Mystery-A-Thon Anticipation Post

Hello my nerdlets!

Today I thought I'd write a quick post about the lovely Ely's Mystery-a-Thon, which starts next Monday.

Who's running this deal-y?

Well, that would be Ely @ Tea & Titles (hence her name in the pic)

What's it about?

Reading crime & mystery books between 12-19th September, and talking about them on social media etc.

Whatever books you want - that simple.

Personally, I'm only going to be reading 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie (UK - US) (because it's my birthday next week and I'm hoping the family will've got the non-too-subtle hints I dropped about the new Harry Potter, and The Fireman by Joe Hill. So I'll be reading those.)

Where can I find out more?

Over on Ely's Mystery-a-Thon post. Go check it out! :)

Review Time! - As I Descended by Robin Talley

**This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links, which allow me to earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.**

**Please only use my affiliate links for .COM purchases, as I do NOT earn from other Amazon sites**

Image Source

Title: As I Descended 

Author: Robin Talley

Genre: YA, Ghost Story, Horror, LGBTQ+ (F/F and M/M)

Release Date: 6th September 2016

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

A young adult re-telling of Macbeth. In a boarding school. With LGBTQ+ protagonists. Hell yes!

I sooo wanted to read this - so much so that when my request to receive an eArc was declined on Edelweiss, I marched myself straight over the NetGalley to see if it was listed there.

And on NetGalley I was approved!!!!!!! XD XD

Happy book nerd all around!!!!!!!

Mini-Review! - The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

Title: The Shock of the Fall

Author: Nathan Filer

Genre: Contemporary

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

'There was the shock of the fall and the blood on my knee...'

A book with a schizophrenic protagonist is a delicate balancing act. One which Filer excels at.

Matthew - our point-of-view narrator - is a complex, realistic character. He doesn't fall head-long into stereotypes, but neither is his illness ignored.

He is mentally ill. He is also a nineteen-year-old boy in Bristol. One who wants to tell his own story, thank you very much.

He wants people to listen to him - even if he's not making much sense, he still wants to be heard. And it's the characters who listen to him - even if they ultimately disagree with his opinions - who Matt prefers.

Because people with mental illnesses don't just want to be talked at, over, or around. They want you to hear them out, even if you make decisions that go against their wishes, they'd still like their wishes to at least be acknowledged.

We want you to understand that we are not children. We are adults who are ill.

If you made a decision for a cancer patient without at least listening to their opinion, there would be uproar. Make a decision for a mental health patient without asking their opinion? Meh.

But Filer explains this without ever explaining it. He simply allows the character to tell his story, and places the reader in Matt's shoes for a while.

Not that he paints Matt as an angel - far from it. He's not some martyred saint. He's a real person, with all the flaws and quirks that brings.

He's not pitied, but neither is he demonised. And that is an incredible achievement.

And I love the non-linear structure.

We experience the story as Matt does - with flitting thoughts as he moves from one train of thought to another. We experience his present as well as his past, complete with complaints at people reading over his shoulder.

This is an excellent book guys. Read it.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

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Nerd Church - Fragile Trust

Are you someone who trusts easily?

In some ways I hope you are - or, at least, I hope that your life is one that allows you to be.

I hope that you're surrounded by people who would move mountains for you and never dream of breaking the trust you have placed in them.

If you're like me though, you don't trust as easily. I hope that when you do find someone to trust they are worthy of you, and would never dream of breaking your trust.

Trust is a fragile thing - easily broken. People do things, say things, in the spur of the moment which shatters your trust in them.

You thought they would never hurt you, but now they have.





Betrayal is heart-breaking - whether it comes from a friend, or from family, or from anyone else.

But betrayal is not your fault - although sometimes it feels like it must be, that there must be something wrong with you to make someone treat you so unfairly. It isn't. Betrayal is the fault of the betrayer.

There are few circumstances in this world that make a betrayal of trust ok. Most of these circumstances are fairly extreme - they involve risk to health or life, or something illegal.






If you break my trust? It's going to take a lot of time and effort for me to trust you again. Particularly if they way I acted was reasonable, and the way you acted wasn't.

So be careful, if there's someone who trusts you - they've given you a part of themselves. Don't break it.






Nerd Church is a weekly post where I get some cheap therapy talk about issues and life and all of that stuff :)





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Review Time! - Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

**This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links, which allow me to earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.**

**Please only use my affiliate links for .COM purchases, as I do NOT earn from other Amazon sites**

Title: Labyrinth Lost 

Image Source

Author: Zoraida Córdova

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Witches, LGBTQ+ (M/F and F/F)

Series: Brooklyn Brujas #1

Release Date: 6 September 2016

Friday Fics Fix - Crack the Clichés

I like things with a sense of humour about themselves. And that's exactly what this week's fic has.

Alright, rewind a bit -

This week I've been reading crack fiction. I know. I'm going to hell.

(Fangirling note: Crack fiction is a piece of fanfiction so random that the only way the author could've come up with it is by imbibing in none-too-legal substances.)

via GIPHY

More specifically, I've been reading Harry Potter crack fiction (ok, there was some Avengers too... what can I say? I'm a Marvel-girl. But the HP sauce is what we're focussing on here.)

Yes, my friends. Harry Potter crack. One of the strongest fixes of fanfiction you will encounter.

via GIPHY

Still, as crack goes this is pretty intelligent stuff - a wry and affectionate satire of fanfiction itself, it literally had me laughing out loud.

Not that it doesn't hit a few bum-notes, but I love how self-aware it is, and how comfortable the author is with this gentle mocking of some of the bizarre-ities of fanfiction.






So, for a heap load of random funnies in your day give -

Harry Potter and The Deathly Clichés by TheHandsomeTwin

-a shot.





Enjoy! And come back next week for more fanfiction insanity!

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Graphic Novels



This week I read Captain America: First Vengeance (UK - US.)

This is actually a media tie-in with the Captain America: The First Avenger (UK - US) movie, but unlike most tie-ins, it doesn't simply re-tell the story.

Instead we get more background on both the Red Skull and the allies' team making the Super Soldier Serum.

Yes, it treads some well-worn ground - kid from Brooklyn, wanted to join the army, etc.

But we also get aspects that the film doesn't show - more detail on the Howling Commandoes, more background on Steve and Bucky in New York, etc. etc.

I was actually pretty damned impressed by how well this works - and (always important) the artwork is great too.

Other Stuff



Marvel (and, more specifically, Brian Michael Bendis,) have announced that the new Iron Man - black teenage girl Riri Williams (and how awesome is that!) - will be known as 'Ironheart.'

I still think that they missed a trick by not going with Iron Maiden, but apparently that would've been 'a legal nightmare.' (Dammit!)

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Marvel latte art vid! Short, cool, and coffee-ful; just what I need in a video ;)

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And, with adult humour, gore, and a sh**-load of randomness, here's a hilarious spoof of the Wonder Woman trailer:

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