When Aeslin Finn was a little girl, her parents read to her from a magical book called The Avalon Chronicles. But that was a long time ago. Now a teenager, Aeslin is about to discover just how magical she and that book really are. Transported to the world of Avalon, she discovers a kingdom in need of a Dragon Knight – and the last dragon, Blue Moon, is waiting for her!

Publication Date: April 24, 2012 | Series: Avalon Chronicles 1  Nunzio Defilippis (Author), Christina Weir (Author), Emma Vieceli (Author) Publisher: Oni Press (April 24, 2012)

When Aeslin and her friend come across an unusual store on their way home, they also discover the 2nd book in a series that her parents used to read to her when she was young. The shopkeeper gives her a key to open the book when they purchase it from him. When they do open the book Aeslin literally gets sucked into the book, becoming a part of it.

The first thing that Aeslin does in Avalon is search for the shopkeeper, who tells her she has to find the writer of the book to help her get home. But to do so she must find somebody to help her through her travels to keep her safe from bandits that want to make her their slave.

In the meantime back at home her friend is in a panic since she has disappeared and also goes to find the shopkeeper who has disappeared and a way to open the book up again because Aeslin has the key.

We go through several different adventures with Aeslin throughout the story. Not to mention all the great characters she meets. She learns that the story is more than just magical, it’s her destiny. The people of Avalon depend on her, and eventually she comes to depend on them as well. Aeslin, learns to ride the dragon and protect the kingdom from the wicked Warlord Khrom

It’s all black and white pages which is more like a Manga style than other comics or graphic novels. I personally have become a fan of the colored graphics, as I think it adds more visually to the stories. But I still think this is a cute and light-hearted read. I liked Aeslin and her adventures in Avalon. Her friend is so dedicated to her, trying to help her and wanting to go with her into the story. According to their website “THE AVALON CHRONICLES is a new book, a new series that is currently planned at four volumes.   The first Volume is entitled ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.”

Sometimes we wonder how strong we are. I’m not talking lifting weights; I’m talking strength in the face of adversity. One of the best quotes I believe in highly is, ‘Women are like teabags. You don’t know how strong they’ll be until you put them in hot water.’ Someone who fits the build perfectly in this instance is Katie Piper.

Kate “Katie” Elizabeth Piper was born in Andover, Hampshire, on October 12^th 1983. Following in similar footsteps to her father, a barber, Katie trained as a beautician after leaving school. The choice was mostly driven by her love of fashion and respect for beauty.

A career with modelling seemed a natural transition for someone as pretty as Katie. She was photographed for national newspapers, took part in beauty pageants and carried out publicity duties as a promotional model. She even spent time as a ring-card girl for Mixed Martial Arts fixtures.

You’d think she’d stop there, but no, Katie also spent time in her career as a digital television presenter. So far her entire life was based around her appearance and didn’t rely very much on her personality. This would all change in 2008 when she met Daniel Lynch through Facebook.

Unknown to Piper, Lynch had a colourful criminal past, and it wasn’t until a fortnight into their relationship that Lynch let his sick nature come through; raping and stabbing Katie.  In absolute fear Katie sought medical help without allowing the true nature of her attack to be documented. This was a move she would later regret.

Two days after this initial attack Lynch convinced Katie to head to a local Internet café to check her messages on Facebook. Unbeknownst to her, he had given her details to Stefan Sylvestre, with the purpose of harming the girl. Sylvestre approached Katie and threw sulphuric acid in her face.

Emergency services were forced to wait an hour or more before treating Katie thanks to the potential risk of the, until then, unknown acid. Piper was blinded in her left eye and had extensive damage to the rest of her face. With over 40 surgeries to minimize scarring and skin contraction, Katie needed to find another way to make her life worthwhile.

2 years of treatment and soul searching led this incredibly brave woman to take part in a documentary on Channel 4 entitled Katie: My Beautiful Face. She also wrote books about her struggle to relearn how to live with purpose, in the hopes to inspire and show support for other people in dark moments of their lives.

To add icing to the cake, Katie also started her own foundation aimed at raising awareness of the plight of victims of burns and other disfigurement injuries. With Simon Cowell as patron of the foundation, they campaign for the specialist treatment Piper received to be more widely available to British patients.

Just as an aside not both Lynch and Sylvestre were later arrested and imprisoned. Lynch is now serving a minimum of 16 years, and Sylvestre a minimum of 12, in jail.

Katie is allowing her inner strength and beauty overcome her scars. She is an inspiration in the true sense of the word.

http://www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk/

Beautiful by Katie Piper

Paperback, 314 pages

Published September 14th 2011 by Ebury Press (first published January 1st 2011)

ISBN 0091940761 (ISBN13: 9780091940768)

Things Gets Better by Katie Piper

Paperback, 320 pages

Published May 24th 2012 by Quercus

ISBN 1780874774 (ISBN13: 9781780874777)

“Their love could last forever- If it doesn’t destroy them first.”

Left heartbroken after the family revelations that have forbidden her relationship with Lucas, Helen must now face time in hell – literally. Tasked with breaking the curse that divides the Scion’s, Helen spends her nights wandering through the Underworld, trying desperately to find a way to put an end to the Furies. She’s running out of time though. Enemies are starting to gather and Helen’s endurance is just about at its limit.

One night, Helen stumbles across another person in the Underworld. Orion, a descendent of Adonis certainly lives up to expectations and with the power to control desire; he may just be the answer Helen has been searching for. Can she finally leave her feelings for Lucas buried in the past, or could the choice that saves her life totally shatter her heart? Can anyone really outrun fate?

“Dreamless” is the  sequel to the best-selling “Starcrossed” and yet again Angelini has delivered a compelling tale.  This time around, the action is hotter than ever and our team of Scion’s continue to unearth more gifts and curses that will have you just a little jealous, but at the same time relieved that you are completely one hundred percent mortal yourself.

Helen certainly finds her feet and her voice is stronger and more hypnotising than ever.  Her journey is so transfixing that you will be more than happy to spend a few sleepless nights wandering around the Underworld right alongside her. The love story does take more of a back seat this time around, as outside forces combine to keep our two “ star-crossed” lovers firmly apart. But it still maintains the theme that fate will not be outwitted.

I absolutely adore the way Angelini has laced Ancient Greek mythology throughout the plot in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling like it’s all one big history lesson.  Our leading cast shine, mortal and Scion alike, and the handful of God’s we get to meet face to face, and the beasties that hide in the shadows, all leap right from the page.

If you haven’t read this series as yet, seriously what are you waiting for? This is by far one of the best YA’s I’ve had the pleasure of discovering and I will certainly keep coming back to Helen’s world time and time again.

Dreamless (Starcrossed #2) –Josephine Angelini

Pan Macmillan

ISBN:978-0-330-52974-7

503 Pages

Released May 22^nd 2012

12 year old Riley Bloom certainly leads a full life for someone that’s well, dead. Riley’s desperate to not only prove herself as a Soul Catcher, but to finally turn 13 as well.  She’s been tasked with some difficult cases before- but this one could prove to be her toughest yet.

Riley’s off to Rome to convince long-dead gladiator, Theocoles, that’s it’s time to move on. Only problem is Riley isn’t the first one that has been sent to deliver the message and none of the others have ever returned. But everything is sent into a spin when she meets the charming Messalina who gives Riley a make-over to end all make-overs, turning her into a beautiful teen. Looks like first love could be making an appearance on Riley’s horizon. In a world this enchanting, will Riley ever want to leave?

Whisper is the fourth instalment in the Riley Bloom series and even though I haven’t read any of the previous three I found that the story was quick to pick up and downright fun. Riley is an intriguing and loveable heroine who certainly rocks the afterlife with style.

Whisper is set at the younger end of the market but Riley is just so adorable you’ll find yourself well and truly hooked. Noel’s writing style is fresh and funky and her sense of timing is spot on. There are some passages that are a little high on the gore side, especially considering the target audiences age bracket, but since we are talking gladiators, it does work.

Noel has incorporated romance, action, growing pains and the supernatural in a fresh new way that will appeal to all ages. Whisper is a perfect fast read that will leave you smiling and make you realise that there’s a little bit of Riley hiding in everyone.  A solid 4 out of 5.

Whisper-Alyson Noel

Pan Macmillan

194 Pages

ISBN:978-1-4472-0047-5

Released:  May 1 2012

On Ixion, the island of ever-night, revellers are treated to sumptuous dark clothing in velvets, lace, and leather. If you don’t live on Ixion you’ll have to do it yourself – starting with make-up.

Which Goth look is ‘you’?

Romanti-Goth

This look references Victorian-era mourning garb with elegant flowing skirts, lace and velvet; the atmosphere is poised and refined. The make-up is dark, sombre, sweeping, and occasionally features eyeliner decoration at the outer eye corners.

Industrial Goth

Modern, tough, and dystopian, it draws ideas from industrial music. The look incorporates PVC, metal plates, spikes, and sometimes militaristic influences. Make-up is dark and more likely to feature colours like green or electric blue.

Death Rocker

Think gore and zombies, then for maximum shock-value incorporate fake blood, black or coloured mohawks and dark highlights under cheekbones!

There are many more Goth looks and you can mix elements – I have added resources at the end for your perusal.

Once you have selected a style, the range of products can be dismaying! Read on for some suggestions.

Face

Protect your skin with sunscreen before attempting to disguise a tan or freckles; and for Goth’s sake make sure it won’t rub white onto your lovely blackclothes. My current products are Olay complete defence, Neutrogena ultra-sheer body mist and Nivea ultra-beach protect spray.

Now select a foundation up to 3 shades lighter than your natural colour, a concealer and a light powder. Mine are the palest shades of Innoxa line-defying foundation, Innoxa loose powder and concealer stick. Use a green concealer under natural concealer for spots. If you have a lot of red-tone there are green primers available (I have never used them so cannot recommend any).

Eyes

The essentials are mascara and eyeliner. My minimum is a thick black line following the top eyelashes and sweeping up and out at the corners, then the lower eyelashes and inner eyelid are lined. Never cover your tear-duct; this can cause eye infection. Eyeliner needs to survive the Australian summer. Revlon colour-stay retractable pencil rarely lets me down. My favourite liquid eyeliner is Ecriture de Chanel. It has a ‘wind-up’ ink dosing mechanism for precise control over line thickness. As for mascara – I cannot pick a favourite but Revlon is reliable.

There are so many expressions of Goth eyeshadow. Colours include black, grey, red, blue, purple and even silver or green. For colour staying power use a primer. I love M.A.C Paint Pot (which now comes in black!!!). My black eyeshadow is also M.A.C (black-tied) but I’m not 100% happy that it takes a lot of layers to get the darkness I want. I love my intense M.A.C blues and sombre greys. Fyrinnae make nearly any colour you can imagine, including shimmery dual tones (like red/black, blue/purple). This product can flake off but Fyrinnae sell a pixie epoxy (which I haven’t tried). My favourite purple eyeshadow at the moment is Yardley ‘plum seduction.’

A thin, elegantly arched black eyebrow says a lot in the Goth world. You can enhance your eyebrows with a pencil or you can moisten a slanted brush then wipe it across black eye-shadow and apply. You can also shave off your eyebrows and re-draw them in black, green, blue or whatever takes your fancy.

Lips

Black lipstick is classic but sadly black does not suit everyone (like me, and so I don’t have any recommendations for you). Other gothy options are blood red, deep blue, dark purple, or silver and neon colours if you’re cybergoth! I’m still searching for lipstick the colour of venous blood. My bold bright red is M.A.C ‘Russian red,’ my blue is Manic Panic ‘midnight blue’, and my purple is M.A.C ‘cyber.’ Lip liner in matching colours can be impossible. Black eyeliner works for black lipstick, but I use a slanted eye-shadow brush with my dark colours as the edge provides a sharp line.

My favourite resources:

–      The Lady of Manners – Gothic Charm School (the book is best!)

–      Voltaire’s books ‘What is Goth?’ and ‘Paint it Black’

–      Amy Asphodel

–      Fyrinnae

–      Dark music festival, Wave-Gotik-Treffen