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Month: September 2016

Broken Sky by L.A Weatherly

Broken Sky by L.A Weatherly

I love the dystopian genre. I love all of the “what ifs” that it lays out for the reader to think about: ‘what if our government did this?’, ‘what if our world decided to do that?’ I find it very intriguing, it’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed Divergent (not so much Insurgent or Allegiant).

L.A Weatherly had previously written the Angel trilogy. I had read the first two books and then given up because they were so big. I saw Broken Sky, realised that it was a dystopian and decided to get it. I love a good book about government secrets!


Welcome to a “perfect” world. Where war is illegal, where harmony rules. And where your date of birth marks your destiny.

But nothing is perfect.

And in a world this broken, who can Amity trust?

Amity is a Peacefighter, just like her father was and she lives in the Western Seaboard. The country is divided into two sections: the Western Seaboard and the Central States. The Central States is run by a man called Gunnison who believes that the stars and star signs marks your destiny and decides
whether you’re a threat to his twelve-year-plan or not (if you are labelled a threat, you’re ‘Discordant’ and are thrown into camps)

War is illegal in the world that Amity lives in and any political issues and debates are solved through Peacefights where the two countries concerned put forward a pilot each. That pilot has to fight the other pilot (without any killing) and the pilot who wins, wins the debate.

It sounds confusing when I put it like that, I know, but at least it gives you a tiny bit of background to the story.

The blurb also states that Broken Sky is a distorted echo of 1940s America… Now, when I was reading this book it seemed to be set more in the future – maybe in about 1000 years time – but there were shadows of the 1940s that cropped up. There are a lot of comparisons to World War II, for example the camps, if you were found Discordant, you were made to wear a ‘D’, a country being split into two, dictatorship… The list goes on. I found this very very interesting how Weatherly had used aspects of the war to make the book seem like it was set in 40s, but then also made it feel like it was set in the distant future.

“No one can judge your actions unless they’ve been there.”
– L.A Weatherly, Broken Sky
 
 

Broken Sky was tremendous. I absolutely loved every second of it. The prologue had me hooked but what I loved the most about this book was the dual perspectives, the point of view of Amity, and then the point of view of Kay. I found Kay to be such an interesting character and I absolutely loved reading from her perspective, it was so tense and exciting.

The writing was fantastic, the build ups were brilliant and the way that secrets were revealed was amazing. Beware of the ending. You will get major major feels. I literally threw the book across my living room and stared at the wall for half an hour before going over to pick the book back up. I also tweeted L.A Weatherly saying that the book had ruined my life. Because it really did…

 

But it was such an amazing book and I definitely cannot wait til Darkness Follows comes out. As soon as it’s 1st October, I’m going to my nearest Waterstones, buying it and then reading it straight away. I need to find out what happens next because THAT ENDING WAS JUST… AGGGHHHHHH!

I THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU READ THIS BOOK. RIGHT NOW. GO. GO AND GET IT. ANYWHERE. I’LL JUST WAIT HERE…
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

If you’re expecting a scary or spooky book, you’re going to be disappointed. This book is not scary so go into the book knowing that it isn’t. I’ve heard that a lot of people thought it was going to be really creepy and got let down.

Luckily for me, I went into this trilogy knowing that it was an adventure/fantasy book so I got a lot more out of it than others. After marathoning all three books, I can officially tell you this: Ransom Riggs is a genius.

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins odd Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s Children were more than just peculiar. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for a good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

As aforementioned, this book is not a creepy book, it is an adventurous one. I tried to explain it to my Dad and I said ‘it’s got the plot line of a children’s book but it’s written in an adult way.’ And it’s true. A young boy goes on an adventure and makes new friends along the way who have powers. That’s pretty much the premise of the book but it’s so much more than that!

 

This is Riggs’ first novel and it’s such a brilliant debut. The idea is magnificent and the way the story is told with the pictures is also amazing. I loved the pictures. Some people said that the pictures weren’t scary at all and that they were boring – I didn’t think they were. They added a sense of realness to the story. There were pictures of people that looked like they could actually be the characters of the peculiar children, there was a picture of a boat, of a child, sat on a pavement in a bunny costume, of an old woman dressed all in black… They weren’t creepy (ok, maybe a couple was) they were just normal photos that had been taken and they had collected altogether and turned into a story which I think is so clever of Riggs. You would read a page, look at the picture and get a sense of how the setting looked like, how it might have felt, the way the characters may have looked. Sure, Riggs also included a lot of written descriptions about all of these but the pictures just added more.

“Stars too, were time travelers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realise we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries – but not until now had I realised how full of them the earth was.”
– Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
 
 

The world that Riggs had created was also very intriguing. I loved the concept of the ‘loop day’, of peculiar children, of monsters and of a boy who thinks he’s got nothing to do with all of it until one day, he finds out he does.

The only downfall that I can say about Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the romance between Emma and Jacob. It was just weird. Emma had dated Jacob’s Grandfather. Jacob’s Grandfather and Emma were in love, and now Jacob comes along, Emma hasn’t aged a day and then the two of them fell in love. It just felt so weird and there was even a time in the book where Jacob says that himself. it was just strange and I didn’t get why Riggs had to throw that weird type of romance in.

Overall, this was an incredible book. It was incredibly written, there were incredible characters and the use of photographs alongside the story was fantastic. This is a spectacular debut novel from Ransom Riggs and I look forward to reading other books by him!

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I don’t know where to start with this review. I had seen everyone on Goodreads, BookTube, Twitter, Bookstagram… Basically, everywhere there was hype about this book and say how amazing it was and that it was perfection.

A few weeks ago, I popped down to my local library and I saw this book on the shelf. I picked it up and I realised it was about time that I read it. I had high expectations: I wanted to love it and I wanted to take a big breath and scream to the world about how amazing it is.


In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Réves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.

Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers, and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems to almost cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs – the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. at the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of their imagination and of their love…

The Night Circus jumps to different timelines. One chapter you could be in 1894 and the next chapter, you’re in either 1900 or 1890. I don’t know. I got very very confused by it, I can understand why Morgenstern did it: there were characters who’s lived intertwined with the circus and their point of view had to be told so that all of the loose ends could be tied up at the end. So I get why she did it; it just wasn’t an easy read so if that’s what you’re looking for, this book isn’t for you.

I also found the blurb on the book very misleading. It states there’s a deep romance between the two main characters. There really isn’t. One minute they’re just going about their typical Night Circus days and the next, they’re professing their love for each other. What? Where in the world did that come from? The romance was just so sudden and there was hardly any build up to it.

The blurb also states that there is a battle. Again. No there isn’t. There is a thirty-something year battle and for half of those years, they don’t even know who they’re “battling” against. And it’s a magic match. To see which one of the two competitors is the best at using magic because two very old guys are bored and just want to use kids for fun.

“I am tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held. Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do.”
– Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
 
 

BUT! ENOUGH OF ME MOANING! MOANING IS BORING! LET’S GET ON TO THE GOOD STUFF!

The plot idea was fascinating. A circus that only comes at night and includes actual magic? A circus that is actually a stage for a life-long battle? It sounds amazing and the plot really was. I loved the characters of Herr Thiessen and the twins. And I also loved to hate the teachers: Hector and Alexander. They just didn’t have a care in the world about the consequences of their games. I also really didn’t like Marco. I found him to be very arrogant and selfish. But I loved Celia, so again, I loved to dislike Marco.

This is a slow book to read but when all of the characters come together and the timelines become consistent, the book gets rather exciting because all of the individual storylines come together and become one.

The Night Circus is a very good read. If you’re looking for something different then I recommend this. There’s beautiful writing, a beautiful, magical world has been created. There are elements of this book that are just brilliantly thought out and proves how much of an excellent writer Morgenstern is. I actually do understand the hype that surrounds this book and although I wasn’t that captivated to scream how much I love it from the rooftops, I did thoroughly enjoy reading it.

 

All The Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry

All The Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry

All The Truth That’s In Me is not a modern day, young adult contemporary novel. It’s a young adult, historical fiction novel that’s set in the 1800s and is an exceptionally written book. When I was reading the blurb, the thing that captured my attention was how the main character has had her tongue cut out, so she can’t talk. I thought that was horrifying. But it still made me want to read the book!

Judith can’t speak. Ever since the horrifying trauma that left her best friend dead and Judith without her tongue, she’s been a pariah in her close-knit community of Roswell Station; even her own mother won’t look her in the eye. All Judith can do is silently pour out her thoughts and feelings to the love of her life, the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember – even if he doesn’t know it – her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked by enemies, long-buried secrets come to light and Judith’s world starts to shift on its axis. 
 
This book was magnificent. It was just UGGGHHHHH THE FEELS! IT WAS SO GOOD AND IT MADE ME FEEL LIKE MY WHOLE BODY WAS BEING RIPPED APART BY THOSE FEELS!
 
I don’t even know where to start with this review. At first, I thought it was a bit odd. I didn’t know that it was a historical fiction book, so when I started reading descriptions of the town that didn’t sound modern day, I checked out the ever-so-handy Goodreads and realised it was set in the 1800s. Now everything made sense. 
 
All The Truth That’s In Me is written in letter form. The whole story is written like Judith is writing letters containing her story to her childhood crush – Lucas. For example: “I saw you look over to where I was standing and smile at me.” I think it’s a beautiful way for the story to be told. 
 
There was only one issue that I had with this book but it wasn’t a big enough issue to knock the star rating down to four. My issue was where Judith goes back to her kidnapper to get his help when her town is attacked… I know she’s getting his help because the town needs it, but still. There is no way I would be brave enough to go back to the place where I was held captive for two years and where my tongue was cut out. No way.
The rest of the book was just brilliant. It was a bit slow at first (maybe for the first 20 pages?) but after you get the attack by the enemies out of the way, the story starts to unravel and you start learning more and more about the characters and their secrets. 
 
 
 
“There is a curious comfort in letting go. After the agony, letting go brings numbness, and after the numbness, clarity. As if I can see the world for the first time, and my place in it, independent of you, a whole vista of what may be. Even if it is not grand or inspiring, it is real and solid, unlike the fantasy I’ve built around you. I will do this. I will triumph over you.”
– Julie Berry, All The Truth That’s In Me
 
 
 
There are a lot of shock moments in this book, there are a few disturbing moments and a few moments where I even had to put down the book and take everything that I had just read in. I literally had to put the book down and stare at my wall because the feels from the part I had just read were too much for me. 
 
All of the characters were written superbly that I genuinely felt I was part of their world, that I was going on this crazy ride with them. 
 
The ending of this book was just… ARRRGGGHHH IT WAS MAGNIFICENT. IT WAS A HUGE PLOT TWIST THAT I DIDN’T SEE COMING! IT WAS ALL SORTS OF MESSED UP! IT WAS CRAZY! BUT IT WAS AMAZING!
 
All The Truth That’s In Me gave me a massive book hangover and it left me wanting to read every single word that Julie Berry has ever wrote because her writing style is just so addictive and beautiful.
 
Go. Go and read this book now. Get it from the library, order it off Amazon, I don’t care. Just read this book. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
 
Warning: contains references to physical abuse
 
Pokemon Go Book Tag

Pokemon Go Book Tag

 

This awesome book tag was created by Aentee at readatmidnight.com so definitely go and check it out! Her whole blog is awesome and has a huge variety of bookish things for you to check out!

I’m a massive Pokemon fan, have been since I was six-years-old so when I heard that Pokemon Go was coming out in the UK – FINALLY! – I was like my little self again, jumping around like crazy. When I heard that this book tag was around the book blogosphere, I just knew that I had to take part. So here we go… Welcome to my Pokemon Go Book Tag!

Now this one is a very hard one to answer because I have owned books ever since I was born, when I was a baby, my Mom and Dad would read books to me every day. So really, I thank my parents for being the reason why I love books so much. I can’t really pinpoint the exact moment in time where I finished a book and thought ‘yup, I’m going to be an obsessive reader when I’m older and spend all my money on them.‘ So thanks Mom and Dad, you’re the reason why I’m broke.

I could have said Harry Potter but no… As much as I love Harry Potter and the world that J.K Rowling created, the Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black were magical to me when I first read them. I loved the whole premise of a magical, faerie realm with ogres and goblins. I loved everything about these stories and they will always contain a place in my heart. (I even bought a copy of the field guide that the characters own because I found the creatures in the books so fascinating!)

 

Don’t hurt me guys… But for this one, it’s going to have to be Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I haven’t even started them yet because I got so bored of hearing about how good they were and hearing about all of the hype for the film. I will read them eventually, but maybe once all of the attention surrounding this series dies down a bit. It’s a shame though because they do look like really good books!

 

I could have kept to the Pokemon theme, but this gif was too brilliant to pass up

 

I’m not exactly sure what to put for this one. I mean, the whole YA genre as a whole is pretty similar (but different… if you get what I mean?) I’ve never read a book – luckily – that I’ve read and then thought ‘wow…this book is similar to _______” If I find a book is very similar to a couple of others that I’ve read like Thirteen Reasons Why, then I end up disliking it anyway.

 

 

 

Sorry George R.R Martin but your books are intimidating! I absolutely love the TV series and I HAVE read the first book in the series and really enjoyed it, but to read the rest of the series is just scary. I also love to marathon series so can you imagine how long it would take me to read all of the GOT books back-to-back?! I do want to read the rest of the series, I really do but I just need to find the motivation – and the time! – to read them.

 

Now I don’t know if this one means it kept you up at night in a scary sense or in an it-was-too-good-to-put-down sense because Gengar is a ghost Pokemon…
So I’m going to go with the too good one. For me, this was definitely Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This story was just absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t go to sleep knowing that I still had some of the book left to read. So I stayed away til 3am and finally finished it!
Oh, this one is easy! Jace and Clary, I’m calling you! The Mortal Instruments is one of my favourite series of all time and the chemistry between Jace and Clary is just…. YOU CAN’T MISS IT! IT’S AMAZING AND I LOVE THEM TOGETHER AND NOW LOOK WHAT YOU’VE MADE ME DO! I’M NOW IN FANGIRL MODE!! ARRRGGGHHHH!
Kindred Spirits is one but that’s probably because it’s 62 pages long… BUT IT IS REALLY REALLY GOOD!
For this one though, I would have to say Soulmates by Holly Bourne. I think the concept of this book was absolutely amazing as true Holly Bourne style, the writing was perfect. Bourne is one of my favourite authors and she never lets me down. Considering Soulmates is a 544-page book, I read it in a day. I was so captivated by it!
Ermmm… Hello? Harry Potter?!!!! This series could have so many spin-offs it’s crazy. Obviously, we’ve just had The Cursed Child released and then there’s Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them coming out soon… But what about Dumbledore? James, Lily, and Snape? Voldemort? All these characters would have such amazing spin-offs and I need them in my life.
For those of you who are regular readers of my blog and follow me on Twitter, you’re probably sick of me talking about this book. To Kill A Mockingbird was one of the books that I had to study for my English GCSE. I thought it was going to be rubbish since it’s a book we have to study in school and it’s considered a ‘classic’. Once I had finished the book, I was absolutely amazed. So I read it about a billion more times. It’s my favourite book ever and I will never stop loving it.
I’ve got loads for this one. I’m still yet to read The Grisha Trilogy, the Throne of Glass trilogy and The Raven Cycle. Yes, I know. You’re probably thinking what the hell I’m doing with my life. I own all of these series but I just haven’t gotten round to reading them. I WILL, DON’T WORRY! I’m still very very excited to start reading them.
Ummmm.. Hello? Look how pretty this edition of To Kill A Mockingbird is. I know it just looks like any other classic edition of a book but this is my favourite book ok? And I need this in my life. Like, right now… Because it’s pretty… and has a golden bookmark in it… ENOUGH SAID
It’s not a debut novel but this is a book from a very very new author and that is The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon. I read her debut novel: Everything Everything, and loved it to pieces! So I can’t wait to see what her second book is like!
Anything Holly Bourne, Rainbow Rowell, Cassandra Clare and Jandy Nelson… All of their books have been fantastic and I can’t wait to read more from them.

 

Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven, the second book in the Lady Midnight series by Cassandra Clare, The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon and Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Well guys, that’s the Pokemon Go Book Tag done! To be honest, that was quite a lot of fun, but some questions were quite tricky to answer! I tag absolutely anyone who wants to do this! What do you think? Do you agree with some of the answers I gave? What would you say differently? Drop me a comment below!
xoxo
Kirsty
Affinity by Sarah Waters

Affinity by Sarah Waters

When I was given the list of books that I had to read for my English and Media course at university, I let out a groan. Whenever I think of study texts for anything, whether it was at school, college or university, I always think that they’re going to be boring.

I was proved wrong when I studied To Kill a Mockingbird at Secondary School, I was wrong when I also studied An Inspector Calls and The Woman in Black there. I was proved wrong when I studied The Time Machine in college (even though I was proved right when we were also given Hard Times by Charles Dickens!) and now I’m at university. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Great Expectations, I didn’t really enjoy To The Lighthouse and now Affinity by Sarah Waters.

Is this book going to go against the stereotypical texts of studying or not?

An upper-class woman recovering from a suicide attempt, Margaret Prior has begun visiting the women’s ward of Millbank prison, Victorian London’s grimmest jail, as part of her rehabilitative charity work. 

 Amongst Millbank’s murderers and common thieves, Margaret finds herself increasingly fascinated by on apparently innocent inmate, the enigmatic spiritualist Selina Dawes. Selina was imprisoned after a séance she was conducting went horribly awry, leaving an elderly matron dead and a young woman deeply disturbed. 

 Although initially skeptical of Selina’s gifts, Margaret is soon drawn into a twilight world of ghosts and shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions

 When I read the blurb of this book, I had to admit, it sounded rather different than any university book that I was expecting. A feminist, gothic, Victorian-era book. Sounds pretty good right?

 It was.

 It really was.

 Although this book was slow to start off with, I found myself becoming hooked. I have never read about women’s jails (or gaols – as they are written in Affinity) before and I found the subject intriguing. 

“Your twisting is done — you have the last thread of my heart. I wonder: when the thread grows slack, will you feel it?”
– Sarah Waters, Affinity
 
 


 The whole premise of this book was fascinating: a ‘lady’ that has tried to commit suicide, women’s jails, spirit mediums and an LGBT theme. 

 Sarah Waters writes her characters with such depth that, when I was reading the parts of Margaret, I felt like I was actually her walking through Millbank jail, I felt like I was her when she would go and talk to Selina Dawes. I was sucked right into her world and couldn’t seem to find myself getting out of it. 

 That ending though?!!! The last 50 pages were probably one of the best sections of literature that I’ve ever read. (Not THE best, ONE of the best – nothing can ever beat To Kill a Mockingbird). I have no one to talk about this book with as no one that I know has read it. I need to rant and rave about what happened at the end because it was so darn good! When I finished the book, I think I was sat on my bed in disbelief for about an hour, trying to take everything in that I had just read. 

 Just wow.

 I cannot wait to study this book in more depth at university. I can’t wait to read more work by Sarah Waters. This book is a strong five out of five and I definitely recommend this book to everyone. I think this is a must-read book.


The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

I haven’t read a book by Holly Black since The Spiderwick Chronicles when I was about eleven; so when I found out that she did young adult fantasy/supernatural books, I knew right there and then that I had to read them. Holly Black had a way of writing The Spiderwick Chronicles that left me in awe.
Faeries make a re-appearance in Holly Black’s: The Darkest Part of the Forest.
 


Near the little town of Fairfold, in the darkest part of the forest, is a glass casket. Inside lies a sleeping faerie prince that none can rouse. He’s the most fascinating thing Hazel and her brother Ben have ever seen. They dream of waking him – but what happens when dreams come true?

In the darkest part of the forest, you must be careful what you wish for…
Let me start off by saying that this book was absolutely fantastic! It’s the first fantasy book that I’ve read in a long time because my time has seemed to be taken up my YA Contemporary, but this book just reminded me how much I love the fantasy genre and how magical it is – especially when it is written as beautifully as this.
At first, I didn’t care much for Hazel, she seemed like a very two-dimensional character. But as the story goes on and the plot develops, so do the characters. The character development is phenomenal. I went from not liking Hazel to absolutely worshipping her towards the end. And Ben! We see his struggles as a gay character throughout the book but you know what I love about this book? Everyone is accepting of the fact that he’s gay – there’s no name-calling, no teasing, just no bullying or hate in general and it’s a breath of fresh air to see a book that includes a gay character that is fully accepted within the society.
“We love until we do not. For us, love doesn’t fade gradually. It snaps like a branch bent too far.”
– Holly Black, The Darkest Part of the Forest
 
 
Also… I think I might have fallen in love with the horned boy… And Jack… Oops…
Both the main and the secondary characters in this book have all been given a lot of attention as well. The secondary characters are given as much depth as the main characters and we are told parts of every characters background in detail that makes the reader feel like they know this character, they know what they’ve been through, how they are feeling right now and what’s caused them to act how they do in the present day.
There are so many twists and turns throughout this book and a realisation that will leave your mouth hanging open in disbelief. There’s magic, there’s fighting, there’s faeries, there’s romance. There’s everything that you could possibly want from a book about the magical realms within a forest.
I can’t say any more about this book without revealing spoilers but all you have to know is that it’s beautifully written, it’s an amazing storyline, there’s plot twists galore and the main characters (and secondary characters) are amazingly written.
There we go. I think it’s 10000% obvious that I fully recommend this book to anyone. Go on, get it now and read it. And then tell me what you think!
The Secret Life of a Book Blogger Tag

The Secret Life of a Book Blogger Tag

Ok, so I don’t actually think that I’ve done a ‘personal’ blog post before but hey, first time for everything right?
I got the idea for this post from Naz over at http://readdiversebooks.com so go ahead and check that out!
 
SO LET’S GET RIGHT INTO IT THEN SHALL WE?
 

 

        How Long Have You Been A Blogger?

 

Mmmmm… Well… That depends really. I’ve had quite a few blogs. My first one was a fashion/beauty blog but then I didn’t want to do that anymore and I think I stopped doing that about 2015. Then I started a film/tv blog where I released news about film and tv shows and reviewed them too. I last posted on there earlier this year (June 2016) *actually… that reminds me… I need to start writing for that blog again because I love TV and film way too much to let it go*. 
My more recent ones are my Lushie UK blog where I review all of the Lush Cosmetics products and then this one, where I review books. So yeah… I’m a busy person… Very busy… So I’ve been blogging for about 2 years…
 
 

At what point do you think you will stop?

I don’t know. As you can see from the previous question, I like starting up new blogs about different things. I’d love to do a lifestyle blog as well but I just don’t have enough time to do all of them. Keeping up with my book blog and my Lush one is hard enough work.
To be honest, I don’t think I will ever stop… I love writing too much. I love sharing my opinions with you all and being a part of the blogger community. I don’t think I will stop, I just think that I just won’t post as often.
 
 
 
 What is the best part?
For me, the best part about blogging is knowing that people are taking time out of their day to go to your website and read what you’ve written. It’s so satisfying to know that people appreciate how much time and effort you put into it. 
I’ve also met so many amazing people through the blogging community! You’re all so supportive and amazing *gushes*  No but seriously, you guys are one of the best things about having a blog. I love Booktube, I love Bookstagram and I love Book Twitter. *LOVE YOU ALL!*
 
 
 

What is the worst part?

Worst part… Hmmm…. I don’t know. I guess I would have to say the amount of time it takes to do a blog post or take pictures. Bookstagram is a nightmare for me. I am, in no shape or form, a good photographer. I just can’t. I can’t seem to get the right angles, or props, I can’t seem to get any good ideas. I really do try with Bookstagram but it’s so time-consuming and then I see everyone else’s pretty pictures and then it just gets me down so I lose motivation to do it.  
 
 

How long does it take you to find/create pictures to use?

ARRRGGGHHH! FOREVER! As I’ve just said, Bookstagram is the worst for me. It takes me about an hour to take two pictures because I stress too easily about it looking ‘perfect’ *me and my stupid brain* For my book reviews, I literally just take a picture of the book, so that takes two seconds. But for Bookstagram, IT TAKES FOREVER!
 
 
 

Who’s your book crush?

This is a very broad question… I’d have to say that my fictional character crush is Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. He just sounds like such an amazing guy… *please be real, please be real!*
My favourite book is To Kill a Mockingbird. It will always be my favourite book.
My favourite author is… oh god… this is hard… I’m going to have to say… hmmmm… Cassandra Clare or Rainbow Rowell. Because I absolutely love every book that they have ever written.
 
 What author would you like to have on your blog?
*see above*. No, but if I had Cassandra Clare or Rainbow Rowell on my blog, I don’t think I would live another day. My heart would just give way. It would be a dream come true… And if I MET THEM BOTH! OH MY LIFE! I WOULD FAINT!
 

What do you wear when you write your blog?

Normal clothes? I don’t know… it depends on when I’m writing it. Could be in my pj’s, could be in leggings and a t-shirt, could be in my work clothes… I don’t have a set time that I write my posts so it could be any time of the day. Right now, I’m wearing my pj’s because I’m snug in bed.
 

How long does it take you to prepare a post?

It takes me about an hour to write a book review. Any longer than that and there’s a good chance that most of the review is just me rambling so I’d need to edit it down so it didn’t take 1000 years to read.
 
 

How do you feel about the book blogger community/culture?

I love the blogger community! The Lush community is amazing and I feel so welcomed by everyone and I’ve met some amazing people!
In the book community – it’s the same. I try and join in as many blogger chats that I can and through those chats, I’ve spoken to some of the most influential, supportive, amazing people ever. 
Lately, there has been a lot *and I mean a lot* of tension on Book Twitter which hasn’t been nice to see but I get why there’s been that tension and I fully understand it. Let’s hope we can go back to loving each other soon!
 
 

What do you think one should do to have a successful blog?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a small blog or a big blog. You’ve still got to do the same things. Engage with your audience. I try to visit as many different blogs as I can and comment on their blogs. I absolutely love it when I log onto Blogger and I see that people have commented on my posts – it’s one of the best feelings ever and it makes me feel all warm inside. So I try and give that feeling back to other bloggers. 
I like to build up followers on Twitter and Instagram as well. Twitter is where my main source of views come from because I’m constantly engaging with other book bloggers about what they’re reading, or asking (or giving) recommendations. 
You have to build a loyal following. It doesn’t happen overnight *it’s taken me 4 months to get 300 followers on Twitter and 10,000 page views on my blog*. It’s a slow and steady process but you’ve got to throw yourself into the community as well. Give back to other bloggers. That way, you get the most out of being a blogger. 
 
So there we have it guys… you know a bit more about me! What can you relate to from these points? Anything that you do differently? Let me know in the comment box! (REMEMBER: YOU’LL BE MAKING MY DAY 1000% BETTER IF YOU DO!)
 
xoxo
August 2016 Book Haul

August 2016 Book Haul

So you’ve probably realised by now – by reading my blog or following me on Twitter – that books are a massive part of my life. I can’t go a day without reading or gazing longingly at my ‘to buy’ list – knowing full well that I don’t have any money to buy them.

August has been a massive month for buying books. My parents would say that I went overboard but I say “HELL YEAH!!” but then my bank account says “please stop…!”


Here we go then… The list of the books that I bought in August. Get ready for quite a long blog post guys! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! I’ve also added the blurb underneath the picture so you can get a rough idea as to what it’s about.


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Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

I first read this book a couple of months after it came out a year go, but my local Waterstones run a book club and this month’s book was Never Always Sometimes. Since I decided that I was going to start going to the book club, I decided to give the book a re-read.


Even though I’ve labelled this book as 3 stars, I would actually give it 3.5 but I felt like that extra half a star to make it 4 would be too generous.

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be clichés, so they even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school.
Some of the rules have been easy to follow, but Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule No.8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule No.10, never date your best friend.
Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember. So, when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover they’ve actually been missing out on school.
The whole premise of the book is based around the Never List, the list of ten clichés that is high school including a house party, a crush on a teacher, have a permanent lunch spot and dying your hair a bright colour. This book is all about clichés to the point where the book itself is a cliché. I don’t know whether this was done by Alsaid on purpose to carry on the premise of the story or whether it’s just another teen fiction story that is – by accident – full of the unfortunate clichés of being a teenager.
If Alsaid made the book a cliché, then it was amazingly clever of him and I applaud him for it.
The book is split into three parts: part one is all from Dave’s point of view, part two is from Julia’s and part three is from both of theirs, switching every chapter.
Never Always Sometimes was heartbreaking, moving and hilarious. The whole question of “can a boy and girl be friends without ever getting into a relationship?” surrounds this book. Now, we all know that of course opposite sexes can be friends but it’s still an interesting concept to read about.
“Love was lazy as hell. Love laid around in bed, warm from the sheets and the sunlight pouring into the room. Love was too lazy too lazy to get up and close the blinds. Love was too comfortable to get up and go pee. Love took too many naps, it watched TV, but not really, because it was too busy kissing and napping. Love was also funny, which somehow made the bed feel more comfortable, the laughter warming the sheets, softening the mattress and the lovers’ skin.”
– Adi Alsaid, Never Always Sometimes
 
 
The whole plotline was also very very obvious, you knew what was going to happen 100 pages for it did (again, another cliché – on purpose or not, we will never know).
It’s interesting to see how Dave deals with his feelings for Julia and how he deals with starting to become popular and meet new people (and girls) after he starts doing the Nevers List.
Alsaid is a brilliant writer. His words just flow really easy and the characters are 100% relatable in the way that they deal with situations (even when they handle them badly). The one thing that I thought was a bit odd was the four-year time jump at the beginning. I’m not a massive fan of time jumps. Six months or a year I can handle, but four years? I wasn’t too happy but after reading about the characters for a while, I finally understood why the time jump was so important.

This is a good book. It’s a nice, easy read but I’m not so sure whether the all of clichés that were in the story were there on purpose. Everything was just too obvious and because of this, it made the book feel a bit silly. The very ending wasn’t the best either, some of it could have been gotten rid of but apart from those few points, this book was a good read and I do recommend it.