Sunday 30 June 2013

Debutathon Update Day 4 and Wrap Up!


The Debutathon is hosted by the wonderful Amber from Books of Amber. Check out my Day 1 Update here and Day's 2 and 3 here.

Day 4 Updates
What I Read: Altered by Jennifer Rush and The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
Number of Pages Read: 331
Pages Read Total: 1293
Books Read Total: 4
Challenge: No
Reading Snack: No snack today! Not after a big Sunday Roast!
Non Reading Activity: Watching The White Queen - anybody else addicted to that show?
Thoughts: Today was the last day of the readathon and I was determind to meet my goal of 3 books so I picked up and finished Altered pretty early. I was still in the mood to read and since it was still the Debutathon I decided to pick up The Summer I Became a Nerd and it was such a quick fun read that I ended up finishing that too!

Wrap Up! 
What I Read: 
Pivot Point by Kasie West
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Altered by Jennifer Rush
The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
Total Pages Read: 1293
Challenges I Participated In: Unscramble That Debut and Poemify That Debut
Favourite Book Read: This is hard because I enjoyed all of the books I read! But If You Find Me was an outstanding debut so probably that one!
Final Thoughts: I'm so happy that I not only met but surpassed my goal for the Debutathon! And I'm really glad I picked the books I did because I enjoyed every one of them and they were perfect readathon material. The challenges were awesome and I had so much fun! I'm really happy I managed to knock four debut's off my TBR pile but I still have some more to go so I'm hoping for a Debutathon Round 2 later on this year! ;)

How did you do for the Debutathon? What was your favourite Debut?

Saturday 29 June 2013

Debutathon Updates: Day 2 and 3


The Debutathon is hosted by the wonderful Amber from Books of Amber. Check out my Day 1 Update here.

Day 2 Updates
What I Read: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Number of Pages Read: 296
Pages Read Total: 639
Books Read Total: 2
Challenge: No
Reading Snack:



Today I tried the Graze healthy popcorn in slightly sweet. I tried their salted version a few weeks back and it was okay...it left me with a very dry mouth and tasted like cardboard after a while. But popcorn is my favourite go to snack especially for readathon's so I decided to try the sweet version and I'm so glad I did because it was perfection! I only really like cinema popcorn as other brands can be over sweet and sickly but this version by Graze was perfect, I think because it is only slightly sweet. I'll definitely be having this again!

Non Reading Activity: I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory and another couple of Youtube video's but once again I was going pretty strong with my book so didn't want to dip out of it too often!

Thoughts: Another day, another book tackled, and it was another brilliant one! I'm going strong so my goal of reading 3 books should be reachable. I wasn't off to the best start today as I was having one of those days where nothing will go right and then my huge pile of books by my bed finally fell down (I saw it coming for a while) so I had to sort through them and make the hard decision of which books to get rid of and that took a couple of hours of my time up. But luckily I had another brilliant book on hand so that reading was a breeze and somehow I managed to finish it - hurray! BTW if any of you have If You Find Me on your TBR for this readathon you need to read it! It's one of the best debut's I have ever read! It's haunting, beautiful, heartbreaking...but if you pick it up be prepared to have your heart stomped all over! I'm still picking my feels up off the floor this morning.

Day 3 Updates 
What I Read: Altered by Jennifer Rush
Number of Pages Read: 250
Pages Read Total: 889
Books Read Total: 2
Challenge: Yes

Poemify That Debut!


I loved this challenge something fierce! I think I might be too late to enter the giveaway for this one but I wanted to join in anyway because this is the kind of thing I love! 

Reading Snack: 


Today's snack was a little disappointing. I had the sweet goan curry crackers from Graze but honestly they just tasted like a sweet cereal to me! I'm a big lover of spices the spicier the better! I was expecting an underlining kick with this one but they just tasted sweet to me. They were okay but not a favourite from Graze!

Non Reading Activity: I watched one of my favourite movies We Bought a Zoo, wrote today's challenge, and hung out with my family.

Thoughts: Today wasn't as productive a reading day as the last two days mostly because everyone was home so I kept getting distracted! I'm still on track for finishing three books though so I'm still on target and I'm enjoying Altered. I really hope I get some answers at the end of this book because I have so many questions! In other news I won one of the Debutathon giveaway's and have £10 to spend at The Book Depository! Now I just need to decide what to choose so I can get back to Amber...

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Debutathon: Goals, TBR and Day 1 Update


I’m a ball of nerdy excitement because when the clock hits midnight tonight I’ll be starting my first readathon of this summer the Debutathon hosted by the wonderful Amber from Books of Amber! Over the past few days I’ve been running around getting all of my jobs done for this week so I’m free to read, ordering some healthy snacks in (more on that later) and searching through my TBR pile for 2013 Debuts. If you’d like to find out more about the Debutathon and what it entails I’d recommend having a read of Amber’s post here.

Things are a little intense at home right now, as some of you may know I’ve recently lost my grandad so this readathon will be a welcome distraction but at the same time I don’t want to give myself too many goals in case I feel like spending a night with my family or get a bit upset or something. Basically I want to keep this fun which is why I’m aiming to read 3 books. On average I’d read about 2 books in 4 days so this is boosting that number up but at the same time it’s manageable. I might read more - I guess we’ll see how I’m doing and how I’m feeling as the readathon goes on.

I’m still not entirely sure what I want to read but I have a list of all the debuts I own up on Goodreads here. I’m a mood reader and I have a mix of different books to read so I guess I’ll be choosing what seems most appealing at the time but if you have any recommendations from this list feel free to leave them in the comments!

During readathons I like to snack and share pictures with you guys. I signed up to Graze a few weeks ago as I’m trying to eat better and I am loving their snack boxes! They are healthy but so delicious as well with a lot of variety and different foods to try. I’m at that stage where I’m still going through different foods and trying them out so you guys will get to explore that with me. I also have a free code for anyone who wants to claim a free one off box to try them out which is pretty great. You’ll get a free box full of yummy snacks delivered to your door and there is no commitment if it’s not something you’d want to subscribe to regularly. If you’ve never heard of Graze before my friend Ellie has a wonderful post explaining what it is and how it works here. You can claim your free box with the code Y5N9T9N.

I already did a sign up post here so I’ll be using this post for Day 1’s updates so if you’re reading this before the readathon be sure to pop back to see how my first day went! I’ll probably stick to what I usually do and do a separate post each day so they don’t get too long.

Now there’s nothing left to do but get some dinner and pass the time until I can start reading!

Day 1 Updates 
What I Read: Pivot Point by Kasie West
Number of Pages Read: 343
Pages Read Total: 343
Books Read Total: 1
Challenge: Yes

Unscramble that Debut! 
Titles: 
1. IIDFEOFYUNM (4 words) 
2. TAREDEL (1 word) 
3. TPNPOOITIV (2 words) 
4. HCITAGRL (1 word) 
5. NPOSIO (1 word) 
6. TSIPDENLER (1 word) 
7. ITSEHTELE (2 words) 

My Answers 
Scroll over to highlight my answers! This is to avoid spoiling anybody who hasn't done today's challenge yet!

 1. If You Find Me 
2. Altered 
3. Pivot Point  
4. Arclight 
5. Poison 
6. Splintered 
7. The Elites  

 I had to search some debut lists on goodreads to help find 4 and 7! The rest were on my radar and I figured  them out after a lot of staring! This was a really fun challenge. 

Reading Snack:


Today's Graze snack was their Cookies and Cream mix which includes mini chocolate cookies, roasted hazelnuts, white chocolate buttons and sunflower seeds washed down with an ice cold coke. Ellie was telling me how good this was down in the comments and seems as I had one to try in this weeks box I thought I'd make it today's snack! They got the name spot on with this mixture - it was so yummy! What I love about Graze is it mixes a bit of a treat in with good for you foods so you still get the taste and it feels like a treat but at the same time you're eating a healthy snack. Every packet is portion controlled as well so scoffing a whole pack of cookies in one go is now a thing of the past!

Non Reading Activity: You know what? I enjoyed reading Pivot Point so much that I read pretty solidly! Other than doing today's challenge, chatting on Twitter and reading everyone else's updates I was too engrossed in my book to part with it!

Thoughts: I finished my first book of the Debutathon! I decided to make Pivot Point my first read mainly because - shamefully - I picked this as one of my most anticipated books of 2013, pre-ordered it, received it early from The Book Depository and then promptly...never read it. So yeah, this was a book I was determined to get to and I'm so glad that I did because it was amazing! The ending broke my heart a little bit and has left me desperate for the sequel! Overall today was a very successful first day (mainly because Pivot Point totally gripped me!) and now I'm going to see how everybody else is getting on and decide what I want to pick up next!

How was your first day of the Debutathon? What have you been reading?

Saturday 22 June 2013

Review for Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo


Warning 
This is a review for the second book in The Grisha Trilogy. Although there will be no spoilers about Siege and Storm there may be spoilers about the first book in the series.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo 
Publisher: Indigo
Release: 6th June 2013
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Source: Received from the publishers in exchange for an honest review




Goodreads Summary:
"Darkness never dies. Alina and Mal are on the run. Hunted and haunted, but together at last, they can't outrun Alina's past or her destiny forever. The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and he needs Alina to realise his dangerous plan. There are others who would like to use Alina's gift too. And as her power grows, somehow, she must choose between her country, her power, and her love - or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm."

Review 
Shadow and Bone was hands down my favourite book of last year and so needless to say Siege and Storm was one of my most anticipated sequels of 2013. The Grisha trilogy reads like a classic fantasy adventure and in Siege and Storm we are thrown straight back into the action with a sea voyage, mythical creatures, secret Grisha, and an eccentric Captain to name a few! There isn’t really a re-cap so I’m going to put it out there that if you read Shadow and Bone a while ago and what happened is a bit foggy in your mind I’d recommend a re-read as Leigh Bardugo throws us straight back into the story with mere weeks having passed since Shadow and Bone.

The storyline in Siege and Storm follows Ravka preparing for war against The Darkling. The Darkling has emerged from the Fold stronger than ever with his new power the nichevo’ya – an army of shadow soldiers. Fans of The Darkling will be saddened to hear that there is less of him in this sequel but like the best villains his threat still lingers and is very much felt and present throughout the book.

Alina has amazing growth as a character in Siege and Storm as she steps up to the challenge of becoming the leader Ravka needs to take down The Darkling. But with great power comes great responsibility and Alina has to fight her thirst for power so as not to become power drunk like The Darkling. It was interesting to read her conflicting thoughts and feelings and at times you catch glimpses of the strong, yet fair, leader she is becoming.

Needless to say the huge changes in Alina’s life has a knock on effect with her relationship with Mal. Alina is in high demand and with her growing power Mal struggles to accept this new side to her and misses the girl he grew up with. One of the reasons I love Mal is because he doesn’t see the powerful sun summoner, or a saint, or Ravka’s saviour. He just see’s Alina – who she is behind all that. It made my heart ache to read about these new struggles in their relationship.

What I loved most about Siege and Storm was the wonderful new characters introduced Tolya, Tamar and Sturmhond. Sturmhond has quickly become my favourite character in this entire series – he’s the Grisha equivalent to Magnus Bane of The Mortal Instruments or the Weasley twins from Harry Potter. His witty anecdotes and comments never failed to make me laugh out loud! He’s everything you want in a strong secondary character. I’m completely enamoured with him!

I have to say that unlike Shadow and Bone I did find Siege and Storm a slower read at times especially in the middle. It was lacking some of the epic intensity of its predecessor and didn’t hold me quite as spellbound. The fantastic cast of characters pulled me through the slower parts of the book and the ending more than made up for it! Once again the ending was truly epic and has left me desperate for the third and final instalment. Overall Siege and Storm was a strong and satisfying sequel solidifying my belief that The Grisha Trilogy will go down as one of my favourite series of all time.

Thursday 20 June 2013

Review for Crash by Nicole Williams


Crash by Nicole Williams
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release: 6th June 2013
Genre: Mature YA, New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Source: Received from the publishers in exchange for an honest review





Goodreads Summary: 
"Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He's got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now…

Jude's everything she knows she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. But she's about to find out that staying away is the only thing she's incapable of.

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love's about to become the thing that tears them apart."


Review
Crash was a book that I fell in love with straight away. The book begins with our couple Lucy and Jude’s first meeting during the summer. I loved that there was no beating about the bush and that we were thrown into the romance and story right away. After only a few short pages I knew this would be a book I’d love and it’s become one of my favourite New Adult reads.

Lucy was a fantastic heroine and I’d go as far as to say she’s now up there with my favourite book ladies! Lucy is a truly nice girl – she works hard at school, is ambitious, kind and caring, and she isn’t afraid to go after what she wants and stand up for herself. She was such a well-rounded character and I loved her so much! Reading this book from her point of view was like chatting to a good friend.

I have to be honest and say my first impression of Jude was not a good one. In fact I thought he was a total ass! But as Lucy got to know and fall in love with the real Jude I did too. He’s a guy who does all the wrong things for all the right reasons. There are good intentions and a good heart behind his bad decisions. His temper did put me off at times though and although I get that he was only protecting Luce it did stop him from being a truly swoony book guy in my opinion.

The romance between Luce and Jude was brilliant but it’s not without its struggles through misunderstandings. Despite whatever problems this couple faced you could tell that they truly love one another. It was clear they each wanted the other to be happy and have the best in life even if that meant being apart.

I did have a few niggles with this book that stopped it from being a perfect read. I guess I thought this book would be something it’s not. It wasn’t different in a bad way just…different. I thought that a lot of this book would be about dancing and whilst Lucy does love to dance there’s not really a whole lot of it like I was lead to believe. Secondly the book felt more YA than NA with Lucy and Jude being in high school, it’s also not as steamy as other New Adult reads and is more on par with mature YA like Simone Elkeles and Katie McGarry’s books. Lucy was also very mature for a seventeen year old - when reading there were times when her voice struck me as much older. Basically I felt like this story would have been better suited to a college setting with slightly older characters and I’m looking forward to getting that with the sequel Clash.

I loved the surprising twist at the end of this book and didn’t see it coming at all! I loved that it wasn’t overly dramatic or cheesy – it fitted in well with the story. I loved this book so much that I picked up the sequel straight away as I had to know what happened next! Overall Crash isn’t a book without its faults but I loved the characters and love story so much that I found it easy to overlook the few small niggles I had that made it less than perfect. I’d definitely recommend this to fans of New Adult and Mature YA.

Monday 17 June 2013

Dare You To Blog Tour: Guest Post from Katie McGarry on Beth and Isaiah's Relationship

I'm today's stop on the UK Dare You To blog tour! And it gives me great pleasure to welcome a lady who I've wanted to get on the blog for a while now - the lovely Katie McGarry author of two of my favourite books Pushing the Limits and its companion novel Dare You To. Today I have a wonderfully insightful guest post from Katie all about Beth and Isaiah's relationship to celebrate the release of the amazing Dare You To. If you've yet to read Pushing the Limits or Dare You To you might want to stop by my reviews which I'll link to underneath for more information and to hear my thoughts on these incredible books!




Just Try and Make Them Fall in Love 
A Guest Post by Katie McGarry 

When I sold my Young Adult novel, Pushing the Limits, to Harlequin Teen, they initially asked me to continue to write in the world of PTL and I happily agreed. I loved all my characters and couldn’t wait to jump back in. Plus, I knew exactly whose book I wanted to write next: Beth and Isaiah, the best friends and surrogate family of Noah in Pushing the Limits.

I suggested this to my publisher, and they said it was up to me, but they’d also be okay if Beth and Isaiah each fell for someone else rather than ending up together. I heard what they said, also heard the words that it was up to me, and happily set out to plot Beth and Isaiah’s story.


I thought I knew everything—how they’d slowly figure each other out and how they’d fall in love and I excitedly began to plot it all out in my mind. But then something strange happened. The character arcs that are so desperately important for a story weren’t happening.

Isaiah continually enabled Beth’s bad behaviour and continually put his heart on the line and Beth…well, Beth really cared for Isaiah.

Cared? I was writing a love story—I needed more than caring. And Isaiah. What was I going to do with this boy? Couldn’t he see that if he truly loved Beth, he’d tell her when she was making a wrong choice? Like, hey, see that train coming down the track? You might want to step off the rails.


It wasn’t working. The freaking story wasn’t fleshing out the way I wanted. Isaiah and Beth were not falling in love.

Gah. The nerve of these two.

I mean, I created them, right? I saw them falling for each other when I wrote Pushing the Limits. Why weren’t they cooperating?

So I did what I normally do when I’m stuck: I free wrote. I was going to prove Beth and Isaiah wrong. I was going to write a few scenes and they’d get their sorry butts back in line and fall in love even if it killed all three of us in the process.

And I wrote some very amazing scenes. Some of the best I’ve ever written and I learned some very emotional, riveting, heart-twisting pieces of information about Beth and Isaiah. And those deeply personal tidbits—they told me things I had been trying to ignore. Something very foretelling about them and their relationship and I finally had to pull the cotton out of my ears and listen.


Beth and Isaiah are extremely complicated characters and their relationship is even more complex. Their hopes and dreams and emotions are intertwined like strands of hair in a braid and I craved for them to be happy.

Do they find happiness? Is it with each other? This is where I tell you that Dare You To is out now, and that I’m excited for you to find out.

About Katie McGarry


Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts.

Katie is the author of the full-length Young Adult novels PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO, and the e-novella CROSSING THE LINE. Her debut novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, is a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction. Katie’s next novel CRASH INTO YOU will published by Mira Ink in December 2013.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today Katie! I found this post hugely insightful - I fell in love with Beth and Isaiah in Pushing the Limits! This provides a great inside scoop for readers curious about their relationship. Trust Beth and Isaiah to have minds of their own! I actually think them not co-operating really suits their characters! 

Katie would love to hear from her readers - contact her via Twitter @KatieMcGarry
Get your copy of Dare You To here http://amzn.to/13zlsx6 
Watch the book trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODIFjHaLmt0 

Don’t miss the rest of the stops on the Dare You To blog tour, check out my banner in the sidebar for more information. Tomorrow the blog tour is stopping at Never Judge a Book by its Cover!

Sunday 16 June 2013

Letterbox Love (28)



Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.

 For Review


Wool and Shift by Hugh Howey
The reviews for this adult dystopian series have been extraordinary! And the publishers offered to send me this series after we were having a chat on Twitter about our favourite debuts of the year - this was one of the publicists favourites!
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Beautiful finished copy of this as a thank you from the publisher for taking part in the blog tour. I was also thrilled to discover my review has been quoted inside! I have an amazing giveaway for this book and more in a Grisha goody pack on the blog right now click here to enter!
The Sound by Sarah Alderson
I love Sarah's books and I love myself a thriller so this one sounds right up my street!



*** My quote in Siege and Storm! ***



The Night Itself by Zoe Marriott (Proof Copy)
This is my current read and my first Zoe Marriott! Really enjoying this so far, it's like nothing I've ever read before! Loving the Japanese mythology!
Ink by Amanda Sun
Another book based on Japanese myth! I sense this could be a new hot trend in YA. This has a stunning cover and seems as I'm enjoying The Night Itself so much I can't wait to get stuck into this one.
Insignia and Vortex by S. J. Kincaid
I've heard amazing things about this series! Veronica Roth - author of Divergent is blurbed inside! I'm excited to see what all the fuss is about and jump on the bandwagon.


The Runaway Princess by Hester Browne
I'm in love with the cover for this book! It's so pretty and vintage looking. I hadn't heard of this when it arrived but after looking into it I'm very excited to give it a try!
Me and Mr Jones by Lucy Diamond
I read my first Lucy Diamond last summer and really enjoyed it so I'm looking forward to another summery read from her!
Oh Dear Silvia by Dawn French
I love Dawn French and have wanted to try one of her books for a while now so when the publishers offered me a copy for review I snatched it up!
Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess
I've heard good things for this New Adult book. I have to say I'm not crazy about our UK paperback cover change though and the text inside is tiny which is always off putting for me. I guess I'll give it a go and if I'm not getting on with the font and am enjoying it I'll buy it on Kindle. It'd be a shame not to read it because it sounds pretty good!

 On My Kindle 
Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone 
Faking It by Cora Carmack 
Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken 
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas 

This weeks e-book haul is full of sequels I am desperate to read! The only one I haven't read yet is Losing It so I'll have to get to that soon so then I can read Faking It!

These are all of the lovely new books that found themselves a new home on my shelves over the past few weeks. If any of these books have caught your eye and you’d like to find out more about them simply click on the title and the link will take you to Goodreads for a full synopsis, reviews, and to add them to your wishlists. As always thank you to the lovely publishing folk for the review copies. If you’re looking forward to a certain book in particular and want to request a review feel free to in the comments and I’ll do my best to get around to the book sooner rather than later. And if you decided to do a Letterbox Love, Book Haul, IMM, Showcase Sunday, Mailbox Monday or whatever else featuring the books you got this week leave me a link as I’d love to check out your books too! ^_^

 Happy reading till next time!

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Grisha Honour Guard: Corporalki and a Very Special Grisha Giveaway!

I'm very excited to be taking part in the Grisha Honour Guard to celebrate the publication of Siege and Storm and the re-release of Shadow and Bone with the US title and gorgeous cover! Today I'll be sharing with you a bit about the highest ranking soldiers in the Grisha Honour Guard the Corporalki and I have a very exciting giveaway for my UK/ Ireland readers! (Sorry international Grisha fans! This was at the publishers request as they are very kindly providing this giveaway for my readers.) Day by day we will be celebrating the unique and incredible skills of The Grisha, the magical elite of Ravka so make sure you check out the blog tour banner on my sidebar so you don't miss any of the stops!




If you've yet to read the amazing Shadow and Bone, the first book in this series, you might be wondering what exactly are The Grisha and Corporalki? So here is a little introduction...

The Grisha Orders 
The Grisha are the magical elite of Ravka, also known as the soldiers of the Second Army. They practice the Small Science: they manipulate matter at its most fundamental levels. I like to think of it as a magical version of molecular chemistry. Status is everything to the Grisha, and the three main orders are: Corporalki (The Order of the Living and the Dead: Heartrenders and Healers), Etherealki (The Order of Summoners: Squallers, Inferni and Tidemakers) and Materialki (The Order of Fabrikators: Durasts and Alkemi).

Corporalki The Order of the Living and the Dead 
 * Heartrenders (Red and Black)
 * Healers (Red and Gray)
Ravka is surrounded by enemies and basically operates as a garrison state. The Corporalki are considered the most valuable soldiers, and consequently, they are the highest ranking Grisha. A Corporalki Heartrender can snatch the air from your lungs, slow your pulse until you drop into a coma, or literally crush your heart in your chest—all without ever laying a finger on you. Healers put you right again.

From the author Leigh Bardugo 


I've always imagined that the Corporalki motto would be "The Cause and the Cure." They tend to be the most arrogant Order, not just because they're the most valued soldiers in the Second Army, but because they go through the most rigorous and secretive training.

My Thoughts on the Corporalki 

I can still remember quite clearly my first time reading Shadow and Bone and how mesmerised I was by the second army and their unique powers but none more so than the Corporalki. The Corporalki are the highest ranking soldiers and I find them equally fascinating and terrifying. The Corporalki is split into two groups the Heartrenders and Healers – two sides of the same coin. They are life and death.

Heartrenders control the heart and with a flick of the wrist can stop it in your chest. I’d be terrified to discover I had this power knowing I would be used to kill in the army. There is something very scary about a Grisha that can kill so quickly, so cleanly, and with so little effort.

When I first thought about what it would be like to be a Healer I figured it would be a pretty amazing gift! Think of all the good you could do and lives you could save! But then I got to thinking about the times when for whatever reason you couldn’t save someone. It hurts to watch someone you love in pain knowing there’s nothing you can do about it but imagine if there was something you could do but failed and the guilt you would feel because of that. I think Healers have a tougher time than we’d first imagine!

Both of the Corporalki have the power to save and destroy and I for one wouldn’t like that responsibility hanging over my head. Separately they are strong but together they are lethal as they can bring a pain worse than death. They can torture and heal you over and over and over again. With the Corporalki your life is literally in their hands.

Giveaway 
I'm insanely jealous of the prize I'm giving away to one of you guys today! As a Grisha fan I think it's pretty awesome! So here's what you could win...

* An exclusive signed copy of The Gathering Dark (now known as Shadow and Bone) with the covers being changed these copies are not being made any more so a signed edition is a rare and special thing indeed!
* A copy of Shadow and Bone AND Siege and Storm with the gorgeous new covers!
* A Grisha keyring from Hebel Design in either a Healer (left image) or Heartrender (right image) design, your choice!





One UK/ Ireland winner will win this entire Grisha goodie pack!

Rules 
To enter please fill in the Rafflecopter
Open to UK/ Ireland residents only
End date: Wednesday 19th June
Winner will be contacted by email and will have 1 week to reply else another winner will be selected.


Good luck to everyone entering! Stop by Serendipity Reviews tomorrow for more Grisha goodness this time all about the Materialki!

Follow The Grisha Honour Guard on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/fiercefiction/grisha-honour-guard/
Follow Leigh Bardugo on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lbardugo/

Thank you to the lovely Nina at Indigo for putting this tour together!

Monday 10 June 2013

I'll Be Readathoning This Summer!

You guys know how much I love a good readathon and I'm committing myself to two of my favourites this summer. I'm hoping to participate in maybe another one or two later on but I'm not sure about dates yet so I may sign up nearer the time. The two that I'm signing up for today really caught my attention so I've made them a priority!
The first readathon I'm taking part in this summer will be the Debut-a-Thon which is being hosted by one of my favourite bloggers Books of Amber. This readathon will be running from June 27th to June 30th and in case you hadn't guessed already will be focusing on 2013 debuts of any genre. I believe this is the readathon's debut as well which is kind of cool. There are so many 2013 debut's calling to me from my bookshelves so I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to tackle some of them. Goals I'll decide on closer to the time and I've made a list of the 2013 debuts I own on Goodreads here, I'd love your help choosing which books I should read so feel free to leave your recommendations from this list in the comments! I'm pretty sure these are all debuts but I'm not 100% certain on a few of them so if you know any that aren't please let me know so I can take them off the list - I'd hate to be half way through a book during the readathon to find out it doesn't count!


The second readathon I'll be taking part in is an old favourite Once Upon a Read-a-Thon. This is its fourth run, I took part last year for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's hosted by Angela and Loretta at Reading Angels, Candace at Candace’s Book Blog and Lori at Pure Imagination (Fun Fact: Lori designed my blog!) this will run from July 8th to July 10th. I'm not entirely sure what I'll be reading for this yet but I think I'd like to take a break from the review books and catch up on some of the ones I've bought. Again goals and the books I'll be reading will go up closer to the date.

I'd love for some of you guys to join in if you can! And I'll be updating here on the blog, on Goodreads, and on Twitter if you want to follow my progress! Once again I'd love for you to check out my 2013 Debut List on Goodreads and suggest what I should read for the Debut-a-Thon! I can't wait to get started!

Thursday 6 June 2013

Review for Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas


Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas 
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release: 18th July 2013
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Thriller
Source: Received from the publishers in exchange for an honest review




Amazon Summary:
"It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love. As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine..."

Review 
As is with any good murder mystery the enigma surrounding Dangerous Girls is one of the best things about the book, the less you know – the better! So straight off the bat I’m going to say that if you love edgy YA contemporary or gripping thrillers you will NOT want to miss Dangerous Girls which promises to be *the* YA thriller of the summer. Although I’m going to keep this review spoiler free, if you like the sound of this book and are just after my personal opinion I loved it and I encourage you to stop reading right here and go buy it because the less you know about it the better this book will be for you. However if you’re not completely sold yet and need a little more info feel free to read on without fear of getting spoiled.

Dangerous Girls is told in various different forms from television transcripts to crime reports but the majority of the book is told in a first person narrative from Anna throughout different stages of her friendship with best friend and murder victim Elise. I absolutely loved the way this book was written; every chapter gives you a piece of the puzzle that you put together as the book goes on. Each character has a dark side and their own secrets that get revealed slowly throughout the book and because of this you’re never sure who to trust, who is lying, or if these secrets connect to the murder.

One of my favourite things about Dangerous Girls was how it shows that in a certain light anyone of us could look like we’re capable of murder. From an argument with the victim, to an “I could just kill them!” text message after a hard day, we’ve all done it, we’re all guilty. It was scary how the investigators would take such mundane things and twist them into something sinister. Anna is your typical teenage girl yet so many little things she’d done in the past got twisted around. I loved Anna as our protagonist and felt horrified and scared along with her at the terrifying situation she’s put in.

Dangerous Girls was a book that I couldn’t put down, I’d read it long into the night and at every chance I could get and it kept me guessing until the very end. The way the story was unveiled was perfection, the pacing was fuelled by an intense need to know what happened on that fateful night, and the characters were wickedly complex as was their tangled relationships with one another. I could not get enough of this book and the ending blew me away. Basically Dangerous Girls is one of the best YA thrillers I’ve ever read and is a must read for this summer!


 

Tuesday 4 June 2013

May Round-Up and Book of the Month


May's Book of the Month is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

 

Despite having a pretty crappy month personally my month in reading was actually pretty good! The 5th Wave is a book that definitely stood out to me and is so deserving of May's book of the month title. It is high on the list of my favourite books of 2013! It was action packed, had brave and brilliant characters, gorgeous writing and so many twists and turns! There is so much hype surrounding this book and I found it completely justified, this book is set to be HUGE. If you'd like to find out more about it or read more of my thoughts please check out my review here.


***Technically the UFO *DOESN'T* land in this book, but I love this movie and this gif so couldn't resist using it!*** 

Read in May 
40.) Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown (4*)
41.) Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher (4*)
42.) My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent (3.5*)
43.) The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (5*)
44.) Dare You To by Katie McGarry (4.5*)
45.) Splintered by A.G. Howard (4*)
46.) Love is a Thief by Claire Garber (2.5*)
47.) Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas (4.5*)
48.) The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen (4*)

May Book Awards 
Best Plot: Splintered by A.G. Howard
Best Writing: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Best Cover: Splintered by A.G. Howard
Best Characters: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Best Ending: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
Best Romance: Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Most un-put-down-able: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
Most Memorable: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Best Moral: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Top 3 Most Recommended Books: The 5th Wave, Dangerous Girls, Dare You To

Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading/Being Released in June
Me and Mr Jones by Lucy Diamond
Ink by Amanda Sun
Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

 How was your month in reading? Did you read any of the books I’ve read? What are you looking forward to reading in June?

Sunday 2 June 2013

Letterbox Love (27) I'm Back!!!



Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.

First of all HUGE sorries for being MIA on the blog for so long with no explanation or warning. May was an awful month for my family, we've had a really tough time. I don't want to go into it all on here as I'm looking at June as a fresh start and if I start talking about it it'll all come flooding back and I'm likely to crawl back into my hole of sadness again. If you follow me on Twitter you guys probably already know anyway...BUT! I'm back now and I'm looking forward to throwing myself into blogging again and to kick start June off I wanted to catch you all up on the lovely new books that have made their way into my home while I've been away.

 For Review

 
Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements
I LOVED Abby's debut 'Meet Me Under the Mistletoe' and you guys know how much I love my foodie chick-lit! So this is one I'm VERY excited about, and how pretty is that cover!?
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas (US ARC)
I've already read and LOVED this one, review will be coming very soon if you love your YA thrillers you won't want to miss this!
Crash by Nicole Williams
Clash by Nicole Williams
I really love the sound of this new adult series especially as it has ballet in it!


 
Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider (Proof Copy)
I love the sound of this book and it's very exciting that the proof says it's perfect for fans of John Green and Sarah Dessen, two of my favourite authors!
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill (Proof Copy)
I have been seeing rave reviews for this one and I mean RAVE. I think this book is going to be huge and it's taking everything in me to stick to my TBR pile and not dive into this one straight away!
Nowhere by Jon Robinson (Proof Copy)
I haven't heard too much about this one yet but it sounds really good and has me very intrigued.
Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer
I am in love with David Levithan's writing and want to read all of his books, I've yet to read anything by Andrea Cremer so this will be a good opportunity to check her out!

 Bought/Borrowed

 
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
I've already read and loved this series but I borrowed the first book in a book tour many years ago so I have been meaning to buy my own copy so when I found the matching hardback edition in Ellie's bookshop I snatched it up!
The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
I've had my eye on this one for months and am so excited to finally have a copy!
The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
Rach very kindly lent me her copy of this to borrow. I've wanted to check out Jasper Fforde for some time now, his books sound very quirky!

 
SIGNED FIRST EDITION OF CITY OF BONES BY CASSANDRA CLARE!!!!!! 
This is a case of saving the best till last as I found this little gem in Ellie's bookshop on Wednesday! Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite authors so I couldn't walk away without this one.

These are all of the lovely new books that found themselves a new home on my shelves over the past few weeks. If any of these books have caught your eye and you’d like to find out more about them simply click on the title and the link will take you to Goodreads for a full synopsis, reviews, and to add them to your wishlists. As always thank you to the lovely publishing folk for the review copies. If you’re looking forward to a certain book in particular and want to request a review feel free to in the comments and I’ll do my best to get around to the book sooner rather than later. And if you decided to do a Letterbox Love, Book Haul, IMM, Showcase Sunday, Mailbox Monday or whatever else featuring the books you got this week leave me a link as I’d love to check out your books too! ^_^

 Happy reading till next time!

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