You Only Live Once - Jess Vallance

Grace is convinced she's going to die from a tropical disease she picked up on holiday. And the worst thing is that this all happens when she's already finished her exams! She decides this is the wake up call that she needs, she's been wasting her life studying and preparing for a boring job and boring life. But no more! She's determined to make every moment count from now on, starting with horseback riding on the beach, bungee jumping and doing something to help others. Of course, none of these turn out quite as she expected.

This book was hilarious in many places, touching and heart warming. Sometimes quite frustrating when Grace does something you just know is going to go wrong, but she always deals with it and moves on. It's all part of normal life after all. Grace's mum was one of my favourite characters. She's so straightforward and unflappable, no matter what Grace tells her. In some parts of the book she seems so wise and in others completely clueless, but always there for her family. Til is also a great character, though she seems so grumpy and unsympathetic at first. She's clearly very good for Grace and perfect for balancing her out.

I really enjoyed reading about Grace's experiences and loved how she just went for it, no matter how many times her plans fell apart and things did not go her way. Even when she makes mistakes she doesn't let that stop her. Book 2 in the series sounds like it will be just as funny, with Grace vowing to be completely honest for 50 days. I can just guess how that is going to go!

I found this delicious cocktail just perfect for Grace. To make the Awaiting Grace, get a tall glass and throw in a few basil leaves and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Muddle them together in the glass before filling with ice. Add a shot of Triple Sec, 2 shots of Vanilla Vodka and a wedge of lime. Top up with cloudy apple juice. Stir and serve.

YALC 2018

This year I decided to go to YALC (Young Adult Literature Festival) for two days instead of just the one I did last year. This definitely made it a lot easier and I had the second day to chill out a lot more. Also last year the authors I wanted to meet were all on different days so this doubled my chances of catching the ones I wanted! Here's everything I picked up there or took with me for signing, all laid out looking lovely!

I also entered a few competitions over the weekend and managed to win this gorgeous goodie bag for my amazing photo! I'm particularly pleased with the 'naps and snacks' socks.

And of course, you want to see the huge pile of books I managed to get signed by some of my favourite authors. It was wonderful to meet them all and they were all so lovely to talk to. I imagine it must get pretty tiring talking to so many people and signing your name so many times but they all made time to chat.

I manged to pick up a few free books though I definitely feel there was less than last year. While the organisers this year have tried to make proof giveaways a bit fairer by doing raffles and such, it seemed there were a lot fewer copies of the books. No doubt this will change again next year. In general I found the festival a bit less organised but sometimes you just have to go with it! Here's my haul.

And of course I had to buy a bunch more to add to my towering TBR. Some I bought for signing, some I already wanted, and some simply jumped into my arms from the publishers' stalls. But all have come to a loving new home. These are just the ones I hadn't read yet, though I am pleased to say I've managed to read three of these already. I can't wait to read the rest, why can't I have endless time to read???

Did you visit YALC this year or any other year? I'd love to hear about your experiences and any other festivals I need to know about. Let me know in the comments!

Between Darkness and the Light - Paul Mitchener

I am happy to be today's stop on the blog tour for Between Darkness and the Light. Read on for a guest post from the author, Paul Mitchener and also his cocktail recommendation!

Henry has no idea that he is anything other than a normal, slightly lazy, teenager or that his mother is not even human. After a fight with his mother he spends all day walking around and ends up in the forest where he meets a couple of very strange characters. After this he soon finds out a lot more than he ever expected. I really liked the character of Bert, one of the guardians. He reminded me a bit of Hagrid, telling Harry that he's a wizard! I felt like this book was at least a third longer than it needed to be, but it was interesting enough to keep me reading.

Here, Paul talks about his main protagonist:

My main protagonist (Henry) is a young and bored teenager, who quickly learns that there is more to this world than he could have ever imagined. At first, he’s like any other boy of his age but through a series of events he learns to grow up fast. Whenever I wrote about Henry I couldn’t help but think back to my own teenaged years and his relationship with Bree reminded me of how I felt when I met my first love, excited but also uncertain of his own feeling. Henry starts off as an insecure teenager, unsure of himself and the world around him, but quickly become stronger, wiser and more assertive as the story line progresses, and at the end of the novel, Henry is no longer a teenager but had become a man that is no longer afraid to stand up for what he believes, a man that those around him and those that love had come to admire. One of the main things I like about Henry is that he is a likeable character which most young adults would be able to relate to, but above all, I feel that he is a believable character.

Paul's cocktail recommendation is a Brandy Collins:
50 ml Brandy, 25 ml Squeezed Lemon Juice, 15 ml Sugar Syrup, 15 ml Soda Water, Maraschino Cherry, Lemon Slice. Mix the brandy, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a tall glass with ice. Top up with soda water, garnish with a maraschino cherry and a lemon slice and serve.