Wednesday 27 August 2014

The Book Sacrifice Tag.

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This book tag was created by the lovely Miss Ariel Bissett of Booktube. You can find her original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_2UxYi8fOA and I hope you enjoy.

SCENARIO #1

Imagine this you are in a book shop when suddenly hell reigns down on earth and Zombies take over. The only thing is these Zombies can only be killed by an over hyped book...which one do you grab?

Me? I head straight for The Mortal Instruments section...

I do not see the appeal of theses books. The characters are bland and the plot is predictable and some of it even emotionally disturbing. Jace is the furthest thing from a dream boat I could ever possibly imagine, that is why I'd be using any of these book to beat a zombie to death. Maybe City of Heavenly Fire, that thing is skull crushing beast.

SCENARIO #2

You just got the greatest haircut ever! Like seriously you look so good, but then it starts to rain. Which sequel do you use to shield your stylish new do?

 This is honestly the most frustrating book in this series. America makes questionable decisions throughout but in the second book it's a doozy. Maxon spends so much time saying the competition is over and he will announce their engagement but as soon as she a little mean to him, he goes off and humps some other girl. This book is seriously a disaster and I would have no problem watching it's pages crinkle and break.

SCENARIO #3

You are in English Class and the Teacher is droning on and on about  ridiculous classic that you can't stand, what is that classic? Sorry Fee! It's got to be anything by Jane Austen.


 Fee is gonna absolutely hate me for this but I cannot see the appeal of this woman. I find her novels fluffy and very very "shallow" is probably the best word for it. Sure I agree with themes of familial and romantic love but she lacks the depth of Bronte' within these relationships. I think Austen is one of those classics that is no longer relevant. She can be as great as she was back then but people no longer need to learn the lessons in her books as those lessons were fully constructed by her society and status at the time, therefore diminishing the amount of people who relate to it year after year.

SCENARIO #4


You are in the library, everything is fine until BOOM! GLOBAL WARMING EXPLODED! or something! Suddenly you are freezing, you need to burn a book to stay alive, which series do you grab first.



I'm heading for anything written by Maria V Snyder. The way the woman writes drives me around the twist and I'm not partial to plots that favor coincidence and random unexplained talents. I literally got 100 pages into Poison Study before I wanted to beat my own brains out with it.

SCENARIO #5

Now, you're a big comedian about to go on stage...but dammit you have gum in your mouth! Luckily you carry your entire bookcase around with you. Which books last page would you stick your gum in?


Sadly it has to be Beta, this book was so good and interesting throughout until that last 50 pages when everything suddenly turned into "lets add as much stupid rubbish as possible" ending. Seriously this ending I was sure was a joke, I can't see how anyone would think this ending was a good idea. It ruined the entire book.

So those are my Book Sacrifices. Face it, we all know we have books we can't stand. So what are yours? Share your sacrifices or reccomend me a tag. Or just chime in!
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Tuesday 26 August 2014

Meeting Sarah J Maas!

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Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

So a week ago at the very last minute I was jet set to Leeds with the delightful Fee for a Sarah J Maas signing (shocking that I wanted to go right!? SHOCKER!) I had previously been set to go to the Newcastle one but after irresponsibly quitting my job with no back up I could no longer go. So you can guess my joy when my mother surprised me with money to go! HOLLA AT CHA MAMA!


The signing started at 12:30 and as an incredibly worrisome person I made sure we arrived at Leeds for 10am, this probably seemed ridiculous and I had planned to get food and attend to natures call before lining up but as we found the Waterstones the line was already gigantic. So I had to sit for 2 and a half hours with my bladder about to burst, stomach making whale sounds and my tired, hungry mind annoying the other people lining up, but it was so worth it.

3 games of scrabble, two awkward conversations with strangers and 1 entertaining "wee wee" dance. The line started to move, we were still in the line for a good half our before we made it to Miss Maas and well...

...her face says it all!

My first thought was MY GOD SHE'S SO PRETTY! I saw her not only talking to Fee to be polite as she signed her books but genuinely having a chat with her and writing personalised messages. I haven't been to many signings but it was clear this isn't the norm.

Then it was my turn and to say I was at creeper level 100 would be an understatement. First of all I just stared at her, like I'd been searching my whole life for the Messiah and there she was. Luckily for me, Fee chimed in with the little 'she loves you' so it made my creeper level lower, or possibly higher. I'm never sure what to say in those situations but Miss Maas was polite and sweet and honestly tried to illicit conversation from me. I'm just a blank minded robot at the point where she does this.

I won't pretend I have learnt dome lesson about signings or how to handle it for next time, I did the exact same thing at Maggie Stiefvater so maybe we all have a signing type, mine just happens to be the creeper and Fee is the charmer. If your lucky you should find one, they make you seem a hell of a lot less weird.

That one piece of hair is gonna drive me insane.

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Tuesday 12 August 2014

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas!

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ARC ALERT!
Warning: Spoilers! (duh.) seriously like so many spoilers!

 Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?



I mean look at it, it's beautiful. I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of Heir of Fire and my god is it incredible, like seriously it's gonna blow you away. Sarah J Maas is the queen of shock endings and characters development.

We find Celaena far away from Rifthold in the land of her ancestors and family. To say that she is struggling with the events of the last book is a complete understatement. It was really hard to read her being so lost and without hope. She had literally given up on everything and it was a very hard thing to read about.

The story gets split into about three/four parts. We follow Celaena as she is basically kidnapped by her evil Aunt and forced to learn to control her Fae powers (which gives such an awesome ending) We follow Chaol as he joins the rebel forces and Dorian as he falls in love again. But most amazingly we follow Manon Blackbeak as she learns to rides Wyverns and serve the king.

Let me just say it Manon Blackbeak was nothing like I expected from excerpt we were given a few months ago, her entire narrative was heartwarming and very How To Train Your Dragon. But I liked her, which Celaena being broken and not herself for the first half of the book, Maas knew we needed that badass character who takes no prisoners and is arrogant as hell. And not only did Manon do that, she also didn't just become a carbon copy of Celaena. We really learn alot about the Witches and it's really written ingeniously because I feel like anything even slightly mentioned in the previous books is attended to in other books. Nothing is throwaway information and that's incredible.

Chaol meets Aedion, Princess Aelin's (Celaena) cousin and apparent traitor as he is a general to the King of Adarlan. Of course this all turns out to be fake and the two begin working together for the rebels. I still adore Chaol and I want him and Celaena together so bad, like I just loved them. But we start to get a lot of their couple flaws in this book and it's heartbreaking to understand that Chaol is actually kind of scared of Celaena. He's scared of her power and the blood lust that comes from her Fae side and he can't pick and choose what parts of her to love. He joins the rebels and yet not until the end does he finally draw a line of where his allegiance lies. He spends so much time bouncing between teams, working for the king, protecting Dorian and yet plotting for Aelin. As they say you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything and Chaol finally makes his choice in this book.

I will admit I was worried that Chaol would be forgotten by Celaena when we met Rowan, they definitely had a connection and there were moments where I thought something might happen but I'm glad it didn't. Celaena is clearly not ready for anything like that, I mean if something had happened it would've felt like the entire series was about finding her a lover. We also finally get the choice of what she plans to do about who she is and when she uttered the phrase "Then we will rattle the stars."I was basically happy dancing in bed. PRINCESS AELIN IS ALIVE!

Now to Dorian, I really wasn't that invested in his story, he basically dated this healer who turned out to be a spy and got beheaded. I don't know why I just wasn't sold on her, she was meek and kind of boring. I couldn't see what he was seeing in her. It felt like he loved her because he wanted to. I don't know maybe she was exactly what he needed at the time. When the king finds out about his power, a very interesting thing happened, he put a mind control magic collar on him and then it ended, like the next book is gonna be so awesome.



I don't know what more I can say, how much more I can plug this book more. This entire series is one for the ages. It can capture every part of you until you can't think of anything else. The book hangover from this is gonna be real bad. READ THIS SERIES! DEVOUR THESE BOOKS! DO IT NOW!

If I could give it 100 stars I would!



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Monday 11 August 2014

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

09:27:00 4
Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

You can't stop the future.
You can't rewind the past.

The only way to learn the secret is to press play.
Clay Jensen returns home to find a strange package with his name on it. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker – his classmate and first love – who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice explains there are thirteen reasons why she killed herself. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening – and what he discovers changes his life... forever


When I first picked up this book, I hadn't heard great things. The Goodreads rating was a solid 4 stars which is okay but people either loved the book or hated it. Its like the Marmite of YA. I'm afraid I fall in with the side who love it (the book not Marmite).

The whole format is very interesting and I didn't particularly like Clay that much. Hes a typical nice guy and reading about nice guys can be well...boring. Luckily Hannah's narration through the tapes was beautiful, the words were realistic and yet I could still see everything that was happening and with each tape the plot thickened and escalated. 


I did become worried around halfway through where the events hadn't seemed to escalated to a point when suicide could be considered and I became concerned it cold glorify or over exaggerate something in order to make it plausible. That didn't happen though, the escalation felt natural but also horrifying. I could finally feel Hannah losing the will to live. Of course the tapes were a cry for help, she wanted help even up until and maybe especially on that final tape. 


The story unfolded beautifully (poor choice of words) it was devastating and I cried and gasped at all the places I was supposed to. I didn't feel much for Hannah and Clay as people together. I felt Clay was too distant from everything that had happened. The night at the party was just horrific and I could understand why Clay was a reason but it did seem like she was condemning a lot of people for things they didn't realise they were doing. Until that party. When Hannah had to listen to the rape of the unconscious girl and didn't stop it, everything fell into place I felt the guilt and horror. So many small events had led to a much bigger issue. And the book really got me thinking. 


I didn't expect much from this book but I am so glad I read it. It really left me with something. I can't name what but I can feel it. 

A fun little thing that's been created (and I use fun in the loosest sense here) you can actually listen to all of Hannah's tapes which are surprising well voice acted at http://hannahsreasons.blogspot.co.uk/ I just love it when fictional stories are really brought to life.
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Sunday 10 August 2014

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han.

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Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Belly thought her romance with Conrad was picture-perfect: She was all grown up and dating the boy of her dreams. But things with Conrad were never exactly as she had dreamed (obsessed) about. He keeps getting more distant and distracted, and Belly wishes she could walk away. But when Jeremiah calls her to tell her Conrad has seemingly gone missing, it takes her only seconds to start packing her things. Belly embarks on a journey to find him no matter how much what she discovers will hurt her.


 Jenny Han really hates a nice solid plot line, instead she wants to mess around with a slight story and just belly-ache (excuse the pun) to fill page space. 

First off we were never actually told Belly and Conrad we're together at the end of the first book and the books are set up so that we get an explanation as to why he suddenly treats Belly like crap out of nowhere. I mean what was the deal with prom? Are we never gonna find out why he suddenly acts like that? Is it Bipolar? Is he a douche? I need some payoff here you know. I need to understand a characters motivation and his mum has always been sick even when he was nice so you can't blame that, if so he would have been nice before and then cruddy after but in fact he is both intermittently. 

So yeah I hate Conrad.  I also hate Belly. Belly is named switched in my head to Bella (Swan) every time I read her. She tries to act all independent and I am a strong person but she is just ridiculous, how anyone can find her appealing is lost on me. It'd be like dating a nursery child, she needs reins so she doesn't run off into traffic or eat too much paste. She is naive to the point that it is unbelievable. And she is so melodramatic and I guess I'm supposed to get nostaligic and be all,


 'I was that dramatic when I was 16'

but I wasn't. I mean I was dramatic but Belly sees him having his hair stroked by some girl at his mothers funeral and she flips out. You broke up ages ago, he's allowed to take comfort and be with other people. She's clearly a lovely caring person and he feels comfortable opening up to her which he never does with you. So god knows why this book is shipping you two together. They are awful for each other.

Then we have lovely Jeremiah. He's such a cutie and sweet and just everything Conrad should be. I mean he is just charming and having already sneaked a peek at the next book I know what happens. But I love that dude. He shouldn't be with Belly though because he is too good for her.

Taylor is delightful and hilarious as usual. I find people can be hard on Taylor, including and especially Belly, but she shows she cares by changing outfits and getting you to talk to other people. It may not be what you want but that is her trying to show she cares and Belly being arsey about that kind of annoys me. She always makes out like she's better than Taylor because Taylor likes boys and shoes and parties, And what does Belly do in every book, whine about boys, go to parties and act irresponsibly. I read chapter 1 of the next book and Belly literally tallys her friends against each other like well Blah Blah is better than Blah Blah because A, B and C! I don't see the fascination with this girl. She's a nasty piece of work.

So yeah I basically hate Belly. I HATE her, I can't remember the last time I took such a disliking to a character. I just can't stand her. What about you?

Did you like Belly?  Can you shed some light on her behavior?
Do you have any characters you hate?
Let me know!

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Tuesday 5 August 2014

July Wrap Up and August TBR

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So guess who is doing a TBR 1 week into August? ME!

Guess who has neglected reading in that week? ME! 

Guess who is the laziest book blogger ever right now? ME!

In true essence I quit my job (without a back up) and have spent the week sulking and not wearing pants. But the show must go on, as must the reading. I did terribly with my July TBR.

In July I only read 5 books. Although I did have terrible readers block and only 3 were actually on my TBR. My TBR Jar pick was Wonder by R.J. Palacio but I read several chapters and decided it wasn't for me.

I also read:
Take Back the Skies by Luck Saxon 2/5 Stars (Unfinishable)
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler 2/5 Stars
Four: A Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth 5/5 Stars (FAVOURITED)
Percy Jackson and The Battle of  the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan 4/5 Stars (FAVOURITED)
Percy Jackson and The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan 5/5 Stars (FAVOURITED)

Honestly, I was very ambitious with my TBR! So August is gonna be a little more realistic.


My TBR Jar pick for the month is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

I bought this book on a random him during a momentous book haul and I heard bad things about it so I never really picked it up, but we'll see how it goes.

 Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.


Next as I am in deep Percy Jackson hangover mode, I will be starting the Heroes of Olympus Series. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan is the first book and I'm primarily excited to get started as I know Percy shows up in the next books. Much Excitement.

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out. Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

I will also be continuing the The Summer I Turned Pretty series with It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han and if I like it I may crack on with the next one. Its been really warm here and these books are very easy going and quick to read so they really are perfect for summer.

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.


And finally as an aggressive fan of this woman I am so pumped to start Landline by Rainbow Rowell. I have zero doubts that it will be beautiful and charming and will speak to my heart and make me all fluttery on the inside. Her writing has a way of doing that.
 Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .
Is that what she’s supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?


So that is my TBR for the month.
Have you read any?
Share yor thought?
But no spoilers...cheeky!
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Take Back the Skies by Lucy Saxon.

10:44:00 0
Warning: Spoilers (Duh.)

Catherine Hunter is the daughter of a senior government official on the island of Anglya. She’s one of the privileged – she has luxurious clothes, plenty to eat, and is protected from the Collections which have ravaged families throughout the land. But Catherine longs to escape the confines of her life, before her dad can marry her off to a government brat and trap her forever.

So Catherine becomes Cat, pretends to be a kid escaping the Collections, and stows away on the skyship Stormdancer. As they leave Anglya behind and brave the storms that fill the skies around the islands of Tellus, Cat’s world becomes more turbulent than she could ever have imagined, and dangerous secrets unravel her old life once and for all.


I was incredibly disappointed by this book. I got about halfway through before I had to put it down. And I'm struggling to decide why. The world was quickly and nicely set up. On paper the protagonist was right up my street and the other characters were different and likeable, so why didn't I like it?

First of all it didn't seem like the author knew where she was going when she was writing, plot wise, it seems a little lost at first, as if she was just writing without any thought of where. (Or going back n edits to make it look like she saw everything coming).

Secondly I have no time for dark, brooding, tortured loved interests. They immediately make me scoff and just bleurghhhhh.

Thirdly and probably most importantly. I wasn't sold on Cat. On paper she is a great protagonist. Strong and brave who doesn't play by the rules, but shes just a little...dry! She didn't seem to be doing some of these things because she wanted to but because Saxon said that was what she was going to do. All of her skills were very coincidental and mentioned just as she needed them and I don't know. She kind of reminded me of Bella Swan doing an impression of Katniss Everdeen.

The problem I'm having with this book is that Saxon is clearly a wonderful writer, her style is easy and her world building is great. But I don't feel like this is the story she should have written. I feel like she will write something else in the future that is going to absolutely shake the world. Like she so talented there is no doubt she has big things coming but I don't feel like this book is it.

This book is the dry run, the practice before she pelts down the runway and takes flight. So Take Back the Skies didn't rock my world (although I hope to read the last half at some point) my stormy heart did not set the world free. But I have a feeling we have big things coming from this author. And who knows maybe the sequel will be a game changer.


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