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(: