Saturday, 18 June 2016

The Liebster Award

The lovely Zoë at My Bookish Wonderland has nominated me for The Liebster Award.

The whole idea of the award is to discover new blogs and already I have discovered three.

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the award.

2. Answer the 11 questions that the blog gives you.

3. Give 11 random facts about yourself.

4. Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think are deserving of the award that have less than 200 followers.

5. Let the blogs know you have nominated them.

6. Give them 11 questions to answer.

This is really good news for me because I never know where to look for a new book blog. You can follow the chain, go see Zoe, see who she nominated, see who nominated her and so on and so forth until your email is simply brimming with fine blogs. So thank you Zoë!

These are the questions I was given.

1. What's your favourite genre?

This is a hard question because it changes. Right now I'm loving some YA and NA Fantasy, but I also love some Contemporary YA. I like variety, I've never been took picky about Genre as long as it's good but YA does seem to cover my shelves more than anything else.

2. Do you listen to music while reading?

I couldn't personally pay attention if I was listening to music. I do when I write and some authors create playlists on Spotify that I listen to as a reread passages. Sarah J Maas is great for those, even in her newsletter she tells you which section goes with which music and I love seeing how the beats fall, but only in a reread.

3. Are you good at predicting plot twists?

I like to think I am, but I am also one of those terrible people who reads the last few pages before I start. Something about not knowing exactly where I'm headed freaks me out a little bit and I don't think I get too spoiled from the last couple pages. I like a good surprise as well so I don't often make predictions.

4. Do you want to write a book yourself one day?

Yes, yes I do. This year I have got a degree in Creative Writing and made way through two books I wish to eventually publish. One is a collection of feminist short stories and the other is the first in a fantasy series. I plan to have the first draft down by the end of this year and then leave it as a write the first draft of a contemporary that just screaming at me to be written. I'll get there eventually. I'm working on it.

5. Do you like going to libraries and borrow books there?

I think libraries are a great resource, my mother is a librarian and I borrowed Asking For It by Louise O'niell from the library today. I used it more when I was younger because I couldn't afford all the books I wanted to read. I think libraries are great, especially if you just want to try a book on for size.

6. What do you do when someone loans a book of yours and brings it back in bad condition?

I don't lend out my books and if I do, it's to someone who I know will take care of it. They ruin it, they buy me a knew one. The signed ones stay with me.

7. Who is your favourite character (doesn't have to be from a book)

I have to say Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass, Manon is a close second but I just relate to Celaena in such a crazy way. She is one of the only characters I know who loves herself but also hates her very being. She is so complex and I just love reading her. Seeing her strength gives me strength in return. She is as much in my heart as Harry Potter or Katniss.

8. How many books are on your TBR list?

I lost count about five years ago, now I consider my thoughts on buying books to be that of Alaska from Looking for Alaska. I always have something to read, way too much in fact - like a bookcase worth.

9. How many books would you like to read this year?

Every year I aim for 100 books. The past two years have been difficult with my degree and work so I have fall dismally short. I will still aim fro 100 but likely I'll get maybe 50 if my reading picks up now I'm finished with University. Next year 100 for sure!

10. When in the day do you read the most?

I read the most at night before bed. I think most adults who struggle to find time can always put an hour away before bed, but a sunny afternoon in a garden can be pretty productive too.

11. If you could meet any author who would it be and what would you ask him/her?

I have met a few authors before, Sarah J Maas, Maggie Stiefvater, Patrick Ness, but I always tend to be a little bit nervous and awkward. Sadly I have never met J K Rowling. I always wanted too and almost did but she didn't want anyone talking about Harry Potter or wearing merchandise or brining to books so it seemed a little pointless. I hope I do get to meet her one day and I'd ask about the museum in Edinburgh. If you've been there you'll know what I mean. Coincidence? I think not.

Now for 11 facts about me, I guess:

1. I have a deep seeded hatred for slugs and onions and dolphins.

2. I am allergic to wasps.

3. I always read the acknowledgments when I start a book, (Sometimes they are super romantic).

4. My favourite holiday is Halloween, because DUH! COSTUMES!

5. I am incredibly well travelled for someone my age.

6. I'm twenty two.

7. I own some impressive and beautiful notebooks I haven't written in...yet.

8. I hate the smell of lilies.

9. If I could live off doughnuts, I would.

10. I can remember quotes terrifyingly fast.

11. I judge a book by it's cover.

I nominate:

The Review Diaries
Boats Against The Current (Love your Sarah J Maas posts! Book blogger Cliche's all the way!)
YA Bookaholic
The Book Nerd In Me
Caterfee Reviews! Sup Girl!

These are all top notch blogs I personally love and I think you will too.

My 11 Questions to you guys are:

1. What sparked your passion for reading?
2. What is your favourite reading spot?
3. What is your favourite cover art ever?
4. How do you deal with your TBR shelf?
5. Best book you read in the past year? (No rereads)
6. Who is your favourite booktuber?
7. First book you ever read?
8. What is your go to reading snack?
9. Why is reading important to you?
10. Where would you be without reading?
11. What is your favourite thing about yourself? (Not book related but still important to know).

So answer the questions, tag me in the post and think of your 11 facts because you guys are next.

I hope you keep this chain moving and I look forward to reading your posts.

Happy Reading!

throne of glass

A Court of Mist and Fury By Sarah J Maas

Louise Wilkes 13:27:00 0

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Feyre is immortal.

After rescuing her lover Tamlin from a wicked Faerie Queen, she returns to the Spring Court possessing the powers of the High Fae. But Feyre cannot forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people - nor the bargain she made with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court.

As Feyre is drawn ever deeper into Rhysand's dark web of politics and passion, war is looming and an evil far greater than any queen threatens to destroy everything Feyre has fought for. She must confront her past, embrace her gifts and decide her fate.

She must surrender her heart to heal a world torn in two.

Image from staybookish

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Published May 3rd 2016 by Bloomsbury Childrens Books

Paperback 624 pages

We join our heroine Feyre (Fay-RUH) once again in Prythian, where we left off in the first book A Court of Thorns and Roses. I gave the first book in the series a pitiful 3.5 stars. This doesn't seem too pitiful but I hold Maas to a much higher standard. When I read the first book I couldn't connect with the characters or the plot.

However, A Court of Mist and Fury is a gamechanger!

I have always loved Throne of Glass, it has been my ultimate pick whenever people ask me for book reccomendations. Maas has just beat herself to my favourite book series, she now holds the top two spots, which is pretty impressive.

Feyre defeated Amarantha in the last book, died and was brought back to life as a Fae. A Court of Mist and Fury shows the fallout from this beautifully. Feyre is not only emotionally changed, she is more fearful at first, suffering nightmares and just a downright wreck. She loses a lot of weight and under the pressure of Tamlin's overprotective gaze she is in a very, very bad place. She has these growing powers, accidentally passed on through the high Fae who brought her back to life and within the first 100 pages, all of this comes to a fantastic climax. The bond with Rhysand is immediately a key factor, she calls to him on her wedding day and flees, leaving Tamlin in the lurch.

Fans of the first book will be upset if they started with a Tamlin/Feyre ship, though I don't know many who did. Honestly Tamlin turning into a controlling and arguably abusive boyfriend was the best thing that could have happened to Feyre. I didn't find him particularly endearing in the first book and I'm glad to be rid of him. Rhysand shows up and frees our heroine from Tamlin's clutches, for a time. As the deal permits, he begins taking her for a week every month and honestly, I see the appeal of Rhysand. He reminds me of Tom Hiddleston's Loki, only fitter, way fitter.

Eventually life with Tamlin gets too much and Feyre ends up at Rhysand's side. We've been waiting for it and we love. Here we begin a labyrinth of beautifully entwined stories, a love story that feels worthy of a Sarah J Maas novel and a supporting cast that is mind blowing. We see the world from the night court, learn about the intricities of actually running a court and of Rhysand himself. This is not some measly romantic story. This a grand love story with a background in supernatural political warzone. It's stunning just stunning.

There are these moments, when Feyre is alone and the way it is written is stunning. She looks at the stars and they start falling to the earth and I fall in love with Feyre, I fall in love with all of them in the way she does and I fall in with Rhysand. This love story is so beautiful because you fall in love with these characters, it takes the story to a new level.

We have this looming threat of war in the background. Hybern is readying for war and the night court are the doing the same in secret, they need to destroy the cauldron and defeat Hybern before they break the barrier to the human world and massacre everyone. This is the largest part of the plot and it takes most of the time. Our love story moves with it, almost until they inseperable and it comes to a fantastic climax when Tamlin is working with Hybern to kidnap Feyre or reclaim him property as he sees it.

I know rught, what a fucking ARSEHOLE! I HATE TAMLIN, I HATE HIM. I hope he dies next book I am so ready for it. It causes so much pain. I knew when he showed up there wasn't enough pages left for good things to happen. Feyre pretends not to love Rhysand, demands the King severe the mating bond between them (yeah that happened) and her sisters become Fae and one of them mates with Lucien! AHHHH! It ends with Feyre in the midst of spring court again, pretending to love Tamlin, pretending she was a prisoner with Rhysand. Even though they already got married and YOU CAN'T BREAK A MATING BOND BRO!

FEYRE + RHYSAND 4 LYF!XO

It was all very exciting and I can't believe I have to wait a year for the concluding novel.

It is worth mentionging that though ACOTAR is a YA book, ACOMAF is not. A Court of Mist and Fury is a new adult because there are a lot of sex scenes. Normally I have a lot of distaste for scenes like this, they can be crude and not sexy at all. Just see Fifty Shades of Grey is you don't believe me. They were hot, that's all I'm going to say. Hot.

It was great, it really was great and I would highly recommend it. I haven't been excited about a series properly in a while and this book cured my reading block. Love it. LOVE IT! Get it read.

If you do please do let me know what you thought.
Comment below.
Tag me in a blogpost.
Send me it in Morse code.
Whatever's convenient.

Thank you for your time and
Happy Reading!

Sunday, 8 May 2016

Rebel of The Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Louise Wilkes 03:20:00 2

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.

Image from booknerd

Rebel of The Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Published February 4th 2016 by Faber & Faber
Paperback 358 Pages

How can I describe this book. Some books are given this hype that they don't deserve (in my opinion, I am only one person) - this is not one of them books. I bought this simply because the cover was beautiful, you can't blame me because DAMN! How pretty is that!? The girl behind the counter told me 'This is great, it's like a spaghetti western mixed with Arabian nights.' I shrugged her off and plopped this beauty on my TBR shelf. Well, aren't I the idiot?!

I'm maybe a few weeks late to the party, but was this book good? YES! It literally was Aladdin mixed with Clint Eastwood mixed with awesome powers and the journey was amazing. Hamilton, Girl you can write!

I'm going to start with the ending, because I'm weird like that. Hamilton knows she can write because she ended this badboy at the perfect moment. Big battle won, look off into distance thinking about the uncertain future aaaand curtain fall. She knows the reader has enough closure not to throw the book across the room, she knows your buying the next one, her mama didn't raise no fool.

There is only really one relationship that follows us through the entire book, Amani (our protagonist) and Jin. Of course there is this underlying romance just bubbly beneath the surface, but it takes a step back. It is important so it isn't fully developed, yet. Amani and Jin meet in the first chapter and they end up rather inseparable, first by circumstance and then just by want. I adore when a first book isn't rushing itself to get into the main plot, this book develops that relationship so we don't suffer from an instant connection - meets him one night, bares her soul to him the next, married by the weekend - No thanks! Instead we follow Amani, I learn her voice, the way she thinks, every ounce of her character until anyone could write about her because she is well written. It is so important for writers to know their characters inside and out and Hamilton has hers locked in.

There is also a vibrant supporting cast of characters who flitter in and out and some will stay for sequels but some maybe won't. She manages to create a large cast of supporting characters, of people who interact with Amani and Jin and share parts of their journey and making them connectable, whilst also being able to ditch them on the next page. That is hard, usually books just make these carbon copies for supporting cast and add distinctions to the ones they are going to keep around, but all the supporting characters are distinct and different and we are not pandered to think we can't keep up because we can. We just can't tell who's important enough to keep around. That is why Hamilton can write the dramatic parts of this book, because I don't know who or what is next. This is the first book in a long time that has not followed some pre-set YA formula and that is really refreshing.

There are also these feminist undertones. Amani lives in a world where all the feminist issues of our world are heightened. She is dressed like a boy for the majority of the novel (which is just delicious and hilarious for Amani and Jin's relationship). It is always important, especially in YA fantasy for me, that a book is saying something, like it has a foundation of what it is wanting to say, otherwise, why tell the story?

This book was everything I wished The Assassin's Curse had been. It had drama and these beautiful quiet moments that made me feel like I too was sat in the desert and looking up at the stars. It was stunning, just stunning. Best book I have read in a really long time.

Happy Reading.

Monday, 25 April 2016

transgender

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

Louise Wilkes 13:28:00 0

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Two boys. Two secrets.

David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth – David wants to be a girl.

On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not part of that plan.

When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long…

Image from KittyPann

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
Publishined January 7th 2016 by David Fickling Books
Paperback 357 Pages

This 2016 YA Book Prize Nominee has been given countless critical acclaim. I cannot say I agree, something that has sat really unwell with me. In the story, the main protagonist is David who ultimately wants to be a woman. The issue with this book is not the idea, in fact that was what attracted me to the book in the first place. The issue for me is that both David and Leo, the misunderstood boy from a bad home, are supposed to be sixteen. For you Americans out there, year 11 is the last year of school, yet these characters talk as if they ten years old.

That being said, I had another issue with this book. David is transgender, he is defined by that. That is his whole personality and that important to me that my character was a person. That can sound weird because obviously characters are ultimately made him two dimensional and flat. Leo too was a stereotype. Every character fit into these perfectly formed categories of how "kids" apparently act. I was sixteen not that long ago, I still remember what it was like and it doesn't feel from the writing that Williamson does remember.

Williamson is not a bad writer, the book has many redeeming qualities but none as important as attempting to tell a very difficult story, but the most important moments were ignored whether from fear of messing them up or creating emphasis by ignoring them.

Suffice to say I was unable to finish the book because the character development just wasn't there. I wasn't rooting for anyone because I didn't care and with such an emotionally raw and complex idea, it should have been.

#sorrynotsorry

Happy Reading

Thursday, 18 February 2016

winter

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Louise Wilkes 05:37:00 1

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

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

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

Winter by Marissa Meyer
Published November 12th 2015 by Puffin
Paperback 823 pages

Winter is the final book in bestselling The Lunar Chronicles series. This 800 page beast took me two weeks to read just from it's sheer mass but it is so worth it. Winter is the book you always wish would be the final in a series. It is so long and has so much content every question you had was answered and none of it felt rushed.

We have a lot of near misses in Winter. Our friends get to Lunar within the first 100 pages but it takes so long for us to finally defeat Levana. The length isn't an issue, in fact the pacing is bang on. Every time I start a final book in a series I always panic. It inevitably feels rushed and always feel like there needed to be another book. This was not the case with Winter. It was actually wonderful the amount of detail and the build up to the final fantastic battle for Lunar.

We join the team on the Rampion after they kidnapped Kai. They return him soon but not after making a master plan to get onto Lunar. Only 100 pages in I start to panic, oh god what is the rest of the book if she becomes queen so quickly. Luckily that didn't happen. A whopping 700 pages later she becomes queen and quickly decides to abolish the monarchy, but we will get to that. The journey there is this up and down roller coaster of fighting and rallying and sickness and poison apples. We have fake murders, real murders, several propaganda videos and finally get to see what is behind that veil.

As the team gets to Lunar they are immediately found. Obviously because Meyer has no interest in making this science fiction space opera more realistic. They flee the capital, this part steam punk, part sci-fi world of Lunar has been a long time coming and it didn't disappoint. Cinder gets caught and breaks free and gets caught and breaks free so many times. She is in so many sticky situations that my fists were clenched and my breath was short with each paragraph. My favourite escape has to be the balcony leap. Cinder is finally caught by Levana, who starts sending cyborg pieces of her to Kai, then at the wedding reception. Guess who's the entertainment? Levana begins this trial of Cinder and then BOOM! Cinder is manipulating guards, wolves are fighting and she rips herself from Levana's grip and leaps from a balcony. It was heart thumping goodness and there are so many other moments like this that I really don't want to spoil. Then with the final battle, it was tense, I felt like I knew that Cinder was going to win but with each passing moment and page I was less and less sure and then as the final fight between her and Levana begins and Thorne is stabbing her and slicing and apologising it was just AHHHHHH!

There is also this really lovely romantic underlying feel. Even with Cress/Thorne, Scarlet/Wolf and Cinder/Kai we have a new ship that I can so get behind . WINTER + JACE! They are so perfect together and I just adored them even with only one book to really see them, the relationship dynamics were immediately clear and Winter herself was this wonderful, a little nuts princess who was kind of rocking. Towards the end after everything with her manipulating Scarlet I was worried.

I really don't want to spoil any books here. I really don't, I put the spoiler warning just in case but I really want you to know this book is amazing. The perfect ending to a consistently wonderful series. There is no weak link in this series all the books are amazing. Anyway pick it up, the series or just the book. You won't regret it. There is a reason these books are bestsellers.

Happy Reading.

P.S - Winter doesn't have to be the end.

STARS ABOVE

A LUNAR CHRONICLES COLLECTION

The enchantment continues. . . .

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

Saturday, 2 January 2016

tbr

A Year Without Reading: A TBR!

Louise Wilkes 12:04:00 0

There's nothing worse for a book lover than to get to the end of the year and realise you barely read anything. My Goodreads challenge is pitifully low and I wasn't even close to winning. NaNoWriMo was a bust and overall 2015 had been a suck-ish year in terms of reading for me.

This isn't from not wanting to but simply in the immortal words that writers love to condemn,

'I DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME.'

I'm a third year at University living and tidying my first house. I have to work to pay for said house and at the end of the day, when I drag my knackered bottom to bed, I don't stay up to read. Having a year in which I only read about 20 books (I know that still okay for some people, but one year I got 200 down! Damn I was on point) and I'm sort of freaked out by it and hope this won't be the beginning of a sad bookless life. I'm being dramatic, I've just been busy. Adulting is all about finding routine, once I get that down, I'll be good.

However in 2015, I did purchase a lot of books, and in order to urge myself to get them done, here is a TBR for 2016 of sorts. These are the books I will definitely get read this year, hopefully this month.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson (Started in 2015)
Throne of Glass 5 by Sarah J Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
Stolen by Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston
Let It Snow by John Green and More (I'll get it done one year, I swear)

These are just a few I'm hoping to read this year. To make up for my lackluster 2015, I'm also trying to read the books I've been neglecting, that I bought years ago and never read or finished. It's sad really, my TBR shelf is in need of a little TLC.

So how is your book year looking?

Did you rock in 2015?

Let me know!

Happy Reading.