Thursday, 14 November 2013

Teaster Tuesday #5


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Grab your current read, open to a random page and share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page - remember, no spoilers!

A very late Teaser Tuesday. I've started a new diet so that has been taking up a lot of my thoughts/time. Sorry!



"Will opened his eyes to a bright blue sky. His head hurt, but the Advil had done it's thing; he was just uncomfortable instead of feeling like he was going to die"

- P. 162, Will by Dan Cardinal

Friday, 8 November 2013

Friday Finds #5

Friday finds is a meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading which showcases the books you've recently ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.



Stolen: A Letter To My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Description:
It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him. This is my story. A letter from nowhere. Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost




A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Description:
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.




Attainment by J.H. Cardwell

Description:
There are many ways to capture a person’s love, but unwilling, full attainment is never the best option. Life hasn’t been easy for 18 year old Reese Stanford. After a traumatic incident a year ago, she has a hard time trusting any guy. She finally allows herself to fall for the heart throb, Tate Justice, only to realize he too comes with his own set of issues. Swearing off men, she meets a beach ‘god’ who will settle for no less than all of Reese. That is at least, until she learns a truth about Tate that changes the game entirely.




The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch

Description:
A historical thriller set in Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake just seventy years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead—marked by the same tattoo—the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos. Before the unrest forces him to torture and execute the very woman who aided in the birth of his children, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his clever daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the university-educated son of the town’s physician, Jakob discovers that a devil is indeed loose in Schongau. But it may be too late to prevent bloodshed. A brilliantly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller, The Hangman’s Daughter is the first novel from German television screenwriter Oliver Pötzsch, a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.




Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié

Description:
Holly Cathers's world shatters when her parents are killed in a terrible accident. Wrenched from her home in San Francisco, she is sent to Seattle to live with her relatives, Aunt Marie-Claire and her twin cousins, Amanda and Nicole. In her new home, Holly's sorrow and grief soon give way to bewilderment at the strange incidents going on around her. Such as how any wish she whispers to her cat seems to come true. Or the way a friend is injured after a freak attack from a vicious falcon. And there's the undeniable, magnetic attraction to a boy Holly barely knows. Holly, Amanda, and Nicole are about to be launced into a dark legacy of witches, secrets, and alliances, where ancient magics yield dangerous results. The girls will assume their roles in an intergenerational feud beyond their wildest imaginations...and in doing so, will attempt to fulfill their shared destiny.

Review - Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce



About:
Title: Sisters Red
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publication Date: April 1st 2011 (first published June 7th 2010)
Format: Paperback, 344 pages
Rating:

Description: 
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead. Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for. Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.


Review
I love a good re-telling! And this one doesn't disappoint  Re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood (obviously). Scarlett and Rosie are sisters who first learned about the Fenris when one attacked their grand mother and then went for the two sisters. Scarlett took action and killed the wolf but didn't not come away un-scarred. Now Scarlett goes hunting for the Fenris, killing them. The writing of this book was a joy to read, although, some parts could be a little bit boring but there is plenty of action throughout the book. Great character development, found my self loving all 3 of the main characters. Even though I though Silas was very predictable. I'm also glad that the love element didn't fully take over the book and shadowed the relationship between Scarlett and Rosie. Can't wait to read the other books in the Fairytale Retellings series.


Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Teaser Tuesday #4

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Grab your current read, open to a random page and share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page - remember, no spoilers!





"And then it dies. The Fenris explodes into shadow that scatters across the forest floor, skittering under leaves and fallen branches as if it's terrified of exposure." 

- Page 92, Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Saturday, 2 November 2013

Friday Finds #4

Friday finds is a meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading which showcases the books you've recently ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.
Friday Finds on a Saturday. Sorry about that!



Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm

Decription:
Six noted illustrators lend their talents to a definitive Grimms’ gift edition This is a beautiful treasury of some of the most famous stories of the Brothers Grimm, reproduced in their original form. Among many others, the stories include: The Travelling Musicians” (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers), The Golden Bird” (illustrated by Quentin Blake), Tom Thumb” (illustrated by Raymond Briggs), Snow-Drop” (illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark), The Frog-Prince” (illustrated by Axel Scheffler), and Ashputtel” (illustrated by Helen Oxenbury). With an unjacketed, foil-stamped fabric cover, six full color plates, and colored endpapers, this is the perfect edition for gift-giving or for anyone who collects books as art.




172 Hours On The Moon by Johan Harstad

Description:
It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever. Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune. Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan. Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them. In this chilling adventure set in the most brutal landscape known to man, highly acclaimed Norwegian novelist Johan Harstad creates a vivid and frightening world of possibilities we can only hope never come true.




The Proposal by Tasmina Perry 

Description:
Just say yes to this unforgettable read and take a spellbinding, romantic journey from the dazzling days of the debutantes in 1950s London to glamorous modern Manhattan. When Amy Carrell's wealthy boyfriend ends their relationship just before Christmas, she's left to nurse her broken heart alone. With nothing to lose, she replies to an advertisement requesting a companion for a mysterious 'Manhattan adventure'. Whisked off to New York with eccentric British aristocrat Georgia Hamilton, Amy experiences a glamorous side of the city that she's never seen before. Along the way, Georgia initiates her protegee in the arts of old-school elegance. But as Georgia shares her life lessons, Amy discovers a painful secret in her mentor's past. A secret that shattered her future. A story of love and betrayal that only Amy has the power to put right.




Dark Lover by J. R. Ward

Description:
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.




Reality Boy by A. S. King

Description:
Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school. Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that. In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child “star” who finally breaks free of his anger by creating possibilities he never knew he deserved.

Thursday, 31 October 2013

Review - Chemistry by Robert Hodgson



About:
Title: Chemistry
Author: Robert Hodgson
Publication Date: December 2nd 2012
Format: Paperback, 320 pages
Rating:

Description:
Francis is clever, successful and really rather nice, but he has a problem. He has no idea how women think. He doesn't know when they love him or why they sometimes hate him. So he turns to science for the answer and develops his own theory of how men and women react with each other. His theory guides him through tortured adolescence and into perplexing manhood but fails to predict the outcome of his intense, passionate but mostly hapless relationships. His quest to find the ultimate "oxygen" woman combines small triumphs with an unending litany of catastrophes until he is finally faced with the awful truth. It’s a story about how men try to make sense of women, and mostly fail. Francis's story brings together the belief systems of all the people in his life and compels him to choose between them. It forces him to confront the question of whether his own theory is based on scientific rigor or is no better than the superstitions that he so despises. It offers an alternative view of the concept of manhood in the 21st century and examines the conflicting patterns of life’s seeming predictability and spontaneity in a funny, thoughtful and at times, cringingly embarrassing story. Oh…and it’s a comedy.


Review
I'd like to start by saying a big thank you to Robert Hodgson for sending me a free copy of this book in return for an honest review and also that I really wish that I wasn't ill for so long, it felt like it took me forever to get through this book because of a constant headache and all that good stuff that comes along with being ill. But I finally have finished it and I'm so glad that I did!
The main character, Francis, is such a likeable character. He has (a lot) of cringe worthy moments that just made me want to blend in with the floor and at times I just wanted to grab him and give him the worlds biggest cuddle. I didn't know how I would really get on with this book because of the whole science aspect of it (science was definitely not my best subject at school) but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Great story and character development. Some parts were a bit tedious and I wasn't sure why they were included but the good parts out weigh those by a long shot. I will definitely be checking out more of Roberts work if and when it is released.

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Review - Uglies by Scott Westerfeld




About:
Title: Uglies (Uglies #1)
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publication Date: March 29th 2012 (first published 2005)
Format: Paperback, 425 pages
Rating:

Description:
Tally can't wait to turn sixteen and become pretty. Sixteen is the magic number that brings a transformation from repellent Ugly into a stunningly attractive Pretty, and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks, Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend, Shay, isn't sure she wants to be Pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the Pretty world - and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever


Review
The book focuses on Tally Youngblood, a fifteen year old girl who cannot wait for her sixteenth birthday to arrive so she can finally go through with the operation that all 16 year olds go through and be reunited with her friend who she was separated from because he turned sixteen before her. In this world people are separated according to age: up until aged 11 you are a "littlie" and live with your parents, ages 12 -15 you are an "ugly" and live in a dorm with other people of the same age and from 16 you are a "pretty" (new, middle or late depending on your age) and live amongst other pretties. While waiting for her birthday to arrive she meets and befriends a girl, Shay, who has the same birthday as Tally. But Shay has other plans that do not include turning pretty and Tally then has the decision whether to follow her dream or follow her friend.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's fast paced and keeps your attention. It also has some really great twists and revelations. It definitely has a thought-provoking theme to it - beauty. We have it shoved in our faces on a daily basis: make-up, beauty treatments etc to make ourselves more appealing and "beautiful" and also high expectations of what we all should look like to be deemed attractive from models, magazines and pretty much every other media outlet. A great Dystopia genre read and I would definitely recommend for any young-adult dystopia fan.

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Teaser Tuesday #3

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Grab your current read, open to a random page and share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page - remember, no spoilers!




"That's an interesting twist," Fanny mused. "I think it is harder to be a murderer than simply a man who wants to end his own life." 

15% - Under The Wide And Starry Sky by Nancy Horan.

Friday, 25 October 2013

Friday Finds #3

Friday finds is a meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading which showcases the books you've recently ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.






Game by Anders De La Motte

Description
Play or be played in book one of the Game Trilogy , the Swedish thriller series taking the world by storm. It began by spray-painting a door. Then detonating a hand grenade. Each task is secretly filmed and uploaded for other ‘Players’ to comment on. The more daring the mission, the greater the thrill and reward – and the acclaim. But how far will loser Henrik “HP” Pettersson go before the seemingly innocent game he was invited to play on a ‘lost’ mobile phone begins to play him? With his police protection officer sister dragged into the action, and the game looking more and more like a trap, HP’s excitement is turning to fear. Dripping with suspense, edge-of-your-seat thrills and action, Game is the first instalment in ex-policeman and security expert Anders de la Motte’s hot new Scandinavian thriller series






One Great Year by Tamara Veich & Rene Defazio

Description
An epic, thought-provoking tale of reincarnation, love, and the struggle of good against evil As the world descends from a Golden Age into darkness and brutality, Marcus has been reincarnated an exhausting number of times. Selected to become an Emissary, it is his duty to protect the ancient secrets. His adventure is heightened because he secretly consumes a serum that allows him to have memory from one lifetime to the next. In doing so, he sets himself up for thousands of years of torment, loneliness, and searching. Desperate to never forget his soulmate, Theron, and never sure if he was truly meant to be an Emissary, Marcus struggles through lifetimes to overcome his cruel and powerful nemesis, Helghul. Fusing the adventure of Indiana Jones with the introspection and wisdom of Eckhart Tolle, One Great Year takes readers on an epic journey through history, following characters who are born and reborn as they struggle to triumph over evil.




The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Description
Jolene Perry's THE SUMMER I FOUND YOU, about a teenage girl trying to cope with her new diagnosis of type one diabetes and a teenage male veteran who is learning how to embrace his new life after losing an arm, who come together by using each other as an escape, only to discover through love and struggle that your life is what you make of it.







Infinite Possibilities (The Secret Life Of Amy Bensen #2) by Lisa Renee Jones

Description
Secrets and lies. They are everywhere: haunting her, tormenting her. In the midst of it all, he’d been her escape, her passion. The only person she’d trusted in six years. And then he’d made her doubt that trust, cutting her deeply. But as she’d once told him, she was damaged, not broken. She is ready to fight and not just for survival. She is fighting for the truth and she won’t stop until she has it, not even for… him.




Alice In Tumblr-Land by Tim Manley

Description
Disney meets Lena Dunham in this illustrated humor book featuring your favorite fairy-tale characters dating and finding their way in 21st-century America The Ugly Duckling still feels gross compared to everyone else, but now she’s got Instagram, and there’s this one filter that makes her look awesome. Cinderella swaps her glass slippers for Crocs. The Tortoise and the Hare Facebook stalk each other. Goldilocks goes gluten free. And Peter Pan finally has to grow up and get a job, or at least start paying rent. Here are more than one hundred fairy tales, illustrated and re-imagined for today. Instead of fairy godmothers, there’s Siri. And rather than big bad wolves, there are creepy dudes on OkCupid. In our brave new world of social networking, YouTube, and texting, fairy tales can once again lead us to happily ever after”—and have us laughing all the way.

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Teaser Tuesday #2

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Grab your current read, open to a random page and share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page - remember, no spoilers!




"The night before I'd watched a documentary about black holes that sit in dark corners of the galaxy sucking in every atom of matter and every joule of energy. Now my world spirals in, implodes, sucking my innocent fantasy down into the depths." 

- page 32-33, Chemistry by Robert Hodgson

Saturday, 19 October 2013

Review | Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones


About:
Title: Escaping Reality (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #1) 
Author: Lisa Renee Jones 
Publication Date: July 22nd 2013 
Format: Kindle, 250 pages 
Rating:

Description:
Infinite possibilities… Infinite passion… Infinite danger… His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn't trust him. I shouldn't tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breathe? He is what I need. At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loves to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she’s finally dared to believe she is forgotten–even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets down her guard, the ghosts of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run. On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take “no” as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes? 


Review
I received this Kindle book in exchange for an honest review. The protagonist, Amy, is on the run from some unknown person that was apparently responsible for the death of her family. She has an anonymous "Handler" that warns her when she's in danger and sets her up with a new identity. She's about to start her new life in Denver when she meets Liam on her flight from New York. Liam is a prodigy billionaire architect that takes what he wants when he wants. He knows Amy is in trouble and is willing to do anything to keep her safe, whether she wants it or not. Let me just start off by saying that at the beginning, I strongly disliked the book. Amy sees a tall, dark and handsome guy staring at her while waiting to board a plane and just has luck would have it they are seated next to each other. They get talking and when they land Liam offers to help her with her luggage. Paranoid from her past Amy runs, get's in a cab and tries to flea. When she thinks she is safe the cab stops and Liam is there telling her to get in his car and she does.Then when they get to Amy's apartment one thing leads to another and they have sex. Now, I find that extremely un-realistic. If you see a guy you don't know staring at you and not even try to hide it and then makes you get in his car you just wouldn't do it. Or is this where I have been going wrong in my life? But as the story progressed it slowly drew me in. Questioning peoples motives and trying to figure everyone out and that ending was amazing! Amazing cliff-hanger, I didn't even realise it was the end until after a few attempts at flicking my Kindle to turn the page. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! I will definitely be checking out the second book.

Friday, 18 October 2013

Friday Finds #2

Friday finds is a meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading which showcases the books you've recently ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.


Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales #1) by Holly Black
Description: Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death.




The Circle (Engelsfors #1) by Sara B. Elfgren & Mats Strandberg

Description:
On a night after the apparent suicide of high school student Elias Malmgren, a blood-red moon fills the night sky. Minoo wakes up outside her house, still in her pajamas, and is drawn by an invisible force to an abandoned theme park on the outskirts of town. Soon five of her classmates—Vanessa, Linnéa, Anna-Karin, Rebecka, and Ida—arrive, compelled by the same force. A mystical being takes over Ida’s body and tells them they are fated to fight an ancient evil that is hunting them. As the weeks pass, each girl discovers she has a unique magical ability. They begin exploring their powers. The six are wildly different and definitely not friends... but they are the Chosen Ones.
In this gripping first installment of The Engelsfors Trilogy, a parallel world emerges in which teenage dreams, insanely annoying parents, bullying, revenge, and love collide with dangerous forces and ancient magic. An international sensation with rights sold in 26 countries, The Circle is razor-sharp and remarkable from start to finish.






Description:
Two years after her best friend was involved in a car accident that caused a traumatic brain injury, Lottie Anders is ready to start her freshman year of college. Ready to move on. Ready to start forgetting the night that ripped her life apart. Her plans come to a screeching halt when not one, but both brothers responsible for the accident end up back in her life again. Zack is cruel, selfish and constantly rubbing what happened to her friend in Lottie's face. Zan is different. He listens to her awkward ramblings. He loves "To Kill a Mockingbird" as much as she does, and his dark eyes are irresistible. His words are few and far between, but when he does speak, she can't help but listen. The trouble is, Zan was the driver in the accident, and now Lottie's discovered he lied to her about what happened that night. Now she must decide if trusting him again will lead to real forgiveness, or deeper heartache.





Description:
Never, ever cry... Eureka Boudreaux's mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn't, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.
But Ander doesn't know Eureka's darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth... and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined. From Lauren Kate comes an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic... a world where everything you love can be washed away.

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Review | A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness


About:
Title:A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Publication Date:September 27th 2011
Format:Hardcover, 215 pages
Rating:

Description:
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming... This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.


Review
This book was totally not what I was expecting when I first picked it up but it definitely did not ;disappoint. The original idea for this novel was by Siobhan Dowd but sadly she passed away before it's completion. So it was then passed over to Patrick Ness. The story is told through Conors point of you. Conor is having to deal with his mother's illness and the relentless bullying he has to endure at school. I don't really know how to explain my reasons for liking this book; I just do.The book itself is beautiful. I love the illustrations by Jim Kay, I think they complemented the story very well. A points in the story I got the feeling that Conor made up and used the "monster" as an excuse for his behaviour but you never really find out. The book is aimed at younger readers but I think older readers will be able to enjoy the story. I first heard of Patrick Ness through his novel "More Than This" And after reading this I will be sure to go out and purchase his other books. I feel this review is a bit lacking and all other the place as I just can't express my reasoning very well but I would definitely recommend it to readers into fantasy or mystery.

Teaser Tuesday #1

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Grab your current read, open to a random page and share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page - remember, no spoilers!




"A huge, twisted, branch-wound hand grabbed Conor around the middle and lifted him off the floor. It swung him out of his room and into the night, high above his back garden, holding him up against the circle of the moon, its fingers clenching so hard against Conor's ribs he could barely breathe" 

- Page 19, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

Monday, 14 October 2013

Review - The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes



About:
Title: The One Plus One
Author: Jojo Moyes
Publication Date: February 27th 2014
Format: ARC, Paperback, 436 pages
Rating:

Description:
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your stepson is being bullied and your daughter has a once in a lifetime opportunity... that you can't afford to pay for.
So imagine you kept some money that didn't belong to you, knowing it would pay for your daughter's happiness and in so doing make life a tiny bit more bearable all-round.
But how do you cope with the shame? Especially when the man you've lied to decides to help you out in your hour of need...
Jess is in hell - her family is stranded on a pavement in the middle of the night and Ed is their knight in shining armour. How on earth is she going to make it through their crazy and impromptu road trip without confessing her crime?
Is her family's fleeting chance of happiness worth this agonizing guilt?


Review
I was kindly sent an Advance Readers Copy of this book in return for an honest review. This is my first read of Jojo Moyes work, even though I have had "Me Before You" in my Reading list for quite some time. All I can say is that after reading "The One Plus One" I will not be hesitating to go out and purchase her other works. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It had my laughing, crying, smiling, gasping out loud and everything in between. Very likeable, realistic, relatable and well thought out characters. The book is written in multiple points of view - Jess, Ed, Tanzie and Nicky - and I think this works well in this book and allows you to to feel as if you know them a lot better and to also care for them a whole lot more. The book covers a bunch of issues, some being: single mum struggling to make ends meet, broken marriages, misfit kids, the misconception and judgements people make on each other, betrayal, honesty, love and loyalty. I think there is someone for everyone to relate to. If not there will definitely be a certain situation. Maybe even both! At certain parts of the book I just wanted to grab both Jess and Ed and bang their heads together... In a good way! I would recommend this book for any chick-lit, romance or realistic fiction lovers.

Friday, 11 October 2013

Review - Lyrics for the Labyrinth by T.J. Garcia



About:
Title: Lyrics for the Labyrinth
Author: T.J. Garcia
Publication Date July 20th 2013
Format: Paperback, 58 pages
Rating:

Description:
What happens after the end of all things? For three decades, I drank the Kool-Aid, colored inside the lines, and followed all the rules set out for me--as a woman, as a wife, as a mother. All for... nothing. Or so I believed. After it all came apart, I struggled for four dark years to purge the poison of other people's expectations from my life. This poetry is a peek into the pain of that transformation, but it also holds hope for better days ahead.


Review
I was kindly sent this book for free by the author for review. This short book is a collection of poems by T.J Garcia. They tell a story of a woman's struggle with other peoples expectations amongst other things. I normally don't read poetry nor have I ever had the urge to but I am glad I got a chance to read this collection. It starts off in a very dark place and as you read on you can see the light slowly shining in on the writer as she starts to take a hold of her life. Some of my personal favourites are: 'Bipolar', 'Frustration', 'No Regrets', 'Graduation' and 'A Pound of Perspective'. Sad but with a sense of beauty that someone could pull themselves up and try rebuilding their life. I would recommend for any lover of poetry.

Friday Finds #1

Friday finds is a meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading which showcases the books you've recently ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.



Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Description:
Kennedy Waters didn't believe in ghosts, until one tried to kill her.
When Kennedy finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn't know that evil forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into her house and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon - a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.
Now Kennedy has to take her mother's place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon - battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.
Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures novels.




Wake by Abria Mattina

Description:
Eighteen isn’t too young to run your life into the ground, but it’s not too old to fix it, either. The desire for change drives Willa Kirk from St. John’s, Newfoundland back to hometown of Smiths Falls, Ontario, away from her mistakes and the place where her sister died. She’s looking for a place to settle and rebuild, but Jem Harper just wants to get out of town, back to the life he knew before cancer. By letting the tragedies in their lives define them, they are both dying a little more every day. Welcome to the wake.




Hyde by Lauren Stewart

Description:
To survive, they must embrace what they most despise in themselves and each other.
Mitch Turner is everything women want most in a man—charismatic, successful, drop-dead gorgeous. Except he’s not a man—he’s a monster. The only way Mitch can protect others from his monstrous side is to stop them from getting too close…that and a 7x7 foot cage. Isolated by his genetic curse, he spends his life hurting people emotionally, driving them away before Hyde can harm them physically. But, after a night of the best sex Mitch has ever had, he realizes that might be impossible. Except the woman he wakes up with claims she doesn't remember any of it. Eden Colfax is everything men want most, men other than Mitch, that is. She’s kind, honest to a fault and sickeningly sweet. To rid herself of the monsters that haunted her broken childhood, Eden doesn't lie, doesn't curse, and definitely never wakes up naked in strangers’ beds… until the day she does. Then the flashbacks start—places she’s never been, people she’s never met, blood she’s never spilled. She discovers she’s split into two parts—the woman she thought she knew and another who is capable of anything. And the only person with any answers is the one man she never wants to see again.
What neither of them know is that someone is watching them both, manipulating them, determined to see just how evil the two of them really are. And when the truth begins to seep through the cracks, leaving them nowhere to turn but each other, they will be forced into a partnership neither had expected.
Because in life, who you trust is as important as who you are. And when you can’t even trust yourself, sometimes the only person you can rely on is the last person on Earth you should be falling for.




Room by Emma Donoghue

Description:
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.




House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Description:
Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies -- the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely arranged pages but also discovered a way back into the lives of their estranged children. Now, for the first time, this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and newly added second and third appendices. The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story -- of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams