The Last 2 Months & Where I've Been

It's pretty difficult to find the right words for this post. I've been trying for a couple of weeks now and have never managed to actually hit Publish. If you follow this blog then you'll know that over October I posted a LOT...and then...nothing. I'll apologise in advance for the potential length of this post, but in order to get myself sorted and ready for 2017, I feel like I need to share this.

2016 has been a rough year for, well, all of us in one way or another. Until 1st November i'd probably have said that wasn't the case for me. It had been a pretty amazing year in all honesty. I've done so much stuff this year and I've travelled and had some amazing experiences. That all ended on 1st November.

On the morning of 1st November 2016 I sadly attended my uncle's funeral. He had suffered for a long time with cancer and we finally laid him to rest. It was a beautiful service honouring an especially talented, loving and caring man. Later that evening, I was exhausted from the day and decided to have a nap on the sofa in front of our gorgeous bay windows whilst waiting for Brianna to come over. We were going to Amsterdam the following day.

At around 10:38pm I was woken up. This isn't the time or place to go into detail as there is an ongoing court case, but it wasn't a gentle awakening by a friend or my boyfriend.

A car smashed into our house, ending up in the living room, just inches away from where I was sleeping.

A man in a stolen car, who was trying to evade the chasing police car, drove directly into my house. The entire exterior is destroyed and our home is completely unlivable. Within a short space of time, we were homeless and lost a lot of our possessions. My life has been thrown upside down and honestly, 2 months later, things aren't that much better.

This has been one of the most traumatic things I've ever had to experience. I don't think I've coped very well, and I'm learning that it's OK. As of right now, we are sleeping in my parents living room. Our belongings are scattered from house to house, thanks to our wonderful friends and family who have offered to store our things. I have very little access to any of my books. Thousands of books just....lying around in other peoples houses, getting damp in attic spaces or freezing cold garages. I'm extremely grateful to have the support and somewhere for Alex and I to live, but it's heartbreaking knowing that by the time we can find a new home, a lot of our belongings will be damaged and have to be replaced. We will be starting our life together all over again. But we'll make it.

Until then, I have a handful of books left, a whole host of new ones as Christmas presents and a loaded up kindle to take my mind off things. All i'm asking for is to bear with me whilst I process everything going on. Posts will be sporadic and well, probably not all that interesting with the limited amount of books I have to hand, but I will be trying. 2017 is going to be difficult and full of trials, but I'm stubborn as hell and we will find a way to get ourselves sorted!

With all that said, I've got a few posts in mind. Blogging is incredibly difficult giving our living situations but i'm going to try and get to grips with the iPhone app and see what I can do. I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and get the very best out of 2017, whatever that may be :)

Cazz xxx

Hello October // Brianna Reviews - Hidden by Benedict Jacka

Published: 2nd October 2014
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Paperback
Synopsis: Alex Verus is a diviner who can see probable futures - a talent that's gotten him and his friends out of many a tough scrape. But what happens when someone doesn't want Alex's help?

Alex's friend, the life mage Anne, distanced herself from him when she found out about his past as a Dark apprentice. Now she's in serious trouble, but wants nothing to do with him. Alex has to start wondering if Anne's problem is really with him - or if there's a secret she's trying to hide.

On top of that, rumours are swirling around London that Alex's former master may be back in town. Alex has no idea what his agenda may be, or who it involves . .

I spent a lot of this book mad with a lot of people: Anne, Sonder, Talisid, Caldera.  
 

Anne because she refuses to let Alex be human, maybe he made a mistake or a promise he knew I couldn’t garintee keeping but like I’ve said before Alex has never professed to be a saint she knew who and what he was. I’ve always suspected that her judgement of Alex and her reluctance to fight had something to do with her time with Sagash, which we find out in this book is entirely down to that, and I understand why she struggles with what Alex did and with what she did in her past, but that more than anything to me means she should get over it and forgive him.

Oh I really hated Sonder in this book and I fear he has crossed lines that he won’t be able to come back from I’m not sure Alex or Luna will be able to reconcile the differences between then and Sonder. Even if he turned out to be right, he put Anne at risk more than once; once with his attitude towards Alex and again when he lied to everyone. I don’t think Alex can forgive that. Although Caldera shares some of the blame on the lying front, if she had been willing to help regardless of if there was a link to crystal or not.

I’ve always liked Talisid and trusted him, but maybe I shouldn’t have, I don’t like that he deliberately targeted Alex to get to Richard. Never mind Alex, I feel betrayed. I wonder though if Alex will change his mind and help him… especially if Richard isn’t going to take no for an answer.

On a less irritating note… Alex has parents! Yeah okay so it was obvious he had parents but they got a mention, in fact we even meet his dad, and it is obvious that magic isn’t inherited. And I’m not the only one surprised Luna seemed just as surprised.

While on the subject of pasts I’m also glad that we got an insight into Anne’s mainly so I could answer all the ‘why is she like that?’ questions. I also weirdly like ‘evil’ Anne and was she coming on to Alex?? Is that something that is going to happen in the future?

You would think that I would have more to say about Anne and about this book in general but I don’t (other than what I’ve covered) the only real thoughts I had when I finished reading were: 

What is coming with Richard? Because I think Hidden is gearing us up to something big with Richard.

And secondly…

If Alex doesn’t want a pet Blink Fox I will happily adopt it. I really, really want a Blink Fox I’ll have none of that ‘they are fictional’ crap, where do I get one? Although maybe it’s just as well that I can’t have one – I can see the down sides of having an intelligent pet that can teleport.