERILOUS ADVENTURE INTO THE MAGICAL AND MURDEROUS REALM OF MYTHICAL SNOWDONIA 

Q. Ummm, mythical Snowdonia eh? So why did you choose Snowdonia as a setting and how did you make it fresh in book two?

A. Choosing a setting is so important, but to tell you the truth, I've always loved the mountains of North Wales ever since I went on family holidays there as a child. So on this occasion I was choosing what I knew and loved. However Snowdonia also has all the right ingredients to make a very special setting for a fantasy YA novel.

Q. Perhaps you can tell us what you think is important to go into a setting?

A. okay, well first let's recap exactly what a setting is and then I can say what I think it does for a story. So a setting sets up the:

• Where
• When
• Genre
• Time (in history) 
• Space (in the universe)
• Atmosphere
• Other people (family/community)
• Sensory details
• Weather
• Context

Well, those are the major things, but it can do more than that. I chose the setting of Snowdonia because I wanted it to do a lot of things, some of which includes using the:

Setting as character:

The setting functions here as a prod to get the hero going. The setting is somehow part of the main character, for instance, Frodo in Lord of the Rings, is very much an extension of his beloved Shire. Or Ratty in Wind in the Willows is very much a part of the riverbank.

In the Snowdonia Chronicles the backdrop of the misty mountains and dangerous chasms and cliffs not only act as a challenge to Ellie, but are also part of her character. She is first and foremost an outdoorsy mountain girl. She prides herself on knowing the mountain. However much she claims to wish to live in an inner-city flat, we know better. We know that she belongs to Snowdonia just as Snowdonia belongs to her. This means she has a lot of attibutes of mountains. Mountains are exciting, mountains can be dangerous, mountains need to be explored, mountains can offer us a view when we get to the top - so all of these characteristics can be found in Ellie.

Q. That's very interesting...

A. There is more...

Setting can act as a metaphor:

When you choose your setting, it can say more about your story on a sub-textual level. For example:

Sunny places are usually happy

Cold places are usually scary

Dark places might be evil etc.

In Here be Witches, the extraordinary beauty and relative inaccessibility of the Welsh mountains acts as a metaphor for all that is magical and unobtainable - like Henry is for Ellie. The deep feeling of awe and beauty inspired by Snowdonia has fostered many myths and a real belief in magic. I was able to harness all of this in Here be Witches.

Setting can as as weather too and weather conveys the mood of both story and character.

Weather is not just part of the scenery. It can be used in the plot. A good example of this is in Narnia where it is always snowy. 

In Here be Witches it is always snowy too and if anyone has ever been to North Wales they know this to be true in reality, after all the mountain range is called Snowdonia.

Setting can be an emotion:

The setting may show a character's emotions. When the character issad it may rain. When the character is angry a storm may brew up. In Here be Witches everywhere is cold and this is how Ellie is feeling without Hentry's presence and the hope of seeing him again. 

Q. I can see why you wanted to write The Snowdonia Chronicles! Can you give us a teeny weeny excerpt to capture the setting - until our next blog post?

A. Sure... It's from the middle second of the story... 

The ponies struggle on. The temperature drops. An Arctic wind springs up and rushes down the slopes of the mountains straight at us. The afternoon sun shines high above. The snowfields glint bright. I pull up my hood, and button my coat tight against my chin. The ponies stick to a trail that I can hardly make out. Their hooves crunch softly into drifted banks of white. In our wake, the punch holes quickly fill again with fresh snowfall. 

Beside sedge and stonewall, lake and hill, we plod on.

But no sooner are we in sight of Cadair, than the breath of the great kind descends. The Brenin Lywdd is on us like a fist. Cold mist smacks out all vision, stinging bare skin, bruising our chests as we struggle to breathe in frozen air.

A spectral breath and a grey mist descend around us. Strands of icy air slice into eyes and assault nostrils; snowflakes whirl.

Instantly we are isolated. Total whiteout. I can't see further than one metre ahead. There just isn't a path. When I do catch a glimpse of it, there's a sheer drop: first on the left, then on the right.

I'm not joking.

One metre from the trail.

Sheer drops.

I actually close my eyes, squeeze them shut. My heart thuds. I feel dizzy. I hang on to Keincaled's mane, grip it, icicles and all and whisper:

Oh my God.

Wow, I have goosebumps right now. That excerpt is so menacing, it sent chills straight down my spine! I'm going to be reading and reviewing 'Here be Dragons' and 'Here be Witches' in March, so keep a eye out for those posts going up soon.

I hope you enjoyed my stop on the 'Here be Witches' blog tour.
Check out Sarah's final post with Maia and a Little More where she'll be interviewing herself about how to deliver a satisfying stand-alone ending without a cliff-hanger as such - inside an on-going series. Not as easy as it looks!

GUEST POST: 5 Books To Read Before They Hit The Big Screen

Recently I was contacted by Caroline from Culture Coverage, who offered to write a guest post for you guys. She had some really awesome ideas, so of course I agreed - especially when she suggested writing a post about the amazing book to movie adaptations you need to check out this year.
I'll pass you over to Caroline...

Movies have long been getting their plot inspiration from books, and blockbusters like “Lord of the Rings,” Harry Potter, and even “Twilight” have proven this practice to be incredibly popular and lucrative. 

So for the next round of books that are getting their own movies, check out the titles that deserve to be read before they’re viewed—my bet is you’ll love the text as much (if not more) than the film. 

1. “Doctor Strange” 

While some may not consider comic books to be actual books, I’m not in that category and can’t wait for Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as Dr. Stephen Strange. Also starring Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong and Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One,“Doctor Strange” dives into the world of make-believe and fantastical magic right off the tails of Marvel’s other comic book blockbusters “Thor” and “The Avengers.” With the grounding reality we’ve come to expect from our superheroes since Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, “Doctor Strange” follows an egotistical neurosurgeon who loses the ability to perform medical miracles and heads out into the world looking for answers and discovers so much more. For lovers of Cumberbatch’s turn as Sherlock, this new tale—out November 4—provides the kind of killer plot adventure that’s just what the doctor ordered. 

2. “A Monster Calls” 

Patrick Ness’s best-selling novel about a boy grappling with his mother’s cancer diagnosis isn’t one for the faint of heart but certainly is for the reader with an active imagination and a penchant for the unreal. When Conor O’Malley continues to have the same nightmare over and over again where a monster visits him after midnight every night to tell him stories, he is bewildered, and it has a profound effect on his life. Siobhan Dowd originally conceived the story while grappling with her own terminal illness but died before completion; Ness was hired to bring the story to fruition. Starring Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver, and Toby Kebbell, the movie is out on October 14, giving fans of plenty of time to get to reading the original text first. 

3. “The Girl on the Train” 

This thriller starring Emily Blunt is getting a New York makeover from its original London-based plot, but word has it that everything else about commuter Rachel Watson and her daily train rides will remain the same. On her everyday journey, Rachel casually observes a couple through a train window, but she is suddenly entangled in their relationship when the wife goes missing. With a release date of October 7, there’s plenty of time to zip through the page-turning action of this novel by Paula Hawkins. 

4. “Inferno” 

America’s favorite professor is back at it again in the fourth installment of Dan Brown’s whirlwind series starring Robert Langdon, and this time it’s not about saving an institution or traditional train of thought but the existence of the entire world. When Robert wakes up in the hospital with a case of amnesia after an assassination attempt, he discovers that it’s up to him and Dr. Sienna Brooks to uncover Langdon’s missing memories and save the world from an evil extinction plot. Following up after “Angels & Demons,” “The Da Vinci Code,” and “The Lost Symbol,” “Inferno” debuted as the number-one-selling book in the U.S. after its release for its jam-packed scavenger hunt tricks that adults who love Indiana Jones or “National Treasure” can really appreciate.Want to get caught up with the original Brown screen adaptation before it hits theaters on October 28? “The Da Vinci Code” is currently streaming on American Netflix for viewers to uncover the mystery of the Holy Grail. Looking to view from overseas? Check out how to unblock Netflix to enjoy the same great titles. 

5. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” by J.K. Rowling 

Perhaps the most anticipated movie since “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” was released into theaters, J.K. Rowling’s latest chance at the big screen comes from one of her texts in the Harry Potter universe: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Created as a reading supplement to the Harry Potter series in its original form, “Fantastic Beasts” is based on Harry Potter’s textbook required for his schooling at Hogwarts and includes detailed information about magical creatures from the universe. Inspiring a screenplay and a new trilogy starring Eddie Redmayne as Newt, the movie may take many liberties from the original text, but as it’s the brainchild of reader favorite J.K. Rowling, both book and movie are bound to be safe and imaginative in her capable hands. Watch the trailer for the upcoming film here, then rush off to get your copy of the original book from Barnes & Noble before November 18! 

From childhood favorites to thrillers, this year’s crop of book-to-movie transitions is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat—and, beforehand, completely unable to put down the text without reading one more page. 

About Me: Caroline is an avid book and movie lover, always asking whether the book or the movie is better. Excited about seeing these latest novels hit the big screen, she’s ready with popcorn and her trusted Snuggie to enjoy from home. For suggestions on great reads or great movies she should check out next, leave a comment below!

Thank you Caroline! I'm definitely planning on reading 'A Monster Calls' before the film releases later in the year, and I still need to pick up 'The Girl on the Train'...
Are there any popular book to movie adaptations you're guilty of not reading yet?

GUEST POST: E. Latimer (+ review of 'Frost')

Hello everyone, and welcome to my stop on the 'Frost' blog tour. It's been over two months since I participated in the cover reveal for 'Frost' - oh how time flies! - so I'm more than excited to be hosting Erin Latimer (yep, that's what the 'E' stands for!) on my blog today. 

First things first, here's the synopsis of 'Frost', to jog your memories - then I'm going to write a little spoiler free review about it to tickle your taste buds...

Megan Walker's touch has turned to ice. She can't stop the frost, and the consequences of her first kiss are horrifying.

When her new powers attract attention, Megan finds herself caught up in an ancient war between Norse giants. One side fuelled by a mad queen's obsession and an ancient prophecy about Ragnarok, the other by an age-old grudge. Both sides believe Megan to be something she's not. Both sides will stop at nothing to have her. 

Fire or frost. It's an impossible decision, but she'll have to act soon, because the storm is coming. 

The beginning of 'Frost' was extremely gripping, because it all played out very quickly - we see Megan's first kiss in the first chapter, then next thing she's upped and moved to Canada to escape from her past. Once attending her new school, she meets a group of girls who are convinced they're related and that they're all part of some government conspiracy against them. Megan knows she's being followed, so is extremely on edge - this is made worse when two men kidnap her in the middle of the night, one of them being her new English teacher. However, an attractive looking man frees her and tells her to go on the run with him, leaving her family behind and living out of hotel rooms - of course, she doesn't bat an eyelid and thinks this sounds like a brilliant idea.
You're probably thinking "hm, that seems like a lot of spoilers, do I really need to read this book now?". Well, yes. Because all of that happens just in the first quarter of the novel. The real events start unwinding after all of this, when Megan realises that she needs to be more careful about who she trusts and strikes out on her own into a world of hostile, unknown forces.
As you've probably guessed by the synopsis, 'Frost' is based on Norse mythology - the battle between frost and fire giants, Ragnarok. So I've decided to not give any information away about how Megan discovers the truth behind the jotun, and where she ends up... But a heck of a lot goes on, and it will be much more effective for you to discover it first hand while reading it for yourself.
What I mean by this is: 'Frost' is extremely high octane. Like, non-stop. At least for the first half it is, and the last section is very fast-paced too... It's just the middle that lets it down.
And this is why I really don't think I should have liked 'Frost' as much as I did. The pacing seems to be all off - there's a lot going on at once, then nothing for what feels like hundreds of pages, then a lot will happen again, followed by another lull. It wouldn't have been so bad if I'd felt more interested in the general goings on of the characters, but I found it very hard to connect with any of them (apart from Megan, who I really appreciated - her attempts to stay true to herself and maintain her identity are very thought-provoking - and Loki, who wasn't in as much of the novel as I'd hoped) so it just plodded along. I'm not saying this in a terrible way - it's not like the book was 600 pages long! - it just meant that I did find my attention drifting multiple times during this story, so I didn't like it as much as I should have.
Really, I think 'Frost' has turned into a guilty pleasure for me. I was so hooked by the beginning that I could forgive the slow middle: I can't normally overlook things like that! And I think that's what's good about Erin's writing - it makes you want to find out what happens to the characters. There were multiple points in the plot where I couldn't see what was going to occur next, or how they could get out of the awful situations, yet Erin is brilliant at writing her character's out of tight places in a way that is realistic and believable.
The other thing that really made it a guilty pleasure was the amount of cliches it managed to pull off. We have the chosen one, that's obvious, but we also have the makings of a love triangle, the boy who you've only just met buying perfectly fitting clothes, the friend you've known less than a week leaving her life to help you, the sun shining in the window and glinting off of your perfect weapon, and - my personal favourite - visions coming to the protagonist in their dreams. All of the little cliches that happened made me groan, but because I was enjoying the story so much it didn't really annoy me - it just made it seem a little bit cheesy, and more like it was playing on the stereotypical YA themes. However, there's a lot in this book that is completely against normal happenings in YA, so I appreciated the contrast in these inclusions.
Of course, when I finished 'Frost' it left off at such a cliffhanger that I knew there was going to be a sequel, and it turns out that E. Latimer has been working on it on Wattpad! I'm going to have to check it out as soon as possible, because there's a huge cliffhanger in this book - it's made it impossible for me not to continue on with the story in the future.
If you start 'Frost' and aren't completely sure about it, persevere - the development of the characters means it just gets better and better throughout. To get hold of 'Frost', visit Amazon UK or Amazon US.

I know what you're really here for, so I'm going to pass you over to Erin now - she's going to share a day in her life!

8:00am: Ugh. Alarm is going off. Why did I think I was getting up at this ungodly hour? Something about being a productive member of society? Screw that. 

9:00am: Slightly less repulsive hour. Will lie in bed and think about getting up for a while. Maybe look at facebook. For just one minute. 

10:00am: Oh crap. Somehow found way onto youtube and time-sucking vortex of cat videos. Must force self out of bed and make smoothie. Yay, health food!

10:01am: Smoothie is gross. Throw out smoothie and heat up frozen waffles. 

10:30am: Think about cleaning the house or exercising. Do ten half-hearted jumping jacks and then watch Taylor Swift's new music video and get sucked into comments below. Never read Youtube comments!

11:00am: Decide that people suck and the world is a refuse-filled wasteland of human garbage. Retreat to writing cave. 

11:01am: Determined to throw off yoke of procrastination. Going to write ALL THE WORDS!

11:02am: That's a meme, isn't it? What meme is that?

12:00pm: Found meme. Have somehow progressed to Star Wars...and cats. And Star Wars cat memes. Have concluded that the internet is a never ending, vicious cycle of cats. 

12:30pm: Got one hundred words down. Success!

1:00pm: Fifty are terrible. Delete them all.

2:00pm: Snack time! Will eat healthy apple. Am so healthy!

2:01pm: Still hungry. Will add healthy cupcake. Chocolate is healthy, right?

2:15pm: On fifth cup of tea and out of milk! Unacceptable! Consider riding subway alone to go get milk. Have small panic attack at mere thought and return to writer cave. 

2:30pm: Oh, email! Got feedback from beta reader. Beta reader is so awesome! Will get started on feedback right away and make manuscript even better.

3:00pm: Am terrible writer. Should have got degree English degree and became teacher. Stare at computer and brood for half hour. 

3:01pm: Maybe beta reader is the terrible one? Can't trust internet strangers. Her bio does say "loves cats". She's the worst. Probably type of person who emails entire lists with "funny cat memes". Yuck.

3:30pm: Still brooding. Now listening to dramatic music to go with mood. Husband says I'm moping. Am not!

4:00pm: Patiently explain difference between brooding and moping to husband. Only true artists brood. Am true artist. 

4:30pm: I can do this! End up talking self out of funk and writing another five hundred words. Maybe I don't suck?

5:00pm: Totally in flow of things! Could write forever, or at least get another five hundred words down on the page!

5:01pm: But first, Buffy reruns on Netflix. 

I can certainly relate to Erin's morning - even while writing this blog post I've been hopping over to Youtube in the background, I just can't help myself! If this is the kind of day you get when you're a writer, though, I think it sounds like quite a good life - despite all of the brooding.

Erin Latimer is a young adult fantasy writer who was born and raised in Victoria, BC and recently moved to Vancouver. She writes books, makes silly vlogs about writing and reads excessively. 

Her book, 'Frost', was released by Patchwork Press on August 25th, 2015. 'Frost' is a YA fantasy based on Norse mythology, about a teen who accidentally freezes the first boy she kisses and discovers her family tree is weirder than she ever expected. 

For more E. Latimer, you can find her website here. You can also check her out on Twitter and Facebook!

I'd once again like to thank Erin for visiting my blog, and to congratulate her on writing an awesome novel. I'd also like to thank Patchwork Press for allowing me to get involved in this blog tour, and for inviting me to read 'Frost' through NetGalley. Awesome stuff! 

GUEST POST: Melanie Surani (+ review of 'The Silent Treatment')

I'm so excited to welcome Melanie Surani, author of 'The Silent Treatment', to my blog today. I've been extremely excited about this one since I participated in the cover reveal last month, so it only seemed right to combine my review with lovely lovely Melanie's guest post. So, without further ado: 

Twenty-eight year old Katrina Jaitley is rebuilding her life after escaping an abusive boyfriend. The last thing she needs is the mystery she stumbles on during a bout of retail therapy. But she can't ignore the coil of film -- a piece of movie history -- she finds hidden inside her purchase. Unfortunately, Peter, the handsome host of the estate sale, disappears before Kat has a chance to return it to him. 

Curious, Kat watches the strip and is shocked to witness the brutal murder of a famous 1920's silent film star by a fellow actor. When a news article cites Kat as the film's owner, her already complicated life goes from bad to worse. Someone is stalking her. Are they trying to silence her or what she has discovered?

I was definitely surprised by 'The Silent Treatment' - it's one of those books where the synopsis made me expect something hugely different to the finished product. Because it mentioned Kat being stalked and a brutal murder, I was expecting something a bit more adult in content, but it feels much more like a new adult story than a murder mystery novel.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though! As a new adult book 'The Silent Treatment' excels. Kat has just finished her relationship with her abusive ex, Jeremy, and has moved back home. This means that a lot of the novel is focused on her finding herself again and recreating an equilibrium with her family, as they had been extremely disappointed with her when she moved away in the first place. She's just found a new job - the graveyard shift at a call centre - and is hating how her life has turned out, feeling uncomfortable in her new apartment and jumping at every noise in the night in case Jeremy has come to find her. There are very psychological aspects to the novel and Melanie does a very good job of making it easy to empathise with Kat; she is a very lovable character and it's horrendous to see her so beaten down and broken because of the actions of a horrible person.
Similarly, I really cared for Peter's character as well. We meet Peter at the estate sale at his grandmother's house, as he's needed to move her into a care home for her own well-being. He struggles with this decision, and other decisions from his family's past, but it's obvious how much he cares for the people closest to him - and to what extremes he will go to for them. Peter has a very troubled past which is also well written; his father was abusive to him, so him and Kat bond over their shared experiences of domestic abuse, and it's inspirational to see two characters who have been through hell both recovering strongly.
However, other than the extremely strong characterisation, the novel was a little bit disappointing. I hate myself for saying that, but I have to be truthful. I'd been expecting an extremely exciting murder mystery novel: with an unknown murder victim or an unknown assailant, the hunt to discover the truth and the struggle to regain contact with the mysterious Peter following his disappearance. None of these things happened, so it did feel like the book fell flat compared to my expectations - I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I did have preconceptions and I hadn't read the blurb.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book! It's just that I didn't fall in love with it as I had been expecting to. As a realistic portrayal of human emotions, it's brilliant. As an ode to silent film, it definitely does its job - I've never been interested in the genre before, but now I have the overwhelming desire to research it further and watch some examples of the style. As an expose on the different types of conspiracy theories it's brilliant: the murder of one silent film star, on camera, by one of his colleagues is reminiscent of 'The Crow', and events like this in history always grab imaginations. But as a mystery novel, it doesn't do the job - there's no question of who the perpetrator is, there's no real cliffhangers or brain teasers, it just keeps a steady pace and unravels steadily, coming to a perfectly wrapped up conclusion.
There is a lot more I could say if I could go into details, but I'm trying to keep this spoiler free! Just know that this is a brilliantly crafted novel - I love Melanie's writing, and she gives her characters very strong and individual voices, so the personalities are gripping and involving. I think this is much more of a piece of literature compared to a plot-based novel, so if you're looking for a quick developing and hooking book this might not be the one for you - but if you are patient I think you'll really enjoy this one by the end.
If you're interested in getting 'The Silent Treatment', you can purchase it on Amazon UK and Amazon US now.

Now, I'd like to properly welcome Melanie to my blog, and pass it over to her to let her talk about her love of silent film and the inspiration behind her novel.

The image most of us think about when someone mentions silent movies has a lot to do with railroad tracks and mustache-twirling villains. That's exactly what I thought when my mom sat a groaning tween me in front of the TV, put in a cassette of Buster Keaton's "The Cameraman", and said, "Watch this. It's funny."

Initially, I was stunned at how much the characters looked like ordinary people (with a lot of makeup on). They weren't too fast or being tied with rope - I thought "Wow, that's what the twenties look like!" And then I got caught up in the absurd story. Yeah, it was funny, and it also opened a door for me.

Some twenty years later, I've taken the love for the genre and given it to one of my characters. In my book The Silent Treatment, Katrina Jaitley finds a reel of presumed-lost film at an estate sale. Upon watching said film, she discovers it had been hidden for nearly eighty years for a damn good reason. Spoiler alert: it's murder. The director himself set out to destroy the film himself immediately after filming and just before scrapping the movie altogether. But someone saved it. 

The idea of finding a lost film is nothing I made up. Unfortunately, because the technology to replay a film at home wasn't around in the first half of the century when silent movies were the norm, many early films were intentionally destroyed to make room for new ones, or improperly stored, which caused them to deteriorate beyond repair. 

Every now and then, one is found. Metropolis was one (existed for decades in truncated form - recently all the missing pieces were put together). The Cameraman, the first silent movie I ever saw, was another. And one of my very favourites: The Passion of Joan of Arc. 

Silent movies, like modern ones, came in all genres, from nearly every country. Watching a silent movie is almost like reading a book (maybe because there's reading involved) - you have to pay attention, and it gets to you. The stiff acting takes getting used to, but once you suspend your disbelief, they're a fantastic escape.

Before reading 'The Silent Treatment', I knew literally nothing about silent film, so I'd like to say a huge thank you to Melanie for educating me on such an under-appreciated art form. I'd never heard of 'The Cameraman' or 'Metropolis', but I'm going to look into more about them because the stories behind them intrigue me completely - the fact that they've been lost and found again is so lucky.
I'd also like to say a huge thank you to Booktrope, for inviting me to take part in this book tour! This was a very different read for me, but I had a lot of fun exploring an area I'd never experienced before. 

GUEST POST: Cait Reynolds (+ review of 'Downcast')

To celebrate the release of 'Downcast' by Cait Reynolds, I'm delighted to welcome her to my blog for a guest post! Once you've read Cait's post (on a topic I'm rather passionate about myself!) you should stick around, because I'll be giving a bit more information about 'Downcast', and writing a spoiler free review to hopefully help you make up your minds on whether it's a book for you!

I'll pass you over to Cait...

The Curse of Too Many Notebooks

I am a sucker for office supplies.

New pens, notebooks, sticky note packs, markers, journals…all of that stuff gives me a sense of empowerment and control over my destiny. It helps me feel like I’m actually in control of the chaos that surrounds me.

The only problem is…I tend to get carried away with notebooks and journals. I want to start a new notebook for every project, but then I start too many projects and have too many notebooks going at once. It makes it tricky to say, “Oh, I don’t want to lug my laptop with me. I’ll just take a notebook and work on X along the way.”

Yeah, that’s great if you have one notebook. Not so great if you have five.

But…I can’t resist. Limited edition art Moleskine? I’m a sucker. Unique vintage label notebook?  I roll over and play dead. Cute little notebook to fit in my purse? BUY THEM ALL! Smash Journals on clearance at Marshall’s? Yeah. Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

It’s awful. I try to limit myself. In January, I made a stern resolution not to buy any more journals until I’ve used up the ones I have. That’s like trying to tell a PMS’ing woman not to eat chocolate. It’s hard. So hard.

The thing is, though, the gratification I get from finishing a notebook and being able to go back through it and capture all the delicious little bits and ideas is such a rewarding experience. I can’t give it up.

So, what’s a girl to do? Well, I have whittled myself down to three notebooks and a planner for the moment. It’s kind of killing me, but I feel like a better, stronger person for it. I’ve even assigned them all different roles.

One notebook is for my Olympus Falling series. This is where I keep track of all my ideas. It’s a plain brown paper cover Moleskine that I’ve doodled “Downcast,” “Thunderstruck,” and “Sunkissed” all over.

One notebook is a Smash Journal that I use for my obsessive list making. My brain revs like a racecar all the time, and I need a place to write and rewrite lists so I feel like I’m in control and don’t have to worry about forgetting something. It’s a sickness, but I’ve learned to accept it. In some ways, seeing an unchecked-off checklist motivates me almost as much as new office supplies.

The third notebook is where I keep everything else that comes into my brain. This is where I write down character names that don’t have novels, and novel ideas that don’t have characters. I write down phrases that pop into my head. I keep notes on my freelance work. I really hope I can finish this notebook soon, though, because it’s spiral bound, and I’m just not loving the feeling of it. It reminds me too much of school.

For an actual planner, I use the Passion Planner. It’s by far the best planner I’ve found for someone who is a writer. It helps me keep track of what I need to do for my personal life and for my professional life at the same time. This is where I winnow down those giant lists from my Smash Journal and become realistic about what I can actually do in a day or a week.

Still…still, there is a shelf of empty notebooks, staring at me. Beckoning to me with their empty pages and endless potential. That shelf sits in my peripheral vision as I work. It’s torture. It’s like saying I will eat only one potato chip – which has never yet happened in the entire history of mankind.

Some of my friends wonder why I don’t keep things electronically, using Evernote or some other organizational program. The answer is simple: I believe that writing should involve some writing.

In one of my former lives, I worked at an architecture and design school. Even in this age of fancy computer design and graphics, there was an endless drumbeat of reminding the students to keep an actual sketch journal. Why? Because there is a hand-to-mind connection that cannot be denied and is actually a valuable part of the creative process.

Now, I’m not saying I’m about to run off and use parchment and quills to write my next book. But, when working out ideas, there is a lot to be said for the actual time it takes to handwrite something as opposed to typing it out.

For myself, it forces me to think through my idea before I go to the effort of writing it down. Or, while I’m writing, the idea has time to mature and change. Typing happens so fast that there often isn’t that chance for an idea to refine itself before being committed to a page.

Writing in a notebook is a frustrating, engrossing, fascinating experience for me, and I value it tremendously as a part of my overall writing process. Besides, someday, I’d like to look back at a shelf of full notebooks, seeing a physical, tangible record of all the things I’ve thought and written.

But with my luck, there will be a shelf of fresh, empty notebooks right next to it, just waiting for me to jump in and start writing again. 

I don't think I can agree more! When I started doing fiction writing at the start of the year, I decided to purchase five notebooks, but I know that I'll fill them all up someday... So why not buy some to keep in reserve, for when I need them? Or what about all those writing emergencies? I've been trying to control my notepad buying, and I think Cait's advice will definitely help me with my obsessive purchasing.

About the book: 

What would you do when faced with an impossible truth? Written with heart and passion, Downcast by Cait Reynolds is ripe with twists you never saw coming and love that defies the odds in this intense new Paranormal Romance retelling of one of mythology's greatest love stories.

It's the start of Stephanie Starr's senior year of high school, but sadly, this is no life of the prom queen. Stuck at the bottom of the high school social totem pole, Stephanie is forced by her domineering mother to wear lumpy linen dresses and eat organic tofu for lunch in a world of mini-skirts and pizza. 

What Stephanie doesn't anticipate is gorgeous and cocky Haley Smith, who breaks social convention and pursues her with a determination that is both terrifying and flattering. Afraid that Haley is simply trying to set her up for massive humiliation, Stephanie does her best to push him away. But the more attention he pays to her, the more she runs, and the more everyone else begins to notice.

Instead of a loving family to support her as the mean girls make their play, Stephanie's mother begins to unravel mentally, her possessiveness of Stephanie spiraling to new and frightening extremes. Stephanie is forced to grow up, find herself, and learn the truth about her past in order to save her mother, her friends, and her town. When the truth is revealed, nothing can prepare her for the outrageous reality of her existence... and nothing can save her from her fate.

Except Haley.

A big thank you to Booktrope, for accepting my request to read and review 'Downcast' on NetGalley, and to NetGalley for the service that they provide!

I really enjoyed 'Downcast' - much more than I was expecting to, in fact. I had an idea about which mythological love story was going to be retold, and I was completely right, so I was worried that it was all going to be a bit too predictable as it is a very well-known story. However, this book wasn't predictable at all.
There were lots of surprising elements thrown in throughout, meaning that for many long sections of the novel I was finding myself rather on edge, because literally anything could have happened. Stephanie's mother's psychological deterioration was a central element to this; Stephanie was so on edge, and that paranoia and anxiety was extremely well written, meaning that you couldn't help but feel the same emotions snaking through your body while you read.
The romance is a little bit too insta-love for my tastes, but I know that appeals to a lot of people so this will definitely be a favourite among members of the 'Twilight' fandom - the story and the writing style are extremely different, but the love aspect of the plot is extremely similar. However, because it was based on a mythological romance and was going on the idea of fate sealing people's destinies together, it was almost necessary to be an insta-love, so I'm going to let it slide.
I don't want to give anything away, because I'm attempting to give a spoiler free review, but just know that despite the beginning being a bit of a slow burn and it taking quite a while to get into the main story, the actual retelling is creative and unique and will definitely entertain and intrigue you. This is the first installment in Cait Reynolds 'Olympus Falling' series, and I am definitely gonna keep an eye out for the following books.
If you're interested in purchasing 'Downcast', it's available on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

About the author:
 

Cait Reynolds lives in the Boston area with her husband and 4-legged fur child. She discovered her passion for writing early and has bugged her family and friends with it ever since. When she isn't cooking delicious meals, running around the city, rock climbing like a boss, or enjoying the rooftop deck that brings her closer to the stars, she writes. Reynolds is able to pull from real life experiences such as her kidney transplant, and her writing reflects her passion for life from having to face the darkest places and find the will to laugh.

If you want to find out more about Cait, you can visit her website or follow her on Twitter or Goodreads.

Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to say a hugely massive thank you to Kellie Sheridan at Booktrope for inviting me on this blog tour and connecting me with Cait!