The Shadow Queen- C. J. Redwine BOOK TALK

****
I loved this book and was completely on the verge of awarding a 5 star rating to it!
This is a Snow White retelling that follows Lorelai. Lorelai has been on the run ever since the evil witch, Irina, infiltrated her family, killed her father and took over the kingdom that is rightfully hers. Finding out that Lorelai is still alive and a threat to her life, Irina sets a hunter- a shape shifting dragon prince from another kingdom- to hunt Lorelai down and take her heart.
It's so good! For me, I would say that it's a mix between the movie Snow White and the Huntsman and the book Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It has magic, shape shifting, royal politics, kingdoms and romance! So, basically, it has it all! Definitely worthy the read!



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Lets start with Lorelai. She was such an awesome heroine and was completely bad-ass! I liked her the second I met her. She was a determined and loyal woman and she continues despite the odds against her and all she goes through. She is exactly what a heroine should be and she was truly inspiring.
From the first mention of Leo, I loved him. He had to be one of my favourite characters. And yet he was ripped away from us so quickly!! I couldn't believe he'd died so early on in the book and it still caused such an impact on my heart. I was so sad- he shouldn't have died!

Father's Day Best Fictional Fathers

In honour of Fathers' day, I've decided to list some of my favourite fathers in fiction! And, boy, was this harder than it sounds! I'm scanning through my book shelf and it's nearly impossible to find good dads! The majority of books have either absentee dads, dead dads or pure evil dads (there was no way Valentine Morgenstern was making this list). Nevertheless, I have succeeded in finding a generous amount of great fictional fathers to share with you! Book dads and TV dads galore!

Books (In no particular order)


1. Lara Jean's dad- To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Jenny Han
This book has such a good feeling of family which we don't get enough of in YA and Lara Jean's dad is a perfect example of the perfect dad. He's so supportive and is really appreciated in this series.



2. Marcus Byrn- Half Bad, Sally Green
Marcus may have been the 'villain' at the beginning of this series but I thought he was so entertaining! He dominated his scenes so well and he was pretty bad-ass- lets face it. I wouldn't want him as a dad, personally but... come on, it was hard to find amazing dads!!!







3. Aiden Cavanaugh- My Soul to Take, Rachel Vincent
I loved Aiden throughout the whole Soul Screamer series. His loyalty and dedication to Kaylee was heart-warming and he was such a lovely character.

The Winner's Trilogy- Marie Rutkoski BOOK TALK

The Winner's Trilogy

I've decided to put all three books into one BOOK TALK so, all three books are reviewed and discussed in this post.
I liked this much more than I thought I would. I loved the themes of betrayal, lies and politics. It had a bit of romance blended into the story but I don't think that it was the main aim in the book. It was intriguing and great to delve into.
This book follows two people from completely different backgrounds; Kestrel- a Valorian and daughter of General Trajan. She's well-off, strong-minded and a strategist of the highest level.
Arin- a Herrani slave, enemy of Valorians and desperate to turn the tables.
One day, at an auction, Kestrel buys Arin and that's where their journey begins...


The Winner's Curse
****
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This book was really good! I found it a tad slow to begin with but, once I got into it, I raced through the last hundred pages. I couldn't put it down!
One thing I loved about this book was the intricate lies, secrets and manipulations. It was all every clever and I love reading things like this. All the characters- Kestrel and Arin especially- had their pokerfaces on and I love the science behind reading people's slight actions to tell what they are thinking. The Winner's Curse had an abundance of this and it was all intertwined effortlessly.
Kestrel was someone that I easily aspire to be like. There were times when I did think she acted a bit arrogant of her position but mostly, I admired her intelligence. She thought through everything and her strategist mind impressed me so much. She may not be a strong heroine physically but mentally she outdoes them all.

The Intimidating TBR TAG

1. Unable to finish
The Raven Boys- Maggie Steifvater
I've tried reading this before but never finished because I got confused and bored. I'm going to try again at some point because that was a couple of years ago but I'm finding it hard to pick up again.
2. Haven't had the time
Lunar Chronicles- Marissa Meyer
I've wanted to read this for so long but have just not had the time! I own the first three and want to get the fourth before jumping into this series. I hope to read it by 2017.
3. Haven't gotten round to reading the sequel
Glass Sword- Victoria Aveyard
I loved the first book but I still need to read the second! I've heard amazing things but I just need the time to get round to it.

Great Book Challenge

This is a massive challenge so, for the sake of your boredom and my sanity, there will be short answers...

1. Favourite stand-alone
Undone- Cat Clarke
2. Most wanted fandom item
Wand (Hermione's, specifically) and/or Ravenclaw scarf
3. Currently reading
Lady Midnight- Cassandra Clare
4. Most emotional death
I'm not going to answer that for the sake of spoiling people.
5. Inspiring book quote
"The person, whether it be a gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid." - Jane Austen

Half Lost- Sally Green BOOK TALK

****
This book was stunning and such a great and satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. This is the finale to the Half Bad trilogy and, wow, it out with a bang!
Half Bad is a series that follows witches, corrupt worlds and action. It's fast passed and full of intense and gripping scenes. I have BOOK TALKs for the first two books- Half Bad and Half Wild- so go and check them out if you haven't already. If any of this sounds interesting, I would definitely pick this book up.



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My heart could not handle this ending! I was crying! But, first things first, I'll get into that later.
It upset me that Nathan had to grow through so much anger and grief. In the beginning stages of this book, he was working through a lot of anger- a lot, a lot- and most of it was aimed at Annalise- wanting to avenge his father. This didn't bother me to start with- be as mad at Annalise as you want- but it started to affect his relationship with Gabriel and that broke my heart. They fought, Nathan pushed him away and it made me feel so down when reading it!

The Book Courtship TAG

1. Initial Attraction: A book that you bought because of the cover?
Red Queen- Victoria Aveyard
Obviously I wanted to read the actual book but Red Queen is always my go-to for a beautiful cover. The cover is stunning and the rest of the series is following nicely, so far.





2. First Impressions: A book that you got because of the summary?
Dorothy Must Die- Danielle Paige
This summary gripped me in from the beginning as I'd never read a Wizard of Oz retelling and this seemed like an awesome and twisted version. I'm so happy I picked it up because it was great!







3. Sweet Talk: A book with great writing?
We Were Liars- E. Lockhart
We Were Liars had a beautiful writing style. It was eerie, poetic and flowed so nicely throughout the book. It was filled with powerful metaphors and you could easily tell that Lockhart had put a lot of thought and effort into her writing style. It paid off!!!

June Releases and TBR 2016

Releases- (Dates courtesy of Goodreads)

7th The Marked Girl- Lindsey Klingele
14th Change Places With Me- Lois Metzger
21st Never Ever- Sara Saedi
28th Run- Kody Keplinger

(Goodreads pages are linked)


TBR
I've got a very busy few months coming up but, still, I hope that I can read a decent amount. These are a couple of books that I'm hoping to get to.

Half Wild- Sally Green BOOK TALK

Oh, my freaking God, this book was good! It was a great sequel and did not suffer at all from 'the sequel's not as good' problem- if anything, I probably liked it more.
This fantasy is a fantastically written world full of witches, politics and action. If any of that sounds interesting, it's definitely one for you to pick on up.
Half Wild is the second book in the Half Bad trilogy so if you haven't read the first book I'd suggest leaving until you do... I've also written a Half Bad BOOK TALK which I'll link here if you want to have a look before reading this one.



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I don't even know where to start with this book. I liked it even more than the first and cannot wait to finish off the series.
New faces were introduced in this book and, for the most part, I generally liked them.

May Wrap Up 2016

I think I did pretty well with reading this month and, surprisingly, I didn't re-read any! I'm a big fan of re-reading books and usually re-read one or two a month. But, honestly, at the moment, there are so many books I need to read, I can't keep up. I also read a great range of genres which was really interesting.

The Book Thief- Markus Zusak
****
I finally got round to reading this book! If you haven't heard of this novel- have you been living under a rock?- it's a historical fiction story that follows a girl called Liesel and her experiences during World War Two. The story is narrated by Death which I found intriguing from the start and... I loved Death! His voice was very quirky and witty and he told the story beautifully. If you want to read my more in-depth thoughts check out my BOOK TALK here.






The Diary of a Young Girl- Anne Frank
****
I enjoyed this so much! I could relate to Anne in so many ways and she was nothing like I'd thought she would be. I thought she would be a quiet and shy, polite and obedient girl but boy, was she anything but! Anne was funny, sassy, stubborn and a joy to read. It still baffles me that she actually existed and it makes me really happy that she wrote down her thoughts. They are so deep and meaningful for a girl her age- a true inspiration!

Empire of Storms Cover Reveal

So, here we are. Four books in, soon to be five. We've had the title and have been anxiously awaiting the cover reveal. Well, guys, we have made it! The cover has been dropped and, boy, is it a good one! The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas has been a rising high fantasy series within YA and we're getting near the end! And, yet, we still have so far to go!
The fifth book, Empire of Storms is set to come out in September and I am counting down the days.
Book cover reveal in three...two...one...

May Book Haul 2016

Compared to other months, I haven't got many books this month but I still think that this month has been successful. What has lacked in quantity, makes up for in quality. I've bought some really good books- novels that I've been anticipating for a while. Let's get started.


Passenger- Alexandra Bracken
There has been so much- so much!- hype for this book. I've always wanted to read an Alex Bracken book because she seems like an amazing author. Her Darkest Minds trilogy has been so successful and this is her newest series about time travellers!!! I can't wait to read it! Plus, it has a stunning cover!
 

Half Bad- Sally Green BOOK TALK

****
I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would. I was in a fantasy mood and this book fitted the bill perfectly. I'm not usually a massive fan of witches but this book exceeded my expectations.
This story follows Nathan Byrn, a Half Code witch- son of a White Witch and Black Witch. His mother is dead and his father is one of the most well-known Black Witches, famous for being a notorious murderer.
Nathan is constantly looked on as suspicious and has to escape from council clutches in order to have a Giving ceremony and turn into a fully fledged witch.
He has to do this or die.
If any of this sounds interesting to you, I would suggest reading. This is the first book in a trilogy so you'll have a nice amount of material to read.

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This book was so good and I thought it was a nice change to read about Witches as I don't read about them much. Green has created such an interesting world of Witches and the politics of their world is so intricate and absorbing.
I liked how her thoughts and opinions on racial discrimination were blended through this book. The equality and discrimination issues in their world reflect our own and I thought that this was an insightful aspect to include within a fantasy novel.

When We Collided- Emery Lord BOOK TALK

****
This book was very unique, in my opinion, and strayed far from conventional 'love stories'. I found this refreshing and enjoyed the story overall. This book deals with very untouched subjects and I think it's important that books like these exist because it gives us an insight on how people live with these situations.
This story follows a boy called Jonah who has just lost his father. Him and his family are dealing with the after-effects of this tragedy. Enter Vivi. Vivi is an out-going and eccentric girl who is in love with life. When she catapults into Jonah's life things seem to be on the up for him and his family. But everyone goes through their own problems and sometimes it's deeper than initial appearances.
This story is definitely refreshing and I would most certainly recommend reading it.

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When first into this story I was pleasantly surprised at the originality of the characters. I instantly warmed to them in different ways.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before NEWS

To All The Boys I've Loved Before is one of my favourite contemporary series and we've just had the news that we're getting another book in the series!!!

What was once a happy duology is now growing into a trilogy! I'm so excited and can't wait to read another book following these amazing characters. If, by chance, you haven't read this stunning series, I suggest you get onto the bandwagon before the third and final book.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before follows Lara Jean, who writes a letter every time she 'loves' someone just so that she get over them. She writes and addresses these letters but never sends them. But one day, they're sent out and all hell breaks loose.

This series is so adorable and cute and I highly recommend you read it. 

The title for Book 3 is going to be. . . (drum roll). . .

Bookish Pet Peeves (Part 2)



It's rant time! I decided it would be fun to do yet another Bookish Pet Peeves post because there are so many things I can have a good rant about. Plus, I'm sure a lot of agree with me! 

Stickers on Books

When bookstores put stickers on books... *inward fuming*.
Not only does it take forever to get off, it ruins the book by leaving sticky marks and left over pieces of sticker. It's a nightmare to get off!
Some, to be fair, are easy to get off. In one swipe, they're off and out your lives forever.
But there's always that one sticker that refuses to budge. It's stubborn in its place and will not move for the wide world. (Okay... I understand I'm exaggerating but, honestly, that's how it feels).
It's a very time-consuming and tedious process to try and get the stickers off without harming the book.

The Book Thief- Markus Zusak BOOK TALK

****
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm not a massive fan of historical fiction but this book still managed to pull me in. I loved the writing style as it was so unique and flowed really nicely throughout the novel.
The Book Thief follows a young girl called Liesel Meminger through pivotal years in World War Two. It follows her journey as she settles into her new home and makes new relationships. The book centres around, mainly, Liesel, an accordionist, a Jewish fist-fighter and a lot of thievery.
Oh, and one last thing- the story is narrated by Death.
If you haven't already this beauty of a novel then I highly suggest you become acquainted with it. Quickly.
That's it for the non-spoiler section. Go read it and then you can come back!

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This book in all honesty surprised me. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction but this story captivated me. My favourite periods of time to read about is the Titanic story and World War Two. This story, falling in the latter group, was incredibly interesting.

Jennifer Lawrence Book Tag

1. Swearing off social media- A book you refuse to read?
Matched- Ally Condie
At one point, I was thinking about reading this trilogy but since then, I've heard so many bad reviews that I'm sort of put off reading it. It's not my top priority and I don't think I'll ever be getting to it.

2. The Oscar Trip- A book/series that hit a snag?
Hush, Hush series- Becca Fitzpatrick
When first reading this series, I loved it. But looking back now, I realise it's flaws. The series got worse throughout the series. Silence (the third book) was my least favourite and I really struggled to read that book. Sorry.

3. The viral TSwift photobomb at the Golden Globes- A book/series you didn't know would get so popular?
Throne of Glass- Sarah J Maas
This series has had a ton of hype recently and it's getting so popular! With two more books to come in the series, it's not too late to start. This series is an amazing high fantasy series that is beautifully written but, when first reading it, I had no idea that it would get so popular.

Harry Potter Spells Tag

1. Expecto Patronum- A childhood book connected to good memories
Hetty Feather- Jacqueline Wilson
I always loved Jacqueline Wilson as kid- she was my favourite author- and this, by far, was my favourite of her series. I don't know how many times I read it. A lot.

2. Expelliarmus- A book that took you by surprise
Wolf by Wolf- Ryan Graudin
I'd picked this up because I'd heard a few good reviews and the plot seemed intriguing but I was not expecting what came at me! This book was so much better than I was expecting and I was so pleasantly surprised! I would recommend it to everyone.

3. Prior Incantato- The last book you read
I have recently finished The Book Thief and very soon will be posting a BOOK TALK so stay tuned! (I gave it ****)

4. Alohamora- A book that introduced you to a genre you had not considered before
The Host- Stephanie Meyer
I'm not a massive fan of Sci-fi. I don't read it that much but I really enjoyed this book. I know it can also be classed as dystopian but it is sci-fi too! I think this book is very underrated and I think more people need to read it. Yes, it's big and can look a bit daunting at first but get through the first few chapters and you'll be off.

May Releases and TBR 2016

Releases:
A Court of Mist and Fury- Sarah J Maas- 3rd
The Crown- Kiera Cass- 3rd
Lost in Love- Susane Colasanti- 3rd
The Hidden Oracle- Rick Riordan 3rd
The Unexpected Everything- Morgan Matson- 5th
The Last Star- Rick Yancy- 24th

TBR:
The Book Thief- Markus Zusak
I've already started reading this book and will finish it in May. It's extremely good so far and stay tuned for a BOOK TALK coming soon.
The Diary of a Young Girl- Anne Frank
Reading The Book Thief has really re-opened my desire to read this book. I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and The Book Thief has just pushed it to the fore-front of my mind. I'm hoping to get to it this month.