Monday 9 December 2013

Review on The Infernal Devices #2 Clockwork Prince




The search for the Magister continues, and after a fellow Shadowhunter, Benedict Lightwood insists that Charlotte is not good enough to run the institute, the Clave give her two weeks to find the location of the Magister, or have the institute fall into the hands of Benedict. The Shadowhunters are on a race against time to find the location of The Magister, but all is not as it seems, and they find out that they have a traitor under their very roof. Meanwhile, Will finds out the truth about what really happened during an event in his childhood, while Tessa grows closer to Jem, and finds herself torn between the two boys.

After reading the first book in this series I was hooked, and have to continue to find out what would happen next. In the first book, although I loved both Will and Jem, I always preferred Will, as I always seem to like the characters who seem tortured and act a bit of an ass because of not knowing how to deal with their problems. However, Jem's character has been developed further in Clockwork Prince, and I found myself loving this character just as much, if not more than Will, so I now feel Tessa's pain of not being able to choose between the two. Yes I am that person who falls in love with fictional characters and I regret nothing. Although the love triangle is a big plot point in this book, there was still enough action to stop it from being solely about the romance, and there are a couple of shocks along the way. I will definitely be reading the final installment of this series, as although Clockwork Prince revealed a lot about the characters, there are still some plot points that have yet been unsolved, and I can't wait to find out how this series ends.











Sunday 10 November 2013

Nanowrimo

Hello everyone! I'm just posting a quick update to explain the lack of updates on this blog right now. I have decided to participate in Nanowrimo [National Novel Writing Month] This means that I am attempting to get a novel wrote by the end of this month. The minimum word count is 50'000 words and I've never wrote a piece of fiction this long before so it's very tiring and a lot of work. I'm not getting the time to read right now so I probably won't be posting again until the end of the month. Normal blogging will resume in December.

Good luck to any of my fellow Nanowrimo participants!

Thursday 19 September 2013

Review on 'The Book Thief'







In 1939 Nazi Germany, nine year old Liesel Meminger is forced to live with a foster family. She is at first reluctant, but grows to love her foster parents. However, after finding a book left in the snow, a thirst for knowledge causes Liesel to want more, resulting in her nickname of “The Book Thief.” As the second world war approaches, and a Jewish fist fighter comes into her life, Liesel must decide between loyalty to the Führer , or loyalty to the Jew who now resides in her basement. One thing that Liesel does not bet on is that one day a certain book will save her life.

I don’t even know where to start with this book there’s so much I want to talk about that I could write a whole essay on all the different themes but I will try to keep it as brief as possible. The first thing that I want to point out is that this book is narrated by death. As the stereotypical idea of death is a long, black hooded figure with a scythe, it is interesting that in this book we are actually able to sympathize with death. He has a pretty crappy job having to be the one to take souls away from bodies after a person dies but hey someone has to do it right? But overall Death hates that he has to do this and particularly feels sad about taking away the souls of children. We see that he has his own thoughts and feelings, and can be particularly drawn to the lives of individuals, such as Liesel. Moving on from Death, there are other important themes, a few of them being friendship, bravery, forgiveness, determination and helping those in need, even if it means going against the rules. Like I said I could go into each of these themes in detail but ain’t no one got time to read that. However I must talk about the narrative devices used. I've already mentioned the fact that the novel is narrated by Death. I found it interesting that the reason Death knows Liesel's story is not by creepily stalking her, but by reading the book that she had wrote about her life. I thought this was a great way to personify Death, as reading is a very human thing to do, and the fact that Death made time in his busy schedule to read her story makes Death seem a little less scary. I must also mention the tiny details, such as the text of Mein Kampf bleeding through the painted pages in Max’ stories. I apologize for the long review but I was just amazed by this book and it is one of the best stories I have read this year. I highly recommend it as it is one of those books that has the ability to change your life and your way of perceiving the world. I am now highly looking forward to the movie adaptation and hope that it does the book justice.










Saturday 24 August 2013

Review on 'The Infernal Devices #1 Clockwork Angel'






In the year 1878, 16 year old Tessa Gray moves to London to live with her brother after the death of her aunt. However, things are not as they seem, as instead of her brother, Tessa is greeted by two strange women known only as The Dark Sisters. Tessa soon finds out the truth about these two women, and realizes that her brother has gone missing. With the help of the London Shadowhunters, including best friends Will and Jem, Tessa must uncover the truth about the disappearance of her brother, and what she really is.

As most Young Adult novels that I have read recently have been either contemporary or dystopian, I felt that this novel being set in the past was an interesting and welcoming change. I decided to read this book after enjoying The Mortal Instruments series and loving the Shadowhunter world, and thought this addition was interesting and exciting. I loved the characters, particularly Will and Jem. Although at first I thought that I would prefer Will, as he is seems similar to Jace in The Mortal Instruments, I ended up loving Jem too as he is just the most sweet and adorable thing and I ended up wishing that he wasn’t fictional! There are some heart wrenching moments, particularly the reason why Jem is sick. There is a love triangle in this book between Tessa, Will and Jem, but for this book at least, it did not seem to be the main focus point, and the action outweighed the romance. If you are a fan of The Mortal Instruments, or even if you are just interested in a Young Adult book set in the past then you should give this one a go.










Monday 8 July 2013

Review on 'Warm Bodies'









“R” is a zombie who lives in an abandoned airport. He does not remember anything about his life before he died, not even his name, although he is sure that it began with the letter R. The only thing that R does in his Undead state is wonder aimlessly round the airport, and visit the city when he craves human brains. That is until he meets Julie, a human girl who he decides to save rather than eat. With Julie's help, R slowly starts to regain human emotions and his craving for brains lessens. R decides that he is not content with his life as a zombie, and wants to fully regain his humanity. But it's not only R who is changing, the zombies that R shared the airport with also seem to be going through changes. R and Julie start a battle against the zombie virus. Will they succeed or will the Boneys destroy the zombies before they can fully regain their humanity?

As I had seen the trailer for the movie adaptation of this book, and I hate seeing the movie before reading the book I thought I should probably read it. The book is told from R's point of view, which I thought was interesting, as the zombies are usually seen as the “bad guys” so it was original to see a story with a zombie protagonist. As I usually like supernatural novels, I had expectations for this book and it did not disappoint. R is a very likable character, and the reader is able to sympathize with his want to become a living person again, as although R needs to eat humans to survive, after meeting Julie he starts to dislike what he is. Although the book has emotional parts and talks between Julie and R, the book is also action packed, with fight scenes and chases between the zombies and the Boneys. It is quite gory in parts, which is to be expected from a zombie novel. They do eat brains after all! I thought that it was a unique idea to have the zombies see flashbacks of the humans life once they had eaten their brain. The flashbacks from Perrys life was confusing at times, but was overall a good idea to give R background information on Julies life.  If you enjoy zombie stories and don't mind seeing them in a positive light, then I recommend this book.








Saturday 29 June 2013

Review on 'War Horse'




Joey is a beautiful red horse who is taken from his mother at a young age and sold to a farmer. Although the farmer is unkind to Joey, the farmers son takes kindly to Joey and trains him how to be a work horse. However, when the army arrives in town looking for horses, Joey is sold. As Albert, Joeys owner, is too young to join the army, the two are separated and Joeys life changes forever. Faced with the terrors of war, Joey has to get through this alive so that he can be reunited with Albert.

I thought this book was beautifully written and found the narrative style interesting, as it is wrote from the point of view of Joey. Although many of the characters in the book think that horses are dumb and can't understand them, we know this is not true, as Joey explains his thoughts and feelings, letting the reader sympathize with him. We are rooting for Joey throughout the book, and although he meets many kind people, such as a little french girl called  Emilie, we are always wanting him to find Albert again. Although there are no major plot twists, there is plenty of action and there is never a dull moment. The copy that I have is also beautifully illustrated, which helps in telling the story and giving a visual image to the reader. Although this is a childrens book, I would recommend it to people of all ages.




Wednesday 5 June 2013

Review on 'Beautiful Creatures'




Ethan Wate lives in a small, boring village where nothing ever happens. That is until Lena Duchannes moves into town. When Lena inexplainably smashes a window in class, she is immediately shunned by her peers, all except for Ethan. Although Lena lives with Macon Ravenwood, a man who no one has seen leave his house in years, Ethan has a connection with Lena. But why has Ethan been dreaming about this girl for months, and why is she so worried about her upcoming birthday? Ethan soon finds out that Lena is more than just a normal teenage girl

As I love supernatural young adult novels, I thought that I would try this one. The plot is interesting, and it keeps you wanting to find out why Lena and Ethan have such a strong connection. I thought it was well written, and the back story of their ancestors helped explain the characters, and how they are connected through their family. However after the initial reveal of what Lena is, I felt that the subplots were not enough to keep you from wondering what was going to happen to Lena on her birthday, and it felt as if the novel was dragged along until this point. I loved the climax of the novel, as there are a few plot twists, but also some disappointments, as the book seems to be leading up to a big reveal, but then it does not happen, and it seems as if we have to read the sequels to find out Lena's fate. It is a good read overall, but not the best YA novel I have read recently.




Tuesday 21 May 2013

Review on 'The Fault in Our Stars'



"It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”








Hazel Grace wants nothing more than the ability to be a normal teenager. However, being diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirteen changed her life forever. Although the cancer is kept at bay with a drug called Phalanxifor, her life is constantly at risk. As Hazel needs to be constantly hooked up to an oxygen tank, this makes it difficult for her to do normal day to day activities. Hazel is depressed about her situation, that is until she meets Augustus Waters, a gorgeous boy who she meets at cancer support group. As Augustus was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at a young age, causing him to loose his right leg, Hazel finally has someone in her life who understands her. However, Hazel discovers that not all is as it seems, and her relationship with this perfect boy may be in jeopardy.

As I’d heard many positive reviews about this book,and consider myself a nerd fighter,  I decided to give it a go. John Green does not disappoint, as I instantly loved this novel and connected with the characters of Hazel and Augustus. The novel had me both laughing and sobbing, and I felt great empathy for these characters. Green brings Hazel and Augustus to life, showing a variety of emotions from humour to pain. Although the book is centered around teenagers, they seem advanced for their age, knowing that life is never perfect. I think that adults as well as teenagers would enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone. As long as you are ok with having your heart ripped out towards the conclusion, you should definitely read this book. In other words, it will be a privilege to have your heart broken by it.






Monday 1 April 2013

Cover Reveal

Sorry I haven't updated this in a long time I have a lot of University work to do right now as I have three exams at the start of May. I've just finished reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and am currently working on a book review to post. In the meantime I thought I would share the cover of the sequel to Chris Colfer's childrens novel The Land of Stories.



I think this is a beautiful and exciting cover. There's so much to look at and it makes you wonder what Alex and Conner will get up to in their next adventure. We can see some of the old characters, such as Froggy and the harp, but there also seems to be some new and exciting enemies for the twins to face. I thought the first book was brilliant so I am looking forward to getting to read this one.

Thursday 17 January 2013








After Sebastian’s body inexplicably vanishes from the rooftop, it is clear that Lilith's plan to bring him back has worked.  Clary is left with the major problem that Valentine’s son is once again on the loose, and is intent on creating an army of dark Shadowhunters. However, this is only one of their problems, as Sebastian has seemingly kidnapped Jace, who is now bound to Sebastian’s life force. Cut Sebastian and Jace bleeds. Clary and her friends must find a way to break this bond before it is too late. Will they be able to get back the Jace they all know and love, or will he be lost to Sebastian forever?


The fifth installment of this series does not disappoint, as we follow the characters we have come to know and love, such as Clary, Simon and the Lightwoods as they try to figure out how to destroy Sebastian without hurting Jace. The book is heart wrenching, so if you do not want to be sobbing your eyes out by the end of it then I don’t recommend reading it. We see the relationships of the characters develop, some for the better and some for the worse. However we also get the full on action scenes we have come to expect in this series, and there is never a dull moment.

As I have probably mentioned before, I adore Magnus Bane and he definitely does not disappoint in the book, as he is just as fabulous as ever. I adore how his relationship with Alec develops, although we see a darker side to both the characters, and discover that their relationship is just as flawed as any of the other couples. The relationship between Clary and Jace is also heartbreaking, as even though Clary is still in love with Jace, she has to accept the fact that this is not her Jace, as he is being manipulated by Sebastian.

Overall this is a great addition to the series. My only problem is that the last book in this series does not come out until 2014, and I don’t know how I am going to cope having to wait that long to find out what happens next. I have fallen in love with these characters [particularly Jace, Magnus and Alec] and am looking forward to finding out how their adventure concludes.