Currently Reading

Currently reading: Vulture by Bex Hogan.

Friday 31 December 2010

Farewell 2010... Hello 2011

Wow! This hardly seems possible. Here we are in the dying hours of 2010, waiting to ring in 2011! It's madness! It doesn't feel like 5 minutes since we were counting in 2010, not counting it out!

I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone who's made this year a good one! All of my fellow bloggers, especially those who I met in the beginning of February who gave encouragement and advice! And to the people that continue to read! Glad you like the blog so much. And also to the amazing publishers/publicists/authors for all their generosity. I appreciate every single book I receive and cannot believe you're so willing to send them to a nobody like me!

I hope everyone has a very very Happy New Year, and I hope that 2011 treats everyone well! :)

Empire of Books Top 10 Covers of 2010

Just like the Top Books of 2010 chart/list/thing yesterday, this took a heck of a lot of work to put together. So many brilliant covers. It took a lot of thinking, fishing out of physical copies, as we all know that cover art is even more amazing in the flesh, but I think I finally have my Top 10! So without further ado...

10. Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne.

9. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.

8. Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey.

7. When I Was Joe by Keren David.

6. The Radleys by Matt Haig.

5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

4. The Thirteen Curses by Michelle Harrison.

3. The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

2. Trash by Andy Mulligan.

And my favourite cover of 2010 is...

1. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver.





Thursday 30 December 2010

Empire of Books Top 10 Books of 2010

So, after a good day and a half of thinking, umm-ing and ah-ing, a bit of a headache, lots of music and a little bit of reading too, I whittled down all the amazing books released that I read this year into this, the Empire of Books Top 10 Books of 2010! It took a lot of hard work but I am very happy with the final outcome!

10. VAMPIRATES: Empire of Night by Justin Somper.

Unleashed upon the UK in March, Empire of Night is the fifth addition to Somper's hugely successful, and very impressive, Vampirates series. It's the penultimate adventure taking Connor and Grace deeper into their past than ever before. With new alliances, and new enemies, Empire of Night sets things up pretty nicely for an explosive finale. Look out for the final book, Immortal War, out June 2011!










9. Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey.

Released in March, this horrific beauty is the first book in a terrifying trilogy that will make your teeth chatter, your spine tingle and your toes curl. Perfection all in a neat little package. Brilliant writing that will draw you right into the heart of the story! I have the second book, Gallows At Twilight and cannot wait to read it! Look out for the remaining two books in the trilogy, both published this year! Gallows At Twilight is out 6th January and what is sure to be a stunning finale, The Last Nightfall is due to land in September! Brilliant! (And this series has such beautiful, eye catching artwork! Check out the cover art for the remaining two books below!)


8. Angel by L. A. Weatherly.

Published in October, Angel is another introduction to a trilogy from author L. A. Weatherly. It takes angels and completely re-imagines them as horrific, merciless beasts, and I for one LOVED it! I am quite simply chomping at the bit to read the second book, Angel Fire out Summer 2011!













7. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.

With a Hollywood film adaptation already filming before the book was even published, expectations were high for this book when it was published over the Summer and I for one was not disappointed. I was sent a beautiful review copy from Penguin/Puffin and once I started reading I did not want to stop! I was a bit sceptical - it is about aliens that are living amongst us after all, but it's not what I expected at all. It's the first in the Lorien Legacies series, with the second book, The Power of Six due Summer 2011. And with the film out in Feb/March, I cannot wait to see just how far this series really can go!






6. Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne.

Noah Barleywater Runs Away has to be one the most beautifully written books I have ever had the fortune of reading. It takes fairy tale and real life and blends it all together so brilliantly. I love the themes, and the story as a whole. The way this book deals with death is quite simply genius. I wish this book had been around before I experienced the death of a loved one. In my opinion it has brilliant morals and every child should read this book. If not to learn or understand, to read a blooming good story!








5. Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan.

Released in October, Birth of a Killer is the first of four in The Saga of Larten Crepsley, a prequel to Shan's The Saga of Darren Shan, this book was a must read for me! I am a big Darren Shan fan and was delighted to get a proof copy and devoured it in a day. Brilliant book and it sets things up brilliantly for the next book, Oceans of Blood, due May!












4. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver.

I am a massive massive MASSIVE fan of Michelle Paver and could not wait to read this! And luckily for me, that wait was cut short thanks to the amazing people at Orion! And what a book! A slightly terrifying read that chills to the core, it's the best ghost story I have ever read (I believe it's only the second or third, but who's counting?) and only continues to prove what an immense talent Michelle is! And that cover! 











3. Boy's Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman

As soon as I heard the concept for this book, I just knew it'd be a brilliant read. And it was! Malorie Blackman took the concept of teenage pregnancy and flipped it completely, looking at it from the point of view of the father, and that is something I actually haven't seen or heard of before in teen literature! A stunning read, the tale of Dante - discovering and coming to terms with the fact that he is a father - and his brother Adam - coming to terms with his sexuality - run alongside each other. I cannot recommend this book enough. Read it, read it, read it! You'd be mad not to!







2. Almost True by Keren David.

I really really REALLY want to include both Almost True, and the first book in Ty/Joe's journey, When I Was Joe into this list but didn't want to leave out any other amazing books, so I went for my favourite of the two. This ground-breaking book isn't just my second favourite of the year, it is among my Top 5 books ever. I just love it so much. The writing is perfect. It feels exactly like a fourteen year old boy talking. And although Ty/Joe does some stupid things, you can't help but love him and sympathise for him. He's just a brilliantly thought out character! Keren has done amazing things with these books! Tackling the knife culture of today, these books are stark, often quite horrifying reads that will leave a MASSIVE impression on you! Do NOT miss out! Please!





And so we come to Number 1. My favourite book published this year... it was a hard decision, but I've made it and I am confident that it's the right one! I even read last few chapters again just to be sure, and I am... so... My Number 1 book of 2010 is...

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

It just had to be Mockingjay. I know quite a few people were disappointed with this book when it was published in August. And yes, it is a heavily depressing and draining read - I was exhausted when I finished it - but it takes a true talent to make you feel real emotion and to have that sort of effect on you. I just thought it was brilliant, epic. I am something of a relative newcommer to The Hunger Games, only reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire about 2 or 3 months before Mockingjay came out, but I could not wait to read it and it did not disappoint. It had the biggest impact on me since I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows back in 2007 and for that reason alone it was already a front runner. But combined with the plot, and the overall feel of the story, the characters, the cover design, it won by a country mile!




So that's it folks. Those are my Top 10 Books of 2010! Look out tomorrow for my Top 10 Covers of 2010!

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Cover Watch: Witchfinder 3 and Scorpia Rising

Some beautiful covers have been released over the last few weeks! 2 such beauties right here!

The first is for The Last Nightfall, the third and final book in William Hussey's brilliant Witchfinder trilogy. It's out in September 2011 and sounds amazing! Check out the cover and the synopsis below!

With a sickening jolt, Jake realized that everything before this had been just a prelude to terror. Now he could see and hear the darkness of demonkind. Now he had reached the Shore of Damnation. Now he had truly entered Hell . . . The Demon Father has taken control of the United Kingdom. He is on a mission to open the door to the demon realm, destroying all of humankind. Jake would go to hell and back to stop him . . . but will that be enough?

And the second beaut to be revealed is the cover for the ninth and final of Anthony Horowitz' Alex Rider series, Scorpia Rising. Out on 31st March, and strictly embargoed, it is set to close the series with a collossal bang! Check out the stunning cover which is sure to stand out below, as well as the synopsis!


"This gripping final mission brings together Alex Rider's old enemies to frame the teenage superspy in an unstoppable plot of revenge, from which he can never return. Pursued from Europe to North Africa and Cairo's city of the dead - this is the twistiest and most deadly plot of any Alex Rider mission yet, and will reveal Smithers' ultimate gadget and see the shock death of a major character."

The End of the Year: A Series of Charts

Hey guys!


So 2010 is in it's dying days and what a year it has been for books. So many amazing reads hit the shelves this year. So many beautiful covers were unleashed upon the world! And so on Thursday and Friday (30th and 31st) there will be 2 charts! EoB's Top 10 Books of 2010 will see me struggle, and believe me I am struggling!, to place my top 10 fave books of the year in some form of order! And then on Friday, EoB's Top 10 Covers of 2010 will see me again fight to chose my Top 10 covers of the year, and that included any book, not just that I have read! So it's even harder. Argh!


Also, tomorrow (I might not be online as it's my birthday! but I'll try and tweet the link at some point from my iPod!) there is a review of The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan going live! There may also be some reviews going live on Thursday and Friday but that all depends on if I get around to writing them or not!


Ryan

Thursday 23 December 2010

Merry Christmas



Hey everyone!

So as I feared I haven't had much time to come on. Things have been so hectic with work and getting ready for Christmas! But I have time off now until 4th January so in between Christmas and New Year there is lots of stuff to come! Reviews, Charts of 2010, all sorts! It's going to be fun. I hope! Haha.

Anyway, the point of this is to wish all of my amazing followers, both here on the blog and on Twitter a very very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

2010 has been kind of a bitter-sweet one for me. Lots of good but also the fair share of bad, and I for one cannot wait to see what 2011 holds personally and in the literary world. I've already read some amazing 2011 books (Entangled by Cat Clarke being one!) and have received a few more that are very exciting and I cannot wait to read!

So yeah, Merry Christmas everyone and a very Happy New Year. I hope everyone has a great day and keeps safe! And I hope good old Father Christmas brings you something nice too! ;)

Ryan

(P.S. Sorry the decorations are up so late! Blegh! Oh well! They're here now! :))

Monday 6 December 2010

Wow... No Way

Hi guys!

Yes! I am still here! I haven't forgotten about you! I finally got my new laptop and when I haven't been working I've been busy setting it up and doing other things (like works Christmas Party this past weekend which was amazing... I got a little bit tipsy... Nuff said!). I really feel like I've been neglecting EoB and that is not the way I want 2010 to go out! So I am going to do my best to make sure that things pick up around here! 

And now I've just found out that we've hit the 100 follower mark! :D You have no idea how happy this makes me! When I first started EoB back in February I had no idea that anyone other than me would give a rats. So thank you thank you thank you! I am going to hold a contest, but it probably won't be till next month (January) as most of this months wages are gone already... Oops! Haha! But yeah. Reviews and stuff all coming up. 

There'll also be charts. Top 10 Books of the Year, Top 10 Covers of the Year and maybe another one or two if I can think of any! Haha! It's coming up to that time of the year again and this weekend I will be sorting out the Christmas decorations to put up. ;) Exciting times ahead and I hope next year is just as good! The big first Blogerversary coming up! Argh!

Thanks for sticking by me guys! Look out for lots of new content next week! :)

-Ryan