The 'Where Have I Been?' Book Haul

I'm finally on the last post of the week so I thought I would treat you guys with a book haul showcasing some of the books I've recently acquired, whether it be for review or ones I bought myself. Now if you do have any thoughts on the books I've recently gotten then please leave a comment but no spoilers, I beg you.

 

REVIEW COPIES

 

 

So over the last few weeks I've not been accepting as many books for review, mainly because I know I'm not going to have the time to read and review them in the time span that publishers or authors want. However, when I get the option to receive some books I've been anticipating then I will accept.

 

Because You Love to Hate Me edited by Ameriie is a YA Anthology where 13 authors pair up with 13 Booktubers to create a short story based around the Villains we love to hate. Now this book doesn't come out until July but Bloomsbury were nice enough to send me a signed sampler of the book.

 

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray has been on my wishlist since I found out about it and while this UK cover doesn't have the same appeal as the US edition I'm still super pumped to read what's on the inside. Hot Key Books were super lovely in sending this to me and I cannot wait to step into space and take a short vacation.

 

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer was sent to me by the ever so lovely Bloomsbury. Honestly Bloomsbury never fail to supply me with incredible books and I'm super excited to getting around to reading this one. I've heard it's a real tear jerker with a lot of home truths.

 

Release by Patrick Ness was sent to me by Walker Books UK the day it released in the UK and I'm so intrigued by this one. Essentially I thought it was just a coming out story within a religious household but the story also contains chapters from the ghost of the girl who's recently passed away. It holds this appeal and my friends have whispered nothing but high praise for this one.

 

 

 

BOOKS I BOUGHT THAT LEFT ME A POOR MAN

 

 

Lately I've been treating myself to US hardcovers because they're so pretty and also smaller than a standard UK hardcover. Plus the UK hardcovers normally end up with a demented spine because they're bound so tightly. One of these books was bought when I went to Liverpool for the day and partied the night away with RuPauls Drag Race Ambassador, The Vivienne.

 

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh ended up on my anticipated list after I read - and fell in love with - her debut novel The Wrath & The Dawn. It was beautifully written with such lyrical prose'. I just knew I had to have more of her writing so I instantly pre-ordered it. Flame in the Mist has been described as 47 Ronin meets Mulan and I am so ready for that.

 

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines is actually one of my all time favourite YA Contemporary books, so I instantly needed to treat myself to the hardback copy. In fact I have the hardback copy of book 2 on it's way to me as well since the covers are so ascetically pleasing. It's a book that really hits home and also shouts out about controlling relationships. Abbi Glines can never do anything wrong for me.

 

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson really spoke to me when I was up Liverpool and shopped their Waterstones. Following the story of an unexpectedly pregnant sixteen year old Mary B Addison who's in jail because she murdered a 3 month old baby when she was 9. Allegedly. Need I say more about this one.

 

 

 

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli shouldn't have really been in here. In fact I wasn't going to pick it up until a friend of mine reviewed it and said that it was one of the best contemporaries she's read in years. And that was saying something as said friend isn't the biggest contemporary fan. Now it does sound like there's the possibility of a love triangle, which I'm not too fussed on but the synopsis had me gushing.

 

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han was the book I got half price when I purchased The Upside of Unrequited. I've not even started book one in this trilogy but I do now own all three books which means I can do some serious marathoning over the summer. I'm expecting meet-cute romance and a lot of drama.

 

Contagion by Teri Terry was a lovely surprise I found in my local WHSmiths as the book isn't actually out until later in the month so I'm so grateful that WHSmiths had it out super early for me to add to my Teri Terry collection. One girl missing. Two people out to find her. An epidemic that's sweeping the country. Why would I need anything else in my life?

 

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas is officially a book that intimidates me. I've not even started ACOMAF yet but seeing the size of this beauty has me scared. I'm sure my feelings are not prepared for the awesomeness that will ensue.

 

 

5 Popular Books I Have Not Read

At this rate I'm really just trying to write up a bunch of blog posts so I can get quite a few out for the last month of the year. For 2017 I really hope to at least get 5 posts a month up on the blog, however, it all depends on my working schedule and the schedule I have for all the Drag events I have coming up. When it comes to reading I'm finding I do have less and less time for it, so it's always precious when I find a book that completely enthrals me. These 5 books are hugely popular and I've not read them. Some of them I will never read, other's I plan on reading but just have not got to reading them.

So let's go ahead and introduce you to the popular books I've not read...


LADY MIDNIGHT BY CASSANDRA CLARE

I love Cassandra Clare. The Mortal Instruments is one of my favourite series, it's iconic. And Sophie and Gideon from The Infernal Devices are forever and always an all time OTP of mine. But I've not yet read Lady Midnight. I own it. In fact I own 2 copies of it; the normal paperback and what was, at the time, a signed limited edition of the book. I did write a blog post about me not having read Lady Midnight a few months ago and I'm really glad I waited to read 'Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy' because it gave me a slight introduction to some of the characters who will be in 'The Dark Artifices' series. My plan is to start reading Lady Midnight when I get time off from work, which is in roughly in less than a weeks time.



THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER BY STEPHEN CHBOSKY

Everyone. And I mean everyone has talked about this book and how good it is, and yet here I sit not having read it. And the bigger scandal? I don't care to read it. I hate books written in diary or letter form. They're just not for me. However, I would like to watch the movie because it's one I've also not watched. I can fully appreciate people's love for this novel and the author; I can also appreciate that it was one of the first YA contemporary novels a lot of people read and either got them into reading or got them into YA, and I love that. I truly do.


VICIOUS BY V.E SCHWAB

I know, I know, I know. Please do not shoot me. I have not read a book by V.E Schwab. I definitely do want to read a book by her because I've heard such incredible things about her writing and her characters, more so in regards to Vicious because she made Villains loveable. Out of all her books, This Savage Song is definitely the one I'm most interested in and will probably end up reading before the others but Vicious is definitely giving me some 'The Tomorrow People' vibes. Also V.E Schwab is so hilariously lovely on Twitter.




A COURT OF MIST AND FURY BY SARAH. J MAAS

I loved A Court of Thorns and Roses. It was one of my favourite books of 2015 and was also one of the very first Fantasy books that I really, really enjoyed. So when Bloomsbury emailed me about receiving a copy of ACOMAF to review I jumped at the chance thinking I would read it as soon as it arrived. Only I never did and have still not read it. I'm not sure what's stopping me. I did start it, even read around 79 pages but the size was so intimidating and I'm just not in the mood for something filled with romance and magic.



HOPELESS BY COLLEEN HOOVER

This is actually one of the only Colleen Hoover books I have yet to read and I don't know if I will read it. Colleen Hoover is one of my all time favourite authors, however, Hopeless has a storyline that just hasn't seemed to grab my attention. Maybe it's waiting for a right time to pop out at me and shout "READ ME" and then I will but at the moment I'm content with the books I've read and enjoyed by her.





Now I'm sure I'm not the only one who hasn't read quite a lot of the popular books out there. In fact I know there's at least another thousand books that are super popular that I have no interest in reading. But what I want to know is: What are the top 3 popular books you guys have not read? Tell me in the comments!

5 Books to Read This Summer

The days are slowing counting down to summer. That means we'll want to listen to music on loud, hang out on the beach with a chilled drink and try your hardest to get a tan, and celebrate most weekends with garden parties and barbeques. And possibly getting drunk, if you're of age.

However, like most people, you struggle on which books to take on holiday with you. Summery books are not hard to find, but books that put you in the mood are definitely hard to come by. So here are 5 books that I completely recommend!

Simon VS the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

This is a very sweet, quick read about a boy, Simon who's emailing some guy from her school called Blue. However, a guy gets hand of it and blackmails Simon into helping him, if not then his secret will be exposed. As a gay teenager, myself I truly felt that Becky did a very good job at portraying not only a realistic gay relationship, but also at portraying a realistic blackmailing situation.


The Selection by Kiera Cass // Review //

Not everyone wants a contemporary in the summer, so why not go for a book that's basically The Bachelor set in a slightly Dystopian setting. It's fun, flirty and will have you falling heads over heels for Prince Maxon.


A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas // Review //

This book was so freaking good, I simply ate it up! It's a YA Fantasy re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, where our main protagonist, Feyre kills a wolf and ends up having to repay for her crime by staying at the manor of a Beast. An incredibly charming beast.


Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell // Review //

Okay, so no one really wants to read about school (College in this situation) during the summer, but Fangirl is the ultimate read. It will have you gushing not only after Cath and Levi, but her fan fiction relationship of Simon and Baz. I wish my life were as cute as Caths.


All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

I wanted a New Adult book in this list since not everyone is a fan of YA, so I opted for All Lined Up. It's the first book in the Rusk University series and follows a Football hating girl called Dallas, who meets a football player called Carson. The problem? She's the coaches daughter and he's on the football team.




What books would you recommend people read in the summer?
Let me know in the comments.

ARC Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

"A Court of Thorns and Roses was grippingly addictive!"

 

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J Maas
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: May 7th 2015
Page Number: 432
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary:

 

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price.

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

 

REVIEW

 

“I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world.” Most people know that I was not a fan of Throne of Glass, it was interesting, but there was so much work that needed to be done. However, A Court of Thorns and Roses is sensational. It's very true to the retelling of Beauty and the Beast and the elements of masks were.....different, but good. The world building is phenomenal, the details to the characters are so refined that you know exacI was actually a bit wary going into this one because I wasn't the biggest fan of Throne of Glass, but this book actually blew my mind. I'm not a High Fantasy reader, it's actually the one genre that I'm uncomfortable reading, but A Court of Thorns and Roses had me addicted from Page 1. It was so vivid and Feyre as a main character was everything that I wanted Celaena to be like in Throne of Glass. While Throne of Glass follows multiple POV's, A Court of Thorns and Roses just follows Feyre's and that really helped me get into the book. Her narrative voice was spot on and I knew she'd be a character I'd come to love. She knew about hardship and loss, yet always had hope. It was so fresh to see that, it also helps that Feyre has a loose tongue that gets her in quite a bit of trouble. World building has to be well done, but I don't just think the world building was well done, I think it was exceptionally done. While reading I could imagine the places, like I was going on a journey with Tamlin and Feyre. And while I wouldn't want to go into the Faery Land, just the fact that it was vivid shows just how well Sarah J Maas knew this world. However, despite myself loving this book there was one problem: pacing. About 3/4 into the book the story became slow and dragged on for quite a bit. The action scenes should have made it fast-paced, but it just was not happening. I didn't actually mind the slow pace of it, but I think other people will. Overall, I can't really say anything else about the book other than I'm super duper excited for the sequel. I'm also hoping I get to say a few things to Sarah J Maas about it when I meet her next month, but who knows.   Physical ARC provided by Bloomsbury for an honest review Buy the book (Waterstones) | Buy the book (Book Depository)

January Wrap up!

January started off to be a very good reading month for me. Normally I'm always a little behind, especially since my goal is only 40 books for the entire year, so it means I can slack a little and watch crappy Netflix films. Anyhow, this month I've surprised myself by reading Ten books. Two of those were DNF's, but the other 8 I read right through until the end.

Here is what I read:

The Precious Stone Trilogy by Kerstin Gier - 4.5/5

I loved this trilogy. It was such a fun, quick series and I loved the characters of Gwendolyn, Lesley and Gideon. There were a few errors with translating and the pacing wasn't perfect in Emerald Green, but I had the best time reading it. A great way to start the new year!

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover - 3.5/5

I loved Slammed so much and thought it should've been a standalone, but I was eager to continue on. However, Point of Retreat was a really messy, cliché piece of fiction and I was just read upset that I had decided to read it because it's affected the way I see Slammed. I still love Colleen Hoover though and I'm thoroughly looking forward to the release of Confess.






Tempt Me by Isabel Morin - 3/5

I somewhat enjoyed this book, but there was a lot of work needed to improve it. There were grammar and spelling errors in the book that stood out, the characters were a little flat and the ending wasn't satisfying.








Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell - 5/5

I loved this book so much. It was a gorgeous read that opened my eyes to life and how short a lifespan can be if you don't live it to the fullest. The writing was beautiful, the characters were very real and flawed. My only slight critique would be the insta-love for one of the characters, other than that it was pretty perfect.






A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Mass - 4.5/5

I received an ARC copy of this from the publishers and de
spite not liking Throne of Glass, I really loved A Court of Thorns and Roses. It was a beautiful, action pact fantasy novel that had me compelled from page 1. I didn't want to put it down and the fact that it did that shows just how good a book it is. I seriously can't wait for you all to meet Tamlin because he is everything you'd want in a Book Boyfriend. Or Book Husband.




Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins - 4.5/5

I really enjoyed this book. It was a super fun read with witches, vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and faeries. Paranormal has really become a favourite genre of mine lately and I cannot stop reading it. I am currently reading the sequel, Demonglass and I can say that I'm not enjoying it as much as Hex Hall.

 

Books I DNF'd

 

 

 

 

How many books did you read this month?

Let me know in the comments.



Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J Maas
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: August 2nd 2012
Page Number: 406

Summary:

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

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Review:

 

I got on the Throne of Glass wagon really really late. Everyone on Booktube was hyping it up to be this incredible fantasy book and I needed to read it. I got it in December and read it last month. My views are mixed.

 

The first 180 pages were very slow and not at all interesting. Chaol was dragging her around and around in the castle so that she couldn't find her way out if she were to escape, while the Prince, Dorian wanted to have a word with her. With it being slow it does take away from the experience of reading the book, but Celaena is a character that's very kick-ass.

 

After the 180 pages everything picked up. The story started to develop and we were introduced to new mysteries and characters. With this being a Fantasy I never expected there to be a mystery element involved and I only wished that Sarah J Maas mastered the mystery arts. She did not. I'm known for being a bit of a murder/mystery TV show addict and I can predict the murders being one hundred percent correct. And I was right with this book. I guessed everything from the manipulation to the actual murderer.

 

Another element that annoyed me was that we never saw everything. Maas would say someone had been eliminated or had died, but we never knew. It was like she had these few side characters names and kept them alive. But I couldn't really fault it, too much. But don't stop reading here because the book did get better.

 

The love triangle wasn't polished enough for me, but it was still very enjoyable. I loved all three characters of Celaena, Dorian - MY ULTIMATE CRUSH - and Chaol. I'm still team Delaena and I think I always will be because despite him being a prince he never saw Celaena as someone who is beneath himself. I do wish he'd stand up for himself because a pushover is never a good trait. Celaena is great and Chaol is still a little mysterious for me and I hope I get a better understanding of him in Crown of Midnight (Book 2). My favourite character is Nehemia Ytger. She's a princess with class but also full of secrecy. I really enjoyed seeing her and Celaena's friendship develop and I'm expecting a lot more from her in the next few books.

 

Wrapping it up will be easy enough for me. I enjoyed it. This is a fantasy series that has promise, I can see it becoming better and better with each and every book. Hopefully I can start Crown of Midnight and work onto Heir of Fire - which was recently released - and wrap them up until the fourth book in the series. But I really did enjoy it, despite the few problems. 3/5 STARS!