Waiting on Wednesday: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: 15th February 2015

Pages: 400

Goodreads Summary:

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Thoughts:

 

I'm not a very big Fantasy reader and the only fantasy I do read is Urban Fantasy. So I think this will be a little treat because it's been categorised into both Fantasy and Dystopian, which I'm starting to notice a lot of Fantasy is. The one thing that drew me into wanting reading this book is the Cover. It's absolutely beautiful and I have a feeling that this might just be a very big book next year. I already know so many people who are dying to read this book and I'm the same. If I can get my hands on an ARC copy then I will, but if not then I'll just buy it when it comes out.

 

The premise sounds so good! It's a little cliché with Fantasy, but I think this could be some take on Fantasy and the idea of war. I love how the world is divided by blood and that she's a common thief. I'm hoping this book lives up to the standards that I have for it, if not then I will be disappointed.

 

 

What book/s are you waiting to be released?

Top 5 Wednesday: Halloween Recommendations

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top 5 Halloween Book Recommendations. This week is the official day that Halloween takes place, so it seems fitting that I get to recommend some creepy reads.

Are you prepared for all the creepiness?



FIFTH PLACE: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

This isn't so much of a scary read, but it's definitely a bit creepy and it's all about an Alien invasion. When I was reading this book I just could not put it down and I continued to read even though I was a little freaked out. The pacing of the book matches the pace of Halloween and it's turning into a movie, so it's also the perfect time to read the book before the movie gets released in 2016.





FOURTH PLACE: Angelfall by Susan EE.

Once again, we are joined by the end of the world. Only this time it's being taken over by fallen angels. Angellfall is an intense and quite short apocalypse book that features a crazy-ass character who you'll be shocked by what she does. You're also drawn into the world that is nothing like ours. It's short sentenced and intense. The absolute perfect Halloween read.



THIRD PLACE: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter.

I've mentioned this so many times already, but it is seriously
one of my absolute favourite trilogies ever. It's fast-paced, action-packed and has a unique take on Zombies. What you'll be interested in hearing is that this isn't a Zombie-fied retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but it's actually an interpretation. Also Kat is one hell of a hilarious character. The stuff she comes out with is so weird.





SECOND PLACE: Under the Dome by Stephen King.

This is one hell of a book, it's also incredibly big. Over 800 pages in fact. The premise is basically very simple: a dome covers a town and supernatural things are happening. It also features a lot of crazy in the head characters. This is also a TV show, but they're completely different. I will say, I prefer the TV show, but that's because of Barbie and his beautiful face.




FIRST PLACE: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

You're probably thinking, The Mortal Instruments? Really? Well my answer would be, yes I am serious. The Mortal Instruments is a blend of Fantasy, Paranormal, Action and Adventure. In this delicate world there's Demon hunters, Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries and some scary-as-hell characters. The thing about this series is that it has one of the best conclusions ever. Plus Jace is gorgeous.

Halloween is the time to read a lot of Horror and Paranormal books and I hopefully will do the same, but I'm more of a Horror movies person, because it's better to visual it. Also, nothing scares me, so reading a book would be pointless.

 

What books would you recommend me to read for Halloween?

Review: The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard

Title: The Perfectionists
Author: Sara Shepard
Genre: Contemporary/Mystery
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Published: October 2nd 2014
Page Number: 272

Summary:
In Beacon Heights High, Nolan Hotchkiss is king. His charm, wealth and good looks are deceptively seductive, and many are the students whose lives and reputations have been ruined by it. All while Nolan continues to reign, unquestioned and undisrupted. Until now, that is.

Mackenzie, Ava, Julie, Caitlin and Parker seemingly don't have much in common. Each has their own friends, dramas and goals. But one thing they do share: they all have a deep hatred of Nolan Hotchkiss. And they all think it's about time he paid for what he's done. They come up with the perfect murder - a hypothetical murder, of course. It's all wishful thinking ... until they wake up one morning to find that their wish has come true. Nolan has been killed - in exactly the way they planned. The thing is, they didn't do it. So who did?

Review:

 

I received this book from the Publishers for an honest opinion.

 

Sara Shepard is the author of the Pretty Little Liars series and my expectations for this Duology was high, sadly it didn't really hit the target. I felt like I was reading a reincarnation of Pretty Little Liars and not a new and original story. However, I did really enjoy it and the little twists that went on throughout the story.

 

This story is meant to be a mystery, but I kind of felt like the Mystery element wasn't in this book. I mean, there was a Mystery, but I felt it was too predictable and I guess that's why I tend to stay away from these type of books, because I always manage to guess who the suspect is. With the way it was written - in different POV's - I felt like it wasn't always clear who the character was and threw me off course, but after about 60 pages, I got used to it and it started to flow very well.

 

The writing is very simplistic and very easy to follow, which I think all contemporaries/mysteries need to be. They need to be confusing, but also easy to understand. What I wanted from this book was a spark, which I never got. Pretty Little Liars is an okay series, the earlier books were brilliant, but I can't help noticing the similarities between the both.

 

My other little problem was that I wasn't always captivated through out. Some scenes I got bored of and skipped a few pages, which shouldn't naturally happen. Sometimes with small books under 300 pages, I tend to find that I lose interest quickly because they rush it all and with this one I didn't feel that. I felt it was a bit dragged out. The cliffhanger at the end definitely didn't make me want to read the next book, but I may give it a chance to see how it wraps up.

 

Overall, I somewhat enjoyed this book. I just wished it was a more original idea. 3/5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bookish Pet Peeves

We all have them feelings...those feelings of rage when something changes in your favourite series or maybe it upsets of bookish OCD and you need to rant. I understand, I truly do, because I feel the same. Our books are our adopted babies and therefore, we treat them with care. When someone comes along and ruins it, then we want revenge. So I'm going to tell you guys some of the things that really anger me with my bookish pet peeves. (Caution: This is not slating authors, I know they have no say in their covers.)

1. When they change the cover part way (or the end) of a series/trilogy.

I'm not alone when I say this; we hate it! And the annoying thing is that all publishers know we do, but it's how they generate more money. If the cover change is a success then we'll go out and buy the new covers, if they're not so nice then we'll just get the covers and end up with mix n' match. They did this on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness (UK) The first two covers matched and then they changed the third book cover (even though it was somewhat better, I still prefer the old versions) to something different. It's still a very good series though, and I now have both old UK and new UK editions.

2. Hardcover books.

Yep! I am one of those people. The ones who hate Hardbacks because they're too heavy to hold. If the hardback is under 320 pages, then I'm okay because it's quite light, but how the hell do publishers expect me to hold a hardback that has over 500 pages? Another thing that annoys me is that they're still publishing the really big hardbacks, when the cute smaller ones are better.

3. The wait between Hardback and Paperback.

Grrrr! This one really annoys me. I believe there's a six to eight month waiting period for a paperback to come out after the hardback, which makes no sense. Why not publish them both at the same time and let the readers decide which copies they want to buy. There are so many books that I want to read that I have to wait until it's out in Paperback: Landline by Rainbow Rowell, The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings, so many more!

4. Stickers on books.

Nope. No, no, no, no and no! These are so annoying. Some of them are easy to remove, but it you order them online then automatically the stickers are permanent and can't be removed at all. I understand that all people are going to see are the side of my books, but I like a clear front cover as well. Another thing that annoys me is the whole 'NOW A MAJOR MOTION MOVIE/PICTURE' permanent stickers. Grrrr!

5. Movie editions of books.

Movie editions of books are probably some of the worst out there. The covers are never cute, they all look mediocre and it doesn't even make me want to buy the book. However, I will say that recently some of the movie editions have been nice: If I Stay by Gayle Forman, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Giver by Lois Lowry.

6. Dog tagged pages.

Before I started taking serious care of my books, I used to dog tag. It was quick and I thought no one would notice, but they do. I remember one woman had a go at me on a bus for dog tagging a page. "It's a sin. Use a bookmark!" That is what she said to me. I ignored her and told her to get a life (If you're rude to me, expect me to be rude back.) I do now use a bookmark because I get some really cute ones off Amazon.

7. When bookstores don't have a Young Adult Best Sellers section.

Sometimes I want some best sellers and some book stores don't show them off on a table or stand. Luckily for me, Waterstones in Cardiff kind of do it (Mainly it has The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner) but at least it shows some of the best selling books.

8. Changes in UK to US Book Covers.

If they have different UK and US publishers then that is fair, because they have different designers, but when they have the same publishers in the UK and the US then I can't see why I don't just keep the original covers. For example, Divergent. It's published by Harper Collins in the US and Harper Collins in the UK, but they have different covers. The US covers look gorgeous (I need them now!) and the UK covers are hideous. Their best option would've been to have kept the US cover. It's also the same for The Fault in Our Stars, although both covers are okay.

9. Matte feeling book covers (Paperbacks and Hardbacks).

I have a decent excuse for this one; my fingers swell from the texture if I hold it for too long. I was reading The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa and after an hour my fingers had doubled in size and were bright red and tingled. I had to put it down and not pick it up again. (If I can find my photo then I'll upload it when I can.)

10. Long ass series.

This is a weird one for me because I don't mind six book series, but when it's more I just....I cannot do it. I could not be committed to read like twelve books in one series because the plot will have become boring, my love for the characters would have died and I just don't see how there can be so many books. If you have a lot of ideas then start a prequel series, not continue with the same one. Ps, Cassandra Clare keep writing your Shadow Hunter world because I will never get tired with it.

 

What are your Bookish Pet Peeves?

Review: Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

"One of the most enjoyable books I've read, it reminded me so much of my childhood."

Title: Fire and Flood
Author: Victoria Scott
Genre: Dystopian/Survival
Publisher: Chicken House
Published: March 6th 2013
Page Number: 366

Summary:

Tella's
brother is dying. He's got cancer, and Tella is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. When an invitation arrives for Tella to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a deadly competition that will lead her through treacherous jungle and scorching desert, she doesn't think twice. Because the prize is a cure to any illness. But Tella will be facing more than just the elements.

 

Review:

I must admit that when I read the synopsis I did think it seemed a little to similar to The Hungers Games, but the actual difference is that I enjoyed this so much, while I (sadly) hated The Hunger Games.

I ordered this on a whim and started it the night it arrived out of curiosity. Once I started I could not stop....until I had to fall asleep. One of the unique things about this book is that the characters are flawed, they're not all perfect and ready made for the games. Tella was an absolute joy to read from and her curiosity towards everything really made her relatable, especially to me, since I don't always trust everyone and their actions.

Fire and Flood did surprise me. One minute I was reading about this town she was living in and the next I was transported to the weird world of the Games. So many process' and so many twists, when she had to choose her Pandora and all those people came out I let out a little shout of "Kill a bitch!" and that's never a good sign. The good thing is Tella did not, she was kind of scared.

When you're reading a book like Fire and Flood, you never want it to end. I took my time while reading this book, because it was so much fun. The Pandora's reminded me of watching Pokémon as a child and I guess that's why when Tella tried to protect Madox, I smiled. Their bond was beautiful and when it was revealed as to what he could do I was in utter shock. I'm pretty sure I was Tella at that exact moment. It was like seeing a baby all grown up.

What I liked so much about this book is that it may be a Dystopian, but it read like a contemporary. There were guy problems, friend problems, sleeping problems - literally. Ants. Big Ants! - and general murder problems.

No joke!

If you attend the Games then you've basically been signed up to be murdered.

It's a bloody battle. You're all out to win the cure, so you can make friends, but be prepared to be stabbed in the back...or stab someone in the back (not literally).

I'm not sure what is going to happen in the sequel, but I cannot wait to get my hands on it when it comes out. I need to know what's going to happen with Guy and Tella, but I also need to know who's going to win.

Overall, I can definitely say that I loved this book. It's four star worthy. So pick it up, read and then devour it because it's going to consume you whole.

Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Book Titles

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top 5 Favourite Book Titles. If I'm being honest, I'm not a huge fan of book titles. Some are generic with one words and some just follow a specific pattern like the 50 Shades Trilogy. However, despite my dislike in most titles I did manage to form a list of my 5 favourite.

So...Lets get started!


FIFTH PLACE: To All The Boys I've Love Before by Jenny Han.

The title basically describes the book. It's about Lara Jean who after finishing with a boy, instead of going through that cannot-stop-crying-need-ice-cream phase, she just writes them a letter, places them in an envelope and leaves them in an old box. Until one day they're accidently sent out. I've not read it myself, but I do own it and it's what attracted me to buying it. Plus I really like how the font is handwritten, it makes it seem more real.






FOURTH PLACE: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

I think a fourteen year old could have came up with the title of Gone Girl, but I think that is what makes it a brilliant title. It's simple, but it tells the story perfectly without giving anything away. (Apart from the fact that someone goes missing.) What I also like about it is that Gillian seems to follow a theme: Gone Girl, Sharp Objects and Dark Places. Two word titles are perfect for her and her readers.


THIRD PLACE: The Story of Tracy Beaker.

This isn't exactly a favourite title, but it's one of nostalgia. My childhood was basically full of Tracy Beaker and not just the books, but the TV Show as well (they did kind of milk it a bit). If you never experienced Tracy Beaker then you definitely did not live. Back then it was the cocaine of children's TV and the books did just as good. I have to say that I definitely miss it. Ps, if none of you know what it's about then I'll tell you. It follows a slightly angry girl called Tracy who grows up in a foster home.





SECOND PLACE: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.

If I had to come up with a title for this book, it would've been something like Falling For Someone Online or Stalked, but if anything I think this is one of my favourite titles because it makes so much sense. Lincoln becomes attached to someone online. The thing with Mrs Rowell is that all her titles are perfect: Attachments, Eleanor and Park, Fangirl and Landline. They all link to something in the book.




FIRST PLACE: Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.

Noughts and Crosses is a game we've all played and in this incredible novel that's one of the themes. Whites vs Blacks. The things with games is that we've all cheated and that's how the book goes. Who can you trust? I have to say though, that this is the only title in this series that I like. The other's make no sense (I've not read the others).

 

What are your favourite titles? Comment down below.

My All Time Favourite Books

I'm quite a very fussy reader. Not every book I read I will like, especially if it's been over-hyped. But before I started booktubing (Don't do it anymore) and blogging, I found it so much easier to read a book without judging it on the hype because I never checked reviews for it. Out of the seven books/series (series counts as one) only one of them was actually read before I started blogging and booktubing, the rest I heard of because of my favourite booktubers. None of these have any rankings because, like I said, they're all my favourite books.

Don't forget that tomorrow is Top 5 Wednesday and the topic is Favourite Book Titles.





The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

I absolutely love this series and unlike everyone else, I actually prefer this series to The Infernal Devices. This is a fast-paced, action-packed series with some of the best characters ever created. Clary and Jace are amazing, so are Maia and Jordan. Also this features a Gay relationship. And that conclusion to the series? ABSOLUTELY FREAKING EPIC! Every book was rated a 5/5 STARS!





Slated by Teri Terry.

I  have raved so much about this Trilogy. The first two books are fantastic, the third one was a let down, but aren't most? This is such a unique and futuristic world that appears to be a very realistic vision for our future. What I love most is that this is probably the most intense Dystopian I've ever read. The only negative is the new boy/love interests that comes in every book.





Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry.

This is a darker contemporary, but for me it is so realistic and very relatable. I suffer with severe depression and have self-harmed, so I understood exactly how Echo felt. Worthless and undeserving of love. But what I loved most was the fact that two broken souls came together and fixed each other. If you're not into Teen romance stories then I guess this wouldn't be for you, but if you do then go for it. Their story continues in the sequel being published in December.




A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

This is the book I was telling you about that I read before I started blogging. At that time I hardly ever read and this book just appealed to me, it became one of my favourite series. The series is a mix of Fantasy, Romance, History and Action. It has been compared to
Twilight, but it's definitely not like Twilight. These Vampires are dangerous and it has Witches in it. The characters are great and the historical context behind it all in amazing! I also met Deborah and she's super lovely.



Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

I've also met Rainbow Rowell. In fact I met both Deb
orah and Rainbow in the same month, a few days after each other. Eleanor and Park is set in the 1980's and follows their story of falling in love for the first time. Eleanor is such a relatable and unique character; she's overweight, has unruly red, curly hair and stitches weird things on her clothes. Park is Asian. The way the story is written and how they connect through Comics and Mixed Tapes was beautiful. I will say in warning that the ending will cause you to cry.




The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter.

This will be featured in my T5W for my Halloween Recommendations post, and so they should. This is one of my all time favourite trilogies because it focuses on the family as well as everything else that's going on. These books have some of the best characters and the whole fresh twist on the zombies was such a surprise. I would like a TV Show or Movie on these books, but I'm not sure if we'll ever get one.




Last but not least.....


Slammed by Colleen Hoover.

This is a recent read of mine and I could not get over how amazing this book was. Colleen Hoover has to be one of the best writers out there, she reminds me of a female Nicholas Sparks. Slammed focuses on the importance of life and how we kind of take it for granted. This is one of the only books (apart from Eleanor and Park, Where She Went and Allegiant) that made me cry. So much love.

My ratings are so unusual. I have an All Time Favourites Shelf and a Favourites Self. A book can be rated 5 stars and only make my Favourites Shelf. My All Time Favourites are ones that I can heavily relate too and I never want them to end.

 

So....What are your favourites?

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu
Genre: Dystopian
Publisher: Penguin
Published: April 2013
Page Number: 305

Summary:

 

From different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths...

Until June's brother is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect.

In a shocking turn of events, the two uncover what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to keep its secrets.

 

Review:

 

I have to say, I'm slightly disappointed in this book. A lot of my friends have raved about it, so I thought that this would be amazing...but it wasn't. The writing is beautiful, some of the best I've read this year. The story captivated me and flowed like a movie, but there were a lot of flaws for me that just made my time reading it, boring.

 

June and Day are amazing characters to follow, because both of their lives are completely different. June has money, is way ahead of her age and is famous because of her perfect 1500 score. Day comes from the poor side and "failed" his Trial, only to be carted off and tested on.

 

When Day apparently kills June's brother, she swears to get vengeance. And I think that's where my problem lies. It's cliché, it's not original and it bored me. The forced relationship between these two was horrible and I just could not connect to them as a couple. June pretended to be someone else and within two or three days they were saying (to themselves) that they really liked each other, despite only having spoke once or twice. I know that everyone hates the relationship and I'm just another one to add to the list.

 

Another flaw for me was that it wasn't actually perfect. In June's POV (Point of View) Day's hat had fallen off and was left on the ground, but then in Day's POV he had it on. I can't see how that is possible and stood out like a sore thumb.

 

Despite these flaws, I did really like the idea. The writing was gorgeous and held my attention until the end. June and Day are great characters on their own and you can definitely connect with them, but I just wish that there was more to it. It was extremely short and not a lot happened in terms of action. Most Dystopians that I've read (Divergent, Slated) had the right amount of action and romance.

 

Overall, I didn't really love it. I did like it. My final rating was 3/5 Stars!

Review: Slammed by Colleen Hoover

"Seriously beautiful and unique. I have no idea why I waited so long to read Slammed."

 

 

Title: Slammed

Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Contemporary/Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: January 2012
Page Number: 352

Summary:

 

Layken's
father died suddenly, leaving her to gather every ounce of strength to be a pillar for her family, in order to prevent their world from falling apart. Now her life is taking another unexpected turn…

Layken's mother gets a job which leads to an unwanted move across country. However, a new home means new neighbours… and Layken's new neighbour is the very attractive Will Cooper.
Will has an intriguing passion for slam poetry, and a matching passion for life. The two feel an irresistible attraction but are rocked to the core when a shocking revelation brings their romance to a screeching halt.

Layken and Will must find a way to fight the forces that threaten to tear them apart… or learn to live without each other.

 

Review:

 

You all know how much I love Colleen Hoover. Her books are always beautifully written and have deep messages hidden within them, and this one was no different.

 

Slammed tells the story of Layken, a teenager who falls madly, truly and deeply in love with her teacher. For me student/teacher relationships are normally a big no-no, because most of them have a huge age gap of up to ten years, but this one was only three years and both Layken and Will were adults.

 

Once I started reading Slammed for my 24 hour read-a-thon I never knew how much of an affect it would have on me. Page after page, after page. I continued to read and I literally could not stop. I was intertwined into Layken and Will's story of love and hardship. Some of the slam poetry was beautiful, like seriously beautiful, and only one really stood out for me and gave me goosebumps. It was Will's poem.

 

I used to love the ocean.
Everything about her.
Her coral reefs, her white caps, her roaring waves, the rocks they lap, her pirate legends and mermaid tails,
Treasures lost and treasures held…
And ALL of her fish in the sea.

 

Yes, I used to love the ocean,
Everything about her,
The way she would sing me to sleep as I lay in my bed
then wake me with a force that I soon came to dread.
Her fables, her lies, her misleading eyes,
I’d drain her dry
If I cared enough to.

 

I used to love the ocean,
Everything about her.
Her coral reefs, her whitecaps, her roaring waves, the rocks they lap, her pirate legends and mermaid tails,
Treasures lost and treasures held.
And ALL of her fish in the sea.

 

Well if you’ve ever tried navigating your sailboat through she stormy seas,
you would realize that her whitecaps are your enemies.
If you’ve ever tried swimming a shore when your leg gets a cramp and you just had a huge meal of In-N-Out burgers that’s weighing you down,
and her roaring waves are knocking the wind out of you,
filling your lungs with water as you flail your arms,
trying to get someone’s attention,
but your friends just wave back at you?

 

And if you’ve ever grown up with dreams in your head about life,
and how one of these days you would pirate your own ship and have your own crew and that all of the mermaids would love only you?
Well, you would realize…as I eventually realized…
That all the good things about her?
All the beautiful?
It’s not real.
It’s fake.
So you keep your ocean,
I’ll take the Lake.

 

Depite this book being very moving, there was also a lot of funny moments. One of my favourite moments was when Caulder and Kel decided they wanted to be cancer infested lungs. It's obviously a serious topic, especially as Layken's mother has lung cancer, but I loved that she made them the outfit because it could be the last time she ever got too.

 

Another favourite moment was Lake's poem in class.

 

According to the thesaurus... and according to me... there are over thirty different meanings and substitutions for
the word
mean.(I quickly yell the following words; the entire class flinches- including Will)
Jackass, jerk, cruel, dickhead, unkind, harsh, wicked,
hateful, heartless, vicious, virulent, unrelenting, tyrannical, malevolent, atrocious, bastard, barbarous, bitter, brutal, callous, degenerate, brutish, depraved, evil, fierce, hard, implacable, rancorous, pernicious, inhumane, monstrous, merciless, inexorable.
And my personal favourite—asshole.

 

Slam poetry is all about expressing yourself and sometimes when you feel so much then it bursts out of you. All those feelings combust together and create something unusual, but real. Very, very real.

 

You should never let this book fool you. It may be a Young Adult novel, but the message behind it is deep. In fact there are a few messages in this book that really were very relatable. Layken was just one character with her story, but there was also Will and his story, Layken's mother's story, and Eddie's story. And the best thing is that I understood every single one of them.

 

I'm still thinking about this book. I'll still think about this book in a few months time. This book was pure perfection and nothing can ever change that. I give this book 5/5 Stars! (I'd give a million if I could, Colleen.)

 

 

 

Top 5 Wednesday: Books I thought I'd hate, but loved

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top 5 Books you thought you'd hate, but ended up loving. There's not many books that I really thought I'd hate, but loved, so this week was easy. If anything it would've been harder if the topic was books you think you'd love, but hated. 

HERE ARE MY TOP 5:




FIFTH PLACE: Angelfall by Susan EE.

There's actually a reason as to why I thought I'd hate this book, and that's because I tried reading it twice before and could not get into it. I'd manage one chapter and would give up, so when I tried reading it for the third time I was surprised by how much I started to like the book. Once it was over I needed to get my hands on the next book, luckily for me World After was released about two weeks later.




FOURTH PLACE: The Selection by Kiera Cass.

I was judging the book by it's cover, which is very girly, but pretty. It's a girl in a dress and it looked more like a middle grade princess book, rather than a Young Adult Dystopian. However, the book was really good. I loved America Singer and the whole idea of a Dystopian that's a mix of The Bachelor and Big Brother. The best thing about the book is that it took me about three hours to read. I will admit that I've yet to read the sequel, The Elite. But I will do one day.





THIRD PLACE: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

I had never read a Rainbow Rowell book at this point, but I had heard a lot about her. Every Booktube video I watched; Haul videos or tag videos included a Rainbow Rowell book, so when I started it I wasn't entirely sold on the idea. However, Eleanor and Park attached themselves to my heart and clung to it, never letting go. Their story is one that I recommend to everyone because it is one of the best pieces of Young Adult fiction. In fact I think it'll be a classic in a hundred years time.




SECOND PLACE: Divergent by Veronica Roth.

This book has been mentioned in a lot of my T5W posts, but this one has to be in it because I was that surprised by the book. I HATE The Hunger Games so much, so when my friend pitched this idea of Divergent to me I was bored. It seemed so similar and I knew I was going to hate it, but boy was I wrong. So wrong! The book had me hooked from page one and I stayed up until four am reading it, even though I had an exam that morning.






FIRST PLACE: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

I did not like Beautiful Creatures one bit. It was too dragged out and it took me about two weeks to finish, even though I know that a book that size can take me about three days. So when I decided to start Beautiful Darkness I thought it'd be the same, but once again I was so wrong. I read it in two days and couldn't stop flipping the pages. This book was and is the best one out of all four books.

 

I really liked this topic because it makes you realise that you really can't judge a book by it's cover or it's synopsis. You have to judge the book purely on what's on the inside and each and every one of these books have proved that. I told you guys my top 5, but what are yours?

 

Comment in the comment sections and lets discuss!

Review: Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter

"ONE OF THE BEST SERIES OUT THERE."

 

 

Title: Queen of Zombie Hearts (The White Rabbit Chronicles #3)
Author: Gena Showalter
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Mira Ink
Published: October 3rd 2014
Page Number: 464

Summary:

Alice "Ali" Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers…until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters…and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies…and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing—and turning—Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

 

Review:

 

I'm actually crying while I'm writing this because it's the end of a trilogy. No more books in this world, no more stories of the fantastic characters that Gena have created and shared with us. It's official over. Well, for me it has anyway.

 

The thing with this series is that each book gets better and better. Alice in Zombieland was crazy good and I never believed that Through the Zombie Glass could get any better, but it did. So for Queen of Zombie Hearts to come and knock them both off the pendulum it was a shock. This one is definitely my favourite out of the three.

 

Unlike so many Young Adult Paranormal series out there Alice is actually a kick ass character and if I had to match a song to her personality it would be Break the Rules by Charli xcx. But Alice isn't the only kick-ass character in this trilogy. There's Mackenzie, Cole, Frosty, Bronx and so many more, but what's so realistic is that they also have their flaws. Each and every one of them think like this

 

 

And they kind of rock. Unlike the first two books Queen of Zombie Hearts brings in new characters that are possibly some of my favourite in the trilogy. We have Helen a Witness who may or may not be evil (People who've read it will know.) and we also have sexy-as-sin River and his new group. River's group are full of slayers, but not all of them can be trusted.

 

What shocked me about this book was the instant Zombie attacks. I never noticed them coming, pretty much like this

 

 

 

Only these Zombies had more of an idea what they were going to do. Each and every Zombie scene was filled with action, but also had that little bit of un-trust in them as well. Because like I've said, not everyone can be trusted and some of them are on the opposing side. Ooops! Be careful who you side with in future.

 

Through out the book we see Alice and Cole trying to get through that bad case of sexual tension, but each scene was starting to get hotter and hotter by the minute. And I'm not talking about fighting Zombies. They were both good with their hands if you get my gist.

 

 

Overall it's pretty hard to review this book. I had so many feels and therefore I've decided to share with you my Goodreads progress bar and what I said. You may laugh. Or not.

 

Page 60: Ahh! So darn good. The action is unbelievable.

Page 140: SO GOOD!

Page 196: Damn! River and his boys are smoking hot. Hand me a fan, please.

Page: 220: That's it girl. You tell him!

Page 300: NO COMMENT. NO COMMENT.

Page 464: It's over. I'm done. Tears were shed and my heart was beating like I was in a marathon. Bye world. Bye Alice. By Emma. By Sexy guys. Ps, River will you marry me? No. Okay.

 

My biggest like about this book was that some of the side characters actually played the bigger part. Helen and Emma may have been Witnesses, but the team would never have done it without them. They worked as a team and brought the entire thing down. Burn, baby, burn!

 

My rating shouldn't count. This series is more than 5 stars, therefore, I give this book infinity stars.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon starts on October 18th

 

 

Now, I have heard of Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon, but I've never actually taken part because I like my sleep too much, but this year I will be taking part because I finally have a lamp in my room. Yay! Anyway, my plan is to read two books during the 24 hours, but I will have more on standby in case I

 

A) Finish both books

 

B) Can't get into one of the books

 

This way I won't be wasting time choosing which books to read after. Plus it means I can focus solemnly on reading and drinking tea.

 

 

BOOK ONE: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini.

 

Pages: 518

 

When shy, awkward Helen Hamilton meets Lucas Delos for the first time, she thinks two things: the first, that he is the most ridiculously beautiful boy she has seen in her life; the second, that she wants to kill him with her bare hands.
An ancient curse means Lucas and Helen are destined to loathe one another. But sometimes love is stronger than hate, and not even the gods themselves can prevent what will happen next...

 

 

 

 

 

BOOK TWO: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini.

 

Pages: 384

 

Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.
Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe.
Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. (Summary shortened)

 

 

 

 

BOOK THREE: The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard.

 

Pages: 272

 

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five girls—Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker—know that you don’t have to be good to be perfect. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they realize that they all hate Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect way to kill him—a hypothetical murder, of course. It’s just a joke...until Nolan turns up dead, in exactly the way they planned. Only, they didn’t do it. And unless they find the real killer, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them.  

 

 

 

 

BOOK FOUR: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken.

 

Pages: 488

 

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

 

 

 

 

 

So...that is my short TBR for the 24 hour read-a-thon. Like I said, I only plan to read the first two, but if I finish them then I can continue with the rest. My survival kit for the 24 hours is books, tea, tea, food, more tea, chocolate, more tea, hour nap, tea and then more chocolate.

 

What are you planning to read for the 24 hours? Will you survive?

 

To sign up:

 

Read-a-thon website

Sign up post

Times

 

 

Sit down and pour yourself a cuppa.

Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Female Characters

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top 5 Favourite Female Characters, which is a topic I'm having a struggle with because I love a lot of female characters, like most of anyone does. But I've tried my best to name my top five.

So without further ado......



FIFTH PLACE: Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments.

The reason why I like Clary so much is because she shows both sides of being weak and strong. She's not perfect and kick-ass in the first book, like some female characters are that it makes it realistic. Plus Clary is a character that everyone can relate too, she's a normal teenage girl who's got a somewhat hard life and struggling to make a choice between boys. (I also like Maia from this series, but she was only in the last few of them, not from the beginning.)





FOURTH PLACE: Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter Series.

Luna is one of those characters that would be my best friend if I was in those novels. She's weird, which I like, but she's mysterious and kind, and has a gentle soul. Plus she can be a different person with a wand. My only dislike to her is her father because he is all kinds of creepy, but she, herself is a pretty cool chick. I still hate that she ended up with Neville, I thought her and Ron would've made a cute couple.






THIRD PLACE: Kat from the Burn for Burn Trilogy.

In the first book I wasn't so fussed on Kat. I liked her, but not enough for her to be my favourite character. In the second book, Fire with Fire she's so much better. She's a loyal friend, who deserved a lot more chapters. Plus I liked the fact she was a tomboy who kind of flirted with everyone. But please the lord, can she get with Alex. They're super adorable together and her whining is kind of getting on my nerves. In a good way.





SECOND PLACE: Christina from the Divergent Trilogy.

Everyone knows that I never really connected with Tris and Four in the whole trilogy, but I did with Christina. She's another person I'd be friends with and not because she tells the truth, but because she's got attitude and sass, something Tris doesn't possess. She also shows herself to be a worthy friend and I like that. I still have a question for Veronica Roth though. What happened to Tris' personality?





FIRST PLACE: Eleanor from Eleanor and Park.

I connect with Eleanor in so many ways. She's a character that I want to see more of in Young Adult fiction because it's real life. Not every girl happens to be stick thin and perfect, some stick out in society and it should be celebrated. For me, Eleanor is the character you can relate to in some way, but she's also very lovable. You connect with her and her life and then.....BAM! She stabs you in the heart and kind of ruins the whole story (in a good way). I would like to know what Eleanor would look like as an Adult.

 

So who are some of your favourite female characters? Let me know in the comments, so we can discuss them!

October TBR

IT'S HALLOWEEN. WELL ON THE 31ST, BUT I'M EXCITED! PUMPKIN SCENTED CANDLES ARE THE BEST!

 

 

 

Now I'm not someone who really sticks to my TBR's, but I'm trying to get better as I'm trying to read one hundred books this year, so far I have read 82, which is great, but not good enough. So this TBR is split into two parts because I have my normal TBR and then my Halloween TBR. One of the books in the Halloween part is a Contemporary and that's because it's part of Carrie Hope Fletchers Booktober.

 

So let me show you what I'm hoping to read.

 

 

 

PART ONE

 

 

 

Wake by Amanda Hocking.

 

 

This book has been on my TBR list for a couple of months because my friends have enjoyed it a lot, so I wanted to read it. It's about a girl called Gemma who loves taking late-night swims and one morning wakes up on the beach with a weird feeling. She's faster, stronger, and more beautiful than ever. I know it doesn't sound epic, but I'm taking part of NaNoWriMo and I'm writing a novel about Sirens, it's called Sirena and is the first in The Sirena Legacy.

Goodreads




Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter.

This is the third and final book in The White Rabbit Chronicles and I'm both excited and sad about this book. I'm excited because I love the world that Gena has created, but I'm sad because it's ending. This series is about a girl called Alice Bell who loses her parents in a car accident and finds out that she's special. What's unique is that in this world you have to fight the zombies in the spirit realm. It's seriously addictive!

Goodreads




You Against Me by Jenny Downham.

I read Before I Die by Jenny Downham a while back and really enjoyed it, what Jenny writes about are quite heavy subjects and this one is no different. It focuses on a guy called Mickey who's sister has been raped. The guy gets sent down and Mickey's world starts to crumble when he falls in love with Ellie. Who's brother is the one who raped Mickey's sister. I'm hoping I'll like it, but I'm not one hundred percent sure I'll love it.

Goodreads




Lips Touch by Laini Taylor.

I received this to review from Hodder and it publishes on October 23rd. I'm so excited. This is three short stories published as a full book with illustrations done by Laini's husband Jim. The illustrations are beautiful and all three stories sound great! They're about Goblins and Demons, so perfect for the Halloween time. My review of Lips Touch will be uploaded on October 21st.

Goodreads





The Jewel by Amy Ewing.

This is a new release and one I am very excited about. In this Dystopian world, young girls are auctioned off to become surrogate for posh couples. Like most Young Adult books this one has a boy involved that crashes Juliet's world to the ground. My only hesitation is that I'm not sure this is a solid idea for a trilogy.

Goodreads






 PART TWO - HALLOWEEN EDITION

 

 

 

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

 

This is a re-read for me, but this is the forth choice for Carrie's Booktober and I had to take part. I love Eleanor and Park so much. The story is both beauty

ful and heart-breaking, I cried so hard at this. If you haven't read this then it's about a girl called Eleanor who's overweight, ginger with wild curly hair who moves into this small village and instantly becomes the outcast. On her first day of school no one offers her a seat, until Park does. Park is Asian and loves comics and music. That first day is the start of Eleanor and Parks love story.

 

Goodreads

 

 

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.

 

A Dystopian world where Vampires use human as their blood cattle. I read over 100 pages a while back and stopped because my fingers reacted to the covers, but what I did read was amazing. So fast paced. Plus this is the perfect read for Halloween. Blood. Death. And Vampires. What more could you want?

 

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.

 

I can't really say much about this book since I don't know much about it myself. All I know is that Anna haunts this house and kills those that trespass the property, but Cas kills the dead and somehow they fall in love. This one is slightly creepy and has been warned that young readers should not read it, unless they are prepared for it. The cover is gorgeous though.

 

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

 

This comes out as a movie on tomorrow and I am excited for it. I'll be reading the book first, of course, but I've heard so much good stuff about this novel. The book is about Nick Dunne who's wife Amy goes missing and he is the main suspect because of the journal that Amy kept. The way this is written looks amazing as it's told in days, so chapter one is in Nick's POV and it's on the day of Amy's disappearance. I may not get to this novel, but if I don't then I'll read it in November.

 

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

So.....yeah, those are what I plan to read. My main goal is to read just 6 of the books, but if I read all 8 then I would be very happy. All the books seem great and I'm super happy. What have you planned to read? Are you going to follow a list or are you just going to grab a book off your shelf? Let me know in the comments below.