Friday 27 February 2015

Guest Review- Talon (Julie Kagawa)

Talon (Talon, #1)

Synopsis

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.
Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.         - Goodreads.com

James' Review 


I’ve just finished reading “Talon” by Julie Kagawa at Elle’s recommendation and she asked me to write a guest post for her blog.

As a bit of an introduction I thought I should warn you all, normally I’m a fantasy genre kind of guy.  My first real taste of fantasy was the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.  Growing up I reread those books over and over and they would be some of the most well-worn books on my shelves. 

I’ve always been drawn to authors who excel at secondary world creation; think Robert Jordon’s Wheel of Time, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, or Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Cycle. But from time to time when I’m suffering from a book hangover I like to delve into something lighter.  Elle’s recommendations have never failed me yet and I know when she says I’ll enjoy something I won’t be able to put the book down.

Anyway, enough about me, onto Talon.  The best way I can describe Talon would be “Beauty and the Beast” meets “Romeo and Juliet”. That being said I’m a sucker for any Beauty and the Beast retelling and on the flip side I despise Romeo and Juliet.  Classical writing fans hate me all you like but R&J is just plain annoying.  Not even Leonardo DiCaprio can make that stuff interesting.  Maybe, I’m just a sucker for a happy ending.

Sorry, getting off track again. 

The book centres around Ember, a young dragon, who has been assigned the task of infiltrating human society by the dragon organisation, Talon.  She and her brother Dante have been trained since birth to be “sleepers” behind enemy lines.  Talon has placed Ember and Dante in a Californian beach town for the summer holidays where they must learn to infiltrate, engage, and appear human in their final stage of training before becoming full-fledged Talon operatives.

Little does Talon realise that Ember has plans to use this time away from the organisation to finally begin to have a life of her own.  This summer will be Ember’s chance to get away from Talon strict routines and the constant threat of the Order of St George, the Dragonslayers.

On the flip side we have Garret Xavier Sebastian who is the perfect St George soldier.  He has been with the Order since he was a child after a dragon killed his parents and has numerous dragon-kills against his name.  His latest mission sends him to a small beach town where he must track down and eliminate a young Talon operative.  When he meets Ember he thinks he has found his dragon.  However, her all-too-human actions and desires make Garret question the Order’s doctrine he has believed since his parents were taken from him.


"Startled by my own thoughts, I leaned back and rubbed my eyes. What was wrong with me? I was a soldier, trained to keep emotions in check at all times. I could face down a charging dragon and show no fear. I could endure two hours of my superior screaming in my face and feel nothing. What was it about Ember that was different?"
Julie Kagawa (Talon)


As an additional element, Ember’s world is turned upside down when a rogue, ex-Talon dragon shows up in town who begins making her think Talon is not what she thought it was.

I felt the development of the main characters was well done.  It’s good to see their beliefs are challenged as the story progresses. The relationship triangle which develops, as the two halves of Ember war with one another, adds an interesting level of complexity.  The author has steered away from the over-used one light (good) and one dark (evil) male love interest.

I felt Talon was a great base from which the author can build on the rest of the series.  I could draw similarities to the dreaded Twilight and even the Divergent series but I won’t.  I feel this book has enough original thought to be a good read and has potential to be a great series.

Overall, I’d give Talon a 3.5 / 5.  But I’m probably just being prejudiced and it deserves more.

P.S. Elle, please stop recommending books where the series isn’t finished.  It is annoying to not be able to sit and finish a series from start to finish without having to wait through the intervening years between each release.

Thank-you so much to my lovely partner James for writing this review for me. I'm glad you enjoyed the book :)

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Waiting On Wednesday (7)


Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine! that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

99 Days

(Katie Cotugno)
Expected publication: April 18th 2015

99 Days
Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”


Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.


- Goodreads.com


Why I'm Waiting for it: 


This seems like a contemporary that deals with some less than flash topics from what I've heard. But that's why I'm looking forward to it. It's nice every once and a while to sit down with a contemporary book that is a bit more gritty. The synopsis is what drew me in mostly, it's intriguing without giving away to much. 

What book are you waiting for this week?

Monday 23 February 2015

I Mustache You Some Questions Tag




So I wasn't officially tagged for this, but it looks super fun, so I thought I’d give it a go :)

I'm not going to tag anyone at the end, because I'd love to see many peoples answers to these questions, so if you want to participate just go ahead and do it, and if you can, leave a link in the comments below so i can check out your post :)






Four Jobs I've Had:

1. Baby-sitter
2. Ride Operator at a Theme Park
3. Registered Nurse
4. Veterinary Nurse

Four Movies I've watched more than once:

1. Sweet Home Alabama
            This movie is so sweet, and the romance is just adorable.
   


2. Labyrinth
            A childhood favorite of mine.


3. Dirty Dancing
            One of my all-time favourite movies, and Patrick Swayze is delish!


4. Grease
            A classic!




Four books I would recommend:

This Song Will Save Your LifeThe PactThe Raging QuietAngelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)

1. This Song Will Save Your Life
2. The Pact
3. The Raging Quiet
4. Angelfall

Four places I have visited:

1. Australia
2. Tonga
Unfortunately I haven’t done a lot of travelling :(


Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Canada
2. Rarotonga
3. The South Island of New Zealand (I live in the North)
4. Anywhere there is a beach

Four things I don't eat:

1. Candy- I’m not a huge candy fan.
2. Tomato soup
3. Brussel Sprouts
4. Meat or animal bi-products that aren't free-range


Four of my favourite foods:

1. Potato’s. There are so many ways to have them!
2. Seafood
3. Chocolate
4. Redbull- while not technically a ‘food’, still of my favourites.

Four TV shows I watch:

1. The Mindy Project
2. Breaking Bad
3. The Big Bang Theory
4. Two Broke Girls

Four things i'm looking forward to this year (2015):

1. Graduating!
2. Being more active physically.
3. Updating my blog regularly
4. Going to many of my friends weddings :)

Four things I'm always saying:

1.  'No Problem'
2.  'See you Later, Hot Potato' (To my partner)
3.  'What are we doing for dinner?'
4.  'Where is my......?' - because I'm forever losing things

If you plan on participating, leave a link below to you post so I can check it out :)


Feature and Follow (15)


Here's this weeks question:

 

Do you like fantasy or realistic books?

That's a hard one. I honestly like both. Although if I had to choose, I'd probably say fantasy. I like the creation of new worlds, races, magics and creatures. There's just something amazing about being able to escape our own reality through reading the carefully selected words of an author. 



Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community.

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Top Ten Tuesday (17)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.


Top Six Book Related Problems I have


The Number of Books on my TBR- So I currently have 891 books on my Goodreads TBR. Granted that s probably not as many as other people, but the number is still daunting. Even if I read 100 books a year it would still take me almost 9 years to read all those books and that's not even accounting for new additions.

Covers don't match- Because of my book OCD, I seriously hate it when half way through a series the covers change, especially if they are no where as nice as the originals. This is why I tend not to buy books in a series until all the books have been released. 

People trying to borrow my books- Nope nope Nope. 

Not enough space for all my books- My shelves are at the point of being double and even triple stacked. Which is sad because the whole joy of owning books is being able to have their beautiful covers on display.

Finishing series- I am so bad at finishing series its not even funny. My biggest shame is not finishing the Harry Potter series. I have still yet to read the last book...mostly because I know once I've read it there's  no more adventures to come :(

Not remembering anything from the previous books by the time the next one is released- There's usually a wait of about a year between the release of the first book and the sequel. During that time I've probably read 50 or so books. The liklihood that I can remeber all the crucial details from the first is slim. So then my next conundrum is do I start the series all over again? or do I just go into the next book blind ?


What book problems do you suffer from?



Sunday 15 February 2015

Review- The Trouble With Flirting (Rachel Morgan)


The Trouble with Flirting (The Trouble #2)

Synopsis


Labelled a nerd for most of high school, Livi sees her first year of university as a chance to redefine herself. She can finally enter the popular crowd and maybe even land herself a super hot boyfriend. But Livi’s about to discover that the price of popularity may be more than she’s willing to pay, and that what — and who — she wants most has always been right in front of her.
Goodreads.com


My Review 

This book was provided to me free for an honest review

While this book is technically the second book in the series, it can be easily read as a standalone. Which is exactly what I did with no problems.

The story itself is about Livi, who’s about to start University with the intention of redefining who she is. She has everything planned out, a sweet apartment with one of her high school friends, a new wardrobe and the motivation to shuck her old Harry Potter, Star Trek loving self. 

"Be cool, Livi. BE COOL. Salivating over hot guys like a groupie at a concert is not part of Project Ditch the Nerd."
- Rachel Morgan (The Trouble with Flirting)

To be honest when I started this book, I really couldn’t get into it. I wasn’t a fan of the writing, the main character was insipid and vain, desperate to fit in and shed her nerd girl reputation from high school. But I persevered, wanting to give the book a decent try, setting myself the goal of 100 pages.  However before then the book had already redeemed itself in my eyes. The writing grew on me and the plot began to form. While I still had moments of fury at the shallowness of the main character, I also grew to the realization that to a degree her character is probably a rather accurate depiction of most people at that age. I definitely remember myself starting University eager to change, be someone who was less shy and more outgoing.  Maybe it’s only now that I’m a bit older that I’ve learnt being who you are is more important and much more enjoyable than creating a facade. Of course Livi also learnt this lesson, which made her all the more likeable in the end.

Other than her superficial-ness, and the fact that she almost completely ditched her old friends for her new popular ones. I found a lot of similarities in myself to Livi. She liked to read, watch shows like Big Bang Theory and Firefly, and play xbox; the ultimate nerd, just like me. The romance that developed was adorable, I actually thought it was heading in a different direction at one point but I love how it ended. However to avoid spoiling it, I’m not going to say anymore.

"You know that place at the back of people's minds where they keep their secret fantasies? That's where I kept you Livi."
Rachel Morgan (The Trouble With Flirting)

Overall an accurate and realistic coming of age story, that depicts the struggle of redefining yourself just to fit in. Something I’m sure many young adults are familiar with in one way or another. 

Things I loved about the book:


  • I really liked that the author set the book in her own country. I’ve never read a book set in South Africa before, and it was a nice change.
  • Livi’s character was redeemed. When she started to realise that it didn’t matter what other people thought of her, becaue she already had some awesome friends, she became much more tolerable. 

Things I didn't so much like about the book:


  • The character was so annoying at the start. She was far too concerned with what made her cool, and how to get in with the popular girls. I can understand wanting to fit in, but it made the character too superficial. 


My rating: 3/5

Saturday 14 February 2015

Review- Deadly Class Vol#1 (Rick Remender)

Deadly Class Vol. 1: Reagan Youth

Synopsis


It's 1987. Marcus Lopez hates school. His grades suck. The jocks are hassling his friends. He can't focus in class. But the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin's top assassin, the teachers are members of an ancient league of assassins, the class he's failing is "Dismemberment 101," and his crush has a doubledigit body count. Welcome to the most brutal high school on earth, where the world's top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the dagger in your back isn't always metaphorical. 
Goodreads.com

My Review 


I’ve been really into graphic novels after finishing the latest installment of Saga, and this one popped up on my GR recommendations feed. Not knowing anything about it really, I decided to give it a go.

The story is about a homeless teenage boy, who gets taken in and recruited into a secret school for assassins. He has a brutal past which is slowly revealed through flashbacks, and which eventually as the story progresses, catches up with him. 

While the premise isn’t exactly new, the execution is on pointe, and is delivered perfectly. Everything seems to have been thought of right down to the classes taken at the academy, Assassin psychology, Beheading, and Poison Studies among others. The Academy even has it's own cliques, just like a real highschool, but instead of Preps, Burnouts and Jocks, you have Mexican Cartel, Japanese Mafia and Neo-nazis.  However, the thing that really stood out for me, was the beautiful graphics and use of colour. For each scene there were only a few colours used, and it really helped to set the mood and enhance the scene. Some of the scenes are quite gorey, and some of the characters are horrifically disfigured, which just adds to the darkness of the novel. 

The overall story was really good, and gathered in pace exponentially. While the main characters past was revealed slowly through the book, there is still so much that you want to find out about him. This is definitely a series that I am going to anticipate the release of the next volume.

My rating: 5/5

Are you a fan of graphic novels? If so, have any suggestions?

Thursday 12 February 2015

Review- At Any Price (Brenna Aubrey)

At Any Price (Gaming the System, #1)

Synopsis


Achievement Unlocked: Geek Virgin
When Mia Strong, proud geek-girl and popular gaming blogger, auctions off her virginity online, she knows she'll make waves. But what she will not be making is a love connection. Her rules are set in stone: One night. No further contact.
It's a desperate step, but it's the only way she can go to medical school and pay her mother's mounting hospital bills.

Difficulty Level: Millionaire CEO 
Adam Drake, the enigmatic auction winner, is a software prodigy who made his first million at seventeen. Now, in his mid-twenties, he's sexy, driven and--as CEO of his own gaming company--he's used to making the rules. Before Mia knows what's happening, he's found the loophole in the rules of her auction. Every stipulation she's made to protect her heart gets tossed by the wayside.

She can't tell if he's playing her...or if he's playing for keeps..  
Goodreads.com

My Review 


I was luckily enough to get this book free off amazon kindle. One of my friends posted up saying it was free (I think it still is) and after reading the premise I was instantly intrigued.

The basis of the story is about Mia and the fact that at 22 she’s ready to be rid of her virginity, but instead of just losing it the old fashioned way. She decides to auction off her virginity to the highest bidder. Ok…ok, I can just imagine what you are thinking, W.T.F. But to be honest I was interested in how this was all going to play out. The reason she decides to auction it off, is because she is in desperate need of money. Firstly she wants to go to medical school, which I can imagine costs a fortune in America, and secondly her mums house is in foreclosure after she got cancer and was unable to work. So I guess her intentions were relatively noble, but still the idea makes me a little squirmy, there are some weirdos out there. Luckily her best friend Heath, helps her out by background checking and approving the final auctioneer for her, obviously ensuring he’s not a psychopath, and from there our story takes flight.

My biggest problem with this book, surprisingly wasn’t the content. I actually enjoyed the majority of the first half of the book. The main character was likable, despite her questionable decision around losing her virginity. She was a gamer girl, which helped me connect with her, and she was independent and headstrong. 

What I found most annoying occurred around the middle of the book. After flying to Amsterdam with the sexy, young billionaire who won the auction to ‘do the deed’. Plans changed and there was no *cough* ‘exchange of goods’. At this point it was a plot twist that I enjoyed, however after the 3rd, 4th, 5th time of arranging to lose her virginity and something coming up and it not following through I started to get annoyed. There’s only so much sexual tension you can build, before I start to lose interest and think he might be gay.

The ending was conclusive enough, not to need more books in the series. However there are 2 more, and I’m a little puzzled as to where the story is going to go from where it left off. While not a great book, due to its arduously repetitive middle, it kept me relatively entertained throughout and for that it earns 3 stars. 

My rating: 3/5

Tuesday 10 February 2015

Top Ten Tuesday (16)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.


Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike In Romance Books



4 Likes

Sexual Tension- A slow build up, with good sexual tension is to me what a good romance is all about. It could just be a furtive glance here and there, or the way he smiles at her when she says something that amuses him.

Childhood Friends who fall in love- There is just something so adorably cute about a boy and a girl who have been friends for ages, and that moment when they finally realise that they’re actually in love with the other person .

Witty and Sarcastic Banter- I just love it when the guy and girl banter, it adds to the sexual tension. Especially when they are both under the pretence that they don’t like the other person, but we all know their true feelings.

Same sex relationships- I feel like more YA romance needs to have same sex relationships. I know it’s not for everyone and there are many different views on homosexuality, but I like that it’s starting to become a bit more mainstream in YA.



4 Dislikes

Overbearing/ overprotective Men- Ok so this is also one of my likes, but it just has to be done right. There’s a fine line between protective male and domineering jerk.

Love Triangles- Sigh, I feel like this was a real trend a few years back, but fortunately it seems like YA romance has started to veer away from this annoying plot twist.

Damsel In Distress- There is nothing worse than a girl who needs to be saved all the time….it’s called natural selection for a reason. The odd occasional saving is fine , but I prefer it when the girl is badass, and can stand on her own two feet.

Insta Love- This one’s probably going to be on many peoples list. I just hate it when the main characters first meet and it’s all googly eyes and racing hearts. I mean Bitch please, you don’t even know this boy…Grrr. 


What do you like/dislike in Romance books?

Ps. If you know what movie the GIF is from, you are awesome-sauce :P

Sunday 8 February 2015

Love for Books Readathon- Feb 9th-15th

I've been waiting for a readathon to come around since I missed Bout of Books earlier this year, and I cam upon the Love For Books Readathon hosted by A Novel Heartbeat. I'm really hoping to get a head start on my Goodreads Challenge and I think this is the perfect motivation to do it. I have a few days off this week, which is perfect as well.

My goals are pretty straight forward, I would love to read 3 books and also write a review for each one + catch up on some of my older reviews which need to be written. 

Keen to participate? Head to the link above and join in!



Review- Saga Vol #3 (Brian K. Vaughn)


Saga, Volume 3 (Saga #13-18)

Synopsis


Volume 1: When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.  Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. 

Volume 2: Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and horrific monsters, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters her strangest adventure yet... grandparents. 
       
Volume 3: Searching for their literary hero, new parents Marko and Alana travel to a cosmic lighthouse on the planet Quietus, while the couple's multiple pursuers finally close in on their targets. 
Goodreads.com

My Review 


So this is only going to be a short mini review, but I just had to share my thoughts on the latest instalment of the Saga graphic novel series….essentially this is just going to be me raving about its awesomeness!

To start off this series got me into reading graphic novels, which I had never really been interested in. I mean how can someone fit a decent story line into 100 pages and with only a few paragraphs on each page?? Well Brian K. Vaughn surely proved me wrong. Saga has so much story, heart, adventure and humour bursting in its tiny package. The story itself is narrated by the two main protagonists daughter, who during the first 3 volumes of the series is still an infant. But the plot follows an array of characters, who are all very different with diverse purposes but whose stories all intertwine with each other’s.

This volume, had so many moments that got me right in the feels, and so many moments that just made me laugh out loud. The story is written so well and the graphics are stunning. I would highly suggest this series to anyone who….well actually everyone. EVERYONE should read this series! However be mindful of some of the adult content.

My rating: 5/5

Are you a fan of graphic novels? If so, have any suggestions?

Friday 6 February 2015

Feature and Follow (15)


Here's this weeks question:

 

Do you read more than 1 book at a time, and if so, how, like a certain amount of pages per book before moving on to the next one in the queue?

It's funny that this is the question this week, because I have been contemplating this a lot. I have always been a monogamous reader...that is until recently. I use to only allow myself to read one book, and even if I wasn't enjoying it I would struggle through it, or worse stop reading for a while till I was back in the mood to finish it. I don't know why I did this, maybe I was afraid that I'd get books/characters mixed up, I don't know. Recently, though I have started reading multiple books at once, usually no more than 2 or 3 at a time, and it's actually made reading more enjoyable. I'll usually start reading a 2nd book, if I start to get a little bored of the first one or if there's a book I'm just really pumped to read. Overall I feel like I actually read more this way and I almost always go back to the book that I started to finish it :)


Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community.

Thursday 5 February 2015

Whats Next? (1)

What's Next? Hosted by IceyBooks



What's Next? Is a cute little weekly feature hosted by IceyBooks, where you can get readers to help you decide what you should read next from your TBR.

Readers can rank the books, or just give their opinion on which was their favorite. If you want to join in head over to IceyBooks and link up your post :)



So I intend on participating in this feature monthly (rather than weekly) and posting 3-5 books at the start of the month which I'm interested in reading next. Instead of posting a synopsis, I'm  going to post the first sentence of each book as a teaser, and see which ones you guys vote for.


This Week

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)


"After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point."
- Sarah J Mass (Throne of Glass)


The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter, #1)



"The basement hallways of King's College of Medical Research were dark, even in the daytime. At night they were like a grave."
- Megan Shepherd (The Madman's Daughter)



All the Bright Places


"Is today a good day to die?
This is something I ask myself in the morning when I wake up."
- Jennifer Niven (All the Bright Places)





From the first lines of each book (or based on if you enjoyed them) which book should I read next?


Tuesday 3 February 2015

Top Ten Tuesday (15)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.


Top Five Books I Want to read from Epic Fantasy Genre


I wouldn't say I'm well read in epic/high fantasy, mostly because the books are usually super long bordering on 700 pages (or more!) and I just never get the time to read them. But I do want to delve into the genre more, and below are a few series that I want to read or have read the first couple books in and want to get back into.

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, #1)
So both of these series I have started. In the Song of Ice and Fire series, I've only read a Game of Thrones, which I enjoyed immensely, but I've been pretty slack about reading the next ones (possibly because I've only seen the first season on TV). The Sword of Truth Series, is also a TV series, but the show diverts quite a bit from the book although the key aspects are kept. I've read the first 2 in this series (Wizards First Rule and Stone of Tears) and they were  both amazing, although the series is 12 or so books long so I've been a bit intimidated about continuing.

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1)The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
These last 3 are books that have been highly suggested to me for a long time by my partner (who is a huge epic fantasy reader) and other book bloggers. I haven't started any of the books in these series yet, but from what people have told me I'm sure I will enjoy them all. 

What books from a particular genre do you want to read/ can't believe you haven't read yet?

Monday 2 February 2015

January Wrap-Up


So not a great start to the year with only 2 books completely finished and reviewed in January. But I feel like at the moment I'm trying to find a happy medium between work and blogging and still trying to get a good mix of both in. I also managed to catch up on some old reviews, which meant I got at least one review posted up a week, which I was happy with.

Finished

(Click book for review)
Of Beast and BeautyA Really Awesome Mess
  

In the Middle of

At Any Price (Gaming the System, #1)The F- It List

Of Beast and Beauty was a retelling of one of my all time favourite fairytales, Beauty and the Beast. It definitely had a unique twist on the original tale, which I enjoyed and got a 4/5 stars.  A Really Awesome Mess, ended up not being quite what I was expecting, but still a decent read. It deals with mental illness, but not in an overly dramatic way. It was light and funny, but if your after a book with a more serious look into mental health this probably won't be your cup of tea.


The one's I'm in the middle of will be first up for February. At Any Price, I'm around 60% through and really enjoying so far, and hoping to finish this week. I only just started The F*** It List, but it seems like it's going to be a quick read.

Up Next In February 

This month my hours will be dropping a bit (Yay no more 12 day straights!!), so I'll hopefully be able to do a bit more reading. I'd really like to read at least a book week, and get on top of some of my challenges for this year.

InterWorld (Interworld, #1)Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle, #1)Saga, Volume 3 (Saga #13-18)

 

I am in love with the Saga graphic novels, I read the first two last year and have been biding my time util I could get my hands on the next in the series. I'm super excited to read this one. It also inspired me to read more graphic novels which I did last year. Rebel Belle was one of the 2014 releases that I really wanted to read but didn't get around too, so I've bumped it up my TBR and aim to read it this month. I heard about Interworld while watching a video from one of my favourite booktubers (here), and I was instantly captured by the plot. Plus who doesn't love some Neil Gaiman. 

What books did You read in the Month of January?  Which was your favorite? 

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