Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

There is a lot of hype surrounding this book, more than the two before it in 'The Lunar Chronicles', and after having read this book, I can see why. 'Cinder' and 'Scarlet' are works of art and are simply amazing, but 'Cress' brings together the different storylines in such an exquisite and beautiful way that I do not know how it can be bettered. It puts the characters through trouble and turmoil, there is heartbreak and loss, but even with all of that, I still felt happy at the end of the book. I felt happy for the direction that this series is going in and, of course, for the starting to blossom relationships between Cinder and Kai and Throne and Cress.

With each new book in this series Meyer manages to introduce to us a new female heroine who we can fall in love with and side with. We get to know their inner workings and feel like we are sure about what we know about them, then we get to see them from another character's perspective and realise that they were not who they perceived themselves to be, but someone ever better because of their differences and their imperfections.

I would love to go into detail with everything that happened in this book, but it is simply far too long for me to do so. I'm not saying that its length is a downside, in fact it was something that I really liked about this book as I felt that with the ones before I would have liked to spend a lot more time in that world and with this book I finally got the opportunity to.

One of the key points of this book was to introduce Cress to us, I mean, just look at the title of the book. Something that is definitely one of my favourite things about this series is the fact that each story is loosely based on a fairytale and it took me a while to pick up certain points that related to the fairytale of Rapunzel, but I was overcome by Meyer's brilliantness when I realised how the story fitted with the age old classic. Thorne's blindness was something that I didn't realise was part of the fairytale at first, as over the years I have read many versions of the story, some with the Prince's blindness in some not. Looking back, I guess that Thorne's name could be linked to the story as well as originally the Prince became blind when his eyes were stabbed with thorns. Little links like that really boost my love for this series.

This book started to deal with Cinder's growing power more and even though she was practicing throughout the whole book, it wasn't until the final few chapters that we realised what she was capable of and the discovery of that really gives me confidence that in the future books they will be able to overthrow Levana and take control. In a way though, Cinder's growing power is a scary thing and I can see why she is worrying about becoming like Levana as power is a thing that can be hard to control once you get too much of a taste for it.

I feel like I cannot talk about this book without talking about the relationships within it and by that I do not just mean the romantic ones. The bond between a father and his daughter is something that I always find special and to have that bond severed before it could fully be formed has a detrimental effect on both parties. Of course it is more than harsh for the mother as well, but this book dealt with the idea of hope of recovering what Dr Erland had had pulled from his grasp and the short-lived joy when Cress was finally returned to him. It was a bittersweet reunion, but I'm so glad that it was included.

With romantic relationships, I do like the idea of Cress and Thorne as a couple, but I have to say that Cinder and Kai are the couple that I'm rooting for most. In the first book the feelings that both shared were expressed on the page, but they never were truthful to each other about them and I so wanted them to be. Finally, two books later, their feelings have been admitted and I am over the moon. I can see a good future for them, well, after they've dealt with saving the world.

In conclusion, this book is so good I can't find an appropriate adjective to describe it; I don't know of any that will do it justice. In the next book I'm excited to find out more about Lunar, as the book will be told from Princess Winter's perspective, and know the risks from this new strand of letumosis and whether it will threaten any of my beloved characters. I don't know how I will be able to wait much longer for it even though I've only just finished 'Cress'!

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Review: Half Wild by Sally Green

Half Bad was an amazing book, no doubt about it, and I was thinking that this series had the possibility to be one of my favourites after reading it. Having just finished Half Wild, that statement has been blown out of the water because this series is now so much more than that. I am desperate for it to be 2016 already so I can read the final book because after all the ups and downs, twists and turns in this book, I feel more than a need for the conclusion to this trilogy.

I have said this in my previous review I believe, yet the concept of black witches, white witches, half bloods and half codes is something that still really astounds me because of what a different and great idea it is. In this book we got to explore their interrelations a little more as they were all in one place and had to work together. The concept that not all white witches are good and not all black witches are bad could be seen as an almost mushy idea, but I think it is important as it can be applied to our own society. We judge people before we know them based on their family or their religion or their race and we shouldn't do that. In the context of this novel, yes, the black witches do have a tendency to be more violent, but then you have to compare it to people like Jessica and Soul in the white witch group who are doing much worse things than some black witches will ever do.

Death was also a major theme in this book that really stood out to me. When this book started, Nathan had killed, but he had not killed many people and I could tell from the way the start of this book was written that he was remorseful as a result of doing that. 'War changes people.' I am not sure where I have heard that quote before, but I can see from this book that it is very much true. Killing has become almost a second nature to Nathan, which I do not think is a good thing, but it is vital for what we will see him do in the future. I will be interested and scared to see is some of Marcus' more violent nature has passed onto Nathan in the next book.

Nathan's Gift was starting to be explored in this book and it was very intriguing to see the inner battle within Nathan for the control over the animal part of himself and the eventual realisation that he could not control that part of him just as a lion tamer never truly controls a lion. He had to accept that the only way for him to accept this new part of him was to accept the animal within him rather than fight it. I think that the time he spent with his father really helped Nathan to get a grasp on what he should do with his Gift rather than push it to one side and only let it out when he needed to do something for himself.  I wonder if the Gifts that he now has can be combined - that would be good to see in the final book!

I feel like I cannot write a review on this book without talking about the romantic interests within it. When reading the last book I did think that Nathan and Annalise could work as a couple when we saw the time that they would meet every week, however as soon as Gabriel was introduced, I started to drift away from that idea. This book confirmed to me even more that I did not want Nathan and Annalise to be together, but instead I would prefer Nathan and Gabriel to be together, just as I'm sure Gabriel would. I won't make any comment about Nathan's feelings apart from that he seemed to be trying to convince himself that Gabriel was his friend, rather than telling Gabriel what he actually felt.

I am very thankful to Sally Green for introducing the idea to us that Nathan is bisexual (there are also other sexualities I'm aware he could be, but to me this seems like the most simple explanation at the moment so I'm going to roll with it) without the internal drama of 'oh I like a guy, is there something wrong with me?' part. Nathan accepts it as something that is natural rather than something he should shy away from and no one seems to be in any way homophobic about it. I think that more books should accept it as a natural thing, instead of something that needs a long and thoughtful thinking process over it.

The end of this book left me craving more as I am excited and nervous to see what will happen to my beloved characters, of which Annalise is not one. I also hope that we can see more of Nathan and Arran being brothers again because that was something that I really liked reading about from Nathan's childhood in the first book.

Overall, this series is planning out to be one of my absolute favourites and if you haven't started Half Bad or Half Wild yet, I would really encourage you to do so!

(Goodreads parallel)

Holiday Reading - A Collection of Reviews

Over the past two weeks, my Easter holidays, I have read four books and I thought that instead of posting individual reviews on them, I should combine them into one post.

Scarlet -Marissa Meyer

Upon seeing that this book was not focused on Cinder, I became worried that we would leave her storyline completely and after the end of the first book, I was utterly devastated and confused by that. Thankfully, though this book did have focus on Scarlet, it also had focus on Cinder as well.

This book picked up the story very soon after Cinder had finished and that really reminded me of how little time this book actually covers. The number of events and depth of this book makes it seems as if weeks or months could have passed, but in reality it was only a few days.

The story of Scarlet I could instantly link to the fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood from the disappearance of her grandmother and her red hoodie. I do love how this series links into different fairytales and adapts them so that they can fit in with a more complex universe. As a person, I liked Scarlet for her passion and how she was not always wanting to rely on others. However, I did feel that she started to trust Wolf too soon and that meant that I wasn't totally on board with their relationship until she managed to stop him from attacking her.  As well as that, I could tell that he hadn't betrayed her and actually had feelings for her when they went into the old theatre from the way he was acting beforehand and though that may have been part of Meyer's plan as an author, to me, I would have preferred to be surprised and experience Scarlet's way of thinking.

Exploring Cinder's powers was something that I was hoping would happen in this book. I think that the phrase 'power is addictive' fits in well with what Cinder was struggling with and I am actually quite scared for how it will influence her in the future. We have already seen her break down because of her actions, but will the consequences in later books be more severe? As well as that, learning what Kai was having to do to try and keep the peace was also heartbreaking. It was good to hear that he was not repulsed by Cinder being a cyborg because after the ending of the first book, I was willing to cast him aside completely for what he had done. Finally the return of Iko and introduction of Thorne was something that really drew me into the book; I can't wait to see how their storylines will continue.

Overall this book was sublime and I can't wait to get my hands on Cress!

(Goodreads parallel)

I'll Give You The Sun - Jandy Nelson

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. However, I was soon caught up in the parallel storylines that took place at different times and fell in love with both of the twins for different reasons. I liked Jude for her quirkiness and seeming rebellion from what she was expected to be and act like. I loved how Noah would imagine situations as paintings and how he wanted a life that he was never going to have because I think that can be applied to a lot of people's lives.

Noah at thirteen was someone who I admired for his talent and love of art and also someone who I felt sorry for as he couldn't express himself as he really wanted to, especially with Brian. There was the competition of sibling rivalry on top of that, which Jude experienced as well, and wanting something so much that he focused so much of his time and effort on. Then a few things started to change and I was very happy for Brian and Noah, but I knew from Jude's perspective that something must have gone wrong, which only made the end of their relationship more terrible.

Jude at sixteen was someone who was living with a lot of regret and shame, who instead of sharing it, was letting it all pile up on her shoulders when screaming it out would have probably been better for her mind and soul. Carving her sculptures was a way for her to scream it out and her relationship with Oscar was something that she was not prepared for because at that point she hadn't yet learning to let go of the past. As a character, I loved her immensely because I could feel the weight she carried as if it were my own and I was pleased that she tried to make up for her past mistakes.

I especially loved this book because of how all the events interlinked and how all the characters were involved in each other's lives. The realisation of those connections really left me in a state and I can't thank my friends enough so listening to my ramblings on this book that probably made no sense because I was so emotionally invested in the story.

After reading this book, I would highly recommend it and I think I will have to go on a search for more Jandy Nelson books as a result of how this book made me feel.

(Goodreads parallel)

Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins

I have been told by numerous people that Isla is their favourite book in the series that started with Anna. I cannot agree with that opinion and think that this is more a 4.5 star book, though I think I prefer it to Lola.

Having the first small section of the book months before the rest of it started was a really nice ease into the book as it introduced Isla to us in a simple way and also let us in on her crush on Josh without taking away from the aspect of her going back to school, which it would have done otherwise.

As a character, I did quite like Isla. She was hard-working and quite self-sufficient as she only really had one friend. That one friend, Kurt, I ended up feeling quite sorry for because it became plain that as soon as Josh started taking an interest in Isla that their relationship would change. As well as that, the fact that he had autism reminded me that this book was not supposed to be about perfect people living a perfect life. It didn't overly restrict him, but it made the book feel more real.

Josh was a main character in Anna's book, though I have to admit that I didn't pay as much attention to him as I should have. So, for me it was really interesting to get a deeper look into his life, his love of art and how he dealt with certain situations. All his friends had left the year before and he was struggling with his school life, which I had got from the first book, but I barely knew anything about Josh then - it was nice to see more into who he really is in this book.

This book was different in its set up to the others. It didn't focus on the characters getting together as much, but rather what happened once they were together. It felt odd to have a teen romance book set up in that way and though I am not against it (I liked how this book got to focus on the actual relationship rather than some 'friendship' that could be put into question), but to have Isla and Josh go on a trip to Barcelona to have sex less than halfway through the book did feel a bit soon. I think that it made me question their relationship more than I did the other couples, but also made their relationship feel like it was closer to what would happen in real life because not all couples spend ages pining after each other, they get together and then things progress from there.

I was happy that we got to see the other characters again, though in a way their introduction in this book did feel a bit like it was pinned on the end. I think I preferred it to Anna's constant involvement in Lola's book though as I want them to be able to be read as separate stories.

Overall this was a good read, but definitely not Perkins' best. Maybe I set my expectations too high after hearing so many amazing things about it.

(Goodreads parallel)

To All The Boys I've Loved Before - Jenny Han

Even though I have given this book five stars, I would say that it is more accurately 4.5 stars. The concept of this book was something totally different to romance books that I have read before and that really made it so much more interesting. The idea of writing someone a love letter to get over them is not something that I would have ever thought about before, but thinking over it, it actually makes sense. This book was not based off something that would never happen, just something that was unlikely to happen and that is what made it special.

I also love that this book wasn't your typical 'white girl' romance book. The infusion of slight differences in culture made this book stand out as well and though we don't learn much about the girl's deceased mother, her absence was felt throughout the whole book by the girl's having to be a lot more mature than anyone would expect someone of their age to be.

In terms of the romance, I am left totally confused. We are presented with two boys, one of whom Lara Jean thinks she fancies and the other she used to fancy but no longer feels that way. Then there is the concept of fake dating from which a true romance blossoms, but because of lasting ties and other people's views, it is a romance that doesn't work out the way that both parties would want it to. At the beginning, I was thinking that Josh had it in the bag, but now I am utterly on Peter's side.

My criticisms of this book are that, for a nine year old, Kitty seemed far to mature. I have a nine year old sister myself and feel like sometimes the language she was using and way she was acting reminded me more of an eleven or twelve year old. As well as that, the fact that Lara Jean  was never questioning of her elder sister put me on edge a bit. Real sisters never seem to me to be as perfect as they are and it made the words on the page feel more like a story than I would have liked.

Overall, I really liked this book and cannot wait for the next book to come out! The cliff-hanger we're left on may not be as dramatic as in some action novels, but it is raising my heart rate just as much.

(Goodreads parallel)

Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

It is fair to say that there has been a lot of hype around this book and after reading it I can definitely see why. Even though I have given this book four out of five stars, I would probably say that it is more like four and a half stars out of five. However, I do not think I could give this book a five star rating because to me, it is not worthy of that.

The beginning of this book had a very 'Shadow and Bone' feel to it, which I liked because I really like that book and universe, but I also felt like it seemed to be drawing too much from that universe. I don't know if that series was any sort of inspiration for this book, but the Silvers having powers and the Reds being kept out of high society really linked the two books for me.

The world that was created in this book is definitely an amazing thing. I could really tell from this book the amount of effort that had gone into making the world work so that each place fit together and everything made sense. I kept on wishing that there was some sort of map that I could refer to so I could identify this world to a visual image, but it was also nice to have my imagination run wild with the ideas of what it could look like.

The idea of the world being separated by the colour of the people's blood was something very new and it interested me greatly. It was great to not only have the difference of the Silvers having powers, but also having the difference of the colour of their blood really added to the story as there was a definite physical difference for me to identify with. The science side of me wonders what they would have instead of red blood cells to make their blood that colour and the history of the Silvers and Reds is something that I would like to explore more in the coming books.

As a character, I liked and disliked Mare. This story was told from her perspective so I felt like I should know her and her feelings, but I felt like I couldn't link what the text told me her feelings were to her actions. She was very passionate and wanted to stand up for what she believed in, which I admired greatly, yet I did not like her seeming disassociation with her feelings and thinking that she could toy around with other people's feelings - I don't really believe that that's the right way to go about things.

One aspect of this book that I really liked was the lessons and training that the Silvers went through. It was a good thing to see them being prepared and ready to fight rather than just sitting around and relying on others to do everything for them. As well as that, the fact that their training was not just focused on them using their powers was a very important thing as it meant that they recognise that their powers couldn't do everything for them. That side of this, and them knowing that their powers were not for all to end all, was something likably different about this book.

The Scarlet Guard reminded me greatly of other revolutionary groups - they set out with good intentions, but that eventually leads to people being killed when they have not necessarily done anything wrong and the group itself can become as corrupt as the people they're trying to throw out are because of differing opinions. Though this book didn't really cover the second point, it did really look into the first point. Above everything else, we look after ourselves first and everyone else is just collateral damage so we can achieve our aim. I wonder how many more will have to die for a supposed equality to be achieved?

The actual storyline of this book captured my imagination immensely. I was constantly interested in what would happen to Mare, Cal, Maven and all the other characters next. That was helped by the level of description Aveyard went into (I do love lots of description) and how well she created this world. The plot twist at the end really caught me out and though I had been warned through the whole book about it, I was still not prepared for it. I just wanted to scream and throw the book against the wall because I felt so hurt and betrayed, but that is also a good thing because this book made me able to feel those emotions.

Though there were parts of this book that I didn't like, overall this book is absolutely amazing and I would definitely recommend it. I cannot wait for the next book in the series now!

(Goodreads parallel) 

Review: Waiting For Wednesday by Nicci French

My mum gave this book to me after she read it, saying how much she enjoyed it and how she thought that I would like it and I have to say that her praise and recommendation was not misplaced; it's a really good book.

It is always going to be difficult starting a series on the third book in and I did consider stopping reading because of continuing storylines, but because it is a crime novel with a new crime to solve, I decided that it would be an alright storyline to pick up. I believe I was right in that judgement as even though there were already characters and relationships that had been established, I found them relatively easy to get a grasp on, even though there were so many for me to remember.

In the past the crime novels I have read have focused more on the technical aspects of solving crimes; the finger prints, analysing the body etc. However as Frieda is a psychotherapist rather than a detective, forensic anthropologist or the like, I was not expecting that from this book. Having read novels from the two different sides now, I feel like I can have a more well-rounded view. This side seems to be based a lot more on impulse, which I guess I do find a bit more unrealistic because it's as if the author is controlling the characters rather than letting the characters do the work themselves, but having said that, I do like Frieda's approach of not wanting to get involved, only wanting to help and them being thrown in at the deep end.

The parallel storylines were something that I really liked about this book. At first they seem quite separate, but as the novel progresses everything starts to come together and to me that shows a great level of thought and planning going into this book, which is something I always love. I was personally more interested in the murder of the mother as that was what this book started off with, but the other storyline of the missing girls meant that the characters weren't just sitting around, waiting for something to happen with the police case;  they were doing something by themselves to potentially try and help other people.

I think that it is fair to say that the characters in this book weren't perfect and that's not a criticism of this book, in fact, it is a compliment. Their flaws made them believable and more like real people. Real people mess up, real people don't get on with everyone and real people demonstrate the same characteristics as Nicci French's characters. The length of this book meant that even though we were overloaded with different people, I feel like from what I have learnt about them in this book, I could know them in real life; maybe not as friends, but definitely know them.

As well as that, in this book there was an interesting crossover between the adult and child world. Three children, or two children and one just adult, were forced to grow up very quickly with the death of their mother taking place so suddenly and then having their own lives picked apart in order to try and find who her killer was. In contrast to that you had the world of Frieda and the detectives who had brushed with death many times before. This combination was a real eye-opener into a place where the two world's collided.

The depth of the investigation in this book was something that I was really grateful for. With each passing chapter I learnt new things about the case and even after all that, I was shocked by who the guilty party was, even though if I looked back I could probably find clues that it was them. As more suspects came into the limelight, it became more confusing, but I liked the confusion because of the new stories that each one told.

My reasons for not rating this book higher are, firstly, that I think I prefer more of the forensic side and less of the impulse and getting involved side of crime novels, secondly, I think there were too many characters and finally, as I haven't started with the first book, I don't think I can fully appreciate this book for what it is.

I think this book has made me want to pick up some more crime fiction in the future.

(Goodreads parallel)

Time

When I say that I love reading, I think that I am just being truthful. Ever since I was really young, books have intrigued me. I would come home from primary school and run up to my room to grab a book, read until dinner and then after, read until way past my bedtime.

Unfortunately, when I got into secondary school, I started to get homework. So, I would do homework until dinner and then after dinner read until way past my bedtime...

However now, with my GCSEs fast approaching, I am now finding that my life is being taken over by revision, no matter what time my supposed bedtime is. I want nothing more than to read all day and all night, but when thinking about my future, I know that I can't spend all my time reading and do have to focus on my exams, at least for a little while.

In January and February I went well past the number of books that I thought I was going to read, but now I feel like it's a good week if I read one book rather than three. That fact upsets me slightly, yet it is what my life has become.

On the bright side, this year I get a summer holiday that is almost three months long, so while everyone else is outside, soaking up the sun, I will be curled up on my bed or in an armchair reading. I would go outside, but can anyone really read with the glare from the sun coming off the pages?

Do any of you find that you have less time to read than you want to?

-E

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Before I even picked up this novel, I was told that it wasn't as good as 'Anna and the French Kiss' (AFK) and after reading this book, I have to agree. With a book that is so closely entwined with the universe of AFK, it is almost impossible not to make comparisons between the two, which though I do feel slightly bad about, is a given.

This book had some wonderful characters in it. I really liked Lola for her eccentric fashion choices and her ability not to conform. I personally wouldn't have made some of the decisions that she made and actually got quite annoyed with her at points, but I think that that was important to make her a well-rounded character. I also liked her for her creative skills, both in baking and in her sewing. My nan is always telling me that having sewing skills will come in handy one day and although I don't think I'll be making a costume for a national figure skating star, it definitely inspired me to want to pick up my needle and thread again.

I think that this may be the first book that I've read that has the main character with two dads, even if the circumstances of her being their child were slightly out of the ordinary. I think it was great how natural this book made it for them to be a couple and how it challenged certain ideas, like the 'who's the woman?' question, which I always get really tired of as well. I'm really happy that even though this book is about Lola and her various boyfriends, this book had that aspect of accepting all couples within it.

If I were Cricket Bell, I would have probably stopped trying with Lola as soon as I found out that she had a boyfriend. Obviously though, I'm not and without that key factor this book wouldn't be a book. Personally, I really liked the idea of communicating to your neighbour through windows that face each other. It reminded me of that Taylor Swift music video that we all know and love and almost made me wish that I could have something similar. The idea itself does sound very romantic and added something to Lola and Cricket that was wholly theirs.

With each time that we met Max, I started to dislike him more and more. Firstly the fact that part of his and Lola's relationship was technically illegal and yet he went with it, made me think that he was a bit untrustworthy. If they really liked each other that much, surely they could have waited? Then the next moment that sticks out is when he was rude to Lindsey. Being rude to your girlfriend's best friend is on the unacceptable list to me and if I were Lola, I would have ended it right there. Finally, we have the overwhelming evidence of how he treated Lola throughout the whole book. I saw a spark of hope for him in the beginning, but the candle never even got close to lighting.

My final point on characterisation is that it was great. I love how Perkins goes into so much detail with all of her characters, even if they are not the main protagonists. I could have talked about Lindsey's love of crime shows and Norah's past and present as well. To me, characterisation like that it what makes a book real. In real life we aren't all flat, so it was good to see characters that weren't.

I have to say, however, that this novel was utterly predictable and in some aspects seemed like AFK, but with the roles reversed. As soon as Cricket was introduced, I knew that Lola was going to end up with him and it would have been nicer if Max were someone that I could actually find myself rooting for, rather than getting annoyed with Lola for being an idiot over her boy choices. I also couldn't help but make the comparisons of Lola to St. Clair and Cricket to Anna. That was what this book felt like to me; AFK, but with adapted characters.

As well as that, I personally feel like Anna and St. Clair were in this book too much. I liked where the end of AFK left me and from then on I could use my own imagination to come up with what happened to them when they graduated and from then on. Of course, they had an important role to play, but their involvement just wasn't to my taste.

Overall though, this was a good book and I'm happy with where it ended. I look forward to getting my hands on 'Isla and the Happily Ever After' next.

(Goodreads parallel)