#kim curran

[shxpeshifterr]

[lonebooks]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but here’s some books I bought from my local charity shops after they reopened recently (as well as a few from the high street)! The shops had been shut for a long while where I live so it was really nice to get out of the house again. I love shopping in charity shops as I often pick up books that take me out of my comfort zone so I’m really excited to read these! The books pictured in this photo are:

Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case by Agatha Christie

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

Slay by Kim Curran

The Inquisition by Taran Matharu

The Outcast by Taran Matharu

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Clean by Juno Dawson

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

World War Z by Max Brooks

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

A Christmas Railway Mystery by Edward Marston

Assassins Creed Brotherhood by Oliver Bowden

[readingoals]

This was a total impulse buy/read, purely because it's got my name on it lmao.

Fun fact, I was (in a round about way) named after Saint Brigid, who is the central character in this novel. From my understanding Kim Curran is trying to do for Irish legends what Madeline Miller has done for Greek mythology.

Brigid herself is, I think, quite fascinating. There is debate among histories about her existence with some suggesting that Saint Brigid is just a Christianisation of the Celtic goddess, and others suggesting she was a real person but that over time traits from the goddess were mixed into her story. Curran gets around this confusion by writing her Brigid as a woman whom the Goddess decides to work through, guiding her and giving her powers, which I thought was quite clever.

Overall I liked the book but didn't love it. I felt it dragged a little in patches - there were parts where it felt like absolutely nothing was happening, especially towards the end.

There was also a whole undercurrent where, to me at least (and lord knows I'm biased so maybe it is just me lmao) Brigid read a very asexual coded, and I wish that had been explored just a little deeper.

There are quite a few queer characters in this retelling, and it is a book with a strong feminist tone, focusing on relationships between women and how women are treated within the larger society. So definitely a lot to like. I just wish the execution had been a little stronger.

[fayereadsblog]

My Thoughts On... Slay on Tour by Kim Curran

My Thoughts On... Slay on Tour by Kim Curran {And Why I think you should read it!!} @kimecurran @usborne @steviehopwood

My Thoughts On… Slay on Tour by Kim Curran

Hi All! Today is my stop on the blog tour for Slay on Tour and I am here today with a review of this amazing book!

Title: Slay on Tour Author: Kim Curran Publisher: Usborne Published: 10th January 2019 Pages: 336 Format: Paperback Source:: Review Copy from Publisher Add It: Amazon UK Goodreads. Summary:SLAY are BACK…and this time they’re headed to Tokyo to…

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[fayereadsblog]

My Thoughts On... Slay by Kim Curran

My Thoughts On... Slay by Kim Curran @usborneYA @kimecurran

My Thoughts on… Slay by Kim Curran Meet SLAY – SLAY do two things and they do them well: they play killer music and they slay killer demons.

When Milly, the lonely daughter of a world-famous opera singer, arrives home to discover that her mum has been taken over by something very evil, she finds herself in mortal danger. But the last people she expects to rescue her are the hottest boy band on…

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[tsanasreads]

Guest Post: Kim Curran on the top ten things that inspire her to write

Today I have a guest post from Kim Curran, author of the Shifter trilogy. You can read my reviews of the books: Shift, Control and Delete. It's a YA sci-fi action series and the final book has just come out. I also interviewed Kim a couple of years ago, around when Control was released. By the way, be sure to read to the very end of the post where there's a giveaway.

Top ten things that help inspire me to write

1) Burning ideas I can’t get out of my head and that wake me up at night This is the best bit of being a writer: when an idea blindsides you and you just have to, HAVE TO, write it. You feel like your head is a balloon about to take flight. Nothing beats that feeling. Not book deals or publication days. It’s the best. 2) My office I’m lucky enough to have a room at home that’s dedicated to writing. Which mostly means it’s packed full of books, free-range post-it notes (that won’t stay stuck to my walls) and a handful of toys. It’s a mess, but it’s a space that’s all mine. 3)  Busy trains / buses There’s no better way to block out annoying commuters than to lose yourself in a world of your own creation. I wrote most of Shift and Control long hand while on my commute to and from work on the 243 bus from Waterloo to Shoreditch. 4) A new notebook When I have one of those shiny exciting ideas I have to start scribbling it down before it floats away. And so a beautiful, clean and unspoiled notebook becomes a must. My brand of choice is Leuchtturm1917. Although don’t ask me to pronounce it.

5) Other authors When I read a truly great book, one that makes me sigh over its brilliance, it pushes me to want to be a better writer. 6) My friends and family More often than not, I have very little faith in myself as a writer. Which is when having people around me who believe in me, and will me to go on, is so important. 7) My tattoos I got them after going through a phase where I seriously considered giving up writing. Now they’re a reminder that I can’t give up no matter what. 8) Boredom Nothing inspires me to sit down and make up new world more than having nothing to do. It’s my mother’s fault. If ever I whinged, “I’m bored!” she would counter with, “Well you can do the washing up, that will keep you amused.” And suddenly I’d come up with something to entertain myself. 

9) My dinosaur onesie When I’m having a low day, I pull on my dinosaur onesie, wag my tail and feel suddenly better about everything. 10) My readers Knowing there are people out there who enjoy reading what I’ve written and who might like to read what I write next, well, it’s the most humbling form of inspiration there is.

Dublin-born Kim Curran is the award-nominated author of books for young adults, including Shift, Control and Delete. She studied Philosophy & Literature at university with the plan of being paid big bucks to think deep thoughts. While that never quite worked out, she did land a job as a junior copywriter with an ad agency a week after graduating. She’s worked in advertising ever since and is obsessed with the power of the media on young minds. She is a mentor at the Ministry of Stories and for the WoMentoring Project. And lives in London with her husband and too many books. To find out more visit www.kimcurran.co.uk, or follow Kim on Twitter or Goodreads.

Giveaway!

To win all three books in the Shifter trilogy enter in the Rafflecopter widget below! a Rafflecopter giveaway Content imported from Blogger http://ift.tt/1a3dgNk. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so at the aforementioned link.

[tsanasreads]

Delete by Kim Curran

Delete by Kim Curran is the final volume in her Shifter trilogy. I have previously reviewed the first two books, Shift and Control, and have also interviewed the author in the past. Delete was one of the books orphaned when Strange Chemistry went under and I am very glad to see it and the series being given new life now. Before I get into this review, I need to warn you, this entire review from the blurb onwards contains spoilers for the end of Control. Really big spoilers.

The country is at war. Beset by enemies within and without. And all because of the decisions changed by one boy, Scott Tyler. In this ravaged alternative reality, Scott hardly recognises himself. He's a war hero, a leader of a unit of Shifters and maybe the only one who can prevent the country's frail defences from crumbling. But all Scott wants to do is find a way back to the world he knew, without losing the girl he loves. With every Shift he makes, Scott edges closer towards oblivion. With no one to trust – not even himself – how much is he willing to risk to get home?

At the end of Control, Scott made a massive shift to undo the events caused by Frankie, the main "bad guy" of that book. Well, actually, Scott forces her to undo her choices, so that he can save his girlfriend. Delete opens just as that shift has been made and Scott finds himself in a worse reality, one where world war three (although they don't call it that) is ravaging the UK. All shifter children are recruited to the army to fight, Scott is in charge of the whole fighting shifter department, and Project Ganymede, the programme cutting up kids' brains which Scott stopped in the previous reality, is in full swing on a greater scale. Turns out Frankie's manipulations of world political events, while self-serving, were at least holding war at bay. It's immediately clear to Scott that the reality he finds himself in now is pretty crappy, but he resists shifting back immediately because he doesn't want Aubrey to be dead. Instead, with slight confusion since he doesn't have any memories of the war world, Scott tries to slip into the role he finds himself in until he can work out what's going on. It was established in the earlier books that Scott is special for being able to remember other realities for more than a few minutes. In the past, he eventually slots the new reality memories into his mind but this time the shift is so big (or something) that he spends the entire book not fully remembering everything. And also not undoing it until the very end. However, new reality Scott does leak through, providing us with some character contrast. Old Scott didn't grow up on rations or during a war, while new Scott did. Old Scott never had to learn to make human sacrifices for the greater good while army-trained new Scott did. Actually that last one is something our Scott picks up worryingly quickly and I can't say I was happy to watch him let people die that he probably could have saved. Delete is a fast-paced action story and if there wasn't so much going on in it, I'm sure some of the people around Scott would have had more time to worry about his psychological well being — or at least to stop him being so involved in everything. As it is, they weren't even overly concerned about him running around on a gun-shot leg, so I suppose they're all used to putting the war first. I don't want to go into spoilers, but I found the end a little bit frustrating. I don't think it was a bad ending — it resolved everything and lived up to what we've come to expect from the series — but emotionally it was a bit distressing, possibly because of, well, reality whiplash. (Haha.) Each book in this series has upped the stakes and Delete certainly continues that trend, this time putting the whole world on the line. I'd say that if you liked the first book but didn't think the stakes were high enough, keep reading! If you enjoy fast-paced action books then I definitely recommend this series. And if you read Shift and Control, then forgot about Delete because of the delayed publication, then definitely pick up a copy of Delete. The re-released covers have been updated but still use the same art as the original set, so they won't even clash much if you bought the first two books from Strange Chemistry. Win! If you haven't read the earlier books but still read this review, I strongly recommend starting at the start of the series. I don't think it would make much sense otherwise. 4 / 5 stars First published: March 2015, Xist Publishing Series: Shifter series, book 3 of 3 Format read: eARC Source: Courtesy of the author Content imported from Blogger http://ift.tt/1MToFf7. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so at the aforementioned link.

[moonlightreading]

ARC Book Review: Delete by Kim Curran

ARC Book Review: Delete by Kim Curran

Title: Delete (Shift #3) Author: Kim Curran Publisher: Strange Chemistry/homeless Release Date:  5th AUgust 2014/unknown Genre: Young Adult, sci-fi Format: E-book Page Count: Unknown Source: Netgalley Rating:

Scott’s last Shift, as he was falling to his death at the end of Control, rocketed him into an alternate reality where England is at brutal war, and he is forced to make decisions he’s never had…

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