Goodreads Monday #2

Goodreads Monday is hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners and all you need to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re excited to read!

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

I’ve listened to the first five books in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde and absolutely loved them! This is a tangent series, set in the world of fairy tales, and I just had to pick it up and see if I like other works by Fforde! I 100% recommend the Thursday Next series if you like books about books and fantasy worlds, and for this book? Check out the synopsis below!:

Dead bodies never look like this.

It’s Easter in Reading – a bad time for eggs – and the shattered, tuxedo-clad corpse of local businessman Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III has been found lying beneath a wall in a shabby part of town. Humpty was one of life’s good guys – so who would want him knocked off? And is it a coincidence that his ex-wife has just met with a sticky end down at the local biscuit factory?

A hardened cop on the mean streets of the Thames Valley’s most dangerous precinct, DI Jack Spratt has seen it all, and something tells him this is going to be a tough case to crack…

This tag is just reminding me of the potentially amazing books I have on my tbr that I need to get to!!

First Lines Friday #7

It’s time for another First Lines Friday! Hosted by Wandering Words!!

What if, instead of judging a book by its cover or its author, we judged the book by its opening lines?

Here is how it works:

– Pick a book and open to the first page.

– Copy the first few lines without revealing which book it is.

– Reveal the book!

So… do these first lines entice you?

The night Kate Harker decided to burn down the school chapel, she wasn’t angry or drunk. She was desperate.
Burning down the church was really a last resort; she’d already broken a girl’s nose, smoked in the dormitories, cheated on her first exam, and verbally harassed three of the nuns. But no matter what she did, St. Agnes Academy kept forgiving her. That was the problem with Catholic schools. They saw her as someone to be saved.
But Kate didn’t need salvation; she simply needed out.

Scroll down to reveal the book!

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

I’ll be honest, this wasn’t the start I expected to this book! I picked it up at a signing I went to because I’ve heard so many great things about her writing and about this book, but I was expecting a much more fantastical start! I’m not mad though, it’s definitely intrigued me and pushed the book up my tbr!

Exploring the Fourth Country

I went on an AB Endacott binge in a pretty short period of time! Next up is The Ruthless Land which is the first book I’ve read from Alice that isn’t set within the Second Country and that has a different narrator. Although I’m sad to be leaving Elen-ai and Gidyon behind I have loved exploring more places within this beautifully written world.

Within The Ruthless Land, set in the Fourth Country, we follow Lexana as she is sent to the Academy atop a mountain, and filled with monks, in order to learn and develop knowledge that will be useful in running her family’s business that she is the heiress to. While there she starts to connect with Jaxen, one of the teachers in the Academy. When the worst happens in regards to her family, Lexa must leave to find her family and escapes down the mountainside and begins to make her way across the Fourth Country with Jaxen’s help.

Parallels can be drawn between the Fourth Country and countries with mandated face coverings for some of the population. Unlike most countries in real life, where women are the ones made to cover themselves, the Fourth Country insists that men cover themselves, showing that men have a lower status in society here similarly to in the Second Country. This was explored in such an interesting manner by Alice and I really loved the conversations she brought up about it.

Watching Lexa and Jaxen make their way across the Fourth Country avoiding bandits and roaming gangs, as well as keeping Lexa’s identity under wraps so that those who would be hunting her don’t find and kill her, was so engrossing and I found myself speeding through this book. I was so invested in all of the characters and their relationships and the only negative I can say is that I wish I had gotten to learn more about the Academy and the monks and teachers that lived there.

The book is set after the events of the Queendom duology and I love the links that Alice made between the two, one character in particular appears in both books and I was really surprised when I came to love her in this book! I love the different viewpoints that Alice has managed to show of this person and their role in the world. This can be read completely as a standalone book set in the Godkissed Continent (the same continent as Queendom) so don’t worry about that, and I absolutely recommend picking it up, along with everything else Alice has published! She is one of my absolute favourite authors (and a lovely person to boot!).

Buy The Ruthless Land here!

My First Buddy Read Was Amazing!!!

I had never buddy-read a book before, I had just never had the opportunity. But me and Caitlyn got chatting and we both really wanted to read An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir so why not!!

A YA fantasy, we follow from two different perspectives throughout this story. One is from the subjugated race, a Scholar, the other is from the Martials. The race which overthrew them and maintains control. As you can guess, we get a good rounded viewpoint of the story!

There were so many times me and Caitlyn were messaging each other in CAPS LOCK BECAUSE WHAT THE ACTUAL F*** IS HAPPENING!?!?! So that should tell you some of how amazing this book is! It completely draws you in and Sabaa Tahir has managed to write the characters so beautifully that they really come alive on the page and you’re changing your allegiance and routing for different sides and different scenarios!

This is an amazingly written fantasy and I also think that the book is the perfect length. You finish just at the perfect point, and I am really looking forward to when I pick up A Torch Against the Night. I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here! If you’re at all interested in fantasy reads and/or YA I really do recommend this beautiful book. I’m so glad I’ve finally read work by Sabaa Tahir and I look forward to delving in again in the future!

A little bit of Stardust

So many people wanted me to read this book, so I felt that I had to oblige! I have seen the movie adaptation before, and I really enjoyed it, so I was anticipating enjoying this book. However, I’d heard from many people that the ending was not the same as the movie and that it was darker. I will say that, personally, I don’t really understand where these people were coming from. The ending is a little different, and there’s one section of the movie that is missing that I enjoyed, however, it didn’t “ruin” the movie for me and I loved having the cinematic depiction in my minds eye as I read.

This is such a fantastical and beautiful read, with the world being so amazingly fleshed out despite the short length of the book. I adored Tristan’s quick realisation that he was being an arse and his efforts to change this, as well as all the sparks of magic throughout the story that never quite let you forget that he wasn’t in England anymore.

If you enjoy fantasy reads, this is a must try. It’s very short (especially when some fantasy books can reach a thousand pages) and I think it’s such a charming and enjoyable read with so many gorgeous plot points and moments. One of my favourite reads of the year by far!

A sequel that lives up to the hype of book 1

This is the second book in the amazing The Bone Season series, if you want to read my review of the first book check it out here! It took me around a year to get to this book, and if I’m being honest I was worried that it wasn’t going to be as amazing as the first. I had nothing to worry about! I started this book close to when I was traveling back down south on a long train journey after Christmas/Winter break and ended up having this as my train read, it’s around 500 pages long and I read this relatively slowly for me with many breaks etc. meaning that I finished it lying in bed after a long day. I gave this book 5*, I loved it, it messed with my head in the best way!

Now for bits that will SPOIL The Bone Season if you haven’t read it yet, so go pick it up from your library or buy it or borrow it from a really cool friend, read it and then come back and read the rest of my review! (NO spoilers for The Mime Order ahead, just book #1)

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We start the book following Paige after her escape from Sheol 1, as she returns to Jaxon and seems to be going back to the life she had in London pre-prison camp. But now Paige isn’t oblivious, now she knows, and she sees Rephaim crawling out from the shadows and into the city. She needs to save them all whilst they’re still in denial, and whilst on the run as a fugitive.

This book is insane, with so many twists and turns and different maneuvers, the ending, which I won’t spoil, screwed with my head and was written absolutely amazingly. I loved it so much! I wish that I had The Song Rising here with me at uni so I could get into the rest of the story already!! Samantha Shannon’s writing is gorgeous and encapsulating for the emotions you experience from the events she subjects you to. I sincerely recommend you read from her if you have not already.

Let me know if you’ve read this book, or The Song Rising, and tell me what you thought of it!

The Tattooed Heart by Michael Grant, a review

This series is one of my absolute favourites, and I only got them because of their covers! Check out my review of book one, The Messenger of Fear, here.

I loved book two as much as I adored the first book, there is really great character development of our two main characters, Mara and the Messenger, as we learn a bit more about them and their backgrounds before the situation that they’re currently in. There is also a much larger cast of victims (or should I say perpetrators?) in this book compared to the first. If you’re unaware of the concept of this book, the Messenger is in a different plain (sort of) to living people, and when people have done wrong but avoid any consequences he gives them consequences. That’s the most basic way I can think of explaining this concept without spoiling too much within the books. Book one focused more on Mara and her personal story, so this book was more about following different perpetrators and seeing how they react and change due to the consequences from their behaviour which damaged their victims.

There is a novella, and apparently, a third book is going to come out at some point. I 100% need to read the novella and I really hope that book #3 is released soon as I sped through these two books with no break, reading the whole book in one sitting, and I just need more of this world and Grants writing!

Had you heard of these? Have you read them? Let me know in the comments!

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton, a review

Where to even start?! This book is amazing and I urge everyone who loves fantasy to read it. Click here to see the Goodreads page and the synopsis of the book.

First things first, this is not a book that I personally could rush through. I knew as soon as I had read the first few chapters that I was going to take my sweet time with this book and enjoy every second of it! I picked it up in the first place as I found out that Alwyn Hamilton was coming to the NYALitFest that was held at the beginning of 2018 in Preston. I had wanted to read this series and this news was a bit of a kick up the arse to get on with it! I didn’t actually finish it before the event, as like I said, I didn’t want to rush it. But I’m glad that I took my time and really enjoyed the book.

Amani is a badass female character who I loved seeing come into her own as the book progressed and different plot points were revealed. The relationship between her and Jin develops very naturally, starting out as suspicious of a stranger in her small desert town, and slowly starting to trust each other and have each other’s backs. The nuances are intricate and seem to be setting up for further events in the rest of the trilogy.

I can’t wait to carry on with this series and be engrossed in this world again. I really do recommend picking this one up, and I hope you fall in love as much as I have.

The End of Mr Y, a review

You might not have heard of this book, it’s not exactly well known. The only reason I picked it up was that it had a very unique design when I saw it in the charity shop. It was taller and wider than most paperbacks, had black sprayed edges and looked interesting. Once I’d read the blurb I knew I had to get it.

We follow our protagonist Ariel, as she discovers a rare book in a secondhand bookshop. It’s said to be cursed, and it’s also supposed to be impossible to find. As she reads the book she becomes more invested in what it has to say, following recipes and directions and ending up traveling in time and risking her own death. This is not a normal novel, it’s wacky, insane and definitely not for kids. There are a variety of mature themes explored and developed within this book, so if that’s not something you feel comfortable with I recommend giving this novel a miss.

It took so many turns and directions that I was not expecting, the time travel was a shock to my system and the mysterious black dot has me suspicious of any dots I see around me! Definitely one to make your brain work and encourage you to think more about your surroundings, as well as more about what is actually going on inside the crazy world of this book.

I liked the way the fantasy was handled in a realistic manner so that you can imagine it happening in the real world very easily. I felt that the ending of the book was rather sharp, however, I think that is by the authors’ design and it did mean it stayed in my head for quite a long time.

If you’re wanting something weird and odd and you’re fine with death, sex and violence, definitely pick this one up! I’m glad I spotted it one day… in a secondhand bookshop 😉

Queendom of the Seven Lakes

This was one of my first requests when I originally signed up to NetGalley and it has been pushed to the bottom of the pile for a while, which is a great pity as I absolutely loved it! Before I go any further I’d like to thank NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

This story follows Elen-ai as she is enlisted, as an assassin, to guard the Queen’s son. In this world, only women may rule the Queendom as it allows for any familial lineage to be unknown and therefore leaves the seven families of the Queendom at the same level, with no rise in power coming from having a child with the monarch. Elen-ai must protect Gidyon, as the Queen has decreed her son will be the first ever Prince of the Queendom. Obviously, this makes all the families lose their footing and scramble to get one up over everyone including the Queen herself.

I wasn’t too sure how this story was going to develop, would there be a cheesy romance? Would the plot be stereotypical and obvious? The answer is HELL NO! This fantasy read did everything in such good proportions, with the relationship between our protagonist and her charge developing in a way which felt very natural and realistic and makes you root for their side intrinsically. Although there is much about the world that I feel I do not know, I knew what I needed to in order to comprehend the events in the book and I am sure that the sequel (yes there is a sequel, I am so excited!) will explain further about the world and develop this fantasy read even more.

I am very glad I picked this up and was able to read it and I 100% recommend that you at least read the synopsis to see if this is your sort of book, as I had believed I would be getting an averagely told fantasy with a mediocre plotline (because I am apparently an idiot/have been let down by a lot of books lately) and instead I am now finding myself with a new favourite world that I can’t wait to return to! Definitely, need to get to King of the Seven Lakes when I can!!