August Book Haul

Hello! Another month, more books. August has flown by and as it is my birthday month I have quite a few books to share with you today.

Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Silver Shadows came out at the end of July but I ended up picking it up this month and I haven't had the chance to read it yet but I am so excited and I can't wait to find out what happens! I love the bloodlines series so much, in fact I actually like it more than Vampire Academy and I think that may be because there is a lot more Adrian Ivashkov who is by far my favourite character!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This book has been on my "Books to buy" list for ages now and I finally have it. I am so excited to read this book even though I have heard mixed reviews about it but I am a big lover of fantasy so I can't wait to jump into this new world!

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I am currently halfway through reading the Lux series and so far I'm loving it! When I saw the synopsis for this book I was immediately intrigued and it only got better when I realised it was by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Even though it's not something I would usually go for I am super excited to read this book and will hopefully be reading it soon!

The Elite and The One by Kiera Cass

I read The Selection ages ago and I have also read The Elite but I read it as an ebook and as the covers for this series are the most beautiful things to have graced YA literature I had to get The Elite so I could have it on my shelf next to the other books in this series. I haven't read The One yet but I am so excited too as I really love the story and I can't wait to find out how it ends!

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

This is going to be one of those books I'm going to read when I need a break from dystopian and fantasy books, from what I've heard this sounds like the perfect cutesy read and I am looking forward to reading it.

Shatter Me, Unravel Me and Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

I cannot contain my excitement for these three books. I have wanted them for so long but unfortunately they don't sell them in any book stores near where I live so I've never had a proper chance to pick them up. But someone obviously heard my prayers as I received them as a gift for my birthday and I AM SO EXCITED to read them! I just know that I'm going to love them and they are definitely the next books I'll be reading.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

When I first saw this book in my suggestions on Amazon I was a little bit shocked but after reading the synopsis I just knew I had to get this book. I love the idea of the twist, it just sounds so cool and I'm looking forward to reading this book and the reactions I'll get off people when the see what I'm reading.

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

This is another contemporary that I've picked up, books like this are just so fun and quick to read making them the perfect "mourning period" read.

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Again another contemporary that I'm looking forward to read when I need a break from fantasy worlds and want a book that's based in the real world and is a quick, easy read.

If you couldn't tell already I am very excited about all these books and I can't wait to read all of them. My TBR pile is so big right now it's not even funny but I just can't help buying books, its a serious problem! Thankyou for reading!

Slated by Teri Terry

Slated by Teri Terry
Synopsis:
Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.
She’s been Slated.
The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

Slated is very different from any other dystopian I have read as it is set not that far in the future with a world similar to our own. From the moment I read the synopsis I found the whole concept of the story intriguing, I could easily see something like slating, wiping a criminal’s memories, happening in the future and that's what really made this book interesting.

Kyla, the main character, is a unique narrator as we don’t know anything about her and neither does she, and as the reader you are left wondering who she is and what she must have done to been slated. She is very intelligent and observant but at times she can be almost childlike as the world and everything in it is new to her. As she had been slated, she has no memories of her past – or doesn’t to being with – but she does have a distinct personality that makes her a very interesting character to read. She is completely different to the other slateds in the book and as the story goes on she begins to get whispers of her memories back she becomes even more intriguing and complex.

The romance in the book was a very minimal part of the story that didn’t interest me at all, I just didn’t feel there was any chemistry between the two characters. Ben, the love interest, was also slated but I couldn’t take to his character at all and compared to Kyla his lack of personality bored me. Aside from the romance the other thing that I had a problem with was that the number of questions I had weren't answered by the end of the book, we only know what Kyla knows, and because of this we don’t know why she was slated, why she is remembering things and we don’t know much about the world. So even though I whizzed through this book really enjoying it the ending was a little disappointing and didn’t do justice to the story.

The world being similar to our own makes the book a whole lot more frightening and very believable. The whole story is creepy and mysterious but at the same time fascinating and the regular visions and dreams Kyla has of her past life adds to the mystery factor.

Slated is a thought provoking novel with a very intriguing plot making it a very interesting page-turner, I didn’t find this book particularly mind blowing even though it had the potential to be but I still enjoyed it nonetheless and I love the whole concept of the story.

Cry Worthy Books

Usually a book has to be really sad for me to cry, and when I cry at a book my eyes get so blurry that I have to stop reading for a bit and calm down before I can continue. That being said I have read quite a few sad books, so I thought I would share with you five books that have made me cry. This list isn't in any particular order as I cried like a baby at some point in all of these books but I have chosen books by different authors so there is a somewhat of a range.

1. The first book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I have to admit it was hard to decide which Harry Potter book to put on this list as I cried at the majority of them but Deathly Hallows definitely made me cry the most. This was mainly because so many characters died and it felt like I lost a friend every time, but it was also the fact that the series was coming to an end and there would be no more adventures with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

2. Another book that made me cry was Mockingjay. I cried numerous times throughout this book and it was never just a delicate tear falling down my cheek, it was whale sounding sobs every single time. Aside from the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games was one of the first series that I really got emotionally invested in the characters so it made Mockingjay that much harder to read.

3. The third book on my list is Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. I had to put this book down plenty of times because I could no longer read it due to blurry tear filled eyes. I was crying for hours after I had finished mainly due to what happened in the epilogue but also because the series had ended and it had quickly become one of my favourites as I fell in love with the characters and the story.

4. Allegiant...need I say any more. Unlike the other books on this list I only cried at this book towards the end but once I started crying I couldn't stop. I was a blubbering mess when I was reading it and at first I didn't like the ending at all but now looking back on it I see that it was probably the best way to end such an amazing series.

5. The last book on this list is (obviously) The Fault in Our Stars, which I can imagine would be on almost everyone's list as it is impossible not to cry at. I don't think this book really needs any explanation to why its on this list, if you don't know just go and read the book. John Green does this thing where he makes you cry at all of his books, but I definitely cried the most at The Fault in Our Stars. I don't think cry is the right word though, more like uncontrollable bawling.


So that's my list of books I have cried the most at. I wanted to say something about how its okay to cry at books but instead I found this quote by Cassandra Clare, she had summed it up perfectly (like usual) and its much better than anything I could've written...

"If people ever look down upon you for crying for fictional characters, you should give them a gentle, pitying look and feel bad for them. If they’ve never cried for a fictional character, then they’ve never loved one (and what a joy that is). If they’ve never cried at a book, a movie, a piece of music, then they’ve missed one of the great pleasures life has to offer. Just because fiction does not contain things that are real doesn't mean it doesn't contain truth, and we find it through the alchemy of our tears."

Favourite Five Friday - Childhood Books

Even if you're not a big fan of reading now, everyone has their favourite books they loved to read as kids. It won't come as a surprise that I loved to read as a kid just as much as I love to read now, so today I'm going to list my favourite five books that I remember loving when I was a child.

5. At number five is Jacqueline Wilson's books, I couldn't choose just one of her books as there were so many goods ones that I loved and have fond memories of. As a 10 year old girl I remember loving her books as they were very relatable but fun and easy to read. I used to go to the library every weekend to take out a Jacqueline Wilson book I hadn't read and I remember eagerly anticipating her new books.


4. My fourth favourite is the Harry Potter books, even
though it is now my all time favourite series I read them a lot later on in my childhood so that's why they are number four on the list. But don't get me wrong I loved these books when I was younger and I remember wishing to go to Hogwarts and be best friends with Harry, Hermione and Ron just like every other kid who has read them.

3. Enid Blyton was another one of my favourite authors as a kid and I particularly liked her Twins at St.Clare's series. I had the box set bought for me as a Christmas present and I remember whizzing through them and loving each one. I also loved her Malory Towers books and The Famous Five.



2. At number two is The Series of Unfortunate Events. I had the beautiful box set with the illustrations of Count Olaf in his many disguises around the outside when I was a kid (actually I still have it now!) and I remember it being my pride and joy. It was by far my favourite book series as a child, I loved how mysterious it was and I remember feeling really grown up reading them as I has them all in hardback.

1. My favourite childhood book is the BFG by Roald Dahl. I have fond memories of reading this book and I remember loving the Big Friendly Giant with his snozzcumbers and whizzpoppers. Even though the BFG was my favourite I also loved all of Roald Dahl's other books - Matilda, Fantastic Mr Fox, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are just some of his books that I read and fell in love with as a child.

A Reader's Pet Peeves

Everyone has pet peeves, and I've recently realised I have quite a few. It annoys me when people don't tuck chairs in or don't shut doors behind them, but that's not what this blog post is about, it is about pet peeves but ones associated with reading and books. Now I don't find reading annoying, not at all...obviously, but there are some things that involve books that I have a few pet peeves about.

1. My first "bookish" pet peeve is this

I find it so rude not to mention really annoying if someone interrupts me whilst I'm reading a book and act like its okay to interrupt as I wasn't "doing anything important".

2. Another pet peeve I have is when people don't look after books. I know not everyone loves books as much as I do so I understand if they don't place them on a shelf with care but there is no excuse for books to be battered and in unreadable conditions. My friend gave me a lift in her car the other day and when I got in I literally froze because on the floor of her car covered in mud was Mockingjay. When asking her why it was on the floor she just shrugged it off as if it was nothing, lets just say I wasn't amused.

3. Don't you just find it annoying when people say they are huge fans of something and claim to know everything about it even though they haven't read the books. Take Harry Potter for instance, some people I know claim to be the BIGGEST fans of Harry Potter, when I found this out I was very excited and launched into conversation about all things in the wizard world, only to later discover when I mentioned Peeves that they had never read the books and they were never intending to. Now don't get me wrong I don't mind if people watch the films and then read the books after, I just don't understand how people can claim to be huge fans if they've never read the books?

4. Cover changes halfway through a series...need I say any more. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I like all my books to match on my shelf, so when a book series has a cover change before it is finished it annoys me greatly. Then I have the dilemma or whether to buy the books I already have but in the new covers and have double copies or whether to just make do and pretend they match every time I see them on my shelf.

5. This is probably my biggest pet peeve ever. I find nothing more annoying then when I'm getting all excited about a book and someone says to me "It's just a book". Is any explanation really needed for this? I speak for myself and all the other book lovers out there by saying it's never just a book!

Anyway, rant over. Thankyou for reading!

"Why do you love reading so much?"

I don't know about you but I get asked this question a lot. My friends used to find it funny that I liked to read (they don't now, in fact they come to me for book recommendations), but the first few years of secondary school you were "uncool" if you read books. I remember I used to find it confusing when I found out people didn't read books like I did, but even though it was "nerdy" if you liked to read books I still read them because it was something I loved to do. 

When I try to explain to people why I love reading they just sort of look at me funny and they do that because they don't understand. People who ask me this question don't usually read books, they don't fall in love with stories and characters like I do, and they don't get lost in make believe worlds, that’s why they think it's odd when I answer them with this…

With reading there is endless possibilities, there are hundreds of worlds to explore and countless number of lives that you can step into. It gives you a chance to experience every kind of situation imaginable, reading takes you out of the boring, mundane world and transports you to a world where imagination runs wild. It provides characters who you can relate to and who you can visit again and again always knowing that they are there waiting for you and whose journey you can experience with them.

I love how you can use your imagination and see the characters and the world in your way. When you watch a movie or TV show you see what everyone else sees but when you read it becomes personal to you. Reading excites me and I just love it when I get lost in a book and everything is forgotten apart from the world I've stepped into.

If anybody tells me that reading is boring, I just smile shake my head and tell them that reading books is only boring if you lack imagination. One of my favourite sayings is "Reading is dreaming with open eyes" and its true it is, so I feel sorry for people who don't like to read or choose not to because they don't know what they are missing out on.

Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Bad by Sally Green
Synopsis:
You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.
You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.
You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.
You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.
All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.
Easy.

Half Bad follows the story of Nathan who lives in a world where white witches, who are good, and black witches, who are bad, exist. Nathan is a witch, however he is half good and half bad, his father is the most powerful black witch alive and his mother who was a white witch is dead. Nobody knows what to do with him or what to expect, he faces constant prejudice from everyone and at 14 he's put in a cage. He has to escape before his 17th birthday so he can receive his 3 gifts in order to become a full fledged witch.

I really enjoyed this book, it took me a while to get used to the writing style but once I had I loved it! The first half of the book focuses on Nathan's back story, which really helped set the world up so it wasn't confusing at all. Nathan narrates the story, he is a fascinating character and also the sort that you can't help but root for as he goes through a lot in the book. The plot isn't particularly fast paced but it doesn't need to be as it is a very intriguing story with several important events that happen along the way. The only problem I did have though was the romance in the book wasn't very believable but hopefully it will be developed in the next book.

Overall though I found this book very interesting and I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. Even though some people may be put off by the unique writing style it is an incredibly well written and compelling book that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a different, slightly dark YA read.

Favourite Five Friday - Male Characters

Hello again! Seen as I did my favourite five female characters last time I thought its only fair to do my favourite five male characters this week. Let me tell you, choosing my top 5 fictional male characters was a lot harder than choosing my favourite heroines. Most of the books I've read have at least one swoon worthy male character in it, so I found it immensely difficult to narrow it down to just five. The question I have been pondering over for a while now is why are boys in books always so much better? Anyway moving on from philosophical questions and onto my favourite five fictional male characters!

5. Number 5 on my favourites list is Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games series. I feel that Peeta represents everything good, he is such a heart-warming character and easily the most loveable in the series. He is faithful, kind, intelligent, loving and so much more. I've loved Peeta since the moment I first read about him and the boy with the bread will always have a place in my favourites.

4. Number 4 is a new favourite of mine and that is Chaol Westfall from the Throne of Glass series. I love Chaol so much, he has such a tough demeanour but I think he's just a big softie underneath. He is sweet and protective, and I loved reading the parts of the book when his loveable, caring character shone through his tough exterior. I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series as I can't wait to find out more about Chaol's character.

3. Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars is my third favourite male character. Augustus is such a charming and cheeky character who has such a big heart. I love how he isn't afraid to do what he wants and even though he already had a girlfriend who died from cancer he knows that his love for Hazel is more important than what might happen and he never gives up on her. He is such a strong character and he goes through so much in his life and I truly admire him for that.


2. Of course there had to be a Harry Potter character in my favourite five so my second favourite male is Harry Potter. Harry is such a loyal and brave character who is always willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. He will always have a place on my favourites list mainly because he's HARRY POTTER.

1. My favourite fictional male character is Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices series. Will is strong, loyal and a complete gentlemen not to mention that he is 100% swoon worthy. He will do anything for Tessa and Jem and I just love everything about his character especially his love for books. Will is by far my favourite male character and I will forever be wishing that he wasn't fictional.



It honestly took me ages to decide this and I feel bad for leaving out some characters but there are so many amazing fictional boys that I just had to make a few sacrifices. However these are my 5 favourites at the moment, in a month they may have changed depending on what books I've read or re-read (but usually Will Herondale is always top). In the future I may do an updated Favourite Five Friday for male characters because you can never get enough of fictional boys, right?