Friday 30 May 2014

REVIEW: Eleanor & Park


Author: Rainbow Rowell
My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Favourite Quote: “I want everyone to meet you. You're my favorite person of all time.”
Add on Goodreads:

Goodreads Synopsis:
'Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor
... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.'


Tuesday 27 May 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Fictional Relationships

This weeks meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is about Top Ten Tuesday Freebie, meaning that I can pick whichever topic this week. This week, I have chosen Top Ten Fictional Relationships - either friend or romantic

I have linked each book to goodreads so that you are able to get a better idea of the book.

10 
Lena & Alex 
 Delirium Series by Lauren Oliver
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11614718-delirium?ac=1

9
Mia & Kim   
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6564365-if-i-stay

8
Percy & Annabeth  
Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28187.The_Lightning_Thief
 
7
Bishop & Heather  
Panic by Lauren Oliver
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17565845-panic

Tobias & Tris
Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8306857-divergent

5
Harry & Ron
Harry Potter Series - J.K Rowling 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone?ac=1
4
Lissa & Rose
Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/345627.Vampire_Academy
3
Will/Tessa/Jem 
The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7171637-clockwork-angel

2
Hazel & Augustus 
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11870085-the-fault-in-our-stars

1
Mia & Adam
If I Stay - Gayle Forman
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6564365-if-i-stay


What are your favourite fictional relationships? Let me know in the comments

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Friday 23 May 2014

REVIEW: The Selection

Author: Kiera Cass
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Favourite Quote: "You get confused by crying women, I get confused by walks with princes.”

Goodreads Synopsis:
'For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.'

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Most Anticipated TBR Books

Hi Everyone,
Today, I thought that I would share with you all the books that I am most excited about reading in the coming months. I have a never ending pile of TBR but these are the ones that currently stand out.

Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephen Perkins
Pages: 372
Published: December 2010
Add to Goodreads 
 
'Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?'


- Goodreads




The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Pages: 488
Published: December 2012
Add to Goodreads

'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'

- Goodreads 

       The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 733
Published: May 2014
Add to Goodreads

'ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID.

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!'
   

- Goodreads

  The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Pages: 374
Published: October 2009
Add to Goodreads

'"If you ain't scared, you ain't human."

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying'

- Goodreads
                                        




Tuesday 13 May 2014

REVIEW: Where She Went

Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)Where She Went by Gayle Forman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have never read a book this fast on a weekday when I'm meant to be doing other things. But how couldn't I? Gayle Forman basically grabbed me from the first sentence and then there was no going back.

Where She went is the second and final novel in the If I Stay series. And boy, was it something. I can't go into too much on the plot of this story without giving out spoilers from the first book. However, Where She Went does take place three years after the events of If I Stay - Three years after Mia was forced to make a decision over if she will stay or leave.

The novel, told from Adam's perspective, was just as moving as the first one was. I loved how real it felt. How I felt as though I was able to understand Adam's emotions, understand the decisions he made and understand what was going through his head. It showed how people can change - whether it be for better or for worse - all because of one event. I loved how at the beginning of every second chapter were snippets of Adam's lyrics of his songs. This gave the book a greater depth to the story as you were able to see not only how he transferred his feelings into songs, but it shows another layer of how Mia has affected him.

I have never come across a book that gave me the urge to read it while at school and read for basically the whole night to find out what happened. Where She Went will hold a very special place in my heart and it is not something that I will forget anytime soon. It has now become my favourite book, something that hasn't changed since I read Divergent. Gayle Forman will forever be one of my favourite authors as she is able to create a touching, moving, realistic and relatable series that really makes you value what you have.

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Sunday 11 May 2014

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Pages: 201
Released: April 2009
Genre: Contemporary
Favourite Quote:“Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.”
Add on Goodreads
Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel. I open my eyes wide now. I sit up as much as I can. And I listen. Stay, he says. Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind? Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters. If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

My Review

Initial Thoughts: If I Stay is one of the most moving book I have ever read. It made me question my decisions in my own life and has taught me not to take my life for granted. This book left me with tears of both happiness and joy.

If I Stay follows Mia - a seventeen year old chello player. After a horrific car crash that leaves her loved ones and herself in the hospital, Mia has to decide if she will stay on earth with the possibility of not having them with her or leave and die.

If I Stay does touch on delicate subjects such as death but I loved how Gayle Forman was able to do it in a way that wasn't difficult to read. I loved how the whole story wasn't about her time in the hospital, watching over herself and contemplating her decision. However a lot of the story was about her past, reminiscing on past events such as her first date with her boyfriend Adam.

The Pros: What made this book different for me was how Gayle Forman showed how Mia and Adam's romantic relationship was not perfect. A lot of books I've read don't focus too much on the fights that the two people have. It is only touched on, with the rest showing the happily ever after they have finally gotten together. This was different. Gayle Forman made it very obvious that Mia and Adam's relationship was not perfect. They fought. They had different goals. They were different, yet similar at the same time. It was very refreshing to read about a relationship that was not perfect. It was also good how Forman didn't just focus on Mia's boyfriend. There were a lot of scenes with her family and her thinking about her future.

The Cons: Nothing is coming to mind. Just that cliffhanger. I honestly cannot wait to read Where She Went

Would I recommend this book?  Yes of course. I would recommend If I Stay to everyone because a) the movie is coming out soon and b) it really moves you and makes you appreciative of what you have 

 

Sunday 4 May 2014

REVIEW: Panic

PanicPanic by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I quite enjoyed the novel 'Panic'. It was exactly the fast paced - action - with a touch of romance book that I was looking for to remind me of how much i enjoyed reading. Panic is a dangerous and life endangering game played by brave school seniors in a effort to win the prize jackpot at the end. We have two protagonists - Heather and Dodge - and each has their own reason for playing the game.

What I loved about the novel was that I felt as though I was able to connect with each of the characters and understand their motivations for entering the game, even if I didn't completely agree with them. I really loved Lauren Oliver's ability to hook me in from the start. The first chapter was basically the start of the game and I was always intrigued into what was going to happen next. I haven't come across a book in a while that gave me the urge to want to stay up the whole night to finish it.

Panic is told from alternating perspectives - Heather and Dodge - and I really enjoyed this. I loved how because of this, you were able to understand each of the characters backstories.

Although I did enjoy this book, some parts were predictable and some of the characters actions did annoy me at times. I didn't like how chapters would end abruptly right in the middle of an dramatic conversation or event and you wouldn't be able to tell until a few chapters later what had really happened after the chapter was cut.

However overall it was an enjoyable read and reminded me of why I love Lauren Oliver's books.

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REVIEW: Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies, #1)Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Warm Bodies follows a zombie named R who decides to not 'eat' a girl named Julie. Instead he decides to try to keep her safe from the dangers that are present within their world, which puts forward a chain of events that continue throughout the novel. Going into this book, I had heard a lot of positive things about this book and was therefore very excited to read it. Although I can see why everyone loves this book, I did find it a bit boring at times to read. I wasn't very engaged in the storyline and it was only until the last 1/4 of the book that I was invested in the storyline. The character of R was very original and my view now of zombies has been changed because of him. He was a very caring and compassionate zombie and didn't follow the stereotypical views that would be though of in a zombie. Overall, Warm Bodies was an enjoyable read and I would read it again. I do think, however, it deserves more of a 3.5 star rating but as half rating aren't allowed on Goodreads, I shall rate it a 3


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