The Month in Books: May

It's June! The sun is here....for now, and it's time for my May wrap up! 

I've been having huge problems reading lately, I thought I was over it when I read A Court of Mist and Fury but then once I finished that I went in to a hardcore book hangover and it took me like 3 days or something to start reading the next book and then I only managed a couple chapters before  spending a couple of days not reading! I am actually still finishing up Half Blood Prince, I just feel like I'm procrastinating from reading all the time and doing other things and it's taking me ages to read anything, I'm not sure it's a slump exactly but it's definitely a pain in the ass. 

SO, this isn't as huge as it usually is, I've read less this month than usual for the first time ever! 

There's also a couple missing because I didn't feel like scaling my shelves! I also totally forgot about the manga I read, honestly my brain is all over the place right now and I keep forgetting things left right and centre! 

So, in addition to this I read Volumes 7, 8 and 9 of Fairy Tail and Volume 15 of Blue Exorcist, Volume 7 of Seven Deadly Sins and Volume 4 of Twin Star Exorcists, meaning I'm all up to date with BE and TSE! I also read Star Wars: Bloodline which was freaking amazing, and Unrivalled which is going to be perfect for PLL fans! 

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

I picked a tiny classic because the plan was to get through all the review books this month and I completely failed and didn't actually get to read all my May TBR and June isn't looking so good so far! ANYWAY, I was iffy on this at first because of all the slang but once I got in to it I ended up quite enjoying it! 

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J. K Rowling

Okay so this is like my second favourite Harry Potter book which is why it makes no sense at all that I'm struggling to read it, before I took this photo I'd actually read most of it in one go because I finally was in a reading mood so I thought I'd finish it before June but nope. 

Kill The Boyband by Goldy Moldavsky 

This book is freaking hilarious, it's dark and you feel like you shouldn't be laughing but you just can't help it because it's funny but also a bit silly and a bit unbelievable. There's also the relate-ability factor. Let's face it, we've all been a fangirl of something at some point in life, and this will make you cringe a little bit as you remember your past fangirl exploits! 

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

No word of a lie, this is Maas's best book yet and I was hungover from it for like 3 or 4 days. I could not stop thinking about this book after I'd finished reading it and I still can't! I have the urge to just re-read it but I'm not allowed for at least a couple of months! I had to do a spoiler section on my review because I couldn't contain myself, I just loved this book so much, it's my favourite of the year so far! I love Rhysand and I was iffy about Tamlin after the ending of ACOTAR and I just LOVE everything about this book! 

The Veil by Chloe Neill

A fantastically original paranormal/supernatural adventure! I loved the different aspects to this, there's all the paranormal elements and then there's the whole "oh we had a war with all kinds of paranormal creatures and now there's a huge ass prison in the middle of New Orleans for all of them and anyone with any tiny drop of magic" thing. Yeah. The romance is nice and slow building so I'm expecting to dig in for the long haul with this series! 

Tales From The Kingdoms by Sarah Pinborough

This collects together Charm, Poison and Beauty and I've heard people raving and raving about them so I was stoked to review the bind up of all three! These blew me away, they where not at all what I was expecting but they where dark and funny and surprisingly steamy! I loved all the original quirks to the original stories and I loved being surprised at every turn! 

Lois Lane: Double Down by Gwenda Bond

I completely loved the first book when I reviewed it not too long ago and I was eager for more, and I read this in one sitting, much like I did the first book! It expands the world of Metropolis, and digs deeper in to certain characters, as well as setting up Lois's dad for his future role in things, and there's plenty of references to the comics and other shows that will please all fans I think! 

The Inquisition by Taran Matharu

I won a proof of the first book last year and I loved it so much that I had to review it and I've been eagerly awaiting this sequel! This is legit the perfect sequel, I can't find anything wrong with it! Other than the cliffhanger because OUCH. Way to make a wait even worse AND THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO MAAS, ACTUALLY! I mean seriously, it's a year wait and it's bad enough as it is without constantly dwelling on the state all the characters are left in! ANYWAY, if you haven't picked up these books yet get on it because they are so original and so much fun and so freaking brilliant! Fab world building, brilliant characters and so much imagination! 

BOOM! Another month down! I'm hoping to be waaaaay better this month and actually get everything on my TBR read and everything left over from May's TBR read...hopefully. What did you guys read in May? You all did better than me right?!

Review: The Veil

The Veil 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Gollancz! 

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn… 

The Veil is a fast paced book that pulls you in to an alternate New Orleans and keeps you guessing until the end! It's action packed, there's always lots going on and there's romance as well, pretty much everything you could want in a book! I'm a big fan of Chloe Neill, although I haven't read her Chicagoland Vampire series, it's been on my list and I'm still curious about it even after my "vampire phase" has ended! I loved her Dark Elite series, and I'm forever praying for a fourth book! I've been so excited for this book because it's the start of a brand new series, and I rarely read supernatural/paranormal books anymore as I'm more in to fantasy these days,  but Neill writes them damn good! 

Neill takes things people have done before and gives them a new twist, and breathes new air in to them. This time round we have a brilliant premise, with the idea that Para's came through to our world, waged war, and now sensitives and paras alike get chucked in to Devils Isle, a kind of prison. There's all these laws about magic and magic is pretty frowned upon, shall we say. Considering my image of New Orleans is one of magic and ghosts and so on, I found this an intriguing premise. I loved the originality to it, there's a load of different creatures in it, and from the ones I saw in this book they have an original twist to them and I'm excited to see more of this world! 

Post paranormal war New Orleans and Devils Isle made a nice and intriguing backdrop for the story and it was a very vivid world, one which you can lose yourself in. I had a very clear image in my mind of each of the different settings and I'm eager to explore more of this world both in the Zone and out of it! I'd also like to see more of Devils Isle, because while we saw it a bit, we didn't actually see that much of it! I'd like to see more of what goes on in there, and how things work in there and so on, the contrasts between it and the rest of the Zone where very well done and like I said...it piqued my interest! 

The plot for the book keeps you guessing as you try to workout first of all...what's going on, then who's behind everything, there's a couple of different threads woven in and it's a brilliant mystery and adventure. While the book wraps up the plot of this book nicely...there are a couple of threads left hanging to set up the next book! I liked how the next book was set up without taking away from the plot of this book, there's an intriguing plot thread to do with her dad, then the paras and the Veil itself which could go longer than the next book, and then there's another thread to do with another of Claire's family members and while it's a brilliant thread and while I loved the book....this thread just seemed kind of obvious. I also really did feel like it was a bit randomly thrown in there at the end at the last minute, it seemed a bit rushed and shoved in, I think it may have been better if it had been introduced in the second book! 

Anyway, there's a brilliant cast of characters to this book, Malachi the angel, Moses the para with a tech addiction, then you have Burke and Darby and Nix and Gavin and so on! They're all brilliant characters that you want to know more about and I'm sure we'll get to know more over the course of the books! I loved Claire, she made me laugh but then most of the characters did! There's a lot of humour in this book as well as everything else! But Claire was just brilliant, her reactions to everything where genuine, I rooted for her and I'm looking forward to seeing her character develop more in the next book! I loved her friendships with both Gunnar and Tadji and I liked how things where resolved with them at the end. Their interactions where brilliant and they all fit so well together! We see a lot of Gunnar and I loved him the most I think, out of the two, but then we didn't see all that much of Tadji so that could be why! Gunnar was just brilliant and funny and a badass when he needed to be. I'm hoping to get to know Tadji a bit more in book two and see them all working together with the others! 

Liam was all broody and perfect and kind of adorable at points. He's the perfect match for Claire, I love how he doesn't bother trying to stop her doing anything just let's her do what she wants to do or what needs to be done. I'm intrigued by his character, he and his brother actually and I want to know more! He's the perfect match for Claire and I liked watching things start to develop even if Liam is going to be difficult for a completely stupid reason, like dude...why bother!? The romance is slow to develop, like I said, but you can't help but root for the couple and there's a couple of cute moments. I can't wait for book two to see if they'll get one step closer to being together and being adorable! 

The Veil is full of action, mystery, romance and loads of supernatural/paranormal beings, I love what the author is doing with all of this and I love the direction the story is going with! If you're here for the romance you'll be in it for the long haul because it's still developing and it's nice to watch! The plot keeps you on your toes, and the plot kicks off fairly close to the start to the book, we're straight in with everything and no hanging about! I'm intrigued to see where this is going to go next and what's going to happen to the characters next, because they're a brilliant bunch and really make the story stand out! 

Wishing For Wednesday #83

Hey guys!

Welcome to another WFW! This week I have more exciting reads to share with you guys!

First up I've got a new book, the first in a new series actually, from an author I love, and it sounds completely brilliant! I'm sure you'll all agree! 

Second is a novella bind up I think we've all been waiting for eagerly! I can't wait to get my hands on it and learn more about Farley in particular, it was one of my wishes after reading Red Queen! 

The Veil 

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…

The Veil is out April 14th, pre-order your copy...here! 

Add it to your TBR....here! 

Cruel Crown

Two women on either side of the Silver and Red divide tell the stories no one else knows.

Discover the truth of Norta’s bloody past in these two revealing prequels to #1 New York Times bestseller Red Queen.

Queen Song

Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life.

Steel Scars

Diana Farley was raised to be strong, but being tasked with planting the seeds of rebellion in Norta is a tougher job than expected. As she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital, she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation—Mare Barrow.

Cruel Crown is out April 21st, pre-order your copy....here! 

Add it to your TBR....here!