Top Ten Tuesday | Gimme More

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Debut Authors Who Have Me Looking Forward To Their Sophomore Novel'. Luckily for me I recently went on a bit of a debut binge, and it's made me want to read more debuts in future - I don't think I'm particularly good at reading debuts, especially not reading debuts the year that they're published, mainly because half the time I don't realise I'm reading a debut unless it mentions it somewhere in the blurb. This year, though, I've been trying to check out more books by the same author because I find it frustrating when people ask me who my favourite authors are and I realise just how many authors I've only read one book by; I feel unable to call an author a favourite if I've only read one of their books.

Anyway, these are the ten authors whose debut novels I thoroughly enjoyed, and whose work I'll be keeping an eye out for in future - some more than others!

Hannah Kent: Hannah Kent's debut novel, Burial Rites, was the first book I read this year and it broke me. It's a beautifully written fictonalised account of the last days of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland. I'm really looking forward to seeing what she writes next! Read my review of Burial Rites here.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: You guys already know how much I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia's debut novel, Signal to Noise. She's already published two short story collections and edited plenty of others, and recently she announced she'll be releasing two more standalone novels! I believe Young Blood will be her next novel, also set in Mexico City and featuring a homeless teen and drug lord vampires (give it to me now), and she's also writing a historical fantasy novel titled Proper People. I want them both. Also you should all drop everything you're doing and read Signal to Noise right now. Check out my review here.

Anne Brontë: I don't really know if Anne Brontë counts on account of her not being a living author but, hey, this is my list. I love Agnes Grey, and though I've read bits of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for school and whatnot in the past, I've never sat down and read the whole thing from start to finish. Considering I'm taking part in The Women's Classic Literature Event, I'm planning to read it soon!

Nicola Yoon: I didn't love Everything, Everything, but I did enjoy it and I'll be keeping my eye on Nicola Yoon to see what she releases next; she's an official member of the We Need Diverse Books campaign, so she's definitely an author I want to keep on my radar! Read my review of Everything, Everything here.

Mary Shelley: Another classic lady. Frankenstein is one of my favourite classics - it's such a fantastic book - and I've been meaning to read more of Shelley's work ever since.

Andrew Davidson: I feel as though Andrew Davidson has vanished off the face of the earth. I adored his debut novel, The Gargoyle, it's a stunning book, but it was published in 2008 and since then I haven't heard of him bringing out anything else. I hope he does, though!

Laura Konrad: Laura is a friend of mine and I was very lucky to receive a review copy of her gritty, post-apocalyptic debut Lorelai, You'll Never Die, which I reviewed here. I've known Laura for a few years now, she's an online writing friend, and I've had the pleasure of seeing her blossom as a fantastic writer of sci-fi. She excels at stories in outer space and post-apocalyptic fiction, and I can't wait to see what she publishes next!

Robin Talley: My entire MA was based around the idea of the representation of minorities in history and how historical fiction can give a voice back to the people who were originally deprived of one, so I love stories like Lies We Tell Ourselves that look at history through the eyes of someone who isn't white and straight. I think Robin Talley is a fantastic voice in YA today, and her third novel, As I Descended, is one of my most anticipated releases of next year! This is kind of cheating because I've already read her second novel, What We Left Behind, but sadly I wasn't a big fan of it, so I'm hoping I enjoy As I Descended a lot more. Check out my reviews of Lies We Tell Ourselves and What We Left Behind here and here!

Becky Albertalli: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was such a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed it, and flew through it, and I'll definitely be checking out whatever Becky Albertalli releases next. Check out my review of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda here!

Jessie Burton: I finally read Jessie Burton's debut, The Miniaturist, a couple of months ago and thought it was absolutely stunning - you can check out my review here! I think her style of writing is gorgeous, and I believe she's currently working on her second novel set during the Spanish Civil War.

Who made your list this week?

Monthly Wrap-Up | August 2015

Another month gone. Where is 2015 going? On the plus side, autumn is on its way!

American Vampire, Vol.5

by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Dustin Nyugen

American Vampire, Vol.6

by Various Artists

Fingersmith

by Sarah Waters

Lorelai, You'll Never Die

by Laura Konrad

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters

Parnassus on Wheels

by Christopher Morley

I managed to get through six books last month, but I feel as though I barely read anything. August was a strange month for me, I kept feeling like I was sliding into slump territory which resulted in me reading quite a lot but not finishing everything I was reading.

Northanger Abbey

by Jane Austen

Skim

by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Lorelai, You'll Never Die

by Laura Konrad

White Trash Zombie Apocalypse

by Diana Rowland

Fingersmith

by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters

I continued to watch Hannibal, of course, and tonight it's the last episode of Season 3 and possibly the last episode ever if it doesn't get picked up by another network. I'm going to be so upset if it isn't renewed because it's such a good show and it doesn't seem fair that genuinely good shows are abandoned while crap like Big Brother and The X Factor keep coming back each year.

Someone pick up Hannibal please!

Will Graham asking the important questions

The Great British Bake Off returned in August, so all across Britain everyone is going baking mad! I have no idea if the show is known anywhere else in the world, but over here we love it. Essentially it's just a show about baking, judged by Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, and each week there's a different theme - from desserts to bread to biscuits - until there's only one baker left to become Bake Off Champion. It's a really nice show, and I love seeing what everyone makes even though it makes me hungry.

Mary Berry: National Treasure

I also ended up watching two different adaptations of Rebecca this month, quite by accident. I bought myself a copy of the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock adaptation - I really enjoy his films, and even though I read somewhere that du Maurier wasn't all that impressed with his adaptations of Frenchman's Creek or Jamaica Inn, I thought if anyone could do a good adaptation of a story like Rebecca it'd be this guy. We might not find his films terrifying now, but they still have a lot of atmosphere, and personally I love Rear Window and Psycho.

I enjoyed his adaptation. It was pretty close to the book, and I think it was cast well, too. Laurence Olivier was a rather dashing Maxim de Winter and Judith Anderson was a fantastic Mrs. Danvers, which is just what I want from one of my favourite literary villains.

Joan Fontaine as Mrs. de Winter and Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers

My mum and I watched the film together, and then the next morning the two-part 1997 adaptation was on the TV. This was another very good adaptation, so I'm not quite sure which one I preferred because neither of them were bad adaptations at all. I think I may have preferred Emilia Fox's portrayal of Mrs. de Winter to Joan Fontaine's, purely because she looks a little plainer and more girlish; she looks very much how I pictured her while reading the book. Joan Fontaine, on the other hand, is stunning in the way all those actresses from the 1940s were, though she still acted the part very well.

Emilia Fox as Mrs. de Winter

The 1997 adaptation also starred Charles Dance as Maxim de Winter and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Danvers, and the two of them were brilliant in their roles, too. I wasn't sure about Charles Dance at first - in terms of appearance, Laurence Olivier's portrayal looks the way I pictured Maxim - but Charles Dance acted the part very well.

If you're a fan of Rebecca, I recommend them both!

Something I completely forgot to mention last month because I was too busy talking about Rome, but I'm taking driving lessons again! I was terrified of lessons for the longest time - I hated driving last time I did it - but ultimately I need to be able to drive, and I want to, too. I want the independence of being able to go wherever I feel like going without having to worry about train times or bus times or getting a lift, and this time I'm actually enjoying it!

My instructor is really, really nice - he's funny and he's super patient, which is perfect for someone who's as nervous behind the wheel of the car as I am - and I want to have my licence by the end of the year. I have no idea how I'm going to afford my own car or anything, but I'll tackle that hurdle when I come to it.

In even more exciting news, I have a new niece! My older sister gave birth to her second baby - another little girl - on the very last day of August. Her name's Millie and she's gorgeous. She's so teeny tiny! The poor little thing came out with two black eyes and a bruised lip because the midwives didn't realise she was in the wrong position, so her face got all squished inside the womb. In the end my sister was taken down for a c-section because she was in a lot of pain and Millie couldn't get into the right position, but she's here now and both mother and baby are doing just fine. Plus my other niece is very pleased with her little sister.

My niece, Willow, holds her baby sister for the first time!

Tracy @ Cornerfolds talked about the Female Character Types She Hates

Cait @ Paper Fury talked about wanting Diverse Books that are NOT about Being Diverse

Beth @ The Quiet People talked about why she loves Re-Reading Books

Allie @ Little Birdie Books asked Is Your Own Company Good Enough?

How was your August?

Review | Lorelai, You'll Never Die by Laura Konrad

Lorelai, You'll Never Die

by Laura Konrad

My Rating: 

Lorelai is a woman with many stories to tell. 

She was just a promiscuous secretary at the county evidence locker. But all that changed with the apocalypse. 

She found herself alone and wandering the country in search of something, she just wasn’t sure what. She came across many different types of people along the way, some freaks and some who were just like her, trying to survive. Her adventures forced her to adapt in ways she never thought she could, made her feel in ways she never thought she would. 

In the apocalypse you either learn to adapt or you die…

I received a copy of Lorelai, You'll Never Die from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I was really pleased to receive a copy of this for review, because Laura is a writing friend of mine. Over the years I've seen her grow and flourish as a writer, and when it comes to writing science fiction and post-apocalyptic fiction, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Laura has her very own shelf in the science fiction section in years to come.

This isn't a book about saving the world, this is a book about surviving when the world would rather you didn't. We're not told all the details about why the world is the way it is, but we're given enough information to piece it together and, in all honesty, it doesn't matter. How society crumbled isn't important, but how Lorelai is going to get through it is.

I actually really loved that this isn't a story about inciting a rebellion and saving the world and starting again; this isn't the world's story, it's Lorelai's, and I think following one woman on a quest to the west feels more genuine than any story to revive society. It's such a simple idea, to follow one person from the east to the west, but it's pulled off wonderfully, and the adventures Lorelai has on the way mean her life's certainly never boring.

It was also fantastic to see a heroine who is completely unashamed of her sexual appetite. Lorelai likes sex, and the apocalypse hasn't changed that - why should it? 

I did find some sections at the beginning of the book a little jarring; there was a lot more jumping around between various people, so much so that I wondered if I'd misread the blurb and this was actually a collection of short stories, but soon it settled into something a lot more coherent, and that's when I really began to enjoy the book. Some of Laura's descriptions are just beautiful; she has a real talent for writing post-apocalyptic settings.

I would have liked to have seen a few more women as the majority of survivors Lorelai encountered were men, but I did love her relationship with fellow survivor Beattie, who is a little cutie.

Lorelai, You'll Never Die is both bleak and hopeful. Laura isn't afraid to write about some of the worst kinds of human beings, but it's impossible to feel completely hopeless with a heroine like Lorelai at the centre.

If you like post-apocalyptic fiction then I recommend checking this out, and I can't wait to see what Laura comes up with next!

Cover Reveal | Lorelai, You'll Never Die by Laura Konrad

I'm very excited to be taking part in the cover reveal for Lorelai, You'll Never Die by Laura Konrad! Laura is a friend of mine, so I'm so pleased to be taking part in the cover reveal of her debut novel. She's a fantastic writer.

Lorelai, You'll Never Die

by Laura Konrad

Release Date: 20 August, 2015

Publisher: Dryden House

Synopsis:

Lorelai is a woman with many stories to tell.

She was just a promiscuous secretary at the county evidence locker. But all that changed with the apocalypse.

She found herself alone and wandering the country in search of something, she just wasn't sure what. She came across many different types of people along the way, some freaks and some who are just like her trying to survive. Her adventures forced to adapt in ways she never thought she could, made her feel in ways she never thought she would.

In the apocalypse you either learn to adapt or you die...

Author Bio:

I'm Laura Konrad and I'm a 22 year old writer from Canada. I love science fiction and apocalyptic stories and my first book was published with The Dryden Experiment, a set of stories that were illustrated by Danielle Evert. When I'm not writing, I'm reading copious amounts of books in a search for inspiration.

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