Reading at Dawn - Book Review Blog

Happy New Year fellow readers!

2011 was a hectic year for me - you may have noticed that I dropped off the blogging scene for a while. This was all due to my baby girl, Kiera Marie, born 22nd July 2011. Despite having my hands full, I still managed to reach my goal of reading 100 books in 2011 (in fact, I read a few more than 100!).

Some of my favourites:

Best series read: The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins

Best sequel read: Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare

Best debut author: Rapture, by Phillip W. Simpson

Best sci-fi read: Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

Best fantasy read: Graceling, by Kristin Cashore.

Best contemporary read: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Best cover: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

What were some of your favourites for 2011?

Happy reading for 2012!

Writer's Block NZ

Since it is almost the end of the year, it's time to reflect on the books that were read in 2011. Then in January we will have new reading goals to post and hopefully new reviews.


So much has happened over the last year and while I didn't read over 30 books this year, I did manage to finish reading 21 which is a lot more than the 3 or 4 I read in 2010.  Many of the novels were YA but there was a variety that helped add to the mix. Had a number of surprises with the books that I did manage to read with quite a few being even better than I had even expected. So many good books this year out of the 21 books. Some weren't as good as the hype and some were so good I wondered why more people didn't talk about them enough.


It's hard to even pick the best book out of the year even though I only read 21 of them. So I'm going to list a few different books that I found amazing.


Books that surprised me in a very good way:
A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull - very long, surprising enthralling middle grade first book of a series
Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - ghosts and cool story line
Wither by Lauren DeStefano - OMG so good dystopian with even a good love triangle
Dreaming in English by Laura Fitzgerald - such a touching story even though I haven't read the first book.
I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells - quite a good book about a strange young boy.


Books I can't wait to read the sequel:
A World Without Heroes - cliffhanger ending made me go "argh" and I am still waiting for the second one to have a cover and such since I read the ARC of the first book that makes for a long wait.
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPaul - The first book was good and I wonder where they are going with the story in the series.
Wither - I wonder what will happen since the characters have limited time left in their lives.


Not many but this year was better than the year before and I hope to read even more in 2012. Thank you for following this blog and our reviews. Can't wait to see what 2012 brings.

Hello Readers,

I have realized over the past month in preparing for NaNoWriMo that this blog has been a little bit neglected. Somehow we achieved our 50th follower but haven't posted a review in weeks. That is so exciting in itself. Since we are now officially in November, the blog won't have any posts because the crazy goal of 50,000 words is a difficult task and we're a little distracted by that. But don't worry, we will return to a more regular schedule once the month is over.

Thank you to all of our dedicated followers. We are so grateful to have each one of you and will be back to give you more wonderful book reviews in December.

For now we write. Keep reading and have a good November!

So, this was supposed to be the month I did only middle grade book reviews but the book I was reading has disappeared on me. This book will have to fill in but it's not even close to middle grade. While I love fantasy, I studied science fiction lit and this was one of my favorites. I recommend the audio version, which is what I have, because the voicing is great and makes the story really stand out.

About the Book: A set if people (humans and some others) on the moon in 2076, and they are kept poor and oppressed by an Earth-based Authority that turns huge profits at their expense. A small band of dissidents, including a one-armed computer jock, a radical young woman, a past-his-prime academic and a nearly omnipotent computer named Mike, meet under odd circumstances. Revolution inspirations spiral into actions despite the near certainty of failure and death.


This is a great book and while I haven't read a paperback (so unlike me I know) the audio version was just mind blowing amazing. I can see why Heinlein is such a prominent name in Science Fiction.


I am always interested in stories where unlikely characters come together for a rebellion. And to have characters that are fun to listen(read) about is a key element. While I wasn't sure at first about the main character, he grew on me and his interactions with Mike was intriguing. Heinlein is not just a fine author but he created a believable world where people live on the moon.


Reason for going with audio: The accent. I never would have read the accent at all because I wouldn't know what the exact sound would be so I'm glad I went with audio because now all I can here is the readers voice whenever I think about the novel and it was so fitting. It even worked with the other characters, including the sassy and slightly outrageous in a good way female side kick. Well, she wasn't a side kick per say but it's kind of the role her character took. She was vital in the revolution and with the odd mismatch group, the story of the adventure stood out. Listening to it was great. 


If you're interested in trying out a classic Sci-Fi novel, I'd recommend this book. Even if the genre is not your usual, it's always good to give other genres a try and there is much any writer could learn from an awesome author.

Another advanced reader copy I was lucky to get from the book bloggers conference. The publish date was back in June, the 21st, so it's available and I say, Go Buy It.

About the book from Goodreads: Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?



Oh My Gosh. This was an amazing book. I don't know if it's my reading preference or such, but I seem to like the books that have a historical feel to the fictional story. Even the ones set in the "future" but seem to go back to old feeling setting become ones I love, depending on the story of course. This book had everything that kept me wanting to read. The main character was interesting and evolved because of the story. There was something close to a love triangle but not the usual kind and it was part of the plot I actually enjoyed along with how the different characters interacted with Violet. Everyone really added to the story and I couldn't predict what was going to happen in a good way.

The story starts with a great first chapter and the momentum builds from there. The reader gets an idea of the story, about the seances and such, then we get a surprise as Violet finds out she can actually see spirits, unlike her mom who just pretends to do such. And the ghost that Violet sees is a very persistent girl who needs Violet for something, if only she could figure out what. While I usually don't care for ghost stories, this one was amazing. Or at least, I've never cared for those kinds of movies but if there are more books like this I want to read them now. And one good part about this story is just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, boom, there is a new twist. It has a few "holy ...." moments. And it's very well written, which is always good.

It really was an amazing story and I recommend it to anyone. Read this book.