Review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

"Colleen Hoover is the Queen of Feels, I was crying within 10 pages of opening the book."


Title: Confess
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: March 10th
Page Number: 320
Rating: 5/5
 
Summary:
 
Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…
 
REVIEW
 
I'll say it once, I'll say it twice, and I'll say it a third time. Colleen Hoover is without a doubt one of the best New Adult writers around. Each and every book packs a punch to the gut and leaves you wanting more, more, more.
 
 
As soon as the package arrived, I ripped into the book and had to put it down after 10 pages. Because I was crying. There were no tears in my eyes, I was actually crying, like my-heart-is-breaking crying. I couldn't stop. And while that's a good thing, it's also a negative. I had no idea if the rest of the book was going to live up to Prologue. But like I said, Colleen Hoover has a way with words and the final outcome was perfectly satisfying.
 
This isn't a happy love story. It's sad, almost depressing. Each chapter gave Auburn and Owen new problems and while it could be seen as frustrating, I was rooting for them completely, even when they weren't rooting for themselves.
 
And I also have to mention the fact that the book included beautiful artwork created by the talented Danny O'Connor. He has a freaking rare talent and what better way to be introduced to his work than through a favourite authors new book. Each little detail in the paintings only added to the reading experience.
 

I love this painting above. It's beautiful.
 
 
His talent is endless. I'm seriously jealous.
 
Overall, this book was a heart breaker. As soon as I finished, I went to the freezer, pulled out a pint of Ben and Jerries Ice Cream, and guiltily ate all of my feelings away. And through out the novel there was one quote that kept giving me shivers, because despite being so simple, it was also so beautiful and true.
 
 
 
 

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 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



Most Anticipated Releases of 2015 | Part Two

We're a few months into 2015, and already some incredible books have been published. So here is the second - and last - part in my Most Anticipated Releases of 2015. However, there is three books on this list that I am dying to own RIGHT NOW! Those are The Last Summer of Us, Until Friday Night and November 9.

 
 
PS, I Still Love You by Jenny Han - Publishes June 4th
 
 
Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid - Publishes August 13th
 
Awake by Natasha Preston  -  Publishes August 4th
 
 
 
Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines - Publishes September 25th
 
 
All Played Out by Cora Carmack - Publishes May 12th
 
A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis - Publishes October 6th 
 
November 9 by Colleen Hoover - Publishes November 10th


Do you plan to read any of these?
Let me know in the comments

5 Books to Read this Spring


Reading styles change. And so does the seasons, so I thought I'd recommend 5 books that I think would be perfect reading for Spring.

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

This book follows Auden, who wants to escape her boring life for the summer. She stays with her father and her new step-mother (Who are expecting a baby). There, at this seaside town, she makes new friends and finds love with a mysterious guy with a harbouring secret. I completely fell in love with this book. It was a cute, fluffy read that left me wanting more.

Angelfall by Susan EE

Angelfall is a YA post-apocalyptic novel that follows Penryn. Her disabled sister has been kidnapped by a group of Angels and her schizophrenic mother has gone off somewhere. All alone and needing to find her sister, she uses Raffe, a fallen angel who's injured to find where they're keeping her. But trust me, this book isn't what you think it is. It's dark, creepy and intense with a kick-ass protagonist!

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

I don't know what it is about Spring that makes me want to travel and visit the beaches, I just do. But Just One Day is literally perfect! We visit England, Paris, Boston and Amsterdam -  which are all amazingly described - and we have an earth shattering romance to compete with August and Hazel (without the cancer and death). I seriously couldn't put Just One Day down.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

No one really want to read about school when it's sunny and warm, but Fangirl is a hilarious novel with Boy x Boy Fan Fiction. It follows Cath who's starting college with her twin sister, Wren. However, Wren wants to move on, be her own person, while Cath doesn't want anything to change. And then she meets her roommate and her best friend, Levi. And so starts their slightly awkward relationship.

Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

Fire and Flood is probably one of the most unusual books I've read in a while. It's basically The Hunger Games meets Pokémon. The book focuses on Tella who's older brother has Cancer. She then gets the chance to enter the Brimstone Bleed: A 4 terrain competition. The winner receives the cure to any disease. I literally loved it. And the romantic interest is so......charming.


Have you read any of these books?
Let me know in the comments.

March Favourites | 2015


Hi there, and welcome to my March Favourites! At the end of every month I will show you the things I have been loving recently, from Makeup products and books to films and music, and I am sure that other things like Instagram (bookstagram) accounts will come up as well. I hope you enjoy!



As a boy who wears makeup, it is essential for me to find the perfect face powders. I need ones that will give me that flawless look, while also keeping all of my make up on, and the translucent loose face powder from No7 does that, it looks white, but really has a beautiful finish to it. And while my OTT bold lips are the topic of a lot of controversy with some people, I can go neutral. This Essence Barely There lipstick is one of my favourites, it's a little darker than a nude, but works really well if you have a paler complexion than most. And what's better than an amazing nude lipstick? A nude lipstick that's cheap!

 
Quote Charm Necklace // £9.50 // Oh Panda Eyes
 
When I found out about Oh Panda Eyes on Etsy, I impatiently waited for the owner to put up her personalised prices and then as soon as they were up I put in an order! I decided to go with the charm necklace as it added a lot more character, as you can see on the picture I chose a musical note.
 
"You were so busy trying to be my saviour that you left me all alone" Where She Went, Gayle Forman.
 
It arrived within 3 days after it being dispatched and I am so happy with the product. It's definitely worth the price and the owner is so lovely and easy to work with. If you have a book in mind and a quote, but not sure on what charm then she will help you with that. And these aren't just good for yourself, but make the perfect birthday/Christmas gift to all bookish people.
 
 
Confess by Colleen Hoover and The Winners Curse by Marie Rutkoski // The Book Depository

I'm currently reading The Winners Curse by Mari Rutkoski, it's a YA Fantasy which is one of the genre's I am not a fan of. It can be good sometimes, but I find it hard to get into, however, The Winners Curse is so good. I'm 70 pages into it and the characters are so real, funny. The writing is also so poetic, lyrical. I love it!


My favourite book of the month was definitely Confess by Colleen Hoover. I am a huge fan of New Adult books, but I'm also a fan of art, so combining the 2 really worked well for me. I was crying within the first 10 pages and then the story got better and better, the more I read. If you haven't picked up a Colleen Hoover book yet, then you must!













  












I have 2 TV shows to talk about this month, the first is Once Upon A Time which has just got on
Netflix UK. I wasn't too sure if I'd like it, but after 3 episodes I was hooked. I'm currently on Season 2 Episode 2, I'm definitely liking the direction it's going in. My favourite characters are Snow White/Mary Margaret, Rumplestiltskin and Jefferson/Mad Hatter.

The other show I want to talk about is RuPauls Drag Race. Season 7 started this month and I am so glad that it is back, because I have missed it so much. This season definitely isn't as good as past seasons, but it's still an entertaining show. My favourite Queen is Trixie Mattel, although she sadly got eliminated in Episode 4. RuPaul has now made the worst decision in Drag Race Herstory!

 
 
#JusticeForTrixie
 
 
If I Stay // Chloe Grace Moretz and Jamie Blackley
 
I watched If I Stay this month and absolutely fell in love with it. I read the book back last year and enjoyed it, but got a little confused, the movie is a lot better with it's flashbacks. Chloe Grace Moretz definitely was the star in the movie and she deserves every success!
 
 
Free Fall // Hanna Koffler and Max Riemelt
 
Free Fall isn't exactly my favourite movie of the month, in fact it's my all time favourite movie. Free Fall is a German LGBT movie about two police officers, Mark and Kay (Pronounced Kai) who fall in love, despite the fact that Mark has a child on the way with his girlfriend.

The reason as to why I have listed it on my favourites is because the producer announced this week that there may be a sequel, which I have wanted since watching Free Fall (You can also watch it on UK Netflix). The ending broke my heart and I need to now what happens......

Now, there is only one way us fans will get the sequel and that is by crowd funding. There is a Free Fall 2 page set up and crowd funding will begin within the next month or two!


The last favourites I want to talk about are songs. I'm quite the picky person when it comes to music, but this month I have listened to some amazingly beautiful songs.

Hold Back the River // James Bay
 
 
Sacrifice // Zella Day

 
What have you been loving this month?

Reviews, no more!

Picture used from @LovelyReads on Instagram
 
A few weeks ago I entered my depressive state and started thinking about stopping blogging for good, but then I listed my least favourite reasons of being a book blogger and there was only one thing: writing up book reviews.
 
Book reviews are not at all easy to write, in fact they are very time worthy. A review may take me up to 2 hours to write, whereas in that time scale I could've written up 3 or 4 other blog posts. And the real truth about book reviews are that they are the least viewed/watched. People are scared to read a review in case they are spoiled, which I understand, because no one likes being spoiled on a book.
 
So this morning I woke up to an eye opening blog post from Queen of Contemporary - Bye, bye reviews! In the post she discussed that writing book reviews are seen as being a "real" book blogger, but in fact, is not.
 
So from now on, I am shaking the book blogging core and bringing my own way of introducing you guys to great books. Every 3 months, I will be posting up specific book recommendations from the books I have read during that time period (Dystopian, Fantasy, Contemporary and New Adult Recommendations). Each and every genre will have their own recommendation posts, which I hope everyone will like.
 
Writing book reviews doesn't show our love for books, our love for books come from our hearts and my heart is brought out while writing about any book, whether that be in a book tag post or a book recommendation post. But just know, I am so happy about this change! And I hope you welcome it with open arms.


The Fights of a Teenager - Depression



As most of you guys can tell, I have been away from my blog for quite a long time and it's not because I've fallen out of love with blogging or reading, it's because I have relapsed. Again. Back in 2013 I was diagnosed with Severe Depression after a long stint on bullying.

Since 2012 I've been battling with Depression, but it took me a year to finally go and see the doctor who could officially diagnose me. And while I not always down and glum, I still feel different on the inside.

A few weeks ago, I did something that changed my whole world again. I began to get suicidal thoughts and just wanted to throw it all away. My family. My friends. But most importantly, my life. Attempting suicide isn't new to me, back when I first came out I tried to commit suicide twice before finally telling my parents that something was wrong with me. And while I have changed over the years, everything felt the same. I felt like I was back to my 16 year old self, who had no confidence, hardly any friends and was just in a hard place. I didn't see a way out and while I feel like I can talk to my family, friends, you guys, I just didn't want too.


My life has always been hard. It's not like it's scarce. But when you're dealing with suicidal thoughts everything bleeds away and you find yourself trapped in your own mind. My life became my death and I hated that. But I can't force myself to get better, just like a drug addict can't force themselves to get off the drugs. It has to happen naturally.

"Faking a smile is so much easier than explaining why you're sad."

Right now I am not 100% myself.

I took time off to get better, but I've only gotten worse. I'm still active on facebook, twitter and instagram but that is it. I don't really talk, it's just an update here and there and I feel like it's time you guys got to know why.

At the minute I'm still on my break and sadly will be for another 2 weeks, but someone from Hodder publicity got in contact with me asking for my review of a book they sent me. A book I've read and have yet to review because of my break. And while I feel like I should review that book ASAP, I also feel that I need to focus on my own life and get better all round.

Being a reviewer for such amazing publishers is something that I can only thank you guys for, and I have every bit of respect for the publishers and the people who work there, however, it would be nice to have my life taken into consideration. My review policy states it can take up to 4 weeks to get a review on the blog and that's not changed since I've started. So, yes, I will get the review up of the books I was sent, but they'll be uploaded when I am back from my break.

If I come back from my break.

I'm not crying out for attention. I never have and I never will. Who I am is who I am, and I love myself. Nothing can stop me, but Depression is a life long battle, one that I will continue to fight while you all live your lives.

I hope you take into consideration that I am trying my hardest to recover and get back up on my feet and that I won't be not reviewing the books I've been sent. They will get a review at some point.

Now, have a good week and I'll talk when I'm back.