April Wrap-Up

April has come and gone! It's been a good month, and I'm looking forward to May and all of the great releases it brings :) Here's what I read this month:

The Iron Daughter (Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa

Immortal City (Immortal City #1) by Scott Speer

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) by Beth Revis

Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter

The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa

Free Four (Divergent #1.1) by Veronica Roth

Favourite book read in April:

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Incredibly funny and sweet!

Hope you all had a good month and are looking forward to May!

In My Mailbox (20) and (21)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Despite recent events and all the drama, I'm going to continue to support this meme.

Hi, everyone! I have two IMMs to give you today (sorry that they're so late, I was busy obsessing over Avatar: Legend of Korra on Tumblr) and I'm really pleased with my book hauls.

Won:

Half-Blood (Covenant #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Thanks to Valerie @ Stuck in Books!)

Signed SLIDE postcard (not pictured, thanks to Jill Hathaway!)

Bought:

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Until I Die (Revenants #2) by Amy Plum

So like I said, I'm really pleased with what I got over the past two weeks and I can't wait to read them all. I'm especially excited about Until I Die because Die For Me was one of my favourite 2011 reads, and I may have done some jumping up and down when Half-Blood arrived...

What's in your mailbox this week?

Feature and Follow #8

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: Have you had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then "broke up" with later on in either the series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her. 

For me, the only character that comes to mind is James from The Goddess Test series. At the beginning, he seemed like such a nice, cute character but it was later revealed that his intentions were perhaps less than honourable, and I was a little disappointed. However, it remains to be seen whether this will turn around, so I'm keeping an open mind. 

Weekly Recap:

Review: Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

Waiting on Wednesday (18)

Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

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

Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa
Published by Mira Ink 2011

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.                                                           

This time, there will be no turning back. 

♥♥♥♥♥

The end of The Iron Daughter saw Ash and Meghan exiled to the mortal realm, with nowhere to go but home to Meghan's family. Soon, Meghan realises that her struggles are far from over. She will have to return to Faery to face the new Iron King and stop the war between the Summer, Winter and Iron fey, and stop the Iron Kingdom from destroying the Nevernever for good. This will be the greatest battle Meghan will ever have to face.

The Iron Queen is the last book from Meghan's point of view. I enjoyed the previous two books, but this one just blew those completely out of the water and I thought it was great. 

Meghan and Ash are now in the mortal realm after being exiled, but they have to return to Faery to the stop the war once and for all. Meghan has grown so much as a character throughout the series, and in this book I really felt like she'd managed to reach her full potential. She was strong and wise, and fearless. She was willing to die for what she believed in and for the Nevernever. In previous books, I'd felt that she was a bit too reckless, but there wasn't really any evidence of that here. The banishment to the mortal realm also changed Ash. He let his guard down since he no longer belonged to the Unseelie Court. We get to see him for who he truly his beneath his icy persona, and I found myself really warming up to him. 

There are more risks than ever before, and the characters know it. Nevertheless, Meghan, Ash and Puck (because where would anyone be without him? Of course he shows up) dive into the mission with fiery determination. This book is rife with action and I loved every moment of it. Mingle that with a romance that knew no bounds - all-consuming and passionate - and we have ourselves a winner! The Iron Queen also had a whole host of new characters that I loved, and I definitely didn't expect the new Iron King to be who he was revealed to be. The way the ending played out was even less expected; it was simply tragic, and I can't wait to see where The Iron Knight goes.

5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday (18)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, where we spotlight releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Quicksilver (Ultraviolet #2) by R.J. Anderson

Published by Orchard 

Release: 2013

Once I was a girl who was special.
Now I am extraordinary.
And they will never stop hunting me.

The compelling follow-up to the bestselling ULTRAVIOLET, this thriller will take your breath away...

*Squeals* Ultraviolet was one of my favourite reads of 2011 and I was thrilled to find out that R.J. Anderson was writing a sequel. Can't wait to read this, and if you haven't read Ultraviolet, I suggest you do so!

What are you waiting on?

I'm Back!

Hi everyone, I'm back again after a rather stressful week of exams. Some I thought went really well, others not so much, but I can only hope that I did well enough. I literally just posted my review of Out of Sight, Out of Time, so be sure to give that a look! It's good that things are going back to normal (for now) and that the stress has been lifted from my shoulders. Results might be coming out in a week or two, but I can already tell you my French mark: I got an A* and I couldn't be more proud of myself. However, I do also have a French listening test and an English speaking and listening assessment (that counts for 20% of my final grade) tomorrow still, so fingers crossed :)

It's good to be back!

Review: Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter
Published by Orchard 2012

With more than a million Gallagher Girls books sold, a legion of fans have fallen in love with the New York Times best-selling spy-girl series, and the fifth book delivers the most nerve-wracking, high-stakes adventure yet.

The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, her memory is a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and dirt under her nails. All she wants is to go home. But even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers as Cammie and her friends face their most difficult challenge yet. With only their training and a few clues to guide them, the girls go in search of answers on the other side of the world. But the Circle is hot on their trail and will stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

♥♥♥♥♥

*May contain spoilers from previous books*

I've been looking forward to reading this for a while now, and I read it as soon as I possibly could after purchasing it. This book was everything I'd hoped it would be and more, and I loved it.

At the end of Only the Good Spy Young, Cammie ran away to find out the truth of why The Circle wants her. Now, summer is long over and Cammie wakes up battered and bruised in a retreat on top of a mountain. She has no memories of what happened during those summer months. From there, Cammie embarks on the greatest adventure of all: trying to remember what she did last summer. This brings many more questions into the mix; with the help of her friends, Cammie retraces her steps on the other side of the world, and devastating secrets are revealed.

This book had a much darker feel to it, especially as Cammie wakes up in such a mysterious place under mysterious circumstances. Once she calls home and returns to school, she finds that everything has changed. Within the first hundred or so pages of reading this book, I seriously wanted to cry for Cammie because so much had changed while she'd been gone and she was pretty much an outsider; everyone was tiptoeing around her. But Cammie is strong, and the one thing that keeps her going throughout the book is her need to find out just exactly what she did last summer. 


The clues that "Summer Cammie" left behind fitted and flowed perfectly, and it was interesting to keep up with. The journey that the whole gang ventured on revealed some shocking secrets, and I honestly didn't see them coming. The way the whole thing was laid out was very clever. Cammie had to take a journey concerning her mind as well as a journey for the clues she left, and this also had a rather dark feel. The romance also returns. I found it rather soft and subtle; this isn't a bad thing because it didn't overshadow the story considering how important what Cammie is going through in this book is, and the subtlety added to the sweet and tender nature of Zach and Cammie's relationship. I also like how their relationship isn't outright defined, and Cammie herself is still unsure what to make of it. I feel as if it still has a "will they/won't they" nature, and I look forward to seeing it progress further. The ending was a massive shocker, and I really, really can't wait to see how this goes. I wanted the next book right after finishing the last page, and now the wait begins again!

5 stars