The Mountains of Instead

Championing fiction as an escape from pandemics, politics and bad TV.

Guest Post by Celia Rees (This Is Not Forgiveness blog tour)


This Is Not Forgiveness Review and Giveaway

I'm delighted to be a stop on the blog tour for This Is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees today.  The book is quite brilliant and I'm pleased to be able to offer a SIGNED copy of the book to one lucky UK winnner.  My review of the book is below and if you'd like to enter the giveaway then j…

A Touch O' Burns

I had originally planned to post my favourite Burns poem here today (which is, without doubt, To A Mouse) but came across these gorgeous snippets on the Scottish Poetry Library's website.




Aren't they gorgeous?  These and others are available as posters to download on the above link - get on …

Burns Night Giveaway

Burns Night is now upon us but before I sit down to my haggis, neeps and tatties (seriously, it's tasty) I'm here to offer a Scottish themed giveaway both in honour of the bard himself and in support of the Team Kilt Burns Festivities.


So here, today, you can win a copy of the fabulous Torn

Duelling Blog Posts: Glasgow vs Edinburgh part 2

Following Fraser's eloquent ode to all things Glasgow, here's my response.  Not quite so eloquent but just as winning...
EDINBURGH Fraser has made some winning points about Glasgow, in fact for a short minute I was rather baffled and had no idea how to respond.  But then my brains returned an…

Duelling Blog Posts: Glasgow vs. Edinburgh Part 1

GLASGOW


As part of the Team Kilt Burns Festivities, I'd like to welcome Fraser to The Mountains of Instead.  Fraser once from Glasgow, now living in America is joining me to debate the merits of Glasgow (Scotland's biggest city) in comparison to Edinburgh (it's capital).  I'll be bac…

Scotland The Brave

So, tomorrow is Burns Night during which Scotland as a collective whole eats haggis and quotes poetry in honour of our national Bard.


Over the last year or so, I've been lucky enough to get to know Jeri Smith-Ready, American author of the Shade series featuring a delightful young Scot, Zachary M…

Blue Remembered Hills (review: Finnikin of the Rock; M. Marchetta)

Finnikin of the Rock Melina Marchetta Candlewick Press 2011 (paperback)
When Finnikin was just a boy, he stood on the Rock of Wonders and pledged to save his kingdom, Lumatere.Not long afterwards, his land was invaded, factions massacred and his father lost to him.Homeless, he has travelled through di…

Coming Soon on MOI....

Hello, Ladies and Germs!
Exciting times are a-coming here in The Mountains of Instead over the next few weeks.  Firstly, there will be reviews of Melina Marchetta books!  Yes - I've read more and loved them and you must all read the reviews and then rush off to read the books too.  And then lobb…

I Am Not A Robot (Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer)

Cinder Marissa Meyer Puffin 2012
Cinder is a mechanic.  She’s good with wires and hardware and such – a good thing, as a large proportion of her body is made up of these things. In a world where medicine has advanced to the point where those near death can by saved by using non-human parts, she owns a…

Death By Water (Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda)

Fracture Megan Miranda Bloomsbury 2012
When a harmless game leads to a fatal accident, Delany Maxwell should really be dead.  In fact, eleven minutes trapped under the surface of an icy lake, she was dead.  But then she came back.  Not as a zombie, not as a vampire… just as a normal, teenage girl.  Ex…

Comfort Him With Apples (Review: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare)

Clockwork Prince
Cassandra Clare Walker 2011
After the events of Clockwork Angel, Tessa finds herself living in the London Institute surrounded by Shadowhunters whose future looks increasingly uncertain. The Enclave remain dubious of how the Institute is run, with the bullish Benedict Lightwood headi…