Book Tags

The Readers Confession Tag

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Thanks to Erin for nominating me for this tag!
1. Have you ever damaged your own book?
I used to crack the spine multiple times in a book, but thankfully I don’t do that any more! I also sat on the corner of Ignite Me, does that count...? Oops.

 2. Have you ever damaged a borrowed book?
Nope! I don’t borrow books very often anyway, though when I do, I try to keep the books in perfect condition. I know I would want people to treat my books with the same respect!

 3. How long does it take you to read a book?
It really depends on the book - sometimes, if I’m really gripped, I can read a book in a day or two (see Ignite Me or The Art of Being Normal!), but if it’s slow, or really long, it can take me over a week. School also plays a big factor - if I have lots of work to do, it sometimes takes time away from my reading!

 4. Books that you haven’t finished?
There’s a lot! I actually never finished Mockingjay or Angelfall, and I had to put down The Maze Runner and The Goldfinch too. I found Will Grayson, Will Grayson unbearable, The Darkest Part of the Forest boring, and Since You’ve Been Gone was not for me.

5. Hyped/popular books that you don’t like?
The first ones that come to mind are The Fault in Our Stars, The Selection, and All the Bright Places. I also didn’t enjoy Red Queen and Eleanor and Park as much as everyone else did.

 6. Is there a book that you wouldn’t tell anyone you were reading?
I have to agree with Erin on this one - I certainly wouldn’t admit to reading Fifty Shades of Grey! I wouldn’t mind sharing this on the internet, but I don’t think I would tell anyone that I was reading Anna and the French Kiss. The title is just too cringe worthy!

 7. How many books do you own?
98! (and counting!) I didn’t realise I owned so many until I counted for this question!
Some of the prettiest books I own
8. Are you a fast reader or a slow reader?
I think I’m quite a fast reader, but I don’t get through books super quickly because I don’t have much time to read. In the holidays though, there’s no stopping me! :D

 9. Do you like to buddy read?
Yes - I love it! I don’t do loads of buddy reading, but I find it so fun. I love discussing ideas and opinions on books, but I find it hard to read the books at the same time as my buddies, haha. 

 10. Do you read better in your head or out loud?
In my head! In my head, I read everything eloquently and smoothly; out loud, I stutter, cough, and sometimes even manage to choke on my own spit. I hate reading aloud with a burning passion. 

 11. If you were only allowed to own one book, what would it be and why?
Why do you make me answer this?! I think I would either go for Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock because it’s my favourite, and so beautiful, or The Bane Chronicles, because it’s a pretty long book, and never fails to make me smile! Or The Art of Being Normal, because it's one of my favourites, and it's signed and personalised!
My nominees:
Bhavya | Books n' Calm
Mishma and Jillian | Chasing Faerytales
Rachel | Rambling Reads
Geraldine | Corralling Books

4 stars

Review: All of the Above

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All of the Above
By Juno Dawson

 Source: Library, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+, Mental Health, 
When sixteen-year-old Toria Bland arrives at her new school, she needs to work out who her friends are in a crazy whirl of worry, exam pressure and anxiety over fitting in. Things start looking up when Toria meets the funny and foul-mouthed Polly, who's the coolest girl that Toria has ever seen. Polly and the rest of the 'alternative' kids take Toria under their wing. And that's when she meets the irresistible Nico Mancini, lead singer of a local band - and it's instalove at first sight! Toria likes Nico, Nico likes Toria, but then there's Polly...love and friendship have a funny way of going round in circles.


I really liked Juno Dawson’s other book, Under My Skin, so I knew I was going to enjoy this one too, even if I knew it would be a little different. This book was comforting, and so much fun! It was a quick read, and a brilliant book, so I’d highly recommend it to fans of the genre!

It was very much a character driven book, and I adored most of the characters. I wasn’t keen on Toria - the protagonist - but I loved everyone else! I cared so much about the plot, because of how loveable everyone was. I felt like the characters were my best friends, and I do wish they were real!

This book discussed lots of pretty dark themes, and handled them very well. I’ve heard a few people saying to got a bit crowded, and should have just focused in more depth on just one important topic, but that’s not the case for me! It was true to real life, and I think it was handled so well. It has some very important messages, yet is still a super fun book.

One thing that makes this book stand out from others of the same genre is the poetry. There’s about 10 poems in the book, so they don’t occur very often. I think they fitted in really fell with what was happening, and added a lot to the story. Some of the more emotional ones were especially moving, so I do hope Juno’s books feature more poetry!

I really liked the ending. I thought everything was wrapped up well, and gave me full closure. Overall, this was an important book, yet a light read. It was everything I hoped for, and I really enjoyed it!

Books That Have Changed Me

Books That Have Changed Me

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We all know books have the power to change us, but it's definitely true that some books affect us more than others. I know many books have influenced me, but here are a few that I think have changed me the most:

How to Build a Girl
Although this book wasn’t heartbreakingly beautiful like some of the other books mentioned, I think it has changed me. Before this, I had never (and still haven’t) read a book that’s so outrageously and unapologetically feminist. It gets a little graphic in places, but that’s one of the reasons why I love it so much - it taught me things that no other book has yet been brave enough to explore. It’s changed my feminism, and I think it has changed me as a person too, even if not much!

 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I first read this book in one sitting back in 2014, and I really enjoyed it, but it didn’t really move me. I revisited it over the new year (I knew there was something completely special about it, that I would benefit much more from now), and it instantly became one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.

 The thing that struck me the most about this book was the protagonist, Charlie. There was something about him that I know is in myself, and in some ways it hit too close to home for me. The story is told entirely through Charlie’s POV, but because there were elements of Charlie that were me, I utterly lived in the story too. 

 It was so heartbreaking, and only the second book ever to make my cry. I was thinking about it for so long after (I’ve come up with so many analyses and interpretations of the ending!), and I think the poignant messages are with me now. This book has taught me things that I will take away forever.

Divergent
I’ve loved reading ever since I learnt to, but the Divergent series were the ones that introduced me to YA. I got hooked on them, and wanted to continue my addiction onto other books. I gradually discovered the YA genre, and look at me now... I’m addicted! Looking back, they’re far from my favourite series, but they’ve definitely changed me. If I didn’t read them, I don’t know if I’d be here! Hopefully, I would have discovered the YA genre and community another way, but who knows...

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
If I was to be asked to only pick one book to be my favourite, this would be the one I would choose, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s fair to say that I absolutely adore this book with all of my heart. When I first read it, I found it deeply moving, but it didn’t touch me in the way it did the second time round. The character of Leonard struck a chord with me, so it will always be extremely special.

Suicide is an issue that has become very important and poignant to me, so I don’t usually enjoy reading books about depression - recently I have been avoiding them for this reason. But, it is handled so well in here. This has really helped me, and I know will continue to help so many other people. I’m sure this is the book that has changed me the most, because I think I look at the world - and the people around me - differently. It was also the first book ever to make me cry!

What are the books that have changed you? Are there any books that have really impacted on your life?

2 Stars

ARC Review: Blood, Ink & Fire

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Blood, Ink & Fire
By Ashley Mansour

 Source: Netgalley
Release date: 1st December 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian

Imagine a world without books…
In the future, books are a distant memory. The written word has been replaced by an ever-present stream of images known as Verity. In the controlling dominion of the United Vales of Fell, reading is obsolete and forbidden, and readers themselves do not—cannot—exist. But where others see images in the stream, teenager Noelle Hartley sees words. She’s obsessed with what they mean, where they came from, and why they found her.

Noelle’s been keeping her dangerous fixation with words a secret, but on the night before her seventeenth birthday, a rare interruption in the stream leads her to a mysterious volume linked to an underworld of rebel book lovers known as the Nine of the Rising. With the help of the Risers and the beguiling boy Ledger, Noelle discovers that the words within her are precious clues to the books of the earlier time—and as a child of their bookless age, she might be the world’s last hope of bringing them back.

Blood, Ink & Fire is a gripping, evocative tale that asks, who would we be without books?


 **I received a free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion**

 When I began this book, I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not. I hadn’t read many reviews before hand, so I was unsure. Though, the concept was really intriguing, so I was really hoping for it to be great - it’s a book for book lovers, and sounds beautiful, but sadly it left me really disappointed.

 The main thing that let it down was the pacing. I got really bored in the middle, and wasn't fully engaged with the story at all. Some parts felt way too rushed, yet at others it was painfully slow. The ending was really disappointing too - it felt incredibly rushed, and gave me no closure at all. I won’t be reading the sequel (if there is one) as I didn’t enjoy the book, which makes me feel even more let down, as it just didn’t explain anything!

 One thing I did like was all the family themes explored. A large section of the plot was defined by Noelle’s love for her family, and it was refreshing! There’s slowly starting to be more family themes in YA, but for now, I’ll take what I can get! ☺

 Something that I really didn’t like in this book was the romance. Noelle’s involvement with Ledger was cringe-worthy and unnecessary anyway, but an added love triangle? No thanks! To be fair, it wasn’t huge, but I was confused as to why it was added in. I didn’t enjoy any aspects of the romance, and it just distracted from the plot. 

 I really liked the protagonist, Noelle! She wasn’t perfect, but she definitely had her fist-pump worthy moments. She was flawed, but real depth was shown, and I liked how determined she was. I enjoyed reading about her, even if I wasn’t convinced by all her decisions!

 Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book. It had its moments, but I was so disappointed, and I didn’t enjoy it. There were some beautiful quotes, but it was too oddly paced for me, and too many aspects that let me down to give it a higher rating. I’m really disappointing, because I thought it had so much potential!

Monthly Favourites

January Favourites

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So waaay back in August, I started a new feature on my blog where I shared my favourite things (?) and events that had happened in that month, but to be honest, I haven’t kept up with it because I didn't feel I had anything worth sharing! Hopefully I’ll be able to share my month more often than I have been doing!


Shadowhunters aired!
I have been waiting for this ever since it was announced one of my favourite series was being made into a TV show. I have been religiously following the casting news, trailers, teasers, and stills, so I was so excited for it to be finally January. Thankfully, it the show disappoint! I have loved every single episode, and I think everything is done so well. I’m so impressed with how well it done... it certainly has lived up to my expectations! I can’t wait to watch even more of the series (MALEC ON TOMORROW!), because I know it’s only going to get better.


Music
One of my favourite bands, Panic! at the Disco, released their latest album, Death of a Bachelor, this month,so I’ve been listening to that a lot. I’m pretty much in love with all the songs, and it was just as magical as I hoped it to be.


I actually had a social life...
This month, I went to Lazer Quest (I think in America it’s called Lazer Tag?) for one of my friend’s birthday. Although I did come last out of everyone playing (#19 out of 19... nothing to be ashamed about!), I had loads of fun! I haven’t been to Lazer Quest in years, so it was nice to go again!
On the blog
I only made some minor changes to my blog’s design this month, but something I did do was add a smooth scrolling feature. I’ve seen this on a few blogs, and I’ve always thought how professional and aesthetically pleasing it looks, so I’m really happy to have it on my own blog!
I also did some reviews:

And shared my bookish resolutions for 2016 (which I haven’t done too well at sticking to... yet!)
Monthly Haul
This month I bought 7 physical books:
Wytches, Vol 1 (graphic novel)
Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)
Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)
The Next Together
Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2)
Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)

1 e-book:
Apprentice (The Black Mage #2)

And 3 pre-orders:
Lady Midnight
Half Lost (Half Bad #3)
Radio Silence

Books I Read
This month I read 6 books, which I’m quite pleased with, considering school started again! I read:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (re-read)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Trouble
All the Rage
Heroes (for school)
My favourite book of the month (excluding re-reads) was definitely Trouble!

I’m also currently reading The Shining and I Call Myself a Feminist.

Posts on the blogosphere

How was your January? Did you do anything exciting? Let me know! ☺