A Tangle Of Magicks - Stephanie Burgis

Summary from Amazon:

After her antics in A Most Improper Magick, Kat Stephenson is back to cause more chaos! Stepmama drags the family to Bath to find Kat's sister a new suitor. But, unknown to most of its gossipy visitors, Bath is full of wild magic. When Kat uncovers a plot to harness this magic in the Roman Baths, she finds her brother Charles is unwittingly involved. Kat must risk her newfound magical powers as she defies the Order of the Guardians to foil the plot and clear her brother's name.

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A Tangle of Magicks is the second book in the Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson. I might say a few spoilers about the first book in this so be warned! You can read my review of the first book in the series, A Most Improper Magick *here* as well as my interview with Stephanie Burgis as part of A Tangle Of Magicks blog tour *here*.

After the events taking place in the first book, Kat's family has entirely changed. Well, not exactly, her father still doesn't say much, her brother still sleeps all the time and her step-mother is as ruthless as ever. But Kat is now a Guardian, after inheriting her mother's power, Angeline is a witch and getting better at it and Elissa is getting married to the love of her life Mr Collingwood! The wedding is ready and all the guests are here when something gasp-worthy happens! Even if the marriage continues, Kat's family (minus Elissa who goes to live with Mr Collingwood) flees to Bath to one of Kat's step-mother "acquaintances". In Bath, Kat obviously can't prevent herself to stay out of trouble!

I absolutely adored A Most Improper Magick and loved this book even more! I think this is one of the most original, interesting and entertaining series out there. Kat is quite simply unique - her voice in the book is so clear that it is an absolute pleasure to read and the most extraordinary things happen to her so you're definitely in for a ride!

Angeline is full of dark thoughts and acts very recklessly in the book and I found it really touching how Kat doesn't let her do this even if Angeline is older and should know better. We get to see more of Kat's brother Charles (and a glimpse of his past) and I am starting to like him more and more. Kat's father also shows a bit more of himself and I will repeat what I said about the first book about how much I love how family-oriented this series is. Kat would do anything for her family and has even been known to help her step-mother *gasp*!

We get to see a few more characters in this and particularly Lucy. She is roughly Kat's age and is very nice (compared to her obnoxious mother and sister). Lucy is obsessed with witchcraft (she thinks it's the ultimate cool) and is ready to get in all sorts of trouble with Kat. their interactions made me laugh out loud several times!

This book is a bit more darker than the first one. When A Most Improper Magick looked at the widespread phenomenon of highwaymen in Regency England, the plot of A Tangle Of Magicks goes into 19th century Bath and explores the theme of old magic. I always have that feeling, when entering a very old place, that there are millenia of history present between those walls, and Stephanie Burgis brilliantly captured that feeling about the Roman baths in Bath. Through Kat's eyes, there is an old powerful magic lurking in the corners of the baths, and she feels that it might not be a magic for the best of the people. The book also shows how scary those times were for young girls and how they were preyed upon by rich men. The setting is fantastic in this book and I can't wait to read the next book in the series to see where Kat will take us!

I really loved this book and this is a fabulous series for people who like their historical fiction with a funny twist. I really cannot recommend these books enough so run like the wind and go buy them in your local bookshop!

Thanks to Templar for sending me the book and for giving me the opportunity to interview Stephanie!

A Tangle Of Magicks by Stephanie Burgis | Templar | 2011 | ARC from the publisher.

A Tangle Of Magicks blog Tour - Interview with Stephanie Burgis

I am thrilled to receive today Stephanie Burgis, author of A Most Improper Magick (my crazy fan-girl review here), to talk about the release of the second book in the Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson, A Tangle Of Magicks. I have finished reading the book and I loved it so much! I'll post my review during the week so you can see how in love I am with the story :)

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Hi Stephanie, 

I am absolutely thrilled to welcome you to Portrait of a Woman for the release of A Tangle Of Magicks! I was very excited to read A Most Improper Magick back in 2010 because I literally couldn't take my eyes off the cover! The book is just as original as the cover and Kat’s story is very adventurous, funny and magical. It really ticked all my boxes so I was even more excited to read A Tangle Of Magicks and see where Kat would take us next!

Portrait of a Woman: Both books mix magical elements with a Regency setting and an incorrigible main character, but how did Kat’s story come to you in the first place?

Stephanie Burgis: I was actually in the middle of writing a different book - a dark, angst-ridden adult novel. Then one day, as I was chopping onions in my kitchen, I suddenly heard a girl’s voice in my ear (it really was as unexpected and vivid as that), saying: “I was twelve years of age when I chopped off my hair, dressed in boys’ clothes, and set off to save my family from ruin…”

That was it! I was hooked. I abandoned the onions, ran to grab a notebook and began to write. Kat had swaggered right into my life, and I was caught up in her story from that moment onward.

PoaW: I have to admit that that first line got me hooked to the story as well! If A Most Improper Magick looks at the widespread phenomenon of highwaymen during Regency England, A Tangle Of Magicks takes us to the streets of Bath and the myths behind its famous roman baths. Why did you choose to write about this city? Did you have to do a lot of visiting and research to be able to recreate what it was like during Kat’s time? 

SB: I fell in love with the city of Bath years and years ago, well before I ever started writing about Kat - and the Roman Baths, in particular, just overwhelmed me. They are so amazing, and they feel genuinely magical to walk around even now! So when it came time to write Kat’s second adventure, I knew immediately that I wanted to send her and her family to Bath…not least because it gave me the perfect excuse to go back myself, again and again!

Luckily, Jane Austen actually lived in Bath around the period that Kat visited, so there’s been a lot of historical work done on Bath in that time period by Austen scholars, and I found all of those books and articles really helpful. I also read several tourist guidebooks to Bath that were written right around 1800. Finding those felt like striking gold!

PoaW: After reading A Tangle Of Magicks, I have been dying to go to Bath and see those roman baths for myself! I went on your (gorgeous!) website and realized that you have a very varied background in terms of studies, countries visited and work. What does this variety bring to your writing and to the themes in your books?

SB: Well, my background in academia really helped because I spent years researching late eighteenth-century Europe in connection to my degrees, as well as also reading letters and diaries of 18^th and 19^th century British women just for fun. And if I hadn’t spent a few years living in Vienna, Austria (which I loved!), I might have felt far more nervous about moving permanently from America to the UK to be with my now-husband…which directly led to writing about Kat! My first book, A Most Improper Magick, was set in exactly the area of Yorkshire where we lived as I wrote the book, and A Tangle of Magicks was inspired by our daytrip to Bath. I couldn’t have written any of these books if I hadn’t moved to the UK!

(And thanks for the kind words about my website! I’m lucky enough to be married to a fabulous web designer - Patrick Samphire, a.k.a. www.50secondsnorth.com - so I’ll pass the compliment on to him!)

PoaW: My favourite part of the book is the importance of family and I really love Kat’s evolution and how she is growing up. A Tangle Of Magicks features a bit more Kat’s father and her brother Charles and we start to see a bit more of their personalities. Are we going to see and learn a bit more about them in the next book? (why yes, this is a shameless attempt to get more info on book 3 :) )

SB: You absolutely will - especially Charles! I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but Kat 3 is definitely where Charles comes into his own. ;)

PoaW: Amazing! Can't wait to read book 3!! Kat is one of my favourite characters! She is strong, courageous and has the best personality ever! Do you have a top 5 of your favourite heroines in literature and which qualities do they need to have to catch your interest?

SB: Thanks so much! My biggest love as a reader is reserved for smart, feisty heroines who stand up for what they believe in, even if they make mistakes along the way. My top five are:

1. Amelia Peabody, the heroine of Elizabeth Peters’s Crocodile on the Sandbank and a whole series of funny mysteries set in Victorian-era Egypt. She’s smart, determined, and is never afraid to bash an evil-doer with her parasol!
2. Elizabeth Bennet, from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. She’s witty, intelligent, and refuses to give in to social pressure when she knows it’s wrong.
3. Ellie, the heroine of Joan Bauer’s Squashed (one of my favourite YA novels ever). She may be fighting an upward battle, but she’s passionate and loyal, two of my favourite qualities in a heroine - and the novel is hilarious!
4. Flora Segunda, of Ysabeau Wilce’s Flora Segunda. She’s theatrical, feisty and fabulous.
5. Jane Eyre, in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. She’s brave, analytical, and refuses to compromise her own integrity and sense of self-worth, even for the sake of romantic love.

PoaW: That's exactly how I love my heroines in books too! Young Adult literature is becoming increasingly important and as it grows, it gets regularly attacked for being too dark, too controversial and at times too influential. As a YA/MG writer, do you think there is too much darkness in YA literature these days and do you think teens need to be specifically shielded from some themes?

SB: I think kids deserve to have a wide variety of reading options. A book that’s too dark for one reader may well be the book that saves another. I personally tend to prefer writing and reading books that are bright and fun, high-spirited adventures - but I would be horrified if anyone took away the darker books from the shelves. Kids come from lots of different backgrounds and have a lot of different needs, and it would be terrible to take away a book that some kids really need just because some other kids aren’t ready for it yet.

PoaW: On the same topic, you recently participated in a panel about the importance of honesty and creativity in engaging young people organized by The Reading Agency, Bounce! and various publishing companies including Templar. What came out of this event?

SB: That event was so much fun! I really enjoyed being part of such a varying group of authors - Anthony McGowan and Colin Mulhern write very gritty contemporary YA fiction (Colin’s book is about 11-year-old cage fighters in a very freaky contemporary underworld)  while Isla Whitcroft writes glamorous, fun action adventures for a great teen heroine (and martial artist) who gets to travel around the world and use excellent spy gadgets. It was incredibly stimulating for me as a writer to get to discuss writing with such great writers who all write such different kinds of books.

PoaW: Goodreads links to Colin Mulhern's Clash (here) and Isla Whitcroft's The Cate Carlisle Files: Trapped (here)

PoaW: And last, there is a Kat book 3 in the works which will be published in 2012. Will there be more Kat books (pleeeaaase!) and do you have any other projects coming up?

SB: I honestly don’t know the answer to your first question, because it’s just too early to even guess. Truthfully, I would LOVE to write more Kat books - I have lots of ideas for where her further adventures will take her (whether I ever end up writing them or not). However, in terms of hard publishing reality, I can’t even try to sell any more Kat books until Kat book 2 has come out in America and had time to show sales figures, which won’t be for at least another year…so of course I’m working on other projects in the meantime, because I can’t bear to stop writing while I wait! I’m actually just about to send a couple of potential projects to my US editor, so I’m at the stage of feeling far too nervous to talk about them in public right now…

PoaW: I'll cross all my fingers and toes! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and writing such wonderful books!

SB: Thank you so much for having me here!

~~~

You can read a short story taking place between Kat book 1 and Kat book 2 on Stephanie's website.

Links:

Stephanie Burgis website : http://www.stephanieburgis.com/

Twitter: @stephanieburgis

Templar fiction facebook page

Flight To Dragon Isle Blog Tour - Why Dragons? by Lucinda Hare

Hi everyone!

You probably know by now how much I love dragons so I was really excited when I was given the chance to review The Dragonsdome Chronicles! I have read The Dragon Whisperer and Flight To Dragon Isle one after the other in a couple of days and I am dying to read the next book! 

I loved Quenelda as a main character and the evolution she goes through, I also love the dragons and all the world in this book. I think it's a fantastic adventure story for tweens but also for anyone who is a fan of fantasy and dragons in particular! 

But without further ado, let me leave you with the lovely Lucinda Hare who will be talking about why she chose to write about dragons!

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Why dragons?

Dragons!  Mythical, magical, scaled, horned and winged; we love them. They scare us silly, they pose riddles, they sit on mythological piles of gold and nowadays they are our friends, guides and companions.  They’re even cuddly and cute and have learning difficulties.  Dragons exert an enduring glamour to young readers and adults alike.  A tiny bit of our minds rationalise they might have once existed, after all there is hardly a culture on the planet that does not have them embedded in mythology and legend.   Dragons are dinosaurs with wings, and we know dinosaurs existed.  So with so many dragons around, why did I choose dragons in such a crowded marketplace?

Firstly, because these magical creatures live in the imagination of every child on the planet. All over the world legends and myths of dragons exist.  So, no matter where a reader lives, and no matter the animals they have as pets or working animals, or even if they have no pets at all, they can conjure an image of a dragon in their mind. This way no-one is left out of the story.

According to Root, who is Tangnost Bearhugger’s hapless apprentice, dragons, irrespective of breed are a horrifying assortment of teeth, talons, scales and tails.  They can eat you raw or toast you – well, only the carnivores, the battledragons, can toast you, but to Root that is beside the point.

Secondly because I thought I could bring an original idea to the table, a new take on an old favourite.   Dragons are thinking, talking creatures who have a pact with the peoples of the seven Sea Kingdoms to fight their age-long enemy, the amphibious voracious hobgoblins.   And although The Dragonsdome Chronicles are set in a medieval world, the Stealth Dragon Services (the SDS), the elite military fighting force of the Kingdoms are clearly based upon modern armed forces, specifically the Special Air Services.  Dragons take the place of Harrier jump jets, Apache Longbow helicopters and F-22 stealth raptors.  They have dragon pads instead of helicopter pads, they have helmets with integrated comms and heads-up visor displays.  They use modern terminology, strategy and tactics.

Thirdly dragons are not just in the book; they are central characters with wholly individual characters. There are three introduced in The Dragon Whisperer. There is Quenelda’s stocky Sabretooth battledragon, Two Gulps & You’re Gone; Root’s gentle, teasing Chasing The Stars, and the SDS Commander’s huge Imperial Black battledragon, Stormcracker Thundercloud III.  Two Gulps is a proud and boastful cave dragon, he has serious attitude and is temperamental. Chasing The Stars is a Windglen Widdershanks, a mild-mannered herbivore who has a wicked sense of humour and turns out to surprise everyone with her bravery, just like Root does. Stormcracker is the last of the noble dragons, with magic of his own that can make him disappear – hence the ‘Stealth Dragon Services’. Just like breeds of cats, dogs and horses, dragons come in all shapes, sizes and colours.

And finally, because all the dragons in The Dragonsdome Chronicles are inspired by our own large family of rescued animals. A lot of Two Gulps’ character is taken from our huge ginger cat, Rufus, who has serious attitude. I’m the only one who handles him, but when we come home late at night, even if it’s cold and wet, Rufus is there at the end of the path waiting for us. He has a huge cuddly lion which he treadles, so deep inside he’s just a big softie!

The enduring attraction of dragons is that they can fly and that we can fly on them.  Dragons take us to the skies where in reality mankind has only recently achieved that, and we have needed technology to do so.  There is not a creature in the world that can bear us skyward, but dragons can!  Flying dragons gives me great scope for showing how you might learn.  Some people ride horses, others motorbikes, everyone drives cars... but dragons?  Dragons belong to dreams and everyone can dream.  But then how would someone learn?  You can’t just get on a dragon and fly, any more than you could sit behind the wheel of a car and drive.  History can provide the best inspiration.  Once Roman cavalry fought without stirrups; that meant that you were often knocked from your saddle, and if you couldn’t remount you were dead.  So all legionaries had to practice on a wooden horse, a tradition that lives on in modern gymnastics.  So why not a wooden dragon?  With a little creativity to make it go up and down and side to side and spin around, you have a wooden dragon that mimics flying.  In this illustration the esquires are trying to make Root’s life a misery by giving him a saddle that doesn’t fit.

 But...and there is always a but, if you are like Root then you are afraid of heights and you get travel sick, and yes, there is much of me in Root.  I have never grown out of being travel sick.  I hate flying....all that emptiness below, and the slightest turbulence and my stomach rapidly follows suit.   Poor old Root....

The reality is that if we came across a dragon most of us would probably faint, and that is exactly what Root does!   He tries not to be scared.  Even when he is reassured that this girl is not a carnivore and loves her thistles and honey tablets, he finds those teeth and claws a bit too scary.  The fact that Chasing the Stars has a wicked sense of humour doesn’t help.

Of course there are also domestic dragons in the Dragon Whisperer. You meet them in the paddocks of Dragonsdome and at the Winter Jousts. But just because they are placid herbivores does not mean they don't have character. The Windglen Widdershanks gifted to Root has a wicked sense of humour and proves to be feisty and very brave - just like her master! I think Chasing the Stars is my favourite dragon so far.

And then again there is the nitty-gritty of flying.  Glamorous?  Exciting?  Well yes, but those of us who drive motorbikes know that unless you can afford the best kit, the leathers, boots, helmet and gloves, you still get cold and wet, and hanging on the back as pillion passenger when you’re travelling at warp factor nine is exhausting!  And that would be the reality of dragon flying.  But you would still want to give it a go, wouldn’t you?  Well, does the hapless Root?  This final illustration from The Dragon Whisperer gives you a clue, but go on, find out for yourself...because even for adults, dragons rekindle our childhood wonder for the world.   Dragons give us wings.

~~~

I agree! A part of me thinks dragons do exist and that I need to have one :D

Thank you Lucinda for this wonderful post on dragons and a bazillion thank you to RHCB for sending me copies of the books (reviews to come up soon!).

Flight to Dragon Isle is the second book in the Dragonsdome Chronicles published by Random House Children's Books (the first book is The Dragon Whisperer) which you can buy from any bookshop! Also, how beautiful are the covers? Seriously, I want a poster!!

Do not hesitate to visit Lucinda's website as it is full of gorgeous illustrations of the Chronicles made by the author herself!

The Hours - Michael Cunningham | Guest review by Andrew for Lesbian Teen Novels Week

This is the last review for the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

When I asked around if people wanted to write guest reviews for the week,

Andrew from The Pewter Wolf volunteered with this book.

It isn't per se a young adult novel, but I can remember devouring Virginia Woolf's books and loving the film version of The Hours when I was in high school so I thought it was a perfect choice to finish this week. One book which is one of the many possibilities you can read to develop your literary tastes as well as make you think. It seems fitting that teenagers read about the importance of one moment's choice.

~~~

When Portrait of the Woman asked on Twitter if anyone would like to take part in Lesbian Teen Novel Week, I was quite excited and thought it would be cool and interesting idea to take part in. Now, after a few hours of trying to think of a novel that uses lesbian characters as lead characters (It was too soon to reread Huntress by Malinda Lo [which, I thought, was a wonderful fantasy story with a lovely romance] and I didn't have a copy of The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson [which I heard is a very good read!]), I decided to reread my copy of The Hours by Michael Cunningham (which doesn’t technically come under “Lesbian Teen Novel” but I asked if this was okay to read).

The Hours follows a day in the lives of three women in three different time zones, each unrelated to the other yet whose lives are intertwined by one event: a book. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. We follow the day in the life of the author, the reader and the character. Virginia Woolf is starting to write Mrs Dalloway in the early 20th century, Laura Brown is reading Mrs Dalloway in 1960s America and Clarissa Vaughan (who is nicknamed Mrs Dalloway) is going to throw a party that evening in late 1990s New York City.

I first read this just before the film based on this book came out in 2003 and, at the time, I really enjoyed this book. It was so different to what I have read before and the ideas of writing an ordinary day in the lives of three seemingly ordinary women was interesting. No wonder it won awards like the Pulitzer Prize (which at the time - and now, actually - I still don’t truly understand).

But now, rereading and rewatching the movie in 2011, I am beginning to doubt my memory of the book as things are creeping up that I had not noticed before.

I understand what the book is trying to do. It’s trying to write what can happen within a moment and how important a day can be to a person who makes decisions that could and would change your life forever. Basically, Michael Cunningham is doing the same thing Virginia Woolf did within Mrs Dalloway.

But it seems to me, the second time I read this, that it fell a tad flat. There are times when it feels like the book is repeating itself. There was a chapter where we follow Virginia Woolf where she goes into her bathroom and washes her face. Within the one paragraph, we are told three times that she washes her face and doesn’t look in the mirror.

However, the book becomes interesting the further you read. The last five or six chapters are my fave as it all comes to a head as is the prologue which has no real impact to the story but if you know the life story of Virginia Woolf, it makes sense and rings true.

Now, let’s touch on the subject of love. With the story where we follow Virginia Woolf and Laura Brown, both are married and both kiss a woman. But it’s Clarissa’s story that tackles her being a lesbian. She is in a relationship with her partner, Sally, for over several years and she has a straight daughter. Most of her friends that we meet are gay or bisexual and nothing about this felt sensation. It felt normal. Clarissa and Sally have been a couple for years and they acted like a couple for years. Under the new laws that has happened in the state of New York, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were a married couple. It felt like I was reading a typical couple. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Now, the film. I do like the film. I think I prefer the film to the book, but of course, things have changed from the book version of the Hours to the film version of The Hours. For example, Laura Brown goes to a hotel. In the book, she goes there to escape the “failure” of the birthday cake she has made and to have think to herself. It is only there where she realises how easy it would be to die. How easily it would be to kill herself. In the film, however, she goes to the hotel with the idea of killing herself in mind. It’s only after a nightmare of drowning that she changes her mind.

But, out of the two, I would say watch the film. Meryl Streep can’t seem to do anything wrong!

~~~

Thank you Andrew for this lovely review!

I will go and grab a copy at the library, I love the idea of it being a re-creation of Mrs Dalloway!

What Now? | Lesbian Teen Novels Week

This is my last post for the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

~~~

This week is over guys (well, there will be one last review to be posted later today!) and I had such a fantastic time! Thanks to all those who posted guest reviews, reviews and articles on their blogs or retweeted this week's posts, I've had very nice comments about this from new readers/followers so I am really glad some people found some great book recommendations! I am also very happy that more and more people (who are not gay or questioning their identity/sexuality) want to read LGBT fiction.

Lesbian fiction is not just about two women falling in love. It really isn't. It has *gasp* exactly the same themes as general fiction plus a few more. Acceptance for being different works just as well with sexuality as with ethnicity, religious origins, health, etc. Julie Anne Peters says in a letter printed at the end of Keeping You A Secret that she had many people writing to her about this book, and not only gay teens, and how it had helped them go throught their teenage years. Some themes in young adult literature are definitely universal.

Teenagers can also choose to discover other authors and novels which are not specifically aimed at young adults. I'm pretty sure I was reading more adult fiction as a teen than I am now (oops!). One of the most famous contemporary lesbian fiction author is Sarah Waters. She writes historical fiction (think Charles Dickens with a lesbian twist). The branding of LGBT literature as "genre fiction" (read "erotica") when it isn't really any different from general fiction is the biggest problem and it is even more an issue for teenagers who wouldn't go seek a book in those shelves. Thankfully, Sarah Waters is one of those authors who are not discarded to the erotica shelves but showcased in the general fiction ones - let's hope many other authors will follow her!

If you hang around this blog often, you might know that I am a bit of a feminist and I really love strong female characters and abhor weak ones (unless they are here to be a counter-example). As a teen I discovered Virginia Woolf in my English class and I really fell for her ideas. I didn't like *her* that much when I read her biography (though I understand her better now), but her ideas and her way of writing resonated deeply in me. I felt that what she was writing about her time, was what I was feeling in mine. Obviously, times had changed and everything, but I still felt confined in a place for reasons I couldn't fathom at the time. If my earlier teens were mainly confused, I think that my later teens had that rebellious streak you can find in Virginia Woolf's novels and essays.

A lot of narrow-minded people think that feminists are lesbians and that, worse, "feminist" is an insulting word one should be ashamed of. *sigh* It isn't (I shall not bore you to death by proving that with actual arguments) and some people today could really use reading now some of the best essays and novels on the woman condition. Things appear to have changed more than they actually have, you'll see.  

 

Because this week is not just a drop in the ocean but more of a commitment, I thought I wouldn't leave you hanging with just a few recommendations. There are different places where you can find Lesbian teen novels:

• Wikipedia has a page for that here (of course it does)
• You can find lists on Goodreads or Amazon
• There are quite a few blogs (not specifically YA though) centred on LGBT literature which you can Google but you can also go on The Lesbrary which has a fantastic blogroll and a weekly review round up. You Can also visit the GLBT Reading Challenge for book tips.
• Besides being a fantastic author, Malinda Lo is also very active in the blogosphere to get people to read more diverse books (sexuality is one of the aspect, there is also the religion, origins etc.), so go check out the blog Diversity in YA.
• Bella Books is a publisher/retailer which specialises in lesbian fiction, go visit their website and their blog.
• For the UK people, the lesbian magazine Diva has a book feature every issue and there is even more content and links on their website.
• I'm probably forgetting loads of things so don't hesitate to ask around on Twitter etc. to have more info :)

(Sorry if I rambled too much)

(I couldn't help it)

I hope you guys had as much fun as I did and could discover some fab books!

Cheers,

Caroline x