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.

Fated- Alyson Noel

There are three main things which I think are what makes a reader pick a book off the shelf and buying it. These include:

The author- It may possibly be that the reader has already owned some of their previous works and have enjoyed what they have to offer.

The cover- The saying 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' really does not apply to most readers as this will be the first thing that they see about a book which means that they would be more inclined to pick up the book if it is eye catching.

The blurb- A reader will ALWAYS read the blurb of a book before they buy it so that they are aware of what it contains and it it is right for them or not.

In the case of this book, all three of these factors apply. For starters, I own previous books by Alyson Noel which I enjoyed, the cover was bright which lead me to it and then after reading the blurb, I thought that I would give it a go.

My first impressions of the title "Fated" and while reading the blurb meant to me that this book would be the average book about a troubled girl who finds the guy of his dreams and they fall in love but there are challenges which they must face in order for them to be together in the end. However, the rest of the blurb is what appealed to me the most. The fact that this girl needs to go and live with a grandmother which she has never met before for some unknown reason due to her being a part of a world which no one knows about and is hidden from normal society which is the reason why I read this book.

While reading this book, I found that it was not heavily influenced by the dashing male character, Dace, but it is mainly focused on this unknown world which is around everyone in their everyday lives and they are unaware of it. The way in which this world has been created is amazing and how Noel has taken Medicine Men and their superstitions and how people thought them to be 'cooky' and 'weird' and she has transformed it into something which is larger than the ideas about them which is truly mesmerising.

To be able to create a new world with beliefs which 'normal' people wouldn't even begin to understand is a true talent which Noel has really shown through her writing in this book as this story is completely original and I have never read anything like it. (Apart from the obvious girl falls in love with handsome guy part which seems to pop up a lot.)

But seriously, this is a book which I would certainly recommend to others if they like this sort of book. And I will tell you something, I shall definitely be going to Waterstones to buy the rest of the Soul Seekers series soon.

Dying of the light-Derek Landy

This is the last in the "Skulduggery Pleasant" series which is absolutely amazing and I would recommend it to everyone.

As I am writing this review, I have literally just finished the book and there are so many thoughts going on in my head right now that I have to write them all down.

The first thing that I can think of after finishing this is "Why, Derek? Why?" We all know that Derek is not going to delve into this world any more but there are so many possibilities which can be carried on from this. This world has been a part of my life for many years and now that it is over there are so many emotions which I am feeling.


My heart was torn out during many sections of this book. I would like to say that there are some spoilers which could come up from now on so you cannot moan at me for it and it is all your fault.

This includes when Fletcher starts to date Stephanie. When this occurred I was in shock. How could this be? It just isn't right. Since 'The Faceless Ones' when Fletcher appeared into our lives, I knew that he was supposed to be with Valkyrie and I always supported them to be together in the end.

When Tanith finds out about the death of Ghastly, this is a soul destroying moment. The amount of emotion which was conveyed really seeped into my heart and made me feel as the characters did. This is just another way of showing how emotional Derek Landy is in his writing.

I was shocked how I felt when reading the death of Sanguine. Before, I never really thought much of him except that he was the bad guy and wanted to help to destroy the world but as the books developed, it really showed that he has a caring side, especially for Tanith as he died to protect her. This really showed that he did love her and in the end he was able to do the right thing.

During the fighting with Darquesse, there was obviously many casualties. However, these were not mentioned in the book afterwards. There are suggestions to say that they died but many characters which have a place in all of our hearts have no obvious outcome. This includes Saracen, Vex, Bane and O'Callahan. I thought this was very disappointing as there is no idea what happened or even if they are still alive. Also, I really did think we would find out what Saracen's powers were!

There is one obvious part of this book which really shocked me and honestly, I was in tears while reading this section. This was at the end of chapter 106 (I will not say anything more but those who have read this book will know what I am talking about.) This part of the book was written so beautifully that after I finished reading this chapter I didn't know what to say or do. I just stared at the pages in absolute shock as I could not believe what was happening. What made this even worse is that the book had you believing that this was the case until the very end of the book when something happens to prove otherwise.

There are probably so many more things which I could talk about in this review, unfortunately they have all escaped me due to the amount of "feels" which I am currently having and I will most likely think of something to add to this later so I shall just edit the post to slip it in.

To anyone who is reading this post, I would just like to say that if you have not already done so you MUST go to your local book store and buy the first book in this series so that you can fall in love with this brilliant writing and story.

Finally, I would just like to say thank you to Derek Landy for bringing this world both into my life and into my heart as it is a book series which I have read many times and most likely to read them again in the future.

Introduction

Welcome, 

I have created this blog with one purpose in mind, to talk about books. Reading is a main focus of mine which I wish to share with as many people as possible, which this blog is allowing me to do. Through this I want to be able to achieve to inspire many people that reading is amazing and you can travel anywhere in the universe without leaving the beloved comfort of your bed. 

Through this blog, I aim to not only inspire people to read, but also allowing me the chance to recieve reccomendations for books which I would not normally pick off the shelf and buy. I also plan on reviwing books, while taking breaks from revision and school, which I have read which will allow others to then try that book for themseves. 

In the future, my plans fo this blog I to ensure that it is not just a blog, but it is istead a community, where those who have a passion for reading (like me) are able to have somewhere they are able to talk about the hottest new releases and what they love about them.

Thank you for taking the time for reading my blog and I hope that you will return in the not to distant future.

-Little Book Nerd