Let’s Wrap: November

November was a bit of a weird month. Or rather, a stressful one. I’ve just been a bit overwhelmed with trying to sort out my life and then trying to nurse a sick animal – my hamster Cookie – and then he passed away. As you can expect, I’m still pretty upset about the whole thing and I really miss him; he was like a tiny dog! But he led a great life and definitely improved mine, which is all that matters. Some people don’t understand just how much personality these little animals can have, and how attached you become to each other!

So it hasn’t really been a fun month and, as a result, my blog went totally on the back burner. However, I’m now back (mostly) and have some ideas for new posts. So bear with me!

There were some plus points, I have to admit, like getting published for what I think was the seventh (???) time, which was pretty mind-blowing! It was for the HG Wells Short Story Competition and, whilst I didn’t win, just to be published was amazing.

And we also adopted a cat! She’s settled in really well and three days ago we decided to finally let her outside (she was getting very grumpy and taking it out on the furniture). Thankfully, she clearly knows her way back to the house and she seems much happier (so does the sofa).

• My Most Anticipated November Book Releases
• The Sunday Post #19
• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I’ve Added To My Wishlist Lately
• Stacking the Shelves | I’m On a Book Winning Streak!
• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Favourite Sci-Fi Films
• ARC Review: Gilded Cage by Vic James
• The Sunday Post #20
• An Unfortunate Update
• It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #3 + Update

As you can see, this month wasn’t good for my blog, for reading, or for me in general, but thanks for sticking with me!

None! I only finished reading one novel and, whilst I started A Darker Shade of Magic in November, I finished it this month, so it doesn’t count. But if you want to check out the review, then you can find it here.

I’m currently reading Gemina and loving it! I’m about a quarter of the way through and I’m totally hooked, just like I was with Illuminae. I got a little bit confused at the beginning as to what was going on, mainly because I couldn’t quite remember all the events from Illuminae, but I’ve got a grip on it now and wow this series is just too good. So many interweaving plots yet it never feels confusing, with larger than life characters and an amazing format that really ramps up the tension.

So far, I like the two leads, especially Nik, who I probably like as much as Ezra. However, I think I prefer Kady as a lead to Hanna. I’m now just counting down the hours till the Hypatia turns up…

But what to read after? I’m thinking maybe An Ember In the Ashes as I’ve heard such great things about it. Or to change it up a bit from Sci-Fi and Fantasy and go for a YA Contemporary instead, a la How Not To Disappear by Clare Furniss. I’ll have to see what I’m feeling closer to the time. I have so many good books in my TBR pile at the moment it’s just so hard to choose!

Also, just as a little warning now, I probably won’t be posting from this Saturday to next Tuesday as my boyfriend is coming to visit and we haven’t seen each other in a few months, seeing as I bailed on him twice. But with good reason, I might add, aka a very sick me followed by a very sick hamster.

And that’s my strange and depressing month over and done with. Bring on Christmas.

How was your November? Any opinions on what book I should read next? Have you read Gilded Cage, A Darker Shade of Magic or Gemina? Let me know in the comments below!

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Review: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Genre: Fantasy / Young Adult

Publisher: Titan Books, 2015

My Rating: 

Synopsis: Most people only know one London; but what if there were several? Kell is one of the last Travelers magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel Londons. There is Grey London, dirty and crowded and without magic, home to the mad king George III. There is Red London, where life and magic are revered. Then, White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. But once upon a time, there was Black London…

 

My Review

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of parallel universes, or the multiple worlds theory, so what better than to read a book about four parallel magical London’s? I had heard so many great things about this series, and about V.E. Schwab in general, and as a result I was keen to give A Darker Shade of Magic a go.

So, after about two months of promising to read and review it, I have finally completed it. And I loved it!

I was hooked right from the beginning, mainly because V.E. Schwab’s writing style is great. It’s detailed, yet doesn’t overload you, keeps the story moving and has a great balance between action and the character’s thoughts. Yet the real winner here is the world-building. It’s fantastic. London is such a vibrant landmark, full of history and a mix of cultures. It’s the perfect city for magical alternate realities. Probably the only other city that could pull this off would be Paris, but London is the true winner.

I loved the clear differences in the London’s. The dingy mysterious London of the 1800s that we all know and love. Vivid, floral Red London. Dangerous and bleak White London. And then Black London, consumed by magic. I have to say, probably White London interested me the most because it was so creepy, along with the stories surrounding Black London, but Red London was also pretty interesting in its own right; it just didn’t have that scary-factor that I love. The four cities were definitely the highlight of the book and I loved learning more about them. I can’t wait to dive back in again whenever I get to the sequel.

Now, what about the other stuff? Characters and plot?

Well, I did like the characters, but they didn’t entirely capture me like others have. They were just fine. I have no complaints. I would have perhaps liked a little more development around Holland’s character, however, as he was interesting but I didn’t totally understand him or his motives. The same goes for Lila. I felt that her character arc needed to be fleshed out a bit more. She went from being all “I don’t care about anyone but me” to “I’ll risk my life to save Kell”. I knew that was the logical progression for her, but I never really saw the gradual change as it was a bit too sudden.

Kell, Rhy and the Dane twins were probably my favourite characters. Kell felt the most rounded, with lots of different sides to him. I couldn’t quite put my finger on who he really was, but not in a bad way; he just had a mystery about him. Rhy was witty, flirtatious and fiercely protective, and I’m interested to see how prominent a role he plays in the next two books. As for the Dane twins, they were interesting villains. Brother and sister twins is a trope I like in books, especially if they’re a bit evil, and Astrid and Athos definitely fulfilled that. Their mixture of strength and hunger was captivating.

However, I did have a few issues with the book, hence why I dropped a star in the rating. First off, the language was so inauthentic for the 1800s. No one in London in that time would use words like “okay” or “sure”. The words and the sentence structures of the dialogue were just too modern and American and it could be quite jarring. I don’t think you need to make your dialogue 100% authentic for the time period, as I know that can be a difficult task, but it seemed a bit like Schwab hadn’t even tried. Also, I can get behind the idea that maybe in Red or White London people might use “okay” because we don’t entirely know what time periods they’re supposed to be set in, but Lila Bard would definitely not be using those words or sentence structures, being from pre-Victorian London.

If you want to see a good example of just how people spoke in those times, then check out this clip from Ripper Street. The dialogue is very authentic and the script writers did a lot of research to make it so. Plus, Ripper Street is set in the 1880s-1890s, later than A Darker Shade of Magic in Grey London, and the way people spoke was still very wordy and formal.

As for the plot, whilst it was mostly sound and very captivating, it did have its issues. Firstly, I didn’t like the book being split up into sections of about four-five chapters each. That was something else that felt jarring to me and was unnecessary as the next section would pick up where the first one left off; there was no jump in time to warrant it.

Secondly, this isn’t really a spoiler but if you don’t want to know anything that happens, then skip this section: but there was a big inconsistency with a spell used. When Kell and Lila become intangible at one point, they’re described as being unable to even touch each other. Yet a few paragraphs later, they’re described as holding onto one another as they walk the streets. Also, Lila can’t pick up an apple, her hand going straight through it, but can hold a pocket watch. I thought the inconsistencies here would be glaringly obvious to author, agent, editor or proofreader. It’s just a small thing at the end of the day because it didn’t really ruin my enjoyment, but it’s quite an obvious and slightly annoying mistake.

So, those reasons are why I dropped a star from my rating. Without them, it would have been a 5 star read for me, and overall I did really enjoy it. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next, especially because this book felt like it could have happily been a standalone, so I’m intrigued to see how Schwab carries it on without the next couple of books feeling a little unnecessary. But all in all, I really liked it. Excellent world-building, interesting enough characters and smooth writing.

Have you read A Darker Shade of Magic? Did you like it? Dislike it? Do you agree or disagree with any of my points? Have you read and enjoyed any of V.E. Schwab’s other books? Let me know in the comments below!

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #3 + Update

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted at The Book Date where bloggers look at what they’re currently reading and what’s up next in their TBR!

Hello! So after a week out, I’m back! Of course, I’m still pretty upset about Cookie passing away, but he led a great life and brought me so much happiness that it would be unfair to him to mope around.

So thanks to this little one. I’ll always miss you!

Also, on Sunday I went all the way down to Folkestone for the award ceremony of the HG Wells Short Story Competition. I was a shortlisted author for the Junior Prize which was extremely exciting. However, I didn’t win, but I don’t mind too much because hey I’ve been published again in a great anthology! If you’re at all interested, you can actually buy the anthology already on Amazon. So if you want to (no pressure), then check it out here: http://amzn.eu/dK97Uzu

So, anyway, what have I been reading?

What I Read Last Week

Just over a week ago, I finally finished my ARC of Gilded Cage by Vic James. I actually really enjoyed it, more than I thought I would, especially the characters and overall world-building. I found it really engaging, however, looking back there definitely was a lack of diversity.

It was very white, upper-class Britain, which is fair enough because the upper-class here are pretty much stuffy white people, but not every character in the book was an aristocrat. Plus the ruling elite in Gilded Cage wasn’t so much an age-old wealthy family thing, but a ‘who has magic and who is the most magical’ thing, so magic wouldn’t just be exclusive to white people. But anyway, maybe that’ll be rectified in the next book; it would be good to possibly see characters from other parts of the world and how magic (known as ‘Skill’) is handled in their country.

Check out my review here.

What I’m Currently Reading

I’m currently about halfway through A Darker Shade of Magic and I’ve been struggling to put it down! I’m really enjoying it so far, especially the world-building, which is just mind-blowing. However, I do have a few issues, which I’ll be talking about in my review soon.

Up Next

After A Darker Shade of Magic will be Gemina, which I am unbelievably excited for. I’ve heard that it’s even better than Illuminae, something I thought totally impossible, so fingers crossed I love Gemina!

Have you read any of these? Did you enjoy them? Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

The Sunday Post #20

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.

Another very busy week! Last week, I mentioned that I hadn’t posted because my hamster had fallen seriously ill with pneumonia. However, he’s made a miraculous recovery and is pretty much back to normal. In fact, he seems to have even more energy than he’s had for the past few months! He’s got his final injection of antibiotics tomorrow and then the course is complete. Fingers crossed the pneumonia never rears its head again.

Also, we adopted our cat on Thursday! She’s settled in surprisingly well and has already found her favourite spot on one of the sofas. Hopefully she’ll begin to see this as home and understand she’s not going to be neglected again.

As far as posts go this week, I only managed to post twice as I’ve been busy with animals. Because I didn’t find the time to post a Sunday Post last week, I’ll include the posts from the week just gone too:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I’ve Added To My Wishlist Lately
• Stacking the Shelves | I’m On a Book Winning Streak!
• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Favourite Sci-Fi Films
• ARC Review: Gilded Cage by Vic James

So, after nearly three very busy weeks where it was almost impossible to find the time to read, I finally finished my ARC of Gilded Cage! I really enjoyed it and was actually surprised by how complex the characters were. You can check out my review above.

I’ve now started on A Darker Shade of Magic, like I’ve been saying I would for weeks. I’m about eight chapters in and really enjoying it so far. It’s my first V.E. Schwab book and, if this book continues well, it definitely won’t be my last.

Once I’ve finished A Darker Shade of Magic, I have to read Gemina. I adored Illuminae and I can’t wait any longer; the only reason I’m not reading it this second is because I’ve been promising to read ADSOM for so long! Plus, I’ve heard that it’s somehow better than Illuminae which I didn’t think could actually be possible!

My song of the week has to be ‘Dancing In The Dark’ by Rihanna. I’m not normally much of a Rihanna fan but this has been playing nonstop where I work in Lush and it’s from the soundtrack for a Dreamworks cartoon, so it’s quite cute. Have a listen here: