Round up of British Book Challenge 2013

I can’t believe it’s been a year, since I accepted the challenge to read 12 books by a British author. I’ve absolutely loved discovering new British authors this year. I’m definitely going to continue the challenge next year. We have far too many brilliant authors in the UK, that deserve much more recognition.

Here are the British Authors I’ve discovered this year, complete with a link to my review!

• Fifteen Days Without A Head– Dave Cousins
• The Puppet Spell– Emma Adams
• Torn– Cat Clarke
• Gold– Chris Cleave
• Rebecca– Daphne Du Maurier
• Geek Girl- Holly Smale
• The Universe Versus Alex Woods– Gavin Extence
• Undone– Cat Clarke
• Jasmine Nights– Julia Gregson
• The Girl You Left Behind– Jojo Moyes
• Dead Time– Anne Cassidy
• Killing Rachel- Anne Cassidy
• Bright Young Things– Scarlett Thomas
• You Had Me At Hello- Mhairi McFarlane
• The Quietness– Alison Rattle
• Adorkable– Sarra Manning
• Just What Kind Of Mother Are You?- Paula Daly
• Heart-Shaped Bruise– Tanya Byrne
• Strange Bodies– Marcel Theroux
• The Bone Dragon– Alexia Casale
• Idiopathy– Sam Byers
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel- Deborah Moggach
• The Man Who Rained– Ali Shaw
• Billy And Me– Giovanna Fletcher
• The Longest Holiday– Paige Toon
• Close My Eyes- Sophie McKenzie
• A Little Princess– Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Confessions of A Chalet Girl– Lorraine Wilson
• Finding Cherokee Brown- Siobhan Curham
• Natural Causes– James Oswald
• Perfect– Rachel Joyce
• The Panoptican- Jenni Fagan
• Paper Aeroplanes- Dawn O’Porter
• The Summer We All Ran Away– Cassandra Parkin
• Once A Bad Girl- Jane O’Reilly
• Life Knocks- Craig Stone
• The Name On Your Wrist– Helen Hiorns
• The Girl Who Fell From The Sky– Simon Mawer
• Human Remains– Elizabeth Haynes
• Rolling Dice– Beth Reekles
• Grow Up– Ben Brooks
• The Sea Sisters– Lucy Clarke
• Cruel Summer– James Dawson
• Note To Self– Peter Ward
• Model Misfit- Holly Smale
• Dangerous Girls- Abigail Haas
• Slated- Teri Terry
• Acid– Emma Pass
• Tempting Fate– Jane Green
• The Wicked Girls– Alex Marwood
• Secrets of A Chalet Girl– Lorraine Wilson
• Heartbreak Hotel– Deborah Moggach
• Never Coming Back– Tim Weaver
• Marriage Material- Sathnam Sanghera
• Northern Lights/The Golden Compass– Philip Pullman
• The Knife of Never Letting Go– Patrick Ness
• Shipwrecked– Siobhan Curham
• Frost Hollow Hall– Emma Carroll
• The Flavours of Love– Dorothy Koomson

Here’s to discovering new British Authors in 2014 and continuing to support UK writers!

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Acid

How did I get it?:
NetGalley- big thanks to Random House Children’s Publishers

Synopsis:

The year is 2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID—the most brutal controlling police force in history—rule supreme. No throwaway comment or whispered dissent goes unnoticed—or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a horrendous crime she struggles to remember. But Jenna’s violent prison time has taught her how to survive by any means necessary.

When a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed, and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID, and try to uncover the truth about what really happened on that terrible night two years ago. They have taken her life, her freedom, and her true memories away from her. How can she reclaim anything when she doesn’t know who to trust?

Strong, gritty writing, irresistible psychological suspense, and action consume the novel as Jenna struggles to survive against the all-controlling ACID.

Thoughts:

I’d heard a lot about this book from fellow bloggers. I was happy to get approved to read it. The last few books I’ve read haven’t really blown me away, so I was hoping for a decent read. That’s exactly what I got with Acid. I think the fact that it’s set in Britain made it an even better read for me. It’s not an ‘ideal’ Britain too. It’s a pretty bleak future, one you could actually imagine happening.

Jenna Strong is our protagonist. She is such a brilliant, strong character. At only 17, she has been accused of murdering her parents. She is doing time in a tough all-male prison after being tried as an adult. She learns how to stick up for herself very quickly. Jenna breaks out of prison, with the help of her only friend inside. Then the action really starts to pick up pace.

I didn’t think that the ‘LifePartner’ and the world in which choices are made for you was overly original, but it was well written and thought through. I really liked that Emma Pass used newspaper articles and bulletins to allow the reader to understand the type of world the characters were living in.

I thought Acid was a fantastic debut novel. It gripped me and kept me reading, eager to find out what was going to happen next. I think it’s well worth checking out.

Would I recommend it?:
Of course!

Reading next:
Burial Rites- Hannah Kent

WWW Wednesday #37

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Click on the image to get to her blog!

Welcome to another WWW Wednesday post!

To join in with WWW Wednesday you need to answer 3 questions..

•What are you currently reading?
•What did you recently finish reading?
•What do you think you’ll read next?

Click on the book images to find out more about the book!

What are you currently reading?

I have just started Instructions For A Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell. I’m intrigued to read this book. I don’t know if I would’ve picked it up without it being a book club read. It’s going to be one of the books I review with my sister Beth, so look out for our review later this month/beginning of October.

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished two books. Slated, by Teri Terry, my review will be published later today. I thought it was an intriguing, easy read. I’ll definitely pick up the sequel. I also managed to read Beth and I’s latest book for our Kid-Lit Challenge which was A Wrinkle In Time.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Next up for me is Acid by Emma Pass. I’ve heard some great things about this book, so I’m excited to start it.

What are you reading this Wednesday? Please feel free to leave your links to your WWW posts and I’ll come by and visit your blogs!

Stacking The Shelves #32

Click on the image to take you to Tynga’s blog to learn more!

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you’re adding to your shelves, be it buying or borrowing. From ‘real’ books you’ve purchased, a book you’ve borrowed, a book you’ve been given or an e-book they can all be shared!

As ever, click on the book image to get to its Goodreads page!

Bought:

I bought Pivot Point and The Distance Between Us both by Kasie West. I’ve heard a lot of good things about both of these books so of course.. I had to get them!

NetGalley

A bit of a different selection from NetGalley this week. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Acid by Emma Pass, so I’m looking forward to checking that out. I wanted to read something by Holly Black so Doll Bones looked like a good place to start. I also picked up No One’s Angel by Kelly Walker as the synopsis sounded intriguing!

Present from Bibliobeth:

My sister bought this for me! I can’t wait to read it as I’ve heard some brilliant things about it!

A smaller haul for me, but some books that I’m really excited about reading! What are you stacking your shelves with this week? Please feel free to leave your link and I will return the visit at some point this weekend!