Wishing For Wednesday #68

Hey guys! 
This week I've managed to find you another two exciting reads! 
First up is one from GoodReads! I have quite the knack for stumbling upon books on there and I've not been disappointed with one yet! I'm so intrigued by this one it ticks all my "yaaaaaaassss" boxes!
Second is a new book from Kiera Cass. Now. I haven't read The Selection, but they are on my "need to get on"list! I've heard such good things about The Selection and I'm eager to get started on them, and reading the synopsis for The Siren has intrigued me to another level! I'll probably get to read that before the series actually haha! 

The Dark Days Club

London, April 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation to the Queen. Her life should be about gowns and dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family's housemaids goes missing, Lady Helen is drawn to the shadows of Regency London.

There, she finds William, the Earl of Carlston. He has noticed the disappearance, too, and is one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of powerful demons that has infiltrated every level of society. But Lady Helen’s curiosity is the last thing Carlston wants—especially when he sees the searching intelligence behind her fluttering fan. Should Helen trust a man whose reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her headstrong sense of justice lead them both into a death trap?

The Dark Days Club is out January 21st, pre-order your copy....here!
Add it to your TBR....here! 

The Siren

A girl with a secret.
The boy of her dreams.
An Ocean between them.

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again. 

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude...until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of.

Falling in love with a human breaks the Ocean’s rules. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

The Siren is out January 28th, pre-order your copy...here! 

Add it to your TBR....here!

The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School

The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Titan! 

A week after Mother found her sleeping on the ceiling, Amy Thomsett is delivered to her new school, Drearcliff Grange in Somerset. Although it looks like a regular boarding school, Amy learns that Drearcliff girls are special, the daughters of criminal masterminds, outlaw scientists and master magicians. Several of the pupils also have special gifts like Amy’s, and when one of the girls in her dormitory is abducted by a mysterious group in black hoods, Amy forms a secret, superpowered society called the Moth Club to rescue their friend. They soon discover that the Hooded Conspiracy runs through the School, and it's up to the Moth Club to get to the heart of it. 

Daaammnnn this book is SO GOOD! I'm a big Kim Newman fan, meaning I've only read Anno Dracula basically. Just gonna admit that straight away! This intrigued me because of the whole floating on the ceiling, school for the daughters of criminal masterminds etc. I immediately read that and was like SIGN ME UUUUUPPPP! 

The story starts straight away with Amy arriving at the school, no chapters of discovering the powers and faffing about. It's straight in there. In a way it kind of reminded me of St. Trinians, not entirely sure why. I think it's because all these girls and their schemes and the way things work at the school and stuff. Unlike St. Trinians this is darker, and it's kind of like a superhero origin story with the Moth Club. There's also powers and different abilities and stuff. There was just something about this that I can't really put my finger on exactly, that really reminded me of St. Trinians but maybe I'm wrong haha! I think it was the houses and the "the sporty girls, the posh girls" and so on. 

Drearcliff is a YA and it's incredibly different, I know I'm not the only one who likes books that are a little bit unique, a little bit original and so on. This book is full of originality! It's dark fantasy, and is incredibly sinister as the book goes on and the plot thickens. I loved how it started out fairly normal, but got darker and more sinister as the book went on and added the fantasy in more and more. I loved watching it build and develop, and as you read on this feeling of unease and not right-ness builds until it all comes to a head. 

I've not really read many boarding school stories, except for some Enid Blyton when I was younger, so I can't really compare it to other books out there right now other than to say it's obviously going to be very different. Like them almost, but darker....duh! That being said, adults could read this just as easily as teens and young adults. As you read you won't get the sense that it's for a younger audience with things simplified or a bit cheesy. The plot was very complex, with lots of different threads going in to it to keep you guessing. It was incredibly well written and I was never entirely sure what was going to happen next. 

I loved how it was divided in to three parts, and in the first part it was like a mystery book, trying to find their kidnapped friend. Then as you go in to the second part, it changes and there's this new girl and that's when it starts to get darker. The people who kidnapped her are still at large and you see how much more is going on, and then in part three it's like the final battle for the school. Each part is slightly different, even though the last two parts are the same main plot thread as it where. I'm really not explaining this very well! There where different stages basically! I just got the sense that I was reading stories within stories and I loved it. There genuinely where all these little stories about other girls, the teachers and events and the book was dark, but also so much fun. 

There's adventure and mystery and strange goings on and the storytelling is completely fantastic. I loved the imagery the author creates, I loved the language/writing style. Like I said, it makes everything in to a story. There's twists and turns all over the place. I was particularly partial to the story about the ship under the school, and the stories about the army manoeuvre type exercises one of their teachers has them doing as part of the Women's Auxiliary Army. The book is genuinely funny with all these moments of humour that just go so well with the darker undertones of the book. Could have done without all the ant imagery though, it made my skin crawl a bit! 

The characters where all so lively and interesting. Kali and her way of speech learned from the Americans. Amy herself and her moths and alter ego. Light Fingers and her parentage and ability. Frecks just in general, I loved her she was one of my favourites along with Amy! Then you've got the more vile characters like Gryce and her cronies determined to keep up school Spirit. The characters where one of the things that made the book so authentic. As you're reading you're remembering bits from school like "ah yes....I may not have been to a boarding school but that's bringing back some memories". 

Every single character is memorable, and they're a colourful and diverse cast of characters. Like I said, the vile characters perfectly spring in to mind as they go about their villainous ways. Then you have our crew of four, kind of like the Musketeers. THEN you have all the rest. The snitcher, Palgraive who's brain has been eaten by a maggot,  Marsh and her gills! OH and the one girl that's in every school, who makes up all these wild stories was also present! I liked how she changed when the Black Skirts arrived. Just saying! They're all very eccentric I think and I enjoyed meeting all of them and learning about their place as it where in the hierarchy of the school. Like I said there's a school snitcher, there's another one who's obsessed with a teacher, then there's one that makes people a bit forgetful. I loved learning about the different abilities. The interaction between characters is genuine and authentic and funny and it's so easy to get lost reading this book and just read and read and read. 

I loved the Moth Club, I loved how Amy's obsession with moths was explored, it was very original. The Moth Club really felt like the Musketeers and fledgling superheroes rolled in to one. When the Black Skirts came in to play, I t think the division between those with abilities and those without was done brilliantly. It all felt almost uncomfortably real and you couldn't help thinking on current affairs and past affairs although on a lesser scale. 

The book has so much detail to it, you learn about the school rules, official and unofficial and I imagine as you arrive at the school with Amy you feel just as overwhelmed as she is as all the rules become apparent. The slang and wording of the time was done perfectly, the way the teachers acted. You always had one horrific teacher, and others on varying levels. Never have I ever been to a school where all the teachers where fantastic and amazing and nice. It's not real. Drearcliff has a range which is much more authentic. The teachers themselves all had little stories to go with them that the girls discuss, and rumours and so on that was another nice little authentic detail. 

The book is set, from what I worked out, sometime in the 20's or 30's, I think 20's because I don't think it was long after the war from things that where said. I loved the setting. I loved seeing how the girls and their families where effected as well as the school and the country in general by the war and the aftermath. It was genuinely interesting to read about. Frecks Uncle in particular, he was in the Pendragon Squadron, and had this chainmail from the Lady of the Lake. I freaking LOVED that detail. But also love how it was kept real with Frecks saying he was a man of war, like, he was useful in the war but after the war he didn't really have much to do and wasn't good at much else. It was so real and so heart breaking to read that because it's what was true for a lot of people I imagine at the end of the war. I just love the detail and the stories the other girls had about their war experiences and their families, it was present everywhere. Most people who wrote a book set after the war, wouldn't mention it much. Newman takes a very authentic approach and it's just brilliant. The war and the aftermath is in the mindset of the teachers (hello army manoeuvres) and the girls I think as they go off to do battle. I just liked that it wasn't mentioned once and then swept under the rug, it was present everywhere and it was such a nice touch. As I keep saying. I'm babbling because I can't find the words I'm looking for!

SO much happens in the book. It's such a satisfying read when you come to the end. Newman teases you as well with this one little chapter that whips us forward in time. It also shows that ya know....Newman has looooaaaddsss of ideas for potential other Drearcliff books. Just saying. I wouldn't be complaining if it becomes a series, I'd be cheering. It was so brilliantly British and I want to read more about the girls and their adventures especially after the near teaser trailer Newman gives us! 

The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School is a completely fantastic read. Descending father in to darkness and getting more sinister as you read on it keeps you guessing and allows you to fall in to the world completely. I'm not sure why I pictured everything in dreary tones but I did. The imagery and the setting where fantastic. Newman has a way of storytelling that makes everything in to a great story, even if it's only a tale about a teacher. The book is so authentic and so genuine and is funny as well as serious. It's such a dose of originality and I loved every page! 

The Month In Books: November

Merry December guys! 

I'm so excited for this month because I just really love Christmas and I'm kinda hoping for snow, not going to lie. But then I hope for that every Christmas! 

I read a grand total of 13 books in the month of November, less than usual but more than last month so wooooo! 

I wasn't exactly in a reading slump this month, I was actually really excited to re-read a favourite series of mine but for some reason I just took ages to read and let myself be distracted by everything! It just took ages. It was like "I could read but then I could watch loads of episodes of Gotham.....again". Yeah. Annoying! 

I'm currently in the process of planning out this months...stuff! I've got a few ideas for some blog posts as well as photos. I'm planning to do photos similar to my Halloween Reads ones over on my tumblr, but I'm struggling because I can only really think of Christmas Carol and The Snow Queen! If you have any suggestions comment me! 

I'm also well aware that I'm getting a camera for Christmas because I grabbed it in Black Friday deals! Because of this, not only will my photos in the New Year be better.....but I'm contemplating finally starting to do videos. I'm a bit nervous about doing it because it's so very different from acting you know...being my awkward self with my London accent....so we'll see! I'll most likely video a December Haul of some sort or something! 

In other news....I have a giveaway running over on my Instagram for a copy of Obsidian in honour of the release of Oblivion, so head on over there to check it out! 

So on with the wrap up! Also, the lighting was not great for these photos but I ran out of time and had to make do! 

Books Read This Month: 

The Masked City

Oblivion

The Osiris Ritual

Dangerous Days in Ancient Egypt

Touch of Frost

Kiss of Frost

Dark Frost

Crimson Frost

Midnight Frost

Killer Frost

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Hollow City

Library of Souls

Touch of Frost etc is the series I wanted to re-read so badly. I just really was in the mood and figured I wouldn't be able to focus on reading anything else until I finally gave in and did it! So I made time to do it after reviewing Peregrine's Home! They're also the only books that aren't review books read from this month and as you can see....I failed at my whole "starting to read a classic a month" thing. *sigh* this month....I swear! 

Books Bought This Month:

Pride and Prejudice

Inferno

Lady Chatterley's Lover

Madame Bovary

Unspoken

Dark Heart of Magic

Newt's Emerald

The Archived

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

As you can probably tell, I'm slowly but surely collecting all the Word Cloud Classics and Barnes and Noble Leatherbounds! I'm actually making more progress with those than my Penguin Clothbound Classics collection and English Library haha. Although, B&N have loads of leather bounds you can't get over here...damn you B&N! Unspoken and Dark Heart of Magic are next in series books and Newt's Emerald and The Archived I've heard SO much about and ya know....the author of The Archived is one of my faaaaaves!

Books Received This Month: 

The Masked City

Oblivion

Front Lines

The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School

Those Below

The One-In-a-Million Boy

So I've been incredibly lucky again this month and I'm so grateful! The Masked City, Oblivion and Those Below are three of my most anticipated books! Front Lines and Drearcliff caught my eye and I love Kim Newman anyway! Front Lines is actually my first Michael Grant book, I stumbled on it on GoodReads! One In A Million boy was a surprise! 

What was your month in books like? 

Oblivion

Oblivion
Rating: 5/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy! DUHHH!
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black…

I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it. 

And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are. 

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game. 

Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...

First, I just have to say, it took a Herculean effort to post this on pub day as asked, rather than on Black Friday so I could make a Daemon Black/Black Friday pun. Seriously. 

Yes, this is Obsidian, the first Lux book, from Daemon's point of view and PRAISE.THE.LORD! Genuinely I thought I was hallucinating when I saw what Oblivion was about! I mean...seriously, if you're a Lux fan you've probably always thought about it and hoped for it and then BOOM. It happened! And if you buy the eBook, you get the next two freaking books from his POV as well.....I CANNOT EVEN! I'm all over that when it's out! 

When you read Obsidian, you genuinely sit there and wonder what Daemon is thinking during certain scenes. What motivated his attitude and his behaviour and choices and so on and this book gives you that and more! You see his thought process, see what he thought of Katy and what his feelings for her where and how they developed! There's gaps filled in from the first book, lots of bits where Katy wasn't present, or what was going on before she walked in to a scene or something she mentions happening being shown, like a conversation with her and Daemon about something and so on. There's also new scenes, obviously! 

I genuinely was squealing as I was reading, I mean the beginning scene and there where so many cute moments both from the first book and just from Daemon in general. Obsidian all comes flooding back as you read! I debated re-reading but a fellow Armentrout Army fangirl (The Book Chapter)  said to get on it straight away, because Obsidian comes flooding back so I did because I didn't really need much prompting, and she was so right! I have to say...it's been FANTASTIC to have someone to fangirl with, she's the only other fan I know of so if you're a fan of Jennifer and her books make yourselves known to us! She understands all the feels I'm feeling about this book! 

 I took ages to read my last book, even though it was one I loved, but as soon as I picked this up....I read most of it in mere hours. I finished it while puppy sitting and seriously. Cute little puppy all "play with meeee I'm so cute" and I'm like "sorry....Daemon is calling!". 

I had SO many feels while reading. I was squealing, I got all the warm and fuzzies, there was SO much cute. Like Daemon helping with the boxes. There's things you guessed about, and things you didn't know about Daemon doing or feeling that are confirmed and it's a feels fest. Genuinely. 

Daemon's inner monologue is freaking hilarious. Seriously, I was chuckling at his phrases and narrative. It was so entertaining, it's one of the many things about the book that keeps you reading, along with the writing, the plot and the characters and the FEELS. You see more about his relationship with Ash, you see more of the other Luxen in the beginning and get a feel for them through the eyes of someone who's known them a long while, it's a different side to them. 

Like I've said, there's plenty of other scenes not from Obsidian, not that I mind seeing scenes from the first book from Daemon's POV because, to going to lie, I do kinda read them and think "I'd love to know what Daemon was thinking"...but it's not all scenes from the first book! I know some people may be wary that's it's basically the first book, verbatim, scene for scene, but from Daemon's POV. It is Obsidian. But it's not exactly the same. Like I said....new scenes both with and without Katy. You get a more detailed and dimensional inner movie/picture of Obsidian as well as a complete look at their relationship. I love the well rounded feel I have right now from reading it in Daemon's POV and having little suspicions confirmed, and seeing all these little scenes not from the first book. There's even some scenes from the first book NOT in this book. They're mentioned, but it's not shown again and I loved that. It's like Armentrout KNOWS exactly what scenes we want to see! 

This is actually my first time reading a book from the heroes POV and I must say, it was so well done and I loved every page of it. The thing I loved about Lux before was the originality and the characters and the vivid setting and the plot and just everything basically okay. It's all present again, it sucks you back in to the world again. I loved Katy so much in the books, she's one of my all time favourite character's as she's so much like me. Beyond the blogger thing that is! So it was really fun seeing her through someone else's eyes and knowing what she was thinking while you see a scene as Daemon's experiencing it. Her personality and everything I loved about her in the other books still came through even though she wasn't the one narrating. 

I loved Dee as well, and I know we got to know her so much over the course of the books, but I feel like this book has added another layer to her. You see how much she cared about Katy right from the beginning in the way she called Daemon out and was upset whenever he was rude and horrible and I mean, I know we saw some of it in Obsidian but still. Seeing Daemon's reasoning behind the behaviour though....my FEELS! 

Oblivion is the book made of dreams for any Lux fan. There's an olympic level of "awwwww" in the scenes. So. Much. Cute! I fangirled, I squealed, and I was gutted when it was over because I wanted to carry on reading from his POV. I was never bored or had a sense of deja vu because I saw scenes from Obsidian with new eyes, and new scenes added to the story told in Obsidian. I think Jennifer has done an amazing job with this, and it's like she looked in to our brains and knew exactly what scenes we wanted to see! Daemon as a narrator is entertaining and the book overall, much like Obsidian, was hilarious and fun and just a fantastic read. Jennifer's books are my go to when I'm feeling down as they always pick me up, but then I can read them in any mood to be honest! This book is genuinely perfect and I'm excited to get the eBook and read the next two books from Daemon's POV! 

Wishing For Wednesday #67

Hey guys! 
Another week another Wednesday! 
December doesn't have all that much in the way of books coming out, so this month's WFW is pretty much all releases you can look forward to in January!
Okay so, I recently read The Darkest Minds and I still have to read the other two, AND the novellas...but I loved it and I love Bracken's writing style. That's not the only reason I'm excited for Passenger though, I just freaking love the premise and have heard good things from other bloggers already!
Second is another book from one of my favourite authors, there's nothing from Armstrong that I haven't loved and I'm so intrigued and excited by this one. She always does something different, and they're always an exciting read! 

Passenger

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever

Passenger is out January 5th, pre-order your copy....here! 
Add it to your GoodReads....here! 

The City of the Lost

New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Kelley Armstrong delivers us to Rockton, a secret little town in the far north where the hunted go to hide. And where a hunter has now come to play.

Casey Duncan once killed a man and got away with it. Since then she’s become a talented police detective, tethered only to her job, her best friend, Diana, and the occasional evening with her sexy, no-strings-attached ex-con lover, Kurt. But then Diana's abusive ex finds her again, despite all Casey has done to help her disappear. And Casey’s own dark past begins to catch up with her. The two women need to run—and Diana’s heard of a place where they won’t be found, a town especially for people like them…

The City of the Lost is out January 14th, pre-order your copy.....here!

Add it to your TBR.....here! 

Awake Video!

Hellloooo!
It's Tuesday and I don't usually post on Tuesday so you're probably all confused right now because here I am! I'm also posting at an unusual time, but I have an exciting thing for you all! 
I was emailed by the lovely Melissa at Entangled Publishing to share a video with you guys. 

What video would that be? WELL. It's the new music video to go with Oblivion! Oblivion will have a full soundtrack and the video I get to share with you guys is the first full music video for the book. It's been inspired by the book so it'll make good listening before, after or just during your read of it. 

So without further babbling.....here it is! Enjoy the song and ya know....ogling Daemon. 



The lovely singer is Jolie and I have a handy link to her bio so you guys can check her out! 
http://www.entangledmusic.com/#!jolie/yhnrt

Check out my review of Oblivion......here! 

I'm also giving away a copy of Obsidian in honour of the release of Oblivion, so head on over to my instagram, (instagram.com/realitysabore) to enter! Keep your eyes peeled on my other social media sites as I may well have another copy up for grabs!