Book Review: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Title: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist 
Author: David Levithan & Rachel Cohn 
Publisher: Ember
Release Date: 28/08/2007
Pages: 183
Service: Gift
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository

'It all started when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who's just walked into his band's show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City - and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

Book Review: Pretty Little Liars

Title: Pretty Little Liars 
Author: Sara Shepard 
Publisher: Atom 
Series: Pretty Little Liars #1
Release Date: 01/11/2010
Pages: 244
Service: Gift
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository 
Author Twitter: @sarabooks

'Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back?'

Book Review: Eleanor & Park

Title: Eleanor & Park 
Author: Rainbow Rowell 
Publisher: Orion 
Release Date: 12/04/2012
Pages: 325
Service: Library 
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @rainbowrowell

'Eleanor is the new girl in tow, with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and her unruly red hair, she couldn't stick out more if she tried. 

Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black t-shirts, headphone, head in a book - he things he's made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor... never to Eleanor. 

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love they way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.'

This was the first Rainbow Rowell book that I picked up and I can quite happily say that I was not at all disappointed in what I read. I had started to read this book with high hopes and if anything, this book exceeded all expectation. Rainbow Rowell, you have yourself a new fan. 

'Eleanor & Park' was a memorising story of two people discovering love for the very first time and how they cope with that. It was such a beautifully written story and Rowell's writing style was something that I gelled with so well. I couldn't get through the book faster once I had started it. 

Her characters were perfectly written. I loved how they weren't your stereotypical character. Both Eleanor and Park had insecurities that they knew about and they didn't like and didn't really come to terms with feeling comfortable with. It was nice seeing that side of characters, seeing them not feel comfortable with the way they look or just who they are as a person. They had problems and they were realistic problems, ones that you would come across. Rowell has no problem with throwing diverse characters into this story with made it such a refreshing read. We see different cultures in there and the way that those cultures effect the characters. 

The plot itself was written so well. There were parts where my heart just ached for some characters and the plight that they were in. You couldn't help but empathise with them. Though you could see where the plot was going, it wasn't in an annoying predictable way that you didn't want to read the rest of the book. I wanted to keep reading to see if I was right, to see how things were going to end. 

Did I expect the ending? No, not at all. It's such a heart breaking book that when I read the ending, I wish that it didn't finish there. I am yearning for more of Eleanor and Park's story.

I can give nothing but praise for this book and I'll definitely be picking up more of Rowell's books. 

Favourite Quote: 

Rating:  ★★★★★

Book Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
Release Date: 01/03/2011
Pages: 488
Service: Bought
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @cassieclare


'The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London's dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters - including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organisation of vampires, demons, warlocks and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...'

There were so many reasons that I was looking forward to reading this book. With one of my friends saying that I would love this book and wanting to see how Clare would put Shadowhunters in the 19th century, as well as  really looking forward to seeing the Shadowhunting world in a different setting. This book was pulled off in such an amazing way! 
For me, it was really interesting to read about the Shadowhunters in the 19th century was really enjoyable. I love seeing how the coped with the travel and how it was always convenient to them and how some of the things that the Shadowhunters use in 'The Mortal Instruments' start to be created in this book. Clare has found a way to make sure that these worlds stay connected, even with a different time period, plot and setting. You have no doubt that you are still within the world of the Nephilim.
The characters in this book were amazing and so were the relationships. Henry had to be my favourite and for me he was the most loveable one in the book, with all his awkwardness. Jessamine has to be on my list of the most annoying characters that are meant to be annoying. There were point where I felt bad for her, points when I liked her but they didn't last for very long. What I loved about this book was that it wasn't just the main characters I fell in love, it was all the background characters. The evil ones and the good ones. It was nice to see Magnus Bane enter the scene once again and my love for his character increased in this book. 
There are sometimes times where I find the main characters of the book annoy me quite a bit and though there were some points that I found Tessa a little whiny, it wasn't often and you could understand why. Jem and Will were a pair of characters that I really like, and it was really nice reading their friendship. The way that Jem puts up with Will and how protective Will can be of Jem sometimes.
There were relationships, both friendships and other that I was really curious about and still am to be honest. We weren't told everything in this book about them and though it did annoy me slightly, there are still another two books in the series where I am hoping things will be explained. Though, I do think, they could have further explained one or two things.
Personally, I thought that the writing in this book was a lot better compared to 'The Mortal Instruments' though that might just be a personal preference. I enjoyed it a lot more and am really looking forward to seeing where Clare is going to take the plot from here and there are so many lose ends I am waiting to be tied up.   The epilogue left me wanting to know so much more and I don't think it's going to be long until I pick up the next book in the trilogy. 
Favourite Quote: 

Rating: ★★★★

Book Review: Far From You

Title: Far From You
Author: Tess Sharpe
Publisher: Indigo
Release Date:  27/03/2014
Pages: 352
Service: Gift
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @sharpegirl

'Nine months, two weeks, six days. 

That's how long recovering addict Sophie's been drug-free. Four months ago her best friend, Mina, dies in what everyone thinks was a drug deal gone wrong - a deal they think Sophie set up. Only Sophie knows the truth. She and Mina shared a secret, but there was no drug deal. Mina was deliberately murdered. 

Forced into rehab for an addiction she'd already beaten, Sophie's finally out and on the trail of the killer - but can she track them down before they come for her? 

This was a book that seemed to have a huge amount of hype surrounding it and I was really excited to read it. My sister got the book for me before exams and I told myself that I wasn't going to touch it until my exams were over so I could sit and enjoy it properly. And I'm glad I waited because I finished this book within three days. I absolutely loved it!

One of the things that I really, really like about this book was that even though it was in Sophie's point of view, it wasn't always what was going on with her at the time. There would be a chapter with what was going on and the next chapter would be linked to the previous one only it would be about something in the past. At the start of the chapter you were told how long ago it was and how old she was at the time so it wasn't confusing. It was a great way to get to know her character a lot better and you understood in a lot more depths why things had happened and why she did certain things. 

There were a lot of surprises in the book but I don't want to share any of them and spoil the book for you guys. There were some that I was expecting and there were some that I really wasn't expecting at all. It was nice to not guess everything though, it gave the book a little more punch to it. 

Sharpe really smartly wove this book together and the events that were going on which made it an extremely enjoyable read. When I say that she was going back to earlier times with the characters, I did think it would be confusing and that I wouldn't be able to understand what was going on but instead it made the book a lot more enjoyable. She made sure that you were constantly guessing. About four chapter into the book I was already trying to come up with theories so I could try and guess the murderer.

I did hope that the book would have ended a little bit differently but it did put things to rest and tie up some loose ends. I was hoping to hear more about some of the other character but it was from Sophie's point of view so we weren't able to have that. 

This was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed though and I would recommend it to just about anyone. 

Rating: ★★★★1/2 

Book Review: Outshine

Title: Outshine
Author: Nola Decker
Publisher: 7 Sparks Press
Release Date: 11/04/2014 
Pages: 327
Service: Netgalley 
Format: Ebook 
Download: Kindle
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @Nola_Decker

'When agoraphobic Gabe and his outgoing nemesis Jessa go on an adventure to locate Gabe's missing brother, the two teens discover they are both hiding unnatural abilities: Gabe is a living lie detector and Jessa is a kick-ass powerhouse pretending to be a delicate diva. 

Gabe's sole reason for Watts, his overbearing younger brother, is to clear his own name: he's been framed for Watts' alleged murder. Jessa is after Watt because she is, well, after him. 

They find with with Deacon, the twisted eugenicist responsible for their unusual powers. He encourages them to stay and join him "Family" where they'll be able to live openly as the genetically-modified freaks they are. When Jessa and Gabe discover the truth about Deacon's past - and what he wants for the future - they band together to stop him. Watts. however, might have other plans...'

I'll be honest, Outshine did take me a very long time to finish off and there were a few reasons for it. The plot itself was extremely interesting. After reading the blurb on Netgalley I was really looking forward to reading it. So, once they said I could have a copy and it was sent to my tablet, I started it straight away. Was I disappointed in this book? A little. 

Jessa was a character that I thought was going to bug me throughout the book and she did. I really didn't like her, it was part of her character because as I read on I learnt more about her ad it made sense why she was acting the way that she did but I still couldn't find it in me to look her. She wanted everything. The best of both worlds. And even after going through what she did in the book, I felt like she didn't really grow. Not as much as I thought she would. Gabe was someone that I just constantly felt bad for. Luck never seems to be on his side and he always seems to be second best. I loved the way that Decker played his character out and the way that he coped with being a 'human lie detector'.

There were parts of the book that really did want me to carry on reading. These little shots where something exciting would happen, or it would be left on a cliffhanger and I wanted to know what was going on. But these were few and far between. For me, I felt as though the plot just dragged a little to much for my liking. Normally I quite like it when I in the middle of a book and I think things are coming to an end until I realise I've still got a huge chunk left. It makes me wonder what else could be going on. This time around, I didn't really enjoy that. There were quite a few times when I thought that the book would have come to an end until I realised that there were still lose ends to tie up and that I was only about 60% of the way in. There was just no real love for me to want to pick up this book.. The idea of the plot was great but when written, it wasn't something that I really enjoyed and the writing style really wasn't for me. 

Jessa and Gabe, from the beginning, were a pair that I really hoped wouldn't end up together. I really hoped that they wouln't fall for each other for the fact that they hated each other from the beginning. I was expecting it though, and trying to prepare my self for it For me, the two of them falling for each other just came out of nowhere and I don't really understand how it happened. That was one thing that really did bug me. 

There is a sequel to 'Outshine' and I don't think that I'll be picking it up. This book really wasn't for me but there were a few parts that I did really enjoy.

Rating: ★★1/2

Netgalley and 7 Sparks Press sent me this book in return for an honest review. 

Book Review: The Pledge

Title: The Pledge 
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Alison & Busby
Series: The Pledge #1
Release Date: 26/03/2012
Pages: 380 
Format: Paperback 
Buy: Book Depository 
Author Twitter: @kimberlyderting

'In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can be free is the drug-fuelled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there she that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy names Max who speaks a language she's never heard before... and her secret is almost exposed. 

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.'

This book really surprised me, I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did! 

The prologue of the book immediately drew me in. There were so many questions in my head about what was going on. It did confuse me slightly but it pushed me to read on and find out what was happening. I did think the beginning part of the book could be a little more gripping though. The first few chapters did drag a little bit for me but it didn't take long before the pace started to pick up. 

Charlie is a character that I really do love; it didn't take long at all for me to become attached to her. I just felt that there was a huge insight to what her character was like and what she was feeling.  Sometimes, when a book is in first person, I find there's no balance in what the character is seeing, thinking and feeling. I think Derting had the perfect balance with Charlie. I loved the relationship that she had with her sister and how protective she was over her and the way she took care of her. It was just really sweet to read and made me love Charlie's character a lot more. 

Max was a confusing character in terms that I had no idea what was going with him or his friends. But it was an aspect of the book that I really did like. It was nice not being able to guess who he was or what was really going on. As a character, I have to admit, there wasn't a point where he really grew on me but it wasn't a huge problem.

The surprises in the book really did shock me and I didn't expect any of them. This book was so beautifully written, I cannot get over the fact of how amazing the quality of the writing was. The description was amazing and though there were so points where I thought there was too much information given in one go, it did help me understand a lot of what was going on. There were a lot of other characters that I wished that we got to read more of but I'm hoping that I'll see more of them in the rest of the series. 

The ending of the book wasn't something that really surprised me or was that overwhelming to be honest. There wasn't really much of a cliffhanger but I know that I will be picking up the next book in the series. 

Favourite Quote: 

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Book Review: Blood Promise

Title: Blood Promise
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: Vampire Academy #4
Release Date: 25/08/2009
Pages: 512
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @RichelleMead

'The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir's was the deadliest ever in the school's history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them... including Dimitri. He'd rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her, Lissa - the one she has sworn to protect no matter what - and keep the promise Dimitri begged to make her long ago. But with everything else at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves the most?

I have loved the Vampire Academy series so much. If I were going to be honest with you though, this wasn't exactly my favourite book in the series and I didn't enjoy it so much. 

I have loved the way Mead has developed Rose's character throughout the series but I think this is the one book where I didn't feel like I could connect with Rose's character. I understood a lot of the actions Rose did throughout the book but I just didn't feel interested in her character. She just felt extremely flat in this book. I mean, I understand she couldn't be as happy and perky as she was in the other books but I just didn't really get anything from her character in this book. 

What I really did like about this book was the fact that we were taken to Dimitri's home town of Siberia. I absolutely loved the way it was all described and I could picture everything in my head and almost feel as though I was there. I was nice to be taken quite far from St. Vladimir's and see how Rose is out of the school and just be able to see the way Moroi, guardians and Strigoi work in the normal world. 

There were some really interesting characters that you meet along the way in the book which make the book quite interesting. You want to know so much more about people like Avery and Abe. Abe especially, who seems very mysterious. I made quite a few guesses about what was going on about him and who he was, guesses where I ended up right but that still did surprise me because I didn't think I was going to be. 

The ending was something that I hadn't really be expecting and was a huge cliff hanger. I wanted to start the next book so badly! 

Overall, probably not my favourite VA book. It did feel like it dragged quite a bit but definitely worth the read for any fans of the series: 

Rating: ★★★

Book Review: Delirium

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Delirium #1
Release Date: 07/02/2012
Pages: 441
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @OliverBooks

'Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.' 

I'm going to start this off and say that this book was a DNF for me. I didn't get too far in the book before I had to stop reading it. I don't really have many DNF's but I really struggled to get through this book. 

For me, I didn't really like the writing style, the beginning of the book just didn't interest me. I know that you do have to wait for the action in a book to happen but normally I really enjoy the build up. With Delirium, it felt like I was enjoying every other chapter and it just felt like I could really get into any of them. 

I felt no connection with Lena, I'm not sure that because I was meant to or not but there was nothing that made me feel like I could really gage what her character was like. That's partially the reason why I really struggled to be interested into the book. I don't really know what it was about her character, I just felt like there was nothing there for me to connect with or become attached to. 

All in all, I just had to put it down. I wasn't enjoying the book and there was nothing that was making me want to read it. 

Rating: DNF 

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Title: Anna and the French Kiss 
Author: Stephanie Perkins 
Publisher: Usborne Publishing 
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #1
Release Date: 01/01/2014
Pages: 416
Format: Ebook 
Download: iBooks 
Buy: Book Depository 
Author Twitter: @NaturallySteph

'Anna has everything figured out - she was about to start her senior year with her best friend, she had a great weekend job, and her huge work crush looked as if it finally might be going somewhere... Until her dad decides to send her 4383 miles away to Paris. On her own.

But despite not speaking a work of French, Anna finds herself making new friends, including Etienne, the smart, beautiful boy from the floor above. But he's taken - and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near-missed end with the French kiss she's been waiting for.'

I'm going to be completely honest, this was a book that I was in two minds about and I didn't really think about picking it up. My sister ended up getting it on iBooks because it was free for a while and she told me to get it and after a few times of her reminding me, I ended up getting it. And I am so glad that I did. This whole book surprised me so much, I didn't think I would fall in love with it half as much as I did. 

I fell in love with it from the very first chapter and it didn't take me all too long to love Anna. There were so many aspects of this girl which made her seem so much more real. She gets annoyed with her parents and brother but yet, you can see that she still loves them. She not quickly drawn into the whole amazing feeling of living in Paris, instead she's quite reluctant. She doesn't jump at the chance to learn French and Perkins didn't make her just quickly latch onto the language with no problem. You can see the struggle she has with the language and with some of her subjects in school. 


Your fictional crush can move out of the way for Ettiene St. Clair. Yet another beautifully crafted, realistic character that Perkins had created and you can't help but fall in love with him. He isn't the perfect, general player or jock type character that you seem to find in some books. He has clear flaws, he isn't that tall and he loves history to the point his friends tell him to shut up. Perkins doesn't just mention these problems once and leave them but but they are part of the book and we constantly see how he does feel slightly insecure about them as any person would. 

This book moved at a really good pace. The chapters weren't too long but nothing seemed rushed. Even though this was a romance story, it was nice to see the way Anna grew as a person and the friendships that she had within the group. The way how she saw that she was sometimes wrong in the things that she did and tried to make up for those things. 

'Anna and the French Kiss' was a book that made me just sigh and feel all happy and warm inside and I know that it's a book that I can turn to if I ever I'm ever feeling a little down. I would 100% recommend this to anyone who is just looking for a book that will make them want to melt and make them feel a lot better. 

Rating: ★★★★★

Book Review: The School for Good And Evil

Title: The School for Good and Evil
Author: Soman Chainani
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: The School for Good And Evil #1
Release Date: 06/06/13
Pages: 488
Service: Giveaway
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @SomanChainani

‘The first kidnappings happened two hundred years. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls were taken, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth ad spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good and Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale villains and heroes. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a fairy tale princess. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School of Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Wood, they find their fortunes reversed – Sophie’s dumped into the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication… But what if the mistake is the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are?...’

So, this is a book I saw floating around in my local Waterstones and seemed pretty interesting and when I saw it being given away and I just had to get my hands on it.

I just want to start off on my thoughts about Sophie, Soman Chainani did a wonderful job in making me dislike her so much. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that annoyed with a character that I had to just put the book down a breath. But it wasn’t due to the fact that Sophie was poorly written. She was beautifully written in a way that made me loath her throughout the entire book. Every time I thought that I might be able to cope with her character she ended up doing something that ruined that. Agatha was a character that I did feel horrendously bad for at some points and though a lot of the time I was annoyed with her choices and wished that she would open her eyes to see what wold happen, I understood from the character’s point of view. Agatha wasn’t someone who had many friends and the way she was acting was realistic I think for the way that someone might have been in her position.

The main thing that I loved about this story was how much some of the things in the book were true. We grow up with this idea that a princess has to be this beautiful person and in real life that isn’t always the case. This book shows just that. Sometimes, you just have to look beneath what a person is on the outside and see what someone is really like. It was just one of those books where you could clearly see the message that they were trying to give across.
The beginning of the book I found myself getting into quite quickly and felt that I just wanted to keep reading. About a third of the way into the book though I found that the plot was just moving a little slow for me but it was definitely worth carrying on reading because as I moved along I found it starting to pick up again and I was getting drawn in. The end left me wanting to read the next book so badly, I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

The only problem that I had with this book is that they show why Sophie is in the School for Evil but then when you look at the School for Good a lot of the people are exactly the same. It was something that bugged me along the book.

It’s well worth the read though if you’re looking for something fantasy that incorporates a lot of the old fairy tales within it.

Rating: ★★★★

Book Review: Unremembered

Title: Unremembered 
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Macmilan Children's Books
Series: Unremembered #1 
Release Date: 05/03/2013
Pages: 320 
Format: Paperback 
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @jessicabrody

'A catastrophic plan crash leaves one survivor: a girl with no memory.

Who is she?

Where does she come from?

Nobody knows and no one comes forward to claim her.

Haunted by a looming threat she can't remember and plagued by abilities she doesn't understand, she struggles to recall who she is. But every clue leads to more questions. And she's running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a boy who claims they were once in love.

Alone and on the run, who should she trust? And what if she discovers that she is safer with a past that stays unremembered?'

So, I saw this book on a giveaway on twitter and I was really looking forward to reading it. I looked it up on goodreads and it just seemed like the type of book that I was looking for and I just really liked the sound of it. 

I was disappointed with this book though for numerous reasons. The actual sound of the plot was amazing but I felt that nothing really happened in the book until about 60% of the way in and even then, I wasn't exactly drawn into the book. I know that in a book explanation does need to be given and there are essential parts of the plot that you need include but for me, it was a really slow read. There seemed to be a lot of information dumping, which made it harder to get my head around everything that was going on, especially towards the end of the book. I struggled to get into the story and I felt like I was only trying to get through the book so that I could finish reading it instead of enjoying. 

What was supposed to be a sci-fi book and a romance book turned out to be quite heavy with romance with very little sci-fi. I have nothing against romance books but I was looking forward to a sci-fi read but it wasn't there. There were aspects of it but I think I was predicting a book that would be slightly more based on the sci-fi. It just felt as though we were trying to have our attention brought to the romance aspect of the book that was going on.

I found it extremely hard to get in touch with Seraphina and to be able to empathise with her. No matter how much her situation was explained to try to get us to understood her, I found it incredibly hard and it just made it a little harder for me to read the book. It was understandable that she had lost her memory but even as the book progressed, I just felt like there was no real personality there and it was only really towards the end of the book that there seemed to be a small connection between me and the character. 

Personally, I don't think I'm going to be picking up the other books in the series. It wasn't an enjoyable read for me and I was looking more forward to finishing it than finding out what was going to happen in the plot. 

Rating: ★★

Book Review: Shadow Kiss

Title: Shadow Kiss
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: Vampire Academy #3
Release Date: 13/11/2008
Pages: 480
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @RichelleMead

'It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She's been having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all... might be seeing ghosts. 

As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has been experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy, Victor Dashkov, might be set free, and Rose's forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line - and choose between the two people she loves most.'

So many feelings about this book and they are all positive! I loved this book so much more than I expected to. I love the Vampire Academy series anyway but this book made me love the series so much more, I didn't even think that was possible. 

Shadow Kiss, for me, had so much more going on in the plot, and not in the confusing sort of way where you can't follow what's going on. It was so much more action packed and I felt that the plot gave the reader so much more in the book than the others. You could see the plot taking the front seat as a lot of the explanation had been done in the past two books. I was constantly guessing what was going to happen next and there were so many surprises in the book that made me have to reread just to double check what I had read. 

Character development in this book was, once again, done extremely well. Once thing that I was really happy with by the end of this book was the fact that we saw Rose actually go through raw emotions after killing Strigoi and having everything that happened in the last book catch up with her. It wasn't one of these things, where she was acting like she was invincible and nothing was affecting her. You could see the knock on events from Frostbite and it was nice to see that they weren't being brushed under the carpet and instead they ended up playing a big part in the plot. 

One thing that I really enjoyed reading in the book was the way Christian and Rose were interacting. It was so much of a strain for them to get along with each other and they had the odd compliment. It was just nice to see their relationship growing in terms of friendship. I loved seeing more of Christian and Lissa's relationship and how it's still very prominent that Christian really cares for her and is very protective of her regardless of what other people were saying. 

I was so happy to see that Adrian Ivashkov was back in this book. I think I ended up falling even more in love with his character in this book. You could see a more serious side come out of him in this book but I still loved the way that he joked around. This was a character that I thought Mead wrote really well. Victor Dashkov is still a character that makes my skin crawl and I have a feeling he is going to be turning up later on in the series. 

I don't want to end up spoiling too much of the book, but this time around you could really see how some relationships blossomed and how you could see the crack in some relationships. It was an action packed book that kept me wanting to turn the page. For me, it was Mead's best work in the series so far. 

Rating: ★★★★★

Book Review: Soulmates

Title: Soulmates
Author: Holly Bourne 
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
Release Date: 01/09/2013
Pages: 544
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @Holly_BourneYA


‘Every so often, two people are born who are the perfect matches for each other. Soulmates. But while the odds of this happening are as likely as being struck by lightning, when these people do meet and fall in love… thunderstorms, lightning strikes and lashings of rain are only the beginning of their problems. 

Enter Poppy, the 17-year-old cynic with a serious addiction to banana milk, and Noah, the heart-throb guitarist; residents of mediocre Middletown, sometimes students and… soulmates.

 After a chance meeting at a local band night, Poppy and Noah find themselves swept up in a whirlwind romance unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. But with a secret agency preparing to separate them, a trail of destruction rumbling in their wake, (and a looming psychology coursework deadline), they are left with an impossible between the ending of the world, or a life without love…’

This book has been sitting in my TBR pile and I couldn’t wait to pick it up after I saw a lot of hype about it on twitter. So, I finally decided that it was my next book to tackle and I didn’t regret it at all. 

There are so many reasons that I am in love with this book. All the way through the book you could sense that it was pure British; from the language Bourne had used to the way she spoke about college for Poppy and her friends. It’s not often that I come about a book that is based in Britain and catches my eye and this one was amazing. 

Lately in books, I have really been struggling to find one that finds a good balance between descriptive writing and speech and for me, Soulmates hit the hammer on the head with the balance. I was two chapters into the books and the description was beautiful, it was exactly the sort of thing that I have missed reading and that had to be one of the main things that made me hooked to the book. I loved the way everything was explained and how the writing just flowed. 

I was in love with Poppy’s dad from the moment that he was mentioned. The father-daughter relationship was really well wrote and you could see that he was the one that Poppy inherited a lot of her habits from and that they seemed to understand each other and the way they are. I love his attitude towards most things in life and how he looks out for Poppy but not in an over-bearing way. 

Even though Poppy and Noah were the main focus of the book, we got chapters where it was jumping to the people who knew what was going on between Poppy and Noah which I really enjoyed reading about because it gave you a little break from the main point of the story whilst still being about it. Anita and Rain were two people I really wanted to see more of and I really did get curious as to what was going to happen between those two. Anita’s story really made me want to read on and find out what happened to her. 
I love Poppy and Noah’s relationship and how they ended up opening up to each other and grow with each other. It was really enjoyable to read. 

I did find Poppy slightly annoying though as she did seem to be slightly stereotypical as she was quite cynical about love and what was going on in the world. That was the only fault that I have with the book, as a character I found it hard to deal with her sometimes and the way she hated everything mainstream. Her character development happened pretty quickly for me, though that may have been intended when Noah came into her life, for me it just didn’t seem to sit well and was something that did bug me throughout the book. 

This book was amazing though and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a romance with a twist. It was completely worth the read and I cannot wait to get my hands on Holly Bourne’s next book. 

Rating: ★★★★

Book Review: The Geography of You and Me

Title: The Geography of You and Me 
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Hachette
Release Date: 15/04/2014
Pages: 353
Service: BookBridgr
Format: Paperback 
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @JenESmith

'Owen lives in the basement. Lucy lives on the 24th floor. But when the power goes out in the midst of a New York heatwave, they find themselves together for the first time: stuck in a lift between the 10th and 11th floors. As they await help, they start talking...

The brief time they spend together leaves a mark. And as their lives take them to Edinburgh and San Francisco, to Prague and to Portland they can't shake the memory of the time they shared. Postcards cross the globe when they themselves can't, as Lucy and Owen experience the joy - and pain - of first love.

And as they makes their separate journeys in search of a home, they discover that it is sometimes a person rather than a place that anchors you most in the world.' 

I have so many feelings about this book that I am finding it really had to fathom proper sentences for this review. So, here goes nothing. 

I had heard so many good things about this book and I really wanted to read it so when I saw it on BookBridgr it was one of those books I immediately requested and was so excited when it  I came home to see the package waiting on the table.

I loved both Lucy's and Owen's history in terms of everything they had gone through before meeting each other. You could see how these things ended up having a knock on effect to what was going on in their lives and minds at the time and that was really nice to see. You could actually understand why they were thinking certain things and for me, that made me feel a lot more in touch with the characters. There was a lot more room for empathy and there were so many times that I just wanted to hug Owen and tell them that everything was going to be okay and things would eventually fall into place. 

Another thing that made me fall in love with this book was how heavily both of character's parents were woven into the plot. I love reading YA fiction that shows the part that the parents play. By the end you could really see the way Lucy had developed in her relationship with her mother and even the small steps she was taking with her father. With Owen, you could see how him and his father just sprang off each other. They helped each other out and both just guided each other with decisions that the both of them had made. It was nice to see that father-son relationship in a book and it was really well written. 

It was a journey about Owen and Lucy of not only finding each again but also figuring out how to fix certain aspects of their lives that they didn't think were possible to fix. They're searching for each other and they're searching for a place that they can call home and just feel settled. My heart broke for Owen so many times throughout that book and I did really feel for Lucy and the situation she was in.

The whole plot of this book was based around Owen and Lucy, the only real sub-plots there were throughout the books were just where the relationship with their parents developed. So, if you want more than just a romance story, this may not be the best book for you. It is one of those reads though that is quite relaxing and you can just wind down to and take you time reading. 

There were some chapters in the book that were really, really short but I see why it was written that way. At times though, it did slightly annoy me but it's only for a small portion of the book that is quite easily to push past. That's the only real problem that I had with the book.

I love Smith's writing style though and I definitely I'll be picking up more of her books. I loved the banter between her character's and the way she described the cities and feelings of the characters. The ending of the book was something that I was expecting but it didn't bother me. I felt content with the ending. It just felt right with what happened and the way the book was finished off.

It's a feel good book that just shows you that fate brings people together for a reason. It's a story about how you can fall in love without even realising it 

If you are looking for a YA-romance-contemporary book then I really suggest that you read this book. I was in love with it from first page to last and it's a perfect book to sit and unwind to. 

Rating: ★★★★★

Thank you to Hachette publishing and Bookbridgr who sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: Severed Heads, Broken Hearts

Title: Severed Heads, Broken Hearts
Author: Robyn Schneider
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 01/09/2013
Pages: 335
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @robynschneider

‘Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them – a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his career as a jock, and his social life.

No longer front-runner for homecoming king, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, when he encounters new girl Cassidy Thrope. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra has ever met – achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, secret movie screenings, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: If one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortunes strike?’

I don’t even know how to start this review off! The book was absolutely amazing and it turned out to be so much better than I thought it would!

There are so many aspects of this book that I could sit on fawn over. Schneider’s writing style is brilliant and really brings in school politics the way that Ezra’s old friends treat him after the accident and the way that she’s set the whole lunch table organisation out. Although that might seem like a small detail it does help move the plot for quite a big portion on the book. The beginning of the book was quite shocking but instantly made me interested to see what else was going to happen.

Ezra has very quickly become one of my favourite male characters for quite a few reasons. He was quite a realistic character in my eyes, especially the way that he reacted to the aftermath of his accident. You saw him grow as a character and find things in his life that he may have not have realised were there before the tragedy had happened. He doesn’t end up becoming completely bitter to his old friends and learns to make new ones quickly and starts to care about them a lot.

I wasn’t exactly a huge fan of Cassidy, she seemed like the type of person who thought that being closed off and mysterious is cool. Towards the end of the book when her story was explained I finally understood why she was the way she was and it did help me like her a little bit more but she still didn’t end up being one of my favourite characters.

What I love about this book is something that I don’t see very often in other books. Ezra changed for himself. He did it to become a better person for none but him and to make his life better. It wasn’t for someone else and it wasn’t so that someone would like him. It was because he wanted to have a happier life and wanted to make do with what he had so he changed to make sure that he could get everything out of life that he could.

This is definitely a book that I would gladly read again and I cannot hesitate to give it this rating.


Rating: ★★★★★