Let’s Wrap: October

Now that it’s been a few months since I graduated, all the months are kind of blurring into one because I don’t have a lot of structure. I’m still trying to work out what I want to do as a career (besides write books), but I’m taking my time as I want to be sure.

Other than that, not much happened, because I lead an exceedingly boring life, as you can see. I won a few competitions on Twitter, one to get a copy of Morning Star by Pierce Brown, the final book in the Red Rising trilogy which I’ve adored so far! The book arrived today and I’m so excited to read it. The other book I won was an ARC of dystopian crime thriller Yesterday by Felicia Map, which I featured here in Stacking the Shelves.

I also signed up for NaNoWriMo this November for my third try, but I’m just not feeling it. I love the community of NaNoWriMo – it’s so welcoming and helpful – yet I’ve never managed to come close to even hitting the 50,000 words. It’s just too much pressure and I’m not the fastest writer. I’ve been writing fine without NaNoWriMo the past few months so I think I’ll just do it at my own pace.

Anyway, let’s get started with the wrap-up.

• The Willoughby Book Club Unboxing #3
• Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
• Halloween Read-A-Thon
• It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #1
• Waiting On Wednesday: Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• The Sunday Post #17
• Halloween Read-A-Thon Review: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
• It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #2 + Update On My Week-Long Absence
• Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Horror Novels On My Wishlist
• Halloween Read-A-Thon Review: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
• Stacking the Shelves | Sequels and ARCs
• The Sunday Post #18

I haven’t been nearly as active this month, mainly because I’ve been ill, but I’ll try and pick it up this November!

I’m nearly halfway through my ARC of Gilded Cage by Vic James and I’m really enjoying it. The characterisation is great, with a few of the characters being some of the best and most interesting I’ve read about in a while. The plot as a whole is also very intriguing. I’m now just hoping it doesn’t suddenly bomb or have a terrible ending. Fingers crossed!

After that, I think I’m going to try A Darker Shade of Magic, followed by An Ember in the Ashes. I’ve been talking about reading these two for sooooo long so I promise I’m going to get to them soon! After that, I’m thinking either a Historical novel or a Contemporary. Or Sci-Fi; I don’t know how long I can hold off from reading Gemina or even Morning Star. 

I have a few posts planned for this month and perhaps some discussions on writing, so keep your eyes peeled!

How has your October been? Have you read any of the books I’ve talked about? Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo? Let me know in the comments below!

The Sunday Post #17

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.

I’ve missed a few Sunday Posts recently but I’m back to update you all! I’ve been working and sorting out my life, looking at what I want to do career-wise. Of course, I want to be a published author someday, and I’m getting closer to finishing my book with only ten chapters left to go! (And then the inevitable editing). However, I need to do something in the mean time in case I never manage to get published, so I’m thinking of training to be a secondary school English teacher. I’ll just have to see how it goes.

However, I did discover recently that I am one of the shortlisted authors for the HG Wells Short Story Competition in the 21 and under category which is so amazing! My story will be published and I’ll be finding out who won at an awards ceremony in November. Even if I don’t win, I’ll still be over the moon that I’ve been shortlisted. I haven’t had anything published or won any writing competitions since I was 16 and it’s just so great to get back into it and for my work to still be doing well!

Anyway, enough about me. Here are the posts from this week:

• It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #1
• Waiting On Wednesday: Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

This week, I finished Six of Crows and I adored it, especially Nina, one of my favourite characters I’ve come across in a while, and the Peaky Blinders feel to Kaz and the criminal underworld.

Now I’m onto my books for the Halloween Read-A-Thon and I just started I Am Legend today. I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s quite different from the film, but I expected that. There’s something more sinister about the zombie-ish vampires in the book, which I didn’t quite think was possible.

After that, I’m onto my second book of the Halloween Read-A-Thon, which is YA psychological horror The Dead House. I’ve heard mostly good things about it so fingers crossed!

In terms of my blog, I’m having a bit of writers block with my posts, I think because I’ve just been worrying about my career path. Hopefully I’ll be able to overcome that soon so bear with me!

This week, one of my favourite bands Kings of Leon released their 7th album and I’m loving it. They’ve definitely gone back to their roots here, which is great because I really love their earlier stuff before they got big, especially Because of the Times. However, they still have that polished, anthemic quality of their later work, so there’s something for everyone here in WALLS. The main single ‘Waste A Moment’ is of course great, but I’m really loving songs like ‘Find Me’, ‘Over’, ‘Eyes On You’ and ‘Wild’. Basically, I just love the whole album. Check it out below:

Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fantasy / Young Adult

Publisher: Indigo

My Rating: 

Synopsis: Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached);

Retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world);

Survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it).

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

My Review (Spoiler-free)

I was hoping Six of Crows would live up to its insane hype. Did it? Definitely.

I read Shadow and Bone (although my early edition is called A Gathering of Shadows), the first in the Grisha trilogy, when it was originally released. I liked it, but I didn’t like it enough to immediately pick up the sequel. As a result, it fell to the wayside and I just never got round to finishing the trilogy. Then along came Six of Crows. I saw so may rave reviews, saw so many people gushing about it, that I decided to give the world of the Grisha another go.

Bardugo’s writing has certainly improved. Smooth, decorated with emotional flourishes, but not pulling any punches when it came to some of the more gory aspects, I loved every minute of it. Bardugo keeps the plot moving along at a steady pace and there isn’t a single word that feels unnecessary. And whilst the plot itself was unique and interesting, a kind of mashup between Ocean’s Eleven and Peaky Blinders in a world of magic, it was the characters that definitely stood out for me.

They’re all unique and diverse. Perhaps Wylan fell a little bit by the wayside, never getting a chapter dedicated to himself which I would have liked to have seen, but other than that they’re all exceptionally crafted. My favourites, however, were Kaz, Nina and Jesper. Kaz in particular was very complex and, as I’ve mentioned before, is basically a teenage Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders – both dress in smart suits, both have their hair shaved at the sides (which is a staple for the Shelby brothers), both are very good with words, and both have a troubled, traumatic past that affects them in the present. Oh, and they’re both gangsters, of course. If you love Kaz, go watch Peaky Blinders now, I can’t recommend it enough; I’d be very surprised if Bardugo wasn’t watching the show when writing Six of Crows. However, that’s of course where the similarities end; Kaz is his own person (although it was hard not to read his dialogue without a Brummy accent). I really liked learning about his childhood and discovering more about his habits and quirks. Whilst his choices were perhaps sometimes hard to swallow, you can see what drove him to it.

The standout character for me, however, was Nina. I really loved Nina. She was witty, headstrong, loved to eat and didn’t care who knew, and powerful yet compassionate. My favourite chapters were definitely hers, whether it was discovering more about her or learning more of her relationship to Matthias. Their journey together was one I really enjoyed finding out more about.

There are also a fair few twists and turns in this book and, I have to say, I didn’t see any of them coming. Normally, these things can be quite obvious, especially in YA. I don’t know if some authors just think readers of YA are dumb, but I can assure you we’re not. Thankfully, Bardugo isn’t one of those authors. All the twists caught me by surprise and kept me reading.

As for the world-building, I really enjoyed it, and it made me consider going back and trying the Grisha trilogy again. However, and this is a big however, I’m 99% sure there is a mahoosive spoiler in Six of Crows for that series. So now I’m a little bummed. I’m not going to mention what it’s about because even hinting at it will probably spoil it for those who haven’t read the first trilogy. You find out early on that this book takes part after the events of the original trilogy, so I can’t complain too much for skipping that trilogy and going to Six of Crows, but it was still a bit disappointing; I didn’t expect such a major spoiler. Anyway, you have been warned.

So, overall, a seamless story with excellent, complex characters. If you haven’t picked up this series yet, then do it! It certainly deserves all the hype it gets. I’ll probably wait a little bit until I get Crooked Kingdom, allow myself to digest this book first. In the meantime, I still have the last episode of series 3 of Peaky Blinders to watch…

Have you read Six of Crows or the Grisha trilogy? Or are you planning to read them? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Diversity Spotlight Thursday #1

This is my first time participating in Diversity Spotlight Thursday, a meme created by Aimal @ Bookshelves and Paperbacks, and I think it’s a great idea. Each week you come up with a book for these three categories:

1. A diverse book you have read and enjoyed
2. A diverse book that has already been released but you have not yet read
3. A diverse book that has not yet been released

So this week, my books are:

1. A diverse book I have read and enjoyed: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

This was the very first novel I studied at university and it definitely got things off to a good start. It’s an amazing book, beautifully written, with twists and turns, truths and ambiguity, and an excellent protagonist.

It depicts the life of Changez, a Pakistani man who moves to America to study, hoping to make a better life for himself. Then 9/11 happens and, suddenly, the place Changez has always associated with freedom and riches shuns him. People no longer see a successful young man, but a potential terrorist.

It’s a really brilliant book and was also made into a film starring the excellent Riz Ahmed. He’s also been in some other great things centred around racism, such as the amazingly witty and sharp Four Lions, and is currently the star of US drama The Night Of. Definitely check the two films and the TV series out, they’re great.

2. A diverse book that has already been released but I haven’t yet read: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

This one is sitting in my TBR pile and I’m so excited to read it. From what I’ve heard, it deals with many diverse aspects, including race and disability. I’m not sure if it deals with any topics around sexuality so, if someone wants to enlighten me, please do! Just no spoilers!

3. A diverse book that has not yet been released: The Last Beginning by Lauren James

This is the sequel to The Next Together which I reviewed here. The sequel features a lesbian romance and I think different races too, but don’t quote me on that one. The first book wasn’t without a few faults, but it was still really enjoyable so I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Have you read any of these books, or hoping to read them? Let me know in the comments below!

Stacking the Shelves | YA Fantasy

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

This week I finally got my hands on Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and An Ember In the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir! I’ve seen everyone raving about these books for months now and I’m so excited to finally add them to my TBR.

I’m definitely having a bit of a Fantasy spree at the moment and I’m sure these two won’t disappoint. Seeing as both the sequels are out very soon though, I’m going to have to try hard to avoid any spoilers!

Have you read Six of Crows or An Ember In the Ashes? Did you get any books this week? Let me know in the comments below!