The Sunday Post #21

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’m currently on a mini hiatus, as I mentioned before, so this is a scheduled post! I start my new job tomorrow, on Monday, and it’s my first full time job after graduating uni last summer. So, I’m going to be quite busy. But fear not, I should be back in a week or two, hopefully with my review of Morning Star.

Now, here are the posts from this week and the week before, as I haven’t done a Sunday Post in a while:

• Waiting On Wednesday: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
• My Top 5 YA Books From My Early Teens
• Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
• Another Little Update (But a Happy One This Time)

On Monday I finished An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, and you can find my review above. I really did enjoy it and I loved Elias and also Helene’s complexity. However, there were a few standout flaws, and whilst my enjoyment won out overall, I couldn’t ignore the problems. Still, I really look forward to getting my hands on the sequel.

Now, I’m onto Morning Star, the final book in the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown. I loved the first two books and they were pretty much faultless. Thankfully, Morning Star is turning out to be the same. Whilst I struggled to remember all the characters and everything that had happened at first, I’m now back into the flow of the story and I’m loving it. Seriously, this is one of the best mature YA series out there. Even if you’re not into Sci-Fi, I highly recommend you give this series a go as it’s so complex and really character driven, with an amazing plot to boot.

After that, I’m thinking of reading YA Contemporary How Not To Disappear. After the brutality of both An Ember in the Ashes and Morning Star, I think I’ll be needing something a little more lighthearted.

The last few months I’ve been listening to a lot of Novo Amor. It’s the moniker of a Welsh singer-songwriter and his music sounds quite similar to Bon Iver. So if you like slightly melancholic but melodic indie folk rock, then you’ll like this song: 

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Monday Musts #2

Monday Musts is a meme hosted by Lovin’ Los Libros where you showcase your Must Read’s, your Must Listen’s and your Must See’s.

Must Read

I read Lauren DeStefano’s The Chemical Garden trilogy a few years ago after my high school English teacher introduced me to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. 

The trilogy has a lot of similarities to Atwood’s classic, such as women being used as baby-making machines, and the forbidden romance. But just because it draws inspiration from The Handmaid’s Tale doesn’t mean it’s not unique and harrowing in its own right. I adored this trilogy, the bleak world DeStefano had created, and the protagonist of Rhine. Headstrong and passionate, you couldn’t ask for a lot more from her. Also, the book covers are really captivating, with items from the plot appearing there just to tease you.

If you haven’t read The Chemical Garden trilogy and need some well-written YA dystopian, definitely check the books out.

Must Listen

From Gold by Novo Amor is an atmospheric song I’m really liking at the moment. The rest of their stuff is pretty good and chilled out so give them a listen.

Must See

I watched In the Heart of the Sea on the plane back from New York. I didn’t have mega high expectations but it looked like some good escapism; plus I wanted to save films like The Revenant and Hateful Eight (I worship Quentin Tarantino) for a proper television screen.

But, I was pleasantly surprised! Based on the classic Moby Dick, it was really gripping and quite traumatic. The acting was brilliant, but then how could it not be with actors like Cillian Murphy and Ben Whishaw? Chris Hemsworth was good as always, but if you’re planning on ogling his muscles, think again; he’s not looking too brilliant after the inevitable whale attack…

I’ve never read Moby Dick and I know it’s supposed to be a bit of a difficult read, but after watching this film and it getting recommended by my ‘Great American Novella’ course seminar leader, I might give it a go.

And that’s my Monday Musts for this week! Have you read The Chemical Garden? Or, better yet, have you read Moby Dick? Let me know what you thought in the comments!