Pages

Saturday 29 December 2012

"Pretties" by Scott Westerfeld (Spoilers)

Pretties is the sequel to the amazing book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and I wasn't too sure if I wanted to read this book or not but I decided to give it a go anyways because if you're going to start a series, you may as well carry on from where you left off - doomed words that will haunt me, I fear.

*This will have spoilers from Uglies and Pretties in it so stop here if you haven't read the first book*

Tally has now given herself up and has officially had the operation to make herself a 'Pretty' a perfect specimen of a human being - she is good looking, popular and is having the time of her life in this high-tech drunken world that she has been thrust into. The only thing tugging at the back of her mind is the real reason she came to New Pretty Town in the first place - to test the cure, and now she is in a struggle to release the grips of this pretty world from herself and to find out the horrible truths about everything around her.

In New Pretty Town they had a language or a slang that they used amongst each other that wasn't used in the first book at all, words like 'dizzy-making', 'bubbly' and 'bogus' were used constantly throughout this book without a proper introduction into the lingo. I felt as though I was thrown into the deep end of this book with this and was just expected to know exactly what everything was and what everything meant which I most certainly did not. Due to this, I found myself not really understanding half of what was going on until I'd read about three quarters of the book and that was when things started to get a little bit more interesting.

Tally was part of a clique who called themselves the Crims - this was made up of people who were trouble makers, or 'tricky', in their ugly life - they would go around trying to do the most rebellious things that were possible to do to impress one another and it seemed a little pathetic for my likings. It just seemed as though they were trying to fit in, and when it came to light about three quarters of the way in that the reason that they were set up in the first place was so they could escape and find a cure came as a big surprise as it seemed totally out of character for them and was slightly random. It was as if Westerfeld thought things were getting a little too boring so added something to liven it up a little, but it didn't really have the intended effect in my eyes, it just made me think it wasn't really thought out and if this was made clear near the beginning, everything would have made a whole lot more sense than it did.

The characters were bland as well - each individual person seemed to blend into another one and other than Tally, Zane, Shay and Peris (who barely made it into the book) I couldn't really name anyone else. There was no real development, and if there was it was only to make them more pathetic and boring. I didn't like Tally and Zane's relationship one bit, there was no growth, no emotion, no realistic qualities, it was as if two actors were set to act a romance scene in a play but didn't connect and have chemistry at all - it just read like a bad screen play. One minute they're silent, the next they're in love with eachother, it just doesn't make any sense.

There was something about this book that I just didn't like but for once I just can't put my finger on it, it definitely wasn't as good as the first book and now I'm not even sure I will read the third instalment. I was thoroughly disappointed with this book.



Thursday 27 December 2012

"The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window" by Kirsty Moseley

Amber Walker and her older brother, Jake, have an abusive father. One night her brother's best friend, Liam, sees her crying and climbs through her bedroom window to comfort her. That one action sparks a love/hate relationship that spans over the next eight years.

Liam is now a confident, flirty player who has never had a girlfriend before. Amber is still emotionally scarred from the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Together they make an unlikely pair.

Their relationship has always been a rocky one, but what happens when Amber starts to view her brother's best friend a little differently? And how will her brother, who has always been a little overprotective, react when he finds out that the pair are growing closer?


When I first read the synopsis, I thought this could be an interesting book - abused child, unlikely romance blooming - I was wrong. The abuse is just a sub sub sub plot to the 'romance' that happened towards the beginning of the book, in fact, the abuse only just manages to peak it's head through the shallow dating talk that takes up the majority of the book. This book had so much potential to be a gradual love but it just jumped in at the deep end and took one predictable turn after another to the extent that I already knew the ending of the book and what was going to happen.

This book didn't even have a storyline, I can't even describe what actually happened to be quite honest. It was just a mess of all the usual 'love' stereotypes. Nothing of real importance happened and when it did happen it was only minor to the everlasting love that was blossoming before our very eyes - cue the fingers down throat.

The characters were the most shallow I have ever read about - you can't make every single girl in the school ridiculously slutty just so the main character doesn't look that bad. All they kept doing was flirting with every single guy, talking about sex and even the guys were exactly the same, it was just one big sex orientated school with no life or personality. Everyone in this world seemed to be living in cloud cuckoo land with enough hypocrisy to share around as well - as well as being shallow they were also quite stupid characters and even the adults didn't have an ounce of sense in them between all of them, it was just a mass palaver of idiocy.

Dreadful is the only way I can describe the writing - if I ever read 'fine ass', 's/he purred' or 'flirty wink' again in my life I think I might rip my hair out. I don't even think Moseley has even heard of a thesaurus because if she had she probably could have come up with about a dozen other words to use in replacement for these, or maybe she should just write the book again because it was one of the worst books I have read all year and I have no idea how it got so many stars on goodreads - maybe all the hormonal teens were reading this one, and if they were this is the most horrible influence any young girl could read in their most vulnerable years when surrounded by sex in their everyday life. 

I can't even go on...


Monday 24 December 2012

30 Day Book Challenge [4/30]


Day 4 - A book you lent out once, never got back and miss

I don't think I have ever lent out a book. A lot of my friends don't actually read and I don't think I've ever actually wanted them to borrow any of my books anyways - I'd be too afraid that they'd ruin them. I like my books to be perfect, not bent, not dog eared etc. and I don't believe that if I lent them out to a lot of my friends that they'd come back in the same condition I lent them out. 

I'm just a little bit too over protective over my books is all.

"Pandemonium" by Lauren Oliver

PANDEMONIUM 
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Published: 2012

SYNOPSIS

Lena's been to the very edge. She's questioned love and the life-changing and agonising choices that come with it. She's made her decision. But can she survive the consequences?

REVIEW

I think this is the very first time that I've loved a second book more than the first one - it was absolutely stunning and the development was amazing. In the first book you were just getting to know Lena and she was growing but in Pandemonium you felt as though she'd got a lot stronger than she was and she became the kick-ass character that she was always bound to be. In fact all of the characters were amazing I thought and they all had a lot of depth to them as they weren't all obviously stereotypical people who you could guess what they would be like.

The plot was rather predictable at times, but this is one of those times where predictability is a good thing. Although you knew what was going to happen to a certain extent it was still quite shocking to read and kept the tension up all the way through the book. In Delirium I found Oliver's writing to be too descriptive and I felt as though if she'd toned down the wordiness of the novel it would have been better - this was the main thing I noticed that had changed in Pandemonium; it got to the point without being too vague, it got enough description but not the ridiculous amount like in the first book.

As stated before, the twists were quite predictable but the end, oh my goodness, the end. I was not expecting what I was reading for the first time throughout the book and when it was getting to the climax of the book I can honestly say that I was shocked at what happened. I was so excited reading this book, that for the first time I wanted to read the third one straight away - but to my dismay I have to wait until March 2013 which well and truly is awful.

Lauren Oliver, you are evil and yet amazingly talented to leave me hanging like that!

Friday 14 December 2012

"Hush Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick


HUSH HUSH
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon And Schuster
Published: 2009

SYNOPSIS

Nora Grey is a normal sixteen year old girl attending school, and when the seating plan changes in her biology lessons and she ends up next to the mysterious Patch, things start to change for her.

After a series of terrifying encounters, Nora isn't sure if she can trust him. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and to know more about her than her closest friends.



REVIEW

This book was almost as bad as Twilight, and Nora had a severe dose of what I like to call "Bella Syndrome" - making stupid rash decisions due to a crush and also having no description whatsoever making it easy for girls to imagine being her and being in the situation that she's in with Patch with all the flirtatious nature about to make all the teen girls jealous.

It was just boring and repetitive throughout the first three quarters of the book with Nora constantly being indecisive and annoying; and not forgetting her ridiculously shallow and gullible friend Vee who bugged me to the core.

If you are a teen girl then you will love this book, even if it's just for Patch's remarks, expressions and actions throughout it. It's written in a way that would make any teen girl fantasise about having a boyfriend just like Patch which is quite unoriginal and this whole concept has been written a million and one times before.

When the (obvious - due to the blurb on the back) twist came out about Patch being a fallen angel, then and only then, did it start to get a bit more interesting. There was more action and development after about the 275 page mark I found due to this and I found myself on the edge of my seat reading it, half wondering (half predicting the obvious) what would happen in the end. I was pleasantly surprised by the writing and description towards the end of the book in the climax. That alone was enough to, not make me rate this book higher, but to chance reading the next book in the slim hope that something can be rescued from it so it doesn't die a tragic obvious Twilight death that I most certainly do not want.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

"Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld

LEVIATHAN
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Illustrator: Heith Thompson
Publisher: Simon And Schuster
Published: 2009

SYNOPSIS

The Clankers and the Darwinists are going to war - the Clankers with their heavy machinery weapons and the Darwinists with their airshops made of living fabricated animals.

Prince Aleksandar, a Clanker, is running from his own people as he ends up in the middle of this feud. Deryn, a Darwinist, is working on for the British Air Service disguised as a boy - when their ships crash lands, Deryn and Aleks' lives collide.




REVIEW

This book takes you on a fun and exciting adventure through an alternative 1914; it is a bubbly and easy read for anyone. It's aimed at a young adult audience, but I would say it veers towards the younger side of the young adult spectrum with books like the Percy Jackson series, which holds the same amount of fun adventure that makes you not want to put it down.

I found myself whizzing through this book, not only because of the spaced writing and illustrations, but just because it was a good read and kept me wanting more. It's just one of those books that (although I didn't due to work commitments) makes you want to stay up all night to finish it - everything about this book is audience pleasing, but in a simple way.

This alternate universe was a marvel to read about, I wanted to know more about the machinery, the animals, and how everything worked. The Clankers added a more steampunk element to it, and although I'm loving that vibe in books as of late, I was drawn in to the Darwinist ideas more. The Darwinist fabricated creatures to do things as machinery would - the airship that Deryn travels in is in fact a fabricated whale - I found this to be totally and utterly fascinating, and part of me wished that that it was delved a little deeper into than it was. This book always seemed to give you the gist of things rather than a full explanation, which is good for a quick and easy read, but I believe that if Westerfeld had explored the two concepts a bit more it would have created a more interesting read.

I am definitely going to read the sequel to this as a light exciting book but I don't think it will be anything more than that.

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Top Ten Tuesday | New to me authors 2012

















Top Ten New To Me Authors I Read In 2012

 -- Originally created by The Broke and Bookish


Cassandra Clare
Compelling. Gripping. Love love love the characters in her books (especially the infernal devices series) 

Marissa Meyer
One of the most imaginative authors I have read all year, am so excited (if you hadn't gathered) for more books by her.

Michael Grant
His work with characters was amazing. Such a full cast of characters and you knew so much about them all - not everyone can do that. The gone series is ridiculously gripping so far, brilliant concepts.

Stieg Larsson
I'm not normally into crime fiction but his work is to die for and is everything you would want in a novel of that description.


George R. R. Martin
Epic. Do I need to say any more?

I would put Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins on the list for Divergent and The Hunger Games respectively but I thought their sequels lacked so much of the first books that I didn't think they deserved a top mention for me. 

A lot of other authors have really impressed me but they haven't blown me away like the ones I have listed above!

Monday 10 December 2012

30 Day Book Challenge [3/30]

Day 3 - Your favourite book to recommend to friends


'Clockwork Angel' By Cassandra Clare

This was a delicious array of wonder for me and I would recommend this to every single one of my friends whether or not they liked it - I cannot speakly highly enough of this delight.

It draws you in from the off in a story that's just so wonderfully captivating and original in my eyes. It is the prequel series to the mortal instruments series with the same themes and although they may be similar apart from the time period, I believe they definitely do vary. I found this series to be more enthralling than the mortal instruments and was blown away by the characters charm and personality in a way that made me feel as though these fictional characters could in fact be real. 

It's just a book that I feel a lot of people would love, and they do, so therefore this is my favourite book to recommend to a friend. 


Saturday 8 December 2012

2013 Genre Variety Reading Challenge

This challenge was created by A Daydreamer's Thoughts. So if you were interested in signing up you can head on over there.

I've read a lot of young adult over the past few months and I am starting to get a little tired of it - I always read the same kind of books, and although I love them all to pieces it's starting to get a little boring and I need a little bit of variety and to broaden my book horizon. There are some genres that I have never even attempted to read because I thought I most definitely wouldn't like anything to do with it. So here I am giving it a go.

The challenge is to read books from different genres throughout the year. I have found that blogging has opened my eyes to so many genres that I would never have tried before, simply from recommendations, and the idea of this challenge is to keep that going. The challenge is to read a large variety of genres within one year.

Other Important Info;
  • Runs from January 1st 2013 until December 31st 2013. Sign ups will be open until December 1st 2013.
  • There are five levels to challenge yourself too. You may move up a level but not go down a level. These are all outlined below. Please mention in your sign up post which level you will aim for.
  • The genres you choose to read are up to you. As long as every book is different, whichever genre you wish to read you can.
  • Every month there will be a post on this blog to link up to your update post / review(s)
  • There will be a giveaway at the end of the challenge, and maybe a few within the year but these are TBD.
  • To sign up, you will need to write a post saying which level you are challenging yourself too and then use the linky list. Non-Bloggers may post in the comments of this post.
  • Any book formats are accepted.
  • Novellas and Novels are all accepted for this challenge.
  • YA, NA and Adult books all count towards this challenge.
  • New sub-genres are accepted. (for example, paranormal-romance, or historical-romance)
Levels;
  • Careful; 6 different genres, 6 books
  • Cautious; 12 different genres, 12 books
  • Branching; 18 different genres, 18 books
  • Avid Reader; 24 different genres, 24 books
  • Champion; 30 different genres, 30 books
I am going to go with Avid Reader and read 24 books with 24 different genres with a possibility/probability of going up to the next level.

Contemporary --
Historical --
Paranormal --
Fantasy --
Romance --
Sci-Fi --
Crime --
Thriller --
Adventure --
Chick-Lit --
Dystopian --
Epic Fantasy --
Western --
Comedy --
Horror --
Fairy Tales --
Classics --
Erotica --
Short Stories --
Mystery --
Suspence --
Futuristic --
Military --
Biography --

I will update this with each new book I have read in a different genre.

Friday 7 December 2012

"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

I came across Throne of Glass when I was in WHSmiths on my lunchbreak at work, I didn't think too much about picking it up as I hadn't heard anything about it or even heard of it before. I picked it up because it sounded quite interesting and that was that.

Celaena Sardothien is an assassin, she is the best of her kind, but she was caught. We start the story off in the Endovier salt mines were Celaena is serving a life sentence, someone had betrayed the eighteen year old assassin and that is why she ended up in this mess. She thought all looked dismal until the Captain of the Guard offers her a deal; to fight for the crown Prince Dorian in a battle for the title of 'Kings Champion' - an assassin to the King to do what he pleases. She, however, has to fight against a lot of other criminals like herself to earn this right.

When I first started reading this book I thought the idea behind the book was brilliant - other than Graceling (I'd say) I've never read an 'assassin' type book before and the thought of fight scenes and troubles really got me excited - if that's what you were expecting, please don't read this book. The most interesting fight scenes come towards the end of the book, and even those were quite confusing to read about.

When you think of an assassin, you think of someone hard as steel, no emotion, out to kill, hides everything under a facade - well not in this book. It really disappointed me when Celaena started thinking about the fact that she liked the way that the prince looked, it was ridiculously predictable after that notion that they were going to end up falling in love or such like. Why would an assassin fall in love or at least be so willing to fall into emotion so easily, surely her training and kills in general would have taught her to feel nothing for anyone. It wasn't even over a lengthy amount of time either I found, she found him attractive and then she wouldn't stop thinking about him.

I loved the Crown Prince Dorian in this book - I found his character to be quite charming and endearing and he had a lot of development throughout the book. I didn't love him in a fan girly way but more in a characterisation way, as he was just a brilliant character throughout the book. The other characters were quite stereotypical, you had the jealous lady, evil king, brutish thug and it just seemed all a little too planned like a fairytale throughout it all - I even found myself thinking of cinderella half way through as well.

If the love story that found its way into the book wasn't bad enough, they had to bring a magical element into the book in the middle as well - now this was the tipping point for me and that was when I decided that I didn't like this book a whole lot. It was alright up until that point and then it just went to pot and it was as if Maas decided that she couldn't be bothered to come up with an original plot twist and just went with the most obvious thing she could think of.

Through all of this negative there was an ounce of positive. It was a thrilling story even though it was predictable, it wasn't boring and it made me want to keep reading to finish the book and not give up half way through. It was fast paced and there was a little bit of suspicious but never too much. The emotions that it bought up, however, were one of a kind - the fact that although Celaena had endured tortures in the salt mines she was still strong and coule still smile. It made me think that although things may get tough, you've got to stay positive and that was such a wonderful thing to portray.

Overall, I was disappointed with this book and the potential it had to be great. It was ruined by stereotypical plot lines and the characters were as shallow as anything. Still an okay book, but I wouldn't be recommending this anytime soon.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Top Ten Tuesday | Christmas List














Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me
 -- Originally created by The Broke and Bookish


Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
I really want to read this before the movie comes out - I've heard so many good things about this book and just want to see if it's all it's hyped up to be.

A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Across the Universe, the first book in this series was an alright book, but the premise of it was very promising. I want to see how this series progresses to see whether I'm actually going to change my mind on what I thought of the negative aspects of the first book.

Legend by Marie Lu
This has been on my to be read pile for a little while so if I could get around to getting and reading this book it would be absolutely fantastic. Again, I have heard this book is really good so want to jump on the band wagon as you might say.

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
I first read 'The Northern Lights' or as you Americans like to call it, 'The Golden Compass' ages ago and then I remember starting the second book, but I don't remember finishing it. Due to the fact that this was ages ago, a little while ago I re-read the first book in preparation for the second book and I relived how amazing the first book was so I am thoroughly excited to read the rest of the series. At home we have the 3 book in 1 book but I don't like that kind of format and refuse to carry such a massive massive book around with me to work that I really want them as separate books.


Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
I have read the first book and enjoyed it immensely. I thought, because it's kind of a children's book, that it would be in fact childish but the premise of the book is so interesting, and in all the fantasy elements you also learn a bit of history in with it. It's also an all rounder book as well which is a plus filled with action and adventure to boot. I originally got the first book out of the library but I would like to own the collection myself.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Again, like 'Legend' this has been on my to be read list for a very long time now so I think it's due a buy and a read.

Eon by Alison Goodman
Ditto again.


Gone Series by Michael Grant
I have got and read the first two books, and I am in love with this series - and the second book didn't fall to what I like to call, 'Second Book Syndrome' so I'm mega stoked to read the rest of these. I also love the dark covers that are available with the brightly coloured front font and page edges - they do look awesome on my book shelf might I add.


Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
A lot of my book tend to be from books I've read the first in the series, and this is yet another one - so excited to read this. It better not go into the 'Second Book Syndrome' category that Insurgent did, or I'm going to be ridiculously angry.


Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
An ARC of Scarlet would be amazing. Out of all the books to be released in 2013 this is one I would pay to have before it's released - ergh, February is too far away!

2B Tuesday | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Where you show a book that has been sitting on your shelf (or on your e-reader) just waiting to be read. It can be new or have been sitting there for a long time. Just show that book some love and let us know why you bought it or why it has been  sitting there -- originally by Laura's Adventures in Bookland.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
This has been on my shelf for a couple of years now, I just can't bring myself to read it and finish the series - not because I don't want to and not because I don't want the series to end but for a reason I'm not even sure of myself. I keep getting about an eighth in to the book and then getting distracted, giving up for a year then reading that same section again and repeating. I will read this book eventually but for now I'm not unduly fussed about it as (blasphemy for some) Harry Potter isn't as important to me as it is to some people. Don't get me wrong the series is great but it's not my favourite.

Monday 3 December 2012

30 Day Book Challenge [2/30]

Day 2 - Your least favourite book of all time

Again, like the favourite book of all time I really don't have a least favourite book of all time. I do have one that sticks out in my mind however.


'Matched' By Ally Condie

Ergh, I have nothing and I mean nothing good to say about this book whatsoever. I couldn't even finish it because I thought it was that bad - the story was awful, boring and ridiculously predictable. The characters were awful, boring and again ridiculously predictable. There were too many unnecessary flashbacks which didn't add anything to the book or create any kind of back story for anything. The writing was just as bad as the book and was written like a 10 year old in my opinion, I just literally have nothing good to say about this at all. 


I've heard it gets better as the series progresses and I know there have been a lot of mixed reviews on this book, but it just wasn't for me.

Saturday 1 December 2012

"Hunger" by Michael Grant

Hunger by Michael Grant is the second book in the "Gone" series with the first book being of the same name. I thought the first book was amazingly brilliant and I loved every second of it, this book therefore had a lot to live up to.

Kids aged 14 and under are still living in and around Perdido beach without the authority of any adults of figures of authority to guide them since they all disappeared in the first book. They have survived thus far, but a hunger is starting to strike - they are running low of food supplies and things start getting desperate when the rations are running out rapidly.

I thought that this book would pretty much be exactly the same as the first book with an added hunger thrown into the mix, but I was extremely wrong with that presumption. Obviously this book still holds the same premise as the first book but the feel of it was so much different, people are starting to get desperate, tempers are flaring and people are just plain breaking down. The character development in this book to go along with this was outstanding - you saw certain characters change from the first book gradually, as you would expect them too under these circumstances, until they were completely stripped bare for their raw emotions to shine through. It was amazing reading about these changes and the way they affected the hierarchy of the characters within the book.

I thought it was as realistic as a situation like that can be, in the way that each character had a different take on the situation and changed in a different way because of it. If this indeed did happen I could imagine it happening in the way that Grant described - I know the chances are extremely slim, but I hope you get where I'm coming from. There were new characters along with the old added into the extensive cast of kids, and as in Gone, I could sympathise and empathise with each and every one of them - this is my favourite part about Grant's writing, the idea that he can have a cast of at least 20 characters and make you connect and understand every one of them.

This series' writing tends to focus more on the characters and the development of them rather than the descriptions of the places, the characters create the world rather than the description creating it. I could still imagine everything with great detail even though there wasn't a ridiculous amount of time spent on the world itself. However, when he was explaining the darkness I found it quite difficult to imagine what it looked like, I don't know quite what I pictured in my head but it probably wasn't anything like what it was supposed to look like - the description was a little odd.

With the hunger as the base line plot, there were also lots of little side stories running alongside it. These stories were so intriguing and were actually really clever - they were the kinds of things you wouldn't really think about if you were thinking about what would happen if all the adults disappeared. But although you wouldn't think about it first of all they are all actually great ideas that the kids came up with, this highlights the idea I feel that kids have a lot more common sense and ideas than we give them credit for. They are imaginative and sometimes this is the key to a lot of things.

Hunger is just as brilliant as Gone and the character development (as you can probably tell) is the peak of this book and made it what it is - and I don't think a lot of authors are any good at character development along a series of books. It most definitely didn't suffer with second book syndrome in the slightest and I am extremely excited to read the third book now. Fantastic.


"Pretties" by Scott Westerfeld (Spoilers)

Pretties is the sequel to the amazing book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and I wasn't too sure if I wanted to read this book or not but I decided to give it a go anyways because if you're going to start a series, you may as well carry on from where you left off - doomed words that will haunt me, I fear.

*This will have spoilers from Uglies and Pretties in it so stop here if you haven't read the first book*

Tally has now given herself up and has officially had the operation to make herself a 'Pretty' a perfect specimen of a human being - she is good looking, popular and is having the time of her life in this high-tech drunken world that she has been thrust into. The only thing tugging at the back of her mind is the real reason she came to New Pretty Town in the first place - to test the cure, and now she is in a struggle to release the grips of this pretty world from herself and to find out the horrible truths about everything around her.

In New Pretty Town they had a language or a slang that they used amongst each other that wasn't used in the first book at all, words like 'dizzy-making', 'bubbly' and 'bogus' were used constantly throughout this book without a proper introduction into the lingo. I felt as though I was thrown into the deep end of this book with this and was just expected to know exactly what everything was and what everything meant which I most certainly did not. Due to this, I found myself not really understanding half of what was going on until I'd read about three quarters of the book and that was when things started to get a little bit more interesting.

Tally was part of a clique who called themselves the Crims - this was made up of people who were trouble makers, or 'tricky', in their ugly life - they would go around trying to do the most rebellious things that were possible to do to impress one another and it seemed a little pathetic for my likings. It just seemed as though they were trying to fit in, and when it came to light about three quarters of the way in that the reason that they were set up in the first place was so they could escape and find a cure came as a big surprise as it seemed totally out of character for them and was slightly random. It was as if Westerfeld thought things were getting a little too boring so added something to liven it up a little, but it didn't really have the intended effect in my eyes, it just made me think it wasn't really thought out and if this was made clear near the beginning, everything would have made a whole lot more sense than it did.

The characters were bland as well - each individual person seemed to blend into another one and other than Tally, Zane, Shay and Peris (who barely made it into the book) I couldn't really name anyone else. There was no real development, and if there was it was only to make them more pathetic and boring. I didn't like Tally and Zane's relationship one bit, there was no growth, no emotion, no realistic qualities, it was as if two actors were set to act a romance scene in a play but didn't connect and have chemistry at all - it just read like a bad screen play. One minute they're silent, the next they're in love with eachother, it just doesn't make any sense.

There was something about this book that I just didn't like but for once I just can't put my finger on it, it definitely wasn't as good as the first book and now I'm not even sure I will read the third instalment. I was thoroughly disappointed with this book.



"The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window" by Kirsty Moseley

Amber Walker and her older brother, Jake, have an abusive father. One night her brother's best friend, Liam, sees her crying and climbs through her bedroom window to comfort her. That one action sparks a love/hate relationship that spans over the next eight years.

Liam is now a confident, flirty player who has never had a girlfriend before. Amber is still emotionally scarred from the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Together they make an unlikely pair.

Their relationship has always been a rocky one, but what happens when Amber starts to view her brother's best friend a little differently? And how will her brother, who has always been a little overprotective, react when he finds out that the pair are growing closer?


When I first read the synopsis, I thought this could be an interesting book - abused child, unlikely romance blooming - I was wrong. The abuse is just a sub sub sub plot to the 'romance' that happened towards the beginning of the book, in fact, the abuse only just manages to peak it's head through the shallow dating talk that takes up the majority of the book. This book had so much potential to be a gradual love but it just jumped in at the deep end and took one predictable turn after another to the extent that I already knew the ending of the book and what was going to happen.

This book didn't even have a storyline, I can't even describe what actually happened to be quite honest. It was just a mess of all the usual 'love' stereotypes. Nothing of real importance happened and when it did happen it was only minor to the everlasting love that was blossoming before our very eyes - cue the fingers down throat.

The characters were the most shallow I have ever read about - you can't make every single girl in the school ridiculously slutty just so the main character doesn't look that bad. All they kept doing was flirting with every single guy, talking about sex and even the guys were exactly the same, it was just one big sex orientated school with no life or personality. Everyone in this world seemed to be living in cloud cuckoo land with enough hypocrisy to share around as well - as well as being shallow they were also quite stupid characters and even the adults didn't have an ounce of sense in them between all of them, it was just a mass palaver of idiocy.

Dreadful is the only way I can describe the writing - if I ever read 'fine ass', 's/he purred' or 'flirty wink' again in my life I think I might rip my hair out. I don't even think Moseley has even heard of a thesaurus because if she had she probably could have come up with about a dozen other words to use in replacement for these, or maybe she should just write the book again because it was one of the worst books I have read all year and I have no idea how it got so many stars on goodreads - maybe all the hormonal teens were reading this one, and if they were this is the most horrible influence any young girl could read in their most vulnerable years when surrounded by sex in their everyday life. 

I can't even go on...


30 Day Book Challenge [4/30]


Day 4 - A book you lent out once, never got back and miss

I don't think I have ever lent out a book. A lot of my friends don't actually read and I don't think I've ever actually wanted them to borrow any of my books anyways - I'd be too afraid that they'd ruin them. I like my books to be perfect, not bent, not dog eared etc. and I don't believe that if I lent them out to a lot of my friends that they'd come back in the same condition I lent them out. 

I'm just a little bit too over protective over my books is all.

"Pandemonium" by Lauren Oliver

PANDEMONIUM 
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Published: 2012

SYNOPSIS

Lena's been to the very edge. She's questioned love and the life-changing and agonising choices that come with it. She's made her decision. But can she survive the consequences?

REVIEW

I think this is the very first time that I've loved a second book more than the first one - it was absolutely stunning and the development was amazing. In the first book you were just getting to know Lena and she was growing but in Pandemonium you felt as though she'd got a lot stronger than she was and she became the kick-ass character that she was always bound to be. In fact all of the characters were amazing I thought and they all had a lot of depth to them as they weren't all obviously stereotypical people who you could guess what they would be like.

The plot was rather predictable at times, but this is one of those times where predictability is a good thing. Although you knew what was going to happen to a certain extent it was still quite shocking to read and kept the tension up all the way through the book. In Delirium I found Oliver's writing to be too descriptive and I felt as though if she'd toned down the wordiness of the novel it would have been better - this was the main thing I noticed that had changed in Pandemonium; it got to the point without being too vague, it got enough description but not the ridiculous amount like in the first book.

As stated before, the twists were quite predictable but the end, oh my goodness, the end. I was not expecting what I was reading for the first time throughout the book and when it was getting to the climax of the book I can honestly say that I was shocked at what happened. I was so excited reading this book, that for the first time I wanted to read the third one straight away - but to my dismay I have to wait until March 2013 which well and truly is awful.

Lauren Oliver, you are evil and yet amazingly talented to leave me hanging like that!

"Hush Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick


HUSH HUSH
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon And Schuster
Published: 2009

SYNOPSIS

Nora Grey is a normal sixteen year old girl attending school, and when the seating plan changes in her biology lessons and she ends up next to the mysterious Patch, things start to change for her.

After a series of terrifying encounters, Nora isn't sure if she can trust him. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and to know more about her than her closest friends.



REVIEW

This book was almost as bad as Twilight, and Nora had a severe dose of what I like to call "Bella Syndrome" - making stupid rash decisions due to a crush and also having no description whatsoever making it easy for girls to imagine being her and being in the situation that she's in with Patch with all the flirtatious nature about to make all the teen girls jealous.

It was just boring and repetitive throughout the first three quarters of the book with Nora constantly being indecisive and annoying; and not forgetting her ridiculously shallow and gullible friend Vee who bugged me to the core.

If you are a teen girl then you will love this book, even if it's just for Patch's remarks, expressions and actions throughout it. It's written in a way that would make any teen girl fantasise about having a boyfriend just like Patch which is quite unoriginal and this whole concept has been written a million and one times before.

When the (obvious - due to the blurb on the back) twist came out about Patch being a fallen angel, then and only then, did it start to get a bit more interesting. There was more action and development after about the 275 page mark I found due to this and I found myself on the edge of my seat reading it, half wondering (half predicting the obvious) what would happen in the end. I was pleasantly surprised by the writing and description towards the end of the book in the climax. That alone was enough to, not make me rate this book higher, but to chance reading the next book in the slim hope that something can be rescued from it so it doesn't die a tragic obvious Twilight death that I most certainly do not want.

"Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld

LEVIATHAN
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Illustrator: Heith Thompson
Publisher: Simon And Schuster
Published: 2009

SYNOPSIS

The Clankers and the Darwinists are going to war - the Clankers with their heavy machinery weapons and the Darwinists with their airshops made of living fabricated animals.

Prince Aleksandar, a Clanker, is running from his own people as he ends up in the middle of this feud. Deryn, a Darwinist, is working on for the British Air Service disguised as a boy - when their ships crash lands, Deryn and Aleks' lives collide.




REVIEW

This book takes you on a fun and exciting adventure through an alternative 1914; it is a bubbly and easy read for anyone. It's aimed at a young adult audience, but I would say it veers towards the younger side of the young adult spectrum with books like the Percy Jackson series, which holds the same amount of fun adventure that makes you not want to put it down.

I found myself whizzing through this book, not only because of the spaced writing and illustrations, but just because it was a good read and kept me wanting more. It's just one of those books that (although I didn't due to work commitments) makes you want to stay up all night to finish it - everything about this book is audience pleasing, but in a simple way.

This alternate universe was a marvel to read about, I wanted to know more about the machinery, the animals, and how everything worked. The Clankers added a more steampunk element to it, and although I'm loving that vibe in books as of late, I was drawn in to the Darwinist ideas more. The Darwinist fabricated creatures to do things as machinery would - the airship that Deryn travels in is in fact a fabricated whale - I found this to be totally and utterly fascinating, and part of me wished that that it was delved a little deeper into than it was. This book always seemed to give you the gist of things rather than a full explanation, which is good for a quick and easy read, but I believe that if Westerfeld had explored the two concepts a bit more it would have created a more interesting read.

I am definitely going to read the sequel to this as a light exciting book but I don't think it will be anything more than that.

Top Ten Tuesday | New to me authors 2012

















Top Ten New To Me Authors I Read In 2012

 -- Originally created by The Broke and Bookish


Cassandra Clare
Compelling. Gripping. Love love love the characters in her books (especially the infernal devices series) 

Marissa Meyer
One of the most imaginative authors I have read all year, am so excited (if you hadn't gathered) for more books by her.

Michael Grant
His work with characters was amazing. Such a full cast of characters and you knew so much about them all - not everyone can do that. The gone series is ridiculously gripping so far, brilliant concepts.

Stieg Larsson
I'm not normally into crime fiction but his work is to die for and is everything you would want in a novel of that description.


George R. R. Martin
Epic. Do I need to say any more?

I would put Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins on the list for Divergent and The Hunger Games respectively but I thought their sequels lacked so much of the first books that I didn't think they deserved a top mention for me. 

A lot of other authors have really impressed me but they haven't blown me away like the ones I have listed above!

30 Day Book Challenge [3/30]

Day 3 - Your favourite book to recommend to friends


'Clockwork Angel' By Cassandra Clare

This was a delicious array of wonder for me and I would recommend this to every single one of my friends whether or not they liked it - I cannot speakly highly enough of this delight.

It draws you in from the off in a story that's just so wonderfully captivating and original in my eyes. It is the prequel series to the mortal instruments series with the same themes and although they may be similar apart from the time period, I believe they definitely do vary. I found this series to be more enthralling than the mortal instruments and was blown away by the characters charm and personality in a way that made me feel as though these fictional characters could in fact be real. 

It's just a book that I feel a lot of people would love, and they do, so therefore this is my favourite book to recommend to a friend. 


2013 Genre Variety Reading Challenge

This challenge was created by A Daydreamer's Thoughts. So if you were interested in signing up you can head on over there.

I've read a lot of young adult over the past few months and I am starting to get a little tired of it - I always read the same kind of books, and although I love them all to pieces it's starting to get a little boring and I need a little bit of variety and to broaden my book horizon. There are some genres that I have never even attempted to read because I thought I most definitely wouldn't like anything to do with it. So here I am giving it a go.

The challenge is to read books from different genres throughout the year. I have found that blogging has opened my eyes to so many genres that I would never have tried before, simply from recommendations, and the idea of this challenge is to keep that going. The challenge is to read a large variety of genres within one year.

Other Important Info;
  • Runs from January 1st 2013 until December 31st 2013. Sign ups will be open until December 1st 2013.
  • There are five levels to challenge yourself too. You may move up a level but not go down a level. These are all outlined below. Please mention in your sign up post which level you will aim for.
  • The genres you choose to read are up to you. As long as every book is different, whichever genre you wish to read you can.
  • Every month there will be a post on this blog to link up to your update post / review(s)
  • There will be a giveaway at the end of the challenge, and maybe a few within the year but these are TBD.
  • To sign up, you will need to write a post saying which level you are challenging yourself too and then use the linky list. Non-Bloggers may post in the comments of this post.
  • Any book formats are accepted.
  • Novellas and Novels are all accepted for this challenge.
  • YA, NA and Adult books all count towards this challenge.
  • New sub-genres are accepted. (for example, paranormal-romance, or historical-romance)
Levels;
  • Careful; 6 different genres, 6 books
  • Cautious; 12 different genres, 12 books
  • Branching; 18 different genres, 18 books
  • Avid Reader; 24 different genres, 24 books
  • Champion; 30 different genres, 30 books
I am going to go with Avid Reader and read 24 books with 24 different genres with a possibility/probability of going up to the next level.

Contemporary --
Historical --
Paranormal --
Fantasy --
Romance --
Sci-Fi --
Crime --
Thriller --
Adventure --
Chick-Lit --
Dystopian --
Epic Fantasy --
Western --
Comedy --
Horror --
Fairy Tales --
Classics --
Erotica --
Short Stories --
Mystery --
Suspence --
Futuristic --
Military --
Biography --

I will update this with each new book I have read in a different genre.

"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

I came across Throne of Glass when I was in WHSmiths on my lunchbreak at work, I didn't think too much about picking it up as I hadn't heard anything about it or even heard of it before. I picked it up because it sounded quite interesting and that was that.

Celaena Sardothien is an assassin, she is the best of her kind, but she was caught. We start the story off in the Endovier salt mines were Celaena is serving a life sentence, someone had betrayed the eighteen year old assassin and that is why she ended up in this mess. She thought all looked dismal until the Captain of the Guard offers her a deal; to fight for the crown Prince Dorian in a battle for the title of 'Kings Champion' - an assassin to the King to do what he pleases. She, however, has to fight against a lot of other criminals like herself to earn this right.

When I first started reading this book I thought the idea behind the book was brilliant - other than Graceling (I'd say) I've never read an 'assassin' type book before and the thought of fight scenes and troubles really got me excited - if that's what you were expecting, please don't read this book. The most interesting fight scenes come towards the end of the book, and even those were quite confusing to read about.

When you think of an assassin, you think of someone hard as steel, no emotion, out to kill, hides everything under a facade - well not in this book. It really disappointed me when Celaena started thinking about the fact that she liked the way that the prince looked, it was ridiculously predictable after that notion that they were going to end up falling in love or such like. Why would an assassin fall in love or at least be so willing to fall into emotion so easily, surely her training and kills in general would have taught her to feel nothing for anyone. It wasn't even over a lengthy amount of time either I found, she found him attractive and then she wouldn't stop thinking about him.

I loved the Crown Prince Dorian in this book - I found his character to be quite charming and endearing and he had a lot of development throughout the book. I didn't love him in a fan girly way but more in a characterisation way, as he was just a brilliant character throughout the book. The other characters were quite stereotypical, you had the jealous lady, evil king, brutish thug and it just seemed all a little too planned like a fairytale throughout it all - I even found myself thinking of cinderella half way through as well.

If the love story that found its way into the book wasn't bad enough, they had to bring a magical element into the book in the middle as well - now this was the tipping point for me and that was when I decided that I didn't like this book a whole lot. It was alright up until that point and then it just went to pot and it was as if Maas decided that she couldn't be bothered to come up with an original plot twist and just went with the most obvious thing she could think of.

Through all of this negative there was an ounce of positive. It was a thrilling story even though it was predictable, it wasn't boring and it made me want to keep reading to finish the book and not give up half way through. It was fast paced and there was a little bit of suspicious but never too much. The emotions that it bought up, however, were one of a kind - the fact that although Celaena had endured tortures in the salt mines she was still strong and coule still smile. It made me think that although things may get tough, you've got to stay positive and that was such a wonderful thing to portray.

Overall, I was disappointed with this book and the potential it had to be great. It was ruined by stereotypical plot lines and the characters were as shallow as anything. Still an okay book, but I wouldn't be recommending this anytime soon.

Top Ten Tuesday | Christmas List














Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me
 -- Originally created by The Broke and Bookish


Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
I really want to read this before the movie comes out - I've heard so many good things about this book and just want to see if it's all it's hyped up to be.

A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Across the Universe, the first book in this series was an alright book, but the premise of it was very promising. I want to see how this series progresses to see whether I'm actually going to change my mind on what I thought of the negative aspects of the first book.

Legend by Marie Lu
This has been on my to be read pile for a little while so if I could get around to getting and reading this book it would be absolutely fantastic. Again, I have heard this book is really good so want to jump on the band wagon as you might say.

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
I first read 'The Northern Lights' or as you Americans like to call it, 'The Golden Compass' ages ago and then I remember starting the second book, but I don't remember finishing it. Due to the fact that this was ages ago, a little while ago I re-read the first book in preparation for the second book and I relived how amazing the first book was so I am thoroughly excited to read the rest of the series. At home we have the 3 book in 1 book but I don't like that kind of format and refuse to carry such a massive massive book around with me to work that I really want them as separate books.


Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
I have read the first book and enjoyed it immensely. I thought, because it's kind of a children's book, that it would be in fact childish but the premise of the book is so interesting, and in all the fantasy elements you also learn a bit of history in with it. It's also an all rounder book as well which is a plus filled with action and adventure to boot. I originally got the first book out of the library but I would like to own the collection myself.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Again, like 'Legend' this has been on my to be read list for a very long time now so I think it's due a buy and a read.

Eon by Alison Goodman
Ditto again.


Gone Series by Michael Grant
I have got and read the first two books, and I am in love with this series - and the second book didn't fall to what I like to call, 'Second Book Syndrome' so I'm mega stoked to read the rest of these. I also love the dark covers that are available with the brightly coloured front font and page edges - they do look awesome on my book shelf might I add.


Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
A lot of my book tend to be from books I've read the first in the series, and this is yet another one - so excited to read this. It better not go into the 'Second Book Syndrome' category that Insurgent did, or I'm going to be ridiculously angry.


Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
An ARC of Scarlet would be amazing. Out of all the books to be released in 2013 this is one I would pay to have before it's released - ergh, February is too far away!

2B Tuesday | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Where you show a book that has been sitting on your shelf (or on your e-reader) just waiting to be read. It can be new or have been sitting there for a long time. Just show that book some love and let us know why you bought it or why it has been  sitting there -- originally by Laura's Adventures in Bookland.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
This has been on my shelf for a couple of years now, I just can't bring myself to read it and finish the series - not because I don't want to and not because I don't want the series to end but for a reason I'm not even sure of myself. I keep getting about an eighth in to the book and then getting distracted, giving up for a year then reading that same section again and repeating. I will read this book eventually but for now I'm not unduly fussed about it as (blasphemy for some) Harry Potter isn't as important to me as it is to some people. Don't get me wrong the series is great but it's not my favourite.

30 Day Book Challenge [2/30]

Day 2 - Your least favourite book of all time

Again, like the favourite book of all time I really don't have a least favourite book of all time. I do have one that sticks out in my mind however.


'Matched' By Ally Condie

Ergh, I have nothing and I mean nothing good to say about this book whatsoever. I couldn't even finish it because I thought it was that bad - the story was awful, boring and ridiculously predictable. The characters were awful, boring and again ridiculously predictable. There were too many unnecessary flashbacks which didn't add anything to the book or create any kind of back story for anything. The writing was just as bad as the book and was written like a 10 year old in my opinion, I just literally have nothing good to say about this at all. 


I've heard it gets better as the series progresses and I know there have been a lot of mixed reviews on this book, but it just wasn't for me.

"Hunger" by Michael Grant

Hunger by Michael Grant is the second book in the "Gone" series with the first book being of the same name. I thought the first book was amazingly brilliant and I loved every second of it, this book therefore had a lot to live up to.

Kids aged 14 and under are still living in and around Perdido beach without the authority of any adults of figures of authority to guide them since they all disappeared in the first book. They have survived thus far, but a hunger is starting to strike - they are running low of food supplies and things start getting desperate when the rations are running out rapidly.

I thought that this book would pretty much be exactly the same as the first book with an added hunger thrown into the mix, but I was extremely wrong with that presumption. Obviously this book still holds the same premise as the first book but the feel of it was so much different, people are starting to get desperate, tempers are flaring and people are just plain breaking down. The character development in this book to go along with this was outstanding - you saw certain characters change from the first book gradually, as you would expect them too under these circumstances, until they were completely stripped bare for their raw emotions to shine through. It was amazing reading about these changes and the way they affected the hierarchy of the characters within the book.

I thought it was as realistic as a situation like that can be, in the way that each character had a different take on the situation and changed in a different way because of it. If this indeed did happen I could imagine it happening in the way that Grant described - I know the chances are extremely slim, but I hope you get where I'm coming from. There were new characters along with the old added into the extensive cast of kids, and as in Gone, I could sympathise and empathise with each and every one of them - this is my favourite part about Grant's writing, the idea that he can have a cast of at least 20 characters and make you connect and understand every one of them.

This series' writing tends to focus more on the characters and the development of them rather than the descriptions of the places, the characters create the world rather than the description creating it. I could still imagine everything with great detail even though there wasn't a ridiculous amount of time spent on the world itself. However, when he was explaining the darkness I found it quite difficult to imagine what it looked like, I don't know quite what I pictured in my head but it probably wasn't anything like what it was supposed to look like - the description was a little odd.

With the hunger as the base line plot, there were also lots of little side stories running alongside it. These stories were so intriguing and were actually really clever - they were the kinds of things you wouldn't really think about if you were thinking about what would happen if all the adults disappeared. But although you wouldn't think about it first of all they are all actually great ideas that the kids came up with, this highlights the idea I feel that kids have a lot more common sense and ideas than we give them credit for. They are imaginative and sometimes this is the key to a lot of things.

Hunger is just as brilliant as Gone and the character development (as you can probably tell) is the peak of this book and made it what it is - and I don't think a lot of authors are any good at character development along a series of books. It most definitely didn't suffer with second book syndrome in the slightest and I am extremely excited to read the third book now. Fantastic.