I had a bit of spare time between end of working day and having to be somewhere else, so ended up in a Waterstones. This is always a bad sign for my bank account and a slightly good one for the economy.
It took me 20 minutes to walk away with Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire (Derek Landy), Reavers’ Ransom (Emily Diamond) and How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm: Book 6 of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (Cressida Cowell). 
The first pick was easy: I’d read Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy a while ago, first attracted by the bright orange page edges and the skull guy on the front, then intrigued by the skeleton being a detective (anything to do with mysteries and detectives switches on a light bulb in my head). I didn’t get hooked enough by Book 1 to hunt down the sequel as soon as it was out. Yes, it was a fun read, and extremely fast paced, but I’d only fallen for Skulduggery, and it’s hard work for a single character to keep a book like this engaging when I knew where the plot was going before it got there. Yet Book 1 was enjoyable enough to investigate Book 2 at some point.
I spotted Playing with Fire way before getting to the display area where it was stocked: is just as bright as the first one, but green! I absolutely love Tom Percival‘s illustrations on the cover. This is probably why I’m buying the books instead of borrowing it from the library.
Reevers’ Ransom, too, had an interesting cover: the outer cover has a bit hollowed out, letting a ship show through from the inner cover. Seems like it’s a good way to make a paperback a bit more interesting. Works on me, at least… I think (can’t find it now to check) Charlie’s Monsters by Dean Lorey had the same kind of cover design, and that’s one of the reasons I picked it up.
Next, I’d read the back cover: potentially strong heroine with a talking jewel out to rescue a kidnapped girl? File under possible buy. A blurb from Malorie Blackman? Winner of the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2008? (And a really friendly photo of the author on the inside of the back cover?) File under definite buy.
Thinking back, the font, the general colour scheme and the author’s surname probably triggered The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding in my subconscious, and made buying it seem like a really good idea.
Now, I was happy to go to the checkout, except both books were on 3 for 2.
I was going to get The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd, but read the first few pages and the last few pages, and didn’t take to the voice. May still try the book later though, as the setting sounds interesting (a fun, growing-up diary written when cardon dioxide is rationed).
I’ve been wanting to read the Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III books for ages. The illustrations remind me of the ones in my diary when I was 7.
Flipped through the pages as before. Really fun writing: Vikings at a swimming competition carrying swords that made you, well, less floaty, where the one who comes back last from sea wins… Which then turns into kidnap and sailing on the villain’s ship in search of America when all Hiccup (and his friends) want to do is get back and win the competition…
Somehow my third choice became the first book I’ve started reading.
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I’ve been meaning to take a look at the Beast Quest series by Adam Blade for a while, but have also been praying that it won’t make me weep like the Ugenia Lavendar books (I know there’s an Amazon link, but please don’t buy this for your child).
I started reading 
Story Time 