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