Let’s Wrap: August

So, August! I got a part-time job at Lush to tide me over till Christmas whilst I’m still working out what I want to do with my life after uni, and then my boyfriend came to visit twice and last week we went to a maze shaped like a T-Rex (which satisfied my dinosaur obsession immensely).

Here’s me looking a little too pleased with myself.

Now, onto my August wrap-up.

This Month’s Posts

• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I’d Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed Me a Fully Loaded Gift Card
• The Willoughby Book Club Unboxing
• The Sunday Post #10
• Review: The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien
• The Books With a Purpose Tag
• Waiting On Wednesday: The Burning World (Warm Bodies #3) by Isaac Marion
• Review: Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski
• Beauty and the Beast Book Tag
• Stacking the Shelves | Fantasy & WW2 Lit | YA & Adult
• The Sunday Post #11
• ARC Review: Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi
• Pokemon Go Book Tag
• Discussion: Does a Character’s Name Affect Your Opinion?
• The Sunshine Blogger Award
• The Sunday Post #12
• The Versatile Blogger Award

Favourite Novels This Month

Least Favourite Novels This Month

None! I gave them all 4/5 or 5/5, but Girl Detached was definitely the standout novel of the month (and even a standout novel of the whole year).

Coming Up

I’m still reading The Fireman by Joe Hill. It’s a biiiiig book and I did barely any reading last week whilst Mark was visiting. However, I’ve been speeding through it the last couple of days so expect a review by the end of the week, or at least early next week.

After that, I’m going to read Soundless followed by The Stars Never Rise. Hopefully I’ll enjoy them!

I have a couple more tags to get through but some others I’ll be putting on hold. Thanks so much to everyone who’s been tagging me but I’m a bit tagged out now! I’m gonna lay off them for a while and do some more discussion posts etc.

Also, this isn’t something to look out for in September, but just a reminder that my review of Goldenhand by Garth Nix will be going live in the first week of October, a week before its official release date. So keep your eyes peeled! I’ve written it so that people who are new to the series can still read the review without stumbling upon any major spoilers. So, if you’re thinking of getting into the Old Kingdom series, my review should hopefully convince you!

What have you got up to this August? Has it been a good month for reading? Let me know in the comments below!

The Versatile Blogger Award

Hello, I’m back! I took a week away from the blogosphere because my boyfriend came to visit.

So, a little while back, I was nominated by the lovely Maya @ Maya the Book Explorer for the Versatile Blogger Award, so thank you very much!

The Rules

• Show the award on your blog
• Thank the person that has nominated you
• Share 7 different facts about yourself
• Nominate 15 blogs of your choice
• Link your nominees and let them know of your nomination

7 Facts About Little Old Me

1. I have a degree in BA English from Royal Holloway, University of London, and don’t let anyone tell you English degrees are easy because they really aren’t!
2. I have a Syrian Hamster called Cookie who’s very tame but also very naughty. He loves cheese and will wrestle you for it.
3. I want to be a successful author sometime in the future and I’ve previously been published and won competitions so fingers crossed!
4. I really love anything apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic, whether it’s a book, a film or a TV programme; there’s just something really fascinating about the apocalypse. Oh and zombies!
5. My favourite author of all time is Virginia Woolf.
6. I enjoy photography and would love to be a proper wildlife photographer but I’m nowhere near good enough, so taking photos of random cats and my hamster will have to suffice.
7. I like dinosaurs because I’m secretly a three-year-old boy at heart.

I Nominate

• Puput @ Sparkling Letters
• Ellie @ Ellie Maloney
• Elle @ Perusing Pages
• Jill @ Rant and Rave About Books
• Laura @ Laura Writes NE
• Ola @ Ola Reads Books
• Martin @ A Pretty Wonderful Book

I know that’s not 15 nominations but I’ve been nominating and tagging so many blogs recently I don’t want to keep bombarding all the same people! But these blogs nominated here are all ones I enjoy and worthy of the award.

The Sunday Post #12

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer in which book bloggers recap their week and look at what’s to come.

My Weekly Recap

It’s actually been a good week in terms of writing for me. I’ve planned the majority of my novel and I’ve so far written a prologue and three chapters so, you never know, this might finally be the one that sees the light of day!

But anyway, here are the posts from this week:

• ARC Review: Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi
• Pokemon Go Book Tag
• Discussion: Does a Character’s Name Affect Your Opinion?
• The Sunshine Blogger Award

Coming Up

I just finished my ARC of Goldenhand by Garth Nix today and I’m already having withdrawal symptoms! It was excellent, as always, and great to be back with the likes of Sabriel, Lirael, Touchstone, Sam and Nicholas. I need another book in the Old Kingdom series now please!

However, I won’t be posting my review until a week before the release date of Goldenhand on the 4th of October, so keep your eyes peeled for it in the last week of September.

I’m now onto The Fireman by Joe Hill, an apocalyptic viral-outbreak novel (just my kinda thing) that has been receiving rave reviews so I have high hopes.

I have a few more tags to do and another award which is amazing! However, my boyfriend is visiting next week so blog posts may be a little less frequent.

And Finally

I’m all about Tame Impala at the moment. Stand-out tracks for me are Let It Happen, The Less I Know the Better, and ‘Cause I’m a Man.

The Sunshine Blogger Award

A big thank you to Demetra @ bookstraveller for nominating me for this, it’s my first award since I started blogging in March so I’m pretty excited! If you don’t already follow her blog, go check it out!

Questions

1. What Hogwarts house are you in?

I’ve admitted before on this blog that I only ever got as far as Chamber of Secrets so I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to the Hogwarts houses! However, I’ve seen all the films, and I’ve always felt a strange attraction to Slytherin. I’m not quite sure what that says about me…

2. What Ilvermorny house are you in?

I had to google this and I had no clue it was another Harry Potter thing! Sorry, Demetra! I found the houses though and I like the sound of Thunderbird the best as it ‘favours adventurers’ and I’d like to think I’d be an adventurer if I had magical powers and all that.

3. Have you read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child already or planning to?

Seeing as I never made it past Chamber of Secrets, I don’t think I’ll ever read The Cursed Child, although it does sound interesting!

4. Is there a book you own more than one copy of?

I own two copies of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. I read it for fun and loved it, then had to read it again at university, but I needed a particular edition of the book because this one had an introduction. Other than that, I don’t think so, but I’ve almost finished my ARC of Goldenhand by Garth Nix and seeing as it’s my favourite series I want a finished copy too, in case there are any changes! So I’ll probably have two copies of Goldenhand soon.

5. What kind of book or movie related merchandise do you own?

I picked up a bunch of bookish freebies from YALC so I have loads of excerpts and postcards and badges! I have some movie-tie-in editions of books, like my copy of Never Let Me Go and I also collect those 1 litre special edition movie cups from Vue cinemas (this won’t make any sense unless you’re British) because I’m a sad person. They’re giant cups with a movie poster printed on and they have little figurines on top and I feel like such a child asking for a Katniss or Bucky Barnes figurine. (Although I desperately wanted a Bucky Barnes one). I even have a dinosaur one from when I went to see the new Jurassic Park. I used to love dinosaurs as a child, okay. However, I have no shame buying the big special edition cups for Marvel films. Marvel rules all.

6. If you could have personally witnessed anything, what would you want to have seen?

I’ve always had a fascination with the World Wars, but I think it would be much too harrowing to go back and witness any of that. So probably a happier event, like the coronation of Elizabeth I or something. Or, I’d go back to when dinosaurs roamed the planet, as long as someone could guarantee I wouldn’t be eaten.

7. What’s your favourite TV show?

This is really difficult to choose, so I’ll pick a few: The 100, Mr. Robot, The Returned (the original French version, of course), The Bridge (the original Scandi version), Game of Thrones and of course Peaky Blinders. There’s definitely more but my mind has gone blank!

8. What’s your favourite movie?

Once again, how can I choose?! Anything Marvel, especially the Captain America films. And I’ve always loved The Lord of the Rings films, they’re just perfection. I’m not even gonna mention any more because I’ll be sat here forever.

9. If you could be any book character, who would you be and why?

I think Sabriel from the Old Kingdom series, although I don’t know if I’d be very good at fighting the Dead, I’d probably pass out from fear. But then again, if I was Sabriel, I’d pretty much be fearless.

10. What do you look at first: the book cover or the blurb?

Book cover, definitely. I try not to judge a book by its cover but you can usually tell if something isn’t your cup of tea just by the cover. Even still, if the title catches my eye or I’ve heard great things, I’ll check out the blurb.

11. Which book should everyone read?

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix! Or anything by Virginia Woolf! I’m a broken record on this blog.

My Questions

1. Who are your three favourite protagonists?
2. What’s your favourite book cover?
3. Is there an antagonist you’ve ever sympathised with? Or even liked more than the protagonist?
4. Do you write books as well as read them?
5. Do you prefer Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Or do you not like either?
6. Do you like books being adapted for film/TV, or do you hate it?
7. Do you prefer paperbacks or hardbacks?
8. If you could compete in any Olympic sport, which one would you choose?
9. If you could be friends with any character (book, film or TV) who would you pick?
10. Is there a book or series you think is underappreciated?
11. If you could be a superhero, what powers would you have?

I Nominate

• Cate @ Midnight Biblio Blog
• Megan @ Bookslayer Reads
• Laura @ Reading Lust
• Cait @ Bathtime Reads
• Shouni @ Through the Book Portal

Discussion: Does a Character’s Name Affect Your Opinion?

There are some names that have been completely tarnished by people I know in real life.

There was a girl I knew called Jade who was pretty horrible, so now I’m not a fan of that name. (Sorry to all other Jade’s, I’m sure you’re lovely). Also, George. I’ve known too many George’s and too many of them have annoyed me.

As a result of this, it can sometimes be a little harder to connect with characters who have names with bad connotations for me. Writing this out, it sounds silly really. I shouldn’t be judging a character simply because a girl I knew when I was ten was mean. It’s one of those things that sticks with you but I try not to be so judgemental of a character because it reminds me of someone I know; that would just be petty.

But what about when you just don’t like the name? Or the name doesn’t seem to suit the character?

For example, what about Four in Divergent? I think the nickname really fits. But what about his given name? (If you haven’t read the books and don’t want to know his given name, even though it doesn’t spoil any plot points, then skip to below the book covers).

His given name is Tobias and as soon as I read that all the mysteriousness of Four disappeared. For some reason, the name just killed the mood. It just doesn’t sound very tough when the whole point of Four is he’s meant to be tough and strong and confident. He’s meant to instill bravery in Tris and represent the endurance and heroism of the Dauntless faction. Four does that, Tobias doesn’t.

On the other hand, I recently reviewed an ARC of Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi. I adored it and you can check out my review for it here. I won’t give anything away, but the antagonist of the novel is called Ruben. I’ve always loved that name but after reading this book my opinion has changed slightly. I still like the name, yet it now reminds me of a manipulative man. I guess I won’t be naming any future sons ‘Ruben’ anymore!

Of course, that’s a slight exaggeration, but you get my drift. There will always be a slight association with that name. Just like the name ‘Angelina’ will always make Angelina Jolie spring to mind. Or how names like Chandler and Rachel will make many people think of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take someone named ‘Chandler’ seriously.

However, what about the idea that characters with names you like will make your opinion of them increase? One name I’ve always liked is Sam. In Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series (which I’m always talking about on this blog), there’s a character called Sameth, Sam for short. He’s one of my favourite characters and after reading the novels I liked the name ‘Sam’ even more. If Sam had been a horrible character, my opinion of the name might have gone the other way, yet instead the name will forever make me think of this character and have good connotations for me.

I know this post was brief, but it was only a thought and I wanted to hear some other opinions on it. So, what do you guys think? Are there names you’ll always dislike because of someone in real life or someone in a book? Are there names you like more because of some of your favourite characters? 

Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

Pokemon Go Book Tag

I was tagged by both Aimal @ Bookshelves and Paperbacks and Arianne @ Beyond Chapters, so thank you! If you don’t already follow these two then check out their blogs!

The tag was created by Aentee @ Read At Midnight and I am so jealous of her graphic making skills.

So, let’s get started:

This is actually quite difficult because I can’t remember a time I wasn’t reading. Even before I could read words, I’d take my picture books from my parents and make up stories using the drawings inside, because I was a cute child and all that.

However, when I progressed to reading kids novels, one book that stands out for me as a favourite was Kitty by William Corlett. It’s about a stray puppy in Spain called Kitty and recounts her adventures and misfortunes. I actually got rid of a lot of books from my bookshelf recently but I made sure to keep this one because it holds a special place in my heart.

Anything by Virginia Woolf, but especially The Years, To the Lighthouse and The Waves. And Mrs Dalloway, of course.

She’s just such an amazing writer and has this incredible talent to write stories where pretty much nothing ever happens but you never get bored. I will forever be in awe of the novels she has produced.

If you want to get into Woolf, definitely read Mrs Dalloway or To the Lighthouse first to ease yourself in gently. The Waves isn’t to everyone’s taste as its form is very experimental, but I love it. Just read it all!

This novel was just so over-hyped. I read it when it first came out and thought it was pretty mediocre. I still enjoyed the story, but I haven’t felt the need to pick up the sequel. The characters just didn’t do a lot for me and neither did the plot.

Maybe I’ll grab the sequel one day just to see where it goes, but for now I’m saving my money for other things.

 

 

 

I might be cheating a little here as this isn’t one book but I couldn’t think of anything else. This series was pretty YA formulaic in the love triangles and the rebellious girl doing it all for love, but I still really enjoyed this series when it came out. I’m tempted to give it a re-read because, from what I can remember, the writing was good and lyrical and the setting was very interesting.

This is a bit of a lie because I’ve read the first two novels in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, but I’ve given up for now because the books are just so big and there’s so many of them. I do, however, love the TV adaptation.

 

 

 

 

I’ve said before that this book traumatised me and I’ll say it again:

THIS BOOK TRAUMATISED ME.

Whilst it had a little bit of a lull in the middle, the first third of the book and the final third definitely kept me awake at night.

And because of that, I really need to read more of Adam Nevill’s work because I haven’t read a good horror in a while.

 

I don’t think I obsess over couples in books as much as some people but if there’s one couple that I want to never ever break up then it’s R and Julie.

I never thought I’d say a zombie book contains the sweetest love story of all time but it totally does.

Oh, and Love, Rosie too! It was originally published as Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern but I prefer what they renamed it for the film adaptation. That book and film gave me a lot of feelings.

 

I stormed through this book and actually tried to slow myself down so it wouldn’t end!

This was definitely a fast-paced read with lots of action and I’m so excited for the sequel.

Check out my review for Rebel of the Sands here.

 

 

 

This is a plea to Garth Nix to never ever stop writing stories set in the Old Kingdom. I will never ever get bored of this series and its novellas.

I’m currently reading an ARC of Goldenhand which is just all my dreams come true. I still have the novella of To Hold the Bridge waiting on my bookshelf for me to read and I really don’t know why I haven’t got round to it earlier because I am so happy to be back in the world of the Abhorsen and the Dead in Goldenhand.

Seriously, I’ve said this so many times, but if you haven’t read these books you are totally missing out.

I’ve said this before too but I was surprised by how much I liked Throne of Glass. Even after seeing people rave about this series, I was never keen to try it. I don’t like the covers and the blurb’s never caught my eye. But then I gave in and turns out I loved Throne of Glass! Hopefully I can get my hands on the second novel some time soon.

Check out my review for Throne of Glass here.

 

 

These are three different series I’m all excited to start. They’ve all garnered a lot of attention and I hope I like them, but I really hope it isn’t a case of ‘over-hyping’.

Probably some first editions of Virginia Woolf’s works but, other than that, I’m not bothered about collector’s editions.

I know this has already been out for a while, however, it is a debut novel and I still haven’t read it! I want to so bad!

I’ve heard mostly positive things about it, with a few mixed reviews thrown in, but it hasn’t put me off trying it.

Apparently the purple prose can be a bit too purple but I’m not really averse to it.

 

 

 

There are a few but definitely Garth Nix, David Mitchell and Jenny Downham. Otherwise, I read whatever, no matter who the author is.

I talked about this during Waiting On Wednesday. It feels like I’ve been waiting for most of my life for the sequel to Warm Bodies and it’s finally within my sights!

January, please hurry up!

 

 

 

 

I Tag

• Monique @ That Wild Soul
• Asiya and Marcela @ Georgiana Darcy’s Reading Lists
• Bookish Afterthoughts

If you don’t do tags, or you’ve already been tagged in this, then please ignore me! Otherwise, have fun!

ARC Review: Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi

Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Publisher: The Bucket List

My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Aleksandra has issues with her voice. Stress makes her stutter, and she can only speak clearly on stage, freed by the words of the character she plays.

When Aleksandra befriends her new neighbour Megan, and through her meets charming, handsome Ruben, it seems she has discovered a doorway into a different world, and a different Alek. But Ruben wants Aleksandra to play a particular role for him, and it is one that will come close to destroying her.

My Review

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinion of the book in any way.

Hello and welcome to my first ever ARC review, which is pretty exciting! I picked up Girl Detached at YALC after seeing a little bit about it online and, hearing it was banned in Manuela Salvi’s home country of Italy, I was even more eager to give it a read. So you’ll be happy to know that I loved it! Prepare yourself for a long review because I have a lot to say!

Just a quick heads up before I begin: this review will discuss why this novel was banned in Italy, as the blurb doesn’t give much away (although you can probably make an educated guess). There won’t be any spoilers about the plot, but if you don’t want to know why it was banned and want to work it out for yourself when you come to read it, then don’t go any further.

Okay, so let’s cut to the chase. This novel deals with the grooming of young girls by adult men. You’re probably wondering to yourself, “it was banned because it talks about grooming? But that’s in the news all the time!” and you’re completely right to think that because, honestly, I have no idea why this book was banned. We see news stories about young girls being groomed so often. This isn’t anything new to us. As girls, we’re taught from a young age to stay away from strangers, especially strange men. However, what happens if a girl falls into the trap of a groomer? They’re often not seen as an innocent child who was taken advantage of, but a silly girl with loose morals.

This novel tackles the subject of grooming – and the sour light these poor groomed girls are painted in by society – extremely sensitively and with excellent clarity. Like I said before, grooming isn’t a foreign concept to us as humans, so why on earth this book was banned I have no clue. It’s not on the side of the groomers; it’s firmly on the side of Aleksandra and the other teenage girls. Perhaps the Italian government didn’t like the stark reality of the novel.

However, banning it was ridiculous. Grooming is an issue that needs to be addressed, especially amongst young people. It’s actually a good thing that Salvi has written this book for young adults because she is warning girls, and even boys, of these dangers. If we don’t warn teenagers of the troubles they might face then of course they will fall into these traps. And then, when the news gets out, they’ll be ridiculed. Many will say “They should have known better”. How could they if they had no clue what they were getting into?

But anyway, enough ranting, let’s talk about the story itself:

Aleksandra is an excellently crafted character. Shy and naive, she is taken under the wing of her new neighbour Megan, and through her meets Ruben. The blurb describes him as ‘charming’ and ‘handsome’, and he is, but he is not likeable in any way, shape or form. He’s charismatic, sure, but it’s manipulative; how else would he reel these girls in? And of course, his good looks help too. A handsome young man could never be a malicious groomer, after all. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I hated Ruben from the start, which was a good thing. Salvi never wants us to like him and we certainly aren’t supposed to. This was one way in which Salvi’s portrait of the seedy underworld of grooming worked so well. There is never even a sliver of anything appealing about Ruben. However, I can clearly see why Aleksandra was sucked in. Showered with compliments and presents, the shy, stammering girl falls head over heels instantly. She’s never had attention from a boy before and has never been popular, so she’s an easy target for Ruben. I spent a lot of the book feeling so sorry for her and cringing because I knew what she was getting herself in for. I was never frustrated with her, however – she didn’t go into this completely blind, she had her doubts throughout – but every time she tried to pull back just a little, Ruben would charm her back in.

The plot itself is engrossing. Aleksandra spends a lot of her time at a small theatre company. On stage is where her stammer disappears and I spent a lot of my time silently pleading for her to stay at the theatre with her true friends and never leave. Characters such as Jonah and Helena I really enjoyed, and many of the other secondary characters felt just as developed as the protagonists. As things began to get more complicated for Alek and Ruben’s true colours were revealed to her, I really wanted her to tell someone, anyone, about what was happening, and I read the scenes at the theatre and at her home with bated breath, hoping for her to confess and put an end to it all. There were parts of this novel where I felt tense and unsettled, there were parts where I laughed, and there were parts where I cried. It was a very well-rounded story, with enough lightness to combat the darker sections.

As you can probably guess, I could go on and on about this book, so here’s one last point: Salvi doesn’t shy away from showcasing the seediness of Ruben and his friends. The sex scenes, whilst not extremely explicit, are never romantic or loving. They’re uncomfortable to read and I felt a lot of sympathy for Alek. However, they’re not so uncomfortable they should be banned. They’re not tactless or gratuitous, they’re handled clinically and carefully, because we’re not meant to be attracted to this world; the young adults reading this novel are not meant to be attracted in any way, and they won’t be. That’s why this book is so amazing and hard-hitting; it handles the issues so expertly.

This novel will be released in the UK on 8th September 2016.

Have you read an ARC of Girl Detached? Or are you eagerly awaiting its release? Do you think it warrants the ban it received in Italy? Let me know in the comments below!

The Sunday Post #11

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer in which book bloggers recap their week and look at what’s to come.

My Weekly Recap

It’s been a quieter week for me so I’ve had more time to post and get on with all the tags. Thanks to anyone who’s tagged me and, if I haven’t done yours yet, I’ll get round to it next week!

And now, the posts this week:

• Review: The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien
• The Books With a Purpose Tag
• Waiting On Wednesday: The Burning World (Warm Bodies #3) by Isaac Marion
• Review: Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski
• Beauty and the Beast Book Tag
• Stacking the Shelves |Fantasy & WW2 Lit | YA & Adult

Coming Up

I’m currently reading an ARC of Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi and I’m enjoying it! It was banned in Italy and honestly I can’t see why. Manuela is handling the issues of the book carefully and sensitively. I’ll talk more about why it was banned and what the book deals with when I review it next week.

After that will be an ARC of the next installment in the Old Kingdom series, Goldenhand, and I am so so excited. I feel very lucky to have an ARC from my favourite series, although I’m still gonna buy the finished copy in October! I love the covers to this series. The UK hardback cover is going to be similar to the Clariel hardcover in that it’s pretty much a plain background (with some Charter Marks floating about) and a big embossed Charter Mark in the middle, but I also really want a copy of the usual paperback art because those painted covers are so gorgeous. The ARC cover, on the other hand, is blue with images of the bells on it (and my copy is signed!). But something tells me having three copies of Goldenhand may be a little excessive…

I still have some more tags to do, like the Pokemon Go tag and I’ve been nominated for a couple of awards which is amazing! So thanks again to everyone who’s tagged or nominated me.

Like I said last week, I have some discussion kind of posts planned but I’m trying to work my way through the tags! Once I’ve done those, I’ll get onto some lists and discussions.

And Finally

I am still all about The Temper Trap’s new album. It makes for really good writing music!

Stacking the Shelves | Fantasy & WW2 Lit | YA & Adult

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme from Tynga’s Reviews where you showcase the books you’ve received or purchased.

This week, I got four books, including my replacement book from The Willoughby Book Club after they sent me Red Rising which I already have! But they sent this replacement free of charge which is a really nice gesture. Of course I’d be in that 1% that receives a book they already have.

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Vivian Versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle

All For Nothing by Walter Kempowski

Where My Heart Used to Beat by Sebastian Faulks

Vivian Versus the Apocalypse was my replacement from The Willoughby Book Club and it sounds really really good, a very interesting take on the ‘apocalypse’ genre.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Girl of Ink and Stars too. It’s meant to be a magical, fantastical read and sits somewhere between MG and YA.

Today my dad bought me WW2 novel All For Nothing and Sebastian Faulks’ new book Where My Heart Used to Beat. All For Nothing sounds like it’s going to be very tense so I’m excited to read it. I’ve also read a couple of Sebastian Faulks’ novels, including the amazing Birdsong, so I’m looking forward to seeing what his new installment is like.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What books have you got this week? Let me know in the comments below!

Beauty and the Beast Book Tag

Thanks to icebreaker694 who tagged me for this a little while back, I’m finally getting round to it! Go check out her blog if you don’t follow her! And thanks to the creator of the tag,  Kristy and the Cat Read too!

Questions

1. TALE AS OLD AS TIME – A popular theme, trope or setting you will never get bored of reading

Okay, this has to be dystopian for me. Everyone is saying “oh it’s so overdone now”, but I totally disagree. As long as the society and plot are unique then I’m happy! I love the idea of different societies and what life might be like under a regime where kids kill each other for entertainment in arenas (The Hunger Games) or where a child hasn’t been born in decades ( The Children of Men). There are endless possibilities in this genre, so I don’t appreciate it when some books are clearly a rip-off of another and are just trying to jump on the bandwagon.

2. BELLE- A book you bought for its beautiful cover that’s just as beautiful inside too

All the Birds in the Sky was definitely an immediate cover-buy, although the blurb sounded really interesting too. It mentions the word ‘apocalypse’ after all so I was totally sold! However, I try not to buy books simply because I like their covers. A book could have some amazing cover art, but if it sounds boring or isn’t really my cup of tea, I won’t get it.

You can check out my review for All the Birds in the Sky here. It was a really magical and fantastical book, with some great characterisation too.

3. BEAST – A book you didn’t expect much from but that pleasantly surprised you

This has to be Throne of Glass. I hate the covers to this series. I know I just said I try not to judge a book by it’s cover but I just really don’t like the covers! I think they’re very kiddy and a bit corny. It definitely put me off when I first saw Throne of Glass, but then I also thought the blurb sounded pretty cliche too, so I steered clear. Like I said, if the synopsis had sounded great I might have tried it a bit earlier and not been such a snob. But when I joined the blogosphere and saw everyone raving about this series, I decided to finally give it a shot. And lo and behold, I was proven entirely wrong; I loved the first book! I’ve only read the one but I hope to get my hands on the second book sometime in the near future. Check out my review of Throne of Glass here.

4. GASTON – A book everyone loves that you don’t

Sorry guys, but I just can’t get into these books. I’ve read City of Bones and attempted City of Ashes but they’re just not for me. Actually, I think I even got as far as City of Glass but never finished it. I don’t even know. As you can tell, these books haven’t really stuck with me. I’m not a massive fan of all this urban fantasy/paranormal romance stuff. I can’t deny they’re pretty well written, but I never became obsessed like a lot of people.

5. LEFOU – A loyal sidekick that you can’t help but love more than their counterpart

I was 100% more of a fan of El Capitan than I was of Bradwell. I loved all the characters, but there was something just that little bit more special about El Capitan. He’s a really troubled soul and he’s ruthless, but he’s also exceptionally caring.

If you haven’t read this series, you are missing out on some of the best world-building, writing and characterisation I’ve ever read. This series is flawless.

6. MRS POTTS, CHIP, LUMIER & COGSWORTH – A book that helped you through a difficult time or that taught you something valuable

Do I even need to say why?

7. SOMETHING THERE – A book or a series that you weren’t into at first but picked up towards the end

Can I just start by saying there are so many different covers for this series and they’re all amazing. I love them.

But anyway, my love for the series as a whole didn’t quite start in the same fashion. In fact, I loved the opening chapter and the world; I was totally hooked. Aaaaand then the romance started and my interest went from 100 to 0. I just didn’t feel invested in the romance at all. But then the pace picked up again by the end of the first book (however, that motorcycle chase… what on earth?!) and continued on throughout the series. I preferred Julian to Alex, as you can probably tell, and was rooting for Julian throughout the series. By the final book, I had really come to love this trilogy, it’s just a shame it had a bit of a shaky start.

It’s odd really, because normally the first book in a trilogy is amazing, the second feels like a pointless filler, and the third picks up the pace and can either be amazing or a disaster. For me, I felt like the first book was a bit of a filler and the plots of the second and third novels were much more interesting.

8. BE OUR GUEST – A fictional character you’d love to have over for dinner

Anyone from the Old Kingdom series. Please come and love me and be my best friend. Especially Mogget. And Dog. And Sabriel and Lirael and Touchstone and Sameth and Nicholas. Everyone please. My ARC copy of Goldenhand is up next in my TBR and I’m practically salivating in anticipation of reading it.

I Tag

• Demi @ bookstraveller
• Arianne @ Beyond Chapters
• Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks

If you don’t do tags or you’ve already done this one, then please ignore me! If not, then have fun!