Reading The Riot Act

Friday 23 January 2015

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel

I should probably mention that I did not finish this book. I wanted to, my god, did I want to. I'm used to Stiefvater's style and honestly it takes around 100 pages to get into it. Though after 150 pages I just could not get into it and that really stressed me out. It's not an easy read and not good for when you have reader's block. I will finish this eventually but right now I just cannot get in the right mind set.

Plotwise, the story got going a lot quicker than previous books. There was no build up it just sort of rolls right on from the previous one, but for the life of me could I remember anything that happened. I feel as if this series is washed up for me. It promised a kiss that would kill and four books later it hasn't fulfilled its promise. It is irritating. So irritating. I'm sick of them wandering around looking for Glendower, I am sick of it. I didn't begin this series thinking about Welsh frickin' gods. It was sold as a starcrossed lovers story (and obviously I love that, I love seeing how they unfold) but enough is enough.

Every page I'm just like, get to it Stiefvater, make with the death
smoochies!

Maybe I'm being too harsh. The series has many stellar attributes, one being Blue herself. She's badass and cool with a slight feminist agenda. I just love her, I love her so much but apart from Gansey and Ronan. None of the other characters stick in my mind. There's maybe a ghost guy and is there another one? I just cant tell, there's too many people in this Raven Boys gang!

I just can't get into it anymore. I felt this series promised something that it hasn't given and that is infuriating.

This was a way more negative review than I'd intended. My bad.

Happy Reading.

Wednesday 21 January 2015

wrap up

Birthday Book Haul!

Louise Wilkes 10:02:00 0

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

All hail the beauty of birthdays. Naturally as with every birthday I was given books and gift cards as presents. However these two are by far my favourites.

The dual authored Frozen by Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston attracted my attention a few weeks ago in Waterstones, naturally due to my Disney's Frozen obsession. It's been described as a futuristic Game of Thrones which is right up my street. I am so excited to read this and may even push another book out of this months TBR, but we shall see.

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

I also purchased The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. I had seen a lot of reviews on Goodreads. I decided to take a chance. I'm not generally a big fan of contemporary YA. I find them a bit hit and miss but the cover is so pretty and the narrative seems pretty harmless and actually rather charming.

Imagine if she hadn’t forgotten the book. Or if there hadn’t been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn’t fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she’d run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else - the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?

Hadley isn’t sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it’s the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver...

Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

In other news I have finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater and with my university assignments submitted and out of the way, my dedication to all things book has been revived.

Stay Tuned and Happy Reading.

Monday 5 January 2015

tbr

New Year! New TBR!

Louise Wilkes 15:24:00 0

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

New Year, New TBR! That's right. With oncoming deadlines I am both in need of a break from reading for that oh so good extra study time! and mass amounts of reading,to keep my hair from falling out. Obviously I prioritised the latter. With my reading being somewhat sketchy this past month with Christmas Shenanigans and my very important sleeping and eating cake routine, I am very excited to get back on with it. So let's crack on!

Assuming it arrives and being super excited about it. I will be reading The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon. Sequel to The Bone Season, I am sure it will be delightful. I pre-ordered it approximately 8 billion years ago and it is due to arrive the 27th of this month. Fingers Crossed!

Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal penal colony of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the fugitives are still missing and she is the most wanted person in London. As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on Paige, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city’s gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take center stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner. Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided. Will Paige know who to trust? The hunt for the dreamwalker is on

I will also be finishing off Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. The book in which I horribly abandoned over Christmas. These books always take me about 100 pages to get into it so I withold all judgement until then, but I'm sure it will be worth the effort.

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up. Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

Writer of the Matched trilogy Ally Condie, has returned with her one off book, Atlantia. I like water, I like Atlantis, I like Ally Condie. This is gonna rock! (Plus, I already read the first chapter.)

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose. Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

I am aware my TBR is a little short this month but with deadlines, you can't be too careful. My reading challenge for the year is a measly 60 as I'll be hard at work and university until April. But I'm sure I'll crack this summer wide open and so a reading marathon type thing.

I've also made a resolution this year to post ATLEAST once, every week. I was a bit inconsistent last year, disappearing for a fortnight and re-emerging with dozens of posts. This is the year of consistency. Wow, that's sound bland - but it won't be.

Happy Reading!

P.S It's my 21st birthday on the 17th of this month! EXCITES!

Friday 2 January 2015

My Favourite Books of 2014.

Louise Wilkes 08:17:00 2

This has been a pretty awesome year for reading, personally. In the chaotic time that was the Christmas season, I inched my way to finish my reading challenge for 2014.

There has been a bit of negativity surrounding the yearly reading challenge, and I disagree it takes the fun out of reading and personally I don't take it seriously enough to warrant it pressurising me. For me personally, it's a promise, a casual promise, that reading will be a part of my life this year, and I think that pretty damn important.

And across my many months of book appreciation, I've read some lackluster lit I tossed into the trash (figuratively) and some breathtaking books that have made it onto this. My 2014 favourites list, enjoy.

10. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I feel as though this book should be higher in my list, but after Landline I'm still holding a grudge. 2014 wasn't the easiest year for me. After the terrible ending of a relationship that was messy and only one party was aggressively hurt (me.) I was feeling very pessimistic, very angry and maybe even a bit lost. Attachments was what made me realise I wasn't in the wrong, I wasn't being unreasonable to expect someone to love me, to expect someone to want to be around me and not act like I was a burden. I don't think without this book I would have had the courage to meet my boyfriend or meet anyone again. It should be higher in the list...but Landline though. Eff off Neil.

9. Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic hits my top ten for a number of outstanding reasons, but primarily because I didn't expect much from it. It's difficult for a writer to come off a series and deliver a stellar standalone, but By George! she did it. And what a hell of a standalone it was.

8.The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

In 2014 was the first year I picked up the Darkest minds series. This has been a great series and I will be reading the final book in 2015.

7. Cress by Marissa Meyer

I have fallen so hard for this series. Cress was really where I became really involved with the story on a new level. This is when the jump up and down, my god I'm so excited feeling kicked in and I cannot wait for the release of Fairest and Winter.

6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I began this series at the start of the year and will finish in 2015, but the first two books were so exciting and different to anything I'd read this year, it had to be in my list.

5. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

The Infinite Sea was so unlike it predecessor, which I loved. We waited so long for it and it did not disappoint in any way than it was over too quickly. Now all we have to do is wait approxiamtely 2.5 billion years for the next one.

4. The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo

A darling series come and gone. I couldn't choose which one I preferred so the whole series is number 4. I am utterly devastated I got into this series later than everyone else. I just never picked it up before but it has swiftly become a classic on my shelf. I imagine many rereads in the future and my excitement for Six of Crows is through the roof.

3. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I utterly adore Shannon's world and am so glad this is only the first book. All my favourtie series are ending and The Mime Order comes out early 2015, warranting a new series to get excited over.

2. Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

What? Not top of my list? Odd! I reside the beautiful and astonishing Heir of Fire to number 2 only because I only read it once this year and normally the Throne of Glass series demands more reads from me. I am aggressively excited for Maas' new series A Court of Thorns and Roses as well as TOG4!

1. Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

DUH DUH DUUHHHHHHHH! Trumpets and whatnot. I put off this series for so long, knowing it followed a young boy and assuming I wouldn't connect with it. But I am one to admit how wrong I was, I can't believe I waited so long. This series consumed me, one after the other. I can't remember the last time I picked up the first book and then read the rest of the series one after the other. It just pulled me in and with the final Heroes of Olympus book being released I can now dive into The Lost Hero without the tender pain of waiting for the next one. Dear, delightful Percy has stolen my heart this year.