Friday, 11 September 2015

Friday Finds #7

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.




Our Endless Numbered Days byClaire Fuller

Description:
1976: Peggy Hillcoat is eight. She spends her summer camping with her father, playing her beloved record of The Railway Children and listening to her mother's grand piano, but her pretty life is about to change. Her survivalist father, who has been stockpiling provisions for the end which is surely coming soon, takes her from London to a cabin in a remote European forest. There he tells Peggy the rest of the world has disappeared. And so her life is reduced to a piano which makes music but no sound, a forest where all that grows is a means of survival. And a tiny wooden hut that is Everything. Peggy is not seen again for another nine years. 1985: Peggy has returned to the family home. But what happened to her in the forest? And why has she come back now?




The Story Of Jane Doe by R. A. Budden

Description:
I look into the mirror and wonder who is looking back at me. The flashbacks have given me no clue as to what type of woman I am. Am I a killer? Am I a victim? Am I both? I just don't know. I am at a loss of what to do. I take a deep breath and turn away from the haunting image in the mirror and look down at the street below. People walking with a purpose in life—I wonder where they are going. Home to a loved one? Home to their children? I have no loved one; I have no family. I just have myself, someone I don't even know. I turn around and look at the little apartment I now call home. I have a sofa, a TV, and a coffee table.No pictures hang on my wall, no trinkets or memorabilia scatter the apartment, no memories of good times. Not much of a home. I put my head in my hands to try to will myself to remember something, to remember anything, to remember laughter, to remember love, to remember family. I come up blank. There is nothing. There are no memories of laughter, no memories of love, and no memories of a family. No good memories at all. I have no identity; I have no family. I only have a name. A name the hospital gave me. JANE DOE.




Boost by D. A. Paul

Description:
They call it a boost. It’s the buzz you get from absorbing the spiritual energy of the dead, and it absolutely terrifies Lidia Powell. Shortly after meeting Ander at summer camp, Lidia is thrust into the world of psychic mediums and brought to a new school. At Mountain Heights Academy, even a casual pizza-date is accompanied by a ghost, and only a frightened uberdork would refuse the boost. To Lidia, the peer pressure to absorb phantom apparitions is horrifying, but to everyone else, it's the drug of choice. However, when one of the students delves into dark energy, Lidia suspects that a boost isn’t as innocent as it seems. Soon, the boost becomes an addiction and Lidia must act fast before the changes become irreversible.




The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

Description:
David Smith is giving his life for his art—literally. Thanks to a deal with Death, the young sculptor gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine with his bare hands. But now that he only has 200 days to live, deciding what to create is harder than he thought, and discovering the love of his life at the 11th hour isn't making it any easier! This is a story of desire taken to the edge of reason and beyond; of the frantic, clumsy dance steps of young love; and a gorgeous, street-level portrait of the world's greatest city. It's about the small, warm, human moments of everyday life…and the great surging forces that lie just under the surface. Scott McCloud wrote the book on how comics work; now he vaults into great fiction with a breathtaking, funny, and unforgettable new work.


Tuesday, 8 September 2015

Teaser Tuesday #6


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!



"I wrote, "Why do you think I'm here for her purse? I gave her a hundred for tonight, and now she owes me change." - Page 101, Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover.

"Look innocent, Ridge. Look innocent. All you did was look at her.- Page 223, Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover.

Saturday, 5 September 2015

Review - Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon



About:
Title: Everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Format: Paperback, 320 pages
Rating:

Description: 
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.


Review
This book. This. Book. Everything. Everything follows eighteen year old Madeline who has spent her whole life basically living in a bubble. As a baby she was diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease, also known as SCID, which pretty much means she is allergic to everything. All she has ever known is her home, her mum and Carla until a new family move in next door and she meets Olly and he opens the doors to the world outside, making her question her tiny life. Everything, Everything about this book is beautiful. (see what I did there? hehehe) From the writing to the art work, which was by the authors husband (Go husband!) I loved Maddy and Olly's relationship so much, it wasn't insta-love. It was just lovely. I couldn't help but keep thinking of the 2001 film Bubble Boy while reading this.This isn't a bad thing as it's one of my favourite films. I was kind of looking out for some reference to the film, I though that it might have been brought up in the early stages between Maddy and Olly of maybe Maddy jokes about the similarities to their predicaments and maybe even jokes about building a bubble. She seems the type of person who would do this as she made a few jokes about her illness through the book. The book was a super fast read as I couldn't put it down. The ending for me is what earned it the 5 stars. I was on the edge of my seat up until the very end. HOPING for the ending I wanted and Nicola just keep teasing me right up until the very last sentence. Nicola Yoon is definitely one of the authors I will be keeping an eye on for any new releases.

Quotes
“What colour are your eyes?
Olly (O): blue 
Madeline (M): Be more specific please 
O: jesus. girls. ocean blue 
M: Atlantic or Pacific 
O: atlantic. What colour are yours?
M: Chocolate brown.
O: More specific please
M: 75% cacao butter, dark chocolate brown 
O: hehe. nice”


Spoiler alert: Love is worth everything. Everything.” 


“Sometimes I reread my favorite books from back to front. I start with the last chapter and read backward until I get to the beginning. When you read this way, characters go from hope to despair, from self-knowledge to doubt. In love stories, couples start out as lovers and end as strangers. Coming-of-age books become stories of losing your way. Your favorite characters come back to life.”  

Friday, 4 September 2015

Friday Finds #6

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.




The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin

Description:
New Orleans, 1919. As a dark serial killer - The Axeman - stalks the city, three individuals set out to unmask him. Though every citizen of the 'Big Easy' thinks they know who could be behind the terrifying murders, Detective Lieutenant Michael Talbot, heading up the official investigation, is struggling to find leads. But Michael has a grave secret and - if he doesn't find himself on the right track fast - it could be exposed. Former detective Luca d'Andrea has spent the last six years in Angola state penitentiary, after Michael, his protégée, blew the whistle on his corrupt behaviour. Now a newly freed man, Luca finds himself working with the mafia, whose need to solve the mystery of the Axeman is every bit as urgent as the authorities'. Meanwhile, Ida is a secretary at the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and dreaming of a better life, Ida stumbles across a clue which lures her and her musician friend, Louis Armstrong, to the case and into terrible danger . . . As Michael, Luca and Ida each draw closer to discovering the killer's identity, the Axeman himself will issue a challenge to the people of New Orleans: play jazz or risk becoming the next victim. And as the case builds to its crescendo, the sky will darken and a great storm will loom over the city . . . Inspired by a true story, The Axeman's Jazz, set against the heady backdrop of jazz-filled, mob-ruled New Orleans, is an ambitious, gripping thriller announcing a major new talent in historical crime fiction.




Survive The Night by Danielle Vega

Description:
We're all gonna die down here. . . . Julie lies dead and disemboweled in a dank, black subway tunnel, red-eyed rats nibbling at her fingers. Her friends think she’s just off with some guy—no one could hear her getting torn apart over the sound of pulsing music. In a tunnel nearby, Casey regrets coming to Survive the Night, the all-night underground rave in the New York City subway. Her best friend Shana talked her into it, even though Casey just got out of rehab. Alone and lost in the dark, creepy tunnels, Casey doesn’t think Survive the Night could get any worse . . . . . . until she comes across Julie’s body, and the party turns deadly. Desperate for help, Casey and her friends find themselves running through the putrid subway system, searching for a way out. But every manhole is sealed shut, and every noise echoes eerily in the dark, reminding them they’re not alone. They’re being hunted. Trapped underground with someone—or something—out to get them, Casey can’t help but listen to her friend’s terrified refrain: “We’re all gonna die down here. . . .” in this bone-chilling sophmore novel by the acclaimed author of The Merciless.




Amour Amour by Krista & Becca Ritchie

Description:
Love is a circus "Every day,” he says lowly, “I hold a person’s life in my hands. The circus is based one-hundred percent off trust. I give it all to someone, and they give it all to me.” The best aerial technique won’t land 21-year-old Thora James her dream role in Amour—a sexy new acrobatic show on the Vegas strip. Thora knows she’s out of her element the second she meets Amour’s leading performer. Confident, charming and devilishly captivating, 26-year-old Nikolai Kotova lives up to his nickname as the “God of Russia.” When Thora unknowingly walks into the crosshairs of Nikolai’s after-show, her audition process begins way too soon. Unprofessional. That’s what Nik calls their “non-existent” relationship. It’s not like Thora can avoid him. For one, they may be partners in the future--acrobatic partners, that is. But getting closer to Nik means diving deeper into sin city and into his dizzying world. Thora wants to perform with him, but when someone like Nikolai attracts the spotlight wherever he goes—Thora fears that she’s destined to be just background to his spellbinding show.




Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

Description:
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah in her black swan burlesque costume is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town. But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed. Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale.




In The Skin Of A Monster by Kathryn Barker

Description:
What if your identical twin sister was a murderer? Does that make you a monster too? A profound, intense, heartbreaking fantasy that tackles issues of fate versus free will, and whether you can ever truly know someone. Caught in a dreamscape, mistaken for a killer ... will Alice find a way home? Three years ago, Alice's identical twin sister took a gun to school and killed seven innocent kids; now Alice wears the same face as a monster. She's struggling with her identity, and with life in the small Australian town where everyone was touched by the tragedy. Just as Alice thinks things can't get much worse, she encounters her sister on a deserted highway. But all is not what it seems, and Alice soon discovers that she has stepped into a different reality, a dream world, where she's trapped with the nightmares of everyone in the community. Here Alice is forced to confront the true impact of everything that happened the day her twin sister took a gun to school ... and to reveal her own secret to the boy who hates her most.

Thursday, 3 September 2015

Review - Room by Emma Donoghue



About:
Title: Room
Author: Emma Donoghue
Publication Date: August 1st 2010 (first published January 1st 2010)
Format: Hardcover, 321 pages
Rating:

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.


Review
This is a kind of a hard book to review because you don't know what you can or cannot say about the story as you don't want to spoil it for people who have yet to read it. I saw this in a local charity shop for 50p... A hardcover. In "as new" condition for 50p?! You cannot turn that down. At this time I hadn't really heard anything online about it so it kind of sat on my shelf for the good part of a year and then while looking through Booktube I noticed that the book had started to pick up speed and I was like "I have this book!". I then went on to look it up on Goodreads and it spiked my interest so I then decided to dive right on in.
The story follows 5 year old Jack and his mother, only known as "Ma". Jack thinks that Room is their whole world and anything that he sees on Tv is not real, something Ma told him growing up to make it easier on him as they cannot leave Room. At times I got bored or annoyed with the book but the book is from the perspective of a 5 year old boy who knows nothing of the outside world so it can be forgiven. I kind of kept wondering if Jack was somewhere on the Autistic spectrum through out the book, especially near the end when he showed aversions to some things common with someone on the spectrum. But this could also be a product of his environment for so long and then it being flipped upside down overnight and learning that what Ma had told him about the outside world were somewhat lies. This book was heartbreaking and at times so captivating that I couldn't put it down and I am so glad that I decided to pick it up!

Quotes
"It’s called mind over matter. If we don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” When a bit of me hurts, I always mind.”


"Stories are a different kind of true.”


 “I think about Old Nick carrying me into the truck, I'm dizzy like I'm going to fall down. 
"Scared is what you're feeling," says Ma, "but brave is what you're doing." 
"Huh?" 
"Scaredybrave." 
"Scave."
Word sandwiches always make her laugh but I wasn't being funny.” 









Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Review - The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness



About:
Title: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here
Author: Patrick Ness
Publication Date: August 27th 2015 (first published June 7th 2010)
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Rating:

Description: 
What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.


Review
Firstly: A book by Patrick Ness? Yes please! Secondly: This book was somewhat weird, the good kind of weird. We follow Mikey and his friends who are just trying to survive until they graduate. This book doesn't follow your "normal" main character, "the Chosen One", it follows the normally labelled side characters. Mikey and his friends attend the same school as "The Indie Kids" aka The Chosen Ones. While we don't get much interaction between Mikey, his friends and the Indie Kids we do get to read snippets of what the Indie Kids are up to at the beginning of each chapter. I liked the idea of this book, for me it was like "yes, there is an apocalypse type situation going on but things are happening to Mikey and his friends that would be seen as insignificant to others in this situation but to the people involved they are every bit as challenging." People have eating disorders, OCD, anxiety, distant/absent parents, unrequited love and car accidents and these things matter. There was a particular part in the book that I loved, Mikey suffers with anxiety and eventually returns to his psychologist for help and their conversation about it... I don't know how to explain it, I just loved it!

"Feelings don't try to kill you, even the painful ones. Anxiety is a feeling grown too large. A feeling grown aggressive and dangerous. You're responsible for it's consequences, you're responsible for treating it. But Michael, you're not responsible for causing it. You're not morally at fault for it. No more than you would be for a tumour."

As ever, I love Patrick Ness' writing. This book has vampires, Gods, Chosen Ones and zombie deers. What's not to love?

Quotes
“Not everyone has to be the Chosen One. Not everyone has to be the guy who saves the world. Most people just have to live their lives the best they can, doing things that are great for them, having great friends, trying to make their lives better, loving people properly. All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyway.” 


“And yeah, I know most people would think it weird that two guy friends touch as much as we do, but when you choose your family, you get to choose how it is between you, too. This is how we work. I hope you get to choose your family and I hope it means as much to you as mine does to me.” 


“Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.” 



Tuesday, 1 September 2015

August 2015 Wrap Up



I think my favourite book that I read this month would have to be Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill. What was your favourite read in August?

August 2015 Book Haul


I think I didn't do too badly last month in terms of book buying! This month isn't as good... I've brought far too many already and I have a bunch of pre-orders, whoops! Anyway on to the books I brought in August!

I'M BACK


Hi! SO I have been MIA for nearly a year. Whatttttt? (well, technically, longer than that) I have no excuse except that I kind of slowly forgot to post and then I thought that I had been gone too long to resume but then tonight I stumbled across this blog and was like: you know what? I'm starting that back up! I'll be posting my August wrap up & haul shortly and then get some reviews up!