April Wrap Up 2016

Rapture- Lauren Kate (Re-read)
*
I painfully finished this series this month. I wish I'd never re-read it because it's really ruined it for me. Re-reading highlighted so many errors in the series and I still don't like how the series ended! No spoilers but it always makes me feel like there was no point in reading the whole series. A disappointing ending to say the least. (Sorry, if you like this book. This is just my personal opinion. If you love it, that's great- I wish I did).






To All The Boys I've Loved Before- Jenny Han (Re-read)
*****
This book is the cutest, most adorable book out there! The story follows a girl called Lara Jean who, every time she falls in love, writes a letter  to that person, holding nothing back. She seals the letter, addresses them and keeps them in a teal hatbox- never sent. But one day, they get sent out. And a lot of embarrassing events follow... But it's so good! I'd definitely recommend it- it's a quick and entertaining read.

April Book Haul 2016

This month was another good month in terms of getting lots of books. I got a total of twelve books. I started off the month so well and by the end... I'd just accumulated so many books without even realising the amount!

Ink and Bone- Rachel Caine
Ever since meeting Rachel Caine, I've wanted to buy and read all her books and this one is her newest series about a great library. You could say it spiked my interest.







We Were Liars- E. Lockhart
Every couple of months, me and my friend pick a book that we will both read and then we discuss it when we've both finished, (kind of like a private book club). This month we chose We Were Liars and I didn't have that book so it gave me the perfect reason to buy it. (Check out my BOOK TALK at http://forever-fictional.blogspot.com/2016/04/we-were-liars-e-lockhart-book-talk.html )

We Were Liars- Further BOOK TALK

After finishing We Were Liars for the first time, I was so astonished that the desire to go back and read it all again was too much to ignore. And so, the very next day, I went straight back to the beginning and read it again.
It was such a great experience because I could look at the story from a completely new, enlightened perspective and it made the book unbelievably more beautiful. If you want to go and see my original BOOK TALK you're free to go to  http://forever-fictional.blogspot.com/2016/04/we-were-liars-e-lockhart-book-talk.html and read it.

Obviously, I'm going to jump straight into the spoilers so PLEASE don't continue if you haven't read it yet- it will ruin the whole thing and I don't want to do that to you.

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
Re-reading this, honestly, just made me feel so stupid! I don't know how I didn't guess what happened. E Lockhart drops hints the entire way through and looking back, it's so obvious!
There are two main theories going round about what happened and how. Number One- Gat, Johnny and Mirren were hallucintaions made up by Cadence's subconscious to shield herself from the pain of losing them. Number Two- That they were ghosts and the book had a supernatural element.
Personally, when first reading this, I was convinced on theory Number One- it seemd more tragic and I didn't like the idea of a supernatural element intruding on this book. However, having re-read it, I can see how this theory makes sense. Despite me still believeing that they were hallucinations, I found a lot of hints that could imply that they were actually there with her as ghosts.

I'll go through a few hints and clues that I probably should have realised and that you may have missed, yourself.

We Were Liars- E. Lockhart BOOK TALK

*****
I can't talk much about this book because I think it's best to go into this book knowing as little as possible. We Were Liars follows the Sinclair family- a rich and proud family. Every summer, the entire family stays at an island that they own and spend time with each other. It's a tale of family, friendship and tragedy.
This book has been extremely hyped up- and my 5 star rating doesn't necessarily contradict that hype- but try going into this book with no expectations- it will be better in the long run.
That's all I can really say, so go read it and then you can come back once you've finished it.



SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
There is not even a Scrabble for how bad I feel.
About the ending...not the book, don't worry.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing style was so incredibly beautiful and poetic that I couldn't help but be pulled in from the start.
It did take a bit of time to get all the characters and family ties sorted in my head but, once I knew who everyone was, I was off like a shot.
E. Lockhart writes so intricately and every word seems to have been thought through perfectly. It's easy to tell that Lockhart is into her metaphors and she executed them in a way that I truly appreciated. The thing with her metaphors is that you don't know that they aren't literal. You have to take a step back and think things through. One, for example, had me so completely shocked until I read on and realised that it was metaphorical.
'Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn and I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood gushed from my open wound,
then from my eyes,
my ears,
my mouth.
It tasted like salt and failure.'
When reading this my eyes nearly popped out of my head, I was so surprised. Only when you read on do you realise that it's just a metaphor for her feelings. Lockhart's writing is so intense, it was a pleasure to read.

The List- Siobhan Vivian BOOK TALK

***
This story is set in a school and, as a tradition every year, a list is made anonymously and posted all around the school. The list contains the names of two girls from each year group- one is labelled as the prettiest in the year while the other is labelled as the ugliest. The book follows this years' group of girls who have been unfortunately included in the list and what the consequences are of being in the centre of everyone's attention.
This book was certainly an enjoyable read and I really liked the clear message and display of society's issues. It was an honest representation of the problems with society and how it affects people's lives.
While, as a whole, it wasn't incredible, it was still a great read.



SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
When going into this book I found the amount of characters a bit overwhelming. There were so many names, siblings, friendships within each year group and it was a struggle to keep up with who was who.
To get past this, my genius self, thought up a technique to remember all the names. Basically, I got a sheet of paper and I created a sort of family-tree with the different characters- this way, I could write down any notes that helped me identify and remember the character's role. This helped me a lot during the beginning stages of the book.
This wasn't a massive issue in the book for me, though. By 100 pages in, I knew all the characters and their relationships.
I'll go through each character separately because, even though their stories intertwine greatly, they each have different stories and issues that they go through.

Would You Rather Book Tag

1. Only read series or standalone books?
Series. Standalones are okay but I think that series are definitely more worth the read. In series there is so much more character development and you get so much more material on the characters that you love. For me, this question's easy.
2. Only female authors or only male authors?
I don't want to seem sexist but, any day, I would go with female authors. It's not that I dislike male authors; I don't. There are plenty of books that I love by male authors but it just happens that most of the books I read are by females. I have way more female books compared to male and it just naturally happens like that- I don't do it on purpose. I don't go out of my way to read female books. So, that's why I would only read books with female authors.
3. Bookstore or online?
This is hard because normally I would say bookstore as I buy books from there more. I only order books online if I can't ever find them at a shop. But, if this was for the rest of my life and I could only pick one, I would go with online. The way I see it; there's no guarantee that you can get every book from a store but you can get everything online.

Book Blogger Confessions Tag

1. Which book, most recently, did you not finish?
Hold Me Closer- David Levithan
I barely started this before giving up. I didn't like the musical set up of it and I just wasn't grabbed by the story. Sorry...






2. Which book is your guilty pleasure?
The DUFF- Kody Keplinger
I will never feel ashamed for loving this book. Yes, the movie adaptation is kinda rubbish but I LOVE this book and forever will! It's so purely entertaining and brainlessly enjoyable. It's a great read to get out of a slump. (Ps- ignore the ugly cover. Get past that and it's amazing, I promise).

The Maze Runner Tag

1. Favourite glader?
This has to be Newt. He is such sarcastic but loyal friend. He is by far my favourite glader- if not my favourite character in the whole series.

2. Teresa or Brenda?
I AM TEAM TERESA AND I AM PROUD!

3. WICKED or The Right Arm?
To be honest, I don't like either of them.... so, I 'll go with WICKED as they have a cool acronym for their name.

4. Thomas, Minho or Newt?
As Newt is my favourite character... Newt! But my second choice would be Minho all the way. Sorry, Thomas.

5. Which book was your favourite?
The Scorch Trials- I found it the most entertaining. The first one was slow to get into while I found the last one dragged at times. Definitely The Scorch Trials.

Top Ten Book Covers 2016 Edition

We all know that we judge books by their covers- it's inevitable! Admit it. These are some of my favourite book covers that just demand to be looked at! They're so beautiful! So here they are for your viewing pleasure... No particular order...

 

Red Queen- Victoria Aveyard

 

 

Shatter Me- Taherah Mafi

April releases and TBR 2016

These are some of the books that I am planning to read in April. I may not end up reading these books but I'm hoping to get to them. I will also include some releases that I'm anticipating this month.

Most anticipated releases
These release dates are thanks to Goodreads so if they're wrong... don't blame me.

When We Collided- Emery Lord   5th April
Tell the Wind and Fire- Sarah Rees Brennan   5th April
The Art of Not Breathing- Sarah Alexander   26th April
Flawed- Cecelia Ahern  5th April

TBR
Rapture- Lauren Kate
I'm planning on finishing this series off as I read the first three books in March. It makes sense...

April Fools Day Best Funny Books

In honour of Aprils Fools Day, I thought that I would make a list of my Top Five funny books. These recommendations are books that have funny characters, plots but mostly characters. In no particular order...


1. Can You Keep A Secret- Sophie Kinsella
Sophie Kinsella is such a popular author and this was the first book that I'd ever read of hers. It was so funny! This book follows Emma and, on a aeroplane, she spills all her closely kept secrets to a stranger. Or so she thought... The stranger ends up at her work placement and, well... things get awkward. It's such a quick and easy read and the embarrassment played through this book is easily laughable.