The Month In Books: April

So, is it me, or are the months going by reaaally fast?! I'm not sure I like it! 

Anyway, here we are with another wrap up for the month! There are a couple of books missing because I have books all over the place right now and keep failing to locate them! 

I actually managed to read 14 books I think this month, Jane Steele is missing though! Now everyone keeps saying to me how well I'm doing with my GoodReads challenge, I'm nearly half way I think? Well that's because of manga and graphic novels, mostly manga. You can see below how many manga volumes I read this month, I'm beginning to think I should exclude manga and graphic novels from my GoodReads challenge, I feel like I'm cheating! 

Look at all the manga I read...I can't even. But then it only takes me like 45 minutes or so to read one volume....no wonder I read so many! Honestly all of these books pictured are so original and fun and deserve a read! 

The Seven Deadly Sins Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

I love this manga series and I loved the anime, which I actually watched first! I'm beginning to see now where the anime has deviated here and there from the manga! I'm loving all the different magics and the little intrigues and so on, but it's left off in an annoying place! 

Blue Exorcist Vol 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Basically, I've been waiting ages for volume 9 but it got lost in the post and I've had to re-order it and it only just showed up in time for me to read all of the volumes left just before May started! I'm not all caught up on Blue Exorcist, and man was the anime waaaay off base! 

Seraph of The End Vol 1

This went in a direction I wasn't expecting, it was like...the vampires where lying and I don't know why I thought that wasn't the case but there you go! I'm intrigued to see what's going to happen in this one although I KNEW that dude was alive. I KNEW IT. 

Twin Star Exorcists Vol 1, 2, 3

I'm now one volume away from being caught up and this time I didn't know the dude was still alive! This one managed to surprise me as well, I caught the first few minutes of the anime and it intrigued me, although I was a bit iffy at first, again...I'm intrigued to see where this one is going. 

Fairy Tail Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

I love Fairy Tail okay, and reading the manga is going back in time for me because I've watched nearly all of the anime, and I'm enjoying seeing how things are or aren't different in the manga and reading back favourite scenes from the anime. This is another one with an expansive world and amazing magic!

DC Bombshells: Enlisted

This is so awesome I can't even! It's World War Two but with all our favourite ladies getting involved, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Harley Quinn and so on and I love the art, I love the story, and I need volume two now but I can't find a release date! Even Constantine is in this! 

Harley Quinn and Power Girl

This is a bind up of the 6 volume spin off from the Harley Quinn New 52 comic series, and I finally got around to reading it...it was interesting. I love Harley Quinn, and she was brilliant in this, but this one hit a bit of a weird point! I was like okaaaayyy, this is odd! But it was still good! 

Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted

Everyone raves about this and now I can see why, I'm glad I picked it up and volume two is SO CLOSE! I just completely loved this one, I read Silk recently as well and I love both of the two so much! I haven't actually read that many Spider-Man comics, because I haven't found one I like, but I'm loving Gwen as a Spidey person! 

Mug that I am, I decided to take these photos when it was hailing one minute and sunny the next and lighting was not my friend okay! Which is why Storm and Stone is nearly whited out! These are the review books and books from my TBR that I delved in to this month! 

The Amber Shadows by Lucy Ribchester

I'm a little bit in love with Lucy Ribchester okay, I loved Hourglass Factory and I completely loved Amber Shadows. This time around it's WW2 and we're getting a nice in depth look at Bletchley Park and all that went on there, along with a nice little mystery thrown in. Ribchester blows my mind with the amount of research she does, every single time. 

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

You guys voted for me to read this and I'm so glad you did! I love Rachel Caine and I started reading and I was a bit like...so when's this going to get going? Nothing much was happening, but then it got better and better and things got going and I became engrossed in this book, and I need the second book now! It's so original and I was enjoying picturing the world of the book and what things would be like! 

Love Song by Sophia Bennett

Ah, my kinda guilty pleasure! I loved this, I only meant to read a chapter or two and ended up reading the whole thing in one go and getting a really late night! The soundtrack was brilliant, the romance was adorable, and the book was about so much more than the romance! 

Storm and Stone, Stung and Shaken by Joss Stirling

So, basically, I got sent Shaken to review and I decided it was time to re-read the first two books! Check out my super old original cover for the first book! I really need to re-buy it so it matches the others! Anyway, Joss Stirling is one of my favourite authors, I love her Savant series and I'm loving this series, although I can't believe we STILL haven't had Joe's story! Anyway, these ones are thrillers, there's action and mystery and SUCH CUTE romance! 

Order of The Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

I still can't believe this is the biggest Harry Potter book and my lord. I read this and then watched the movie and I can't believe that I forgot just how much had been cut from the book, I mean obviously a lot had been but still! I also hate book Umbridge a little bit more than the movie version! 

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima

 I was intrigued by this book okay, but I was really surprised at how much I ended up loving it because I was a bit eh in the beginning and not really grabbed until things got going a bit in to the book, and from that point I completely loved it! There's magic and action and adventure and dodgy villains, and rich history and politics and romance and it was so brilliant, and I need to read the authors others books! 

Chasing The Stars by Malorie Blackman

Yes, I had some issues with this because of the ending, it's an open ending and I hate those, and in this case the ending was perfect except for how the romance was wrapped up, I found myself a little bit disappointed even though I'd loved the book! The insta-love thing was done in a way that didn't annoy me as much as they usually do, I think the fact one of the characters is a bit iffy about the whole thing made it seem more realistic and less..kind of...really!? If you know what I mean! 

The Silver Tide by Jen Williams

The final book in a trilogy that I have enjoyed and I'm quoted in the front of this book! JUST SAYING! Anyway, I was very satisfied with the ending for this, and I'm still a huge shipper of Frith and Wydrin. That is all haha! 

Knights of The Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden 

Bloody brilliant, original, fun, full of action and kinda dark. I found myself getting so involved in this book it was insane. I loved all the original takes on things, how rich the lore of the book was, there where creepy bits, other bits full of action, and it leaves you wanting so much more! 

Riverkeep by Martin Stewart

This one intrigued me when it showed up as a surprise book parcel, and it had a really cool map and I liked the sound of it. I started to read it and I mean...all of the author names on the front of the proof are correct, there was a little bit of everyone in there, with the authors own voice. It was dark, it was really imaginative, and I actually found it a little bit uncomfortable to read because Wull's father reminded me a bit of my Grandad right towards the end of his illness. 

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

This took me way longer to read than it should have, purely because I'm nearing a reading slump, I've completely burnt myself out! But I loved this book, I see now why everyone raves about Brandon Sanderson and I'm eager to get the other books in this series read, and then delve in to the other worlds he's created in his other books. This book was so original and had a brilliant magic system, I loved the heist vibes it had and the characters and how they worked together. It's definitely one to get lost in! 

And there we have all the books I've read this month, I mostly read all the manga because I was finding it hard to actually read an actual book! How did you guys get on with your TBR piles for the month? Good? Bad? Let me know! 

Review: Flamecaster

Flamecaster
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Harper 360! 

Adrian sul’Han, known as Ash, is a trained healer with a powerful gift of magic—and a thirst for revenge. Ash is forced into hiding after a series of murders throws the queendom into chaos. Now Ash is closer than he’s ever been to killing the man responsible, the cruel king of Arden. As a healer, can Ash use his powers not to save a life but to take it? 

Abandoned at birth, Jenna Bandelow was told that the mysterious magemark on the back of her neck would make her a target. But when the King’s Guard launches a relentless search for a girl with a mark like hers, Jenna assumes that it has more to do with her role as a saboteur than any birth-based curse. Though Jenna doesn’t know why she’s being hunted, she knows that she can’t get caught.

Eventually, Ash’s and Jenna’s paths will collide in Arden. Thrown together by chance and joined by their hatred of the king, they will come to rescue each other in ways they cannot yet imagine.

Set in the world of the acclaimed Seven Realms series a generation later, this is a thrilling story of dark magic, chilling threats, and two unforgettable characters walking a knife-sharp line between life and death.

This is the first book I've read by the author, and I have a feeling it's going to be the first of many! After reading this I'm thinking I definitely need to read the Seven Realms books! Although if you haven't read them you can easily read this...I did after all! I got completely lost in this book and managed to read it in a few hours, like it managed to tear me away from Harry Potter! 

I love fantasy books, and this is one of the best YA ones that I've read in a while. It was complex but still easy to read, it wasn't too complicated to understand, there weren't too many characters to keep track of. While I love Game of Thrones, I feel like I need a chart or something to remember who everyone is, the amount of times a character appears and I'm like...who are you!? Is insane. But I knew who everyone was in this book, I could keep track, I understood everything going on in this book and it was still delightfully complex. There where no overblown descriptions or drawn out dialogue. I completely loved the authors writing style! 

The magic system was intriguing and original, and I found myself wanting to know more about it and all the ins and outs of it! It was what intrigued me first when I started reading, swiftly followed by some of the events in the opening chapters. The opening chapters really hooked me in and I found myself completely lost in the book. The author has written the world of the book in such a way that you can get completely lost in it. It's vivid and it comes alive as you read about it, the mental map of the world is getting filled in and you can picture each setting, picture the characters and the buildings and the ship and the creatures. 

The world, the story, the characters....all completely sucked me in to the book. I was too busy reading to eat lunch, nor did I realise that it was actually lunch time. I loved reading about the magic, the history of the world, the politics of it, it was all so rich and cleverly written. The different Kingdoms intrigue you and leave you wishing for a glimpse of them! I'm really hoping to get a better look at Ash's kingdom next book because I'm so intrigued from what was said by other characters! Trying to work out who was up to what was not only fun, but also kind of impossible. I found myself being constantly surprised by plot twists and characters not being what I thought they where or not being up to what I thought they where. It was completely fantastic! 

Like I said, the plot was complex. There where many threads to it and lots going on. Action, romance, adventure, intrigues and more. The pace was completely perfect, the plot twists ramped up the surprise as we built up towards the end of the book. There's plenty still to be explored in the next book, plenty still to find out, and the set up for the next book has been expertly done without taking away from the story in this book, there's a few threads left tantalisingly dangling ready for the next book. 

Character-wise there's a brilliant cast of characters. The King of Arden is suitably evil and villainous. He really has something coming to him. I actually cheered when Jenna punched him! I was so intrigued by Ash's dad from the little we saw of him, it has to be said! Ash/Adrian was so determined to get revenge, he blames himself for things, and he's clever and sneaky and kind of badass with his poison know how. But he does use his healing powers for good! I'm intrigued to see him when he gets back home, to see if he changes or anything. I really liked his character, he was brilliantly written and you can't help but cheer for him and understand his point of view, even if you don't agree with the killing. 

Jenna was so brave and courageous, she too is determined to get revenge. She's intelligent and quick thinking, and I completely loved her. She reacted so realistically to the situations she found herself in, and I have my suspicions about what she is because she's definitely something and it'll be interesting to watch it play out over the next books. Lila I wasn't too sure of in the beginning, because she came across as a bit dodgy, but then you get completely surprised by what she's really up to and you suddenly understand her motivations in the beginning. She's completely hilarious, her first scene with Ash cracked me up. She's intelligent, she's badass and she's definitely more than meets the eye. The author certainly knows how to write brilliant female characters who are just as badass as the boys! 

Destin is our fourth main character as it were, or at least our fourth POV. He was a surprise, he was a lot nicer than I was expecting and he is definitely up to something I just haven't quite worked out what yet. I'm intrigued to find out more about him in the next book, because he's more than he seems. He doesn't get on with his Dad, he's in some interesting company and he's intriguing. As I've said, we get four POV's and I loved each and every one. Destin's was an opportunity to try to work out what his motivations where and what he was up to, for instance. These different POV's add in threads, give you various characters motivations as well as their own and really rounds out the story. Each had an entertaining narrative and as soon as one person's narrative was done, you kind of wished for it back as you started the next persons and then the process repeated! 

There's plenty of other characters as well, Marina in particular became a favourite of mine, although only towards the end because she was by far the most surprising character of the book, I mean I really didn't see it coming with her. More cheering ensued shall we say! I also liked Evan as well, I wasn't too sure of him and his motivations but I did like his character and I was intrigued because he is more than he seems, and the end certainly proved that. But then again everyone is more than they appear by the looks of it! 

I loved the developing friendship between Ash and Lila and I'm looking forward to more of it in the next book, they make me chuckle! No romance though please because I'm fully on board the Ash/Jenna ship! I loved the romance, it was so adorable and then it broke my heart and I'm gutted by how things where left and hoping it sorts itself out in the next book! I'm so ridiculously excited for the next book already because I'm hoping to meet more of Ash's family and see more of his home, I'm hoping to find out more about Jenna and what Destin is up to and Evan and there's SO MUCH that I still need to know! 

Flamecaster is the start of what's sure to be a brilliant series, it's an incredibly original and imaginative fantasy. The cast of characters are well written and each has their own personality that leaves an impression. There's so much intrigue and action and magic, there's romance threaded through that's secondary and doesn't take over the book, it's hard to stop reading it because you become so engrossed in it! 

April TBR

It's Aaappprrriiilllll! 
Which means it's time for a new TBR post! Normally I'd video this but I'm out of action on the videoing front for the time being so I'm doing a proper blog post instead! 
My April TBR so far is just review books, my classic for the month and my Harry Potter book for the month! It shouldn't take me too long to read them to be honest, so I'll end up reading some other books off of my TBR but rather than picking those out now, I thought I'd just decide at the time! 

Shaken

Shaken is the third book in a series that I love by an author that I love, I'm so excited to read it that I'm gonna re-read the other two first, even though I don't really need to because they don't really carry on from each other! These books are seriously awesome you guys! 

Love Song

Review book number one! It's a romance all about a girl who's the brand new assistant for the fiancée of a bands lead singer. She doesn't particularly like the band and there's loads of backstage drama, it should be a fun read! 

Riverkeep

This was a surprise book post book, and it came with a totally cool map and I'm intrigued to start it! It's about a family who look after a river, and the main characters father ends up getting possessed by a spirit and our MC has to find the cure which is in the belly of a sea beast! 

Knights of The Borrowed Dark

In this book we have our MC who's living in an orphanage, he's taken to meet his long lost aunt but is attacked on the way. Turns out there's monsters and an ancient order of Knights that he's connected to but they're a little bit on the shady side, it would seem! 

Flamecaster

I do love a fantasy, and I'm excited for this one! We have Ash who's a healer out for revenge and Jenna who's got a mysterious mark on the back of her neck and is being hunted down because of it. There's a series of murders throwing everything in to chaos and both Ash and Jenna don't really like the King all that much so I'm sensing a team up coming! 

Chasing The Stars

I love Malorie Blackman and it's been an age since I've read one of her books! Noughts and Crosses is the last one I read...well the last book in that series anyway! Othello in space. Yep. Sounds awesome right!? You have Olivia who's headed back to Earth with her twin after a mysterious virus wipes out their family and the crew. Then you have Nathan who's ship's attacked and who's one of the few survivors. The two meet, romance ensues, there's some murder and ya know....space! 

Emma

Yep, I'm going for my third Austen book! Persuasion might actually be my favourite so we'll see where this ranks on my Austen scale! I'm reading this for the 2016 Classics Challenge and I'm going to be buddy reading it with Rebecca! From what I gather, our main character is a bit of a matchmaker and things don't go as planned! 

Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix

After re-reading Goblet of Fire and realising quite how much is left out the film, I'm intrigued to compare this to the adaption! I'm really enjoying this HP re-read and I can't believe I haven't done it sooner! We have the reason I don't like the colour pink in this book....Umbridge. *shudder* 

So that's my April TBR, and once I've read those I'm going to be grabbing stuff off my TBR but I thought I'd wait and see what mood I was in rather than picking now! I'm hoping to get a fair few read this month, my goal for the year is to clear my TBR, or at least...most of it! The reviews for the books that I am reviewing will be up on the blog in the coming weeks! I'm not sure whether I'll be doing a video for Emma or just doing a blog post, it depends on how I'm feeling! 

Let me know what's on your April TBR down below!