See How They Run (Embassy Row #2) by Ally Carter

See How They Run (Embassy Row #2) by Ally Carter

Published by:Scholastic Press

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary

Rating: Four Stars

Following on from the thrilling first novel in the Embassy Row series, Ally Carter crafts an intriguing story that carries on from the aftermath of Grace's revelations. The arrival of her brother in the Embassy sets her on an edge, one bigger than the troubles of the previous book, and things certainly don't get boring. Filled with a thrilling tale of who is to blame for her mother's death and whether she can trust anyone at all, See How They Run is absolutely fantastic. You're always kept on your toes.

I was pleasantly happy with this book. As sequels come, this continued on from the first without a need to recap everything every ten pages. Instead I felt slightly reminded and then thrust back into Grace's world and her endeavour to seek the truth about her mother and her life. The reasoning behind the four stars was because I felt there could have been a bit more to the book. There was a moment that felt quite unrealistic. I mean come on if someone was stabbed, then they should be injured longer than a few pages.

See How They Run can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

P.S. I Still Love You (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

P.S. I Still Love You (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

Published by: Simon and Schuster for Young Reader

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Rating: ****

I've had the paperback sitting on a shelf for about a month and a half staring at me. Unfortunately due to the start of my third and final year of University and just not being in the right mood to read it, I've not properly been able to read it until now!

Jenny Han is famed for her amazing summer read series The Summer I Turned Pretty. That series made me fall in love with her writing style and the wonderful characters she creates. 

P.S. I Still Love You continues on from the first book, and follows young Lara Jean as she tries to decipher what her heart wants admist the fiasco with Peter. I'm not going to lie. As a twenty year old I had huge flashbacks for how I felt at her age and some parts I argued were a bit too fantasized but I'm not American or raised with her parents so maybe I'm wrong for feeling that way.

Lara Jean continues her deciding on whether she wants Peter or not, her sisters are so funny and she becomes as we all do, confused. I admire Han on not making her a weak character, a victim of the Bella Swan syndrome but instead simply who she is. A young teenager with the world ahead of her. I laughed and smiled my way through the book and by the time I closed the last page, I couldn't help but think of Belly from the Summer series. 

Both girls are so similar that I feel like I'm reading an alternative world version of the Summer series and that makes me feel like I'm getting another chance to relive that series. (Frantically burrows out the series.)

But there was so much that I couldn't fault. Miss Han has a fantastic way of creating teenage protagonists who mature and transform so much over the span of the series that it's almost as if we too are growing up with them. That's something I admire in authors, particularly Young Adult as it helps us become who we will be someday.

P.S. I Still Love You is available to buy from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Wide Awake (Wide Awake #1) by Shelly Crane

Wide Awake (Wide Awake #1) by Shelly Crane

So I planned to read this book a long while ago, probably two years but since the submission of all my assignments for uni, I've been able to get through most of my to-read list on Goodreads. 

Well, well, well. What can I say about this book? 

Firstly it's brilliantly written and when I reached the end, there was a note from the author that revealed she had a tumour whilst writing this and how it escaped her deadlines. I was amazed how strong Crane is, I still am having read most of her series to date and loving them. However back to the book. 

It follows the story of Emma who's recently been in accident, losst her memory and is trying to recover memories and pick up the pieces of her life. I found the whole idea and plot fantastic, because you really get a sense of the characters, Emma's pain and turmoil at not knowing who she is anymore and the fact there's this good-lucking guy that's looking after her. But I connected with her and really got to understand all of her pain as if I were Emma.

Volition by Lily Paradis

Volition by Lily Paradis

Can we just take a moment to look at how beautiful the cover is?

My first impression with the novel was how amazing the author was to include not just a quote by Courtney Love ("I found my inner bitch and ran with her") but the fact that in her foreword she considers the book a horcrux (which to people who haven't had the time to grace their lives with Harry Potter is like a piece of your soul). From there I was in love. 

Tate the protagonist is messed up. She's got the big chip on the shoulder syndrome going on and instead of the book being all eugh, it was really good. I was thoroughly entertained and hooked throughout the novel, even with the whole Rockefeller parts, yes they were a bit ott but were really good.

I can't give this book enough praise. I am so happy I read it.

The Originals: The Rise by Julie Plec

The Originals: The Rise by Julie Plec

I cried when my request to read this approved. Okay so cry is a bit strong. I wept in delight because it's Klaus. Everyone loves Klaus!

This book starts off before the tv show, it's New Orleans still but it gives you more of a background and it's got Klaus in it (That is how I'll sell this book). Within the novel you get the typical Elijah is a saint, always helping the family, Klaus the one who's reckless and does what he does as seen in VD and TO. Rebeckah is Rebecca, the girl who falls in love and the world is against them until bad things happens. I felt like I was in their world even more than when I watch the show. 

All fans of the series will adore this book. 

The Unearthly series (up to date so far) by Laura Thalassa

The Unearthly series (up to date so far) by Laura Thalassa

Book one: The Unearthly

Okay first thing I have to ask is why in almost every paranormal series based and set around a boarding school for 'gifted' students all have that protagonist who is absolutely beautiful but has that Bella Swan complex? It gets old quick and to be frank it's tragic.

The book itself as a whole is really good. I enjoyed it a lot and last week which was when I read it, I didn't know I was searching for a book like this with a fairly decent plot. Her love interest, Andre is the King of the Vamps, he's not that attractive, he's just a really really annoying overprotective and comanding man who basically deserves a slap (or a million).

Book two: The Coveted

This was such a strong sequel! I actually felt like doing a quick dance when I finished this. Normally I get really annoyed because the sequel isn't that good or it's just terrible but this completely blew me away. I got more and more into the world Thalassa created and kept developing. My only complaint? The Devil, the crime fiction that crept in and finally the adoptive mother of Gabrielles. I'd think the fact she died in the first book and then was talking to her made no sense.

Book three: The Cursed

And she escapes the Devil. Gabrielle by now must be a highly unfortunate soul who's also very fortunate. The Devil keeps appearing in this book, obviously because if she dies once more then she's his forever (ew). It spurs on and on, the big sex scene between Andre and Gabrielle which doesn't happen. FYI. It's all a bit out of hand in this book but all I can say is applaud the author because I want that next book!

Chantress Trilogy (so far) by Amy Butler Greenfield

Chantress (book 1) and Chantress Alchemy (book 2) by Amy Butler Greenfield 

Book 1

Book 2

Chantress is a book that I've wanted to read on and off again for a year now. Goodreads must have known it was meant to be because it kept popping up at me over and over again. The story though could do with some tweaking, it's good. Don't get me wrong but sitting here now after just finishing the sequel I'm kind of looking back and seeing parts where it's a little rushed but as you devour the book, they're not noticable so that's brilliant.

Lucy is a chantress (thick witch but a singing one) and it's set in an alternate 17th century which was quite accurate considering most books of the genre. It's magical (excuse the accidental pun there) to read a book that's a mix of based on real events and one that's written really well. 

There's not much more I can say except read the books because I think that'll speak a lot more than me giving out spoilers and I don't want to ruin this for anyone.

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

As a fan of Brown's novel I was immediately drawn into Jersey and related with her over her sibling issues, family life etc. The tornado was written beautifully, my attention was caught and I almost shed a tear at the way she refused to leave the ruin that was her home. I knew (Spoiler) her sister and mother had died but I thought that Jane her friend had too. I was kept guessing on that and she turns out to be alive (yay!) but Jersey's life doesn't go too well. I felt awful when I read about Clay and his family, I honestly thought Terry would make her feel better by almost being some kind of maternal figure, same with the grandparents but nothing was resolved enough to give them that chance to.

What I didn't understand was why Brown chose to drift over the passsing over of Jersey from paternal grandparents to the maternal grandparents. It was too rushed, the details breezing over my head and in the end I didn't feel satisfied as a reader. As an author I just wanted to rewrite the ending and extend the novel to give it more of a spark but one day maybe I'll write a novel like this.

Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

I went into this book predicting it to be similar to If I Stay and other atypical realistic young adult stories and it was. The protagonist Torrey Grey (named after a moutain) was the standard griefstricken teenager who's forced to carry on with her life after the recent death of her younger sister, a last memory of them also being an argument. There's a twist though. Torrey is internet famous and has previously been featured in Vogue etc. 

It's a bit sudden. You know she's going to fall for some guy, it's how the cycle goes and she does. It just takes her a while to get over appearances and what other people think of her. Still that doesn't make me thirst for more. I thought Torrey was a bitch, she was to choose the popular girls over the real and nice people, she even hurts her cousin but apologises. I get the thrill of being popular, it's what shes always been but still. 

I don't know what to say. Other people might enjoy this but I didn't that much. The ending destroyed what emotion I had for her.

Queen of Hearts series by Colleen Oakes

Queen of Hearts (book 1 &2) by Colleen Oakes

Pardoning my quick post, I have foregone my usual splitting up of a series. However these books are part of a volume, an ebook series that's quite fascinating. I haven't got much to say without spilling the entirety of the series but yeah.

Book One is titled: The Crown

So the series is based around Wonderland and the wonderful characters alive in the famed book series. Dinah, the daughter of the King of Hearts is introduced as a spoilt, petulant and an overall bich who's in love with a servant. yes Knave I'm speaking about you. It's a very simple plot. You don't pity the bitch and she get a new half-sibling that is reminiscent of Anne Hathaway's character in the famed Tim Burton adaptation, all white and sweet but really annoying that you just want to yell Off with her head. But the book is different. I found it intriguing but parts of it don't make sense. Why does Dinah take interest in aspects of the book she shouldn't and why do we follow a mystery plot to have it wiped out immediately. The ending is good though. I like Morte.


Book Two is titled: The Wonder

One wonders whether the plot of this sequel will be better than the first or just flop dramatically. It doesn't flop too much. It just kinda withers a little. I liked more Wonderland characters were reintroduced and a "huge" plot twist revealed but either way I don't care.

The Madman's Daughter series (So Far) by Megan Shepherd

The Madman's Daughter series to day by Megan Shepherd

I was skeptical to read this series. It just sounded like another of those retellings and absoltuely boring. It was only because of Cinder and Epic Reads that I actually thought okay here we go. 

I am SO glad I did. This is a fantastic book. I was thoroughly entertained and hooked instantly. The twists and Victorian setting was well done and accurate. Just wow. 

The second book is set after the events of the first. Again I was kind of worried about second book syndrome but it wonderfully didn't, instead it almost blew me away! I just need that third book asap!

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I had mixed feelings whilst reading this book. It was quite good, I enjoyed it mostly but at some parts I was severely confused, lost and felt some aspects were unrealistic. Stupid to say that in a fiction book but it wasn't how I'd see a post-apocalyptic world where we now have powers etc. I don't know, I will probably try to finish the series someday but for now it's a mixed emotion review

The book series that doesn't stop growing!

There's always that one series you and your book bff love to hate and for Louise and I that's the Selection series by Kiera Cass.

My reviews love it, I did love it but now I love to bash it! Yes I am talking about outgrowing that series that you start as a naive teenager and end it as an adult or something like that. Nah the series just makes me tick.

“Which do you fight for?"
"Actually, I'm here by mistake." 
"Mistake?" 
"Yes. Sort of. Well, it's a long story. And now ... I'm here” 
― Kiera Cass, The Selection

Okay so this is a small quote I found to support myself here. America, the protagonist, enters what we know as the bachelorette and the prize is to marry a prince! It already sounds so wonderful and we've all seen a episode of the bachelorette or beauty and the geek right? So you can guess the amount of bitchiness that would go on in such a competition. The girls in this are all set apart by class structures. It's really just Hunger Games in the fight to win and survive except if they get sent home, they're still alive and booted to a higher class so it's a win-win situation. However there's a message in the books that I don't believe in. Since when is it okay for a boy, a man to say I love you to a girl, to make her think she's going ot be his best friend and eventually make her queen of their fictional land and then turn around and treat her like rubbish by leading on another girl all because she used to love another guy. It's a stupid and horrible message for girls everywhere and it makes us girls seem like we're just silly little barbie dolls all ready to be seen and not be heard.

Recently the series just published the supposedly last book in the series which was titled The One. As you can guess, it was meant to be the last of the series where we'd finally discover who will marry the prince and live happily ever after but it still contains trivial parts that made me laugh and regret pre-ordering the book. Now I've just discovered she's publishing not one but two more books in the series and that makes me sad. I just want it to be over and I can't not read these sequels, I need them in order to carry on laughing and joking about the series with my book bff

Your favourite series is about to end? Top tips on how to tackle this

So August 5th my book world kinda exploded. Jennifer Armentrout published the last Lux series book Opposition. For anyone new to the Lux series, it's bascially the best book series I've read and I adore the characters and the story and it's just perfect! Link below to my reviews!

It's August 27th and I've still not read it. I have my own copy but it's not been opened at all since arriving in the post. I just can't. It's a perfect book and I don't want it to end.

1.Reread the series all over. It's worth it because you'll also be able to read the new and final one over again

2.You get to fall for the book all over again. Always a pro in this!

3.Have a book boyfriend/girlfriend? More time to spend with them

4.You just can't let them go. It's okay. They're forever in your memory or on Goodreads if you have that!

Don't worry, there are tonnes of people in the world all going through this. However if you're lucky, like fans of Shelly Crane's significance series, then you might get a few more books coming out for that series!

Unmarked (Legion #2) by Kami Garcia

Unmarked (Legion #2) by Kami Garcia

I received this book in exchange for a honest review and I have to say I LOVED it! Louise lent it me and hasn't read it to my dismay, maybe that's because I have her copy but still. I devoured the first and that was awesome, review to come soon. But mixing things up here by saying the second is far more better than the first. There's a bit that makes it seem like it would suffer from second book syndrome (That's where the second book is a bit yucky but still makes sense) but it still maintains that strength and I really think you should all read it.

Publishes September 30th through Little Brown Book publishers

Also here's the Goodreads link for it: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12371865-unmarked

The Lunar Chronicles...

So after my recent trip to Barrow-In-Furness, I was lent a pile of books and in that pile was Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I've always expressed a hesitation of reading this series because a cyborg cinderella retelling was never something that appealed to me. I normally hate retellings of storys I love but somehow I managed to fall for this book. It was just wonderful to read and I was quite attached to the characters.

The second novel Scarlet is based upon Red Riding Hood and I REALLY loved this one!! This was the book where the reader really falls for the main guy. And Wolf really is to die for. He's a man of mixed reviews though so if a badboy-slash-rugged and handsome man is your thing, then Wolf is beautiful. Him and Scarlet continue the first book, though they flicker back and forth to Cinder which is done quite wonderfully. Most authors do this a bit good-bad, mainly bad but I was happy that it was something that still appealed to me.

Cress, the third book in the series wasn't the best book. I admit I enjoyed it but I found her a raher babyish character, something you'll discover why in the book. But again the series remained strong and good things happened!

So this is why you should all go read this series

ARC Replies and possible insight into the Writing industry

As an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) reviewer, I generally get sent books and I choose which ones I want to read and I selected Appaloosa Summer which was a fairly lovely and simple summer read. (My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/971715104?book_show_action=false)

But what I didn't expect was to recieve such a lovely email back from the author herself. Sometime soon I will be starting to contact and post interviews, advice and more from published (Contracted, self pulished and one day the bigger housed) authors in the world.

Queen of the Tearling (Queen of the Tearling #1) by Erika Johansen

So I recently read a fairly newly published book named The Queen of the Tearling by Eria Johansen. It was a book that Goodreads kept pushing me towards for over a year. All I had from the blurb and some reviews was "Game of Thrones for girls", "An action-packed book for the ladies" but there was a problem.
The book hadn't been completed so how had these people said all these things about it? Well that's the industry for you. From my year of studying media and film pitches in detail, I can reveal that when pitching a story, the writer and production team often say it's blah meets blah and in this case that's what happened.

It's a tragedy though because a reader shouldn't have to be reminded who the main character is throughout the entire book every chapter. I personally couldn't get over the way "I am the queen" or her full title was supposedly dropped every chapter. I already knew who she was and btw this was not a Game of Thrones for girls. Sarah J Maas (Author of Throne of Glass) creates a rivetting world very similar to the Game of Thrones but not completely. Heck why are we even comparing books to George RR Martin's bestselling series? Oh yeah because that's one of the most talked about adaptations of the moment. Eugh. Honestly I hated that they made it sound like GOT is for guys, it's like no. Authors and publicity people should not narrow down the market, that's how one loses sales.

But back to the book I go. The book itself I ended up splitting in half. I got bored easily, maybe because I was on a 3hour train journey and on my last stretch of it or because the lead was fairly naive and rather silly at first, how Emma Watson is signed on for this, I don't know. She's way too badass for this role. But nonetheless I carried on with the book, complaining to my best friend and sending her pictures of the repeated queen quotes/lines. But as a reader of high fantasy (maybe, maybe not) or just someone who enjoys that fantastical world, I found the book rather basic. It just needed a little umph and less about some stuff.

Altogether though it did take me about an hour to read and there were some good moments. Maybe I'll read the sequel, who knows.

A small response to halleloujah.blogspot.co.uk's post on classics

So the Guardian paper posted an article a year ago about classics that people generally claim to read. I'll post the link at the bottom of the post though.

The top ten books people claim to have read, but haven't, are:

1984 by George Orwell – 26% I tried and failed (Too boring)

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – 19% I got three-quarters through when I had to stop because of GCSE's

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens – 18% Read and loved!

Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger – 15% Not approached

A Passage to India by E M Forster – 12% Not approached

Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkein – 11% Love, love, love, love!

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee – 10% Tried but gave up, I wasn't feeling it.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – 8% Not approached

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – 8% Do I even have to answer this?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – 5% The only Bronte book I can read without getting annoyed.

Titles that just missed the cut are The Bible (3%), Homer’s Odyssey (3%) andWuthering Heights (2%).

See it's okay not to have read any of these because they're not commonly read or taught. Okay Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird and Great Expectations are but not to the degree that everyone has to read them. My high school English offered Lord of the Flies and Heroes as the two books for our exams, of course the books were chosen for the sets you were in but I requested to read Heroes in addition to LOTF because I wanted to expand my choices...I chose LOTF though because Simon and Piggy </3

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10286930/More-than-half-of-us-lie-about-reading-classic-novels.html

Lightning In A Bottle

Okay so I've been fairly absent for awhile but it's for good reasons I swear!
So stealing the title for this post from The Summer Set's song (great song btw), I am happy to reveal reasons why I have indeed been too busy for posting.

Reason #1: I now have a horse on loan. Yup I officially loan a horse from a family friend and so he requires me to be there for 8:30am and 4:30pm to groom, feed, clean and exercise. You may wonder that's a big gap inbetween, so I now go onto reason two.

Reason #2: Family. Yes I belong to a very busy and OCD household that order me to do various chores around the house daily, and yes they do repeat themselves but what can I say?

Reason #3: My tortoise. As he's been a bit under the weather, I've had to give him daily baths and make sure he's pooping okay and eating.

Reason #4: Social needs. Yes I like many people out there do need to have my quota of socialization filled. So far that has been going okay, I've encountered some awkward moments but they're just what comes with befriending myself. (Just ask Lou @ halleloujah.blogspot.co.uk)

So yeah. They're the reasons I am currently disclosing. My reading has been continuing but very slowly as I am indeed reading New Adult fiction to write a compare and contrast on it against the beautiful genre that is Young Adult as they both have been scrutiny over what audience they truly have and why they are two different genres.