3.5 stars

Review: Rebel of the Sands

07:30

Rebel of the Sands
By Alwyn Hamilton
Series: Rebel of the Sands #1
Source: Netgalley
Format: e-ARC
Published: 4th February 2016 by Faber & Faber
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance,

"Tell me that and we'll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand."

Dustwalk is Amani's home. The desert sand is in her bones. But she wants to escape. More than a want. A need.

Then a foreigner with no name turns up to save her life, and with him the chance to run. But to where? The desert plains are full of danger. Sand and blood are swirling, and the Sultan's enemies are on the rise...


**I received a free e-book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does in no way alter my opinions**

I’ve been wanting this book for so long, so when I saw it on Netgalley, I was so excited to read it!! I’d heard pretty much only good things before reading, so my expectations were pretty high. It did disappoint me a bit, but I still enjoyed the book, just not as much as I hoped I would. It was extremely well written, but some things let it down (for me).

 The main fault I had was the pacing. I really liked the opening - it was fast and very exciting, but after that, it dipped for a bit. There were lots of exciting action scenes, which were written so well, but there was also a lot of world-building at the start which took a long time. This book took me ages to get into, and it never had me completely hooked. There were just some really slow points that let it down. 

 I really loved the protagonist, Amani. Right from the start, I was rooting for her - she was so badass, and amazing at fighting, right from the first page. I loved how she was really emotionally strong as well; even when going through really tough circumstances, she didn’t crack or become irritating to read about. I liked the way she was flawed too! Amani wasn’t perfect, but that’s what made her feel more real, and made me care about her even more. 

 The romance was executed very well too. I liked the way it was slow-burning throughout novel - the love interest had an instant connection with Amani, but they weren’t involved romantically straight away too. There was no insta-love at all!

 The love interest was a really interesting character. I liked him, and liked him with Amani, because he was so caring and selfless. He genuinely cared for Amani and put her first, but didn’t try to hinder her when she was being such a badass. He was a strong character too, and I enjoyed reading about him!

 I loved the setting. Although at the start the world building became a bit info-dumpy, I found it so interesting, because the culture is so different to what we have in modern society. Most dystopian settings have some resemblance to today, but I found it much harder to see in this book. I liked the beautiful descriptions of the deserts, and the rich language and specialist terminology made the book so much more unique. 

 Overall, I’d really recommend this if you’re prepared to sit through lengthy descriptions, to get to a stunning setting. The characters are so likeable, and the plot is so original, so even if you get bored with the slow pacing, it’s still a really interesting book. It’s a really unique and diverse read!

3.5 stars

Review: Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy #5)

10:00

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy #5)
By Richelle Mead

 Source: Library, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance

 Goodreads Synopsis:
Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong...
After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.


Going into this book, I didn’t have very high expectations. I adored Shadow Kiss (my review here), but Blood Promise (my review here) fell really short. I just expected the series to just decline now, but thankfully, this book was a lot better than Blood Promise! Even though it didn’t really progress from Blood Promise, and nothing really happened, I ended up enjoying the way it went.
I liked the way this book was more focused in court, and in the guardian duties - I enjoyed the new direction the series seemed to be taking. I was disappointed with how overlooked Blood Promise had become though: all of the new characters seemed to be have forgotten, and it didn’t seem like they were going to add anything more to the story. At some points, Blood Promise was slow and I really didn’t see the point in it - I felt cheated on that it was all for nothing!
In my opinion, Rose’s character got so much worse. In the previous books, I loved her so much, but in this one, she just made so many stupid decisions. It was fun to read about her gutsy decisions in court, but after a while they became irritating and tiresome. I really didn’t like the way she couldn’t decide between Adrian or Dimitri too - her constant switching quickly became old and boring.

Thankfully, the second half of the book was so much better. Lots more was happening, so it became a lot more interesting. The book ended on a massive cliff-hanger, so I was really eager to move straight on to the next one! (luckily I had it to hand, so didn’t have to wait). The series picked up, so I was hoping it will be rounded off well, and will redeem itself from previous books!

3.5 stars

Review: Birdy

14:43

Birdy
By Jess Vallance

 Source: Borrowed from a friend, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Thriller

Goodreads Synopsis:

Frances Bird has been a loner for so long that she’s given up on ever finding real friendship. But then she’s asked to show a new girl around school, and she begins to think her luck could finally be changing.

Eccentric, talkative and just a little bit posh, Alberta is not at all how Frances imagined a best friend could be. But the two girls click immediately, and it’s not long before they are inseparable. Frances could not be happier.

As the weeks go on, Frances finds out more about her new best friend – her past, her secrets, her plans for the future – and she starts to examine their friendship more closely.

Is it, perhaps, just too good to be true?
My review:

I was really looking forward to reading this book - there’s so much hype surrounding it at the moment, and the synopsis seemed right up my street, so I had high expectations. But for the majority of the book, I was highly disappointed: nothing was happening, and it looked like it was just going to be another boring high-school themed book. My opinions changed at the end, but for me, it was too little too late.

The characters were... okay, though really nothing special. I wasn’t overwhelmed by how original they were, but I quite liked Frances. At the start of the book she seemed quite relatable, but as the book progressed she made some very stupid decisions. She became irritating really quickly, and her narrative made me feel a bit ‘meh’.

The only thing that saved this book from a 2 star rating (or lower!) was the ending. I really wasn’t expecting it at all (usually I have my suspicions); my jaw actually dropped! It was so sinister and creepy, and I just couldn’t stop reading. The way it came as such a shock made it even more appalling - it completely saved the book.
It’s tricky for me to recommend this book - some elements will really appeal to some, but I found it to just be a flop. I think you'd enjoy this if you're a fan of the genre, but if this isn't really your thing, I don't think you'd enjoy persevering through the frustrating start. I found it to be somewhat enjoyable, but was disappointed in the end.

Rating:


3.5 stars

Review: Blood Promise (Vampire Academy #4)

08:00

Blood Promise
By Richelle Mead

 Page count: 504
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same. 

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters ... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved? 

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

 My review:
After the way Shadow Kiss ended, I was desperate for Blood Promise. I expected it to have the same excitement and pace that Shadow Kiss did, but instead I ended up highly disappointed. It had a slow start (for the majority of the book, not much was happening), and I was disappointed with the direction that it took.


I found Rose to be a lot weaker in this book. In some parts, she was pretty pathetic and had no self control, and I found it was as if all of her training practically went out the window (she hesitated and could barely throw a punch). I didn’t like how she took a while to think of a plan (it just made the story drag) and do something for herself.


Though I enjoyed the new characters, I didn’t like Lissa. She was really selfish and unpleasant to everyone around her, especially to Rose through the bond. I didn’t like her in Shadow Kiss, but I hated her in Blood Promise. Everything she did was pretty pathetic, and she made really irritating decisions.
The book got a lot better towards the end. Like all of the books in the series, the ending was really exciting. There was much more action, and although Rose still made a few stupid decisions, she was much tougher. I liked how she was able to (somewhat) save the day, as at the start of the book she was a bit rubbish.

Because the book took a different direction compared to the rest of the series, it was obviously setting up for next books in the series. I’m hoping everything will come together, and everyone will be really important, and play their part. Everything will have mattered, and there will be a truly epic conclusion. Most of this book didn’t go anywhere and was repetitive, so I’m hoping the rest of the series is going to continue with the fast pace of Shadow Kiss, and go back to being a truly awesome series.

Rating:

3.5 stars

Blog Tour: Becoming Death

09:00

Becoming Death
By Melissa Brown

 Summary:
Ever since her father's demise, Madison Clark knew death had her number. After losing her first job, she is ushered into the cryptic family business. Little does she know her family is hiding a dark secret; they are grim reapers, custodians of souls on their journey to the beyond. Madison expects her historic legacy to have benefits beyond immortality. What she doesn't expect is to still be struggling for cash while reaping souls on the side.

As if being Death's minion wasn't strenuous enough, Madison finds herself back at school with her worst enemy studying the ancient rules, methods and paperwork of her vocation. In a cascade of life changes: her best friend admits he’s in love with her and she starts a new job as a professional mourner, but she can’t help thinking her family might have other secrets.

Just when things are finally starting to feel normal again Death throws her a curveball: her next victim is her best friend. Madison must find a way to overcome the strict guidelines of being a grim reaper in order to save his life.

Information about the book
Title: Becoming Death
Author: Melissa Brown
Release Date: June 12th 2015
Genre: Paranormal YA
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: Paperback and E-book
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25512745-becoming-death?from_search=true&search_version=service 
Amazon UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Becoming-Death-Melissa-Brown-ebook/dp/B00YHWBGD2

My review:
I enjoyed this book. It had a really cool concept - grim reapers and killing people with their mind, so I knew it had the potential to be a really original story. I was surprised at the direction the book took (it wasn’t as dark as I thought, and it took more of a realism / black humour direction), but I still liked it. It was really well written, and I was instantly hooked.

All of the characters were really likeable. I felt like they were all really well developed, and I actually cared about all of them. Madison (the protagonist) was really interesting to read about because she was realistic and relatable. I also really liked the strong group of women in the book (Madison’s family), which always makes me enjoy the book more.

I wasn’t a massive fan of the romance. Though it did grow on me, and though I did like it much more towards the end, I would have much preferred for Madison and Aaron to have stayed friends (the ending would still have worked anyway). It didn’t add much to the story (the romantic scenes weren’t my favourite), but by the end of the book, I quite liked them together.

There were lots of nice touched which really updated a traditional story. Grim reapers aren’t really modern, but original touches like having mobile apps to find targets made the story darkly funny. At first I feared they would become a little boring and cliche, but once I got into the story and used to them, I found them original and inventive.

The book was very short, so I found somethings to be a bit rushed. This meant it was fast paced, and never slow, but made me think that Madison and Aaron’s relationship was a little rushed. I think it could have made a great duology - this way, we would have got to see more development in their relationship. Also, I would have liked to see more of Madison’s grim reaper duties, which I found really interesting.

Overall, this is a short, light paranormal that many will enjoy. I would recommend to new fans of the genre because it’s not too creepy, and it’s not too heavy. It was well written, and had some perfectly executed (excuse the pun) black humour.
My rating:

About the author:
Melissa Brown an American author that lives in Norwich, England. She is a teacher in ICT skills, English and creative writing. In 2014, she was shortlisted for the IdeasTap Inspires: Writers' Centre Norwich Writing Competition and longlisted for the Nottingham Writers' Club's inaugural National Short Story Competition. She was also a featured poet at the Norwich: City of Stories launch event, where she did a live reading of her poem 'The Library.'  She enjoys films, books, comics, fangirling and subscription boxes. She blames her love of the written word on her hometown library and fanfiction. She lives with her partner, Kris, and her awesome cat, Hailey.
Author Links
Website: https://melissarbrown.wordpress.com/ 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MRBrown_author 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melissa-Brown-author/515818468469866/ 
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13956318.Melissa_Brown

Follow the tour:
Monday 17th August
Serendipity Reviews
Tuesday 18th August
Elena Square Eyes
Wednesday 19th August
An Awful Lot of Reading
The Whispering of the Pages 
Thursday 20th August
The Bibliolater
Friday 21st August
Becca’s Book Affair 
Saturday 22nd August
Bookish Outsider
A Daydreamer’s Thoughts 
Sunday 23rd August
Big Book Little Book
Monday 24th August
Tales of Yesterday

Tour wide giveaway
There is also a tour-wide giveaway!
The prizes are:
5 necklaces inspired by Becoming Death
2 copies of Becoming Death
This giveaway is open to UK participants ONLY.
Rafflecopter Link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/320ab7e459 

3.5 stars

Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

19:56

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
By Holly Black

 Source: E-book gift
Page count: 419
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy, Romance, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

 My Review:
I went into this book with no expectations. I’ve never read a Holly Black book before, so I had no idea what to expect, apart from reading a couple of reviews on Goodreads. I’ve had a few recommendations, and I got given this as a gift, so I just thought why not give it a go? I read it while camping, meaning I’ll read just about anything!
I enjoyed the beginning. It was easy to get into, and flowed really well. I cared somewhat about the storyline because it was intriguing and the characters were interesting. And there were elements of disease from the start too which you know I love! I wasn’t addicted to the book, but I wasn’t bored by it.

My main problem with the book was the way that there was no goal for the whole book. This is definitely one where you need to keep telling yourself “It’s about the journey, not the destination”, yet I was still really wondering why I was actually reading it. I would have wanted to read on much more if I knew what I was reading to.

The characters were... good. The weren’t very original or out of the ordinary, none of them did anything spectacular. Tana was a good lead because she just got on with things and was somewhat interesting, but her personality wasn’t very bold, and nothing about her blew me away. I enjoyed reading about Gavriel, but not too much. He was unpredictable and not the typical male lead, but - like Tana - he didn’t really do anything to make me like him.

The ending was terrible. It felt way too rushed, and didn’t round anything off. It was too open ended and didn’t give me enough closure to be satisfied with the book, and to give it a high rating.

Overall, this was an interesting premise, yet it really flopped. It needed some serious improvements to the way it was written for me to be able to fully enjoy it.  

 My rating:

3.5 stars

Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

16:00

A Darker Shade of Magic
By V. E. Schwab

Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

 Goodreads Synopsis:
Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit. 
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.
This is another book that I have really mixed views on. It was very well written, with complex characters who were easy to love, yet (and I hate to say this, and am somewhat scared because so many people love this book) in some places I found it boring. I liked the fact that it was Adult Fiction, yet had the same magical feel like a YA read.


The characters were my favourite element of this book. They were badass so I was cheering for them, yet complex and had depth so they were loveable. Both Kell (the male protagonist) and Lila (the female protagonist, who wasn’t focused on as much as Kell was) were different yet similar, and very interesting to read about.
The thing that I didn’t like was the pace of the book at the beginning. Because there were 4 different Londons in the book, 4 different world-builds got a bit slow. I was also a little bit confused and really had to pay attention to which world we were in. I really had to persevere through the start because of this book.


It was only until around the middle of the book a goal formed. I began caring much more about what was happening because we were working towards something - I was more invested because I actually wanted to know what was going to happen.


The ending was very exciting. I was really invested in the story by this point, and lots was happening. There was lots of action so I really wanted to read on. This was definitely my favourite part of the story. Things were also a lot less confusing in this part.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, but felt like the start could have been sped up a bit. It was very well written, and the characters were loveable. The book was also very imaginative which made it even more of an interesting read.

My rating: