Hey blog readers!
I know i've hashtagged this, which kind of gives the impression that there's more to come but with Loaded Shelves, blog posts are always a surprise! You wait a year and then a bunch come all at once...*cough*
Maybe this will become a thing, depending on how often I actually find stuff online that I think should be shared. All book related, of course.
One of my last posts went into great detail about my new little book system and how i've taken the decision out of my hands regarding what book I should read next.
I had some positive feedback and so tonight whilst I was browsing the interwebs (okay i'll admit it, the sound the wind is making outside is freaking me out too much to sleep), I found a little something that could be useful!
So if like me, the idea of choosing your next book seems impossible because there's just too much to choose from, the following website might come in handy. Granted if there's 100 books to choose from it might take more time than your usual methods but i've heard there are sane people out there who generally only have a handful of TBRs to pick from.
This website allows you to write a short list of the things you need to choose from, click a button and hey presto! It picks one for you. I think i'll definitely be using this in future to make some quick decisions! Of course you can also use it for things like deciding what to eat, what to watch, even what to wear if you were so inclined. I hope someone out there finds it useful anyway :)
Random Thing Picker - I swear that's the actual name. Perfect!
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Caragh Reviews // Girl Online by Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella)
Published - 25th November 2014
Publisher - Atria/Keywords Press
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has - I can't believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! - and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes...Penny has a secret. Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog. But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.
I knew going into this book that I wasn't going to like it, so perhaps it isn't really fair of me to review it. But since i'm trying to get back into the swing of things, i'll give it my best shot anyway.
As much as I love the YA genre, i'm really not a fan of this type of thing. I've been trying to step outside my genres in the hope that it will keep me motivated to read but 'real life' fiction has never been my go-to genre. I had heard positive reviews though and of course i'd heard of Zoella on YouTube and well, really it was just cheap on the day I happened to get my new Kindle Fire.
Whilst I appreciate the undertones that run through the book, the overall thing just left me feeling flat. As soon as I finished the last page i'd already moved on to something else and never really had any intentions of bringing it up again. So what undertones am I talking about?
Internet safety. A book coming from a hugely influential YouTuber was bound to cover the internet topic wasn't it? I appreciated the fact that it raised awareness of how on the internet, you can never truly be anonymous. As much as we think of 'paper trails' being a physical thing, they exist here on the internet too. I'm sure more than one of you has discovered who *I* am just because I write this blog and i've never particularly divulged any personal information. It's just something you have to be aware of whenever you post anything online.
In addition to that though, I liked the fact that the book suggested writing as a cathartic exercise. I most definitely find this to be true for me, and many many people out there. This blog in itself is one. A way to share my thoughts and feelings (albeit about books) without too much being crammed into my head. I think there will be more than a few readers who were inspired to start their own blogs thanks to Girl Online. And of course, Penny uses her blog as a way to connect to people, feel more confident and face her fears. All of these are great things and I hope that Zoe's readers take all these things into consideration when reading Girl Online.
The problem with this, for me of course, is that I already knew these things and they were so jumbled up in teen crushes and over the top story-lines sprinkled with a handful of 'oh really, what an excellent coincidence' every couple of pages, that it was actually hard to push through and see what was underneath the words.
As a first book though, and I undoubtedly believe that it was aimed at a MUCH younger audience base (I'm talking 12-14 year olds here), it wasn't half bad. For me however, I don't think i'll be first in line for the planned sequel. A straightforward simple read that just didn't really have anything in it for me.
Publisher - Atria/Keywords Press
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has - I can't believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! - and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes...Penny has a secret. Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog. But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.
As much as I love the YA genre, i'm really not a fan of this type of thing. I've been trying to step outside my genres in the hope that it will keep me motivated to read but 'real life' fiction has never been my go-to genre. I had heard positive reviews though and of course i'd heard of Zoella on YouTube and well, really it was just cheap on the day I happened to get my new Kindle Fire.
Whilst I appreciate the undertones that run through the book, the overall thing just left me feeling flat. As soon as I finished the last page i'd already moved on to something else and never really had any intentions of bringing it up again. So what undertones am I talking about?
Internet safety. A book coming from a hugely influential YouTuber was bound to cover the internet topic wasn't it? I appreciated the fact that it raised awareness of how on the internet, you can never truly be anonymous. As much as we think of 'paper trails' being a physical thing, they exist here on the internet too. I'm sure more than one of you has discovered who *I* am just because I write this blog and i've never particularly divulged any personal information. It's just something you have to be aware of whenever you post anything online.
In addition to that though, I liked the fact that the book suggested writing as a cathartic exercise. I most definitely find this to be true for me, and many many people out there. This blog in itself is one. A way to share my thoughts and feelings (albeit about books) without too much being crammed into my head. I think there will be more than a few readers who were inspired to start their own blogs thanks to Girl Online. And of course, Penny uses her blog as a way to connect to people, feel more confident and face her fears. All of these are great things and I hope that Zoe's readers take all these things into consideration when reading Girl Online.
The problem with this, for me of course, is that I already knew these things and they were so jumbled up in teen crushes and over the top story-lines sprinkled with a handful of 'oh really, what an excellent coincidence' every couple of pages, that it was actually hard to push through and see what was underneath the words.
As a first book though, and I undoubtedly believe that it was aimed at a MUCH younger audience base (I'm talking 12-14 year olds here), it wasn't half bad. For me however, I don't think i'll be first in line for the planned sequel. A straightforward simple read that just didn't really have anything in it for me.
Monday, 9 February 2015
How do you choose?
Hello blog readers!
So as I've repeatedly mentioned over the last year or so i've been...less than focused on this blog and reading in general. 2014 was the first year in a long time that I didn't meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I was uncharacteristically upset about it. I was angry and miserable. Ever since I was a little girl, reading has always been the one thing that i've found time for and I all but gave it up last year. Well, i'm not going to promise that i'll do any better this year but I can promise that i'm going to try.
Fortunately/Unfortunately (however you see it), my lack of reading absolutely did not stop me from buying books. So what happens when you spend a year buying books and not reading any? Uh... well let's just say my bookshelves are a little unruly right now.
When 2015 hit with my uncompleted challenge, I found myself with a new challenge. With a house full of books and a pile of bookish gifts for Christmas, I was inundated with options. What genre did I want? What kind of style? Any particular author? Should I read new or old? Can I do re-reads? The internal questions actually had me fraught with doubt that i'd ever be able to pick up again.
Luckily, the lovely Jenna Burtenshaw (Author of the fab Wintercraft series) came to rescue without even knowing it. Her Instagram showed me the delights of having very little choice at all!
Armed with many little pots that I'd gotten for Christmas (Boyfriend and I recently moved into our own house) and a stack of post-it notes from a long lost era, I realised what I had to do.
As you can see in the picture above, I used 3 different jars.
1. To read
2. Read
3. To buy
To me at least, my system is flawless.
Now whenever I find a book on my shelves that I had forgotten about and still need to read, it simply goes in the 'to read' pot to await its turn. When the time comes for a book, all of the decision is taken away! I just pick one out and voila. In theory, I should never be disappointed with whatever comes out, because they're all in there for a reason :)
Same goes for the 'to buy' pot. Every time i'm feeling the itch to go book shopping - I can just take out a slip from the pot and buy a book that I've actually been wanting!
And the 'read' pot? - Well even I need a little visual encouragement sometimes :)
The aim is to have more slips of paper in the 'read' pot than any other by the end of the year. Exciting! I thrive on goals and challenges and i'm really hoping I stick with this one. So far i've read 9 books this year, 4 ahead of my challenge, all thanks to the new brightly coloured system.
So what I really want to know is this - How do you choose?
I'm sure like me, there are way more books than time and choosing a book to read can feel really daunting. Especially after a great read.
Let me know how you decide what book to read next and how you limit your own book buying.
Caragh Reviews // Mind Games by Teri Terry
Published - (Expected) 5th March 2015
Publisher - Orchard Books
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late? Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer. The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing...
I received a
free kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher - Orchard Books
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late? Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer. The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing...
A few years
ago I read the ‘Slated’ series, which I believe was Teri’s first publication.
It quickly became one of my favourite series’ and I was so happy when Hachette
approved me for her new book, Mind Games! The first thing i'll say is that I really don't think the synopsis for this book does it any justice.
The premise
of Mind Games is quite difficult to try and explain. Luna lives in a world
where the Virtual World is everything. All activities, education and well...everything
is done whilst being plugged in to a virtual world created from the mysterious ‘void’
that features throughout the book.
What I loved
about the book was that there was no big explanation at the beginning of the
book; telling you how the world came to be; why the world is the way it is. It’s
just the life that Luna lives in and therefore she doesn’t feel the need to
explain it as she doesn’t know anything else. The reader is thrown straight
into the book and your imagination can unfold.
No matter how many years pass us by, technology will always seem foreign and strange to the average person. The whole idea of an invisible world connecting us all together just blows my mind and this book plays heavily on that. Like Slated, this book was full of adventure and excitement from start to finish.
It definitely raises questions about ethics and society which is pretty much all you can ask for from a book like this. With Terry's running theme on extreme tech throughout her books - I can only wonder what her personal opinion is! A must read!
**Apologies for the lameness of reviews - i'm just getting back on my feet with this whole reading thing! I can barely remember how to do this thing.**
Monday, 24 November 2014
Caragh Reviews - It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Published - 1st May 2007
Publisher - Disney Hyperion
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety. Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness.
Publisher - Disney Hyperion
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety. Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness.
I first heard of Ned Vizzini about 2 weeks before his tragic
death just last year. After watching the movie version of this book just more
than a few times, I decided to look it up online to happily discover that it
was based on Vizzini’s novel. Though it took me a long time to actually get and
then read the book, it had been on my mind for a long time.
Mental health is both an intriguing and familiar subject
matter for me, having suffered with depression myself. However, books about
mental health have always left me feeling disappointed. Not because they were
badly written or because of the dissociation with the characters or anything,
but because they never show an everyday normal view of the person in question.
It’s not easy to write about mental health issues but I think it’s even more
difficult to write a character with mental health issues without having to
de-humanise the character. The character
should be a character, first and foremost. With human issues and feelings. The
mental health issues are second but integrated.
The thing that I enjoyed the most about this book was that
Craig’s problems weren’t judged in any way. So many teenagers out there suffer
with mental health problems brought on by the stresses of school and everyday
life and these should not be minimised or belittled, or compared to bigger
issues. Whatever the reason for mental health problems such as depression –
they are all as important and dangerous as each other. Throughout Craig’s journey in the hospital we
meet a multitude of characters with varying backgrounds, ages, problems, health
issues – and they are all relatable.
Despite the perhaps dark subject matter of the book, there
was a lack of heaviness that is often found in books of a similar subject and
target audience. The read was enjoyable and comical throughout the book. It also
felt like I was discovering a lot about myself as a person and as someone who
has struggled with the effects of depression and anxiety.
I also found it interesting how quickly the characters
involved themselves with each other. Though Craig was only in the hospital for
a short time, he made strong connections
to the other patients. I have seen in a couple of reviews that some people
think this isn’t realistic but in actual fact – it really is. Anyone who has
found themselves in a closed-up situation will more than likely have
experienced this kind of ‘pack’ mentality. A group of people who are all in the
same situation and only have each other for communication and daily living are
more likely to bond quickly and strongly.
Especially when someone is looking for a way to escape and to feel ‘normal’.
It’s not only a way to re-evaluate your place but it acts as a support group. In
order to ‘survive’, you have to make yourself available, approachable and it
again acts as a way to stop the dehumanising that often happens when someone is
labelled with mental health problems.
Of course we have to mention the parallels to Vizzini’s own
life – who struggled with mental health problems severely and eventually took
his own life. Vizzini personally spent some time in a hospitalised setting and
I can really feel that through his writing.
Overall it was an excellent book and I am anxious to read
more of his writing. 5 stars.
Friday, 14 November 2014
Caragh Reviews - The Christmas Bake Off by Abby Clements
Published - 20th December 2012
Publisher - Quercus
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - With Christmas just around the corner, the residents of Skipley village are gearing up for the annual bake off, and tensions are high. Winning means a lot to everyone involved - talented cake-shop owner Katie dreams of baking stardom, Rachel wants to prove she's more than a stay-at-home mum, and John hopes his culinary skills will impress the woman he loves. But when the judges discover that some cakes have been tampered with, the villagers' loyalties are called into question - whose ambition would stretch to sabotage, and why? The Christmas Bake-Off is an exclusive short story from Abby Clements, author of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. This ebook edition also includes bonus recipes for cinnamon cookies and vanilla and almond biscuits.
With the holidays coming (already!) I've been hunting the Kindle Store for quick festive reads. I can't remember if this one was free but even if it wasn't, it was dirt cheap!
For a short story, it featured an array of characters, a little mystery and a burst of festive joy - which is all you really want from it. Personally I wasn't overly impressed but I always have this sense of unfinished business when I read short stories. I know that the point of them is to be brief and to the point but I always think they have so much more potential that just never gets given to us!
However, it was fun and cute, and this particular edition came with free recipes for Christmassy cookies which I genuinely am interested in trying! Also, be prepared to be absolutely craving big fancy cakes after reading this book.
Publisher - Quercus
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - With Christmas just around the corner, the residents of Skipley village are gearing up for the annual bake off, and tensions are high. Winning means a lot to everyone involved - talented cake-shop owner Katie dreams of baking stardom, Rachel wants to prove she's more than a stay-at-home mum, and John hopes his culinary skills will impress the woman he loves. But when the judges discover that some cakes have been tampered with, the villagers' loyalties are called into question - whose ambition would stretch to sabotage, and why? The Christmas Bake-Off is an exclusive short story from Abby Clements, author of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. This ebook edition also includes bonus recipes for cinnamon cookies and vanilla and almond biscuits.
For a short story, it featured an array of characters, a little mystery and a burst of festive joy - which is all you really want from it. Personally I wasn't overly impressed but I always have this sense of unfinished business when I read short stories. I know that the point of them is to be brief and to the point but I always think they have so much more potential that just never gets given to us!
However, it was fun and cute, and this particular edition came with free recipes for Christmassy cookies which I genuinely am interested in trying! Also, be prepared to be absolutely craving big fancy cakes after reading this book.
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Brief hello! I'm here to schedule!
I'm always afraid to check this website because I've left it abandoned and alone for so long.
23800 Views and 299 Posts...
For some reason those figures make me squirm. At least this post will make it 300!
I swear reviews are coming! I've got a few things scheduled for the near future to get this thing up and running again.
I'm still not reading a lot, therefore making this whole thing a little redundant, but who cares right? As long as I've got something to say, I may as well keep it going. I started this blog for me so I'm carrying on that way! I guess we'll see what happens but I'm excited to officially be back!
23800 Views and 299 Posts...
For some reason those figures make me squirm. At least this post will make it 300!
I swear reviews are coming! I've got a few things scheduled for the near future to get this thing up and running again.
I'm still not reading a lot, therefore making this whole thing a little redundant, but who cares right? As long as I've got something to say, I may as well keep it going. I started this blog for me so I'm carrying on that way! I guess we'll see what happens but I'm excited to officially be back!
Friday, 14 February 2014
Caragh Reviews - My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody
Published - 7th June 2011
Publisher - Farrar, Straus, Giroux (BYR)
Format - Format
Synopsis - PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment. Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure. But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated! Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever. But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.
I came across a short story relating to My Life Undecided and as is always the way with these things, by the time I was getting into it, it was over. Luckily Annamarie helped me out and let me read her copy of the book.
For the most part, it was as I expected; a quick, fluffy read without too much going on or taxing. I realise that makes it sound like I didn't enjoy the book but I did - it was what I was looking for. Sometimes there's nothing better than a nice simple read. My Life Undecided follows the (bad) life decisions of Brooklyn Pierce - a teenager who just can't seem to catch a break. As you can probably guess, Brooks finds herself in a position that she can't charm her way out of and that kickstarts her new idea to give the decision making to the people of the internet. That way, she can't be held accountable for whatever happens.
Throughout the book we see Brooklyn's blog posts, poll results and see what happens when she does, or doesn't play by her own rules. Personally I was hoping that there would be more blog posts throughout the book being as that's what really got me interested. I thought the format of the book would be different from the regular words-on-a-page book. I was glad that Brooklyn eventually became the person that she wanted to be, because I was so freaking mad when she continued to make the same mistakes. I'm a pretty good judge of character and so it frustrates me endlessly when Brooklyn fails to see Shayne's toxicity. The romance in the book was pretty confusing for me too. Throughout My Life Undecided, Brooklyn is associated with Hunter and Brian and honestly, they are both pretty good guys from what I can tell. Naturally, one wins out and I'm super pleased about it but I can't help but feel bad for the other!
If you're looking for a quick, fun read then My Life Undecided might be for you.
Publisher - Farrar, Straus, Giroux (BYR)
Format - Format
Synopsis - PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment. Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure. But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated! Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever. But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.
For the most part, it was as I expected; a quick, fluffy read without too much going on or taxing. I realise that makes it sound like I didn't enjoy the book but I did - it was what I was looking for. Sometimes there's nothing better than a nice simple read. My Life Undecided follows the (bad) life decisions of Brooklyn Pierce - a teenager who just can't seem to catch a break. As you can probably guess, Brooks finds herself in a position that she can't charm her way out of and that kickstarts her new idea to give the decision making to the people of the internet. That way, she can't be held accountable for whatever happens.
Throughout the book we see Brooklyn's blog posts, poll results and see what happens when she does, or doesn't play by her own rules. Personally I was hoping that there would be more blog posts throughout the book being as that's what really got me interested. I thought the format of the book would be different from the regular words-on-a-page book. I was glad that Brooklyn eventually became the person that she wanted to be, because I was so freaking mad when she continued to make the same mistakes. I'm a pretty good judge of character and so it frustrates me endlessly when Brooklyn fails to see Shayne's toxicity. The romance in the book was pretty confusing for me too. Throughout My Life Undecided, Brooklyn is associated with Hunter and Brian and honestly, they are both pretty good guys from what I can tell. Naturally, one wins out and I'm super pleased about it but I can't help but feel bad for the other!
If you're looking for a quick, fun read then My Life Undecided might be for you.
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Caragh Reviews - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Published - 14th April 2009
Publisher - McElderry Books
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know..
I know i'm way behind the rest of the world when it comes to reading The Mortal Instruments but i'd seen such mixed reviews that I wasn't sure I wanted to invest so much time into a pretty hefty series. The series is now a movie and i'm desperate to see it, but in the spirit of (the now deceased) Read It 1st, I decided now was the time. People are saying it began as Harry Potter fanfic and i'm not really into that kind of thing but it wasn't as Potter-related as i'd imagined.
There were a lot of things that I connected to HP - I mean the series name itself is a pretty big connection to the Deathly Hallows but honestly, the book pulled me in pretty quickly and I got involved with the story so well that I stopped picking up on similarities and just went with the flow. There wasn't a huge amount of world building which is something I like. I enjoy discovering the world as it happens rather than info dump and it was pretty easy to follow. I really loved all of the characters too; they were so unique to each other and read as individuals rather than different names. I have this weird thing where I tend to love the secondary characters more than the mains and in the case of City of Bones, I am really intrigued by Alec. There seems to be a lot to him that City of Bones hasn't discovered yet and i'm hoping that as the series continues, he becomes more prominent.
Like the rest of the female population - of course I fell in booklove with Jace. Total badass with a real sincere, loving and sensitive side? YUP. The one thing that I really wanted to talk about in this review is probably way too spoilery but ARGH! Clare certainly knows how to frustrate a girl when it comes to her ships. I shipped Jace and Clary SO HARD and then of course, if you've read the book - you know what i'm talking about. What do I do now? Can I ship it? Just one of the many reasons that i'm anxious to start reading the next book in the series.
City of Bones has a lot of soft, intimate moments between characters and there's a lot of backstory that is revealed throughout the book that creates the world Clary is finding herself in the middle of but it's also action packed and is never stale. The story flows excellently which is great as it's actually a pretty big book. I didn't realise the length as I read it on the kindle and I flew through it so fast. City of Bones isn't going to be for everyone but one book into the series and I think i'm going to like it so watch this space when I get around to reading the next one!
Publisher - McElderry Books
Format - Kindle
Synopsis - When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know..
There were a lot of things that I connected to HP - I mean the series name itself is a pretty big connection to the Deathly Hallows but honestly, the book pulled me in pretty quickly and I got involved with the story so well that I stopped picking up on similarities and just went with the flow. There wasn't a huge amount of world building which is something I like. I enjoy discovering the world as it happens rather than info dump and it was pretty easy to follow. I really loved all of the characters too; they were so unique to each other and read as individuals rather than different names. I have this weird thing where I tend to love the secondary characters more than the mains and in the case of City of Bones, I am really intrigued by Alec. There seems to be a lot to him that City of Bones hasn't discovered yet and i'm hoping that as the series continues, he becomes more prominent.
Like the rest of the female population - of course I fell in booklove with Jace. Total badass with a real sincere, loving and sensitive side? YUP. The one thing that I really wanted to talk about in this review is probably way too spoilery but ARGH! Clare certainly knows how to frustrate a girl when it comes to her ships. I shipped Jace and Clary SO HARD and then of course, if you've read the book - you know what i'm talking about. What do I do now? Can I ship it? Just one of the many reasons that i'm anxious to start reading the next book in the series.
City of Bones has a lot of soft, intimate moments between characters and there's a lot of backstory that is revealed throughout the book that creates the world Clary is finding herself in the middle of but it's also action packed and is never stale. The story flows excellently which is great as it's actually a pretty big book. I didn't realise the length as I read it on the kindle and I flew through it so fast. City of Bones isn't going to be for everyone but one book into the series and I think i'm going to like it so watch this space when I get around to reading the next one!
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Caragh Reviews - Heartside Bay: The New Girl by Cathy Cole
Published - January 2014
Publisher - Scholastic
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Life, love and everything in between...Lila Murray is determined to leave behind the drama of her old life and make a fresh start in Heartside Bay.
But when she falls for Ollie the hottest boy at Heartside High, she makes an instant enemy of Eve, the school's Queen Bee. Eve wants Ollie for herself and now she will do anything to keep them apart...
Cathy Cole is a new-to-me author and I hadn't heard anything about this book before picking it up! It's super short, barely reaching 200 pages and was super cheap too!
I had no expectations about the book as I hadn't heard of it or the author before, other than I assumed it would be a teen-romance book, which is pretty spot on! However I did find that despite the series name and the synopsis, the romance was the least thing I was interested in. The mystery surrounded Lila, who has recently moved home and changed name in order to make a new start, is what really prompted me to keep on reading.
Though the mystery was kind of explained in the book, not in any great detail and as this is going to be a pretty big series of books, i'm hoping that gets expanded later on! Lila is a really interesting character. She's outgoing, a bit of a smart-mouth and has bundles of sass - all of which she is trying to cover up with an innocent facade. I think we all know that isn't going to last! I'll touch on the romance briefly - it's pretty generic and obvious. Though Lila falls for the Hottie i'm pretty sure that's not where this romance is heading and i'm glad about it! I'm looking forward to catching up with the teens of Heartside Bay when the next book is available.
Publisher - Scholastic
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Life, love and everything in between...Lila Murray is determined to leave behind the drama of her old life and make a fresh start in Heartside Bay.
But when she falls for Ollie the hottest boy at Heartside High, she makes an instant enemy of Eve, the school's Queen Bee. Eve wants Ollie for herself and now she will do anything to keep them apart...
I had no expectations about the book as I hadn't heard of it or the author before, other than I assumed it would be a teen-romance book, which is pretty spot on! However I did find that despite the series name and the synopsis, the romance was the least thing I was interested in. The mystery surrounded Lila, who has recently moved home and changed name in order to make a new start, is what really prompted me to keep on reading.
Though the mystery was kind of explained in the book, not in any great detail and as this is going to be a pretty big series of books, i'm hoping that gets expanded later on! Lila is a really interesting character. She's outgoing, a bit of a smart-mouth and has bundles of sass - all of which she is trying to cover up with an innocent facade. I think we all know that isn't going to last! I'll touch on the romance briefly - it's pretty generic and obvious. Though Lila falls for the Hottie i'm pretty sure that's not where this romance is heading and i'm glad about it! I'm looking forward to catching up with the teens of Heartside Bay when the next book is available.
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