Saturday 31 March 2012

March Wrap-Up

Wow, March went by pretty fast! Here's what I read this month:

Fever (The Chemical Garden #2) by Lauren DeStefano
The End of the World (Skulduggery Pleasant #6.5) by Derek Landy
Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa
Forgiven (The Demon Trappers #3) by Jana Oliver

Favourite book read in March:


Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
This was so much better than its predecessor and I can't wait for Requiem!

Overall, it's been a very good month for me! Let me know your favourite book that you read this month in the comments, and you can read the reviews for the books I read by following the links in the "Books I Have Reviewed" page above :) 

Friday 30 March 2012

Feature and Follow #5


Feature and Follow is a meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers to gain new followers and friends.

This week's question:

Q: Do you read one book at a time or do you switch back and forth between two or more?


I usually read one book at a time, but occasionally I read two. I don't go beyond that because I feel like it's a bit more than I can handle. I usually read one book at a time because I like to be fully invested in the story and I feel as if I can concentrate on it. Therefore, I'm more sure with how I feel it went at the end and I can write a decent review. 

Weekly recap:

What's your answer to this week's question? Have a great weekend!

Thursday 29 March 2012

Review: Forgiven by Jana Oliver

Forgiven (The Demon Trappers #3) by Jana Oliver
Published by Macmillan Children's Books 2012


Riley Blackthorne. Kicking hell’s ass one demon at a time...

Riley has made a bargain with Heaven, and now they've come to collect.

Lucifer's finest are ruling the streets and it seems that Armageddon might be even closer than Riley imagined. But with her soul and her heart in play it's all she can do to keep herself alive, let alone save the world. Riley's not afraid of kicking some major demon butt, but when it comes to a battle between Heaven and Hell, she might need a little help...



This was an excellent read. It's possibly the best book yet from The Demon Trappers, one of my most favourite series. The beautiful covers are also a welcome bonus.


Forgiven picks up not long after where Forbidden left off. Riley is now faced with her debt to both Heaven and Hell, and what that means for her: she's the one chosen to prevent Armageddon. She's also trying to pick herself back up again after her mistake with Ori, but now things get even more complicated when the demon hunters from Rome come after her.


Despite all that's happened to her, Riley has continued to be a strong character, and that's what I like about her most. She doesn't really mope around after what she did with Ori and she tries to put it all behind her, focusing on trying to prevent Armageddon. At the same time, Riley was relatable because she was coming to terms with her first real heartbreak and acted the way any girl would have (well, the normal ones anyway, not the overly-dramatic ones). I liked seeing how Riley coped with her dad being reanimated, but it was also very sad because he shouldn't be walking around and it made it all the harder for Riley to let go and accept her dad's death. 

Now for the demon hunters. I enjoyed having them around. At first, I was very wary of them because the hunters and trappers hated each other and to be honest, some of them were very arrogant and not likeable. However, the demon hunters and trappers united in a bid to prevent Armageddon and solve the mystery of a new and exciting threat, which was a very nice touch. I loved seeing how that panned out. This new twist also managed to make things terrifying but also amusing with a little help from Peter and Riley actually taking his advice. Peter remains ever the supportive and loyal friend; he is awesome. However, Simon still remains poisoned in his thoughts, and continues to believe that Riley works for Hell. Simon does eventually find out the truth and I liked seeing how that unfolded; now I'm just waiting to see what he does in order to redeem himself.


However, the one thing that completely sold me about this book was the development of Riley and Beck's relationship. The will-they-won't-they nature of their relationship has been very frustrating throughout the series, but in a good way. We finally get to see them open up to each other, and we see a softer side to Beck, which I absolutely adored. They finally see how blind they were and how they shouldn't hold back, especially given the situation they're in. 


The ending was really something. I can't wait to read the next book because it's an explosion waiting to happen, and it could affect everyone, Beck in particular. I felt that the book ended on a very strong note, and I can't wait to see where Riley takes us next.


5 stars

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Waiting on Wednesday (15)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, spotlighting the upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.



Until I Die (Revenants #2) by Amy Plum
Published by HarperCollins
Released: 8th May 2012


Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

I loved Die For Me so much, and it was easily one of my 2011 favourites. If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you do so! I completely fell in love with the beautiful Paris setting and the characters, so I can't wait to read this.

What are you waiting on?

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa
First published in 2010, my edition published in 2011 by Mira Books


Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. 

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home. 

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. 

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I'd heard so many positive things about this series for the past year or two, and I couldn't wait to get in on all the hype. When my birthday rolled around, I finally got the chance to read The Iron King, the first book in the series. 

Meghan Chase has always felt "different". With the exception of her best friend Robbie, she has no other friends and life at home isn't the best. When her four-year-old brother Ethan is kidnapped, the secrets come pouring out. Meghan finds out that she is the half-human daughter of Faery king Oberon and that her best friend is actually Robin Goodfellow, a.k.a. Puck. From there, she enters the world of the Nevernever in order to find her brother and bring him back home.

I enjoyed seeing how Meghan transformed from being a seemingly normal teenager to a determined heroine as she ventured deeper and deeper into the Nevernever on her quest. It was a slow character development, and Meghan made a few mistakes along the way, but the end result was a loving and determined character. 

Puck was quite the mischievous character, staying true to the personality he had in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. His sarcasm had me snickering at the pages at times, and I found him to be quite charming. What I liked about him most of all was that even though he had revealed his true nature to Meghan and that he was only in her life to protect her, he still cared about her, and it showed. I can't wait to see more of Puck in the next book.

Ash is the Winter Prince, sent out to capture Meghan and bring her back to Tir Na Nog, where she will be held prisoner by his mother, Queen Mab. Ash contrasts nicely with Puck: he's serious, dark, brooding and dangerous. The romance between Ash and Meghan is slow but sweet; I instantly felt the connection between them. It is a forbidden romance, since Ash is the prince of the Winter Court and Meghan is the princess of the Summer Court. Their romance is hot and cold, just like their origins. 

The adventure itself was a great one, and I enjoyed watching the characters grow as they went through harsh conditions and overcame various obstacles. However, I felt like I didn't connect with this book as much as I would have liked. I found it a bit slow-moving, thus I was slightly bored at times. This series does seem promising though, and with that ending, how could I not read on?

3 stars

Friday 23 March 2012

Feature and Follow #4

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers to gain new friends and followers.

This week's question:

Q: What is the longest book you've read? What are your favorite 600+ page reads?


Longest: The longest book I've probably ever read is Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. It's my favourite book of the Twilight series and I really enjoyed it. 

Favourite 600+ page reads: 
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
Death Bringer by Derek Landy

(I have to admit, I haven't read many books with 600+ pages)

What's your answer to this week's question?

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, spotlighting the upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.


Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Published by Balzer + Bray
Released: 18th September 2012


And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off the from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

This completely sounds like my cup of tea. It sounds really gripping and that cover is gorgeous, too! I can't wait for this :)

What are you waiting on? Leave me a link!

Monday 19 March 2012

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Published by Harper Teen 2010



What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.


Before I Fall is Lauren Oliver's debut novel. Having read both Delirium and Pandemonium before this, I had high hopes. I wasn't disappointed and I loved it. Lauren Oliver is quickly becoming another one of my favourite authors.

Before I Fall tells the story of Sam Kingston. She has everything a girl could want in high school: she's pretty, popular, has a good-looking boyfriend and amazingly fun friends. Friday, February 12th starts out normal, but it turns out to be the last day of her life. She ends up having to relive her last day seven times, in which she gets the chance to make things right and evaluate the choices she's made in life.


Before I Fall was beautiful and inspiring. On the night of February 12th, Sam and her best friends: Lindsay, Ally and Elody go to a party being held by Kent McFuller in his house while his parents are away. On the way home from the party, Sam and her friends are in a car accident and Sam dies. The catch: she wakes up in the morning, seven times. Sam doesn't start out very likeable and is the typical high school mean girl. As usual, she is a bully along with the rest of her friends, and never questions it. She stays this way throughout most of the book, and I resented her for most of it. She realises that she's living the same day over and over, and she ends up doing what she likes and trying different ways to go about the day. This, I liked. I liked how even how the tiniest change or adjustment could change something dramatically, and I liked seeing how it would play out.


Of course, Sam does try to prevent her death in a few ways, such as staying home the night of the party or skipping school altogether. But even this has a dramatic outcome and something terrible would happen in the place of Sam's death. Sam continues to try other tactics, and she learns quite a few things along the way, growing as a character. Gradually, she realises that she needs to make things right before she dies with some of the people in her life. I think this really showed how much the little things matter in life, and Oliver created very relatable characters in both the bully(ies) and the bully. At this point, I was really rooting for Sam and she was likeable and relatable. This is also when the romance comes into play. It was sweet and touching, and Sam knew she was completely undeserving of him because she had treated him badly for years although he was always nice to her. It makes the ending all the more tragic.


Overall, this was fantastic and it really is a must-read for people in secondary school/high school. Before I Fall was full of drama, tragedy and startlingly relatable characters. It deals with the effects of teen bullying and suicide, how much everything means in life and how it feels on both sides.


5 stars 

Sunday 18 March 2012

In My Mailbox (16)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren, where we show the books that we have received throughout the week by buying them, winning them, etc.

Got two this week, plus a surprise! As usual, links lead to Goodreads or blogs.


Gifted:

Personal Library Kit

Both received from my cousins Vivian and Amy as late birthday presents. Wasn't expecting the library kit! Love you both :D

Won:

ARC of Immortal City by Scott Speer (thanks to Brodie @ Eleusinian Mysteries and Scholastic!)

When the Sea is Rising Red sounds absolutely amazing. Immortal City is also my first ARC, which I was thrilled to win, plus that library kit is so cute!

What's in your mailboxes this week? :)

Friday 16 March 2012

Feature and Follow Friday #3

Feature and Follow is a meme hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View and Alison @ Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers to gain new followers and friends.

This week's question is:

Q: What is the best book you've read in the last month? What is the worst book you've read in the last month?



The best book I read in February, as some of you might know from my February Wrap-Up post, was The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. This was a heartwarming story about the things you care about most. I loved all the characters and I think this is Stiefvater's best book so far.


Okay, so I didn't necessarily hate this book, I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would and ended up a bit disappointed. It sounded really interesting, but when it got to reading it, sometimes I felt like I didn't really agree with some of the choices the main character made. I didn't find some of the characters very likeable at times.  

Weekly recap:


What's your answer to this week's question? Leave me a link for your F&F in the comments!

Wednesday 14 March 2012

I've been given a blog award!

I'm really, really happy to say that I've been given my first blog award!

I received the Liebster Blog Award from Catherine @ The Book Parade, and she is a great and lovely person!


The Liebster Blog Award is an award for bloggers with less than 200 followers, and its aim is to help these blogs be found by others in the blogosphere.

The 'rules' for this one are... 
  1.  Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
  2. Nominate up to five others for the award.
  3. Let them know via comment on their blog (or you can send them a tweet!)
  4. Post the award on your blog.
  5. (This fifth rule was added by Geeky Tendencies via inspirenordic)...Follow my blog and at least consider signing up for the A to Z Challenge. It is a great way to find new and interesting blogs, it helps people find your blog and helps you meet new bloggers. Who knows? You might reach the 200 follower mark!
Thanks so much for the blog award, Catherine! You are awesome. 

The blogs that I'm nominating for the Liebster Blog Award are:


Good luck reaching the 200 follower mark! 

Waiting on Wednesday (13)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we show titles that we are eagerly anticipating.



NEVER LET ME GO meets HIS DARK MATERIALS in a beautiful, haunting YA debut, the first book in The Hybrid Trilogy.

Eva and Addie live in a world where everyone is born with two souls, but where only the dominant one is allowed to survive childhood. Fifteen years old, and closer even than twins, the girls are keeping Eva, the ‘second soul’, a secret. They know that it’s forbidden to be hybrid, but how could they ever be apart?

When a dramatic event reveals what really happens to hybrids if they are discovered, Eva and Addie face a dangerous fight for survival, neither wanting to be the one left behind… 

How amazing does this sound? And the cover is so pretty; I love it.  What are you waiting on?

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
Published by Hodder & Stoughton 2012

WARNING: I can't review this book without spoilers from Delirium, so if you're thinking about reading it, it's best to not read this review.


I’m pushing aside
the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana
and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, 'Delirium'. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.


Pandemonium is set out very differently to Delirium, with the story being told in alternating chapters of "Then" and "Now". The chapters of "Then" refer to Lena's new life in the Wilds and how she adjusts, and the chapters titled "Now" refer to the present day and what Lena is currently doing. Pandemonium starts immediately after where Delirium ended, with Lena crawling through the woods and into the Wilds.

In the sequel to the amazing Delirium, Lena is faced with the challenge of adjusting to her new life in the Wilds, and what comes with being part of the resistance. There are many obstacles Lena has to overcome, and in the midst of it all, she finds new love.

Pandemonium is most certainly a better book than its predecessor. I think that choosing to tell the story in alternating chapters was an interesting and smart choice, and it definitely made for some amazing reading. In the chapters of "Then", we see Lena being introduced to a completely new life in the Wilds. I loved seeing her mature into the person that she presently is, and how she persevered in order to survive. I also really liked Lauren Oliver's descriptions of the Wilds and what it's like to live there. She showed the harshness and the hardship very well, and this was only strengthened by the number of deaths in the "Then" chapters. It was very sad and heartfelt. A whole host of new characters also came with Lena's new life. I enjoyed all these characters very much, and I liked how they were like a very tight-knit family; they looked out for each other and showed Lena the ropes. Lena also goes through the  grief of losing Alex while adjusting, and tears welled up occasionally as I read anything Lena thought or said that made her think of him. 

The "Now" chapters focus on what Lena is doing in the present day as part of the resistance. You can really see how much Lena has changed in terms of the way she acts and speaks. Life in the Wilds has hardened and defined her. She's no longer afraid to stand up for what she believes in, and overall she's very strong and smart. Oliver did the job of showing us how the resistance had managed to infiltrate the cities and "ordinary" life really well, and how many flaws there were in the government system. While doing work for the resistance, Lena meets Julian. It certainly is a forbidden romance, and at first, I couldn't really see how it was going to work. But work it did, and I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow. However, while Julian is a great guy, he is no Alex.

Pandemonium had masses of action in it, and quite often I was at a point where I wanted to immediately know what would happen next in each chapter. I literally couldn't turn the pages fast enough. And then, there are the last few chapters leading up to the ending and the ending itself. I was on the edge of my seat. There were a few revelations and all of them were quite explosive. I didn't see them coming. The ending literally made me scream -thank god I was at home when I was reading it - and I can't wait to find out what happens in the next (and final - sad face!) book. Pandemonium is a brilliant book filled with action, deep thought and romance. Lauren Oliver, you are an amazing, amazing writer. Requiem, hurry up and get published!

5 stars 

Sunday 11 March 2012

In My Mailbox (15)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren, where we show all the books that we have received this week.

Hi people! It's been a great week book-wise. Links take you to Goodreads. Here's what I got:


Won: 

Fallen in Love (Fallen #3.5) by Lauren Kate (Thanks so much to Lindsay @ Narratively Speaking!)

Bought:

Department 19 (Department 19 #1) by Will Hill
Bzrk (BZRK #1) by Michael Grant
The Pledge (The Pledge #1) by Kimberly Derting

Library:

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 

Sorry that the picture is a bit iffy; my phone's camera hasn't been doing well lately. The review for Pandemonium will hopefully be up tomorrow if I can write the review tonight. 

What's in your IMM this week? Leave me a link in the comments!

Friday 9 March 2012

Feature and Follow Friday #2


Feature and Follow is a meme hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View and Alison @ Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers to make new friends.

This week's question:

Q: Have you ever looked at book's cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

0.4 by Mike Lancaster

When I first saw and heard about this book, I immediately thought that I probably wouldn't like it because of the cover. I do however like to have an open mind when it comes to books, and I ended up really loving this one! It's a great and unique sci-fi. Here's a link to Goodreads for you!

Weekly Recap:


Sorry people, it's been a slow week because I have loads of exams coming up and I just finished up my English exam today. Things are probably going to slow down because of that, but I will try as best I can to keep posting :)

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Waiting On Wednesday (12)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we show the books that we are eagerly anticipating.


Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie
Published by RazorBill (UK)
Released: 13th November 2012 (US)


This has no synopsis yet, but I'm still really looking forward to seeing how this amazing trilogy is going to end! That cover is gorgeous, and I can't wait to see what happens in the final instalment of the Matched trilogy.


Monday 5 March 2012

Quick Review: The End of the World by Derek Landy

The End of the World (Skulduggery Pleasant #6.5) by Derek Landy
Published by HarperCollins Children's Books for World Book Day 2012


Skulduggery and Valkyrie are back, in an exclusive World Book Day novelette, set after the momentous events of Death Bringer…

Hey, punks! Skulduggery and Valkyrie are about to make your day…

15-year-old Ryan is running away from home, looking for escape and adventure. But unfortunately, sometimes people DO get what they wish for. Ryan hasn’t gone far before he is set upon by a bunch of scary, nihilistic punk-sorcerers who need him to set off a doomsday device that will destroy the planet and everyone on it. Fun!

Riding to the rescue, however, is a certain skeleton detective and his teenage partner/combat accessory. Now Skulduggery and Valkyrie only have a few hours to figure out what's going on, while saving Ryan and – incidentally – the whole world.

And all that time, the punk-sorcerors are closing in…




I have been following the Skulduggery Pleasant series loyally since I was 11 years old, and it was first introduced to me by my best friend. This novella was especially written for World Book Day 2012, which was on 1st March. On World Book Day in the UK and Ireland, young readers get the chance to obtain various short stories for £1 to help encourage reading.

First of all, this short story has no relation to the current Skulduggery plot and does not develop it further. Nevertheless, Derek Landy wrote us a small piece of awesome for World Book Day. 

This story revolves around a 15-year-old boy called Ryan, who's going through a rough patch in his life. Suddenly, he's thrown into the magical world by a hideous twist of fate and Skulduggery Pleasant, the skeleton detective and his 17-year-old sidekick, Valkyrie Cain, come to the rescue. A peculiar adventure ensues! The story is filled with wit, humour, and of course, lots of butt-kicking. Derek even managed to throw in a twist (he's good at doing that) which I didn't see coming. There's also some romance in there, and it makes the ending sad but sweet. 

This was a fantastic novella which I throughly enjoyed, and I laughed throughout the entire thing. This is why Derek Landy is one of my most favourite authors, and this book will be a welcome addition to my Skulduggery collection!

5 stars

Sunday 4 March 2012

SLIDE by Jill Hathaway Giveaway!

Debut author Jill Hathaway is offering the very generous chance to win a massive SLIDE prize pack, and yes, it's international! Here's a little more about her book, SLIDE:

(UK cover of Slide)

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

Sounds good, right? Head on over to Jill's blog HERE to enter the giveaway!


In My Mailbox (14)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren, where we show all the books that we have received this week through buying, borrowing, etc.

I got myself some really good books this week! I haven't gone out this weekend as a result (I'm officially broke), but it was worth it.

All links take you to Goodreads.


Bought:

Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
The End of the World (Skulduggery Pleasant #6.5) by Derek Landy (novelette written for World Book Day 2012)
Forgiven (The Demon Trappers #3) by Jana Oliver
The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols

I was so excited to see these come through the door, especially since two are part of my must-read list for this year. I love the cover for the UK hardback of Pandemonium; it's so pretty! I've been reading the Skulduggery Pleasant series since I was 11 years old, and I actually got to meet Derek Landy in September last year. He is awesome and I'm one of his many loyal minions. The One That I Want is also my first Jennifer Echols book, and I've got her other books on my wish list.

What's in your IMM? Leave me a link!

Saturday 3 March 2012

Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever (The Chemical Garden #2) by Lauren DeStefano
Published by Harper Voyager 2012


Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.


*WARNING: I cannot review this book without including spoilers from Wither. If you are planning to read Wither soon, it's best not to read this review.*

I loved Wither, and I was eagerly counting down the days until the release date. I defied my book ban (not that that was ever officially in place ;)) for it. If you loved Wither, you'll probably love Fever.

Fever picks up right from where Wither left off. Rhine and Gabriel have finally escaped the mansion and are setting off to return to Manhattan to find Rhine's twin brother, Rowan. The journey to freedom is not so easy however, and quickly Rhine and Gabriel are captured by a mad woman who runs a scarlet house in an abandoned circus. They encounter many evils in the real world but also manage to gain some friends and companions. They soon find out that Housemaster Vaughn is hot on their trail though, and they need to be careful.

When I first started reading Fever, the first sentence immediately caught my attention and I filed it away for future reference in my brain:

"We run, with water in our shoes and the smell of the ocean clinging to our frozen skin"

That line just really stuck with me, and from then on, I was hooked. The book dives right into Rhine and Gabriel's journey, and wastes no time bringing up a new situation. In this book, you really get to see more of the real world in the series, and what it's like. For me, the one word that comes to mind is: bleak. The world has become devastatingly desperate and broken, and that theme continues throughout the book. 

Rhine is as determined and strong as ever. She doesn't stop to relish in her freedom, and her mind is always at the task at hand. However, when things start to seriously get tough, the determination does waver. Who can blame her though? The situations she's put in do bring on a feeling of hopelessness. Gabriel is further developed as a character in this book, and we get to see how he adjusts to the outside world. The romance was also very sweet. The secondary characters were very good, albeit mostly creepy and just plain wrong. Now on to Vaughn. He's more of a threatening presence than an actual person/figure in the book; he's constantly in the background, waiting to pounce. This really adds to the sinister and creepy feeling of the book, and the characters never truly feel safe.

Things really start to pick up about three-quarters of the way into the book, and all the secrets come pouring out. I couldn't read it fast enough and the ending was very shocking. However, things overall were quite slow which means you might need a little bit of patience, but trust me, it's worth it. I can't wait to see what happens in book 3!

4 stars

Friday 2 March 2012

Feature and Follow Friday #1


This is a weekly meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View and Alison @ Alison Can Read to help bloggers gain new followers and friends.

Welcome to my first Feature and Follow! I liked the concept of this and I heard that it's a good way of gaining new followers, so I'm giving it a go.

This week's question is:

Q: What book would you love to see made into a movie or television show and do you have actors/actresses in mind to play the main characters?

My answer:
Having thought about it, I would really like to see Delirium by Lauren Oliver made into a film; I loved the plot and the characters. I have no idea who I would like to play any of the characters... I have favourite actors/actresses, but they're all too old for any of the roles. However, while I would love for the book to made into a film, there's also the risk that I won't like whoever plays who in the film, but that's a risk with every book-based film I guess.

Let me know your answer to the question or leave me a link in the comments!