3.5 stars

Review: Throne of Glass

16:05


Throne of Glass
By Sarah J Maas

Source: Physical copy
Page count: 404
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, 

Goodreads Synopsis:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 
Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

 My Review:

 My initial thoughts on this book were harsher than my opinion at the end. On the one hand, this book started off terribly, and was really boring; although, by the ending of this book I was loving it!

 First of all, it's beautifully written. All the description made this book a truly magical read for me:
"Celeana lay in the bed, staring at a pool of moonlight on the floor. It filled in the dusty gaps between the stone tiles, and turned everything a bluish silver that made her feel as if she was frozen in an everlasting moment." 
This quote is just beautiful. The amazing description really enhanced the book for me!

 I also really liked the main character: Celeana Sardothien. She was feisty, strong-minded, intelligent - a really great character! I really liked reading about her, and - for once - she wasn't a weak protagonist! This made the book really great for me. 

One thing I really hated about the book was Dorian. He was outrageously disgusting, and really sexist! One thing that was actually described about him was: "he couldn't deny that he was aching to learn what her bare skin smelled like, how she'd react to the touch of his finger along his body"
I find this despicable. The fact that he could think that just made me want to vomit!

Though, I did really enjoy this book, and towards the end it really made me want to read on, even if it was a very slow start. 

Rating: 


Recommendation: If you enjoyed The Mortal Instruments

Book Tags

Taylor Swift Book Tag

19:00


With everything going on, I realised I haven't posted in 10 days (!!!) so to change that, I decided to do the Taylor Swift Book Tag (as you can tell by the picture above!) which Anna @ Enchanted by YA sort of tagged me to do - so thanks for the tag!

We are Never Getting Back Together - Pick a book you were pretty sure you were in love with, but then wanted to break up with.
The Hunger Games Series. I was convinced that I loved The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, but then came along Mockingjay and ruined everything! It was super boring and stretched out - nothing happened, and it was hard to follow. I will always love the series, just not the ending!

Red - Pick a book with a red cover.
Reached (Matched #3). I actually had to have a long stare at my bookshelf for this one, because surprisingly, I barely own any red books! Though luckily, I had Reached, which I really enjoyed. Lots of people hate Matched, but I actually enjoyed it.

The Best Day - Pick a book that makes you feel nostalgic
Whenever I re-read The Mortal Instruments / The Infernal Devices, it always makes me feel nostalgic, because I feel like I once lived there (as the series combined are so long)! It is such an incredible world, and I would just love to live there.

I Knew You Were Trouble - Pick a bad character that you can't help but love
I have to chose Sebastian for this one. He's such a twisted person, he ceases to amaze me - all the things he wants! But then again, he's just misunderstood, and I really just love him!

Innocent - Pick a book someone ruined the ending for
Having an instagram account, it is almost impossible to go spoiler free when reading a popular book! The ending of Clockwork Princess was ruined for me, but that didn't stop me from being heartbroken by the ending! Cassandra Clare wrote it beautifully, but it was incredibly sad, even if the ending was ruined!

Everything has Changed - Pick a character from a book who goes through extensive character development
Tris from Divergent definitely does go through character development. She is amazing, then super annoying and irritating, then grows up and realises the importance of her life. That basically sums up the whole series!

You Belong With Me - Pick your most anticipated book release
I am super excited for Lady Midnight - coming out in Fall this year! - which is the next book in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles. I am so excited for when I can read it and be transported back to the shadowhunter world!

Forever and Always - Pick your favourite book couple
For this one, I had to pick Magnus and Alec from The Mortal Instruments. They are just the cutest, and their personalities compliment each other so well. Whenever I read about them, I just squeal in excitement!

Teardrop on my Guitar - Pick a book that made you cry a lot
I kind of cheated on this one, because I have actually never cried over a book before (That is the truth!). I picked Finale (Hush Hush #4) because the ending made me feel incredibly sad, and I did nearly cry!

2 Stars

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

21:00

Thirteen Reasons Why
By Jay Asher

 Source: Physical copy
Page count: 288
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realism, Romance, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.
Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.
Review:
When I was coming to write my initial thoughts for the review on this book, I found it very hard. I have really mixed opinions. I found it to be gripping, interesting, and beautifully written; but at the same time I found it to be frustrating, boring, and totally unbelieveable. For example, Clay - the narrator - described the letters on the building: "Each letter flinches on one at a time, C-R-E-S-T-M-O-N-T, like filling a crossword puzzle with neon letters". There was no plot holes, and it all came together like a puzzle towards the end, so I can't disagree that the book is well-written. But what I can disagree with is Hannah's reasons for suicide.
According to the NHS website, some of the main reasons for committing suicide are: having a mental health problem, being bullied, genetics and family history, and lifestyle (like being a drug addict or an alcoholic). Hannah did not experience any of there. I found all of the 13 reasons for Hannah's suicide just ridiculous. One of them was her first kiss was not everything she expected it to be. A ridiculous reason for taking your own life. Yes, I agree that according to the tapes, she did not have a good life, but - in my opinion - I think that they were not valid reasons to take her own life away. Committing suicide is a really big deal - the people who usually go through it have usually had much worse done to them than Hannah. 
I understand that for a YA novel, Jay Asher couldn't make his novel too depressing - which suicide definitely is - but the fact that the book is based around such a big topic means it should have been hard hitting for the book to be effective. The purpose - in my opinion - of the book is to teach the reader that suicide can affect anyone, and that if you see someone, or you are thinking about suicide, that you can talk to someone, and there are people who still care about you. To be honest, the reason's lack of justice (for being a reason - it was not a valid reason) makes the book's purpose not as effective on the reader. The potential reader who is thinking about suicide, they may not be able to relate to Hannah, because they have had it so much worse, meaning they think that they can't branch out to talk to someone, or they were bullied much more than Hannah, leading them to think that there actually is no-one that cares, not like Hannah, who had people caring about her, she just didn't know it. This made the whole book not-that-great for me.
Another thing I didn't like about this book was Clay, the narrator. The first thing I didn't like about him - which irritated me throughout the entire book - was that he kept interrupting Hannah's speech. As he was the narrator of the book, he kept saying things to the reader that were totally unnecessary, and didn't enhance the story at all. For example, "I sit on the platform". This is a perfect example - this was totally not needed, and these bits of pointless information should be definitely cut down. Another reason why I hated Clay telling us things was because it got really confusing. The only difference between Hannah's and Clay's speech was that Hannah's was in italics. This really confused me because when I'm reading, I don't really look at the paper as such, more like just imagine what's happening. With the writing style being only slightly different, I got mixed up when Hannah and Clay were both experiencing the same event. 
To add to this, I really hated Clay as a character. He was really annoying, and kept disagreeing with what Hannah said, saying things like that she was over reacting, and believing that Hannah was lying! I found this utterly disrespectful and rude, because everyone is allowed their own opinions, but Clay said that he loved Hannah and really missed her, yet was rude to her when she was dead! This outraged me because Clay was saying how he missed Hannah, despite the fact that he thought about her in an angry way, and believing what she was saying wasn't fair on the people on the tapes (people who she believed caused her suicide). Whatever Hannah would say about them would be fair - they made her kill herself. Anything she says about them is fully deserved. Any truth about themselves they deserve. In my opinion, causing someone to take their own life is one of the most terrible things anyone can do - and Clay was defending them! This was appalling. 
Though one thing I did like about was Clay was how he changed at the end. At the very end of the book, he sees someone with the same symptoms as Hannah, and goes to help them and talk to them. I like this in a character because it shows the book was worthwhile, for them and us. And, that teaches us as readers to look out for people, which I think was a very good way to finish a somewhat depressing book (although the main feeling I had when I finished it was pure annoyance).
Rating:
I would recommend it if you enjoyed If I Stay. 

3 Stars

Review: Blood Red Road

21:39

Blood Red Road
By Moira Young

 Source: Library
Page count: 459
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Post Apocalyptic, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Saba lives in Silverlake, a wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms where her family scavenge from landfills left by the long-gone Wrecker civilization. After four cloaked horsemen kidnap her beloved twin brother Lugh, she teams up with daredevil Jack and the Free Hawks, a girl gang of Revolutionaries. 

 Saba learns that she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Saba and her new friends stage a showdown that change the course of her civilization.

 Review:

 I enjoyed this book. I thought it was interesting, different from others of its genre, and had a unique writing style. It took a while to get into - the writing style took time to get into, and the book's beginning was terrible. It was boring and dull, and I was seriously considering stopping reading Blood Red Road because the start was so awful. Though, I persevered through the start, and thankfully, the book picked up. By the middle of the book, I was really enjoying it. 

 One of the reasons why this book was so good was because of the characters. Saba, the main character, was strong and independent - I really enjoyed reading about her. She was gutsy, and wouldn't let people stand in her way of her chance of saving her brother, Lugh. Probably the reason I liked Saba so much was because she was fierce, and changed throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, she says that if her younger sister, Emmi, had been kidnapped, she wouldn't go to save her: at the end of the book Saba says that now, she definitely would save her. "If it'd bin Emmi they took, he says, Emmi an not Lugh... would you of gone after her?
"When he asked me that question, back at Darktrees, the answer was no. If he asked me agin, if he asked me now, I'd answer yes, Without stoppin to think. Yes" I think this is important to see in a character because it shows the books has meaning - also, it shows that what the character has gone through is worthwhile, because they learnt things from it. I also thinks it means that us, as readers can learn more from the book, because we have been on the same adventure as the characters, so we can learn the same things.

 Another reason why Saba - in my opinion - is such an amazing heroine, is because she (although she didn't know it - it's the author's clever writing) wasn't a typical dystopian female heroine. In your average dystopian novel, the girl is the hero, and saves / changes the world for the better. In Blood Red Road, Saba says "I'm here to git Lugh back, not to change the world" which was really the icing in the cake to a seemingly perfect character for me, because it made Blood Red Road stand out from the other books around at the moment. It shows that the character wasn't your average Tris or Katniss, she was her own, and was different, because she changes the world while doing something for other people, and didn't set out to do that. I believe this makes Blood Red Road a different and unique read because the core reason for the book is completely different.

 However good my initial thoughts of Saba were, I was highly disappointed with her. I thought she was a strong, determined character, but my expectations of her proved too high. 
"I press myself closer. I cain't seem to get enough
Stop, he says aginst my lips
I don't. I don't want to. I cain't.
He grabs both my hands. Saba, he says. Saba, stop" 
This outraged me greatly because this just completely doesn't fit in with Saba's character. She is strong minded, and would not kiss somebody while rescuing her brother, let alone not being able to stop and control herself while kissing somebody. In all honesty, I feel like this part was not needed in the book. It didn't add anything, just made Saba go down in my estimation, and actually altered my view of the whole book.  

 To continue with the theme of sections in the book that shouldn't be in there, some parts of the book feel like they have not been checked over. For example, in the book it says "If I'm lucky, I'll be there in a week. A week, she said, if I'm lucky" which I thought was just bad editing. Both of the lines were not needed in the book. 

 Overall, I would say this book is OK, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're ready to persevere, because the beginning is bad, but the ending is good. 

 Rating: 

Lists

Top 5 Books Read in 2014

18:13

Happy New Year!

As I mentioned in a previous post, 2014 was a big reading year for me - the year I fully got into reading. It was very hard to decide which books to include, and what order to put them in, but here are my top 5 books I read in 2014:

5. Solitaire by Alice Oseman


I have chosen Solitaire because it was a very interesting read, and was different to others I have read before. The characters were very loveable - I really cared about them, and wanted to know more of their story. They were also really relatable - I could really relate to the main character, Tori, because she was grumpy and preferred to be on her own, which is definitely me at times!

I have also chosen Solitaire as one of my favourite reads because the author really understood (that might be because she's only 20!) her readers - the book mentioned lots of things I am interested in, which made me want to read on too. Another reason why I really enjoyed this book was because it had some plot twists I wasn't expecting - usually in books like this I can predict the whole plot, but some parts of this book kept me guessing, which I liked. This book had action, but it wasn't too gory (although sometimes I do like a gory book), so it was an easy, pleasant read. It was just a really cute book!

4. Finale (part of the Hush, Hush series) by Becca Fitzpatrick

I have chosen Finale because it was a really exciting and tense end to a series I loved. I was 'on the edge of my seat' throughout the whole book, because it was full of unexpected plot twists. I was kept guessing, and it was only some of the twists in the book that I guessed correctly. Though, there were so many turns in the book that it didn't matter if I knew one, because soon enough I was on to the next!

Another reason I enjoyed Finale so much was because I really cared about the characters. Even though I hated the main character, Nora, I cared about her, and I cared about the other characters, which meant I was never really bored, and wanted to continue reading the book. Also, I really shipped the main couple (?) in it a lot, so I enjoyed the romance part to the book too. I have also chosen Finale as one of my favourite reads this year because it had a happy ending - although it was compromised, I felt it did the book justice. Becca Fitzpatrick wrapped the book up nicely, and I believe it was an appropriate way to finish the series.

3. City of Heavenly Fire (part of The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare - possible spoilers below -

I have chosen this book to be on my list because it had everything I look for in a book in it. Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite authors, so I had high expectations for this book, but it did not disappoint. It was was exciting and tense - there was so much going on I was literally gripping the book, and it had so many unexpected plot twists that I didn't guess. It also had intense battle scenes and fighting which I loved.

Another reason I have chosen City of Heavenly Fire is because it had so many amazing scenes for my favourite characters. Everything came together (Malec!) and it turned out, in the least okay-ish for everyone I wanted it to (Sizzy!). As I read all the books in one go, I really saw the characters change throughout the series, and this book saw them fully develop - especially my favourite character Alec - I really saw him change, especially in this book (the pie scene!).

I also enjoyed this book because it was a satisfying ending. I feel like the ending wasn't rushed, yet didn't drag out. I liked the epilogue, and I liked the fact the book was so long, because it meant more of it!

2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I have chosen Fangirl to be on my list, mainly because it was so relatable. I could really relate to the main character, Cath, which meant I really cared about the characters, and wanted to read on about them. I also liked Fangirl because it was an easy read - there was no massive problems, no death, and no violence, which meant I could just breeze through it. But, it wasn't boring at all. I was still excited to read it when I put it down, and I was still gripped throughout the book.

Another reason I enjoyed Fangirl so much was because it had a really good ending, that wasn't rushed, and wasn't dragged out too much. I thought that Rainbow Rowell wrapped the book up nicely, and it was a satisfying ending. The characters got everything they deserved, and it didn't leave me at any loose ends, so it was all good!

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I enjoyed this book so much to put it as my favourite book of 2014 because it was so interesting and had me so gripped throughout the whole book. The characters were really well developed, and developed through the book, so they felt so real, and I really enjoyed reading about them. I could also really relate to the main character Charlie - he was not very good at being social, and just trying to find way in life.

Another reason I have chosen The Perks of Being a Wallflower to be my favourite book of 2014 is because it was so interesting. It was different to the things I have read before, and the style was so unique, meaning I wasn't bored with it. The book was short, which I liked, because it was just the right length - I feel if it was any longer it would have dragged. It was just such a cute book, and I loved everything about it!


What are your favourite reads from 2014? Tell me in the comments below!