The Mountains of Instead

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

Weighed And Found Wanting (Review: #Scandal by Daisy Ockler)

#Scandal Daisy Ockler Simon Pulse 2014 Lavender Oaks High is online, all the time.At least the students are… and most of the staff, too.It’s a digital world, with Facebook ruling the technological roost – much like the majority of high school s in the Western world.At Lavender Oaks, the hive mind is o…

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Review: Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler)

Afterparty
Ann Redisch Stampler
Simon Pulse 2013


Emma has always been a good girl. Obedient daughter to an overprotective father, she dutifully moves from school to school, keeping her head down and generally Doing The Right Thing. However, when a move to Los Angeles coincides with Emma's increasi…

Stop Crying Your Heart Out (Review: Shift; Jeri Smith-Ready)

Shift Jeri Smith-Ready Simon Pulse 2011


Shift is the second book in Jeri Smith-Ready's series, the first is Shade. If you haven't read Shade (and you really should) then this review will contain spoilers. You have been warned.
Aura is still reeling from the events of Shift.  Caught in an unimag…

Libranos Del Mal (Review: The Cursed Ones by Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigue)

The Cursed Ones Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigue Simon Pulse 2010
In Jenn's world things are much like they are they are in Sookie Stackhouse's – but less sexy. Yep, vampires have come out of the coffin, so to speak, and have been wreaking havoc on the world ever since. Jenn can remember when …

Let Me Live, Unheard, Unknown (Review: The Replacement; B. Yovanoff)

The Replacement Brenna Yovanoff Simon Pulse 2010
I've always been fascinated by stories of changelings. Since childhood, I've pored over fairy tales based around nasty Fae stealing into family homes in the depths of night and stealing an innocent child away. Of course, they don't just st…

Death Is One Moment (Review: The Deathday Letter; Shaun Hutchinson

The Deathday Letter Shaun Hutchinson Simon Pulse 2010
I added this to my wish list earlier in the year when I was picking books for my 2010 Debut Author Challenge list. I thought that it had an interesting premise and the cover made me both laugh and shiver. It's taken me ages to getting round …

...And Dance By The Light Of The Moon (Review: Claire De Lune; C. Johnson

Claire de Lune Christine Johnson Simon Pulse 2010
Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normal…

Brother To Brother (Review: The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan)

The Demon's Covenant Sarah Rees Brennan Simon Pulse 2010
Mae Crawford always thought she was in control. Now she's learned that her little brother Jamie is a magician and Nick, the boy she'd set her heart on, has an even darker secret. Mae's whole world has spun out of control, and it&…

Stop all the clocks... (review: I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder)

I Heart You, You Haunt Me
Lisa Schroeder
Simon Pulse


Girl meets boy.
Girl loses boy.
Girl gets boy back...
...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows…