Alex C. Vick's Blog

"Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book."— Jane Smiley
I love this quote ❤️. It's true for me in all circumstances, but most especially at YALC, my favourite weekend of the year. The eleventh Young Adult Literature Convention took place at London Olympia on November 15-16, and I'm still smiling two days later!
Today's blog post is a quick tour of YALC 2025 by way of five memorable (to me) books from this year's event. 
1️⃣ The Proof
Winning a proof copy of an unpublished book isn't guaranteed, but there's no denying it's awesome when it happens. Most of the publishers bring a very limited number of proof copies, and the queues can be pretty long, so it helps to do your research and only focus on the ones you're really interested in.
The Heirs, by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is described as The Inheritance Games meets Knives Out, and it's due to be published in June 2026. Actually, it was my youngest daughter (and long-time YALC companion) who found this one, and I'm really glad she did!
Meet the heirs.Octavius the Maestro.Fola the Brain.Bilal the Olympian.Perdita the Artist.Romeo the Failure.
Five prodigies. One dead father. A mansion full of suspects.
The proof competition was really fun—we had to complete a word puzzle followed by a quiz to find out which of the five heirs we were most like (answer: Romeo, the Writer).
There were five character-coded versions of the proof, which is the reason mine has a pen on the front. Then we got to meet the lovely author, Faridah, who signed and dedicated each copy. I asked her if The Heirs is a standalone (it is). I can't wait to read it!
2️⃣ The Impulse Purchase
To say that you're spoilt for choice as a reader at YALC is a massive understatement. There are literally piles and piles of beautiful, intriguing, and distracting books everywhere you look, and the publishers' stands are perfectly decorated to showcase their stories.
The challenge lies in figuring out which books are the right ones for you.
I chose Embrace the Serpent, by Sunya Mara for three reasons: the cover 💜, the prologue 🐍, and because it's recommended for fans of Once Upon a Broken Heart (definitely me). The free tote bag was also very cool 🛍️! 
3️⃣ The Fairy Tale
It's no secret that I love fairy tale retellings—I've already written four blog posts about them! I found A Curse of Shadows and Ice, by Catharina Maura, on the Orion stand. The presentation of the whole stand was beautiful. There were ten romantasy story clues on the various shelves (including: 🦊👑⚔️🗡️🧜‍♀️) that you had to match to the right books to win a prize. 
I chose this book because of the first chapter. I wasn't expecting it to start with the MMC POV, and I wasn't expecting him to be so... I'm trying to think of the right word to describe him. He's not exactly likeable (and obviously he's not supposed to be at this point in the story), but he's definitely interesting. I am curious to see how this particular retelling goes. 
4️⃣ The Book I Already Own
Author signings are a big part of YALC. They're also very popular, and tickets are issued right at the start of the day, so arriving early is a must. All of the authors I've met have been incredibly friendly, and Laini Taylor was no exception. She was so easy to talk to. I told her how much I loved the Strange the Dreamer duology and how I never thought in a million years that I would wind up cheering for one particular character (no names, no spoilers!).
She told me she had no idea when she started writing that this character would evolve in the way they did. The story was originally supposed to be only one book, but it turned out there was a lot more to tell before it was finished.
She also said she's a great believer in intuitive writing, which made me very happy because I'm not a planner either! Meeting Laini was the highlight of my weekend.
5️⃣ The Last-Minute Purchase
The Rebel and the Rose, by Catherine Doyle, is the second book in the City of Fantome series. It's only recently been released, and I was waiting for the paperback to come out before I bought it (because 💷).
But one of the (many) great things about YALC is the price reductions that happen on Sunday afternoon toward the end of the event. When this particular book dropped to 30% of its retail price, I caved and bought it. And I have no regrets. I loved the first book, and I'm looking forward to the next chapter in Seraphine and Ransom's story.
And that concludes my list! I hope it provided a bit of insight into this brilliant event. I'm sad that I have to wait a whole year until the next one, but at least I have plenty of new stories to keep me occupied in the meantime.
If you were at YALC this year, I hope you had an amazing time, and thank you very much for visiting my blog today💕.

“Maybe all the people who say ghosts don't exist are just afraid to admit that they do.”
― Michael Ende
Do you believe in ghosts? Are you someone whose brain supplies a logical explanation when something strange happens, or does your heart quicken with the fleeting fear there might be more to it?
Halloween is that time of year when even the most level-headed person can find themselves wondering. Long summer days have given way to creeping shadows and falling autumn leaves that rustle underfoot. It’s easy to imagine something sinister lurking at the edge of your peripheral vision. And there’s nothing like a good ghost story to make you doubt your senses, especially if you’re reading late at night when there’s no one else around.
I scare easily, especially when it comes to the paranormal, so I approach my Halloween reading with caution! My three book choices this year all contain characters who are ghosts. Some of them are benevolent, some are mean and murderous, and some are a complicated combination of both. 
As to whether I believe in ghosts… I guess I would have to say I do. I mean, I’ve never seen a ghost personally (and I’m in no hurry to change that!), but I don’t think I’d find ghost stories so terrifying if I was certain they didn’t exist. And I definitely believe places have memories. They retain echoes of things that happened, both good and bad. 
Almost twenty years ago, I spent a few days sightseeing in Edinburgh, and I visited Holyrood Palace—a gothic castle built in the early sixteenth century by King James IV of Scotland. The tour of Holyrood covers a lot of royal history, including one particularly famous death in the private apartments that used to belong to Mary, Queen of Scots. 
On 8 March 1566, Mary witnessed the brutal murder of her private secretary, David Rizzio. He was dragged from her bedchamber and stabbed an unbelievable fifty-seven times. Rizzio, a musician from Italy, was close to both Mary and her husband, Lord Darnley. So close, in fact, that Lord Darnley’s jealousy was a key factor in the plot to murder Rizzio. Rumours that Rizzio was the father of Mary’s child, the future James I of England, persisted long after Rizzio’s death. 
The exact location where Rizzio died is marked by a small gold plaque. There’s even a “bloodstain”, supposedly made from red wine by Victorian tour guides to encourage tourists to leave bigger tips. When I stood next to it, the sudden rush of terror was absolutely suffocating. It was like being wrapped in an invisible cloak made from pure dread. Even though it happened so long ago, I still get chills when I think about it. 
Of course, I also believe in the power of imagination 🙂. Would I have felt anything if I hadn’t known about Rizzio’s brutal death? I guess there’s no way to know for sure. Anyway, onto my ghostly Halloween reading 📙🎃. I hope you enjoy my choices, and thank you very much for visiting my blog today 💕. 
Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor
I’ve been meaning to read Strange the Dreamer and its sequel, Muse of Nightmares, for ages. When I found out that Laini Taylor, the author, was going to YALC this year, I immediately bumped them to the top of my TBR! (You can read more about YALC from a previous blog post here.)
Strange the Dreamer is not a scary story in the traditional Halloween sense, though it contains plenty of ghosts, more than a few nightmares, and a truly awful villain. There are also myths and magic, gods and goddesses, the most amazing character arcs, incredible worldbuilding, absolutely heartbreaking backstories, and the bravest, most honourable librarian you’ll ever meet. 
The beautiful bookmark is from Kehani Krafts, and I got the absolutely stunning character art from Enchanted Books. It’s exactly how I imagined Sarai would look 🦋.
Opening line: On the second Sabbat of Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky. 
Scariest moment: When I understood the true meaning of the prologue.
Three quotes:
1️⃣ “Lazlo owned nothing, not one single thing, but from the first, the stories felt like his own hoard of gold.”
2️⃣ “Good people do all the things bad people do, Lazlo. It's just that when they do them, they call it justice.”
3️⃣ “I’m not a dream,” said Sarai. There was bitterness in her voice. “I’m a nightmare.”
Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake
My second choice has such a great title. It suggests a character who is equal parts tragic and terrifying, and when we eventually meet her, the ghost of Anna Korlov doesn’t disappoint.
The story opens with Cas, a teenage ghosthunter on a mission to avenge his father’s death. Cas dispatches dangerous ghosts from the land of the living with a magical blade called an athame, and he’s got his sights set on Anna. Of course, nothing goes to plan because Anna isn’t an ordinary ghost…
Opening line: The grease-slicked hair is a dead giveaway—no pun intended.
Scariest moment: When we enter Anna’s house for the first time, and she lives up to her gruesome reputation in spectacular (and stomach-churning) fashion. 
Three quotes:
1️⃣ “Don’t be afraid of the dark, Cas. But don’t let them tell you that everything that’s there in the dark is also there in the light. It isn’t.”
2️⃣ “They rationalised their fears away. People shouldn’t do that.”
3️⃣ “I can feel that photo of Anna staring out from sixty years ago, and I can’t help myself from wanting to protect her, wanting to save her from becoming what she already is.”
Phantom Realm, by Neil Sater
I found this book the scariest of the three. I will admit that I read it after dark, which probably amplified my fears, but the slow, creepy build towards the big reveal really did keep me on the edge of my seat. There were no magical blades or enchanted moths in this story, and somehow, that made it all the more unnerving. The characters were ordinary people who simply had the misfortune to be trapped inside a horror story.
Phantom Realm is set in and around Harmon Manor, aka Misery Mansion, and the story spans four time periods all the way back to the Great Depression in the 1930s. The house is as much of a character as the other protagonists, and just like them, it keeps you guessing as to its true nature!
Opening line: It was supposed to be just a silly Halloween dare.
Scariest moment: When Jessica is in the cellar during a thunderstorm for the second time.
Three quotes:
1️⃣ “Grief turns vicious in the dead of night.”
2️⃣ “Mortality itself is such a key element of the human experience. Can you really be alive if you can’t die?”
3️⃣ “I guess I don’t mind having ghosts around. How many people can say they live in a haunted house? But if there is a presence here, I wish it would come out and show itself.”“Careful. You might regret saying that.” 

“To be at the beginning again, knowing almost nothing…”
— Tom Stoppard
Today's blog post is my eighth annual celebration of Young Adult stories with brilliant beginnings. These are the books I add to my TBR without hesitation because they start in a way that's so intriguing, or shocking, or funny that I can't wait to discover happens next. In my experience, if I love the first page of a story, then I will love the rest of it too.
Of course, what makes a brilliant beginning is subjective, and my top ten(s) won't be the same as anyone else's! But fortunately, there are lots and lots of Young Adult books in the world to choose from. I hope there's an opener on my new list that helps you to find your next great read, and thank you very much for visiting my blog today 💕.
1️⃣ “When did you first meet Miss LaRoux?”
“Three days before the accident.”
“And how did that come about?”
“The accident?”
“Meeting Miss LaRoux.”
“How could it possibly matter?”
“Major, everything matters.”
These Broken Stars, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner 
2️⃣ “Anything could happen in the blink of an eye. Anything at all.
One. Two. Three. Blink.”
Abandon, by Meg Cabot
3️⃣ “Three weddings.
Three funerals.
A better person would have been devastated, but Alessa bowed her head to hide dry eyes as she knelt before the jewel-encrusted coffin on the altar. The temple beneath the Cittadella smelled of mildew and death, the air thick with dust motes drifting like the ghosts of fireflies.
She would cry. Later. She always did. Being widowed at eighteen was tragic, after all, and none of her partners had deserved to die. Still, it was difficult to muster tears for yet a third time.”

This Vicious Grace, by Emily Thiede

4️⃣ “Tomman Hail of House Ever-Loyal was going to die before the sun rose. It wasn’t as heroic as it sounded.It was a lonely, terrible thing. Made worse by the lonely, terrible knowledge weighing on his chest. The secret he’d uncovered.It’ll be our lives if we’re caught, he’d said.Now, as then, he believed the cause worth the cost.”
Master of One, by Jaida Jones
5️⃣ “The face on a missing-person sign is supposed to be a stranger’s. Those yellowed papers tacked up in grocery stores are children who disappeared fifteen years ago. Amber Alerts are kids from other states with parents fighting for custody. And yet the face staring back at me from the TV—the girl under the siren-red MISSING letters—
That’s me.”

Silent Sister, by Megan Davidhizar
6️⃣ “Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family.
No one is a criminal.
No one is an addict.
No one is a failure.”

We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart
7️⃣ “I wasn’t always a ghost. I was told to be. Dad and King said it was for protection.My protection. Their protection.The Winterfolk’s.The problem with being a ghost—Is that no one can see you.”
Winterfolk, by Janel Kolby
8️⃣ “‘Take only what your cloak can carry, and your conscience can bear.’
Armand Versini, Founder of the Order of Cloaks
‘Those who refuse to wield the dagger are doomed to die by its blade.’
Hugo Versini, Founder of the Order of Daggers”

The Dagger and the Flame, by Catherine Doyle

9️⃣ “1. A Lot of Bad Decisions Led Me to This Moment, But in My Defense, I Made Them Really Fast
When I woke up this morning with a feeling that this was going to be the Worst Day of My Life So Far, I brushed it off as the self-destructive voice in my head doing his daily affirmations.I was wrong. This is turning out to be the Worst Day of My Life, Ever.”
Bingsu for Two, by Sujin Witherspoon

🔟 “There’s something inherently wrong with any home that’s easy to get into and hard to break out of.The Winter Ridge Academy for Boys is both.”
Seasons of the Storm, by Elle Cosimano

To celebrate the release of Bonus Magic, up to and including Monday 9th June 2025, the Legacy of Androva series will be at a special price on Amazon! Breaking Magic will be FREE and the other books in the series will be priced at $0.99/£0.99 on Amazon US and UK.
A date with death. The Breaker is waiting.
Callax is fifteen and he already knows he won't ever grow old. Twelve years after leaving the childstation, he will be summoned to the Gathering, where life essences are taken by a deadly and irresistible spell. On his world, this is one of the many ways in which the Exta serve the Opta. His best hope is to avoid an early binding by staying out of trouble. 
But in protecting his younger brother, Benedar, he is noticed by the Breaker, the evil magician in charge of the Gathering. The closer Callax gets to the ruling house and the girl who lives there, the more he learns, and the greater the danger. A danger he might not understand until it is too late. Callax thinks the Breaker's defeat will save him. He is wrong.
You can find the Legacy of Androva series here ☺

Amazon UK Legacy of Androva

Amazon US Legacy of Androva

“Friends... they cherish one another's hopes. They are kind to one another's dreams.”
— Henry David Thoreau

Jax, Shannon, Darius, and Penny are about to go on another adventure. And although they still have lots to figure out in terms of their futures, their friendship is stronger than ever, which is fortunate considering their enduring ability to get into trouble!
Bonus Magic will be released next month. It contains all of the short stories from this blog plus a 34k-word novella, Solving Magic.
I've also written a new 5k-word story from Galen's POV where he contemplates returning to Androva after two thousand years away.
A pre-order for the eBook (6th June 2025) will be on Amazon very soon, and I’ll update this post with a link when it’s available. The price will be £0.99/€0.99/$0.99.
Update ☺Amazon UK Bonus Magic
Amazon US Bonus Magic
There's a short description and extract below. Thank you very much for visiting my blog today, and if you decide to read Bonus Magic, I hope you enjoy it!
An island with a secret. One more adventure. In Solving Magic, Jax, Shannon, Darius, and Penny are on vacation when they discover a mysterious medieval spell. Can they figure out its purpose and live to tell the tale?Meanwhile, Galen has to decide if he wants to be a part of Androva's post-treaty future. His meeting with Jax's father doesn't go the way either of them expect. 

“I’mhungry,” said Jax.

“So amI,” said Shannon. “How about we walk to the diner and bring back some food? Wecould try the pizza this time. Darius?”

Dariusdidn’t take his eyes off the table, frustrated that he still couldn’t see apattern. “Hmm?” he said distractedly.

“Jax andI are going to get pizza.”

“Okay,”he said. “Sounds good.”

“Youknow, it might not be possible to solve it,” said Shannon. “Some jigsaws havetoo many missing pieces.”

“What?”said Darius. “What’s a jigsaw?”

Shannonlooked at Jax. He shook his head. “I don’t know what a jigsaw is either.”

“Oh.Well, it’s a puzzle. You have to remake a picture of something by puttingtogether lots of small pieces in the right order.”

She wentto the bookcase behind the table and scanned the shelves. Underneath a stack ofboard games, she found a single jigsaw box, creased with age. It had a seascapeon the front.

Sheshowed Jax and Darius. “See? One thousand pieces.”

Jax heldout a hand for the box. It rattled as Shannon handed it to him. When he removedthe lid and saw what was inside, his mouth fell open. “You’ve got to bekidding. They’re all blue. It would take forever.”

“That’skind of the point,” said Shannon. “It’s a challenge.”

“Nothanks,” he said. “I wouldn’t even attempt it with magic.”

Shannonrolled her eyes. “Clearly nothing worse could be said of any Terran activity.”

“Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world.”

― Seanan McGuire
Writing a new adventure for the Legacy of Androva series wasn't something I had planned to do, but apparently, my characters had other ideas, and here I am ☺. 
What started as a summer vacation interlude quickly grew into something more, and by the time Jax, Shannon, Darius, and Penny uncovered a mysterious new chapter in Terra's magical history, I'd forgotten that I was supposed to be writing a short story! 
Today's blog post contains some information about what to expect, including 5️⃣ facts, a new aesthetic, and a short extract.
1️⃣ The title will (probably) be Solving Magic.2️⃣ Most of the adventure happens on Lanver Island. Lanver Island is fictional, but it's inspired by real UK places where I've spent previous vacations.3️⃣ The vibe is a blend of beach sunshine and medieval history, which includes real castles and sandcastles, spells old and new, a wishing well, and lots of ice cream 🍦.4️⃣ I think it will be around 30-35k words, depending on how the villain behaves in the final confrontation.5️⃣ I hope to publish before the end of June this year. As Solving Magic is shorter than the other stories in the Legacy of Androva series, I'm going to include all of the other bonus content from this blog, and I'm also going to write an extra short story from Galen's POV. I think it's about time he met Revus ☺.
These are the images I've collected as I write to tie everything together in my head. I really needed the visual reminders of summer because even though the calendar says March 5th, it's been quite cold and frosty here in the south of England! 
I hope you enjoy my latest writing update, and thank you very much for visiting my blog today 💕.
“A vacation!” said Penny.“Just the four of us,” said Darius.“Anywhere we want,” said Shannon. “Anywhere on Terra,” said Jax. He was a bit disappointed about the restriction.“There’s nothing wrong with Terra,” said Penny. “It’s much bigger than Androva, for a start.”Jax’s mouth opened, ready to deliver a cutting retort about the downside of having more land without magic, but Shannon spoke first. “Can we not have the ‘my world is better than your world’ argument right now? We’re going on vacation.”“I happen to think Terra has the edge on tourism,” said Darius. He squeezed Penny’s hand. “Anyway, I don’t mind where we go.”“Speak for yourself,” said Jax. “I have ideas.”“So do I,” said Penny. “Shannon? I wonder if you’re thinking what I’m thinking.”“Where?” said Jax. “Somewhere exciting, I hope.”Shannon grinned. “And I hope Revus can’t hear you.”Jax’s green eyes glinted with mischief. “I can’t help it if I find adventures relaxing. Why don’t we play Time Trial, and the winner can choose?”“Time Trial’s not very quick,” said Penny. “We should do rock, paper, scissors instead.”Jax gave her a wary look. He’d been wrong about Terra enough times to know there was a chance Penny wasn’t joking, however ridiculous the words sounded. She held out her hands to demonstrate the game. “You make one of three shapes. Like this. Rock breaks scissors, scissors cut paper, and paper covers rock. See?”“I see,” said Jax. “It’s basically a boring version of boat, fire, water.”“BFW,” said Darius with a smile. “I haven’t played that in ages.”“I’ll get the box,” said Jax.

“I find the world changed when it snows. Sometimes I wonder if it's the closest thing to magic I shall ever experience.”
― M.A. Kuzniar
As the holiday season approaches, the landscape is dressed for winter in stark silhouettes with a touch of frosty sparkle, while early sunsets turn the sky orange and purple. It’s already looking magical! We haven’t had any winter snow yet where I live, but that doesn’t mean I can’t curl up on the sofa with my cat and immerse myself in a snowy YA story. 
I’ve limited myself to three new books in the hopes that I’ll have time to read them all before the end of the year. I hope you enjoy my choices, and thank you very much for visiting my blog today 💕.
Happy holidays, and happy holiday reading!

1️⃣ Snow & Magic
Winterwood, by Shea Ernshaw

I was drawn to this book before I knew anything about the story because of the beautiful cover. And when I read the description, it didn’t disappoint.
“Dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets.”
The main character is Nora Walker, a girl with nightshade blood who is descended from a long line of witches. She lives in the mountains in a place called Fir Haven. On a freezing winter night when the moon is full, she follows a bone moth (an omen of death) into the Wicker Woods. Lying in the snow is a boy called Oliver Huntsman. Nora is shocked to find that Oliver is alive, something that shouldn’t be possible because he went missing during a terrible storm two weeks earlier.
The dual POV, the dark magic, the intriguing backstories, and the romance are all reasons why I chose this book! Here are a couple of extracts from the beginning of the story on the day Nora and Oliver first meet.
Nora: “I think of the woods, the moment I found him in the snow: how his eyes snapped open, the whites like cracked eggshells. Fear trembling across his lips. What did he see in those woods? Why did the forest let him live? I wish I could peel him open, cut away his hard exterior, and see what he hides inside. Now he sleeps downstairs, and I know that even the heat from the woodstove won’t warm the chill from his flesh, won’t cure what haunts him.”
Oliver: “She can’t possibly steal boys from their bunks and bury them beneath the floorboards. She can’t possibly turn herself into a fanged beast and crash through the forest, knocking down trees. She can’t possibly be a witch who boils toads for breakfast and ties knots in her hair to bind curses that can’t be broken. She is just a girl.With raven hair and crush-your-heart-in-half eyes.”
2️⃣ Snow & Romance
Some Like it Cold, by Elle McNicoll
I came across this book at the Young Adult Literature Convention, and I’ve been saving it to read in December. I love the play on words in the title, and the tagline on the cover promises the perfect holiday romance. 
“She came home to say goodbye. Not to fall in love…”
The main character is Jasper Montgomery, and she’s returning to Lake Pristine for the holidays. She wants to tell everyone she’s dropping out of university to go to design school. The problem is that Jasper, a neurodivergent people pleaser, doesn’t know how to escape from the weight of her family’s expectations. 
Then there’s Arthur Lancaster. His family isn’t rich like Jasper’s. After his father died, Arthur gave up the chance to go to university to run the family business—Lake Pristine’s iconic cinema. Arthur is possibly the only person in town who isn’t happy to hear that Jasper is back. They have history. 
Throw in a nightmare sister (Jasper’s) and an irreverent cousin (Arthur’s) plus lots of small-town drama, and you have an enemies to lovers story I can’t wait to read! Here are a couple of extracts from the moment of Jasper’s return that show how she and Arthur feel about each other…
Jasper: “Arthur Lancaster. Gruff, taciturn, and judgemental. An old foe, in some respects.
Jasper and Arthur had both grown up in Lake Pristine and gone to high school together. She hardly wished to see him on a normal day in Lake Pristine, let alone when she was embarrassed and covered in snow and slush. His face was unreadable, just watching her with his typical cold intensity.
Jasper was known for being sweet and pleasant to everyone. 
Everyone, that was, except Arthur Lancaster.”
Arthur: “Jasper was back. She glanced over at him for the most fleeting of moments and then away again. He was used to that. He had never been within her notice. She had floated above him in school and there was nothing for them to be friendly about. He had probably snapped at her one too many times, and she had remained loyal to her terrible friends.”
3️⃣ Snow & Mystery
A Castle in the Clouds, by Kerstin Gier
This one is more of a wild card! I’ve been trying to read a little further outside of my comfort zone (romantasy) in recent weeks, and I thought I’d keep going with a story that looks like it’s going to keep me on the edge of my seat (or sofa ☺). The description and the cover are intriguing in the best of ways.
“Find yourself lost in the winding hallways of our grand Swiss hotel where secrets, romance, and danger coalesce into one unforgettable experience.”

The main character is Sophie Spark. She’s an intern at a hotel nicknamed Castle in the Clouds because of its misty mountain location. Sophie’s job involves a bit of everything, and at the beginning of the book, she’s babysitting a pair of misbehaving children.
After chasing the children halfway down the mountain in the snow, she narrowly escapes being run over by the son of the hotel owner. Unfortunately for Sophie, she doesn’t find out who he is until after she’s told him all about her other mistakes. Sophie is a great character—likeable and funny. I knew I was going to read this book before I was halfway through the prologue! I can’t wait to find out how Sophie gets herself into—and hopefully out of—this situation (extract below).
“So there I stood, exhausted, in the snow, as the sound of violins drifted toward us from the ballroom. Around my neck was a thirty-five-carat diamond that didn’t belong to me, and in my arms was a sleeping child who didn’t belong to me, either.
Somewhere along the way, I’d lost a shoe.
People always say that in an emergency you don’t feel pain or the cold because of all the adrenaline coursing through you, but it’s not true. The wound in my shoulder was throbbing like mad, the blood was running down my arm and dripping onto the snow, and the cold gnawed painfully at my foot. The muscles in my arms and shoulders were burning from carrying the child, but I didn’t dare put her down in case she woke up and alerted our pursuers to where we were.
People also say your brain works best in moments of great danger, arming you with razor-sharp insights. But that wasn’t true in my case, either. I couldn’t tell who was good and who was bad anymore. And the only razor-sharp insight I’d had recently was that silencers on guns really do what they say they will. 
And that there were definitely better moments for a kiss than this one.”

“Without a reader, a story is only half complete…Without a reader, the words just sit on the page, waiting to come alive in someone’s imagination.”
― Jodie Picoult
YALC, first and foremost, is a place where stories come alive. 16-17 November 2024 at London Olympia was its tenth anniversary and my third year of attending (accompanied as always by my youngest daughter ☺). If you love Young Adult books, YALC is a bit like walking into an alternate dimension where all of your favourite things are in the same place at the same time. A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to make it happen, and the end result is magic. 
For today’s post, I’m going to focus on our top ten highlights from a brilliant YALC weekend. 
1️⃣ The Vibe:Hundreds of readers + thousands of books = a brilliant atmosphere
2️⃣ Awesome Aesthetics (a):
Books that are works of artPerfectly EdgedVictoria Alyesa

3️⃣ Awesome Aesthetics (b):
Best-in-class bookish merchBluelybooNo0neDesigns
4️⃣ Nostalgia:
Percy Jackson ⚔
The stand was beautiful. And if you held one of the shells up to your ear, you got to hear an extract from the audiobook. Jesse Bernstein, the narrator, was so great that we stayed to listen for ages.
5️⃣ Authors:Author signings are a big part of what makes YALC special. We met five different authors, and they were all so friendly and approachable. Jennifer Lynn Barnes was very  interested to see the pink cover of Games Untold (see 6️⃣ below)—her publisher had heard of it, but they hadn't actually seen it. Bea Fitzgerald had just revealed the title of her next book (A Beautiful Evil), along with the colour of its cover 💚💚. 
Krystal Sutherland mentioned that her sister is also a writer, and Ravena Guron asked my daughter which she thought was the most relatable of the three POVs in Catch Your Death. Holly Jackson talked about Taylor Swift, specifically how the lyrics of Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me are very Rachel Price coded (they really are!).
6️⃣ Cool Cover Colour:
For reasons of (very) limited bookshelf space, most of the books I own are ebooks, and The Inheritance Games series is no exception. I visited the Waterstones stand to buy a physical copy of the latest book, Games Untold, before I met Jennifer Lynn Barnes. There were some special edition hardbacks in orange, and I was about to get one when I saw a few copies on a separate shelf in a different colour (pink). I preferred the pink, so that's the one I chose. It turned out to be a printing error and there are only three copies in existence! Having a signed copy was special enough, but I'm over the moon to have the pink cover too 💟.
7️⃣ Four Fantastic Proofs:
We’re still a little shocked (and very happy!) about the proofs we came home with this year. It’s a privilege to have the chance to read a new story before its release date, and all four books look like they’re going to be really good.
Girls of Dark Divine, by E. V. Woods (release date August 2025)Daughter of Chaos, by A. S. Webb (release date January 2025)Lady's Knight, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (release date June 2025)Circle of Liars, by Kate Francis (release date July 2025, no Amazon pre-order link was available at the time of writing this post)

8️⃣ 10-Year Bonus Bag:
Because we bought our tickets early, we were given a special YALC tote bag full of surprise souvenirs. These included a proof copy of Spellbound, by Georgia Leighton (release date April 2025) that I can’t wait to read. 
9️⃣ Treasure Hunting:
Some of the publishers’ challenges were more difficult than others, and we had a lot of fun tracking down hidden clues. The most difficult was for the Walker YA Darkly competition. You had to find all four posters (left) to reveal the answer. I think we must have walked an extra mile around Olympia before we found the last one!
🔟 The Unexpected Keepsake:
We played spin the wheel when we were visiting the Hot Key Books stand and won this absolutely beautiful special edition of The Prisoner’s Throne by FairyLoot. I already own (and love) the ebooks in The Stolen Heir duology—in fact, reading The Prisoner’s Throne was one of my reading resolutions at the beginning of 2024. Adding a physical copy to my bookshelf makes me very happy, and I can’t stop admiring the artwork 💜.
Have you ever been to YALC? If you have, I hope you had a great time! And if you haven’t, I hope I’ve managed to convince you to think about it for next year. Thank you very much for visiting my blog today 💕.

“Who calls me villain?”

― Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Today's post is an updated A to Z about Loki—shapeshifting mischief-maker extraordinaire and my favourite fictional character. He's been starring in myths and legends for thousands of years, and he continues to inspire all kinds of twenty-first century stories. Most of the time, he walks a very fine line between right and wrong while having more fun than the rest of the characters put together! You can find the first A to Z here, and thank you very much for visiting my blog 💕.
And if you're interested in adding a Loki story to your TBR, here's a new book that I can't wait to read...
What If... Loki Was Worthy?, by Madeleine Roux
Loki and Valkyrie seek redemption in the first adventure of an epic new multiversal series that reimagines the origins of iconic Marvel heroes.
So many worlds, so little time. Infinite possibilities, creating infinite realities. Long have I watched the trickster god sow chaos. But... what if Loki saved Asgard from Tony Stark's revenge?

A is for Awful"I don't know if you know this, but I've done some terrible, awful things."
B is for Burdened"Burdened with glorious purpose. My life was a waste of time."
C is for Complicated"In the future. Well, it's your future. My present. It's complicated."
D is for Differently"What could we have done differently?"
E is for Enjoy"Simple question, really, but it doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves as we go along."
F is for Friends"I want my friends back. I don't want to be alone."
G is for Glad"You still glad we're here?"
H is for Harder"It's harder... to stay."
I is for Illusion
J is for Just"What other guys?""It's just O.B.""It's just O.B."
K is for Kingdom"This is his kingdom. And he said he keeps us safe, but how can you believe that?"
L is for Loki, God of Stories
M is for Me"Mobius, it's me."
N is for Not"Thor's not that tall."
O is for Okay"It's okay. Look, it happens."
P is for Pie"It's really good.""It is."
Q is for Quick"Now, come back. Quick."
R is for Rewrite"I can rewrite the story."
S is for Soft"I mocked him. Said he'd gone soft."
T is for Tactical"Tried to use the Mind Stone on Tony Stark. It didn't work, so I threw him off the building. I mean, let me tell you something. Wasn't tactical."
U is for Up to us"It's up to us to do better than He Who Remains."
V is for Villain"I'm not trying to be a hero, Brad. I'm a villain. Remember?"
W is for What I want"I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be... for you. For all of us."
X is for X-5"Come on, X-5. Did you really think you could outrun me?"
Y is for Yeah"Of course. Yeah."
Z is for Zaniac on the run"Is he running now?""He is running."

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were.”
― Carl Sagan
When I finish writing the last book in a series, I have to say goodbye to the imaginary places my characters visited on their adventures. Of course there’s an upside to moving on because I get to discover something new, but I still feel a bit nostalgic about it ☺. After the Legacy of Androva, I wrote a farewell blog post to some of the locations in the series, and I did the same thing for the Light Mage trilogy. Today it’s the turn of Beyond Androva. I hope you enjoy the extracts, and thank you very much for visiting my blog today 💕.
Xyleander Woods
The city of Vayl is surrounded by woodland, and at first glance, the trees are nothing out of the ordinary. But if you were to follow the path for a mile or so until it becomes narrow and overgrown and much less welcoming, you’d find something very different. These particular trees have distinctive purple leaves and an abundance of living magic. They’re also protected by spells that disorient any passing visitors who might otherwise discover the Dimension Cells concealed within.
The woods appear in all four books. They’re the first thing Serena sees when she arrives in Xytovia. Later in the series, Kellan and Averine are both trapped inside Dimension Cells, and it’s a xyleander tree that offers the first clue to Art’s unique magical abilities. 
Here's an extract from Engraved in Magic when Art and Serena travel back to the xyleander woods from Galen’s island.
***The forest on the other side of the portal was shadowy and cool. And wet. It was raining. Heavy drops penetrated the canopy of purple leaves, several of them falling straight down the back of my neck as if they’d targeted me deliberately. I hunched my shoulders and ducked to one side in search of better shelter.
“Swap the light reflection for water reflection and you’ll be fine,” said Serena.
“What?”
“The Protection Spell we used yesterday,” she explained. “It’s a Universal Spell. I’ll show you.”
I shook my collar. The water trickled lower, trapped beneath the newly reinstated layers of my Xytovian clothing.
Serena walked under a low branch, then raised her hand and gave it a sharp push. The leaves trembled, releasing a small deluge of water. Although it appeared to land right on top of Serena, she didn’t flinch. Her hair was glistening. There were drops of water all over it. But somehow it wasn’t wet. Giving me a mischievous smile, she shook her head quickly from side to side. 
“Hey!” I protested, jumping back.
“It’s only water,” she said. “You’re not going to melt, are you?”
“Easy for you to say. You’re dry.”
Her smile widened. “I know. It’s magic.”
I laughed. Serena used her force field like an extension of herself. For me it was like a coat I kept taking off and putting back on again.***
Alchemist’s Workshop
An alchemist is a cotidian who combines magic with other materials to create complicated spells. In post-war Xytovia, cotidians and magicians have to live apart to prevent the spread of mage-sickness, which means alchemy is against the law. But villains never allow a simple thing like the law to get in their way! Of course, not every alchemist is bad, and not every magician is good, and my characters have to figure out who’s who before it’s too late.
Here's an extract from Lost in Magic when Kellan is remembering a childhood visit to his mother’s workshop.
***It was said that if the price was right, alchemy could figure out a solution no matter how insurmountable the challenge. The ultimate proof of this had been demonstrated by the recent creation of a trade in life itself. At the age of eight, however, I did not give much thought to my future mortality.
“Kellan, I see you there,” said my mother, her voice warm and affectionate. “People are always going to think you’re up to no good if you stay in the shadows.”
“Maybe I am up to no good,” I said, stepping into the light. 
“Are you?” She gave the molten silver mixture she was brewing a careful stir. “Make yourself useful and count to twenty.”
I counted under my breath while she fetched a tray from the top shelf and placed it next to the steaming pan. “Twenty,” I said, raising my voice as I reached the end.
“Thank you,” said my mother. After tucking a loose strand of black hair behind her ear, she stirred again, then grasped the handle of the pan.
“Well, are you up to no good?” she added, glancing over her shoulder with a teasing grin.
“I haven’t decided,” I said solemnly.
She laughed. “Is that so? Then I will be on my guard.”***
Phidiom
On the world of Xytovia, there are three principal territories and an unspecified number of outer territories—‘outer’ because their citizens chose to live outside of the pact when the war finally ended. The smallest of these is Phidiom, a rocky island in the middle of the ocean. In Matched in Magic, it plays a small but important role in distracting Art’s grandfather long enough for Art and Serena to escape, and it really comes into its own in Bound in Magic, the series conclusion!
Here's an extract from Bound in Magic when Averine and Kellan are imagining a future together outside of their respective prisons. The singing reference is from their very inventive game of Truth or Dare ☺.
***“And once we’re both free, where shall we go?” he said.
“Somewhere without the Five Tenets.”
“Definitely.”
“What do you think about Phidiom?” I asked.
“Phidiom?” said Kellan, raising his eyebrows. “The territory on a rock at the end of the world?”
“I know it’s far,” I said. “But there’s at least one mage-glass. We wouldn’t have to cross the ocean in a boat or anything.”
Kellan nodded. “I like the idea of starting over in a place where no one knows us.”
“There’s another reason,” I said. “Phidiom made alchemy a protected profession when it refused to sign the pact. It was the only territory that did. I’ve always wanted to visit. My mother promised we’d go together as a celebration trip when the war ended.”
“To Phidiom?” he said. His mouth twitched. “Wouldn’t that be more like a punishment?”
“Very funny. It used to be a tourist attraction, especially for aspiring alchemists. Most of Xytovia’s crystals come from the caves above the capital city.”
“Right,” said Kellan. “I forgot about the caves. I never saw the point of learning about crystals.”
“You and every other magician.”
“I know a lot more about crystals than you do about projecting spells,” he protested.
“You don’t. You never read any of the textbooks I showed you.”
“Maybe not. But I had one of them sung to me, and let’s just say it was memorable.” 
I narrowed my eyes, and he laughed.***