Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy #3) by Danielle L. Jenson

Published by: Angry Robot

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, YA, Romance.

Tagline: Sometimes, one must become the unimaginable

Rating: ****

Warrior Witch picks up from the events of Hidden Huntress with a bang. Okay not literally, but you get the point. We're inserted back into the narratives of Cecile and Tristan, something that started in the second book, and it is hard to describe how this book made me feel. It's the last book. Kept continuously on my toes, I tried to force myself to finish this book in the brief slow parts, but when I was past them, then it was straight forward and easy going. 

We start with Cecile who's desperately trying to save the people of Trollus and of course, her husband. She's strong and fierce in one moment, and vulnerable the next. A perfect queen, even if she doesn't know it yet. Tristan on the otherhand comes across as a right pain. There's something about the gap between the books that has made me grow to dislike him. 

However. it's a good ending. A bit different, but good.

You can buy Warrior Witch from Amazon UK now.

Am I Normal Yet? (The Spinster Club Series #1) by Holly Bourne

Published by: Usborne

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, Mental Health, Teenagers

Tagline: It's tough being a girl

Evie is a typical teenager. Okay, she's not quite as 'normal' as society might dictate. Instead, she suffers from a mental health illness that requires her to take medication. In fact, by the time we meet her, she's just coming off of them. All she really wants is to be normal and go out to parties, meet guys and potentially get a boyfriend like almost every teenager wants to have at that age.

But there's an issue. Generally the case for most teenage girls, relationships are messy and can often blur the line between sane and crazy (pardon my usage of the word). Evie is caught up with the emotions and rush of the moment, her mind and heart conflicting against one another as she tries to pretend that she is one of the girls, that she does not have anything wrong with her. But how much is enough?

In all honesty, I truly liked this book. Thinking that it was a series based around Evie solely, I picked the book up and devoured it instantly. As someone who had issues with OCD as a teen myself, I felt that this hit one issue that not many people write or know about without making obscene and stupid remarks about.

Evie is a great protagonist. Her friends are as well. They work well together and balance each other out as collectively one could consider them 'normal'. I think naming the series a spinster club is good and bad. They are just impressionable young women and spinster is usually a derogative term but in this case, they are trying to change the meaning to create something positive, the power of female friendship.

Perhaps this is what Bourne is trying to do. She is very honest and open about being a feminist, something that most female YA authors are speaking out about in a movement that is long overdue. I think this is wonderful. It's teaching the next generation of readers the basics of feminism whilst educating them on female friendship and that it is okay to be different. I can't think of anything better.

Am I Normal Yet? Can be purchased from Amazon now.

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Published by: Corgi Childrens.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Tagline: Accidents happen, our bones shatter, our hearts break, we stay alive.

Rating:**** (Literally scraped it)

What could I say about this book?

The protagonist is seventeen year-old Cara whose family have a period every year where something bad happens. It's literally thirty-so days of lots and lots of injuries caused by tumbling bridges, falling off a bed and more. But don't worry, noone thinks they're getting abused or anything which would probably be one of the things school might consider. Yet noone truly knows why their family are targeted and it's up to Cara to try and find some answers. Joined by bestfriend Bea and step-brother Sam, Cara goes on a big dramatic journey involving supernatural themes and a ghost student.

My actual opinion of the book is that it unfortunately got interesting towards the last five or so chapters. I struggled or rather avoided finishing the book because it wasn't that interesting. I know people who have absolutely adored the novel and sing it's praises but I can't.

I think one thing I enjoyed was the twist. But then that didn't do much. It was kinda blah at parts but there was a lot of imagery that made me see their ficticious world. There's so much inside Doyle's mind that I really really want her to write about (there's a lot of fairytales inside the book that are amazing!).

The Accident Season can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

Published by: Viking's Childrens

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Tagline: She didn't ask for a miracle

This was super duper weird. Like when Clary Fray thought Jace Morgenstern was her brother weird. Okay minus a bit of incestuous thoughts but how can a girl be pregnant without having sex?

It simply isn't possible unless we of course turn to Christianity and it's darling son Jesus. Yes Jesus was born to Virgin Mary. The protagonist of this novel is called Mina which is close enough. 

Mina is a fantastic student, she's signed up for classes to further herself for college (university for us Brits) and basically has her life sorted out. She's even got what appears to be a good boyfriend. That is until she meets a creepy old lady named Iris who goes on about Mina being the chosen one and asks Mina to accept something. By this point I wasn't sure what this book was on about or what was going to happen. And so I beared with it, got into the book until yesterday when I finished it. Oh lord was I confused at the ending. 

But it was something different which was what I was after.

It can be found on Amazon UK here, Waterstones here and Amazon US here.

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!

The Words We Use are Black and White by Simon Holloway

The Words We Use are Black and White by Simon Holloway

'On essaie de trouver les couleurs qu'on a reve.' - Jacques Brel In Evian, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lucy sells tickets at the cinema. In the hills above the water, her brother believes himself happily married to a woman he once tried to find by swimming across the lake. Their childhood friend, Fabrice, is returning from the quiet confusion of Canadian trees and the brief memory of his girlfriend in Toronto. Into this relative stillness comes Alain, escaping Geneva's necessity of human contact. But a budding relationship between Alain and Lucy forces them all to reconsider the ways in which they try to talk to each other. To the songs of Jacques Brel and with the lake as a constant presence, Lucy, her brother Jean-Luc, and Fabrice struggle to make themselves heard among the clamour of failing words and misconceptions, leading to potential crises for them all. This interwoven story of love, family and our inability to make ourselves understood leaves you wondering if language can ever be more than guesswork, and if so whether anyone can ever be heard. And for Alain, tangled somewhere in the middle'

So I have a number of notes on my kindle about this novel and overall I found it a really enjoyable read and that's not because Simon is my lecturer. The book itself is easy to read, to follow and is set in some really beautiful clear places. An example would be 'The lake is clear. At it's edge you can see small catfish and perch flit about in the shallows, praying for bands of well-wishers to cast out yesterday's bread' For me this created a beautiful image in my mind because it captured a side of Lucy that I hadn't yet encountered. Also Lucy has to be my favourite character in the novel! She's so gone with the wind it's just wow.

The whole book has examples that I could gush and gush about, I wasn't expecting this when Simon gave me a copy but I'm really glad I read it, I think I might even buy a paperback of it because it's so good. I can't fathom more words to explain the story except suggest that you should read this book.

Friendship by Emily Gould

Friendship by Emily Gould

Okay first thing I have to add here and it's something I hardly do, is add the blurb.

A novel about two friends learning the difference between getting older and growing upBev Tunney and Amy Schein have been best friends for years; now, at thirty, they’re at a crossroads. Bev is a Midwestern striver still mourning a years-old romantic catastrophe. Amy is an East Coast princess whose luck and charm have too long allowed her to cruise through life. Bev is stuck in circumstances that would have barely passed for bohemian in her mid-twenties: temping, living with roommates, drowning in student-loan debt. Amy is still riding the tailwinds of her early success, but her habit of burning bridges is finally catching up to her. And now Bev is pregnant.As Bev and Amy are dragged, kicking and screaming, into real adulthood, they have to face the possibility that growing up might mean growing apart.Friendship, Emily Gould’s debut novel, traces the evolution of a friendship with humor and wry sympathy. Gould examines the relationship between two women who want to help each other but sometimes can’t help themselves; who want to make good decisions but sometimes fall prey to their own worst impulses; whose generous intentions are sometimes overwhelmed by petty concerns.This is a novel about the way we speak and live today; about the ways we disappoint and betray one another. At once a meditation on the modern meaning of maturity and a timeless portrait of the underexamined bond that exists between friends, this exacting and truthful novel is a revelation.

As you can read, the book is practically about the adult life, of being nearly thirty and having your life. This book scared me. As a nineteen year old young woman studying English at university, this book made me think the outside world, New York, was a world where I'll either get a good job and eventually fired for saying the wrong thing (which i totally do at the moment) or get knocked up by a one night stand. Yes they are kind of spoilers but I don't care right now. This book made me want to hide in a ball because I don't want to end up like Amy or Bev. I know there are people who live in similar situations but still. I'm still hoping that I'll be lucky enough to catch my lucky break or at least be in a good job. But yeah read this book if you want to feel bad about your future. Or if you want a Rainbow Rowell-esque novel without the Rainbow Rowell magic