Publisher Spotlight: Egmont Electric Monkey - February - June 2012

I thought it would be fun to start spotlighting new releases that different publishers have coming up over the next few months for us to look forward to.  I'm constantly looking for new books to add to my wish list and thought it would be a nice way of spreading the bookish love with other bloggers.  I'm not sure how regular the posts will be yet but I have quite a few lined up already and we'll see how things go over the next few months.  So in the spotlight today we have . . .

For 2012 Egmont are launching their new YA imprint Electric Monkey, they have some very exciting titles that I can't wait to get my hands on so I thought it would be nice to share some of them with you here.  Check out Egmont's Electric Monkey website for more information.

6th of February:

First up we have Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  I really like historical fiction but I've not read much set around the second world war recently so I'm really looking forward to this one.  Visit Elizabeth Wein's website for more information.

A heartbreaking tale of a friendship between two young women set against the odds of the second world war.

Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester rub shoulders with a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a special operations executive. Yet whenever their paths cross, they complement each other perfectly and before long become devoted to each other. But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in “Verity’s” own words, as she writes her account for her captors. Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they’ve ever believed in is put to the test…

Next we have Oliver Twisted a debut novel by British author JD Sharpe.  Oliver Twist with vampires, zombies and werewolves?  Yup, I'm sold!  This is definitely at the top of my wish list & I can't wait to get hold of a copy.  Visit JD Sharpe's page on Goodreads for more information.

The world according to Oliver Twisted is simple. Vampyres feed on the defenceless, orphans are sacrificed to hungry gods and if a woe-begotten catches your scent it will hunt you forever. On the advice of a corpse, Oliver flees his ghastly orphan life to seek his destiny in the dark streets of old London Town, despite the perils of the woe-begotten zombie-infested journey. There he meets the shadowy Dodger, the evil old soul-stealer Fagin, and the menacing Bill Sikes, who is more werewolf than man. But will Oliver Twisted be the world’s salvation, or its downfall? An authentically Dickensian and genuinely inventive reimagining of Dickens’ eternal classic, this is Victorian England but not as we know it!

5th of March:

I have heard fantastic things about Michael Grant's Gone series but although I have the books sitting on my shelves I haven't got around to reading them yet.  I really must do something about that!  In the meantime I'm definitely looking forward to the first book in his new series - BZRK.  Visit Michael Grant's website for more information.

The most breathtaking and exhilarating ride you will take this year, this is the first in an incredible new action thriller series from Michael Grant, author of Gone.


These are no ordinary soldiers. This is no ordinary war. Welcome to the nano, where the only battle is for sanity. Losing is not an option when a world of madness is at stake.
Time is running out for the good guys. But what happens when you don’t know who the good guys really are?

Noah and Sadie: newly initiated to an underground cell so covert that they don’t even know each other’s names. Here they will learn what it means to fight on a nano level. Soon they will become the deadliest warriors the world has ever seen.

Vincent: feels nothing, cares for no one; fighting his own personal battle with Bug Man, the greatest nano warrior alive.

The Armstrong Twins: wealthy, privileged, fanatical. Are they the saviours of mankind or authors of the darkest conspiracy the world has ever seen?

The nano is uncharted territory. A terrifying world of discovery. And everything is to play for . . .

Also released in March is Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber.  This one sounds completely different from anything I've read before.  I have to admit I'm not a Kill Bill fan but I do love Ferris Bueller's Day Off so I'm curious about this one.  Visit Joe Schreiber's blog for more information.

Kill Bill meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Fasten your seatbelts for a quirky, rapid-fire joyride through the streets of New York.

‘You shot him. You totally just shot that guy back there. I think I’m gonna throw up.’

One ordinary guy.

One female assassin.

When Gobi lands in Perry’s like, she rips is apart like a bombshell . . .

A fast-paced action thriller like nothing you’ve ever read before.



Skin Deep is another 2012 debut and was written by British author Laura Jarrett.  This one seems to have romance and mystery and it's definitely been added to my wish list!  Visit Laura Jarrett's page on Goodreads for more information.

After the car crash that leaves her best friend dead, Jenna is permanently scarred. She struggles to rebuild her life, but every stare in the street, every time she looks in the mirror, makes her want to retreat further from the world. Until she meets Ryan.


Ryan's a traveller. When he and his mother moor their narrow boat on the outskirts
of a village, she tells him this time it will be different. He doesn't believe her; he can't imagine why this place shouldn't be as unwelcoming as the rest. Until he meets Jenna.


But as Jenna and Ryan grow closer, repercussions from the crash continue to reverberate through the community. And then a body is found…

2nd of April:

I had the chance to read Dear Dylan by Siobhan Curham back in 2010 when it was self published by the author.  I really enjoyed the story so was very excited to hear that it has been picked up by Egmont.  You can read my review of Dear Dylan here and visit Siobhan Curham's website for more information.

A first crush. An unexpected friendship. A dream come true. A perfect read for fans of Cathy Cassidy, Sarah Dessen and Karen McCombie


Fourteen year old Georgie Harris feels as if the summer holidays are over before they have even begun. Banned from going to the local drama workshop by her bully of a step-dad and her increasingly fragile mum, she is consigned to six long weeks of looking after her tooth-fairy obsessed kid sister. Sick of feeling like the outsider at home and at school, she starts emailing the one person she thinks might understand; Dylan Curtland, star of the popular soap opera Jessop Close. And when Dylan starts emailing back, Georgie finally feels a tiny spark of hope. At last she has someone who really gets her, someone who really wants to help. But in the faceless world of email all is not as it seems...

7th of May:

Shift by EM Bailey is another 2012 debut that sounds awesome.  Another one that has been added to my wish list!  Visit EM Bailey's website for more information.

A taut and seriously compelling psychological thriller from a major new YA talent.

“There were two things everyone knew about Miranda Vaile before she’d even arrived at our school. The first was that she had no parents – they were dead. And they were dead because Miranda had killed them.”


Since her breakdown last year, Olive has become the school loner, so she can only watch as new girl Miranda latches on to her old best friend, class queen bee Katie. Soon Miranda is talking like Katie, dressing like Katie – even going out with Katie’s boyfriend. And then Katie dies. Olive is convinced Miranda is somehow responsible, but the only person who believes her is Lachlan, the hot boy who won’t take the hint that she wants to be left alone.


And then Miranda turns her attention on Olive. She makes life so much fun that soon they are best friends. But what price will Olive have to pay for this new friendship?


With shock twists, a moving romance and a heart-racing climax, Shift will keep you turning the pages furiously.

How to Keep a Boy as a Pet by Diane Messidoro sounds like it's going to be a really fun light hearted read.  To find out more about this debut author visit her page on goodreads.

Can taming a gorgeous boy really be as easy as walking a dog?

Circe Shaw is on a mission. She must transform into a fabulously sophisticated journalist and discover the amazing scientific truth about boys. Urgently.

But life is beyond complicated. Circe has to deal with a poisonous rival, her mum’s annoying ‘just friends’ men and her own Dark Past.

Can Circe’s daring investigation really teach her the facts of love?

Will it help her finally get a boyfriend?
Or will it break her heart…?

4th of June:

Dads, Geeks and Blue Haired Freaks by Ellie Phillips sounds like another fun read if you like contemporary fiction.

One girl’s search to find her father, using the internet, some boys and quite a lot of hairspray.

Sadie Nathanson spends her life trying to survive the excruciating embarrassment of simply existing. It’s hard enough being a bit of a shrinking violet within a loud and outspoken extended family, but the unexpected card from ‘Dad’ on her 15th birthday is the last straw.

As ‘Dad’ was an Internet sperm-donor, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that this is a bad joke, probably set up by her ex-best-friend Shonna. But it starts Sadie wondering – just who was her father? Is he the cause of her worry crinkle and wonky bum? What would happen if she tracked him down?

So she decides to do just that. With help from her nerd cousin Billy, his friend Nodding Tony and a regular dose of ‘Haironomics’ (Sadie’s own hairstyle-related philosophy system), they uncover a lot more than they bargain for…

Last but definitely not least is Alchemy by K.J. Wignall.  This is the second book in the Mercian trilogy, I read the first book Blood last year (read my review here) so I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next!  Visit K.J. Wignall's website for more information.

'Run!' Will said to Eloise. She hesitated and he pushed behind her, grabbing the bird out of the air. But the sound of beating wings didn’t stop. Eloise let out a cry and when he turned she’d been scratched on the head and was hitting another crow away.

The vampire William of Mercia continues to search for answers about his long, undead life, together with Eloise, the girl with whom his fate is entwined. But the darkness doesn’t yield its secrets easily.

As they edge closer to the truth, it becomes clear that something evil knows their every move, and this time it’s targeting the person Will needs most of all.

Lost in a frozen landscape, powerful adversaries are locked in a battle that not everyone can survive, as destiny collides with a sorcerer’s dark arts…

So what do you think of the new Electric Monkey titles?  They have a great selection so I'm sure there must be something there that catches your fancy!  Which ones are you most excited about?