Prodigy- Marie Lu

Book 24 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 4/5 stars

This book was so good, I am falling in love with the writing of Marie Lu and I cannot wait to pick up the last book in the trilogy. The story of this book is so original and it grabs a hold of you and refuses to let you go.

I have to admit that I have conflicted feelings about June, I just feel like she doesn't deserve Day. She was pretty much the reason why he was arrested and if it wasn't because of her then they wouldn't be in this situation (I totally agree on Tess with this one) but Day just seems to always forgive her. But at the same tie as thinking all of this, I also feel that they would be a good match and there is obviously something undeniable between them. That paperclip ring is so adorable and I really want one. I think that June should be with the elector though, even thought I know that she is going to end up with Day. It's too obvious not to happen.

I feel so sorry for Day after all that he went through to get his brother back and to try and help the Republic, the ending which he has in this book is so heart breaking. I cant believe that Marie Lu decided to do that to him. I really hope that it works out for him in the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and so far this trilogy is definitely someone who is a fan of the YA genre should be reading so I recommend this highly.

Raging Star- Moira Young

Book 23 of my Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

I loved the beginning of this trilogy in 'Blood Red Road', I even gave it 5 stars because I thought it was so original. Now I just feel let down by this book which is the last book in the trilogy and the books have slowly decreased in how much I enjoyed them. It took me longer than necessary to read this book and it got to the point where I was fed up and I began to read a different book just to have a change.
Although, a lot did happen in the book and it was really fast paced and managed to keep me engaged through most of it.

There were points in this book where there was things I was excited about which happened, but also I really didn't like. I was glad that Lugh died. I didn't like him too much in the second book and I just think that he was past what he could bring to the story. I guessed that it was Lugh who followed Saba and was trying to turn Jack in to DeMalo. It was the one person who Saba didn't expect but it was pretty obvious from the beginning. (The death of Lugh earned this book the extra .5 of a star)

Emmi's death was a real shock to me. I didn't think that the author would go that far and kill her off, although I can see that it had to be done if Saba was to follow Jack to the ocean. She wouldn't of left Emmi behind.

I was shocked with the discovery of Tommo's dad. I honestly did not see that coming even though it was set up really well. I feel so sorry for Tommo. First he looses Ike and now he looses his real dad. This series is just out to torture him, I am sure.

Towards the end of this book, I was really thinking that she would marry DeMalo. I don't know why but I just felt like it would be a good ending and there would be no hope that they would get out of the situation they were in.

At least she got with Jack in the end.

The Elite- Kiera Cass

Book 22 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 1/5 stars

**Book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I very rarely give books 1/5 stars, but in this case, I just had to.

In my review of 'The Selection', I mentioned how disappointed I was that there was no twists and everything was just boring. I hoped that something would at least happen in this book. And there was one thing, yes, ONE thing that happened which was even slightly interesting and that was the incident with Marlee.

As for the rest of the book, I just cant help but think that the sme thing happens over and over again and it goes like this:

1) America loves Maxon
2) America is about to choose Maxon over Aspen
3) Something happens (Normally something Maxon does or doesn't do)
4) America gets upset
5) America is now ready to choose Aspen over Maxon
6) Maxon apologises or explains
7) America forgives Maxon
8) Repeat

I got so tired of this I just wanted to get the whole thing over with and ended up reading the book really quickly.

If I'm honest, I'm not sure if I want to finish this series. Maybe just to see what happens but for nothing more.

Did I mention that I hate America. She is so annoying. I want to punch her through my kindle.

The Selection- Kiera Cass

Book 21 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 3/5 stars

**Book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I have really mixed views on this book, I did like it and I thought that the concept and the story was something a bit different and original. It did remind me a bit of the Queenstrial in 'Red Queen' (Although this book was released first) and also it reminded me of 'The Hunger Games' of how a girl from each province is selected to take part until there is a winner when one is left. Even though there is no one dying in this book. Also, I love Silvia, she reminds me so much of Effie (Who I adore).

Even though I really did enjoy some parts of this book, I just thought that nothing really happened which was interesting enough to give the book more than 3 stars. I was hoping that there would be some twists and that Marlee would be on the same level of evil as Celeste and that she had a plot to take the crown. I was so disappointed that there wasn't. I just feel like this book could of gone down so many different directions which would of made it a great story but it just didn't and I found it a bit boring if I am totally honest.

 

Everything Everything- Nicola Yoon (ARC review)

Book 20 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 5/5 stars

**Book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I can honestly say that I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did when I decided to start reading it. I had seen mixed reviews on social media where friends have and haven't liked this book. I thought that I would be in the category that didn't like this book since I don't normally read these types of books.

Oh how wrong I was.

I love everything EVERYTHING about this book. It really moved me. the characters are amazing and I loved the storyline. This was just perfection.

throughout this book, I was just rooting for Olly and Maddy. They just had to be together. If it didn't happen I think that I would of threw my IPad across the room because they just seemed to work so well! and then when they went to Hawaii together, I was swooning thinking "YES, YES, YES!!!!"

I think that I have to say that I feel sorry for Maddys mum and the way which she was treated in the end. She was obviously sick and had no idea what she was doing so you should not treat her like that at all. It just isn't fair.

Now, I know that the ending can be seen two ways:
1)How could you end it like that? I want to know what happens!
2) That is the most romantic thing ever!

For me, I apply to both of these, I thought it was such a sweet ending and also I wanted just a little bit more.

Legend- Marie Lu

Book 19 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating 5/5 stars

This book has been on my wish list for quite some time since I saw a lot of hype over this trilogy on social media. So when I found this book in the library there was no chance that I would miss an opportunity to read this book and see what all the fuss is about. I am glad that I did pick up this book because I loved it!

On the front cover of the edition which I got it says 'If you liked The Hunger Games, you'll love this'. Now, when I see these sometimes I feel slightly put off by the book. I really enjoyed the hunger games and when a book claims to be better then I have high expectations for the book and sometimes feel a little let down that it didn't manage to meet the high expectations which I have. But I think that it is safe to say that I was not disappointed in the slightest. Was it better than the hunger games? I'm not sure. It has been years since I read the hunger games and since the movies came out my opinion of it has declined but at the time I really enjoyed it. Maybe this is on the same level?

Found on the back of this edition I was told that this book is 'Based on a retelling of Les Miserables. I had no idea what would be in store when I read this as I never watched Les Miserables as I'm not a huge fan of musicals and I would of found it boring. When I read that my first reaction was 'Oh no, here we go.' but I was pleasantly surprised.

Now onto the story, I thought that it was fantastic. I loved the two different POV so that events which were happening simultaneously were told from the perspective of both of the main characters. Their feelings of their roles were also conveyed through this and it allowed me to get attached to both characters and not just the main character who's point of view we were experiencing.

This book was not predictable. It is harder and harder to find a book now a days which is completely new and you cannot guess what is going to happen at the end. It was obvious that Day would manage to escape but the thing with John surprised me. I expected him to make it out if I'm honest. I also loved the secrecy with June's brother and her having to find the clues to the message that he sent her. I do love a good twist.

This book was so easy to get into and I easily found myself reading a large section of it in one day (even though I had work. If I didn't I would of read this in a day.) All in all, I loved this book and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who read and enjoyed books such as The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner or Divergent. (Or books along those lines)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone- Laini Taylor

Book 18 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

I try to avoid doing .5 stars when I am rating books as I prefer it to be a whole number but in the case of this book, I just couldn't do it. I thought that the book was too good to be given a 3 star rating but at the same time, I think that it didn't just quite mange to make it to a 4.

While reading this book, I really enjoyed it. I thought that the whole concept of the plot line was really well written and it was quite an easy read, considering that I managed to read a big chunk of the book in one day. The amount of pages which I can read are an indication of how much I enjoyed this book since I just couldn't put it down for very long without wanting to pick it back up again. I would probably of managed to read this book in one day if other things didn't get in the way.

However, the reason that this book didn't get a 4 star rating from me is due to me finding this book a bit slow in areas and my mind kept wondering off during certain parts of the book so it got to the point, where I missed a few pages and didn't know what was going on, but maybe that is down to me so I cant blame the book.

I felt that the book managed to pick itself up again at the end where Madrigal's story was told. I thought it was great that we were getting some more knowledge on the whole world and what happened with her and Akiva in the past.

Another part of the book I really enjoyed was the beginning with Kazimir. Honestly, I wanted to see more of him in the book, even if he was a bit of a jerk, I thought he was a good character who offered more to the book.

Lying Out Loud- Kody Kepinger

Book 17 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 2/5 Stars

**Book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Is that it? That can not be he ending of this book. I feel cheated that the book finishes like that. What is the point in leaving it like that? There is no ending to what happens to the characters, that disappointed me. I wanted to know if they were going to get together. 

Anyhow, I never read The DUFF, although I did watch the film so I was not going into this story world completely blind. And I am torn. At the big inning of this book, I quite enjoyed it but then it started to bore me a bit and it just seemed very repetitive and unoriginal. I feel like this sort of story line has been done before and I couldn't help but feel let down for what I was expecting from this book. 

This is such an easy read, to get into and it is possible to read in one whole sitting, for me, I sat down to read this book and read a few chapters to get a feel for what it was about and then carry on with it at a later date. However, that did not go to plan and I quickly managed to get about 35% of the way through it before I realised. That shows that I did enjoy the first part of the book. 

At about half way through this book, I stopped reading it for a while because I just wanted the end to come. It just seemed very predictable that the girl got with the guy at the end and there will be ocstibles which they will need to get over to get to the finishing line. 

The reason why I gave Kepinger 2 stars instead of 1 is because I was actually able to relate to the main character and I saw some of myself in her in the way which she could only talk to Ryder about her problems over IMs because she had no one else. This combined with the easy pace of the book earns 2 stars and definitely no more! 

I don't think I will be reading another Hamilton High novel unless absolutely unavoidable (or from sheer boredom).

Monsters of Men- Patrick Ness

Book 16 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 3/5 stars

This is the third book in the Chaos Walking trilogy, which is a series which I really enjoyed reading as I read the first two books, 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' and 'The Ask and The Answer'. I rated those books 4 and 5 stars, which shows that I enjoyed them. So much so that I went on to read this book with high hopes for the ending.

I was disappointed. I am so upset about the ending of this trilogy that I don't particularly want to talk about it. I will start off with some things that I liked about the book and then go onto what I didn't like.

What I liked:

~ I really liked seeing all three sides of the battle with the different POV's with Todd, Viola and even 1017 which was a pleasant surprise and I really liked getting into the head of The Spackle and seeing their motivations.
~ The way in which my emotions about different characters varied throughout the book, with the Mayor and Mistress Coyle. One minute they are the good guys and only want what is best and then the next minute they were the ones causing more havoc.
~ The cover. I had the hardback copy and the sleeve is see through with the white lettering on the sleeve, which I think is pretty cool and I haven't seen anything like it before.
~ This story is so original that I love how different it is. I haven't read anything like this series before and I probably never will again.

Things I didn't like [Spoilers ahead]

~ This book was just over 600 pages long. It was totally unnecessary for what was going on. Yes, there was lots of fighting and the whole war thing between 3 different sides, but I don't feel like a lot actually happened in the book and I feel like the author was just trying to make the book longer by adding areas which did not need to be added.
~ Viola did not get with Lee.
~ Lee was blinded.
~ Acorn was killed off. Poor horse.
~ Viola and Todd fell in love. I saw it coming but I didn't think it needed to be done. It was perfectly fine them being in a friendship and not need to ruin it by having them in a relationship.
~ I wanted to see the ship land and the new settlers arrive.
~ Todd and Viola annoyed me through this whole book.

And finally
~ Todd not dying. As I was reading the end, I knew I was going to give this book 3 stars, but then Todd died, and I thought "The author is going to wuss out and find a way to bring Todd back. If he doesn't I will give this book 4 stars." What does he do? He brings Todd back.

Overall, this book deserves no more than 3 stars, I was even contemplating giving it two but I was kind.

The Rosie Effect- Graeme Simsion

Book 15 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 2/5 stars

After reading The Rosie Project at the beginning of this year, I really wanted to enjoy this book. However, I felt so disappointed with the outcome.

I found the whole thing boring, and at times I had to sit down and make myself read a large chunk of the book, because otherwise I knew that I wouldn't finish.

The only reason that I managed to give this book 2 stars was because I love the character of Don even though in this book, I found him predictable at times but sometimes a bit funny.

I really hated Rosie throughout this whole thing. I just didn't understand any of her reasons for leaving Don and then deciding to stay with him at the end. It was just so inconsistent and I felt so sorry for Don that he had to be put through that whole ordeal. He was obviously struggling with becoming a father, Rosie is not the only one who needs help when going through the pregnancy stages of having a baby. The father needs some support too and I don't think that Rosie understood that which led me to being so annoyed by her.

I am keeping this review short because I don't have many good things to say about this book and I do not want to start ranting.

I will say this though, The Rosie Effect should not have been written. It would of been much better if a chapter at the end of The Rosie Project was dedicated to explaining what their life was like and that Rosie was pregnant and just end it there. I feel that this has ruined the whole story for me.

Red Queen- Victoria Aveyard

Book 14 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 3/5 stars

I really wanted to give this book a higher rating than average but I couldn't, it was just an average book.

Don't get me wrong, the whole concept of this book was really interesting and during some parts of the book, I really wanted to carry on reading because I wanted to know what the outcome was going to be.

The powers were really interesting! I loved the idea of different houses having different kinds of powers and then the Red/Silvers having even more advanced powers was great!

However, I was slightly let down. I found some of the plot line predictable and I would much prefer to be kept guessing when reading a book. I really had a feeling that Maven was going to be the one to betray Mare for the throne.

The whole idea of there being two sides, the nobles and the 'peasants' who then set up a revolt to overthrow the nobles is not exactly original either but I think that can be overlooked.

Something that needs to be brought up is that she is trying to make out that she didn't know that she was a silver while she was living in the Stilts with the other Reds. Surely at one point she would of bled (and saying she was a silver) which would mean that she would know she had Silver blood and it would not be a surprise to her. Same with blushing, And what annoys me is that none of the other Silvers seemed to question this, they just went along with it. Even the one Silver that did mention that her supposed parents had blue eyes and she had brown eyes was never shown again in the book. What happened to Silvers being untrustworthy that she is also a Silver?

I must admit that the final chapter was pretty epic, I do love a good fight scene so that probably brought the book back to average standards. I think that in the second book of this series, the author needs to sort out what is going on in the story and stick to it.

Overall, I may or may not read the rest of this series when it is published. It would probably depend on if I got a cheap copy of this book. I would not pay full prise.

The Ask and The Answer- Patrick Ness

Book 13 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 5/5 stars

When I began reading this book, I wasn't expecting great things, I liked the first book, The knife of never letting go, but I normally find that the second book is a let down but I tried to keep an open mind throughout.

Needless to say, I loved this book! The whole idea of the secret organisation which is fighting for the cause of good really appeals to me, especially at the begging when there was so much secrecy and speculation over what the Answer is. I love it when a book keeps me guessing throughout.

I feel like there is going to be something romantic between Todd and Viola. If I am honest, I am not particularly keen on either of the characters and I think it would just mess up the book if they were to get involved. I like the way this book is written and it does not evolve around the relationship of the two main characters. If anything, I would much prefer Viola to get with Lee who seems like such a nice guy.

I had such conflicting emotions about Mayor Prentiss and Davy. At the beginning, the Mayor was nice to Todd and Viola and I actually started to get the feeling that he was doing what was best. Oh, how wrong I was. Obviously he was just playing with them the whole time I don't know why I didn't see it coming. On the other hand, Davy was horrible to begin with but then he began to grow on me and I started to like him. In the end I just felt sorry for him, all he wanted was for his father to approve of him as he felt like he was such a disappointment his whole life and he was so happy that he found a friend in Todd. It was sad that his father ended up killing him. He makes a much better character than Todd.

I preferred this book, in the way that both sides of the story were told as they were running along side each other. It meant that I could learn more about Viola and her intentions as well as what the other side are doing.

On the whole, this book was much better than The knife of never letting go, and now I hope that the third book lives up to expectations.

The Knife of Never Letting Go- Patrick Ness

Book 12 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 4/5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book, and it didn't take me long to finish it. This is a book which is an easy read and great if you want to sit down for a day or two and finish a book quickly. It is easy to get enveloped into the story as events begin quickly in the book, and it doesn't take 2 or 3 chapters of background information before the story actually begins.

As I started this book, I noticed the grammatical errors. This was not a problem for me as it quickly became easy to read and I have recently read 'Blood Red Road' which is also written similar with the errors to point out the characters lack of education. In some ways, I like this as it makes me feel closer to the character in some way and you feel like they are actually speaking in your mind. (My opinion anyway. Other people may find this very annoying.)

Normally with a book, I always get attached to the main character. Unfortunately , I didn't feel this with Todd and I just found him very annoying and I just didn't connect with him. The same with Viola really. This is one of the reasons why this book got 4 stars and not 5 stars for me.

Another reason why this book got 4 stars is that the one character in this book that I did like, which was Manchee was killed. Todd left him to die by Aaron's hand to save Viola which made me hate Todd even more. I would much rather he of handed Viola over than let Aaron kill Manchee. I don't think I will forgive him for that.

I hope that in the next book (As I will continue with this series) is just as good, if not better, as I would like to see how the story develops in New Prentisstown.

Also, I just found out that this book is going to be made in to a film. That could be interesting and I would like to see how they do that.

The Hero of Ages- Brandon Sanderson

Book 11 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 5/5 stars

I have no idea where to start with this, I have just finished the last book in this amazing series and I am utterly speechless. That was an amazing ending.

Lets start with the fact that these book covers are so beautiful!

In book 2, I felt so sorry for Zane and I wanted to know more about him and how he thought he was insane and it was revealed that he wasn't in the end. Now that I know he was being controlled through the whole thing I understand why he did what he did and it makes me love him so much more and then I get sad that he died. So vicious.

When  it was revealed in the Final Empire that Reen had died trying to protect Vin, I never believed that he was dead and I just hoped that he would always show up and save the day because I thought he was so kind for protecting Vin all those years even though she thought he hated her. When Ruin showed up as Reen I got so excited that he was back. Until I realised it wasn't him. This was the same reaction I had when Kelsier showed up to Spook. I should know by now not to trust books.

Throughout this whole series, I have loved Sazed. I always thought that he would have a larger part to play in this than just being a keeper and thank god he turned out to be The Hero of Ages. He will be a great god.

Marsh. I loved Marsh in the first book, and then in the second book I hated him for betraying them and helping Ruin. And now I love him again. I know he still tried to kill them all but that was down to him being controlled by Ruin so I think that I can forgive him for that. At the times which he was of his own mind he did want to kill himself though to protect the world so Ruin wouldn't take control.

I will never forgive Sanderson for killing Elend. Vin I can live with. But not Elend.

Anyone else getting a Game of Thrones vibe with the amount of deaths?

Lord Ruler! This was a great series! Definitely will be investing in finding some more!

A Court of Thrones and Roses- Sarah J. Maas

Book 10 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 4/5 stars

I really struggled to give this book a rating, throughout this book, my feelings varied for it between 5 stars and 3 stars so I thought that I would go in the middle of the two and give it 4 stars.

There were parts in this book where I just didn't enjoy it. It felt more like a chore to read through it, maybe due to the fact that I read this as a group read so it may of been that if I read it on my own accord I would of enjoyed it more.

The only reason that this book didn't get 3 stars was the end when Feyre was in Amarantha's court. I found that the three tasks were interesting and I wanted to continue reading to see how this played out for the characters and if they managed to take of the masks in the end. Before this, I just found that the story was a bit tedious with sections which were just added to bulk out the book.

I found Rhys very interesting, I want to learn more about him and his motives for what he was doing with Feyre, Did he do it to annoy Tamlin? Was he trying to protect the Spring Court? Or does he have some feelings towards Feyre?

I think that I would read the next book when it is published as I would like to see how both the story and the characters develop and how Feyre is handling the Fae life and how she will cope in the Night Court with Rhys. The Hades and Persephone retelling appeals to me.

I would recommend this book, but I don't think that it was much of a YA novel by some of the scenes I read and would probably go into the NA category.

The Well of Ascension- Brandon Sanderson

Book 9 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 5/5 stars

Normally in a trilogy, I am faced with a boring second book which is added to fill up the story which can be kept going so that it sets up the third book for a wild ride. I did not get that with this book. I absolutely loved the story of the first book and I was not disappointed at all with how this book played out. My emotions went through a up and down ride as I read this story and there were so many events which I didn't see coming and were a complete shock.

This is a brilliant example of a book which you pick up and you never want to put it down. Every spare moment I had was taken up by the adventures of Vin and the gang and when I was not captivated in this world, I was wishing that I was.

I still miss Kelsier, this book just felt weird without his presence. All the time, I was just wishing that he would pop up and save the day to tell them all where they were going wrong and how to put it straight again.

Throughout this book, I just kept wondering "Where the hell is Marsh?" he just vanished near the beginning and he never showed up until the end. he better have a good reason for doing what he did. Poor Sazed.

I feel so sorry for Sazed. He has got to be one of my favourite characters in these books, he is just so sweet. How could Sanderson do that to him?! He finally manages to get someone whom he loves and they are happy and they he rips her away from him! It made me so angry and sad at the same time.

I was really starting to like OreSeur as well, him and Vin were just getting a connection, and it turned out to be TenSoon! I suppose TenSoon also had a connection with Vin since it was him all along and in the end he helped her against Zane.

Zane, lets talk about Zane.

I don't know where to begin. I was starting to like Zane as a character! and then he dies. The thing that got to me the most was he thought that he was insane and the last thing that he hears from the 'God' in his head was that he wasn't insane at all and it left me with so many questions that were not answered BECAUSE HE IS DEAD! That really played with my emotions.

Now that I have finished this book, The Hero of Ages is calling me from my bedside desk, and I shall not delay before being sucked into the Mistborn world once more.

The Final Empire- Brandon Sanderson

Book 8 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating:  5/5 Stars

Honestly, this book took me a while to read, not due to the large size of the book but because I had other things to do and I originally had this book on the kindle which I find harder to read.

Anyhow, this book was even better than I was expecting! As soon as I got into this book towards the end, I ended up reading a large section of the book in one sitting as it kept me intrigued and I just couldn't put the book down.

Everything about this book was great, the storyline was so original and I have never read anything like this before. Even all of the character developments were well written through out of the book (Especially Ham, Breeze and Marsh who were probably my favourite characters). I really enjoyed learning about all of the different metals which the Mistborn were able to use and the abilities which they got from the metals.

Throughout the book, there were so many twists which I really wasn't expecting to happen which made me love this book even more as it left me with so many questions. Normally the endings of books can be predicted but I honestly was not expecting that.

I must admit that when Vin met Elend (Even thought I loved the characteristics of Elend with him being one of the nobles but not wanting to live like he was while all of the Skaa were suffering and the fact that he spent all of his time reading really appealed to me) I groaned. As soon as this happened I assumed that the whole book would be consumed by the fact that they would be in love and everything would go wrong because of their love for each other and that there would be a typical love triangle with Spook. I was really surprised that this book hardly revolved around the love between them and it was in the background.

I really was not expecting the death of Kelsier and when it happened I was expecting him to not be dead somehow and him to come back into the story to help with the killing of the Lord Ruler. However, I was pretty upset about finding that Marsh was dead and that was the death I thought would be final which obviously wasn't and was really surprised when he returned.

This is the first Brandon Sanderson book which I read, and I shall certainly be reading more, especially of this series. I have already borrowed the rest of these books and I really would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the fantasy books as this is one of the best fantasy books which I have read.

Rebel Heart- Moira Young

Book 7 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 4/5 Stars

It is no secret that when there is a good book at the beginning of a series, this causes the sequel to be disappointing. However, I feel like this didn't happen with this book. There was still so many twists and turns with surprises along the way which kept me on my toes and it pushed me to read further.

The only reason that this book did not get 5/5 stars, is due to the fact that I thought that it wasn't completely up to the standards which was set from 'Blood Red Road' even though I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I just found that it was slower-paced than the first book and there wasn't as much going on.

The Jack story was interesting as throughout the book, I constantly kept changing my mind as events occurred. "He obviously got forced into it" or "He has some reason for doing this and has a plan."

Let me tell you one thing, I was expecting there to be a love triangle somewhere in this book, because main characters are never able to have a happy relationship without something coming in between them at some point but I definitely was not expecting there to be a love square. That was an interesting touch.

The characters have developed so much in this book, such as with Lugh who actually has a main part in this book and he obviously has some secrets which he is keeping which just makes him more intriguing.

I would like to read the next and final book of this trilogy, but I do not currently own a copy and I will not go out of my way to get one, so if I manage to find a cheap copy of this book in the near future, I most definitely will purchase it to find out what happens in the end. especially with DeMalo.

Blood Red Road- Moira Young

Book 6 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 5/5 Stars

If truth be told, I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, especially when starting the book with the bad grammar which I found hard to read and understand what was being said but as the book progressed I found that I was able to understand it better and I was reading it as I could read a normal book and I thought that it was a god way to get the feel of the character.

Nero is one bad ass crow. By far my favourite character of this book. without him they would be most likely dead, he is just so cunning and is almost like a human. From the start, I knew that he would have some significance and a larger part to play later on in the story.

I do not feel that this was one book as I look back on the story. there just seems to be that so much happened and it all managed to fit into the book perfectly without having it rushed and crammed in so that the writer is able to get down all of the story that they want. For this I say well done to Moira Young. the book was fast paced and there was always something that was going on which had me sitting up straight on the edge of y seat wanting more.

Needless to say that it was hard for me to put this book down as I started and I managed to finish the book in two large parts. I had to be physically be brought away from the book because I just wanted more and to see what the outcome would be at the end.

With most stories, the first book is amazing which causes the second book not to be up to standards. I shall be starting the second book tomorrow and I just hope that the standards and the storyline can live up to the high expectations which I have due to this book being brilliant.

It isn't hard for me to say that this book deserves the film which it is receiving from Ridley Scott, because it certainly well does. Think about all the books which have been made into films such as The Hunger Games, this book was much better than The Hunger Games and therefore, without a doubt deserves all of the praise which it is getting.

Ike :'(

The Scorpio Races- Maggie Stiefvater

For some reason, this book review was not published as it is was not updated and was still a 'draft' in my posts, so I have updated this review and re-posted it. (If it ever got posted in the first place.)

Book 5 of My Summer Reading challenge

My rating:

Okay, so I am attempting something different in this review as I am going to do a day-to-day review on what I have read and what I thought.

Started this book on 29th May 2015

29.05.15: Page 51 (Chapter 7)
Okay, so far I am not really sure what to think of this book, I find the whole story line kind of interesting and I would like to see how it carries on. This is my first Maggie Stiefvater book so I have no books which I am able to compare too meaning that this is a total shot in the dark for me. It could be a great book or completely terrible. I am still trying to wrap my head around some of the things which are happening and I am slightly confused at this point, (Mainly because I wasn't paying too much attention to the book as I was reading it) but I am willing to put that aside from now on and see where this book takes me.

30.05.15: Page 286 (Chapter 38)

After spending a few hours reading this book it has allowed me to really get my head around what is going on and what it is all about. There are still a few things which I would like the book to mention, especially how the Scorpio Races were created which will allow me to get my head around why it is done. Surely they just wouldn't think one day "Hey, lets race these really dangerous water horses down the beach and see how many people die."? And where is the race? I am more than half way through this book and all that has happened is Puck training a few times and a race with Sean. I was expecting a series of races but hopefully this will come later on in the book. Just need to wait and see.

"No one notices what the third sister, Annie, looks like because she's blind."

Okay, so what is the deal with that? I got so confused. So no one knows what she looks like because she cant see people or because she doesn't come out of the fist floor which is mentioned later on in the book? I think Maggie needs to explain this when it is mentioned and not later on.

31.05.15: Page 339 (Chapter 44)
At this point, the races still haven't happened and I cannot help but feel disappointed about this as I would feel that this is the main part in the book and would be a good area of the story. There are also parts where I feel that Maggie has only added parts to this book so that the book will be longer and dragged out and some of the parts of the story are irrelevant.

01.06.15: Finished
Now that I have finished the book, I can give my overall opinion. Throughout the book, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that the story of the races took a long time to actually come about and the fact that the races lasted for all of 10 pages was so disappointed due to the fact that I expected it to be much longer. However, even thought I found some parts of this book disappointing, I gave this book 4/5 stars just for the fact that the chapter of the race was so thrilling and I was sitting on the edge of my seat refusing to move until I found out the outcome of the race.

I love the idea that Puck has to overcome the fact that she is a woman and she wants to take part in the races which is mainly dominated by men. It really shows what a woman needs to go through to be accepted in some areas of life.

Another reason for my high score of this book is the ending. I found it so touching and I actually felt tears welling up in the corner of my eyes. and it was so different to the ending of books which I have read before. Also, the fact that the relationship between Sean and Puck isn't a main factor in this book really appeals to me as many YA books do.

The Bane Chronicles- Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson

Book 4 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 3/5 stars

As Magnus was my favourite character from The Mortal Instruments series, I think that It is safe to say that I was expecting great things from this collection of short stories which revolved around Magnus's life before and during the time in which The Mortal Instruments was set.

 



However, this book did not meet the high expectations which I had and I was left feeling very disappointed. It got to a point, where this book was a chore to read and I only put up with it due to the fact that I was on holiday and was the only book that I had with me that I had not read.

The reason that this book has 3 stars and not any less is because there was a few good points about this book, especially What Really Happened In Peru which I did find hilarious and my parents got annoyed with me as I sat there giggling at the events which were taking place.
I also enjoyed the stories with Alec in as I have always loved this couple and it was fun to see how that managed to get through their first date in The Course of True Love which was never talked about in TMI.

Overall, this was most likely another way for Clare to extend the Shadowhunter books and I would only recommend reading these if you are an absolute fan of the work by Clare. Otherwise this is most likely just a waste of your time. In my case, I will probably read all of the short stories which are being released on kindle at the moment when they are put into a book version just so that I have all of the shadowhunter books on my shelves. Otherwise, this is a no-go.

Clockwork Princess- Cassandra Clare

Book 3 of My Summer Reading Challenge

My rating: 5/5 stars

WARNING: This book will most likely cause you to cry. (I am not ashamed to say that I cried towards the end of this book.)

Cassandra Clare gets a load of hate for her Shadowhunter books, especially after the first three Mortal Instrument books as people think that she is only writing more books to get more money out of the franchise, but all of that aside, I do not really care if she drags on the book series as long as I am completely compelled by the books and they leave me wanting more which is exactly what this book series did for me.

As this is the finale book in the trilogy The Infernal Devices which was a series which I have enjoyed recently, I sis have high expectations of this book and let me tell you, all of these expectations were met. The writing was beautifully written, and I had trouble putting this book down so I had to find every possible time to get a chance to read this book.

In my opinion, there was one minor fault that I found in this book, and it is so minor that I am not even willing to drop down my rating of this book. This was the fact that I already knew that [Spoiler alert!] Jem was a going to be a Silent Brother and that he was Zachariah which took away the suspense for me when Tessa and Will found this out for themselves. But I suppose that isn't a fault in the book but because I read City of Heavenly Fire before I read this series.

I must of cried a few times during this book as I sat there trying to stop myself from crying so that my parents didn't notice. It wasn't when Jem was saying goodbye to Tessa but it was when Will and Jem were saying goodbye to each other I found it so emotional.
It was obvious that Will was going to grow old and die while Tessa stayed young but when this was mentioned at the end and about how he died in her arms it somehow made it all real and I just couldn't control myself.

Even if Tessa couldn't choose between the two boys in this love triangle, at least she got the opportunity to spend a lifetime with both.

(I still prefer Will though)

I think it is safe to say that I shall definitely be reading The Last Hours when they are published which is a series which is dedicated to the shadowhunter generation after Tessa, Will and Jem.

For anyone who is struggling to decide to read this series or not, I highly recommend it. Even if you were not a huge fan of The Mortal Instruments, this series is a heap lot better!

Clockwork Prince- Casssandra Clare

Book 2 of My Summer Reading challenge 2015

My rating: 5/5 stars

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book. I could not put it down at all, even staying awake late into the night. I want nothing more than to start reading Clockwork Princess right now to see how this epic trilogy is concluded but unfortunately I need to sleep, and if I start the book I know that I will not be able to stop.

Not sure why, but I enjoyed this book much more than Clockwork Angel, maybe down to the fact that I had more time to read? I found it much more exciting even if they didn't find Mortmain, but the whole Will storyline kept me fascinated. I just wanted to know that he would have it all sorted out!

"If no one really cares for you at all, do you even really exist?" - Will Herondale (By far the best quote of this book, so deep too.)

So, the ongoing battle of Will or Jem?

It has to be Will, before, I was not too sure, but in this book I fell in love with him. Just knowing that he is a t**t just because he doesn't want Tessa to be hurt is the most adorable thing.

Normally, I am not a fan of love triangles, but this one doesn't leave me gagging for some reason, I just love absolutely everything to do with this book.

Now Tessa, you listen to me! Give Jem back his pendant and you go and get Will!

Now I just hope that Clockwork Princess lives up to my expectations.

Clockwork Angel- Cassandra Clare

Book 1 of My Summer Reading Challenge 2015

My rating: 4/5 Stars

I have got to say that I loved this book, so many twists and turns which you didn't see coming so that it left me wanting more.

I would of given this book 5/5 stars were it not for the fact that I found it was very similar to The Mortal Instruments books. Don't get me wrong, I loved the TMI series and I've read it through twice but I was hoping for something new and exciting from Clare. I just found that many of the characters which were in the TMI series were recreated to fit them into this storyline.

Also, Mortmain as the Magister? Called it! I thought that it was too predictable that De Quincey was the Magister and it would of been too easy for the shadowhunters to defeat him. Also the fact that the main characters got left behind at the Institute gave a big clue that something huge was about to go down.

Towards the end of this book there was hints which Clare added so that the reader is left wanting more. such as the idea of who is Tessa's father? What is her mother? Why is this Clockwork Angel necklace suddenly alive? What is going on with Will? and why is he going to Magnus for help? All of these things are clever ways to get the reader to buy the next book.

Despite the minor problems which I found with this book, I need to say that I just cant get enough of the Shadowhunter world and I WILL be reading the next book just because I need to find out what happened!

Also, Will or Jem?

Jem is an absolute sweetheart but at this stage in the series I am kind of leaning towards preferring Will. Maybe it is just the 'Bad boy' part of him. We shall see in due course.

My summer reading challenge!

So, recently I have been unable to read much due to the pressures of exams which are close! However, I have been slowly reading throughout this time even though it is not much. Currently I have been reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and I am loving it, I'm just trying to pace myself so that I can still do revision.

My exam is on the 19th May and so after this, I do not have to go to school anymore (Yippee!). This gives me the opportunity of 4 months to relax and get ready before university in September, which means that I can go on a book binge!

I have so many unread books which I need to get round to reading but I always end up ditching them for books which I really want to get into and I just end up forgetting about them. But no more! For I have created my own summer reading challenge which I will take part in during these 4 months.

I am going to write all of these books on pieces of paper which will be folded up and put into a pot which will then be picked out from random, so that I can see how many of these books I can read during my four months.

However, I have so many books on the go at the moment which I have not finished so I am hoping to read as many as I can before I do this challenge. These include:

~The Infernal devices (Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess) By Cassandra Clare

I have only recently started reading these and I am enjoying them quite a bit so I would like to finish them off, as well as The bane Chronicles which I have.

~ The Kill Order by James Dashner

I was reading this book not too long ago and due to revision it got left on the side. Honestly I was kind of disappointed but, oh well. I will get over it and finally finish the book!

~ Firesong by William Nicholson

This is the last in The Wind on Fire series which I really enjoyed reading last year. Unfortunately, I really wanted to read A Song Of Ice And Fire which meant this book got put aside and was never picked up again. :(

~ Son Of Neptune by Rick Riordan

I LOVED the Percy Jackson series. I have no idea why I never finished this book! So silly of me! But now that the last book has come out I am hoping to finish this series and enjoy it even more!

~ Demon Road by Derek Landy

Okay, so I know that this book has not come out yet but I don't care, Derek is one of my favourite authors and I love his books! This is a must for me to read over the summer when it is released!

Now onto the books which are being involved in my summer reading challenge!

~ Uglies (Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras) by Scott Westerfeld

~ House Of Night (Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted, Burned, Awakened, Destined, Hidden, Revealed and Redeemed) By P.C. and Kristin Cast

~ The Demonata (Lord Loss, Demon Thief, Slawter, Bec, Blood Beast, Demon Apocalypse, Death's Shadow, Wolf Island, Death Calling and Hell's heroes) by Darren Shan

~ The Saga Of Darren Shan (Cirque Du Freak, The Vampires Assistant, Tunnels of Blood, Vampire Mountain, Trails of Death, The Vampire Prince, Hunters of the Dusk, Allies of the Night, Killers of the Dawn, The Lake of Souls, Lord of the Shadows and Sons of Destiny) by Darren Shan

~ The Thirteen Treasures (13 Treasures, 13 curses and 13 secrets) By Michelle Harrison

~The Caster Chronicles (Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness, Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

~ Morganville Vampires (Glass Houses, The Dead Girls Dance, Midnight Alley, Feast of Fools, Lord of Misrule, Carpe Corpus, Fade out, Kiss of Death, Ghost Town, Bit Club, Black Dawn, Bitter Blood, Last Breath, Fall of Night and Daylighters) By Rachel Caine

~ The Demon Trappers (Forsaken, Forbidden, Forgiven and Foretold) by Jana Oliver

~ The Immortals (Evermore, Blue Moon, Shadowland, Dark Flame, Night Star, Everlasting) by Alyson Noel

~ Iron Fey (The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen and The Iron Knight) by Julie Kagawa

~ The Winter Trilogy (A Witch in Winter, A Witch in love and A Witch Alone) by Ruth Warburton

~ Echo by Alyson Noel

~ Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

~Inkheart Trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath) by Cornelia Flunke

~ Shiver Trilogy (Shiver, Linger and Forever) by Maggie Stiefvater

~ Books of Faerie (Lament and Ballad) by Maggie Stiefvater

~ Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

~ The Cursed Ones by Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigue

~ Tempest by Julie Cross

~ Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin

~ Dust Lands (Blood Red Road, Rebel Heart and Raging Star) by Moria Young

~ Teardrop by Lauren Kate

~ Weather Wardens (Ill Wind, Heatstroke, Chill Factor, Windfall, Firestorm, Thin Air, Gale Force, Cape Storm and Total Eclipse) by Rachel Caine

~ His Dark Materials (Northen Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) by Phillip Pullman



Lets face it, I am not going to get all of these books finished over the summer but that isn't this point of this, It just means that I don't have to try and work out which book to read next. Fate will decide. Most likely I will get lots of new books at some point over the summer which will then  also go into this challenge. Lets see how many I can finish!!

Happy Reading :*

Snow like Ashes- Sara Raasch

My rating: 2/5 stars

I finally managed to finish it! I will tell you what, this was hard going and it took me a day to just sit down and read to be able to get through most of the second half of the book.

When I set out to read this book, I really liked the look of the story line and I thought that I would enjoy it so I gave it ago! And honestly, I did enjoy it.. For a little while. However, I found that there was so many issues with it that I just didn't want to read it and it took all of my effort to finish it.



My first thoughts as I was reading it was that I just didn't like the main character, Meira. Normally I would connect with the main character and I would feel as if I was in the book but this just didn't happen for me. She just winned about not being able to go on the missions when she should of just said "Okay, I understand." and get on with it. I liked Mather and just felt like he could do much better than her.

Honestly, I found the whole story line predicable. [spoiler alert!] As i was reading the book, I knew that Meira had to be Hannah's daughter. It just explained what was going on and i do not think I enjoyed it as much as I already knew what was going on. I think I would of liked it more if i was surprised.

I am not going to lie, I really did like Theron. He is just so kind and compassionate and cares what Meira thinks of him. Another male character who Meira doesn't deserve! even though I liked that Theron was in the book, I was not pleased about the introduction of a Love Triangle as this is another factor which just ruined this book.

I am not sure about reading the next book in this trilogy "Ice like Fire" which is going to come out in September as the book did not leave a cliffhanger which leaves me begging for more but instead it leaves the book at a place where another book is not needed and the second book could just ruin the series more. I wouldn't mind reading the next one but I will not go out of my way to do so.

[Spoiler alert!] If you are going to kill off a character.. Keep them dead! Let the readers feel for the death. Don't wuss out and bring them back! That was just the topping of the cake for why this book was a huge disappointment.

-We are Winter!

Inside out- Maria V. Snyder

My rating: 5/5 stars

There was only one problem which I had with this book but nonetheless this book deserves 5 stars because it was BRILLIANT! 

The problem which I did find was that I had trouble with picturing the world of Inside at the beginning of the book but it soon started to take shape. 

Other than that, I absolutely loved this book and it was so hard for me to put it down. let's just say, I will most definitely be reading the next one. I just found the world so original and captivating. The book had me hooked from the first page.

I'm not a huge romance fan so I was pleased that even though I was rooting for them, the Riley and Trella romance was not a huge story line but instead the book focused more on the events which were occurring. let's hope that carries on in the next book. 

I loved the chronicles of Ixia series so I though this book would have a lot to live up to. But by god! Maria V. Snyder has done it again!

Predictions for Game of Thrones

So, If you knew me at all you would know that I am absolutely in love with Game of Thrones and that I have read ALL of the books and now (not so) patiently waiting for George R.R. Martin to finish the next book and for Season 5 of Game of Thrones to start in just over 2 weeks! Yippee!

Everyone has their Ideas of who will end up on the Iron Throne in the end so I am now going to take the time to explain my predictions.

In the end I think it will be Jon Snow who will take the crown. (I know, I know. he is a bastard) My reasons for this is that it just makes sense and there are little things which happen in the books which piece together that this is what will happen.

To start with, it is known that Jon is not Ned's son. So why would he look after him for 17 years knowing that it isn't his? One reason: He is not his son but in fact, his nephew!

That is right! Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna which explains why Ned offered to look after him through his childhood. Another reason for this is that fact that he must be related to the Starks (Ned in particular) in some way as in the first book it is mentioned that Jon looks very much like Ned does so there is a family resemblance. I know it is said that Wylla is the mother of Jon and I have an explanation for that too which will come in due course.

Now that the mother has been established, it is time to speculate on the father and why he will be king. I know that there is the thought that Jon is the son of Lyanna and Rhaegar but I just do not think this is right. Would Ned look after Rhaegars son? I don't think so!

We all know that Robert and Lyanna were in love, right? So it could of been possible that they got married before the war and Lyanna had a child? (Jon!!) Maybe this explains where his black hair comes from? We all know that Targaryen children have white hair so it cannot be possible for Jon to be Rhaegars son. But the black hair could be from his Baratheon father?

So now it is time to talk about Wylla (The supposed mother of Jon). Obviously she is not the mother so where does she fit into all of this? Simple! In the third book, we are able to meet Edric Storm who is a bastard of Roberts who managed to get away. (He is replaced in the show with Gendry who stays behind during the travels to do work in the books) Edric mentions to Arya that Jon was his "Milk brother" as Wylla was his wet nurse. Wait?! Does this mean that Wylla is the wet nurse of Jon too? I think it does! Surely if Edric (Roberts bastard son) and Jon (Roberts legitimate son) were taken care of by the same wet nurse this would explain that they both had a connection to Robert.

If only poor Catelyn knew about this before she dies maybe she wouldn't hate Jon so much.


Comment your thoughts below!!

And remember,
You either win, or you die.

The Mortal Instruments- Cassandra Clare

My ratings: 

City of Bones- 5/5 stars 
City of Ashes- 3/5 stars 
City of Glass- 5/5 stars
City of Fallen Angels- 1/5 stars 
City of Lost souls- 4/5 stars
City of Heavenly Fire- 4/5 stars 




I read the first 5 of these books a few years ago so when City of Heavenly Fire came out, I thought it was worth reading the whole series again so that I didn't forget anything that happened. After re-reading them, I now realise what a complete waste of time it was. Maybe this was due to my reading tastes changing or because I already knew what was coming but I just did not enjoy the books as much as I hoped that I would the second time around. 

So, this review is mainly a review on City of Heavenly fire:

Normally, I would of given City of Heavenly Fire 5/5 stars but I just didn't feel like it was worth it. It's no secret that this series was obviously dragged out past the initial trilogy so that more money could be made  (let's be honest, the series would of made sense if Clare just stopped at the end of city of glass which in my opinion was the best book) and book 4 was a complete bore fest for me but I think Clare brought this series back from the depths of hell slightly to finish off with a high, even though there was a few things which I didn't enjoy about the book. 

To start with, I think that the sections with emma was a complete waste of time and that if I'd read the book without them it would of still made sense.. In my opinion it's just another way to develop the blackthorn story line into another trilogy so that Clare can get more money from this. 
Don't get me wrong, I'll probably still read them just so that I can finish all of the shadowhunter chronicles even if I don't enjoy them.

The whole way through the book there was references to Tessa which I found annoying since I haven't read The Infernal Devices yet and wanted to get round to them soon but now I feel like I know what the endings are going to be to those books so I found it cheeky for Clare to presume that everyone had already read TID .

Other than that I thought the book was great (apart from the utter heartbreak I felt during the loss of a part certain persons memories which I will not say because of spoilers) and it was able to finally bring the series to a close.

Oops!

I cant believe that I have done this!

I have had little time to write reviews recently so it has completely slipped my mind with juggling school as well as two jobs it can get to you!

But never fear, my lovelies! I have plenty of posts which will be up and coming in the following week! These include: My book reviews on The Mortal Instruments (As a whole series) by Cassandra Clare and also Inside out by Maria V. Snyder. there are also two books which I am currently reading which are Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch and Outside In by Maria V. Snyder which I would like to finish by the end of the month (Hopefully)!!

Not only that, but I am going to see Insurgent on Sunday and will be writing a review of what I think!

I will also do a review on The Battle of the Five Armies (Which I saw a long time ago but will try to do a decent review)!

It is now 3 weeks until Season 5 of Game of Thrones which I am so excited about, which is why I am going to explain what I think is going to happen at the ends of the series and why.
I am also going to try and review every episode of this season and try to compare them to the books which I thoroughly enjoyed.

But for now I will finish these books!!

Happy Reading

~Shannon

P.S. Isn't Aidan Turner just beautiful in Poldark?

Book recommendations

Calling all book worms! Sometimes its hard for me to read and I slack off a bit during exam season so I hope to read as much as I can during the next few months so I have set myself a goal of reading 50 books this year. At the momentI have read 2 which are:

-The Rosie project 

-City of bones 

(-currently in the process of reading city of ashes)

However, do you ever have trouble deciding which book to read next? Because I do. Because of this, I'd love to recieve book reccomendations so that I can not only read books ive always wanted to but I can try and branch out and read books which I would not normally read. This happened with The Rosie Project and I must say that I loved it.

If you have any reccomendations for me I'd love to hear them so comment below or even tweet or send me a message on my twitter account @LilBookNerd_

Thanks!

The Rosie Project- Graeme Simsion

I'm not going to lie, I would not normally read this book if I was choosing it from a book shop as I am more of a fan of the fantasy genre. However, due to one of my friends who recommended for me to read it that is the reason why I read this book and to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised.

At the beginnings of the book I was dubious but I still carried on with the book to prove that I could have a go at the book before I gave up on it. While I was doing this, I soon learned to fall in love with this book.

Throughout the books, there were many scenes which I found myself chuckling along with what was occurring. The one scene which really stood out for me was the dancing scene as I just could not stop laughing at what was going on as I just kept thinking "This is so me!".


I believe that this story is brilliantly written as there are so many emotions which me as the reader was feeling as the different events occurred throughout the story. There are also parts of this book which I thought really reflected myself as I am also a socially awkward person which meant that I really connected with this book.

I must say that throughout the story, I was rooting for Don and Rosie as it just goes to show that anyone is able to find love in this crazy world no matter how weird you are. This book really shows people that there is no point in giving up your search for the 'one' as there is someone out there for everyone no matter how bad you are for each other.

In addition, I am really glad that read this book as it shows that I should not judge a book by its cover as I would not normally read this book. It gives me an appreciation for other books which I can then try so that I can give it a more detailed opinion. I am even considering reading the second instalment of these books which is called "The Rosie Effect" but to be honest I think that it will be hard to compare to this book.

Top 9 books of 2014

There are so many books which I have read over the past year, but I just felt like I should share my top 9 (I wanted to be a bit different) which I have read all with reasons why. The idea of this is to allow others to get a feel for these books so that they could then read them in the future.
There may also be books on this list which you have been debating to read, so hopefully this will give you the push forward to reading them.

These are in no particular order:

1. George R.R. Martin, Song of ice and fire- Also known better as "Game of Thrones". As many people will know, this is a popular TV show which is aired by HBO/Sky depending on where in the world you live. I started watching the show and realised that I would prefer to read the books first so that is what I did, it took me a while to hunt them down (I brought them off my friends mum for £1!!). I enjoyed the show so much and the books did not disappoint (Apart from the huge amounts of death.. Thanks George). I was hardly able to put them down I even took them to school with me and read them in lessons. oops. The amount of detail which is included in these books really captures your imagination and it is like you are standing there with the characters. This is a huge must on the recommendation list, if you have the time for it, just don't get too attached as the next book will not be out for at least another year.

2. Derek Landy, Dying of the light- I am a HUGE fan of the Skylduggery Pleasant series, and for me this book really did wrap up and finish this series in an amazing way. The only fault which I have with this book is the fact that it is the end of an amazing series which I am sad to see gone as I believe it to be the end of an era. For my full book review this can be seen earlier on in my blog.

3. Becca Fitzpatrick, Hush, hush - Normally, I do not like books which follow the normal pattern of boy meets girl, they fall in love but there is something which in the way of them being together and they go through a series of events which allows them to be together in the end and all is well. However, there is something about this book and how it is written that really captivated me and made me read to the end of the series so i could see what happened in the end.

4. J.R.R Tolkein, The Hobbit - I had read this book before, but due to my love of the films I really wanted to read this book again before the last movie came out. If you have not watched all of the Hobbit films, then this is a definite read for you. The book is so much better if it is read before watching the films (Like most books) as it means that you are able to picture the characters and events as you want without the film playing through your head. The one thing which I did not like about this book is that there is not much detail on the battle of the five armies which occurs, however, this could be a positive for some people if they do not like long battles which drag on. This book is even that good that I own two copies.

5. Richelle Mead, Vampire academy- I would say this book is on my Top 10 reads of 2014 but it is in fact the whole series which gets a mention as it is a twist on the normal vampire books which there are so many of at the moment, it involves vampire legend as well as the more modern take on vampires including the forbidden love which is in a lot of books now a days. This is a series of books which never bores, it is very fast-paced and there are always events which are going on which could then lead to something bigger later on. This is a huge recommendation for those who love their books which include vampires as it is just that little bit different.

6. Veronica Roth, Divergent- I got Insurgent and Allegiant for Christmas last year so I thought that I would read the whole series again meaning that technically I did read this book this year. As soon as I picked up Divergent, it was so hard for me to put it down again, it is a book which is completely different to anything which I have ever read before, the story line was completely original and the ending to this series of books was soul destroying. I am not ashamed to say that I cried, multiple times. I am sure many people are likely to of read this book, but if you are reading this blog and you have not, stop reading right now and buy a copy as this is something that I would recommend to anyone and I have even recommended this to one of my teachers. Dare I say it but this was so much better than The Hunger Games.

7. Maria V. Snyder, Poison study- This has got to be one of my all time favourite books. I have kind of cheated with this one as I first read it a few years ago but I did read it again earlier on in the year. This was one of the books which really got my into reading in the first place. I have only met one other person in my existence which owns this book and had read the whole 2 series. However, this is a definite book which should be on everyone's book list as there are twists and turns around every corner and each chapter ends with a cliffhanger which just leaves you wanting more and more. You will never be able to put these books down once you have turned to the first page and started reading. there are so many things which are involved in this book from action to magic which develops more and more as the series goes on.

8.  Josephine Angelini, Goddess- I started this series a while ago when I ran out of books to read while I was on holiday. I was able to finally finish this series when I brought Goddess earlier on in the year. There is a twist on the normal books which are about the Olympus gods which are in these books and I would strongly recommend this to someone who liked them kind of books as it is completely original and something a bit different.

9. Fated, Alyson Noel- This is a book which I read just before the end of the 2014 year and it has already been added to the top 9 of 2014 books which were read. This is an indication of how good this book is and how much I enjoyed it. I will not rant too much about this as there is my full book review which I have written and posted on this blog.