SHADOW AND BONE by LEIGH BARDUGO

Shadow and Bone
by Leigh Bardugo
Published: June 2012
Publisher: Indigo
Genre: YA, Fantasy

"The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him. But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him? " -taken from goodreads

At first I was unsure about this book. The Russian names of objects and places were confusing and there wasn't any explanation about the Grisha or what Alina was actually doing in the Army, you were kind of just thrown into the story without any ground, but at about 50 pages onwards the explanations came and so did my interest with the story.

Alina is interesting, she is certainly not a perfect character, she has flaws and is a little whiney. However, she has a power that she never even knew she had and is thrown into a world that she has always been secluded from and expected to thrive, so really given the situation I can't really blame her. My biggest issue was how quickly she fell towards the Darkling, but then it is explained that the Darkling has abilities to draw you in. Alina's friendship with Genya was fun and light although I was confused about what happened to her in the end. 

The Darkling and The Apparat were some what of a mystery and the Apparat is still a question mark, but I do have a feeling that he is going to be important to the story in the later books. Obviously the Darkling's intentions are clear, I am really interested in what he's going to do next. 

I do feel as though this book gave a lot of information dumps but some didn't even explain anything and I still have questions about the world, not knowing everything about the characters is not something I am worried about as for a first book I know enough but I feel like I need more from the world. The world is interesting but I don't feel as if I can really picture it in my mind and to be able to connect completely I need to have more, but that being said it is a first in a trilogy so maybe that will come soon enough!

4/5 STARS

June Wrap Up

This will hopefully be a monthly feature on this blog, showing you what books I have read each month as sometimes I don't have enough to say to grant a book a whole blogpost and so I think this will help counter this problem. 

Unfortunately I had a reading slump this month which greatly impacted on how much I read. I also read a lot of graphic novels this month, which I have never done before and I am now on the hunt for some really good graphic novels. I also completed my (extended) Goodreads challenge of reading 45 books this month.

Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgings  

I did a full review of this book, which you can read HERE, but beware it is the third book in a trilogy so there will be spoilers if you haven't read the previous books. I would recommend

them though, I wouldn't say that they are the best books I have ever read but I did think that the world is very interesting and the characters have their moments.

4/5 stars

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan [graphic novel]

This is the first graphic novel that I have ever read and in fact I didn't even know that they did Percy Jackson graphic novels and seeing as I am a huge fan of the series I thought I would give them a go (read my Percy Jackson series review HERE), they are a little pricey but I think that they are a really nice addition to my Rick Riordan collection. I would say that Annabeth looks a little bit strange but you can just tell the amount of work that has gone into each picture is amazing and some of the artwork is incredibly impressive. I would definitely recommend but make sure that you have read the books before hand as you cannot rely on just the graphic novel alone as it does miss some things out, not a lot but there are still things missed out. 

4/5 stars

The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman [graphic novel]

This was a really bizarre novel and almost a month after reading it I can't really gather my thoughts on it, I did try though in this review HERE to be honest I wouldn't recommend this book until the price has gone down, there was something that made me very uncomfortable about it that I cant quite put my finger on. Also, try as I might I just cannot get into the Neil Gaiman hype.

*I got sent this book by Headline*

3/5 stars

Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan 

Considering how much I loved the Percy Jackson series it was a bit ridiculous that I hadn't read any of the follow on series. I did enjoy this book, obviously because Riordan is a fantastic writer and I will always appreciate whatever he writes. It was really brilliant to see an expansion of the world but still seeing old favourites from the original series but also with different and new characters. I really liked Jason and Leo, I did find Piper slightly frustrating but not enough for me to not like her. unfortunately I was reaching a reading slump whilst reading this and so it seemed to take ages to finish despite the fact that I was enjoying it and so that is why I don't think I loved this, I am excited to continue on with the series though and am not letting my reading slump put me off!

4/5 stars

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan [graphic novel]

My thoughts on this graphic novel are much the same as the Lightning Thief, I received this for my birthday and read it almost immediately. The artwork continues to be brilliant and also Annabeth didn't look quite so strange in this one! 

4/5 stars

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Oh wow. This book. Was incredible. I must be honest I like The Mortal Instruments (read my series review HERE and City of Heavenly Fire review HERE)  but was never in love with it and didn't really understand the hype but this prequel trilogy, oh my goodness, it is amazing!! It is all that was good with TMI but even better, because the characters are not painfully annoying! Honestly I really don't understand how Cassandra Clare wrote City of Lost Souls at the same time as this, I really don't.

5/5 stars

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

I had been wanting to read this book for so long that when I got it for my birthday it was one of the first books that I picked up. I must admit I am slightly disappointed, I am writing a review for it so I will link it once it is up.

3/5 stars

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan [graphic novel]

Again the same thoughts with this graphic novel as with the previous two, I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend to those Riordan fans but if you haven't read the Percy Jackson books, read them first and read these second as they are good companions. I also don't understand why they only go up to the third book :( I want more!!

4/5 stars

I started Clockwork Prince by Cassandra but didn't finish it in time for it to be included in this wrap up! June was a very good month and an average reading month, hopefully July will be even better as I finish school and go on holiday this month. There is also the BookTubeAThon which I really would like to take part in but I might be too busy I'm not too sure yet. 

Stay posted for my TBR for July, which should be the next post!

CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE by CASSANDRA CLARE

City of Heavenly Fire
By Cassandra Clare
Published: May 2014
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: YA, fantasy

"In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.
Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.
The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?
When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...
Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!" - taken from Goodreads

Before I start with my review, you should know that you should read The Infernal Devices BEFORE you read City of Heavenly Fire, as there are mentions in COHF that you probably wont get if you haven't read them. I actually hadn't read them and I had to skip over a few pages so I didn't get spoiled for the prequel series.

As you may know I have my problems with The Mortal Instruments series but I do love and appreciate the world, in TMI it's mainly the characters that bother me so much. However after having a six book series and not reading the last one despite my issues with the series in general would have been stupid. So on the release day I went to my local Waterstones and picked up the massive brick that is City Of Heavenly Fire. I actually managed to read the book in about a day and a half which I must be honest I was pretty impressed with myself, seeing as it is over 700 pages, but I was just so hooked!

The characters, Clary and Jace predominately, were not half as irritating as they usually are and there was actual communication between the characters (finally!! It only took them five books to get there!) therefore making Clary and Jace readable rather than wanting to throw the book at them. Simon, Isabelle and even Alec were all hilarious and added light to the story which is fairly dark.

*spoilers from here on*

The deaths in this book for a last book in a large series were to be honest quite disappointing. The main characters got out barley with a bruise between them, even Issy who was nearly on deaths row for like two pages made a miraculous recovery and was back to fighting demons a few pages on. Of course, I understand that Shadowhunters get back up when they are down quickly, but I mean seriously? I did feel as though it was a bit of a cop out by not killing anyone significant enough for it to leave a mark. So when Simon lost his memories I thought that that was going to be the emotion in the book, however, I did roll my eyes at how even though a Greater Demon stole his memories, he could get them back so quickly that he could attend Jocelyn's wedding. It was nice and I was happy but I was also kind of disappointed.

However, on the whole I felt like it was pretty good finale of a large series, and I can definitely see why fans of the series are so happy with it, and to be honest, I won't say I didn't enjoy it because I did.

4.5-5/STARS

PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG by ANNE BLANKMAN

Prisoner of Night and Fog
by Anne Blankman
Published: April 2014
Publisher: Headline
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction

"In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.
Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler.
And Gretchen follows his every command.
Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews." - Taken from Goodreads

I originally requested this book because I have a particular interest with Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler after studying it for a few years. Historical fiction is also a genre that I am desperately trying to find and read more books of, because when I do I almost always enjoy what I read.  

For the most part, this book was fast paced and thrilling, although there were occasional slumps where I felt like the story was repeating itself, it didn't really hinder the story and make me want to stop reading. In a way the repetition sometimes added to the story because a lot of the time it was repetition about how vile the Jews or, at least should be, according to Hitler and this really makes you feel gobsmacked that this was actually the mentality of people in this time, who were brainwashed into thinking that even just by touching a Jew you could get a disease, its absolutely crazy! What I found incredibly interesting and unique (at least to the books I have read or seen about Nazi Germany) is that this is from the viewpoint of someone who is technically in the inner circle of the Nazis and Hitler, it gives a completely different dynamic and it was one I incredibly enjoyed.

 The characters were wonderfully written and well developed, there wasn't a single character for me that I felt was unimportant or hindered the story. Germany was exactly how you would imagine with all of the political scheming going on and although this is obviously part fictitious it was very obvious that the author had done a lot of research into this period and it made it so much more realistic and enjoyable. Blankman has a very unique way of writing and so almost everything that Gretchen is feeling you are feeling as well, especially when she is scared of her brother Reinhard, because I found myself almost wanting to throw the book across the room from the fear of him and what he would do next.

In some ways I think having a small bit of knowledge on Nazi Germany is useful when reading this book so that you can easily identify iconic people in the Nazi party and some of the incidents that happen, but in other ways I think you could still read this book with absolutely no knowledge other than knowing who Hitler was. 

I am excited to see more from this author as this is a really solid debut novel.

4.5 STARS

*This book was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review*

BIRD BOX by JOSH MALERMAN

Bird Box
by Josh Malerman
Published: 27th March 2014
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Genre: Adult, thriller, horror

"Most people ignored the outrageous reports on the news. But they became too frequent, they became too real. And soon, they began happening down the street. Then the Internet died. The television and radio went silent. The phones stopped ringing. And we couldn't look outside anymore. Malorie raises the children the only way she can; indoors. The house is quiet. The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed over the windows. They are out there. She might let them in. The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall. Soon she will have to wake them. Soon she will have to blindfold them. Today they must leave the house. Today they will risk everything."- taken from Waterstones

If you are looking for a play by play instantly horrifying horror story then this probably isn't the book for you. Instead it cleverly relies on your imagination to bring the horror to it. If you want a book that gives you all the answers, then this probably isn't the book for you. What this book does offer is a sensory description that is a extremely unique. There are on the edge of your seat in terror moments with heavily written paragraphs that fill you with anticipation. All of Malorie's descriptions come from behind a blindfold and so you have to rely on her sense of smell, her sense of touch and her hearing as well as the children's. Whilst this sometimes gets slightly tedious, for the most part it is done fairly effectively.

The biggest issue was occasionally this book had slightly too much anticipation and could have done with the novel as whole being shorter. The children's sense of hearing was a little ridiculous, I've never heard anyone say that they would have been able to tell you when their mother itched her arm when she was upstairs? But then again if you were in the situation where you have never seen the outside world and are only relying on what your mother has told you I suppose you would become hyper-sensitive to the senses that you can make use of. 

As a whole, I enjoyed this book. Whilst I wasn't left feeling utterly amazed, I was satisfied and I felt like I had been on the trip with Malorie and was slightly exhausted by the end. Read this if you are into phycological thrillers and a whole lot of suspense. Avoid this if you are looking for constant scares and everything written down for you because this just isn't that type of book, it relies on your mind playing tricks on you rather than leaving nothing to the imagination.

3.5/5 STARS

*I was sent this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

PERCY JACKSON SERIES REVIEW by RICK RIORDAN

Percy Jackson series:

by Rick Riordan
Publisher: Puffin
Genre: Children's, Fantasy

Wow, this series is incredible. I absolutely loved every book in this series, the writing is brilliant and all of the characters, even minor ones were wonderfully written and given backstories which made you actually care about what happened to them. The world building was phenomenal and there is a massive emphasis on Greek Mythology which I found incredibly interesting and added a unique aspect to this fantasy series that I haven't seen before. Although this is intended for children ages 9 and up, I honestly feel as if this (like with Harry Potter) can be read and enjoyed just as much no matter what age you are. If you are even a little bit interested in fantasy books or even Greek Mythology then I would recommend these books with every fibre of my body.

This series also comes with a kind of novella type book called 'Percy Jackson: The Demigod Files' which happens between the fourth and fifth books. Although it is not completely necessary for you to read this (I didn't know about it until after I was on the fourth book anyway, so I just read it after I'd finished the fifth because I wasn't sure where it fitted in) I think its a pretty cool addition to the series and has a three short stories that enhance the fifth book.

I'm definitely looking forward to the spin off series 'The Heroes of Olympus' which I will continue on with later in the year.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief 4/5 STARS
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters 5/5 STARS
Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse 4/5 STARS
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth 4/5 STARS
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian 5/5 STARS
Percy Jackson: The Demigod Files 4/5 STARS

FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK by MATTHEW QUICK

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
by Matthew Quick
Published: August 13th 2013 (hardcover and papaerback)
Publisher: Headline
Genre: Contemporary, YA

"How would you spend your birthday if you knew it would be your last?
Eighteen-year-old Leonard Peacock knows exactly what he'll do. He'll say goodbye.
Not to his mum - who he calls Linda because it annoys her - who's moved out and left him to fend for himself. Nor to his former best friend, whose torments have driven him to consider committing the unthinkable. But to his four friends: a Humphrey-Bogart-obsessed neighbour, a teenage violin virtuoso, a pastor's daughter and a teacher.
Most of the time, Leonard believes he's weird and sad but these friends have made him think that maybe he's not. He wants to thank them, and say goodbye."-taken from Goodreads

Its hard to write my feelings about this book, I went into it with a little apprehension because although I liked Silver Linings Playbook by the same author I didn't love it and did find it slightly odd. Obviously the subject of this book isn't a happy go lucky novel and I did find it pretty difficult to find myself feeling connected to the story.

Leonard is not a likeable character, I felt no feelings for him but then I don't think that that is the purpose of the book, maybe you are supposed to feel detached and simply follow him on his journey on his 18th birthday. The world building is completely lacking with almost no description of Leonard's settings, I think Quick relies on the fact that it is set in a modern 'real' world and so you would use your own knowledge to place him in the settings.

The graphology (layout) of this book was pretty interesting, often changing the layout of the text, the font or the spacing. It made the story seem more intriguing even if the story did not. I finished this book within about 2 hours so its fairly short but I did find myself feeling detached and uninterested. The last third of the book however, is what saves this book. Its the only part that I felt made the story realistic and make the character feel less like a robot.

I can see why other people would find comfort in this book and love the character of Leonard, unfortunately it just didn't resonate with me.

2.5/5 STARS

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

EVERY DAY by DAVID LEVITHAN

Every Day 
by David Levithan
Published: August 28th 2012(hardcover), September 1st 2012 (paperback)
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Genre: YA, Contemporary 

"Each morning, A wakes up in a different body. There's never any warning about who it will be, but A is used to that. Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. And that's fine - until A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply." -from Goodreads

The premise of the book was a really intriguing concept to me, A, our main protagonist wakes up in a different body every day and not having a permanent 'residence' so to speak. Don't think that you will get any indications as to WHY this happens because you won't get it, but for once not having all of your questions answered is okay and doesn't hinder the story in anyway at all. 

This is my first David Levithan novel and I will definitely be reading more of his work. His writing was very fluid and imaginative, he is also very capable of capturing the way a teenager would speak (all of the bodies that A inhabits are of around a similar age) and think and act, even if the situation isn't exactly normal. 

It is one of the first contemporary novels that I have read that I haven't guess every single plot line, obviously there are some cliques in that A falls in love but overall there were a few parts of the story that left me genuinely surprised. 

Its hard to describe the relationship between A and Rhiannon, a girl A meets when inhabiting the body of Justin, because A is not a stationary character, meaning that Rhiannon has to try and fall in love with the personality regardless to what the body looks like every single day. I know I would find this difficult, never being able to put a face to someone that you love. Levithan, for the most part handles a book that could become repetitive extremely well, mostly due to the change of characters from A's constant changing of bodies. Each and every body that A inhabits is completely unique and individual so you are never left feeling bored and Levithan mostly avoids stereotypes which is not a common occurrence with teen contemporary novels.

Although at times I found Rhiannon frustrating I could also sympathise with her because she really was confused. How could you love someone without them ever being the same person again?

I would recommend this book because the main protagonist is an ever changing specimen and for once we have witnessed a contemporary that is not exactly the same as every other one on the market. 

4/5 STARS

New books!

I can only apologise for completely abandoning my blog this past week (reasons for why here) but unless you wanted a rant and worry over my knowing absolutely nothing about either biology, chemistry or physics and my exams are only 11, 17 and 20 days away respectively then I'm sure you will thank me for staying off the blog. Also revising for several hours after a long and arduous day at school completely drains your inspiration for decent blog posts, oh the setbacks of teenage life.

Anyway enough about mundane life; I thought I would share with you a few book purchases I have made in the past few weeks. Although I can't read them yet because of lack of time, they are definitely motivating me and yes, making me very excited to finish my exams so I can read without feeling guilty about not revising.

City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls

Cassandra Clare

Oh so excited to read these after reading the other books in the series it seems almost nasty that I have to hold off from finding out what happens next. I am slightly dubious to how and why Clare has written two other books (and I'm told there is a sixth book on the way) when the third book- City of Glass, finished nicely... I suppose I can expect character death as this doesn't seem like the type of series that is going to let me off lightly and happily. 

Quiet

Susan Cain

I picked this book up on a whim along with the book underneath in Waterstones because they were buy one get one half price and when it comes to books I can't resist a deal like that. It seems like an extremely interesting book which I am sure will have plenty of mystery about it; the thing that attracted me most was the cover; it is completely white even the title which implies simplicity which excites me very much (although I couldn't find a decent picture on the internet). I like the idea of introverts, like myself, not always getting ignored because we aren't the ones who are the centre of attention, which is what this books seems to be about. 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry 

Rachel Joyce

As I mentioned above I got this in Waterstones, it was in the section where they have the best sellers which if you are stuck for what book to read next, or if you're like me and just like seeing what everyone else is reading then have a look in this section first. This book is very strange and it immediately made me want to read it. It seems like a very dystopian theme in a normal world (if that makes any sense). I am sure that this book will keep me on my toes and enthralled throughout: at least I very much hope so. 

Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Angel

Cassandra Clare

I chose these books because of the author, I thought seeing as I am enjoying the Mortal Instruments series I would try out her other series the Infernal Devices. They follow the same type of theme by the looks of it except it is set in London and in a very different time period. I really hope that these books are as good, if not better, as the Mortal Instruments and I will be just as excited with the characters as I am now.

So for now I have to have them sitting in my bookcase mocking me as I revising completely pointless and irrelevant things that will never help or affect me in life! Fun times.