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!

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Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament – fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

My Review

(Spoiler-free, just in case, but I know how popular this book is in the blogosphere!)

I’m going to be honest here. The reason I’d put off reading this much talked-about series was because I didn’t like the covers. And I know as a book nerd I’m not supposed to judge a book by a cover, but the covers for the Throne of Glass series always seemed corny and a little kiddy to me.

However, I can now put my hands up and admit that I judged too harshly. Because I really, really, really enjoyed this book.

Maas has created a world that is rich with intrigue and hidden magic, but it is never revealed to us in overwhelming, boring info-dumps. Whilst there are similarities in this series to the infamous Game of Thrones, the world is unique and the characters fleshed-out. In fact, Celaena annoyed me a little at first. She was cocky and self-obsessed, but this made for excellent character development as she actually became more likeable. Her arrogance becomes confidence; her self-obsession is knocked down a few notches; but her wit remains. She’s an excellent heroine, kind but deadly. Whilst I think some of her cheesy lines could be got rid of, I did grow to really like her.

As for writing style, Maas crafts mostly excellent dialogue (it can sometimes be a little corny) but there is no speech that is simply thrown in for the sake of it. The plot moves along at a steady pace and the synopsis of the book doesn’t reveal to you just how many sub-plots are weaved into the story.

More of these sub-plots are revealed to us to pique our interest and they culminate for a satisfying (and not rushed) ending. Aspects of the novel are actually quite dark; it’s not a frilly young-adult fantasy. The protagonist herself is a renowned assassin, having killed numerous times, and the novel is filled with gruesome murders by an unknown beast. However, I felt who/what was behind the murders was a little too obvious; Maas’ red-herring didn’t work on me. But the sense of unease she created was still palpable.

In terms of the love-triangle, I actually enjoyed it because it wasn’t cliche. In fact, it wasn’t really even a love-triangle. There weren’t any cringe-worthy fights between the Crown Prince Dorian and Captain of the Guard Chaol for Celaena’s heart, and I actually enjoyed the fact that Celaena isn’t wholly ruled by the men in her life. Yes, she swoons a bit, but it wouldn’t be YA without a bit of swooning. However, her decisions at the end of the book in regards to the love-triangle were refreshing and I gained further respect for her. Yet if there’s someone I want her to end up with at the climax of this series, I prefer Chaol. Whilst Dorian is witty, Chaol’s somewhat shy and sensitive centre beneath his gruff exterior is all the more interesting. If I was Celaena, I’d definitely choose Chaol.

So, there you have it, I fully admit that I judged this series and now regret that. However, I now have four more books to enjoy (when I have the money to buy them) and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of the world and characters Maas has created.

Have you read the rest of the series? What did you think? (No spoilers please!) And is Maas’ new fantasy series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, worth a read? Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

The Sunday Post #1

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

I only posted once this week, which was a little list I compiled of my favourite things to do in New York. I didn’t even find time to do any reading while I was across the pond, I was so busy (let alone any of my essays).

At the moment, I’m halfway through Dark Tides by Chris Ewan. It’s an interesting crime thriller, but maybe not as gripping as I’d have hoped. However, it got good reviews overall, so I’m persevering.

I’m also writing one of my final third year essays and it’s allowed me to revisit one of my favourite novels of the past year, Carson McCullers’ The Member of the Wedding.  If you’re looking for a new classic to read, I really recommend this novel. Witty and a little unsettling, it tells the story of a twelve-year old girl named Frankie Addams, who’s having a bit of an identity crisis. Yet when she learns of her brother’s upcoming wedding, she becomes infatuated with joining them, and over a few days McCullers lets us into the life of this complex, fragile tomboy.

Coming Up

I’m hoping to get started on another YA book, but I’m torn between Throne of Glass, Rot and Ruin, and Our Endless Numbered Days.

Have a suggestion about which I should read first? Let me know in the comments!

And Finally

If you need some music to help you focus on creative writing or essays, this playlist has been a big help to me:

Happy Sunday and enjoy!

Stacking the Shelves | TBR April

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

This month, I’ve taken advantage of a birthday Amazon voucher and the £10 deals to purchase these bad boys (although Bone Clocks I got for Christmas).

The list is:

• The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
• Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
• Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
• All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
• Half Way Home by Hugh Howey
• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
• The Silence by Tim Lebbon
• Red Rising by Pierce Brown

The Lie Tree, Rebel of the Sands and All the Birds in the Sky are the most recent releases and I’ve seen a lot of hype about the first two especially from other bloggers, so I’m excited to get into them. I was also a big fan of Hugh Howey’s Wool series so I can’t wait to read something else by him. And, obviously, the Red Rising series has garnered a lot of attention too. There are also two more books on the way to me:

I know, I know, I’m pretty late to both series, but I’m finally giving them a chance. I’d originally heard hit and miss things about both books upon their original release so I gave them both a miss. But I’ve had a severe lack of zombies in my life recently and the Rot and Ruin series has seemingly picked up so I’m looking forward to being entirely freaked out. As for Throne of Glass, if you’ve read my review of Starborn by Lucy Hounsom, you’ll know I can be a bit critical of the fantasy genre. I find it often slips into cliches and is just too cheesy sometimes, so I really need something fresh and well thought out to capture me in this genre. Saying that, though, I’ve put my initial hesitation aside about the Throne of Glass series after seeing how much the book blogosphere adores it. So, fingers crossed I like it.

And in terms of zombies, look out for my upcoming ‘A Novel Round-Up’ of my favourite zombie novels.

Read any of these books? Let me know what you thought in the comments below. Happy reading this April!