Tag: new release

First Lines Friday – 11/04/2025

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Happy Friday friends – and can I tell you – I’m so glad it’s the end of the week. Today’s First Lines Friday post marks the conclusion of a very busy but successful week.

I’m not quite ready for the weekend yet though! The last thing on my to-do list for today is to share with you the opening lines to a fantastic book I’ve discovered. And, with any luck, persuade you to read it.

Let’s get to it!


“Happy birthday, Haymitch!”

The upside of being born on reaping day is that you can sleep late on your birthday. It’s pretty much downhill from there. A day off school hardly compensates for the terror of the name drawing. Even if you survive that, nobody feels like having cake after watching two kids being hauled off to the Capitol for slaughter. I roll over and pull the sheet over my head.

“Happy birthday!” My ten-year-old brother, Sid, gives my shoulder a shake. “You said be your rooster. You said you wanted to get to the woods at daylight.”

It’s true. I’m hoping to finish my work before the ceremony so I can devote the afternoon to the two things I love best — wasting time and being with my girl, Lenore Dove.

 

 


Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 382

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: 18 Mar 2025

Goodreads – Sunrise on the Reaping

 

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.

As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight… and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

 

My Thoughts…

Any book in the Hunger Games series is going to be a book that ends up on my reading list! I loved reading the core series when I was a teenager, and more recently I really enjoyed going back to the prequel in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I’m even thinking of re-reading the main series at some point soon!

It says a lot when I make the effort to go to the cinema, because the local facilities we have aren’t the best. Even still, I made the effort to go and watch A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film when it first came out. I watched it again for the second time just a few days ago on TV.

It’s fair to say I have a compulsion to keep up-to-date with this series. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in with Haymitch’s story to understand where he ends up by the time we get to Katniss’ first Hunger Games. At this point, Haymitch is a mess. To describe him as a raging alcoholic doesn’t quite seem to do it justice. What happens to him that forces him down this route? Does anything special happen in light of the fact that his games were the 50th year and therefore a Quarter Quell?

I don’t know yet – but I’m excited to find out!

Thanks for checking out today’s First Lines Friday! Have you read any books in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins? Have you already read Sunrise on the Reaping?

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Book Review: Order and Chaos – An Anthology

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Good evening readers! I’m excited to bring you a book review today. I’m sharing my thoughts on a short story anthology I just finished – Order and Chaos!

You may recall that I read and reviewed another short story anthology earlier this year. Taking Liberties was a great anthology that got me to read something different. When Stephanie Bretherton, an author contributing to both these anthologies, approached me for a review for a second time, it was an easy decision!

 

Order and Chaos

Genre: Short Stories

Pages: 185

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Breakthrough Books

Publication Date: 31 Oct 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

 

Goodreads – Order and Chaos

Ancient gods in conflict and a zombie on welfare, a disappearing boyfriend and AI with daddy issues, a balloon bound for icy danger and a mysterious theft at the museum, a sinister woodland cabin and a pleasure house that’ll cost much more than you can afford.

Raiding parties in dystopia, art classes in the city, opposites attracting and love catching fire. Separations and siblings, life and death decisions, flying into trouble and traveling to self-discovery…

Which comes first, chaos or order? The cycles between may seem inevitable, and change may be the only constant, but what does that mean for the human experience?

Sixteen authors from the Breakthrough Books collective explore our relationships with nature and technology, science and the sacred, each other and ourselves, offering an array of stories as individual as every reader.

Eli Allison, Mark Bowsher, Stephanie Bretherton, Jamie Chipperfield, Jason Cobley, Stevyn Colgan, Sue Clark, Samuel Dodson, Miles Hudson, A.B. Kyazze, Pete Langman, Virginia Moffatt, Eamon Somers, Nicole Swengley, Damon L. Wakes, PJ Whiteley.

Also from the Breakthrough Books collective, Taking Liberties , a short story anthology on the theme of freedom.

 

My Thoughts

Much like Taking Liberties, Order and Chaos is an anthology of stories that loosely fit around the titular themes. Otherwise, they are very varied! In the grand scheme of things, the themes of the book can be interpreted very broadly… and they are by the authors who have contributed to the book. From stories with science and/or futuristic settings, to modern day encounters, it’s all here!

Order and Chaos is a quick and engaging read. I found it easy to pick up and put down around my busy schedule this month. In truth, I read the book in three sittings, but could easily have read it sooner if I’d read for longer sessions.

The beauty about short stories though is that you don’t have to do that. You can read stories one at a time, or maybe a couple in one go. With none being that long in length, they can fit into a bite-size break as and when time is available. For readers who are on the go, or need to make the most of small window opportunities, this would be a great book to do that with!

Even though Order and Chaos doesn’t require much in the way of commitment to read, the stories are still immersive and emotive. Quality isn’t compromised as a result of the quantity. I enjoyed each of the stories within for different reasons. What they all have in common are characters that I cared about.

If as a reader you are unsure of what to read next, need a spice of variety and/or a palate cleanser between books, look again at anthologies. They are a great way to sample new authors or settings to you decide if you want to explore them further. At least one of the stories in this book references additional material should you want to expand on the story just read if you liked it.

 

Summary

Order and Chaos is a fun anthology that brings together the diverse works of multiple authors around these common themes. Easy to pick up and even easier to read, I enjoyed the flexibility of shorter narratives and being able to try the works of different authors. The change of pace has been enjoyable in the busy days over Christmas; as a result, I recommend this to anybody who wants to try and make the most of even short breaks to pick up a book and read!

If you’re setting yourself a New Year’s resolution to try and read a little more, wouldn’t this would be a perfect start?

 

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Book Review – Taking Liberties

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In today’s post, I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on Taking Liberties. Taking Liberties is an anthology containing several short stories, and has been contributed to by a number of authors. I hadn’t read any works by the contributors as of reading this anthology; it proved a great way to explore many different writing styles!

Before I go into my review, I would like to disclose that I was contacted by Stephanie Bretherton, one of the contributors, to request a review. To do so, I was provided a copy of the book. However, as always, the thoughts I share in this review are entirely my own.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Taking Liberties… let’s dive into the details!

 

Taking Liberties

Genre: Short story anthology

Pages: 136

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Breakthrough Book Collective

Publication Date: 17 Apr 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Taking Liberties

A daring rescue. A time-trapped forest. Paranormal problems for a down-to-earth detective.
War waged over wi-fi. An app to die for and a fateful shirt. Musing on the rails. Hermits, caves and epic tales. Roboboats aimlessly afloat. Passengers and paintings. The keys to sunlight, and young love in sunlit Santiago. Freedom has many faces. In Taking Liberties it is met in a dozen different guises and in worlds where nothing is what it seems.

Threaded through with the theme of freedom, the stories explore what it means to yearn for escape and to search for the true self, whether in the DNA or in the human soul. Mirth and myth, mystery and magic, noir and memoir shape this first offering from the Breakthrough Book Collective, a group of established and emerging authors embarking on its own journey of creative liberty.

Contributors: Stephanie Bretherton, Jamie Chipperfield, Sue Clark, Jason Cobley, Stevyn Colgan, Samuel Dodson, A.B. Kyazze, Virginia Moffatt, Ivy Ngeow, Eamon Somers, Paul Waters and PJ Whiteley.

 

My Thoughts

 

Plot

Whilst each short story in the anthology may have a broad theme of freedom, they have very little in common beyond that! These stories are entirely different takes on a subject, and are interesting in their diversity. That makes them more enjoyable to read; the next one is always fresh, and you never quite knew what to expect!

I’d recommend Taking Liberties, or any other type of anthology, for people who are in a changeable mood or don’t know what to read next. Based on the variety in this book, there will be something that will appeal to you, and you’ll know where to look for more!

Even though the stories are short and the theme is broadly light reading, there are some stories that push those boundaries. We get to enjoy many perspectives and walks of life. As a result, it encouraged me to consider the different ways in which humankind may interpret freedom.

 

Narrative Style

The main thing I enjoyed about this anthology is that I got the opportunity to try out different authors and writing styles. Not all book qualities are created equal. Whilst I can tolerate a character I don’t like, or a plot point I don’t agree with, writing style is make or break.

Anthologies are perfect for trying out different voices or themes without investment in a lengthy narrative. That way, if you don’t get on with something, you don’t feel like you have to stuggle through it.

In Taking Liberties, we get to experiment with a lot of different authors and narrative styles. Personally, I enjoyed every single one. Each narrative was unique and engaging, especially considering the page count of each story! Making an impression with a smaller word count is a challenge, but not one that appeared to present in this collective. 

 

Summary

Taking Liberties is a short, enjoyable read I picked up and read over a 24 hour period. I had fun with the diversity of stories, characters, and situations in the book.

Taking Liberties is a great read to pick up between larger volumes as a palatte cleanser, or for anyone who wants to try something new or different.

 

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