Top 5 of 2015!

Where did the year go? We're in December already and there's just over a day to go until 2016 (and I AM NOT PREPARED), so I thought I would round up my five of my favourite books of 2015. It was a difficult decision and I have no doubt forgotten some, but here we go!

5. The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson

This is the third book in the Shades of London series, and I had been waiting for it for a long long time! The thing I love about these books is Rory, our main character, who is so funny and kind that I want her to be my friend! The plot of TSC was at times a little confusing, but it was brilliant and my ship finally got together!! (Kind of...maybe...if you have read this series you know what I'm talking about). I am so incredibly excited for the fourth book in this series to come out, even though we don't have a release date...or title!





                                                                                   4. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Dangerous Girls has possibly the best plot twist I have ever read! It was incredibly unique and just so freaking amazing!! (this post appears to be the post of double exclamation marks). It is the sort of book that makes you pause after finishing it and re-evaluate everything.







3. Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

I love books about ghosts. I love books about Paris. So it's safe to say I adored this book! It was fun and tense and I read it in like a day, and there was great character development in Colette. My full review can be found here.










 2. The Accident Season by Moira Fowley Doyle

This book. Wow! The writing was divine, the characters were so relatable and well-constructed, the plot beautifully mixed magic with the grittier parts of life...just everything about TAS appealed to me! It is quite dark in places, though, and deals with some sensitive topics, so be warned.






Which brings me onto my number one book of the year! What do you think it is?

I'm sure that this will come as a tiny huge surprise, but my favourite book of the year is...

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

I am still not over the wonderfulness that is this book! I have a whole review where I talk about why I like it here, but basically it's amazing and you should read it. (I feel like that's been my thoughts on all of these books, but...it's true!).

So, that's it! My top 5 of 2015. Honourable mentions go to: A Darker Shade of Magic (my review is here), The Raven Boys series, The Game of Love and Death (review here) and The Lunar Chronicles series (reviews can be found here).This has been a great reading year for me, the year when I properly discovered bookstagram and book blogging, and I look forward to what 2016 has in store!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What are some of your most anticipated releases of 2016?
Thanks for reading(:

The Young Elites - Review

Title: The Young Elites
Author: Marie Lu
Part of a series? The first book in the Young Elites trilogy.
Synopsis: After a disease ravaged Adelina's home when she was young, she has been treated as an outcast for her whole life. Then, one disastrous event sets her life off onto a completely different path, one that finds her in the middle of The Young Elites, a group of people all like her. As she becomes submerged in political intrigue, assassination plots, and a pleasure court, she begins to embrace the hidden powers inside her. But soon it will become clear that not even Adelina knows what she's capable of, and that the Young Elites have more enemies than they could imagine.
Rating: 4.25 stars.

When we first meet Adelina, she is in prison for committing a murder. This essentially sets the scene for a powerful, dark story that tests your loyalty to every character!

This is my first book by Marie Lu, and it did not disappoint. The twists and turns throughout the novel kept me hooked, and the twist at the end especially was unexpected. The world was well-developed and reminded me of Venice slightly, though it was slightly confusing with all of the different place names. The descriptions of the catacombs and the Court were particularly good.

As for characters, I didn’t warm to Adelina as much as I would have liked to. I think it was because at
times I would feel sorry for her, but then she would think or say something that just made me question her, and even though that meant I wasn’t as connected to the main character, that was really interesting to read. You never knew if she was the villain or the hero of the story, and this is not something I’ve read much in YA! The rest of the characters were equally well-created, Raffaele being my favourite for how kind he was compared to others. Violetta was innocent, a good contrast to the darkness in Adelina, and I loved their sibling relationship, although her actual character got on my nerves sometimes.. It feels like that was the main relationship in The Young Elites, as to me Enzo and Adelina’s relationship felt a little off. It would have been better if we had read more about Enzo and Daphne’s relationship before, but it was still upsetting to read about how Adelina was betrayed. Enzo was perhaps my least favourite character, although I’m not sure why.

Overall, I am really looking forward to reading The Rose Society and seeing where Adelina and Violetta end up, and I have no idea what could happen! If you love fantasy novels, I would definitely recommend this!
Thanks for reading(:

An Apology & Life Updates

In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t posted on this blog in a while…quite a while, in fact. And I am very very sorry! I could give out some excuses (school is time-consuming, I’m tired six days out of seven etc.) but it’s mainly because I was too lazy to update. I haven’t actually read a book in at least a week either! But this will hopefully change. I’m going to try and post once a week in December – we all know that probably won’t happen, but I can dream – and, failing that, at least a bit more regularly than before.

To make up for my lack of posts, here are some life updates:

Reading:

-          I have almost finished Hamlet, some required reading I have to do – and should have done a few weeks ago – but apart from that November has not been the best reading month for me! So far I’ve got through The Accident Season and The Young Elites, as well as 70 pages of Winter, but I’m trying not to put any pressure on myself. Everyone goes through reading slumps, and I think it always makes things worse if you force yourself to read something.

Writing:

-          While not being a participant of NaNoWriMo this year, I have made quite a bit of progress with my current story! A couple of days ago I passed 20,000 words, and so far I’m liking how it’s turning out. Generally I start stories and never finish them, but I’m hoping this won’t be the case this time, as I’m finally starting to get into the first draft mentality that nothing will be perfect the first time around! I’ve struggled with this before, but now I’m trying to just go with it. (However, my notes are a mess and I've introduced a new character, so that’s an issue…ah well!).

TV Shows:

-          Recently there have been so many TV shows I have wanted to watch! I’m currently watching Scream Queens and absolutely LOVE it, and then I’m catching up on Teen Wolf. At the moment I’m only on series one but it is amazing, and Lydia and Stiles are brilliant! (I’m writing this will watching a pretty tense episode actually!). I want to catch up on Faking It too before the year is over, and I would love to marathon The Man In The High Castle because it sounds so interesting.

I hope this post marks the start of a more regular posting schedule! Also, what do you think of the style of this post? Are there any readers who like Teen Wolf or Scream Queens?

Thanks for reading(:

Fairest - Mini-Review!

Author: Marissa Meyer
Part of a series? The prequel novel to the Lunar Chronicles series.
Synopsis: Long before the events of the Lunar Chronicles, Levana was simply a Princess living in her sister's shadow. In Fairest, it is revealed how Levana went from that to the terrifying Queen she is now.
Rating: 4.5 stars.

This book was very creepy but very good! The backstory Marissa Meyer came up with is so twisted and brilliant that I completely didn't expect it, and I was constantly torn between feeling sorry for Levana and feeling horrified by her actions! I would definitely recommend reading this if you've already read the Lunar Chronicles as it adds to the world of Luna, as well as Levana's character.



*SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!*

Fairest really toyed with my emotions! One moment I was pitying Levana, the pale girl that was always overlooked by her family, the girl who was hurt by her sister, the girl who had no idea what love was. And the next she was killing people and manipulating minds and goodness knows what else!! This book didn't make me feel completely sorry for her as in the end the things she did were too awful, but it did help me understand her more in a way. Levana is such a wonderful villain, and it was interesting to read about what made her become the way she is in the Lunar Chronicles (which is actually quite similar to the way she is in Fairest).

The world of Luna was explored more in Fairest, and it's so interesting! I love how fake everything in the court is, but how no one would dream of saying that, and the relationship between Evret and Winter (and SELENE!!!) was lovely to read about. The scenes between the two, and between Winter and Selene added a bit of light relief to an otherwise dark plot. Fairest didn't just give us a better view of Luna but of some of the characters we know and love already (or will do when Winter comes out!!) : Jacin, Winter, Selene. I can't wait for Winter to come out!

What were your thoughts on Fairest? Let me know in the comments(:
Thanks for reading(:

Burn for Burn - Mini-Review!

Authors: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Part of a Series? The first book in the Burn for Burn trilogy.
Synopsis: Lillia, Kat and Mary live on the picturesque Jar Island, where everyone knows everyone. The girls all want the same thing: revenge on someone who's done them wrong. When they find out that they can help each other, they team up and set out to take down the three people who have hurt them most - but soon realise that one simple act of revenge can spark off a whole chain of events.
Rating: 5 stars.

*Note: I wrote this a year ago when I had no blogging experience whatsoever. If I have any time in the future I'll try to do an updated review, but for now enjoy!*
So, first of all: this book is INCREDIBLE! The plot is so good, and it is very well-written; I think there was one paragraph that didn’t flow as well as every other one. It is told from three viewpoints - our main characters Lillia, Kat, and Mary - and each main character is easily likeable yet distinctly different. It’s interesting seeing how the three main characters interact with each other because they really are opposites - Mary is quiet, Kat is a rebel, and Lillia is popular - and how they changed throughout the book.
I could not decide throughout the entire book if I liked Rennie or not. There were points - such as when she was trying to catch Reeve’s attention - when I felt sorry for her, and other points - like when she ditched Kat - when I really didn’t like her.
The ending was… 0_0 (my face at the last few pages). I have no idea what will happen to Reeve in the second book, but I think he’ll pull through. And I felt for Lillia as she started to waver about all these schemes towards the end. And what is happening with Mary?! Are these powers real or in her head or–?
Overall, this is an amazing book, and I am so excited to read the second one! 5/5 stars.

Cress - Review

Title: Cress
Author: Marissa Meyer
Part of a series? The third book in the Lunar Chronicles
Synopsis: Cress has been stuck in a satellite for most of her life. An expert hacker, she's been keeping a close eye on the band of fugitives Levana wants dead while dreaming about Earth and a certain Captain But she's going to find out that life on Earth may not be what she expected.
Cinder has accumulated an odd mix of friends, and now she's determined to save the Commonwealth and Kai from Queen Levana. The only problem is how to stop a woman as powerful as Levana, who may have something even worse than what Cinder thinks planned.
Rating: 5 stars.

Marissa Meyer has done it again! The Lunar Chronicles is fast becoming one of my all-time favourite series, and Cress did not disappoint. In this book Cress is introduced, and I loved her from the first chapter. She's sweet and different to Cinder and Scarlet in that she isn't streetwise, and she was a lot more vulnerable than our other two protagonists.

The plot completely took me by surprise. I can never guess what's going to happen in The Lunar Chronicles, but Cress was the most surprising. There was definitely a feeling that the overall story is coming to a close and that something big is building up, so I am very excited to read Winter in November!

*SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON - GO READ CRESS THEN COME BACK!*

I loved the world-building in this book. At first, when I started reading Cinder, I was worried about all of the sci-fi terms, as I don't generally read books in this genre, but by now I feel fairly comfortable with portscreens etc. The desert scenes were possibly my favourite, along with the ball scenes, and I had such a clear picture of Cress and Carswell walking over sand dunes in my mind.

As usual, the character in The Lunar Chronicles were one of the best features of Cress. I love how relentlessly evil Levana is, and the small chapter that was written in her point of view was very intriguing. My opinion of Throne (whom I loved in Scarlet) changed a little as, like Cress, we think he's a hero in Scarlet, but in Cress it's revealed that he kind of isn't. One thing that really struck me as different is the fact that there isn't necessarily a reason for Carswell's actions, which is so different to other characters in other books. He is a chancer and a gambler and quite self-centred, and it was refreshing to read a character who is genuinely flawed for no apparent reason. That being said, I still really really like him. A LOT.

And Iko! She is one of my favourite characters in this series, and I was so happy for her when she got the escort android body. She truly is 'the most human android', and she always provides some laughter to a serious scene.

In Cress we also were introduced to Princess Winter, and I have to say that I like her already. I think she and Jacin will be cute together in Winter (I hope!), and I'm very interested in finding out more about her.
The only thing about Cress that mildly bothered me was that there was a large portion of the book where we didn't know what was happening to Scarlet, but her chapters were so horrifying that it was also kind of a relief! I can't believe that Levana chopped off her little finger. That being said, I love how The Lunar Chronicles focusses on all of the characters and that the cast gradually builds up with each book.

Bring on Winter!

What did you think of Cress? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading(:

The Secret Fire - Spoiler Free Review!

Title: The Secret Fire
Authors: CJ Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld
Part of a series? Yes, The Alchemist Chronicles
Synopsis: Sacha Winters lives in Paris. He can't die until he's supposed to, and that isn't for eight weeks. But after those eight weeks, something terrible is meant to happen.Taylor Montclair lives in England. She is ordinary, until it becomes clear that she isn't, and her whole life is thrown into chaos. Taylor and Sacha's lives are connected. Together they can stop the destruction Sacha's death will cause, but with only eight weeks left, the clock is against them.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
*Will be published on the 10th September. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

The Secret Fire was fast-paced, unpredictable, and amazing! There was never a moment when you could tell that it was written by two authors, as every chapter ran into the others well. I liked how in the beginning Taylor’s parts were relatively calm, while Sacha’s were action-packed. I also liked how Taylor’s and Sacha’s families still remained an important part of their lives even though other events were happening, as sometimes it feels like families disappear in YA books when the protagonist discovers something magical about themselves!

Taylor was a great main character; she really felt like a real teenager, and she reacted to things how a real teenager would react. I thought it was good how she was ambitious and wanted to know as much about The Secret Fire as possible. I liked how much Sacha cared about his family, but it took me a while to actually like him as in the beginning, when we don’t know certain things, it feels weird that he’s given up on everything. I started to care about him about halfway through, though. Also, the two dogs in The Secret Fire have the coolest names!

The plot was interesting, and the powers/alchemy in The Secret Fire was different to the powers in other books. The world-building was excellent, and I liked how Taylor lived in a small town instead of London, as it felt more relatable to someone like me, who doesn’t live in a city. Taylor’s world definitely felt like the Britain I know, and the descriptions of the parts set in France were amazing; I especially loved the description of the vineyard at night.

The only criticisms I have were that the ending was a strange place to introduce new characters that seem like they’ll be important in the next book, and that for a time Taylor and Sacha’s relationship felt a little odd once they had met in person. Having said that, I really enjoyed The Secret Fire! I think it will appeal to fans of the Ruby Red trilogy, and perhaps people who really liked the Circle aspect of The Mortal Instruments. I feel like we still have lots to discover, and I can’t wait for the second book! 4.5 stars out of five.

August Wrap-Up!

To see all the books I've acquired in August, visit my bookhaul here.
August was a good reading month for me! I read nine books in total,, compared to my usual five or six in previous months, and the books were great. I think I read so much because I went on holiday at the start of August and got through four books alone in that first week!

• Blackfin Sky by Kat Ellis - I'm working on a full review of this at the moment, and it was really good! Spooky, creepy and mysterious, the town of Blackfin was excellently created, and I look forward to reading Kat Ellis' new books, as Blackfin Sky was her debut novel. 4 stars.
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - This is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series, and my full review can be found here. I loved Scarlet almost as much as Cinder, and I especially loved the introduction of Captain Carswell Thorne! If you're unsure about reading the Lunar Chronicles because of all the hype around it, try Cinder anyway, because I think it will live up to expectations. 4.5 - 5 stars.
• PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han - The sequel to To All The Boys I've Loved Before, PSISLY was just as sweet as the first book. Reading about how Lara Jean and Peter's relationship changed was fantastic, and I loved the points Jenny Han made about double standards. These books are not just a fluffy, cute romance (although they definitely have that in), but are about family and friends and high school. Family is definitely important in these two books. 4.25 stars.
• The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater - I'm also working on a review of the entire Raven Cycle so far. I enjoyed The Dream Thieves just as much as The Raven Boys, although it once again took me a while to get into the world again. Having just finished PS I Still Love You, where the love interest's surname is Kavinsky, it was quite confusing to read about another, much wilder, much less nice Kavinsky! I didn't like him at all, but I have to admit that his texts to Ronan made me laugh! Blue is such a strong character, and even though the concept of ley lines and Welsh kings are very confusing, the characters really make this series. 4.5 stars.
• Let's Get Lost - This was the perfect summer read! I loved all of the different stories, although I think Elliot's was the least satisfying. Leila was our main character, the one that linked Hudson, Elliot, Sonia, and Bree's lives together, but each of the others were well-developed and likeable. I think Leila's story was my favourite, although I loved her friendship with Bree. 4.75 stars.
• Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman - I have a more detailed review of this on my Goodreads account, but I enjoyed this book a lot! It was an interesting, well-written historical fiction novel and I'm very excited to read the second book in this series. 4.5 stars.
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater - This is the third book in The Raven Cycle, and it. Was. FANTASTIC! All of the things I love about The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves - all of the funny dialogue, all of the intriguing characters, all of the mystery - was apparent in every single page of Blue Lily, Lily Blue. I think this is one of my favourite reads of 2015 so far, and I am incredibly excited for The Raven King! 5 stars.
• Panic by Lauren Oliver - This was so very tense! I flew through Panic as I just had to know what would happen next. The challenges were crazy and very, very dangerous, and Lauren Oliver's writing was wonderful. 4 stars.
• Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins - Hex Hall was funny and entertaining. Jenna was my favourite character, and Sophie was a likeable protagonist whose sarcasm often made me giggle. There were several parts that felt a little tired, like I had read them before, but I can definitely see the potential in this series and I'm looking forward to seeing what else Sophie gets up to! 3.5 - 4 stars.
• A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams - I had to read this for school, and I wasn't expecting much. However, I was pleasantly surprised! A Streetcar Named Desire was an emotional whirlwind of a play, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It also took next to no time to read - maybe only an hour and a half! 3.5 - 4 stars.
• I'm currently reading 1984 by George Orwell, and according to Goodreads I'm 24% done with it. So far I'm not enjoying it as much as I had hoped, but I hope that will improve as I continue.

Those were the books I read in August! What books did you read in August? Have you read any I've mentioned? What did you think?
Thanks for reading(:

August Bookhaul!

Once again, I have accumulated too many books for my bookhaul and wrap-up to be in the same post (unless you want an extremely long post). In one month I managed to buy 22 books. 22! I'm 100% going on a book-buying ban in September.

Books for school:

I start school again in September and in English Literature we're studying four texts, so I went out and bought the ones that I could, only for one of my friends to tell me that I didn't need to buy two of them! They were:

• 1984 by George Orwell - This is featured in my August wrap-up post, which can be found here.
• A Streetcar Named Desire - I don't know if you've ever seen a copy of this, but it's the size of one chapter of a normal book. Why did it cost £9.99??? (This was one of the books I didn't need to buy, so I'm a bit annoyed about it!).
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare

I don't really have an excuse for the other nineteen...I did find out my exam results and they were really good, so some of them were yay-I-passed purchases. And then one of my best friends and I went shopping, and we both have out of control TBR piles, and we both bought loads of books (and now we both are on bans!)
Anyway, here are the many, many books I've acquired in August:

• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
• Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
• Get Even by Gretchen McNeil
• Darkmere by Helen Maslin
• The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
• The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
• The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove
• Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid
• Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
• The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher
• The Archived by Victoria Schwab
• Fairest by Marissa Meyer
• Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
• Famous Last Words by Katie Alender
• Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
• For Real by Alison Cherry
• The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman

I won't do summaries of each book as otherwise this post could last forever! But if you want to know what a book is about, tell me in the comments and I'll reply.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think (no spoilers please!)? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading(:

Scarlet - Review

Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Part of a Series? The second book in the Lunar Chronicles
Synopsis: Scarlet Benoit is certain that something bad has happened to her grandmother when she goes missing from their farm in France. But when the police close her case, she has to turn to Wolf, a street fighter, in order to save her grandmother. And along the way, she finds out that her grandma has been keeping some huge secrets from her...
Meanwhile, Cinder is trying to break out of prison after the disastrous events of the ball. Having to trust the cocky Captain Thorne and still coming to terms with what Dr. Erland told her, Cinder's journey takes her to a certain French farm...
Rating: 4.5 - 5 stars (I can't decide!).

Just like Cinder, Scarlet had me hooked until the very last page. There's something about the Lunar Chronicles that makes you want to read on and on and on until you've finished, and then makes you want to read the next book straightaway. Maybe it's the fact that the characters are so realistic, or that the world is so futuristic, or that the plot is so fast-paced. Whatever it is, it works on me!

*SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON*

Scarlet picks up right where Cinder ended, and introduces our new protagonist, Scarlet Benoit. From the start, I knew I was going to like her; just by reading the first chapter you find out that she's caring and loyal to her grandmother, but has a temper (the tomatoes bit was what made me like her!). Wolf was a great love interest, and I did not guess that he was Lunar at all, although I did think that his wolfish behaviour was because of someone altering his genes.

And can we just talk about Mr Carswell Thorne? I loved Thorne so very much! Without him, I think that Scarlet could have been very serious and grim, but Thorne injected humour into the story. I especially liked how he kept teasing Cinder by saying, "Are we having a moment?" and he has become one of my favourite characters out of any book. It also made me laugh when Thorne decided they should search for Princess Selene, as for once we as readers know more than a character in a book!

I was so happy that Iko came back into the story! If you've read my review for Cinder (which you can find here), you'll know that I was devastated when Iko was pulled apart. She was one of my favourite characters in Cinder, and I loved how insecure she was about being a massive ship. She's an android, but her character is just as real as any of the humans (or Lunars, or Cyborgs).

The plot of Scarlet was fast-paced, which was why it shocked me when we were reminded that Scarlet and Wolf had only known each other for like a week. I liked that Marissa Meyer acknowledged that they wouldn't be in love with each other in that small amount of time, and how Scarlet was quite practical about it. I have no idea what could happen next in Cress, but I hope that they help Kai and overthrow Levana (who is EVIL!). In Scarlet we find out more about what Levana is planning, and the powers of the Lunars feel a lot more frightening in this book, perhaps because we see Cinder use her powers even when she doesn't know what she's doing. That unpredictability of Cinder's powers makes her seem dangerous, and now I can see that she might win against Levana, whereas in Cinder it looked very doubtful.

I can't decide whether to give this 5 stars or 4.5 stars. I gave Cinder five stars, but I'm not sure I enjoyed Scarlet as much. BUT I did still really enjoy it, and I can't wait to read Cress!

What did you think of Scarlet? Did you like it more or less than Cinder?
Thanks for reading(:

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer - Review

Title: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer
Author: Katie Alender
Part of a series? No, a standalone.
Synopsis: Colette is looking forward to going to Paris on a school trip, to seeing the sights and spending time with her friends - even if she isn't being completely honest with them. But they arrive when the whole of Paris is gripped with fear by the murders occurring across the city, and soon Colette realises that it isn't a coincidence she keeps seeing a woman in a large wig and dress, and that her life is in grave danger.
Rating: 5 stars (my Goodreads says different because I changed my mind).

Oh my goodness, this book was amazing! I love love LOVE what I call 'ghosty' books. Give me a book with a good ghost in it and I'll most likely enjoy it. I did not just enjoy this book; I absolutely loved it! I read this as part of #TBRtakedown (which failed for me), and now I am furious that I didn't read it sooner. The ghostly element of Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer was actually quite scary (and I'm not normally scared by books), and the plot was incredible. If you like paranormal books, books about Paris, or maybe the dynamics of the girls in Pretty Little Liars when Alison is in control, I would 110% recommend this book.

I'm not sure why I loved this book so much, though, as I did have problems with the main characters, but I really did. I think there are always some books like that, where you can't fully explain why you love them but know that you do. People may not like this book because of the characters (they are pretty unlikeable), and some might not like the writing (which was fine for me, but may not be for others), but I simply loved it, and it's now one of my favourites.

*SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON*

The characters in MA,SK are what I would think most people would have a problem with. And it's true that at the beginning Colette is shallow, and believes the popularity and wealth of her friend Hannah makes her a good friend to have. I will admit that there were times when I just wanted to shake some sense into her! But by the end of the book, we have almost a different person: someone who understands that people do nice things to be nice, someone who stands up for herself, someone who will crawl in tight, dark corridors while preparing to face a ghost just to save her friend. It did take a while, and, as I've said, there were points when I wanted to slap her, but there was a noticeable character development.

Now let's move onto Hannah, who was more villainous than the villain of the story! I honestly couldn't believe it when she wouldn't let Colette and Pilar wear those dresses because they would look pretty! She made me so mad, but ultimately I'm glad she was like that, as it led to one of my favourite moments of the book, when Colette and Pilar told her to shut up. Pilar had a good development of character as well as Colette, too.

I adored the plot, absolutely adored it. It combined a few of my favourite things: ghosts, Paris, and history. I love books set in Paris, and I love books set in the French Revolution, so the flashbacks Colette had and the descriptions of the places she visits were very interesting. Although The Order of the Key is fictional, I was so immersed in the story that I was sure it was real, because that's what it felt like! I also liked how Audrey helped Colette; I think that helped her to realise that she was acting badly towards other people and that she should become nicer. And Jules was very sweet, the scene at his home being one of my favourites.

Alender adds the occasional French phrase in MA,SK, but you needn't worry if you don't speak French as she explains it soon after it's been said. I found it quite fun, as I'm doing French as one of my four subjects next year and needed to keep my knowledge of it during the Summer holidays!

Another part of the plot that I liked was the fact that Armand was never really a love interest for Colette. The love triangle that could have been was avoided, and I was so relieved.

What did you think of Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer? Did you enjoy it? If you didn't, why not? I would really like to know!
Thanks for reading(:

Between the Lines & Off the Page - Reviews!

Title: Between the Lines / Off the Page
Authors: Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
Synopsis: Delilah loves a fairy tale she found in her school library. She knows it's just a story, but the characters - the Prince in particular - feel so real to her. And then the Prince talks to her. Between the Lines follows Delilah and Prince Oliver as they try to let Oliver live the life he's always wanted in the real world, and Off the Page picks up a few months after Between the Lines.
Rating for both books: 4 stars.

These books are the perfect light-hearted Summer reads! Not only is the plot incredibly appealing to booklovers - speaking to your favourite characters and bringing them to life? Yes, please! - but the writing is easy to read and the characters are fun and likeable. I think people say you can read these books in any order, but I think reading Between the Lines first will make Off the Page more enjoyable as I think you'll feel closer to the characters, having read another book with them in.

If you're thinking about reading Between the Lines, I would recommend it as it left me feeling happy and comforted in the way good contemporaries do.

*SPOILERS FOR BOTH BOOKS FROM THIS POINT ON*

So, I read Between the Lines first, and I found the whole world when the book is closed fascinating! This was such a unique idea, and I loved how the characters of the fairy tale were completely different when they weren't acting out the story. In a weird way, that setting felt more realistic than the high school, which seemed like the typical school you see in films and nowhere else, perhaps because of the stunning pictures and excerpts from the actual fairy tale that were included.

Oliver was kind, thoughtful - the perfect book boyfriend! - and I absolutely ADORED how well he fit into the high school! It made me smile (well, both of these books made me smile all the time, so I guess it made me smile even more!).

I liked Delilah at first, but then towards the middle of Between the Lines, she started to really annoy me. I get that she really cared for Oliver and felt that he understood her in a way she hadn't before, but that was no excuse to completely ditch her friend Jules, whom I really liked! I just didn't understand why she would do that. But I loved how Jules played a bigger role in Off the Page!

Her and Edgar's relationship was quite heart-wrenching, but it felt a little weird that she forgot about Chris. I think that's the thing with these books: if you think too hard about them, they're ruined. You have to suspend belief, but when you do you get an enchanting (like a fairy tale!) read.

 

Off the Page felt exactly like a rom-com or high school film - which I love - and I think it would make a good film. Off the Page had a stronger plotline than Between the Lines in my opinion, and was also more serious than Between the Lines, which I liked. The ending with Edgar and his mother in the book and Oliver and the Queen - who was one of my favourite characters - out of it was satisfying and felt like the right way to end Off the Page.

The only thing that I did not like AT ALL was Frump's story. He was a great friend to Oliver in Between the Lines, and I loved how he had that (at first) unrequited crush on Seraphima. And then in Off the Page (I think; I read these books one after the other so it's hard to remember what happened in which book) Frump becomes human, and we think yay, now he can be with Seraphima!

And then he DIES. What? I was completely shocked by this, and I didn't think it suited the light mood of the book, especially as everyone else got their happy endings. This was the only plot point that I didn't like, aside from the occasional repetitiveness of Between the Lines.

Have you read these books? What did you think? Who was your favourite character? Mine was either Oliver or the Queen.
Thanks for reading(:

July Wrap-Up!

I read some incredible books this month, and found a new favourite to go on my favourites shelf (luckily it's small enough to fit!).

• Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver - I really liked this book. It was tense and gripping, and kept me wanting reading until the end. I adored Lauren Oliver's writing style, which makes me very excited to read Panic, and while I did guess one plot twist, I didn't guess the other. 4.5 stars.
• The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding (reread) - I just can't recommend this series enough! Seriously, if you like adventure books or historical books, please pick up The Diamond of Drury Lane. This is probably the third time I have read it (Excluding the times I've scanned through it to find scenes with Frank, my favourite character, in!), and I was still captivated by the plot and the setting. 5 stars.
• The Good Girls by Sara Shepard - The concluding part to The Perfectionists duology was amazing! I enjoyed these two books even more than the Pretty Little Liars series, because they had a stronger plot. That twist at the end of The Good Girls was completely unexpected for me (I was spoiled by a Goodreads review, and I still was surprised!), and I like how everything turned out. The ending wasn't especially satisfying, but I liked the openness of it and how it felt a little unsettling. It was better than The Perfectionists as there was more action and less of the characters discussing what to do. Sara Shepard does not disappoint (but I am a massive fan of her books)! 5 stars.
• Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer - I read this on the way back from YALC, and after about two hours I was already half way through. This was easy to read, fun, light-hearted...just like a fairy tale! I loved Oliver's world and found the whole premise fascinating. More of my thoughts can be found in my joint review of this and Off the Page, which is here. 4 stars.
• Off the Page by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer - Similar to Between the Lines, I really enjoyed this, perhaps more so than BtL as it felt like it had a stronger plot. 4 stars.
• The Secret Fire by CJ. Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld - I was requested this from Atom so I could review it, and also because I wanted to give a book by CJ. Daugherty a try, having read Night School and not been 100% sure about it (my review is here). And I am SO glad I did! This book was amazing, and I'll be sharing my full review of it closer to the release date, the 10th of September. Keep your eyes out for this book; I think it'll be big! 4.5 stars.
• Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - This book was a fun, intriguing start to the Percy Jackson series and a good choice for #TBRtakedown. I loved all of the characters,Grover and Annabeth especially...I love how Annabeth a) is scared of spiders (like me!), and b) is completely kick-ass and sticks up for herself. Percy was really funny too, and so caring towards his mother. I am going to continue on with this series as I think it will get better and better. 4 stars
• Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender - Oh my goodness, this book. I read this as part of #TBRtakedown , and now I am furious with myself for not reading it sooner! I love love LOVE what I call ghosty books, and as ghosty books go, this one was pretty damn good. 5 stars, this is the favourite I was talking about at the start of the post. My review is here
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - I've only read about 46% of this book, and I put it down to read...something. I can't remember now! I think it was The Geography of You and Me, which I also put down after about two chapters. I just wasn't in the mood to read either of them, although I've kept the bookmark in The Bone Season. I was finding it quite confusing if I'm honest, but hopefully I'll pick it up another time and be in the mood to read it.

My favourite books of this month were The Good Girls, The Diamond of Drury Lane, and Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer. What books did you read in July? Have you read any I've mentioned? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading(:

July Bookhaul

July has ended, and I've managed to accumulate a crap-load of books.
Oops.
But it was to be expected, as July was YALC month (read about my YALC plans here), and I bought eight books at YALC alone. And then I had already bought a few books before YALC. And then it is possible that I ordered two other books off of Amazon after YALC. Possibly.
Oh well! I'd rather have lots of books to read than none.
Because I've bought so many books, and read a lot as well, I'm splitting up my bookhaul and wrap-up, so here is my July bookhaul!

The Haul:

• 1984 by George Orwell - This is one of the books I have to read for school in September, so I thought I would buy my own copy, as I'd feel more comfortable writing thing in a book I own (although even that will be awful!).
• Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - This is the book that has made me realise that I have to really think about the word 'lightning' before I spell it!
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - I have been really excited to read this book. I read the summary and thought it sounded amazing, and there are so many good reviews of this book.
• Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer - After seeing this book just about everywhere thanks to Booksplosion, I decided to cave and buy it as the premise sounded great: a fictional character coming out of their book. How many times have we wished that could happen?
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - I loved Cinder (my review is here), and badly wanted to continue on with The Lunar Chronicles, so I bought this and....
• Cress by Marissa Meyer - Now I can read these and be up to date by the time Winter is released!
• The Good Girls by Sara Shepard - The second (and final) book in The Perfectionists series, The Good Girls picks up right where The Perfectionist left off. Being a huge fan of Sara Shepard, I had to buy it and read it straightaway!
• Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini - I've been meaning to pick up this trilogy for a while, as it seems to be about magic and time travel, and I love books about time travel.
• Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid - This sounds like the perfect summer read, and the cover is gorgeous, so I bought it!
• I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - Everyone seems to love this, so hopefully I will too!
  

The books I bought at YALC are mentioned in my YALC Adventures post, which you can find here.

I have actually read four and a half of the books I've bought in July already, so if you weren't going to check out my wrap-up, you should as I had a great reading month! Have you read any of the books I've mentioned? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading(:

YALC Adventures!

On Saturday, I went to the Young Adult Literature Convention in London, and oh my gosh, it was amazing! This was the first convention I had been to, so I wasn't sure what to expect; a part of me was terrified that this event - the event I had been looking forward to for three months, the event that had made me happy when exams were bringing me down - would be a let-down. But thankfully, YALC surpassed my expectations and the trip was worthwhile.

My friend and I had to get up at 5:30 AM. I am not good on a morning. Really, I'm grumpy if I wake up at nine, let alone five, but then I remembered where I was going and my mood instantly improved! Our train ride was uneventful - apart from a woman complaining very loudly about croissants - and we arrived at Olympia in what we thought was good time: about twenty past ten.

Oh, how wrong we were! The queue just to get into LFCC (as the YALC was only open until ten) must have been at least two miles long, and we ended up stuck pretty close to the back in a leafy suburb of London! This made us both very worried, as one of the main reasons we came to YALC was to see the Shadowhunters talk with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan. The talk started at half eleven; by ten past we were only just turning the corner onto a street where we could actually see Olympia. This resulted in a lot of frantic time-checkings, complaints (on my part, I'm not a patient person!), and about three extra runes on our arms and legs. There were some good things about the queue, though. For one thing, it was a lovely Summer day so we were nice and warm, and we moved quite quickly. It also meant that we could see some of the incredible costumes people were wearing, and every time we saw a fellow Shadowhunter we flapped a bit!

This outfit gets five stars at least!

We arrived at the YALC entrance at 11:24, but we sprinted up the staircase and managed to slide into some seats for the panel just in time. The actual panel was great, as you could tell that Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan were really good friends, and they kept making jokes. I liked how Sarah knew so much about the Shadowhunting world as well, and how she had opinions about all of the characters. The panel gave an insight into how co-writing works, and what lies ahead for the characters in The Dark Artifices and The Last Hours.

The Shadowhunters Panel

Then came the next problem. As we had literally just aimed for the panel, we hadn't found the person with the tickets for the virtual queue for the Cassandra Clare signing. This meant that when we did take our tickets, we were far behind. Like, really really far behind. 358 and 360 out of 400 to be exact. The end time of the signing came, but Cassandra Clare decided that she would take a break and then come back and sign one of everyone remaining's books! It was so kind of her, and I just hoped that I remembered to say thank you, as I think I was a bit star-struck and I can't exactly think of what I said! I know that I said Will was my favourite character, which resulted in the two authors joking about what Will and Jem would do if one was ahead of the other.

Apart from those two times when we were scared we would miss something, YALC was EXCELLENT with a capital everything! There was such a variety of books for sale at the YALC bookshop, and the publisher stands were well-stocked too. There was also two tables full of freebees, so now I have various samplers, badges, bookmarks, and lanyards! Near the line for the Cassandra Clare signing there were two Shadowhunters giving out postcards of the beautiful new UK covers of The Mortal Instruments, which I've stuck on my bookcase.

All of the free things I collected

Overall, the one thing that really made me enjoy YALC - aside from meeting Cassandra Clare - was the sense of community in it. When I was walking around, I just felt like, ah, I have found my fellow booknerds! I had a great conversation with one of the sellers at Hot Key Books about Vivian Vs the Apocalypse, and another about Shadowhunters with someone at Atom Books, and it was refreshing to know that everyone in the room shared a love of books. There were so many people buying books, talking about books, reading books, which was wonderful to see!

However, there were some things that could have been better. Personally, I feel like the YALC should be open until eleven, as some people (i.e. Me and my friend) live miles away from London and I don't think we could have gotten to London any sooner! Also, I think that the Reading Zone could have been a bit bigger; by the end of the day people were sat everywhere.

This bookhaul could have been a lot, lot bigger.

Next time, I plan on going for the full weekend, and I plan on being braver! There were so many times when I wanted to strike up a conversation with someone about books, but I felt too shy to do it. Were you at YALC? What did you think?

Overall, YALC was fantastic, and I couldn't stop smiling and talking about it until at least eleven! The next day, I read the tweets about Sunday and just wanted to be there. For those thinking of going next year, I would definitely definitely definitely recommend it, and I hope to see you there next year!
Thanks for reading(:

YALC 2015!

YALC is fast approaching, so I thought I would let you know my plans for Saturday, the day I'll be going!

If you didn't know, YALC (or the Young Adult Literature Convention) is a book convention held in the UK. This year is only the second year it's been running, but I've heard that last year it was very popular. YALC was brought to life with the help of Malorie Blackman, who was Children's Laureate in 2013. This year it's being run alongside the London Film and Comic Con in - unsurprisingly - London, which means that, for people like me who live nowhere near the capital, there will be a long journey for some!

This will be my first ever convention-type-thing, and I am so excited! One of my best friends and I have had our tickets booked for months, ever since I found out that Cassandra Clare will be there on the Saturday, and even though we'll have to get up at a ridiculously early time, I think it will be worth it. There is a small part of me that's nervous, though; I've heard that last year YALC was quite crowded.

In honour of going to meet one of my all-time favourite authors, my friend and I have decided that we're going to cosplay as Shadowhunters (which I'm sure will earn us some funny looks on trains!). I'm channelling my inner Isabelle and wearing a white dress, my Isabelle necklace, and a Lightwood replica ring that I bought from Hebel Designs. However, unlike Isabelle, I will not be wearing seven-inch heels, as a) I can barely walk in three-inch heels, and b) I anticipate lots of queuing and standing around, and it would be nice to be able to still walk by the end of the day.

I plan on taking a lot of photos and blogging about the day, and I might even try my hand at vlogging, if I'm feeling brave. I also plan on bringing back a LOT of books! Seriously, I'm thinking of bringing another bag with me in addition to my rucksack, which will be full of snacks and water as apparently food is expensive. I'm already going to bring at least three books for Cassandra Clare to sign: Clockwork Princess, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels. And I might even bring The Bone Season if I finish it on time (452 pages in 4 days - challenge accepted!).

As you can probably tell, I don't know what to expect from Saturday, but I can't wait to find out what a book convention is like. The amount of times I've looked at pictures from BEA and Bookcon and envied everyone for being there...! Are you going to YALC? Did you go there last year? What did you think?

Bowlerhatgirl Recommends...Contemporary Books!

Hi!
I thought I would do another recommendations post, this time recommending my favourite contemporary books! These will be split into two categories: mysteries and summery reads.

Mystery/ Thriller Contemporaries:

1. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas - I loved this book so much that I think it's one of my favourite books of 2014! Anna and her group of friends go on holiday to Aruba, but the trip takes a sinister turn when Elise, Anna's best friend, is murdered. Soon, Anna is trying to clear her name, and we discover what really happened to Elise. This was incredible. It has one of the most shocking endings I've ever read, and I think anyone who likes mysteries will love Dangerous Girls.

2. The Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - I recently just finished this series, and I'm annoyed at myself for not reading them sooner! On the surface, Burn for Burn is about three girls - Kat, Lillia, and Mary - getting revenge on people who have done them wrong. But once you read Fire With Fire (for those of you who have, my review is here), it sets off in another completely different (but equally amazing) direction. The ending to Fire With Fire was as much of a shock as Dangerous Girls, and the plot remained fast-paced and unpredictable right up until the last page of Ashes To Ashes.

3. The Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard - I have finished EVERY BOOK in this series. ALL SIXTEEN, AS WELL AS THE TWO EXTRAS. There are a lot of books in the PLL series, which often puts a lot of people off, but they are easy to read and I love them. Also, there are points where you can stop reading (after book eight or book twelve, I think) and the story will feel relatively wrapped up. The books are very different to the TV show, though, so if you want to read the books and have watched the show, make sure you know this beforehand. If you still really don't want to read eight books, Sara Shepard has another series out called The Lying Game series (Which I have not read every book in, yet), and a duology consisting of The Perfectionists and The Good Girls. All of these are full of twists and turns and mystery and characters doing bad things and trying to cover them up!

Summery reads:

1. The Anna Lola Isla series by Stephanie Perkins - full of gorgeous boys, funny lines, and OTPs, any of these books are perfect for the Summer. Anna & the French Kiss is set in Paris, Lola and the Boy Next Door is set in San Francisco, and Isla and the Happily Ever After is set in New York, Paris and Barcelona, so if you want to travel the world while staying at home, you can! Each is adorable, and they're all linked together in a lovely way.

2. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson - Emily is shy, and her best friend Sloane isn't. One day, Sloane disappears, leaving Emily a list of things to do. She hopes it will lead to her best friend, but it might take Emily further out of her comfort zone than she would have liked. I love how there are playlists and extras in this book, like in Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - which I would also recommend for summer - and it's just so wonderfully suited to summer!

3. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson - this is quite similar to Since You've Been Gone, as both of the protagonists have tasks to do set by people they're close to, but 13 LBE takes us around Europe as Ginny follows her aunt's seemingly crazy instructions, all packaged in blue envelopes. Over the summer, Ginny meets friends, sees the world, and also meets a great boy, which I think is what everyone wants out of a summer! Like Stephanie Perkins' books, it allows you to travel to fantastic places like Rome, Scotland, and Amsterdam, and I love how Maureen Johnson writes, so I loved this book.

4. The Threads trilogy by Sophia Bennett - If you love fashion, Threads is probably your kind of book. It centres around Nonie, daughter of a famous model, and her friends Edie - who wants to save the world - and Jenny - who's going to be an actress - as they befriend a girl called Crow, who has the makings of an incredible fashion designer. The books cover a wide range of issues apart from fashion, like body image, poverty, and deciding what to do with your future, and they have a special place in my heart for being one of the first series to really stay with me (and one of the books managed to find a place in my bath as well, so is now twice the size of the others).

All of these books are wonderful contemporaries! I also have lots of contemporary books on my TBR list, so I may do another recommendation post later on in the year. Have you read any of these? What did you think? What are some of your favourite contemporary novels? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading(:

June Book Haul & Wrap-Up!

Another month has been and gone, and now we're past halfway through the year...that's scary! But, on a lighter note, I read (and bought) some great books in June that I can't wait to show you!

The Haul:

So, technically I wasn't meant to buy any books in June, but I finished my exams and went to a place with bookshops and lost all willpower. However, all of these books were on my big 'Books After Exams' list, so that kind of justifies them (it does not, but saying this makes me feel better
!).

• PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han - How could I not buy this? I need more Lara Jean and Peter feels! PS is the sequel to To All the Boys I've Loved Before, which I read last year (I think) and loved.
• Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas. I read Dangerous Girls at the beginning of the year, and it was AMAZING. I absolutely loved it, and I've been meaning to pick up Dangerous Boys for ages. When I saw it in not one but two bookshops, that was obviously a sign for me to buy it.
• The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith. I haven't read a book by Jennifer E. Smith before, but this sounds so wonderful and sweet and a perfect summery contemporary.
• The Dream Thieves and Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. That's right! I finally own the other two books in the Raven Boys series (that are published). I really liked The Raven Boys and gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how the series continues.
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. This was not on the 'Books After Exams' list, and I wasn't intending on buying it, but I was at a car boot sale, and amid all the pottery and plants, I found a decent copy of Shiver in a box which was being sold for 20p. 20p! That's like...(*attempts maths to work out a percentage* *fails at maths and worries about exam results*) really cheap!

The Wrap-Up:

I read some fantastic books this month!

• (The Rest of) Night School by C. J. Daugherty. This only just makes it onto the June Wrap-Up as I finished it very close to the beginning of the month. I liked Night School, although it wasn't one of my favourites. My full review is here. 3 stars.
• A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. This was a favourite! I adored this book; the world was so unique, as was the magic. I can't wait to read more about Kell's world and more books by V. E. Schwab! My full review is here. 4.75 stars.
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This was a reread, as I read City of Bones last summer, and I have to say that it was more enjoyable once I'd read the other books in the series. I cared about the characters more knowing all the things I knew after City of Heavenly Fire, and I was more interested in the story because I knew where it would go, whereas before I had no idea. 4 stars.
• The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough. This, like ADSOM is now one of my favourites! I loved almost everything about it. My full review is here. 4.75 stars.
• Rook by Sharon Cameron. I had very high expectations for this book. First of all, it has one of the prettiest covers ever. Second, one of the first lines of the blurb begins with 'In the Sunken City that was once Paris'. I love books set in France, and I love books set in the French Revolution especially, so I really thought I would love Rook. Which I did...kind of. The concept was so interesting; a future that had returned to the ways of the past. And I did love the way that Diet Coca Cola bottles were treated as valuable antiques, and that the A5 was a deserted road. I thought the plot was strong, although at the end it did feel a little messy. I now want a pet fox like Sophia, our protagonist, has, and I admired Sophia for being very strong, independent, and smart. But Sophia and Rene's relationship felt odd, the viewpoints changed too often towards the end (although I liked how Cameron linked them together), and Spear was Gale. HE WAS ACTUALLY GALE (if Gale lived in the future in Europe). Overall, I am glad I read it, as I want to now read more of Sharon Cameron's books, but there were issues. 4 stars.

I would say that my favourite book of June was A Darker Shade of Magic, but it was a hard choice to make! That concludes my June Book Haul and Wrap-Up! June was a great reading month for me; how was it for you? Have you read any of the books mentioned? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading(:

Bowlerhatgirl Recommends...Historical Fiction!

Hi everyone!
My recommendation post will be about historical fiction, because I think that it's one of my favourite genres, and I was looking at my bookcase today and realised that I have a lot of historical books! Quite a few of these I read a few years ago so some of them may not be YA, but they're still really good!

1. Any historical book by Mary Hooper. Mary Hooper has written so many books set in the past, from At the Sign of the Sugared Plum, which takes place in 1665 during the Plague, to Fallen Grace, which takes place in Victorian London. Her books really got me into reading historical fiction, and while the writing is kind of aimed at the lower end of YA, some of the subjects covered are quite dark. She doesn't sugar-coat the past, and has realistic, likeable main characters.

2. The Cat Royal series by Julia Golding. This series follows a girl called Cat Royal (surprisingly), who was left on the doorstep of the Drury Lane theatre when she was a baby. Throughout the books, Cat gets into various different adventures, having to evade the police, becoming a - reluctant - member of the Royal Navy, and pretending to be a ballerina. Cat is so feisty and brave that you can't not like her, and you learn quite a bit about the events that were happening in the late 1700s, like the French Revolution, slavery, and life in a mill. There isn't a lot of romance in these books (although I ship Cat and Frank), but the adventures Cat has are fun and exciting. You also experience what society was like just before 1800.

3. The Jane Austen duology by Cora Harrison. I'm not sure what this set of two books is called, but it consists of I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend and Jane Austen Stole My Boyfriend, and they're so sweet. It centres around a fictional character called Jenny - although she was apparently based on a real person - and Jane Austen when she was a teenager. Together, Jenny and Jane try to navigate the tricky waters that is society in Regency England. These books are written in the form of Jenny's diary and come complete with illustrations. Jenny is a lovely narrator, and it was really fun to read about a young Jane Austen (even if it is a fictional account). If you love Jane Austen, or a lighter historical read, I would definitely recommend these two books.

4. The Red Necklace duology by Sally Gardner. These two books - The Red Necklace and The Silver Blade - are set in the French Revolution and centre around Yann, a boy who possesses magical abilities, and Sido, who is trying to keep herself and her father, the Marque de Villeduval. I remember absolutely loving these books when I read them; there's just the right balance between magic and history, and I loved Yann, Sido, and Tetu the dwarf. It's also set in France, and I love books set in France. If you like your historical books to have a bit of fantasy in them, I would read these!

5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Oh hey, Libby managed to include The Night Circus in a post! She's never done that before! Anyway, The Night Circus is set in the 1800s, and though it doesn't focus on the historical side of the story much, it wouldn't feel as magical as it does. And it's just a good book...I would put it in any recommendation video to be honest! My review is here.

6. The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. By far one of my favourite series ever, the Infernal Devices is set in Victorian London and focusses on Tessa Gray as she arrives in the city and begins to realise that she may not be all that she seems. It features rich settings, Shadowhunter awesomeness, and WILLIAM HERONDALE AND JEM CARSTAIRS AKA BEST FRIENDS IN THE UNIVERSE EVER. The characters are so strong, and the plot will ultimately break your heart in an amazing way. Like The Night Circus, this series wouldn't be the same if it was set in present day.

7. In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. If you didn't know, I love Cat Winters' books, and this was just amazing. Set at the end of World War 1 during the Spanish Flu epidemic, Mary Shelley Black begins to question if the paranormal really doesn't exist after she does something desperate. There are pictures in the book, which adds to the atmospheric story, and I think Cat Winters' writing is great. As it is about ghosts, it's actually quite creepy and a little scary at times! My review for her book The Cure for Dreaming is here.

8. The Diviners by Libba Bray. I love all things 1920s; there's just something about that decade that makes me adore it, and if I could time travel I would go back to 1920s New York. So when I found The Diviners, which is set in the 1920s and contains paranormal aspects and people who can do cool stuff, it was bound to become one of my favourites. If you didn't know, The Diviners is about Evie O'Neill, a girl with supernatural abilities who is sent to New York, where she has to stop an evil that threatens the city. It's true that Evie is quite selfish and can be annoying, but there is such a wonderful cast of characters - Memphis, Theta, Henry (I love Henry and he was literally in about three scenes), JERICHO - and there are quite a few moments when Evie is endearing that you stop minding. With the sequel Lair of Dreams coming out soon, you have the perfect excuse to start reading The Diviners!

9. The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough. I recently just finished this book, but it's amazing. I won't say much about it because I've just done a review, but if you like strong independent female leads, the perfect fictional boyfriend, romance, angst, the 1930s, and books which personify Love and Death, this is the book for you. My review is here.

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. An obvious choice, but rightly so. It was so interesting to read about World War 2 from someone living in Germany's point of view, and Liesel and Rudy and Max's story is wonderful.

11. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. This is such a heart-breaking but good book. It follows Verity, an agent who gets trapped in Germany during World War 2, and Maddie, her best friend who was flying the plane they were both on when it crashed. With a massive plot twist and a sad, shocking ending, Code Name Verity is wonderful. Cross My Heart by Carmen Reid is also about spies in World War 2 and another very good book.

Those are my historical fiction recommendations! And of course there would be eleven instead of ten, because why have a nice rounded number? Have you read any of these? What did you think?
Thanks for reading(:

The Game of Love and Death - Review

Title: The Game of Love and Death
Author: Martha Brockenbrough
Part of a series? No, a standalone.
Synopsis (from the back of my copy) : Love is more than a game. Love and Death choose their players in an eternal game. Death has never lost and Love will do anything to win.
Henry and Flora find each other, not knowing they are the players. Can their love be enough to keep them both alive?
Rating: 4.75 stars.


I picked this book up because I thought it sounded a little bit like The Night Circus (both of them having a game the players don't know about). And, just like The Night Circus, I loved it! I found the writing style wonderful, and it only took me a few pages to adjust to it. I also like how chapters were short; for some reason, I feel like this makes me read faster, so the seventy-two chapters flew by! If you like The Night Circus, historical books, or a great book in general, I would recommend this book. However, if you aren't a fan of romance in books, or if you prefer books with lots of action and tension at the moment, maybe wait a bit to read The Game of Love and Death, as you may not appreciate it as much.


*SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON*


First of all, this story does kind of contain 'instalove' in the sense that as soon as Flora and Henry see each other, they feel a connection to one another, but I didn't have a problem with this; their relationship was basically bound to happen when they were babies by Love and Death. Also, they were so sweet, and I loved how their relationship was filled with music and planes and 'Somedays'.

Like Ethan's feelings for Henry, I did guess Love and Death's feelings for each other, but these were the only parts of the book that I predicted, so I wouldn't say this is a predictable book. There are lots of events caused by Love or Death that make the plot change directions.

Henry was definitely my favourite character. He was hopeful, kind, talented...a perfect fictional boyfriend! Having said that, Ethan was also a possible favourite character, as he was loyal to Henry. It made me so sad to read about how he was scared to admit he was gay, as in the 1930s there will have been real people who felt this way. It took me a while to warm to Death (there's a sentence I never thought I'd type!), but ultimately I ended up feeling sorry for her, as she had to feel the 'unrelenting loneliness of being the only one of her kind; the one everyone feared.' Flora was so strong and I loved how determined she was to fly planes.

The only negative I have is that Ethan's story felt incomplete. He just sort of disappeared! I think it was hinted with Annabel's dream that he died in World War 2, but his ending did not feel as solid as Henry and Flora's. I would have preferred it if, when Death came for Henry and Flora, one of the memories she saw was Ethan knocking on their door, or Henry and him bumping into each other on a street - just something that would have led to his story feeling finished.

Some of my favourite quotes:

'No self-respecting camel eats casserole. It could contain a relative.'
'If it's us versus the world, my money's on us.'
'A life with all its business unfinished is a life too cautiously lived.'
'All of this was how Love showed his affection for humans and their strangely beautiful, optimistic hearts. To be written into story. That was how even the lost lived on.'

Have you read this book? What did you think?
Thanks for reading(:

A Darker Shade Of Magic - Review

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: VE Schwab
Part of a series? Yes, the first book in the A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy.
Synopsis (from Goodreads): Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.
Rating: 4.75 stars.




This was the first book by V.E. Schwab I have read, and I absolutely LOVED it. Do you ever have moments when you're reading a book and suddenly realise that it's exactly what you wanted to read at that time? Well, I had that during this book. Quite a bit. Her writing is wonderful and the story is fast-paced as the chapters are short but detailed, and I am so glad that ADSOM lived up to the hype surrounding it!




*SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON*






So, where to start with ADSOM? The world(s) were interesting, distinctive, and it was clear that a lot of thought had gone into making them. I liked how Grey London was our London, as it made it feel like the possibility of Red, White, and Black London existing was not as far-fetched as it sounds. The magic system was interesting and different to most I've read, too, although at times it was slightly confusing (having said that, my head is a bit fried at the moment from exams, so maybe that's why I struggled to keep up!).




Another part of the novel that I loved was the characters. They were so well-developed, and Kell was a great protagonist. Admittedly, it took me some time to like Lila, but by the end of the book I thought she was pretty kick-ass and amazing. Athos and Astrid were excellent villains,  which was good because I love it when you can really hate the villains! My favourite character was definitely Rhy; I may have fallen a little in love with him, and I hope there's more of him in the second book. V.E. Schwab also blurred the lines between good and bad with Holland fantastically, and I just know that he's going to come back in the second book, maybe in charge of Black London with that creepy stone? That's my theory, anyway.




A Darker Shade of Magic was refreshing, because there was little romance in it! We got to see Kell and Lila's friendship develop, and, while I love romance books, it made a nice change to just focus on the adventure and action (of which there is lots, some quite gruesome), and not the couple (although Kell and Lila were a cute pair).




I would recommend this book to lovers of fantasy or historical fiction (or amazing books!), and to people who want to try an adult book and who aren't opposed to the odd swear word and bloody battle. I only just found out that A Darker Shade of Magic is an adult novel, not a YA, and unlike the Mysterious Affair at Castaway House, I found it quite easy to read.  I'm actually glad ADSOM is an adult novel; after reading TMAACH, I was feeling a bit apprehensive of reading other adult novels, but now I'm more excited to read some of the books I've got waiting for me, like The Miniaturist and Gone Girl. One of my favourite books this year so far!


Have you read ADSOM? What did you think? Let me know!
Thanks for reading(: