The Mortal Instruments City of Bones Film: A Review!

Finally!

It's a post that isn't a book review/tag/books I did not finish! It's still a review but for a film instead! And a very popular one at that. So a little background detail yesterday (Thursday 19th September 2013) I finally got around to watching the Mortal Instruments City of Bones movie.

I know shocking right? Considering how excited I was. Damn my busy schedule that appeared out of nowhere when this was first released!

The Mortal Instruments City of Bones: Movie

Tagline: There is a world hidden within our own.

Okay so when I sat down to watch this film, my expectations (despite the epic shambolic Rotten Tomatoes score) was still very high. I had done no research in to what fans thought how much money it made at the box office, until after I finished watching it. In hindsight I probably should have done all that before I watched it then I wouldn't have been writing notes like a raving lunatic through out the film about all the things that were just wrong! I know I've made it clear that I don't like books to be changed all that much when they go to the big screen but I do allow some scope like I loved The Hunger Games and parts of that were different. But this was so far off the mark it just stopped being funny. 

Warning this a spoilerific in depth review. If you want to read a none spoiler review on whether it's good or not, leave now. You have been warned. 

One Tiny Lie vs Ten Tiny Breaths by K A Tucker : A Review!

Hi, everyone.

First apologies, I know I usually get my posts done and uploaded for 10am everyday so going by that this post is a little bit later than usual. However, like I said last week I have been busy but I am determined to keep to my schedule. Besides it is still Wednesday so at least I didn't miss a day!
We're still on track to keep up with the posting schedule I started in July, which quite frankly amazes me, I'm not the best at following through on my plans!

Any-who today's post is a review of sorts. And I just realised I have been posting a lot more about books recently, I hope you don't mind that. Any way, so today I thought I would do a comparison/ review of One Tiny Lie and Ten Tiny Breaths, both by K A Tucker, One Tiny Lie is Livie Cleary's story, whilst Ten Tiny Breaths is Kacey Cleary's story (but you knew this right because you know I love this book).

Ten Tiny Breaths & One Tiny Lie  

by

K A Tucker

I enjoyed both of these books let's just get that out there right now. This is by no means a bad review, however there is one that I like considerably more than the other, but that doesn't mean that the other isn't any good. So if you want to find out what the hell I'm harping on about or if you are considering reading these books and want to know a little more carry on reading!

Books I Did Not Finish! - 09/09/2013

Hello Everyone, it is Monday and you know what that means!

It's time for another Book's I Did Not Finish. This week I am featuring a series, that I'm not sure really counts. Anyway. It's a series where as usual I freaking LOVED the first book, only to be somewhat let down by book 2. Yeah that's usually what happens. Only I know I downloaded the ebook of book 2, I remember starting it but I don't remember finishing it, and I also know I haven't read the last book, so it's getting featured, and with a little research, I'm going to try and decipher why I suddenly stopped reading book 2 and if I will continue on. So as you can tell today's instalment is slightly different form all my previous ones!

Today's book is . . . .

Matched

by

Ally Condie

Tagline: Watched By Society. Trapped By Rules. Freed By Love?

Shall we get on in to this book then? (That made no sense but let's just pretend that it did. Will you do that for me? Please?)

Let's research and discover together, if I will ever finish this series!

Books I Did Not Finish! - 12/08/2013

Hello everyone, it's that time of week again! Welcome to another Books I Did Not Finish! The place were instead of telling you about all the books I loved I share the ones that range from disappointing me to me out right hating them!

This week the chosen book lies some where in the middle of the above statement. Why? Well this book is a sequel. A sequel to a book, I very much enjoyed, you can read the review I wrote of book one here. Sadly the sequel did not live up to my expectations and so it is with regret that I have to include it in this series.

The Elite

by

 Kiera Cass

Tagline: 35 GIRLS CAME TO THE PALACE. ONLY 6 REMAIN.

Like most people who enjoyed the first book I recognised it had it's faults, the world building wasn't great, it didn't really work as a dystopian (more on this later) and yes it was cheesy, but it was the cheesiness that made it enjoyable in it's Bachelor-esque game show plot for the Princes heart. Yet even in this the sequel The Elite some how failed.

Books I Did Not Finish! - 05/08/2013

Hello again everyone, how are you this fine Monday. I say fine it's probably raining almost everywhere if the weather reports are trust worthy.

Welcome back to another edition of books I did not finish featuring a series. And a very well known one at that, so popular it became a very successful American TV series. . . .

The Vampire Diaries

by

L. J. Smith

 

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I loved the Vampire Diaries the minute I read it. I read it after Twilight, and was one of the people putting the 'Twi-hards' who claimed it was a copy of Twilight in their place by revealing it was published more than a decade earlier than Twilight. Yes I very much enjoyed that!

The picture above is my copy of the first 2 books The Awakening and The Struggle, yes it is almost identical in cover to Twilight, but honestly the story is better and far less infuriating. 

Tag! My Top 2 Books From 6 Genres!

Hello everyone,
as promised it is Wednesday and here I am with another post for you all. Today's post is as the title says, my top two books from six genres tag. This is a tag that was started by Benjaminoftomes (click the link to see his video) in the YouTube book community. So let's dive right in!

Category Number 1: DISTOPIAN!

DIVERGENT by VERONICA ROTH

Look guys, I don't know how many times I've said this now, it's one of my favourite books, I couldn't not include it! So Divergent is set in a futuristic Chicago where society has split into 5 factions which are, Abnegation, Candor, Amity, Erudite, and Dauntless. At the age of sixteen each citizen will choose whether to stay in the faction they were born in or to move to a new faction and never see their friends or family again.

BLOOD RED ROAD by MOIRA YOUNG

I freaking LOVED this book. It was just plain awesome for once, the girls soul focus and attention wasn't on falling for a guy, it was all about saving her little brother. She didn't want to get involved with the guy because she didn't want the distraction but you know every young adult book has some form of romance so she obviously gave in eventually. I am yet to read the sequel normally I would reserve judgement but I can tell you now I'm not going to like it. Why? LOVE TRIANGLE! That's why, for the love of god, why ruin the potential of the first book by using such a generic and tired old plot device.

Tag! 7 Deadly Sins of Reading!

Wow two posts, in one day this is not like me, however I found myself scouring YouTube again today and came across this tag in the book community and felt the need to do my own, so I hope you enjoy it!

Questions:

1. GREED what is your most expensive book? What is your least expensive book?

I sat here for quite a few minutes trying to think of what my most expensive book is. I found it really hard because I am a cheap skate, honest to god I will see a book I want to read, but I won’t buy it on the spot I'll do some research and find the cheapest place I can get it (I'm a student okay don't judge I'm broke!) It’s probably going to have to be the Egyptology book I got years ago that I’m pretty sure it was over at least £10 at the time.

The least expensive book does one that you get as gift count? Technically they are free. Otherwise I'm not sure books are generally around the same price of £3/4/5. Wait no I know! There was a book that I really wanted to read but you couldn't get in any form other than in an eBook It was Ceaseless by Abbi Glines I bought it for Kindle (I don't have a Kindle I downloaded the app for my laptop) and it cost just £2.53, I'm pretty positive I don't have a cheaper book than that.

2. WRATH—what author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Maggie Stiefvater. Easy one this. I absolutely loved the Wolves of Mercy Fall's Trilogy, however I went on to read Lament and Ballad and I found them to be rather boring. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Lament well enough I just couldn't get into Ballad. I haven't read any of her others yet, The Scorpio Races and The Raven Boys. I do plan to read them because I enjoy her style of writing, I just wasn't a fan of Lament and Ballad compared the Wolves of Mercy Falls.

3. GLUTTONY—what book have you deliciously devoured over and over with no shame whatsoever?

Hmm I think a number of books would fall in to this category, the newest of these would be Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard. I must've read that at least four times since I got it, and that was late December, I would put Twilight on this list but I'm ashamed of the amount of times I read it so it doesn't count!

4. SLOTH—what book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

Easy one I got Bram Stokers Dracula a while back, I picked it up to read got two chapters in went to bed and then never picked it up again. I will read it one day, perhaps this year will be the year I do.

5. PRIDE—what book do you most talk about in order to sound like a very intellectual reader?

That would most definitely be Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Before you ask no. It has nothing to do with Fifty Shades of Grey. You can find out more about this book here, and I hope it's not too much to ask that you do because I feel that this is a book everyone should read, bearing in mind that my dad doesn't like the kind of books I read except for this one. He really enjoyed this one so if you get the chance to read it, please do.

6. LUST—what attributes do you find most attractive in male or female characters?

I like a female character to be tough and pretty kickass like Katniss from Hunger Games, Lina from Between Shades of Gray and Tris from Divergent.

It's the same with the guys really, kickass pretty tough, but with a sweet side like Four in Divergent.

But then I'm also the girl that reads the generic romance stories, with the sweet innocent girl, and closed off troubled leading man.

7. ENVY—what books would you most like to receive as a gift?

Any books. People ask me on birthdays and Christmas what do I want and it's literally, books, I just send them my Amazon wish list and tell them pick one. At this point in time there isn't one book that I absolutely want to read more than any others.

Please subscribe to my blog so you don't miss a single post! You wont regret it I promise!

x

The Selection by Kiera Cass: A Review

Okay so though this will be scheduled to be posted at a reasonable hour I'm going to let it be known that I'm writing this at 2:50am having just put the book down. If the rest of my family weren't asleep I think I would be screaming to the high heavens on my hands and knees begging Kiera Cass to make America and Maxon happen!

But let's rewind because that definitely needs explaining!

So the book I am reviewing today is another that I received for Christmas and another that I've had my eye on for a while for one Kiersten White author of Paranormalcy describes it as a dystopian fairy tale and to be perfectly blunt there could not be a more perfect book for me to read! Dystopian fiction? Love it! Fairy tales? Hello I'm 18 and I’m still head over heels in love with the Disney films I was raised on!

Okay let's just get this out there:

How beautiful is that cover? Well I think it’s gorgeous props to whoever designed it they pulled me in and made me want to be the girl on the cover!

Anyway down to the book. (Summary from Goodreads.com)

"For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

 Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined."

So where do I begin, well for starters the plot isn't particularly strong and it seemed a bit slow going at first but it picked up the pace in the second half only for you to be hit with the WHAM "End of Book One" which equals me being devastated. (Okay slightly dramatic I will admit but it just seemed a little bit sudden of a place to end it)

Okay aside from all that I truly enjoyed this book, I fell head over heels in love with Prince Maxon, and just wish that Aspen would BACK OFF!! You had your chance boy now it's Max's turn! Ah here comes the part that bugs me . . .  that dreaded love triangle that I loathe so much I wrote a post about it which you can read by CLICKING HERE. I was happy that Aspen appeared at the start then left, devastated that he reappeared, but I guess it was inevitable but because I'm a sucker for a good fairy tale I will read the second book and just pray that America and Maxon come to their senses and just pick each other.

Side note: honestly America if you don't want Prince Maxon I'll gladly take him off your hands!

I like this book it's a good soft romantic tale perhaps not quite Young Adult, I feel it may have made too much of a point of avoiding describing violence amongst other things which perhaps may gain more focus in the sequel which I hope it does.

However having read the synopsis for the sequel I get this horrible feeling that America chooses Max and that this disaster that happens whatever it is then drives her back into the arms of Aspen. I pray I'm wrong! Please let it be the other way around!

Okay I wanted to avoid sounding like a crazed fan girl which it would seem I failed at but what can you do. I fell in love with the story I'm a sucker for fairy tales I just wish that Aspen's involvement had ended when America left for the Selection and then I would really love the story as such my distain for the Love Triangle plot device refrains me from giving this book 5 stars, but I will hold out hope for at least some partial resolution in the sequel. At least America wasn't talking about how much she wanted to be with Maxon throughout the book only to undermine it by running straight back to Aspen like most love triangles so I applaud Miss Cass for that, I lose respect for a character that undermines themselves. America remains confused and I can deal with that for now.

Book 2 is due for release in April 2013 and I am rocking back and forth with want for that book.

Until then if you love fairy tales like me give the book a shot it may just surprise you I didn't expect to like it as much as I did!

Please subscribe to my blog so you don't miss a single post! You won’t regret it I promise!

x

The Immortals Series by Alyson Noël - A Review

First things first, meet the books:  Evermore, Blue Moon, Shadowland, Dark Flame, Night Star, and Everlasting.

Together these six books make up the Immortals Series; they also make up some of the pile of books that I regret buying. The fact of the matter is I only enjoyed two, maybe three of these books. The rest I could've done without, they were wasteful and there seemed little point to them other than to drag the story out for longer than need be.

Basically for those who haven't read these books, they revolve around Ever and Damon for the most part. Two souls destined to be together in all lives that they are reborn in. In other words, this book is based on the idea of souls, and when the body dies the soul moves on to another body. Each soul has a soul mate. Ever and Damen are soul mates, well they would be if Damen hadn't made himself immortal 600 years previously. In the first book we learn that Ever died. But Damen brought her back to life with "the immortal juice" because he was distraught at losing her over and over again (basically every time he found her again in a new life she died pretty soon after). So this time he stopped it from happening. You'd think that would they could be together happily ever after forever right? No. There are five more books to contend with.

I don't want to go into too much detail as to what else happens in between the first and last books. Basically at the end of the first book Ever has forgiven Damen for what he did to her (in making her an immortal). Move on to book 2, something happens to Damen, I won’t say what, Ever has to save him, I won’t say how. But to save she has to make a sacrifice that causes a problem. This problem is not resolved until the very end on the last book. That means three or four books are focused on correcting ONE problem, and it drove me nuts, but being the person I am and not wanting to give up on something I’ve started, I continued to read them.

I know a lot of people love these books, I did too. I loved the first and I loved the last. The ones in between did nothing but frustrate and bore me. In essence, I don't like this series very much. The problem here I think (and I mean no disrespect to the Author) is that someone signs a book deal for a certain amount of books, sometimes it works and you can find enough plot lines and idea's to keep the reader interested for that length of time. This series just felt a bit lazy to me. Yes there a few background plots going on in each book that gave you a little something extra but ultimately it was just ONE big problem for the entire series. I personally wouldn't recommend these books, but that doesn't mean you should not buy them, every person is different. Just because I didn't enjoy them doesn't mean that you won’t either. Give them a chance if you want but borrow one off a friend or get it from the library first would be my suggestion.

[Side Note: This author is fond of the term ‘tingle and heat’ when Ever is describing how it feels when she and Damen touch. It can get a bit repetitive and annoying; it’s said multiple times in every book. However this is just a trend of Young Adult books these days with terms like ‘electricity’ and ‘sparks’. Damen even goes as far as telling Ever that when they hold their hands close that ‘tingle’ she feels is the energy between them, as two people who are meant for each other.]

Until next time . . . . 

x

My Problem With Young Adult Novels.

Recently I've noticed that there seems to be an on-going trend of one particular plot device going on in the majority of young adult books, whether their genre is paranormal, dystopia or just plain chick lit. That plot device is the love triangle. It's highly annoying.

For example I think it was last year I bought Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini I liked the idea behind the modern retelling of the Iliad. The overall story was really good and ultimately I enjoyed it, I didn't like that it ended with the same cliff hanger as that of the first mortal instruments  book does [SPOILER - if you haven't read either] the idea that the two main characters who you've been cheering for to be together all the way through are somehow related, when actually they aren't (stupid idea if you ask me I don't see the point in this except to frustrate the reader). However I like the book and I wanted to read on so I patiently waited a year for the release of the sequel. Then I went on Good Reads and saw the dreaded plot of LOVE TRIANGLE. I wanted to throw my laptop across the room. Safe to say I haven't even bought this book yet, I don't want to read it. My biggest problem with this concept of a Love Triangle is that it completely undermines everything Helen says to Lucas in the first book and I quote:

 '"Correction, you're a jealous idiot, and that has to change right now," Helen replied seriously, still feeling light-headed, but fighting her way through it.
 "You have no reason to be Jealous. I told you that I don’t want anyone but you. I never have."' 

And then there's also:
 '"Just so you know? Just so we're clear. I care about you too. And if this hug is all I can have, I’d prefer it over anything from anyone else.'"
Now if you ask me, you can't have two characters like that being practically "devoted" to each other but then throw in a love triangle. I want to know how the story ends, so who knows maybe I'll read the last book. I haven't decided yet.

A similar situation occurred with the book Blood Red Road by Moira Young, it's a fantastic first book, and I absolutely loved it. I liked how the main characters problem wasn't about falling in love; she was trying to save her brother. Obviously there is a bit of a love story in there and it's really sweet, but then what happens?  I go on Good Reads and I see this:

Yayy another love triangle that I really don't understand because of quotes like this from the first book:

"Are we ever gonna see him agin? says Emmi.
One day I says.
One day soon says Tommo.
I hope so, I says."
I mean clearly Saba wants to see Jack again, she misses him she loves him, he loves her, what exactly is this news about Jack that it talks about that makes her want to sleep with someone else, when might I had she hadn't even slept with Jack yet. It just seems out of character if you ask me. This book was officially released today (30th October) I haven't decided if I'm going to read it yet. I want to, but I don't want to spend my money on a book that's going to frustrate me (I paid that price by buying all six books in the immortals series by Alyson Noel, but that's another story.)

Another problem that I have with the Love Triangle thing is that I have yet to read a book where the girl doesn't end up with the guy she met in the first book. I've never seen her pick the other one. Bella didn't pick Jacob, Ever didn't pick Jude (Immortals series). So it just seems like a waist of words to me to have a love triangle but the reader knows who she's going to end up with anyway. I actually wouldn't mind a love triangle if the girl picked the other guy, at least it would mean there was a reason for it to be included.

I have a current favourite book or books. They are Divergent and Insurgent both by Veronica Roth. I absolutely ADORE these books, I love the story the relationship is cute. Four and Tris are perfect. They have their problems with trust etc. especially in the second book, but it doesn’t lead to a love triangle. It's Four and Tris in both books there is no love triangle (YET!) book 3 is still being written, I pray Veronica Roth doesn't right one in that book, they are perfect without it. I mean [SPOILER] Both Tris's parents die in the first book, and then her brother becomes a traitor who nearly helps in killing her. I think that would be great cause for someone to go a little crazy but instead of Tris making a mistake and a love triangle forming, Four (or Tobias whatever you want to call him) takes care of her and it's so sweet
 '"I don't . . ." I sound like I am being strangled.
"My family is all dead, or traitors how can I . . ." I am not making any sense. The sobs take over my body, my mind, everything. He gathers me to him, and bathwater soaks my legs. His hold his tight. I listen to his heartbeat and, after a while, find a way to let the rhythm calm me.
"I'll be your family now," he says.
"I love you," I say."

It's not just the fact that there's no love triangle, but the story is really good, I find it fascinating, so if you're like me and are growing impatient with the seemingly never ending YA novel, Love Triangle plot line give the Divergent series a go.

That is my rant over.

No copyright infringement intended, all quotes belong to the respective authors; Josephine Angelini, Moira Young and Veronica Roth.

x