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.