BOOK REVIEW || On The Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

*** please note, this review may contain spoilers***

Summed up in a sentence? " A heartwarming tale of love, friendship and secrecy" 

SYNOPSIS

Your soul is too heavy to pass through this door, Leave the weight of the world in the world from before.

Evie Snow is eighty-two when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It's the way most people wish to leave the world but when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she's become her twenty-seven-year-old self and the door won't open.

Evie's soul must be light enough to pass through so she needs to get rid of whatever is making her soul heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets that have weighed her down for over fifty years, so she must find a way to reveal them before it's too late.

As Evie begins the journey of a lifetime, she learns more about life and love than she ever thought possible, and somehow, some way, she may also find her way back to the only man she ever truly loved ...

MY OPINIONS

After following Carrie's YouTube, Twitter and Instagram feeds for some time, I knew I wanted to read her first fiction novel. She's previously published a non-fiction work called All I Know Now, which was almost auto-biographical in providing advice for teens growing up. When she released the news that she was going to be releasing fiction novels, I knew I needed to get in on that. And I am so pleased I did.

Evie is such a loveable character, who we find at the beginning of the novel struggling to understand why she, a dead woman, cannot get into her 27 year old self's apartment. We learn at this point that she has a couple of things weighing her down, which are preventing her getting to her 'happy place', or her heaven, which is behind the door of her old flat.

Carrie has managed to create a story that warms the heart, and makes you wish you could just squeeze her characters until everything is better for them. I followed Evie as she relived her youth, and went through each of the three secrets to try and reveal them before it was too late. I laughed with her, cried with her and most of all, felt relieved when things went her way.

MY RATING

Overall, I am rating this book 4.5 out of five stars. I absolutely adored this book, and cannot wait to get my hands on her second novel! Definitely a must-read for fans of YA romance, or possibly even contemporary fans!

BOOK THOUGHTS || Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

*** please note, this review may contain spoilers***

Summed up in a sentence? "Another dark yet enticing novel in the Strike series!”

SYNOPSIS

Cormoran Strike is back, with his assistant Robin Ellacott, in a mystery based around soldiers returning from war.

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

Career of Evil is the third in the series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A mystery and also a story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives. 

MY OPINIONS

With this being the third in a series, I knew what to expect in regards to character development and the running of the novel. However, I was not expecting what I actually got! I was expecting nitty gritty, and a troublesome relationship between Strike and Robin, but what I got instead was actually so much more!

First of all, can I just point out that there is some scenes that are kind of graphic. As in, severed leg, missing body parts kind of graphic. At some points I didnt want to continue, but the graphic parts were swift and were infrequent enough to not put me off too much.

Jumping between Strike, Robin and the culprit was a technique well carried out by Galbraith, as it allowed us to see just what was going through each characters head. This is particularly helpful when trying to build a profile for the killer as well.

One of the things that stood out to me was Robins character development. Throughout this book we see her struggle to come to terms with her relationship, and the fact that it feels to her like it is no longer worth it. This is something I really felt made Robin more relatable as a character, as she has previously been seen as someone who tends to have it pretty good (in my eyes anyway).

Personally I love the series and the development of the characters over the series. I would love to see Robin get with Strike but that is definitely off the cards after Career of Evil, which is a little sad, but the prospect would always have been unrealistic anyway!

MY RATING

Overall I am giving this novel 4.5 out of 5 stars. The only reason it wasnt a 5 star rating is because some aspects of the novel were a bit too graphic for me. However, this didnt put me off in the end, as these bits were infrequent enough to work through.

BOOK THOUGHTS || Me Before You, JoJo Moyes

*** please note, this review may contain spoilers***

Summed up in a sentence? "Tear-jerker, if only I'd finished it!”

SYNOPSIS

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A love story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart ?

MY OPINIONS

I didnt finish it.

I know, I know, I'm a terrible person for not finishing THE novel of 2016, but my heart just couldnt take it. Due to the film release and such a big hype around it, I thought I had better pick it up to see what it was like. I knew that it would be emotional and knew all about the letter, but I just couldn't find it in my heart to finish it.

I got to a certain point (in the airport scene) and just thought, you know what, if it ends here, then I'll be happy. Everyone is alive, everything seems okay, no sign of death etc, but I knew it just wasn't to be. I knew that the airport scene was most likely the start of a downward spiral and knew it wasnt something I wanted to read.

Now I totally understand just how powerful a book this is. The plot-line, the writing, the captivating characters. But the more I read it, the more I just felt myself getting more and more upset at the prospect of the ending that was before me. I know I should have just finished the book, I was so close to the end, but I just couldnt. I didn't have it in me to continue reading a novel where I knew the main character would severely deteriorate, and as I am currently in a similar family situation (sort of), I just did not want to continue.

What I did read of the book however was remarkable. Seeing this bright young girl with hopes and ambitions take on a task she had never even considered before, and tackling everything that comes with it, was something I felt would relate to pretty much any type of reader. I also adored the relationship between Lou and Will, as well as the relationship between Lou and Wills' parents. They understandably have a lot to deal with, as well as bringing in someone new to care for Will, that also just wants to let him see the world in a way that he perhaps once knew, without all the backstory his parents had known. One issue I had with this however, was the way in which they deceived Lou into believing this was a position of care, rather than a position of persuasion. Obviously if she knew from the beginning what her role really was, then she would most likely have not taken the job. Maybe I am just being picky now, but I just had to get that off my chest!

To be fair to JoJo Moyes, the part of the book that I did complete, I absolutely lapped up. Her writing style kept me wanting more after each chapter. The way she developed her characters throughout the story was also interesting. I found myself becoming more and more attached to the characters and their “realness”, to the point where sadly I had to stop reading. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the novel and writing style, because I did, I just wasn't emotionally prepared for the books ending.

MY RATING

Overall, I feel this book deserves to be finished by me eventually. I'm rating it three out of five stars. Whilst I did enjoy the writing style, and the progression of characters, along with the reality of the backstories, I felt the direction in which the novel was heading was set up for heartbreak, and I just could not face that. It is most definitely a tear-jerker, if only I'd finished it.

REVIEW | Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

*** please note, this review may contain spoilers***

Summed up in a sentence?: "This book is definitely for lovers of YA, world-ending reads!

SYNOPSIS

One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as The Travelling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.

MY OPINIONS

I absolutely adored this book. Whilst I'm a sucker for any kind of dystopian typically, this one stood out to me. There's nothing paranormal or creepy about characters, nobody has odd powers, it's just about a random selection of people throughout a number of locations who are all connected in one way or another. It just so happens, that these people are survivors of a potentially world-ending pandemic that has wiped out 99% of the population 48 hours after they first show symptoms. 

When we first delve into the novel, the scenes seem unimportant and somewhat unnecessary. However, these scenes are key to the future of the novel. This is something that is usually the case across all novels, and in this book in particular, we get to see something that enlightens our knowledge of one of the key characters of the novel.

The plot jumps between characters and time-zones after almost every chapter. For me, this is something that I really struggle to comprehend as a read. Why not just write the novel in chronological order following a chain of events? It just makes more sense that way! Whilst I thought this would bother me and become a nuisance throughout the book, it actually didn't bother me at all. In this novels situation, it is necessary and done very well, allowing us to learn about characters as if we are someone they are talking to for the first time, learning about their journey, how it began, and where they are hopefully headed. 

The character developments of Kirsten and Clark in particular are two that I appreciated the most in the novel. 

When we first meet Kirsten, she is no more than 8 or 9 year old, and acting in King Lear alongside a once-famous actor. After seeing him die on stage, and the events following afterwards - the pandemic - she then becomes one of the members of the Travelling Symphony, a company that travel from town to town spreading Shakespeares plays, trying their hardest to keep what little they have of the previous world alive. 

We see Kirsten go from one terrified young girl, to a woman that knows how to handle herself. She mucks in with the duties with the symphony, has her wits about her, and longs for nothing more than a normal life with no pandemic. 

Clark, is Arthers best friend from his education days, and is always the first to hear the latest on Arthers trials and tribulations, particularly when it comes to women. When he hears of his death, he begins the journey to his funeral, and just happens to bump into Arthers second wife Elizabeth, and their son Tyler, who are on the same flight. That flight just happens to be one of the last flights to depart on earth, as the pandemic strikes almost instantly after take off.

When the flight is diverted, with no hope of the journey being complete, realisation sets in, and Arthur makes a home for himself in the airport, along with several other passengers from diverted flights. Over the years, he collects little snippets in souveniors of life before the pandemic, and opens a museum in one of the lounges. Word spreads of this museum, which brings travellers from far and wide to see relics from the 'old world'.

Over the course of years we see different viewpoints to allow us to see a broad spectrum as to how the epidemic has effected people around the globe (or the US at least). This was something I found a little confusing now and again, but it was easy enough to pick up different journeys in each chapter.

MY RATING


Overall I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. Whilst I did really enjoy the book, I felt that it lacked a little something, and was slightly over-doing it in places that didnt need that.
This book is definitely for lovers of YA, world-ending reads!

REVIEW || The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

***This review may contain spoilers.***

SYNOPSIS

The Silkworm is the second book in the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling), and picks up a few months after the end of the Lula Landry case in the first book.

When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were published it would ruin lives - so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him.

And when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any he has encountered before...

When we begin the novel, we learn that Strike's business is booming. Rich clients are seeking his help left, right and centre, and if they're willing to pay... well, Strike's the man for them! But when Quine's wife approaches him, you just know this case is going to be something different.

As Strike finds himself getting more and more invested in the investigation into Quine's disappearance, we find ourselves wrapped up in the literary goings-on of London, where everyone Strike comes across has something to say about Quine and his work - very few, if at all, good. This obviously makes the mystery behind his disappearance all the more interesting, and the list of suspects seems long at times.

However, when Strike gets wind of the new manuscript Quine had sent to his publisher - Bombyx Mori - the pieces start slowly but surely fitting together, making it perhaps the most intriguing case Strike has ever encountered.

MY OPINIONS

I adored this book. Taking it away on holiday (I had done this with The Cuckoo's Calling too) meant I knew I had the time to invest my time and attention to the book moreso than I would have done at home. 

Like I've mentioned once or twice before, I adore JK Rowlings works. Granted, I haven't read The Casual Vacancy, but it is certainly on my to-read list. So there was no doubt in my mind that I would have any ill-feelings towards this book. Whilst some may say I am perhaps heading into the book and plot-line with horse blinkers on, oblivious to those disliking her work - I'd say they may have a point, but having a high expectation of Rowling's work makes me appreciate it just a little bit more. 

The character developments between the previous book and this one seemed well thought out, almost like the author had lived their lives for them, documenting as she went. She definitely has a way with words that will captivate you, regardless of what you read. And considering what she writes in this novel, particularly the murder scene itself, is some-what gory compared to her HP days, I'd say she has her fine writing skills down to a T. 

I think the book reflects a number of issues the current literary world holds - particularly regarding the publishing side of things. You see involvement from literary critics, friends and publishers - both major and individual - just to name but a few bodies of the literary world. Highlighting the different roles involved in writing and publishing a book, is something I think needs to be done more in the book realms I believe. It certainly helps you understand and appreciate the thoughts, time and effort put into the books published and read. 

MY RATING

Overall, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. For me, it was almost perfect, but sometimes perfection is something that is always just out of reach. This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book - because that is definitely not the case - it just means I can go into the third book knowing what I want. 

And what is it I want? Well, I want a proper spark between Cormoran and Robin. They'd make the greatest couple as well as work team. 

Have you read this book? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

REVIEW || Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

*** please note, this review may contain spoilers***

BOOK THOUGHTS: STEALING SNOW

First of all, many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and also to Netgalley, for approving my request also!

I'm just going to put this out there, I've never read a Danielle Paige book prior to this one. As an avid reader and someone who seemingly adores fairytale re-tellings, you would think I'd have read some of her works by now. But, there's a first time for everything, and the plot line of this novel just drew me in.

"Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent her life locked in Whittaker Psychiatric—but she isn’t crazy. And that’s not the worst of it. Her very first kiss proves anything but innocent…when Bale, her only love, turns violent.

Despite Snow knowing that Bale would never truly hurt her, he is taken away—dashing her last hope for any sort of future in the mental ward she calls home. With nowhere else to turn, Snow finds herself drawn to a strange new orderly who whispers secrets in the night about a mysterious past and a kingdom that’s hers for the taking—if only she can find her way past the iron gates to the Tree that has been haunting her dreams.

Beyond the Tree lies Algid, a land far away from the real world, frozen by a ruthless king. And there too await the River Witch, a village boy named Kai, the charming thief Jagger, and a prophecy that Snow will save them all." (taken from Goodreads)

***

When Bloomsbury posted a tweet about this book, saying they had spare ARC's available, I never thought I'd actually get a copy. An ebook, maybe, as I tend to get things approved from NetGalley now and again, but never a physical copy. The fact that I got the physical copy was enough to keep me invested in the book, even just if it was to provide a review for those of you who read my blog.

***

MY OPINION:

This book was well thought out, even if the concept was a little bit typical in some places, and all over the place in others. There were a whole array of characters who just seemed to be there, not doing much. That being said, I was still captivated throughout the book. 

Whilst I was heading into this book expecting a Snow White retelling, it turned out it is actually a re-telling of The Snow Queen.  Now, I'm unfamiliar with this fairy tale, so each twist and turn in the book was unexpected, as I had no true idea of what the initial fairy tale entailed. However, I do think this worked in my favour, as whilst others may have had expectations regarding familiarity, I lacked them. 

One of the issues I struggled with, is that whilst Snow had a lot going on in her life, such as finding out who she really is, whilst trying to find childhood friend Bale in an alternative universe, there is also a love triangle. What is it with pretty much every YA novel having a love triangle? This wasn't exactly needed, considering Snow's feelings were made pretty clear as of page one. 

Overall, I believe the initial idea had a LOT of promise, most of which was not met.  As this is actually the first in a series - possibly a trilogy, I'm unsure - this makes sense, as it allows things to develop and flow a little better in further books.

***

MY RATING: 

TWO AND A HALF STARS

Have any of you read this book? If so, what are your thoughts? Or do you have any recommendations based off my review? Let me know in the comments below!

REVIEW || Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

OH MY GOD THIS BOOK.

First of all, thanks so much to Vanessa for giving me this book - I owe you one! Links to her YouTube channel are here, and her blog too!

For those of you who don't know - Don't Look Back is one of those books that gets you so sucked in, so so very quickly, and you can't help but want to know EVERYTHING ten minutes before the main character.

In this book, we follow Samantha, who, at the beginning of the book, is found stumbling out of a forest, a little worse for wear - okay, a lot worse for wear. She's battered and bruised, and has no recollection of what happened. She's gone from someone with the 'perfect life', to somehow having no clue who she is. And things only get worse when she's told her best friend Cassie went missing wit her - and still hasn't been found.

***

I loved this. It's my first ever Jennifer L Armentrout book and oh my goodness. Why haven't I picked her books up before now? This book is one of those un-put-down-able types, I read it over the space of 24 hours - less than that actually! I was so invested in the characters, and felt emotions for each and every single one of them. One moment I was happy, another I was sad, mostly, I was as confused as our lead character Samantha, I mean, who wouldn't be?

***SPOILERS***

One of the things I really didn't like, or rather, was frustrated by, was the lack of important flashbacks. I understand why we, as readers, didn't get those flashbacks, but still, I would have appreciated them more rather than just that final one. Whilst the doctors had said her memory may come back in bits and pieces, I didn't really need to see the drama flashbacks between Del, Samantha and Cassie, when they were a given, particularly with Samantha being such a smart lead character. However, that being said, I absolutely loved the flashback involving Scott, Carson and Samantha. We'd heard of this story prior to the flashback, so it was so heartwarming to see that that memory hadn't been tainted by present day lies.

Can we also just stop and take a moment to appreciate Carson please? Perfect book boyfriend right there.

***SPOILERS END***

Overall, for my first JLA read, it is definitely worth a solid 4 stars, if not somewhere between the 4th and 5th star. This is because the main character was so relateable, we felt everything they felt, went through everything they went through, and I definitely came away from the book feeling like I had a friend in Samantha. Not to mention it made me take a step back and think about my life and how I could make changes to make me a better person.

All in all, a fantastic read, and I highly highly recommend it!!

REBECCA RECOMMENDS: eARCS

Everyone who reviews books knows that there are means and methods to reading ARC books. As in, books that are given to reviewers and bloggers before or around publication date in order to boost their profiles on social media. So, how does a blogger get around to gaining eARCS?

There are a number of methods to getting to this point in your blog. Firstly, you need to make sure you have a blog with book content, reviewing or showing hauls. Posting frequently also helps, although this is not completely essential, as in some cases you can post reviews on websites such as Goodreads or NetGalley (a website I'll be telling you about in a moment).

How can a beginner blogger start reviewing unreleased titles?

Your best place to start is most probably going to be NetGalley. This website is a godsend for bloggers and reviewers alike. Signing up is completely free, and although they prefer you to have a blog or somewhere you post reviews, it isn't actually essential, which is a bonus for those just starting out. This is because they ask for your feedback on the book after giving it a rating, as well as asking you to answer a couple of questions before confirming you've read a book and submitting the piece. Once you read and review a book, it gets added to your 'Feedback to Approval Ratio'. This ratio is preferred to be over 85% by those at NetGalley, which means that the more you are approved for, the lower your ratio actually becomes. However, this ratio increases with the more books you read and review, meaning you're also more likely to be approved for books too! If you're reading and reviewing a load of books from NetGalley, and they all just happen to be from a particular publisher, you may be added to an Auto-Approval list, meaning that from that point, if you request a book by that publisher, you will receive that book almost instantly into your downloads.

NetGalley has a range of books for review, so there usually is always something for everyone. Whilst this is just an introduction to NetGalley, Elizabeth over at The Owlery has created a great video guide to getting to know NetGalley a little bit better, which can be found here.

Is there anything other than NetGalley?

Yes. There's other websites available, and sadly, I haven't tried them, due to the fact that I really got on well with NetGalley. One website is Edelweiss, and although I haven't looked at it, I know a few others who have tried this website an do enjoy using it. E;lizabeth has also looked at this in one of her videos, again, really helpful, which can be found here!

Another option is entering giveaways. Authors (particularly on Twitter), often host giveaways to win a copy of their newest releases. Yes it means that you're one of x amount of people entering, but hey ho, it feels great to enter and then even win a competition!

 My final recommendation is following authors or agents on Twitter/Instagram/any social media. This is because they tend to advertise if they are looking for people to review authors work. For example, I was in contact with an agent who supplied me with a synopsis and cover of an upcoming book, and asked if I would be interested in a copy to review. From that, other authors and agents will get in touch with you, particularly if you're also quite active on social media.


So there we go, if you have any questions, or tips yourself, let me know down below!

REVIEW || Last Light by CJ Lyons

*** I was approached by the author with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts and opinions.***

In this novel, we follow Lucy, a former FBI agent who has been given the opportunity to lead an office-based task force solving crimes from the past. Which is great for Lucy really. During her FBI days, she and her family were targeted by a violent predator, leaving Lucy with a life-altering injury. However, when Lucy hears of the case her taskforce are trying to crack, she can't resist going back out onto the open road to try and crack the case. Along with her team, Lucy tries to solve the case of a murder from 29 years prior, which sees her travel to rural Texas to discover who actually murdered Lily Martin and her family. As she and TK, a former Marine who struggles with her life transition from action to rural life, do the field work in Texas, not all is as it seems in Blackwell County, and the further the investigation develops, the more foul play arises.

*This review may contain spoilers*

I've been updating my status a lot on Goodreads as and when I find something incredibly interesting happening in the plot, which actually turns out to be the majority of the time! These updates can be found here (granted, they are short and snappy and trying to predict the killer but still, "called it!").

I don't know why I didn't pick this up sooner. It's fast-paced, action around every corner and has an average reading speed time of roughly 3 hours on Kindle. That's an afternoon. Not long at all! The book reminded me of a crime series episode (take your pick, an hour long, typical setup), which kept my attention well and could be paused at any time. It was so easy to pick back up again after setting down, that I had no concern over leaving it a few days just because I 'wasn't in the mood for reading' (it happens to the best of us).

***SPOILERS***

I adored the character development throughout the book, with perhaps the most surprising development coming from TK. I expected her to be a hard nut to crack, constantly fighting this imaginary battle in her head. However, when she met David, it was easily noticeable that she softened ever so slightly. He taught her to ease up a little and not take things so serious, got her to unwind at the bar, although it did end in arrest! The fact that the novel went from being all about solving the crime to also solving TK's own personal crisis was a wonderful touch from the author also.

***SPOILERS END***

Overall, I'm going to give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. Watching character developments as the novel unfolded was extremely fascinating, and I found myself understanding and relating to almost every single character in one way or another - even the bad ones! An excellent start to what I hope will be a substantial crime thriller series!

REVIEW || Sweet Tooth: Volumes One and Two

I read these at my local library, taking roughly half an hour for them both. These were my first ever graphic novel reads, and I went in with high expectations. I don't know why, maybe because it's such a big craze at the moment in the BookTube community, but sadly, I was a little disappointed. I do believe though that this was down to my own personal extremely high expectations rather than anything else!

Sweet Tooth Volume One: Out of the Deep Woods

In this initial volume, we find ourselves following the story of Gus, who lives in the woods with his father. Gus' father tells him he must only stay in the woods, and never stray, as there are fires and very dangerous men on the other side of the fence. Oh, did I mention, Gus has deer ears and horns?

Before Gus was born, there was an illness epidemic that wiped out quite a high proportion of the population. Those that were left, and were lucky enough to go on to have children, did so. However, after this epidemic, every child that was born, was some sort of animal hybrid. Now, 8 or so years later, we find Gus living in the woods with his father, as his mother died giving birth to him, and there is a heavy bounty for those that manage to capture these hybrids. 

However, when Gus' father dies, he dares to brave the new world outside of the woods, where he comes across Jeppard. We first meet Jeppard as he saves Gus' life, and convinces him to go with him to a safe haven. With Gus looking up to Jeppard as a new form of father figure, what could go wrong?

*

I didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting too. The premise sounded amazing, and I had such high hopes, what with this being the first graphic novel of mine, that I think the expectations became too much of me. The story was good, and did set us up for the rest of the series, but I felt it lacked somewhat, somewhere along the line. I'm just not too sure where. 

I did feel for Gus though. He'd had such a sheltered life and didn't know where to begin after his fathers death, thus he just jumped on the first 'kind' person he met. Which ultimately led to his downfall. Overall I gave this graphic novel 3 stars.

***

Sweet Tooth Volume Two: In Captivity

The second installment picks up where the first left off. Good old reliable Jeppard is actually a bounty hunter, and hands over Gus in exchange for a duffell bag which we later find out to be the remains of his wife.

I much preferred this installment to the first one. We get to see more of Jeppard and his backstory, which was something I felt I actually needed to know in order to continue. The revelations that follow upon discovery of the other hybrids are also quite shocking, and well, Gus is actually quite naive, which is to be expected considering his upbringing.

Overall, I gave this installment four stars out of five, and reviewed both on my goodreads too.

Being Ruthless

If there's one thing I've learnt so far in 2016, it's that life is too short. Far too short. In the midst of family issues, and celebrities dropping like flies, along with career alterations and just life in general, I've started to focus on things that matter the most to me, and spending more time doing the things I love. Whilst this includes reading, some 'light' crafting, and filming for my YouTube channel and writing blog posts, it also means spending time with family, fiance, and friends.

So what does this mean for my blog and YouTube?

Absolutely nothing.

As soon as I finish a book, I'll be posting a collective review of my thoughts and feelings surrounding the book, its plot, characters etc. I'll still be posting videos as and when I can, with hopefully a variety of content.

But what about my reading?

Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk about in this post to be honest. I've FINALLY decided to make the executive decision of being ruthless toward my reading. I have such a huge TBR pile that it just has to be done. So how am I going to do it?

It's simple. If I'm reading a physical book, I'll give it 3 chapters, or between 30 and 50 pages, depending on what I reach first. If the book seems promising and I'm enjoying it, I'll see it out. If it isn't tickling my fancy, it'll have until the 50 page mark to redeem itself, or else it will be going on my DNF pile. If I'm reading an eBook, it will have between 10 and 20%, depending on the size of the book. If the book is large, I'll apply the 50 page rule, as long as my kindle has the page number option available. If not, it'll have up to 30% to redeem itself, or else I will be leaving it unfinished, It's a shame to have to be strict on myself and my reading, but when I have such a busy schedule, along with a continuous growth spurt of my TBR, it has to be done.

Have any of you had to be ruthless with your TBR? Or with anything else for that matter? If you have any more tips or tricks about being ruthless, let me know down below!

See you all soon with another post!

REVIEW || A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

How the hell am I meant to review this book?

*

In this short, but powerfully moving novel from Patrick Ness, we follow Conor, who has all the usual teenage struggles alongside two other things. His mums illness, and a nightmare that visits him night after night. Until one night, there's a looming shadow in this nightmare. And it doesn't go away.

*

This book had me in tears. I honestly don't know how anyone can read this and NOT cry. I genuinely believed Conor's views and thoughts, so much so I was rooting for him from start to finish. But it just wasn't meant to be.

I loved the representation that the character of the monster brought to the novel. It had this big looming scary feeling to Conor, but as time passed, he got used to it and allowed to become a friend almost. And in true friend fashion, it allowed him to do absolutely anything, from trashing his grandmas pristine and precious living room, to finally beating the crap out of his bully (which was totally justified).

I don't want to say too much in fear of spoil on the experience. I went in not knowing much - literally just what I had read on the back of the book, and in this instance, that is exactly how it should be.

A phenomenal piece of writing from Ness, so thought provoking, thoughtful and eye-opening. This has definitely willed me into reading more by him, and is incredibly deserving of the full five star rating I'm giving it.

REVIEW || Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

***this book was received as an eArc in exchange for an honest review***

You want honest?

I've never read Cecelia Ahern.

Now, I'm well aware of just how popular her works are and how successful a writer she actually is. So when I heard she was venturing out of her usual writing realm and diving into YA, I thought 'good for her'. Well, you can only imagine my surprise at seeing her new novel available on the eArc site I use. I snapped that bad boy up.

So what is Flawed about exactly? Well, we follow Celestine, our main female character who is 17 years old. Lives with her parents and siblings, straight A student with an amazing boyfriend. One problem. There's this thing called the Guild. The Guild are there to protect the community, by preventing corruption and dishonesty in leaders BEFORE it has a chance to happen. How? They monitor your every move. If you do something morally or ethically wrong through any of your actions, you get punished, and are seen as flawed. The punishment is simple. You are branded - with a hot iron just like cows no less- in one of five places, depending on your sentencing. Those places each have a different meaning, and being flawed and branded restricts your freedoms and corrupts your quality of life. So what exactly does this have to do with Celestine, our seemingly perfect female lead? Well, she's faced with a rather tough decision, and whatever path she follows for that decision has grave consequences...

This book is phenomenal for a first time venture into YA fiction from an author outside the field. Throughout my goodreads updates, I found myself going through the motions with Celestine. When she was scared, I was scared for her. When she was worried, I was too. And so on. One thing I didn't like however, is that this is part of a series. The ending clearly leaves the series open to a number of different directions, but I felt it didn't have the closure I usually prefer, which naturally would come from a standalone piece.

Overall, I'm rating the book 4 out of 5 stars. I may pick up the sequel (if I remember to), but if not, I can leave the series knowing that I have been pleasantly surprised by yet another novel, with an ending open to interpretation for myself.

Have you read this book? Let me know down below and we can chat about it! (I promise I'm going to try harder with comment replies!)

REVIEW || Mañana by William Hjortsburg

So a while ago, I got this as a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. Here goes.

-

I actually don't remember all that much about it. As in, I made my decision on my star rating on Goodreads, but didn't leave a review. Clearly, this book had a profound impact on me.

Our main character, Tod, wakes up whilst on holiday with his wife, to find a dead prostitute lying next to him. Yup, that's right a dead prostitute. Naturally his wife is nowhere to be seen, neither are the people he vaguely remembers from the night before. Cue Tod spending the whole of this novel trying to track his wife down, as he is adamant she has been kidnapped against her will. He also needs to figure out whether he did actually murder his wake-up friend, or whether it was all staged to make him look bad. 

Now, don't get me wrong, this book had so much promise. It could have took so many different twists and turns, and it did, they just weren't exciting enough for me. I found his wife to be quite whiny and actually, quite cunning, and I found Tod being a tad too helpless for his own good at some points. However, the points where his head was screwed on actually made sense, but it was so frustrating to see some things pan out the way they did.

Through the time spent writing this review, I've decided to drop my stars from 3 to 2. Mainly because I've realised just how much I disliked the book, even if I did get through it quite quickly.

Sorry if I've disappointed you with this review, and although I am thankful for the eARC copy, I'm pleased I didn't actually pay for this, which is such a shame.

REVIEW || Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

This book. Wow. Just wow.

I bought this on a whim, mainly a guilty pleasure cover buy, but also for the fact that we (myself and the book), share the same name. Rebecca. Obviously!

In this book, we follow our female lead, who begins her take working for a Mrs Van de Hopper as a servant almost. She lives with her, dines with her, holidays with her, and so on, all in exchange for £90 a month. When we first come across the pair, they are holidaying abroad, when they just so happen to be staying in the same hotel as Maxim De Winter, esteemed Englishman and sole owner of the stately homes of Manderley. We see the relationship between our main character and Maxim blossom during the hotel stay, to the point where Maxim asks her to becomes his bride! From there, we are taken on a journey full of twists and turns with the newly-weds, as our main female character struggles to come to terms with life at Manderley, all the while trying to understand her husbands ever-growing silence ad suspicion surrounding his deceased first-wife, Rebecca.

*from here this review will no longer be spoiler free, scroll to the last paragraph to see my overall thoughts and rating*.

I adored this book. I read it as part of my #2016classicschallenge, and have completed it in under a week. Which for me, and a 400+ page book, is pretty damn impressive! Initially I believed our main character to be a bit of a pain, as the author writes in all of these other scenarios playing out in our females head, so I was never really sure what was truth and what wasn't at certain points. However I found that becoming less and less frequent the more I read, which was a definite bonus.

I went through every single emotion I could possibly imagine with almost all of the characters, bar one or two who I loathed from the moment I met them. I have to say, Maxim exceeded my expectations, and I loved his character development throughout the book. I began hating him for leading our poor female on (I've yet to learn her name, it's probably mentioned somewhere and I didn't pay attention), until suddenly it all went up in the air when she confronted him about his feelings. And then - well, that was one hell of a revelation!

***

Overall I'm giving this book an amazing 5 out of 5 stars, which is rare for a classic read (for me anyway). This means that I would highly recommend it to absolutely anyone and everyone. Don't read classics? Read this one. Prefer YA? Try this, trust me you'll love it. I just hope someone somewhere has thought about a novella or sequel so we can see what has happened to our beloved couple since the end of the novel!

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?

REVIEW || We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Not going to lie - I teared up a little bit when reading this.

This book follows a group of people, some are friends in the beginning, others are not. But by the end, we have this beautiful group of friendship that is almost too cliche, but totally understandable.

*this review many not be spoiler free*

I'd eyed this book up for ages, before finally caving to my own wishes and purchasing it at the beginning of 2016. I knew I was in for a YA, I just didn't know how much of a YA it was going to be.

Turns out, quite a bit actually.

Sometimes, friendships or scenarios felt forced or awkward, as if they were there for the sake of it, as opposed to being there because they had earned the right to occur. Yet this didn't really effect the overall reading experience for me!

I got way too attached to all the wrong characters (naturally), and this book was no exception in the YA format of "wonderful friendship building followed by tragedy". And in all seriousness, I really didn't expect certain things from certain characters at the end of the book. I just really really wanted things to work out for P. He was always in his sisters shadow attention wise and was left to his own devices most of the time I believe, which makes his outcome even more distressing for me.

These are just my initial thoughts, although overall I will be giving this book a 4 out of 5 star rating. Once I figure out how to write down my thoughts and feelings more coherently or systematically, then I may come back to this review!


Have you read this before? Let me know down below in the comments!

REVIEW: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

***Please note, this review may not remain spoiler free***

Recently, I had the pleasure of picking up Fingersmith. I got it for a pound (£1) in one of my local charity shops, and had heard so much about the author, and with a new release of hers looming, I thought I may as well try her out, to see what her writing is like.

When I first read the back (I know some people refrain from doing so because of spoilers, but ultimately, how would I know if I was interested or not?), I got the impression that Sue Trinder (our lead female) was a sort of female version of Oliver Twist, and that the white gloves on the cover of the book were of some sort of significance to this line of work. Oh how I was not wrong.

The book follows Sue, who lives in London with her mother-esque figure Mrs Sucksby, as well as Mr Ibbs, John and Dainty, with the occasional visit from a man named, well, Gentleman. It is through Gentleman that Sue undertakes the biggest 'pickpocket' task of her life, and leaves her in a rather strange predicament....

I'll leave it there, incase of spoilers!

Basically, this book contains love, lust, greed, jealousy, rage, spit, murder and above all, bravery. I would highly highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good Dickensian novel, with a little bit of a twist thrown in there! If you've read the novel, please let me know down below so we can discuss it further - there will also be a spoiler blog post on this novel coming up, so avoid that like the plague if you wish to remain spoiler free!

See you all soon my lovelies!

R

REVIEW: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

***please note, this review may contain spoilers***

Now, this book is a one I finished a while back, but if my memory serves me right, I absolutely loved it.

I bought this book back at the start of the year, wanting to get stuck into what I knew was going to be another trilogy, as I haven't quite gotten over the series blues of The Hunger Games. I had tried to move on via The Maze Runner, but if anything, that sent me into a slump. So when I discovered this book, I thought 'why the hell not?'. After all, I had nothing to lose!

I'm so pleased I picked it up. It drew me in so well, kept me well and truly intrigued, and I finished it within a week, which is practically a record for me!

In this book, we follow Paige, who is part of a criminal gang in London in 2059. Her role in this gang, is to gain information through breaking into other peoples minds. Now, it's all going brilliantly, until one day, on her way home to visit her family, she is attacked, drugged and kidnapped, and taken to Oxford, where she becomes part of the latest "Bone Season".

I dont want to give too much away (I feel like this is all I have been saying lately), but I really think going in blind for things like this is the best way to go about it! I'll leave a link to the Goodreads page for this book here, should you wish to find out more and read more reviews on this book. 

Have you read this book? Let me know down below so we can have a chat about it!

REVIEW: Zoo by James Patterson

***please note, this review may not be completely spoiler free, and all views are my own***

Hello world! How are we all? Hope everyone is well! Today, I am bringing you a review of my most recently read novel, Zoo, by James Patterson. Released initially in 2012 (I believe), it has seemed to slip under many people's radars, particularly those unfamiliar to Patterson or the genres he writes within. That is, until Sky released the information that they were to create a series of the same name, based upon the books. Naturally, after seeing the first trailer (or advert for us Brits), curiosity got the better of me, and I ended up purchasing the book online via Amazon, and upon its arrival a few days later, I picked it up.

Zoo follows our main character, Jackson Oz, who has a pet chimp, Atilla. Now, for those of you who have seen the series Zoo, you may be wondering who Atilla is, as apparently the poor thing has been left out of it. When a string of strange animal attacks on humans begin occurring more and more frequently, this leads Oz, and a number of other individuals, to take note of such behaviour and monitor it, looking for anything out of the ordinary or obscure to such an animals typical pattern. For example, lions, when in a pack and hunting, tend to only have one male lion as the 'lead' so to speak, and the rest of the pack tend to be females. However, in the book, one of the noticeable changes or strange goings-on is that a lion pack is actually hunting in an all-male formation, highly out of character for such a predator. When Oz gets asked if he would like to see strange animal behaviour patterns in Africa, he leaves his girlfriend behind in the US, and asks her to look after Atilla. And this is where it really starts to go downhill for our main character.

Whilst on the way to Africa, he recieves an email from his girlfriend Natalie, who is trying to tell him she wishes for them to break up, as she feels almost like a third wheel in her own relationship with Oz and his dedication to his work. He reluctantly agrees (what else can he do from the other side of the world) and throws himself into what Africa has to offer in terms of animal behavioural patterns. Several events follow this (which i do not wish to disclose in fer of spoilers for you all), but in these events there are attacks, deaths, new friendships and potential love interests, and Oz has only been there 24 hours!

From Africa, Oz returns to the US with his new love interest in tow, as he believes he has nothing to lose now that Natalie has seemingly cut all ties. However, he notices when he arrives at his apartment that things are not all they are cracked up to be, and this discovery aids him greatly in his research.

This book kept me gripped. At times, I really didn't want to pick it up in fear of what might happen next, but then again, it did such a good job of drawing me in again and again I couldn't resist! Some of the characters were incredibly well developed, although I feel that some deserved more time to shine in their roles (such as Oz's guide in Africa for example).

Overall, I rated this book a 4/5 stars on Goodreads, as I felt the story was lacking in reality in parts, although it did enough to keep me hooked. A must read for those who are wanting to be introduced to Patterson's writing style!

BOOK REVIEW | The Bees by Laline Paull

***please note, this review may contain spoilers***

I took this to read on my recent holiday to Turkey, as it is one of the shorter books I own. I found the concept of it interesting, and when I was further recommended to read it and push it up my TBR, I felt this was an appropriate way to do so.

In this book we follow Flora 717, a sanitation worker bee, as she goes through her day to day life in the Hive she is born into.

I can't really give too much away, as anything I say will probably severely spoil the book for you! All you need to know is that Flora 717 is not like the others. She doesn't seem to fit as a sanitation worker bee, and grabs every opportunity given to her with open arms. At points, I sympathised with her, rooted for her, cried with her, laughed with her, wanted to sting another bee with her. I went on this rollercoaster ride of emotions, with a bee. Not even a real bee! Once I'd completed the book, I took a step back and asked myself what kept me so interested and wrapped up in Flora 717's story. And the truth is? I have no idea. I guess it just fascinated me to imagine life as a bee, whilst having the trials and tribulations of a human, all under a semi-dictatorship (if not a complete one)of a Queen or Loving Mother.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I would highly highly recommend you read this book. Even if it is just for the idea that it is about bees! That's what intrigued me initially, and when asked what it was about, that's all I could say. I promise you, once you begin to read it, you will be completely and totally sucked in!

Easily a five out of five stars, adding to this years list of 5*'ers, and making that decision of my favourite book of 2015 just that little bit harder.