Review: Starborn

Starborn

Rating: 4/5

Buy or Borrow: BUY! 

Source: Copy Courtesy of the Publisher, Tor! 

Kyndra's fate holds betrayal and salvation, but the journey starts in her small village. On the day she comes of age, she accidentally disrupts an ancient ceremony, ending centuries of tradition. So when an unnatural storm targets her superstitious community, Kyndra is blamed. She fears for her life until two strangers save her, by wielding powers not seen for an age - powers fuelled by the sun and the moon.

Together, they flee to the hidden citadel of Naris. And here, Kyndra experiences disturbing visions of the past, showing war and one man's terrifying response. She'll learn more in the city's subterranean chambers, amongst fanatics and rebels. But first Kyndra will be brutally tested in a bid to unlock her own magic.

If she survives the ordeal, she'll discover a force greater than she could ever have imagined. But could it create as well as destroy? And can she control it, to right an ancient wrong?

Well. What a debut! I'm a huge fantasy fan, we all know this, and Starborn has lodged itself a place as one of my new favourites! Why? Because it was completely perfect. I mean, I only meant to read the first chapter or so and I ended up reading loads and getting to sleep way late but I got too wrapped up in the story! I don't want to be too spoilery but I do have to say there's a bit that gave me kind of Hogwarts vibes, if ya know....Hogwarts was inside a mountain and you had to be tortured to get in, and ya know...people where shady as. Honestly, I don't know why my brain went oooohhh how Hogwartsy but it did, and it's a more grown up Hogwarts, as it where. It has a super cool archives that I need in my life. Just saying! 

The world of the book and the history that goes with it is so completely rich and I enjoyed learning about it. You learned the right amount, when you needed to know it and there where no pages and pages of background information! It's all worked in to the narrative and the extract from Kyndra's book! I'd like to see more extracts! The book dives straight in, immediately immersing you in to the world as you read and the world starts to take form around you. It's very cinematic and very vivid. 

The book pulls you in from the start as it piques your curiosity. What is the relic? What's going to happen? What's going to happen NOW? Who are they? And so on. There's plenty of little intrigues to go along with the compelling writing that keeps you reading longer than you should! I was completely hooked on the mysteries of the book, and finding out more about the world and more about what was going to happen to Kyndra. 

Starborn maintains a steady pace throughout the book, a little slow at the beginning and at some points there wasn't much focus to the plot and when I took a break from reading I reflected and realised not much had happened. It was very plot driven in the beginning! The book is, however, steeped in mystery, there's so much for you to guess at and try to work out and the plot feeds you little pieces to help you try to put it together! There are plenty of surprises within the plot, I mean I knew Kyndra was something, and I had a pretty good idea what that something was but I was still surprised with how it came about and there where times when I thought I'd got it all wrong! The book went in a completely different direction to what I thought it would as well! 

I loved Kyndra right from the start, and then when her BFF was being a douche and she did the whole "I have a name" thing I was like "YOU GO KYNDRA!" and forever loved her after that! I felt for her throughout the entire book, especially with all the stuff with her friends. That doesn't mean there weren't points in the book when I wanted to give her a shake, because there where a few moments like that. I mean, she acknowledged she was doing something she shouldn't and that others where trying to help her and so on. Her visions where such a source of intrigue and told a mini story within the main story so I was surprised that they weren't focused on by some other characters more. 

Bregenne and Nedia intrigued me from the start, and I'd guessed about their magic but still wanted to know more about who they are and what their magic does and where they're from and so on. At times their motivations where a bit unclear to me, I wasn't sure if they where good or bad at some points in the beginning, but it turned around when they got their own POV's. 

Bregennes POV was genuinely fantastic because you got to know her and her motivations became clear and you gained an understanding of her character and her behaviour. At times she seemed cold and a little bid shady but after getting a glimpse in to her mind you see how she operates and start to come to like her. Nediah's POV, again, gave you an understanding of his motivations and where he stands. There where other POV's as well briefly Medvale the shadowy stranger, and a couple of Janus, although I will admit, while it was useful to see his motivations and find out that something dodgy was going on, there where a couple of bits that seemed a bit unnecessary for him, once you knew what he was up to. 

The POV's where well done, the changes come when you need them and really brought the book in to it's own, you finally started to connect with the other characters and get an idea of the world of the book. They added to the story, helped you to understand the characters, what they're going through and so on. 

Part one of the book was almost like a huge adventure with them travelling to the place where the majority of the book is set and where all the action takes place. I found part one to be the main part that was a bit slow, it was all Kyndra's POV, and while it was almost like an adventure, not much actually happened on the adventure. Except for the sky ship. The sky ship was super cool! It was also the source of most of the action in part one, along with events at the village! ANYWAY. When we come in to Part Two, we get more POV's and more is going on and there's more intrigues and mysteries to work out and the book really comes into it's own then. 

The world building of the book is the main strength of the book. It's unique, and like I said, very rich and really brings the book to life. There's magic, obviously, and there's so much more to the world than you originally realise. It's a big world as it is, but by the end of the book it becomes even bigger, and you realise the full potential of the next book with all the different places to explore, as well as the high stakes! There's a lot of politics in this book among the Wielders and the council members, and Bregenne breaking rules and so on. There's a lot of backstabbing and scheming going on, and it looks like in the next book there's going to be more politics on a larger scale. The politics of the book and the world of the book, where completely fascinating as you try to work out who's up to what! I'm telling you one character completely gets what's coming to them! Although ya know...this other horrible character is still alive and kicking, but hopefully book two will fix that! (I blame Game of Thrones for this argh kill all the evil, mentality). 

The book really does excel at making you feel emotion, I felt heartbroken for Kyndra more than once, I felt angry on her behalf more than once. I could understand where she was coming from and why she made every decision that she did, and even when she was doing stupid things, and she knew she was being unfair and you knew she was being unfair......you could still understand why she was doing it. 

The main characters where an interesting bunch, and there's more to them than meets the eye. I'd like to know more about Nediah in particular, we learned a bit about Bregenne but not so much about Nediah, and obviously we know loads about Kyndra! There are plenty of supporting cast that are also well created and brought to life in the book, like Iri! I loved Iri immediately, and I was really disappointed at one point but then she continued to be awesome so it was no problem! I wasn't sure of Gareth and Shika in the beginning but by the end of the book, they became part of the crew, and I'm eager to know more about them. Gareth has done the thing he wasn't supposed to do and is clearly suffering the consequences, which'll be interesting to watch play out! But he, Shika and Iri still have an air of mystery to them and I'm hoping we'll get to see more of them in the next book and learn more about them! 

The bad characters are the ones you kind of really, really hate but like hating them. Aledrand for example (seriously can we kill him please?!) was horrible and you just wanted to smack him one but at the same time he was a little bit pathetic and petty! There's another horrible character but that one's name will be too spoilery but honestly, he was such a good villain for the book! Janus I wanted to like, really I did and I was hoping he'd do the right thing but nope. Shame. I'm interested to see where the author goes with him next! I liked how with one character, he turned out to be more than we thought, but like...you kind of saw why he did what he did, but you saw two perspectives of him and what he did and it was interesting because he thought he was doing the right thing, but he did go about it in a horrible way. 

The ending of Starborn paves the way for the next book, I had not expected the direction it was going, and it tied up the story from this book, while having plenty of new possibilities open up and an already large world opens up in to a larger one ready to be explored. There's new issues that have come to light that will come in to play in the next book, and I'm excited to see how it all plays out! 

Wishing For Wednesday #74

Hey guys!
This week my excitement knows no bounds! 
First up is the third book in the Reckoners series, I need to actually catch up with this series, but I'm excited for the third book! 
Second....I'M SO EXCITED GUYS, SO EXCITED! I've been waiting AGES for the ADSOM sequel. AGES I TELL YOU! And it's FINALLY here.....it's SO near....yet....so far! SO EXCITED! I've got my ADSOM bookmarks ready and raring to go! 

Calamity

When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back. . .

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.


Calamity is out February 18th, pre-order your copy....here! 
Add it to your TBR.....here!

A Gathering of Shadows

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall.

A Gathering of Shadows is out February 23rd, pre-order your copy....here!

Add it to your TBR.....here!

Review: Winter

Winter
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: BUY! 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Puffin! 

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? 

It's over guys. It's really over! I can't believe it, I fell completely in love with this series! It's been a bit of a whirlwind journey for me, reading all the books in one go in order to review the final book, and I found myself procrastinating from reading in order to make the books go on longer, and spend more time in the world! I'm not usually one for sci-fi books but after all the hype surrounding these books I got curious, and I can now fully understand why everyone loves these books so much! They completely blew me away. They're complete perfection and each book gets better and better until you hit Winter, the 800 page Game of Thrones level book. Not gonna lie, it was intimidating. It's such a huge book, and it's the FINAL book and I kept not reading to make the incredibly huge book last longer. Which makes soooo much sense I know! 

Cress ended so completely perfectly, and so I dived in to this eagerly and it didn't disappoint. Winter, while intimidatingly long compared to the other books, wraps up the series perfectly. Everything is tied up, everyone gets their happy ending. Although there is some room in that for you to imagine for yourself exactly how things wrap up with the characters and how they get to their happy ending! 

I was so intrigued by Winter when we met her at the end of Cress, I wasn't sure if she was going to be an enemy or not or if she really was "crazy" or what she was going to do with Scarlet, so I was excited to meet her in Winter. She was so fantastically different, I loved the take on her seeing as she's a retelling of Snow White. It was such a wonderful take, having her actually refusing to use her gift and how it affected her and the ties to Snow White through it. Her POV was just fantastic as well, it was so interesting getting in to her characters head, and I loved how she wanted to help Selene just because they where childhood friends and ya know...Levana is pure evil, but still! 

Jacin was tricky for me, because like, in Cress I knew he didn't know who Cinder really was but he betrayed all of them and I know WHY he did it, but still! I really didn't like him when we left Cress. When I started Winter I wasn't entirely sure I'd ever actually like him, especially when he threw Cinder and some information right under the bus to get back in with Levana, knowing who Cinder was that time! He and Winter where cute, not going to lie, and I did find myself warming to him through Winter and how he was with her, but other times I still wanted to smack him one! Meeting two new characters was fun, and I love how even though it was the last book, we'd been building up to meeting Winter and we still got a well created, multi dimensional character. Introducing characters in to the last book, I was kinda worried that they wouldn't be as well created as the others, but they where every bit as fantastically brought to life as the others, and you got a real feel for the both of them, and the two of them together! 

Each of the books continue on smoothly from each other, and the transition from Cress to Winter was flawless! Winter resumes on Luna after some time has passed since the end of Cress, and we get a much better glimpse at Luna and how it works politically and what it's like on Luna, as we spend a lot of time on Luna. The world building for the books has been so vivid and well done, and Luna was no exception in this book, you can easily picture what it would look like, what the people would look like. The writing is so fantastic and it creates the world around you, allowing you to form pictures of the world/settings and the characters as you read, and you end up falling in to the world of the book. The characters while being while created, where also ethnically diverse which was brilliant to see, and there was the perfect blend of seriousness and humour thanks mostly to Thorne and Cinder! All of the books, not just Winter have you laughing one minute and kind of heartbroken the next as events play out. 

The history of the world in the books, and of Luna was fascinating and I still kinda wanna know more about it all! The world building was already pretty extensive, but with the addition of Luna and new details being added about the world it just gets better and better. 

We've seen the characters grow and develop over the course of the books and this is no exception as you see Cress really come in to her own, trying to be brave and courageous, and Cinder dealing with all the responsibility she has and Thorne trying to be a hero for example. I also feel like we got to know Kai a bit better through this book, he was present in the other books, but not much and in this book we see him a bit more! The characters are just so well created, and brought to life off the page. Each one has their own distinctive voice and has a different personality that has lots of different elements to it. They're complex characters, even the newer characters of Winter and Jacin who we only just started to get to know. They're just such vibrant characters that really stand out and stick in your memory. The different distinctive voices of the characters really come in to play with the POV changes, making sure you know exactly which character is narrating. The switches between POV's are flawless and perfectly timed to move the story on and the different threads of it. Although sometimes stuff is happening, and the POV changes and you're like NOOOOOOO GO BACK GO BACK! 

It also has to be said that the supporting characters are just as lively and colourful as the main characters, and they're also complex, and there's a lot to them. Liam for example, I really wanted to see more of him! Torin is another example, he was a constant presence in the book and I thought he was one thing, and then I'd see him in a different light as he was with Kai. 

There are so many ships to be shipped guys, it's kind of insane. The romances are each perfectly pitched and are so freaking cute! Each girl has kind of their perfect match, I mean for Thorne my brain was so seeing Flynn Rider as well as ya know...a bit of Captain Jack Sparrow and he really brought Cress out of herself and helped her become the person she is at the end of the book by being supportive and watching out for her. I'm not going to lie Thorne is my favourite character, he made me chuckle so many times and I just loved him from the start, like don't get me wrong, I love Cinder and Kai and all the others but Thorne is the one I was like "yup. bae" so his romance with Cress was also my favourite because while Thorne was good for her, she was also good for him because of her Thorne was trying to be more heroic at the end. It was all the cutest and the best to watch develop as they where with each other the whole time whereas all the others ended up separated for so long. 

I loved the bits at the beginning with our little band of misfits on the ship, I'd have loved to have seen more of it to be honest, although poor Wolf! But Cinder and Kai where finally reunited and clearing the air and everything, and Kai was all out of his element which was kind of adorable. I love them together I do, it's totally cute, especially with the foot! Wold and Scarlet are also adorable, and his dealing with their separation made me feel for him so badly! 

The books have built up to this book and the moments in this book so perfectly with the pace picking up and more and more happening and more threads added. Winter was so perfectly paced despite being like 800 pages. There's so much action and so many plot twists and it's so hard to put the book down once you pick it up, but you find yourself trying to make the book last longer! It was kinda hard to pick it back up because I knew the onslaught of feels that where going to come! There's never a dull moment, it's not filled with waffle, every single page continues the story perfectly with the pacing spot on. It's all relevant information to the plot, nothings rushed and nothing drags. It's perfectly crafted, not going to lie. 

When you hit a certain point, things pick up even more and kick up to another level, and you're having actual reactions to the book even more, gasping and talking and shouting at the book and so on! The momentum leading up to the end had you turning pages frantically, you could feel the tension and the suspense like it was a physical thing. It was heart stopping, and had me on the edge of my seat and there was genuine shouting happening! 

I completely and utterly love the takes on the fairytales and the elements that have been included and in some cases twisted to fit the world of the book, it's so original and so brilliantly and I kinda fangirl a bit whenever an element or thing from the fairytale in question pops up. Some of them actually even have elements from two fairytales I swear! 

Another thing I love is that the world of the book is genuinely terrifying. I think it's one of the elements that brings the book to life and along with the world building pulls you into the book as the world rises up around you. Just the idea of the Luna people and their mind control and never knowing if you're being messed with...if you really think about it...it's terrifying. Like Levana is clearly straight up crazy, but you can still understand her to an extent and why she's doing what she's doing, especially if you read Fairest before Winter, and I would feel sorry for her but...she's completely evil and again...genuinely terrifying. That's why she's such a great villain for the book though! 

It's been such a great journey, and so original and so much fun. The Lunar Chronicles is a fantastic and unique blend of Sci-Fi and fairytales with characters you really come to love and care for. I would so love to see them all together again on the Rampion! Each new book has added something else to the story or the world and brought so much more to the table, culminating in Winter. 

Winter is the perfect finale. It's size is intimidating but once you get lost in the world you forget about how many pages there are and zoom through it. There's serious moments, heartbreaking moments, horrifying moments, but there's heartwarming moments and humour and cute romantic moments as well as suspense and edge of the seat moments. This book has everything you love in a book and a series. Terrifying villain, fantastical world, rich history, action, adventure, humour, fantastic characters, romance and more. 

I think things ended so well and fans will be happy with how it all panned out, but ya know....sad to leave the world and the characters you've come to love so much, behind. I know that's exactly how I feel now it's all over, like the last page is all "and they all lived happily ever after" and I was like sitting there staring at it with a stupid smile on my face reflecting on the journey through the books. I'm so excited for the novella bind up coming and to get to visit the world again one more time, if not the characters! 

Review: Front Lines

Front Lines
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Electric Monkey! 

1942. The fate of the world rests on a knife’s edge. And the soldiers who can tip the balance . . . are girls.

Set in an alternate World War II where young women are called up to fight alongside men, this is the story of Rio Richlin and her friends as they go into battle against Hitler’s forces. 

But not everyone believes that they should be on the front lines. Now Rio and her friends must fight not only to survive, but to prove their courage and ingenuity. Because the fate of the world is in the hands of the soldier girls.

This book is so good guys! Seriously! I wasn't really sure what to expect to be honest! This is shockingly my first Michael Grant book and history geek that I am, I couldn't resist. 
 I stumbled upon the book on GoodReads and ended up being sent a proof by the lovely publishers and I'm so grateful because this book was simply fantastic! Like I said, I wasn't sure what to expect, all I knew was that the girls where going in to the war and so on, I wasn't sure where it would start or anything. I was intrigued to see if things would end up different, events and their outcomes changing and so on and I still am, as there's two more books and the end of the book gives you a good idea of what's to come and I've gotta say, I'm super excited! 

ANYWAY! You go from the sign up process, which was interesting to see because a few of the men weren't happy about women joining in! Then you go through basic training and so on until they finally hit the front lines. I kinda of wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I figured we'd jump in right at the Front, but then the way the book was written, the way the story unravelled, I loved reading about what the training was like, how the girls handled it. Also like I said, some of the guys weren't happy the girls where there, most of the guys accepted them and tried to help out against the douche guys, but it was oddly interesting watching the girls deal with all the comments and being determined to prove themselves and get some respect and so on, then being back at square one once they left basic training. It was so interesting to see the war through the eyes of a female in general and what they though of it, let alone seeing the fighting through the eyes of a female. 

The thing that interested me about all three of our main female characters, is that they weren't drafted, they all enlisted themselves and they all had different reasons why. They where also all in different areas, as it where, intelligence, army and army medic. I loved how Grant wove their stories together as the book went on. The POV changes where smooth and each had a distinctive voice and entertaining narrative, and each different setting had it's own vibe. 

Rio was in the army basic training camp, Frangie was in a segregated training camp and Rainy was training in intelligence, so each had it's own different vibe. Each of the three where in different situations so as we moved from POV to POV I was always interested in what was going to happen next for each character and it was fascinating to see how they all interacted and integrated with the guys. It wasn't pleasant all the time, obviously. You could really feel the atmosphere of each setting and scene, the fear, the tension, the belligerence when the women where being waved off by their guys and so on. It seeped off the page.  Certain places or things would be mentioned like Krakow and I'd get a horrible sense of foreboding as well. Seeing as it's the US army, and they didn't join in until after Pearl Harbour, I already had a rough idea of the time frame without even reading the year on the first page, and it was interesting to see what the soldiers and so on felt and thought about joining in the war. 

Impromptu history lesson folks, just in case you aren't all that familiar with what went on...the President really wanted to join the war, but he couldn't force the country in to joining because so many people where against it, then when Pearl Harbour happened, the public changed their minds as the Japanese brought them in to the war. The attack on Pearl Harbour was essentially a war crime because the Japanese attached without a warning or declaration of war. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour because the US cut off supplies to China, which Japan where trying to take over, and they wanted to get the fleet out of the way so they could go in to Malaya to get access to oil and rubber and so on. There's a tonne more to it than that, but that's the basics, which is why I was incredibly interested to see what the public sentiment was in the US. The history I know of WW2 is predominantly British because we where all taught it in school loads and my Dad has a tonne of books on it and ya know....history nerd. So it was interesting to me, to see things from the US perspective. Especially the Battle of the Kasserine Pass. I actually didn't know much about it in detail, just the basics so it was fascinating to get a first hand perspective, as it where, to what went on and everything. 

Front Lines really sucks you in because it's so authentic in its language, and slang and phrases and dialogue and thoughts and just everything. Everything is so insanely authentic and genuine that you find yourself transported back to the 40's and you're right there alongside the girls. It's enthralling. I read this in one sitting, and ever since I put the book down, I can't stop thinking about it! It sticks in your mind long after you've finished reading, it genuinely does. You feel everything the characters do, fear, desperation, small shreds of hope, terror and so on. Then they're thrown in to the action, with people dying everywhere and it all becomes real to you as well as them, and it's horrifying and brutal and you're willing the characters on, to survive. 

The characters are so freaking brilliant. So fantastically created. You have Rio who's determined to do her part, patriotic I guess. She's brave, she's loyal, she's determined and she's funny. She has a romance going on with a pilot and then there's another little one going on and I'm intrigued to see how that plays out, I wasn't sure whether or not to expect romance in this, but it's there, it's subtle and not at all the main focus, but it's there! 

There's Frangie, who has to enlist because her family needs the money. She ends up becoming a medic, she's a woman of colour and she's in the segregated camp. Her parts made me angry, it's a very real look at what life would have been like for a POC in the 40's and ya know....we haven't even progressed all that much so it really makes you think. 

Then you have Rainy, a Jewish girl who enlists in to the intelligence division, she's not in the action so much except for a bit at the end, and man she kicked ass. There's this one scene with this German guy and I'm fist pumping like "YES RAINY YOU TELL THE SOB"! Like I said, each character has a different reason for being there, each character, especially Rio, is changing or changed by the experience and the things they have to do. When they finally all met up I was like OMG and so excited to see them all together being all awesome. There's still so much I can picture for the characters, since I stopped reading my brain's played out all the possibilities for them and I'm so excited to see where they all go next, I'm rooting for all three of them!

We also have a shadowy narrator at the beginning and in two other parts, it's not Rio, I know that for sure, and I'm failing completely at working out who it is. I don't think Grant's doing a Book Thief, I think it's one of the girls or maybe one we haven't met yet, but it was intriguing hearing the input from the future and like I said, the final words from our shadowy narrator got me all excited for the next book. There's also these little breaks for letters to home from each of the girls, which gave you an insight in to Rio's relationship with Strand, as well as showing how they related everything that you'd experienced with them to their families, a few of them where even censored and it was so fantastically done. Rainy being an intelligence officer never says anything to be censored, whereas the others have huge black chunks in theirs. More so when the girls meet, you can see the difference between the ones seeing all the action and the ones in an office. You can also see how the ones fighting have changed and been changed. 

Front Lines may start out slow, but it's the authentic feel, the atmosphere and the characters that have you engrossed in the story going from sign up to boot camp to war. You forget all about what you know of history, you forget women weren't allowed to enlist and you're completely sucked in and engrossed. This book has it's horrifying, brutal, harsh reality points, but it also has it's lighter points where you end up laughing either properly or a little chuckle or snort as the characters converse and joke about. By the end of the book I'd come to feel so proud of the characters for sticking out and making it so far, despite all the different forms adversity they faced. The are ships, there are REAL ships and I'm so excited to see where everything is going to go next, Grant is a fantastic, incredible author and I have never read anything like this at all. Grant has created three diverse female leads who you love to another level, and I can't possibly pick a favourite, I root for all of them all the time because they have so much to face and overcome, sexism, racism, actual fighting in an actual war. You all must read it immediately. 

Book Talk: Dead Of Winter

Hey guys! 
I'm back with another book talk, although most of this will be ragey OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE THE AUTHOR DID THAT! 

The Arcana Chronicles was a book that I discovered at the library, I got the first one, read it, loved it...then the second one came out and I immediately grabbed it from the library and re-read the first one before reading the second. Then I went out and bought my own copies because I freaking loved the books. Original, funny, perfect romance, action and more, there was so much to love. 

I've been waiting with baited breath for the third book, I mean Cole knows how to leave a book on a frickin cliffhanger and leave you desperate for the next book!
I don't know why I thought it was a trilogy so I thought Dead of Winter was the FINAL book and as I started reading I was like...this can't be the final..there's too much....so I went to GoodReads. Turns out two more books have been added. I'm even more like OMG because there's so much to this story that still needs to be told and I'm thinking about the other two books and the cliffhangers to come kinda excited but also full of dread. 

The first thing I need to say is omg the covers! I like things to match, like it drives me up the wall that the first three Mortal Instruments books I have are a small, regular paperback whereas the others are bigger paperbacks if you know what I mean? My Vampire Academy books...I had like three or four different covers until I chucked them and bought the new covers. So I'm thinking, okay, it's the final book in a trilogy and they got new covers....that makes no sense but okay. NOW I know there's two more books which means I'm gonna have to get book one and two in the new covers, I can't even. WHY COVER CHANGE WHY!? 

I wanted to re-read the first two but I didn't have time and I'm kinda sad about it because I really have the burning urge to re-read the other books. It didn't really matter because it was easy to slop back in to the world of the book and everything came flooding back, I mean the ending on the second book!? As I was reading and getting more and more engrossed it just all came flooding back how much I loved the first two books. 

Jacks back, he wasn't in the second book much because it was all about Death, mostly. The second book presented me a conundrum. I couldn't choose between Death and Jack. Like usually I can pick a team, but it was really hard and then in this one things are resolved and you get Jack's side but I STILL COULDN'T DECIDE. Like I kept switching as I read and things kept happening so I don't know how the hell Evie chose to be honest. 
It was freaking intense. 

So I'm merrily reading, feeling all the feels, loving it getting closer and closer to the end like okay...this is fine, maybe no cliffhanger. I was wrong. There was a cliffhanger. I cannot even with it, I'm still not calm. I threw this freaking book so freaking hard (on to my bed so I wouldn't damage it) and screamed "NOOOOO" Luke Skywalker style. WHO ENDS A BOOK LIKE THAT?! WHO!? Hell no. HELL TO THE FREAKING NO. Not today Satan, I'm pretending that never happened. Nope. Not at all. I don't even know when the next book is out and I can't even with the wait after that ending, that was like some cruel and unusual punishment! I WILL NEVER BE OVER THIS!  

Christmas Book Haul

Hey guys, it's haul time!

This is really, really late because I was trying to hold off as long as possible to wait for a book to arrive, and then today was the only slot free in the end! A part of my Christmas Book Haul, is books that I got with Christmas money/vouchers etc, and it was one of those books I was waiting for...but it didn't arrive in time! 

As usual, I've got all the links under the photos, and scroll down to the video to watch me talk and tell you more about the books! I'm slightly distracted in the video, as I was puppy sitting and it was far too quiet while I was filming. I came downstairs after filming to find cardboard EVERYWHERE. I'd thought the puppy might try to say hi to you guys, but nope. Destroyed a cardboard tube while my watchful gaze was elsewhere! 

Anyway, hope you enjoy, and let me know what your Christmas Hauls where! 

The Hogwarts Library

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TBR

Gray's Anatomy

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TBR

Book of Spells Kindle Fire Case

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Falling Kingdoms

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TBR

Our Lady of the Streets

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TBR

A Wicked Thing

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TBR

Tolkien: An Illustrated Atlas

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TBR

Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone Illustrated

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TBR