Thursday 30 November 2017

Thrilling Secrets and a Glowing Book Review of Joss Stirling's Latest Novel

Christmas is nearly upon us - literally, in 25 days we will wake up, have a cup of tea and some biscuits, and open the presents in our stockings.

But the real question is, what is the best present that you can get your fellow book nerd?
If you want to find out, then I would recommend you carry on reading this blog post, since I have the answer to the question that has no doubt been bugging your brain.

So, in October, Joss Stirling announced to her many fans - me being included - that alas, she had finished writing her novel, Glow (2017) - the second novel in her Peril (2017) trilogy, and was on the look out for 50 Super Fans to proofread the novel for her, offering advice on what they thought of the story.

Me being the mega Super Fan that I am, volunteered myself as tribute (I hope you are proud of this Hunger Games reference) and asked to proofread the novel, which I had been bursting with excitement to read.

The day came when I received Joss's email, which held a copy of Glow that I was yet to proofread, and I encountered a mixture of emotions. Excitement. Curiosity. Intrigue. And then like any good book worm does, I started proofreading the novel.

Now, for those of you who are going to read the novel - which I dearly hope is all of you - I obviously don't want to give too much away, so I'm only going to give you hints to spark the curiosity that is no doubt already growing in your mind, since you are reading this post.

What I enjoy about the Joss Stirling novels, is that they always start off with a prologue that takes us into the past of a character featured in the novel we are about to read, whether it be the main character or a close friend or family member. It gives us an insight to the past of the main character that the story is about. How they have grown to be the person they are now.

After reading an endearing prologue this time featuring Meri's childhood through Theo's eyes, during a time when he was attending her parent's evening, the story picks up where the previous story ended - on the Tean boat.

When we last finished reading Peril, we were left with Meri and Kel, on-board a boat, that was taking them to the Tean kingdom that was Meri's birthright.

Some time had passed between where Peril ended and Glow began - Meri was learning her way around how to be a leader of her Tean followers and Kel was getting used not being the most liked member on the boat.

I found it interesting, the representation of the boat being on cold and bitter waves, which helps to shape up the future prospect of the story being on unsteady waters, so to speak.

While Meri and Kel may be madly in love for each other, what us fans knew from the previous story is that many people are against the idea of a Tean and a Perilous being in a relationship together, and while Meri had managed to get Kel on the boat with her, this doesn't stop the actions and the opinions of the other Teans on board, who are still strongly against this relationship and what it is standing for - how the way Perilous and Teans are currently living should change.

Needless to say, it isn't long before Joss takes us on a roller coaster of twists, turns and loop-di-loops throughout her story - which we all know we love so much, and is one of the many reasons why we read her books. I can honestly say, there are many plot turns, pretty much all of which, I did not see coming.

What was also interesting, was how this story takes the reader through different cities and towns, allowing us to see how the future has changed in this dystopian, climate changed world.

I also imagine that the way Joss wrote of Meri's life - a young girl, soon to be the ruler of a kingdom she is continuously learning about, who has many plans for change - is no doubt close to what this situation would be like in real life. The emotions, thoughts and actions that Meri had to take were very realistic and fascinating to read.

As always, the character's in Joss's books are relatable, life-like and gripping to read. Joss is moving with the trends, bringing in her own slang that teenagers in different groups or clicks would use, in her version of the future life of this world.

We meet characters from the previous book who we possibly thought we would never see again and we also make new friends and plenty of enemies in this novel.

One this is for sure though. You will not be disappointed and in some ways, I feel this book is even better than the first one in the book series.

For those of you going Christmas shopping - or just want to simply treat yourself to a book - get your bag and purse ready, as this novel hit the stores today and is ready to be added to your bookshelf!

The third and final novel in this trilogy has already been announced that it will be called Flare and Joss is hoping for this novel to be out at some point in Spring 2018.
For further updates, be sure to follow Joss Stirling on her Facebook or Twitter account.
Meanwhile, for some awesome pictures, why not follow her on Instagram?

Finally, to conclude this exciting blog update, I also came across some very exciting evidence. It turns out, Joss Stirling will also be treating us bookish fans to her first psychological story!
Due to be out in February 2018 - according to Amazon - her first psychological thriller, called Don't Trust Me (2018) will no doubt be the cause for a bubble of bookish chatter and excitement early next year.