Delving into a different aspect of WWII

We’ve all heard the same sort of stories from WWII, fighting on the front lines, the fighter pilots and the blitz in London. What I haven’t read anything about before, which is my own fault, is what was happening in Africa. Despite this being a World War, most literature, both fiction and non, is based within Europe. That is understandable to an extent, this is where things kicked off. But to have read nothing from Africa? Well that changed after I read Devil Darling Spy by Matt Killeen. The sequel to Orphan Monster Spy, this book follows our protagonists from the first book into Egypt and beyond as they attempt to track down a lethal disease that seems to be man made.

(this post is spoiler free for both books)

I think the way that Matt Killeen portrayed racism within this book was well done, it explored the white saviour trope and how our main character Sarah has implicit bias. I also enjoyed the “letters” that Sarah wrote in her head when things were getting too much. This book was a great progression on from the first book, whilst still taking things in a completely different direction. I adore Matt Killeen’s writing, he is able to evoke powerful images in my minds eye as well as allowing you to empathise will all of the characters and their emotions.

I really do recommend picking both of these books up. Orphan Monster Spy delves into the life of young German girls, and Devil Darling Spy explores the less talked about aspects of the war and of white colonialism. Important topics to learn about and remember. I can’t wait to read more from him.

My best books of 2019!

 

I read a lot less 5* reads in 2019 compared to 2018, but I still had a decent selection to pick from for this list and I love all of these books!

I’m going to start off with my absolute favourite of the year, which seems backwards, but I can’t rank all of my other favourites so I may as well get the #1 spot up first!

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, translated by Geoffrey Trousselot, is an absolutely gorgeous book.

There’s a small coffee shop in a basement which has a secret, people know about it but they can’t believe that it’s true. The staff in the shop will only tell the customers who they believe need the experience. And it’s not as positive as many believe before they sit down. But their lives are forever changed, big impacts are made. This book is beautifully written and I only picked it up randomly for NetGalley, I’m so so glad that I did. I recommend this above everything else on this list, which is a big statement seeing as these are all 5* reads for me. However, I feel like this book will appeal to many different audiences and so I really do encourage you to at least look at the GoodReads page and read the synopsis (link here) and consider picking it up. If you’re interested, then you can find my full review here.

Now onto the rest of my favourite books! There are 10 books for the rest of this list and they are in the order which I read them throughout 2019 (to avoid putting them in any other sort of order, because I really can’t decide).

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season #2) 

I read this on the train going back down to Portsmouth for my heart operation after my Christmas break, it’s around 8 hours of travelling so I had a lot of time to sit with the book and I really enjoyed it. Although the ending annoyed me so much and I had to stay composed because I was on a train!! Another amazing book from Samantha Shannon. Read my full review of the book here.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale #1)

I’m massively late to this party, of course, but I finally picked up this book in a secondhand shop and read it early on in 2019. It was amazing. I loved the commentary on female autonomy and sadly it did really hit a chord with me, despite being written “so many” years ago. If you’re interested my full review is here.

Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen (Orphan Monster Spy #1)

I got this the day before I started by BookTube channel, and it took me until now to read it. There’s a bit of a theme here but if I’m getting through my backlog I won’t complain! This YA WWII based book follows a young Jewish girl who can pass as an Aryan and becomes a spy in a Nazi girls school. Check out my full review here.

Book of Lies by Teri Terry

I really love everything I’ve read so far from Teri Terry, she is truly one of my favourite authors. This book follows a girl who isn’t loved by her family, they don’t care about her at all. But then she finds out a bit secret, something that she wasn’t supposed to know. Magical and mystical, this is such an interesting book. My review is here.

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman (The Devouring Gray #1)

This is the first book that I ever requested from a publisher and it’s the first one that was sent to me! So of course this book will always have a special place for me, but on top of that it’s a fantastic YA book with sprinkles of magic and just enough weirdness to keep you completely hooked. I can’t wait to read book #2! Check out my full review here.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (Arc of the Scythe #2)

Have you read this series yet? Why not? If you like dystopian or just a great YA directed book then this is 100% a series you should pick up! There is no more natural death in the world, it’s been cured. So scythes must kull the population in order to prevent it getting out of control. But of course there are a lot of issues with this plan, it was never going to work. Check out my full review of Scythe here(which is book #1) and my review for Thunderhead here.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Illuminae Files #1)

Another book I’ve finally read! This multi-media sci-fi YA is gripping and so interesting and I finally understand why people raved about it so much for years! I definitely need to get my hands on the rest of the trilogy and I can’t wait to carry on with this story and see where it goes. See my full review here.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I actually DNF’d this at my first attempted reading this year, but at a push from so many people online I picked it up to give it another go. I’m so rediculously glad that I did as this book is magical and wonderous and such a great read! If you’ve seen the film you’ll still love the book as there were only a few changes and I’m very glad I listened to everyone who told me to pick this back up! My full review is here.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

I read this all in one day, sat by a paddling pool my aunt had set up on the hottest day of the year in the UK at 40 Celsius, that’s 104 Fahrenheit for those of you in the US. I was dying! Yet despite that, I was glued to my seat, gripped within this story. A fictional tale inspired by the suffering of so many from slavery in the US. My full review of this novel can be found here.

The Aliens are Coming by Ben Miller

This was the first book I read after finishing my MSc dissertation. I’m so glad I picked up a science-y non-fiction as this was perfect for me in the mindset that I was in and it was also really fun (Ben Miller is a UK comedian if you didn’t know) as well as teaching me more about the search for other life forms. Check out my review here.

And that’s it! Those are all of my favourite books of 2019! I did read a few more books which I gave 5*s throughout the year (Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein and Night by Elie Wiesel). I would have ranked them lower than these books, however, and given that there are already 11 books on this list I decided to cut them out. What was your favourite (or your favourites) of 2019? Have you read any of the books that are on my list? Let me know!!

 

My first foray into the Legend trilogy

This was my first Marie Lu book, despite me owning six of her books before starting this one! So there was a lot of weight on this little books shoulders, and it is a small book, Goodreads says that it’s around 300 pages long but I could’ve sworn it was smaller!

I will be honest, the first 100 or so pages of this book weren’t going great. This happens for me with most books of this length or longer but this one, in particular, I was just… not that invested in the world. Thankfully, however, I ended up really enjoying it! This dystopian-esque world is so incredibly interesting to learn about and the development of the characters on either side of the battle.

There was so much depth to this book that I didn’t expect from only 300 pages, and there’s so much more to come from how this book was ended. I’m really looking forward to getting around the rest at some point in time that’s relatively soon, which makes it super annoying that the rest of the trilogy is at my parents’ place!! Hopefully, I can get them back soonish!

Have you read this book or the series? Should I bump the rest up on my tbr?

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton, a review

Book 2 of this series is keeping up the massively high standards set by book one! (Check out my review of Rebel of the Sands here) Yet again I took my time going through this book, but it’s definitely not me slogging through, it’s more that I need to take time to absorb every single one of Alywn Hamilton’s words, each word she writes seems to be there with intent and meaning. Her writing is just so beautiful and I truly have the desire to read absolutely everything she has ever published and ever will publish.

I really enjoyed the time we spent in the palace within this book, it added another dimension to the events of the world and really gives the reader more of an insight as to why people act the way they do. The dynamics of this group inside of the Sultan’s walls was so different from that outside and really added great perspective.

The political side of this war was also more developed in this book, and it meshed so well with the world building and how Alwyn Hamilton showed us the groups of people outside of who we had interacted with in the first book. It gave more insight as to why people were acting in certain ways, and to how the Sultan was looking to manipulate others to achieve his aims.

Overall this is yet another gorgeous book within this series and is something that I one million percent recommend to anybody wanting to read a great fantasy book. Again the writing is absolutely beautiful and it leaves me in awe.

Please tell me you’ve started this series? Do you agree about the beautiful prose that the story is written in? Let me know!

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.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman, a review

This book. THIS BOOK! Okay, so I loved it, starting here. 5 stars, no question about it. I really don’t know why I’ve not read more by him because I always seem to be completely engrossed within his writing and this book has just proved it to me. 100% recommend! Now, let’s get into an actual coherent review that isn’t just me going aaaahhhhh!!!

In this world, all disease, hunger and was has been wiped out. People no longer have a natural lifespan, as medicine can solve any aging issues. This sounds great, until you think about the massive overpopulation. To control this issue, there are Scythes. Scythes are the only people who are able to end a life, and they are commanded to do so. It is mostly a job that no one wants, but someone has to do it, and if you are recruited your family gets immunity from gleaning (their name for the killing done by Scythes). A good incentive to keep recruits incoming.

Citra and Rowan have been chosen by a master scythe to be his apprentice, only one of them will become a fully fledged scythe. Neither of them wants the job, but neither of them wants to give up the immunity it would offer their loved ones or the chance to be part of something. One problem. Master scythes can only have one apprentice, and the other scythes are not happy.

So much goes down in this novel, we learn a lot about the different arts of killing and when each method is used. Many are killed as kindly as possible and based on mathematics equations, but some have less kind deaths. There is also the internal politics of the Scythes themselves, there seems to be corruption high up in the ranks, but some haven’t noticed, and others are too scared to act against this group who are ignoring the basic rules of Scythdom.

It is one of the most perfect ya novels I have ever read, and I borrowed my copy from the library (poor student problems), and I 100% need to own my own copy in the future! One of my favourite reads so far in 2018 and I am super excited for Thunderhead when my library gets it in stock!

This Cruel Design to break your heart!

I was lucky enough to win an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this book in a Twitter giveaway, and I was so excited! I hadn’t actually read This Mortal Coil at this point (book #1 in the series) but it was something I’d had my eye on and this gave me the push to bump it up my TBR (to be read) list. Once I had read Mortal Coil I was hooked and had to use a lot of self control to not just dive straight in to Cruel Design! But personally I will mix the plot of series’ together if I read them back to back so I gave myself some time, and then dove in.

From this point on I will be vaguely outlining the plot of The Cruel Design (which is book #2) so there will be some spoilers for book #1. Don’t read ahead if you don’t want to be spoiled! You’ve been warned!

So we continue to follow our protagonist Cat after what they thought was code to stop the Hydra virus has been released, and the extra code hidden within has been given to every human on the planet. The code that Lachlan can use to control and reprogram humanity. They’re in a race against Cartaxus, the corporation that has their own adgenda and will do anything to reach it, whether that is working with or against Catarina, Cole and Leoben.

The virus is continuing to evolve pass the vaccine and they have to head to Entropia, the base of all extreme hackers and coders, to find the woman who runs it, and who used to work on the code with Cartaxus until she escaped, Regina. But more comes to light than the three were expecting, and everything that Cat knew might turn out to be a lie.

So if that plot summary doesn’t sound good to you then…. well I guess this book isn’t for you. But if it does, oh my genehacking coders, you need to pick it up! This book had me reading well past when I wanted to go to sleep. I used to do this a lot as a child and thought that I had just “grown-up” and that is why I’m not kept up by books anymore. Apparently, I was wrong! I was up until 3am finishing this bad boy, and if you follow me on Instagram (@autumnofpellinor) you’ll have seen my stories when I finally finished the book. Emily killed me in the absolute best way! I was heartbroken, shocked, confused, angry, and I needed more! I can’t believe I’m going to have to wait so long for part three of this series, but I’m also super excited that there is going to be a book three! For some reason, I had assumed it was a duology and was expecting it to wrap up in this book!

If this is a genre/topic you enjoy then this book will be unputdownable and absolutely amazing! I did have one or two little gripes, but that’s just me being a pedantic pain in the arse (and probably just feeling angry at all the amazing plot twists and turns!) and Emily Suvada has absolutely nothing to worry about because this book was pretty much perfect!

This book is set to come out on the 30th October/1st November (Goodreads says Oct, my ARC copy says Nov so keep an eye out on both dates) and I 100% recommend picking this beauty up! The cover artist(s) did an amazing job on the cover and the book itself will blow you away, and if you haven’t read book #1 yet then get on it! It killed me so much that I was lying on the floor of my flat kitchen (and my poor flatmate who had only known me 3 weeks got to see a BookWorm disintegrating through shock, anger and love – she’s recovered now don’t worry) and couldn’t do anything. I can’t wait to read the short story which goes along with this series, and also absolutely anything else that Emily comes out with in the future! She is now one of my auto-read authors!! (I finished this book 3 days ago and I’m still in “aaaaggghhh” mode, which should also be an indicator for how much I loved this!)

Have you read This Mortal Coil or Thie Cruel Design? What did you think? Are you going to pick them up? Comment below! I need someone to nerd out with about this series!

Have you read TEOOO yet?! Why not?!

This book really surprised me. I’m not the biggest lover of contemporary books, or novels I used to consider “girly”, however, after hearing Laura talk about this book at the NYALitFest I had to go and pick it up at the library. I sped through this book in no time at all and absolutely adored it! 5*! So, let’s break it down a little and see what about it I loved. And don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers in here!

To me, I feel like this book should be put into the same category as THUG (The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas), and therefore I think that if you enjoyed THUG you should pick this book up. Both tackle very difficult, but essential, topics in beautifully written and engrossing ways. The main topic of TEOOO (The Exact Opposite of Okay) is revenge porn, the legalities of it in the US and how it can have a life-changing impact on the individual. Although the author is British, revenge porn is illegal here in the UK so she wasn’t able to set her book here. Hopefully, this will soon become the same in the US, however, for now, this is not the case.

Revenge porn can have a devastating effect on the individual, as not only is their privacy violated on one of the largest scales imaginable, but also their trust in a person has been destroyed and this could impact their ability to trust others in the future. Laura tackles this beautifully and really makes the reader think about all these possibilities and how the situation would impact themselves.

There are also aspects of racism tackled within this novel, as Izzy’s best friend, Ajita, is Nepalise-American and is therefore treated differently due to her skin colour. This is clearly not the main aim of the book, but I like that Laura includes it within the narrative as it is a very real part of life for many Americans.

Truthfully, this is simply an amazing piece of literature which tackles slut-shaming, inequality, racism and more in a mature and engrossing manner. I cannot think of a single negative of this book as I couldn’t put it down and greatly enjoyed every word. If I can find more contemporary pieces like this then I definitely will be reading more from this genre! I am also ridiculously excited for A Girl Called Shameless (book 2 in the series) which is due out March ’19 and has a beautiful cover!

I don’t think that this review is doing this book justice, but if you are intrigued then please do go and pick it up! And let me know in the comments if you’ve already read it!