eBook Review - My Sister’s Keeper

This is one of those books where it feels like every one has either read or know the vague outline of. And the author of this is one of those authors that I have been meaning to read for YEARS, but I keep putting off due to the Hype Monster that surround them and their novels. 

Yes, I am talking about My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. 

Title and Author: My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughtin
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org

Anna was born a Saviour Sibling for her older sister, Kate, who has acute leukaemia. When she was born, doctors took blood from umbilical cord. As she’s grown up, she has given her blood, blood marrow and now, at the end of 13, her parents want her to donate a kidney. But Anna decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation. 

Now, from the little I wrote above, you would expect this book to be really heavy and quite dark. We have a saviour sibling storyline, illness and how it affects everyone around the people who is ill (and how those in need to help can slip through the cracks), messy family relationships, a messy relationship between Anna’s lawyer and the court appointed guardian ad litem.

eBook Review - To Be Taught, If Fortunate

• Title And Author: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Beck Chambers
• Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eBook Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction
• Length: 176 Pages

As you guys know, I am a bit of a late comer to Becky Chambers. I still have to read her third Wayfarer novel, Record of a Spaceborn Few. Hoping to read that sometime in the next six months. But when the news of this novella was first announced, I instantly preordered it. A novella set outside of the Wayfarer series. Colour me intrigued. 

So when I saw I could request the eProof of this on NetGalley, I did think carefully over if I want to request this or wait for my novella. In the end, I requested it as my curiosity got the better of me. 

At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a discovery in human space travel. They discovered somaforming: a way for humans to survive hostile environments by using synthetic biological supplements. They can produce antifreeze so you can survive sub-zero environments, absorb radiation and convert into food, help adjust the pul of different gravitational forces. This can make space travel possible and visiting other planets, moons, and other environments possible. 

Ariadne is an astronaut. She and three others are on a mission to survey four habitable worlds fifteen light years away from Earth. She and her crewmates sleep while in transit and, when they wake up, they have a new world to explore and the somaforming has changed their bodies, ready for the new world. 

I don’t think I can go any further in detail with this novella as I’m a little worried on what is a spoiler and what isn’t. But, you guys want me reactions to this… well…

Book Review - A Closed And Common Orbit

• Title And Author: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
• Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 364 Pages

As you guys know, I was meant to start my “Pick My Next Read” polls after I finished The Hand, The Eye and The Heart by Zoë Marriott. However, I was going to holiday (a small weekend break away in Bruges) and I didn’t want to start this while away. Plus, I have been getting an itch to read something else. So, I decided to push it back a read, rewrite my “Pick My Next Read” post and start the book in question. 

 A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers was the book is question. 

A companion/sequel (I’m going to say companion as this really didn’t feel like a sequel) to A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed And Common Orbit follows Lovelace. Once, she had eyes and ears everywhere. She was a long haul spaceship’s artificial intelligence system. Not any more. Now, she’s housed in an illegal synthetic body. She might have Pepper by her side, Lovelace feels very alone. 

Pepper is determined to help her. She knows a thing or two about starting over. Because, Pepper wasn’t always Pepper. Pepper was once Jane 23 and, when she was ten, she had never seen the sky. 

So how did Jane 23 become Pepper? What is Pepper trying to find? And will Lovelace find her place in the universe?

Now, I know what you are thinking, what did I think of this book?

Book Review - Long Way To A Small Angry Planet

You can blame Ellie aka @patchworkbunny (her blog is Curiosity Killed the Bookworm - you should check it out!) and Darran aka @ShinraAlpha (he's involved in the eZine, Shift - check that out as well!). I saw Darran was reading Record of a Spaceborn Few and I went "Ooooh!" and asking questions about this series. Ellie saw my questions and helped answering my questions and went "You know what? I love this author and this series so much, I will send you the first book and you can read it on your holiday."

And it came with a day or two before my holiday so, of course, I read it by the pool in Cyprus.

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, a spaceship that punches holes in space to make transport easier, she isn't expecting much. She just wants to be far away from her troubled past. That's why she's using a false name. But what she gets on the Wayfarer is more than she expects: a mishmash of species and personalities, but what Rosemary wants.

But when the crew get an offer of a lifetime, the chance to create a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet, they would be mad to not accept it. This could earn them enough money to live comfortable for years. But first, they need to get there, and while space is vast, spaceships are small and some secrets can't survive in a space that small...

This is a space opera, something I am not well read in - in fact, I'm not that well read a reader in the scifi genre, but I devoured this in three days. I couldn't put this book down and I had such a blast with it. The characters were unique and fleshed-out, each species felt fresh and different. For a sci-fi book, it tackles sexuality, gender, race, politics and goodness knows what, this book knocked it out of the park. This read felt interesting, weird yet it was a gripping read.

But, I hear you say, on Goodreads, you didn't give this a five star review. This is when a half star is needed on Goodreads. So why didn't I give it the full five stars? Because... I don't know. It's hard to explain but there was something that held me back. I wonder if it's because I read this so fast (three days is fast for me!), I didn't connect to the book and the characters so much as I would have if I read it over a two week period.

But I had such a wonderful time with this that I can't wait to continue with this series and read A Closed and Common Orbit and Record of a Spaceborn Few. I am aware that each book can be read as standalone and companions to each other. I think fans of Doctor Who and Firefly would love this series (so thank you/curse you Ellie and Darran!)

On holiday so enjoying the sun reading this beauty. Thank you @patchworkbunny & @shinraalpha for making me aware of this (& @patchworkbunny for getting me a copy). Having a blast reading this! #bookporn #bookstagram #bookworm #bookdragon #booklion #wayfarer #thelongwaytoasmallangryplanet #smallangryplanet #beckychambers #hodder #bookpost #bookblogger #gayblogger #bibliophile #bookstagrammer #holiday #holidayreading #readingbythepool #cyprus

A post shared by Andrew (@thepewterwolf) on Apr 6, 2018 at 11:30pm PDT

DNFing Caraval

Ok, you all! PICK MY NEXT READ!!! Have fun!

— Andrew Hall (@PewterWolf13) May 6, 2017

So, as you can see from my Twitter poll as part of my "Pick My Next Read", Caraval by Stephanie Garber won (which is surprise as, after reading Queen of the Tearling [review here, FYI], I thought you guys would pick The Bone Season or the sequel, The Invasion of the Tearling). So, on Sunday, I started this... 

So, I have made it a rule now to chat to you guys on if I ever DNF a book. I don't want you guys to read my blog and go "Oh, he's always so positive about books he write on his blog", which is true as I feel it is important to enjoy what you read. Reading should be a pleasure, something happy and should make you happy. Life is too short to read crap books. 

So, it pains me a lot that I have decided to put Caraval in my DNF pile. It pains me as I had such hopes for this. 

Now, before I go further, I am not saying this book is awful. I'm not. I have read and watch a ton of reviews where people are singing this book's praises. And I have read and watch a ton of reviews where people are more judgemental. This book is very much a marmite read, from people's reactions (I always like these type of books, truth be told). 

But I have decided to put this on my DNF (for now) pile. Notice I say, for now. Will explain in a tick. 

But my reasons for putting the brakes on this reading experience. The first was I wasn't enjoying reading this book. I am still in that heavy-fantasy reading mood. I want to read fantasy that has an edge or a bite to it. Hence why I kinda wanted to read The Bone Season or Invasion of the Tearling (as well as a few others). It's very difficult when you're in that headspace, I find. To jump from one extreme of one genre to the other end of that genre. It's jarring. 

There are other reasons linked to my brain going "Where's the meat" to this story. But the main thing I thought while I was reading the first 100-odd pages was "This would have been an awesome middle-grade book". I kept thinking that this was written as a middle-grade story - the style and the ideas just fitted middle-grade for some reason in my head - but, somewhere along the way of writing/edit, they tried to YA it by adding a possible love interest (it felt like it was going to go down the insta-love/lust route). Why, oh why, do we need another insta-love story in YA novels? I thought we were done with this troupe!  

Now, I do want to come back to this. I'm not DNFing this completely. There is potential here for me liking this story. I want to see what happens as people have opinions on this and I think, once am out of my heavy-fantasy reading mind space, I might like this. So, I'm not DNFing it completely (not now, anyway. Ask me in a few months time as I might change my mind), but I'm in no rush to return to it. Maybe when the second book in the series is published next year (this might be a series/duology)... 

So, I'm putting this on hold and, as I don't want to veto this vote, am going to try and read the runner-up of the poll, The Bone Season. Hopefully, this will go down better for me. 

Book Review - Onyx

I have this thing about reading books on my Kindle. If I start something, I really want to finish it. I know, I shouldn't. Aren't I always the one telling you guys that life's too short to read crap books? ... yeah. I am. But I started this in the height of my reading slump and a few weeks ago, I got out of it so I decided to try again.

The second book in the Lux series, Katy finds herself linked to Daemon Black, thanks to his alien mojo. And now, because of this, Daemon wants to prove his feelings for her are real. But Katy's not so sure.

If only their feelings for each other was the only problems. The Department of Defense is in town and if they find out about their connection, both Katy and Daemon are in trouble. And with a new kid in town who knows too much about Lux and Daemon beginning to wonder what happened to his brother...

The truth could get someone killed and not everyone will survive the lies...

Oh, Onyx. Where did it go wrong?

Ok, let me rephrase that. If I had read this immediately after I had read the first book in the series, Obsidian (which I read 2-ish years ago - review for that is here), I would have devoured it. It would have been addictive reading.

But. reading this now, I have problems. I'm not sure if I would have seen these problems if I read this back in 2013, but I see them now, and that made my reading pleasure less so.

I found the plot slightly predictable. Which isn't a bad thing, folks. But I expected more from this. I thought there would be more twists and a few things I wouldn't see coming. But I guessed them fairly quickly and when I was proven right, I thought "Oh, is that it?". And because of that, Onyx came across like an info-dump book.

Also, there were a few chapters in the middle of the book that annoyed me. It's stupid, I know, but I felt that they were repeating themselves. Repeating why Katy was doing the things she was doing, why she was telling/not telling Daemon about them, repeating information we knew. It felt like the book hadn't hit a certain word/chapter count so padding was needed.

Also, was it me, but were there several moments in this book where we had slut-shaming? Sorry, nope. I get why this topic is reference in YA books - because it happens in real life - but no, I don't want to read about that. Nope. Am going to make a small rule to self over if I see this in future reads from now on...

I feel like I am being really negative on this book. I don't want to be. There are elements of this book I really liked. I liked Katy's and Daemon's relationship and how it evolved throughout the book. I liked the snarky dialogue between Katy and Daemon. It's one of the things I liked the most about this book - their dialogue sizzled. I liked how easy it was the read and how there wasn't a dull moment - there was always something that pushed the story forward.

While I am not giving up with this author - I have Oblivion and Obsession on my kindle and both have connections to this series - I felt a bit let down with this book.

New Laini Taylor Trilogy News!

As you guys know, I love Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor. I love it! So when I heard this news a few days ago, I was very excited. And the lovely people at Hodder sent me a press release, I REALLY wanted to show you guys. But I have been a bit busy over the past few days so I have only just got time to do this now!

So, who wanna get excited with me?

SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING FANTASY AUTHOR LAINI TAYLOR SIGNS NEW THREE-BOOK DEAL WITH HODDER & STOUGHTON

Following the international success of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, Hodder & Stoughton will publish three new young adult novels by Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling fantasy author, Laini Taylor. Kate Howard, Associate Publisher at Hodder, acquired British Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Jane Putch of Eyebait Management. The first book, The Muse of Nightmares, will be published in Autumn 2016 and is a fantasy young adult novel with a gothic flavour. Taylor describes it as follows: ‘There was a war between men and gods, and men won. The few surviving children of the gods have grown up in hiding, dreading the day they know must come: when humans find them, and end them. That day is at hand.’ The book will simultaneously release in the US from sister company Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Kate Howard said: ‘I am so thrilled to publish Sunday Times bestselling Laini Taylor’s new books across the UK and Commonwealth, starting with The Muse of Nightmares next Autumn. Laini’s imagination is second to none, the fantasy worlds she creates truly unique and I know that come Autumn 2016, The Muse of Nightmares will be the book everyone is talking about.’
Of The Muse of Nightmares, Taylor shared, ‘I’m excited beyond belief to have found the proper form, at last, for this story that’s been in my head for about two decades. I can’t say much about it, but I’ll say this: it’s about otherness, and yearning to belong in a place you never can. I can only hope that readers will respond to these new characters with the same passion as they have to Karou and Brimstone, Prague and Eretz.’

The widely acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy, for which Universal Pictures acquired film rights (with Joe Roth set to produce), is currently available in thirty-three languages. Of her experience meeting fans internationally, Taylor said, ‘The reception of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy has been and continues to be a dream come true. I’m blown away by the incredible fan art, cosplay, and tattoos from readers all around the world, who give the books new life and new dimensions every day. Fantasy readers are the best.’

About Laini Taylor
Laini Taylor is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy: Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Days of Blood & Starlight, and Dreams of Gods & Monsters, and the companion enovella, Night of Cake & Puppets. She is also the author of the Dreamdark books, Blackbringer and Silksinger, and the National Book Award finalist Lips Touch: Three Times. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter, Clementine. Her website is www.lainitaylor.com. 

GoodRead - Dreams of Gods and Monsters

As you guys are probably aware, I am a fan of this series. I liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone, loved Days of Blood and Starlight and I devoured Night of Cakes and Puppets. So, of course, I had to get my hands on a copy of Dreams of Gods and Monsters when it came out back in April. I got one of the special first editions that was signed and had a drawing (by the author) of Karou. 

So, why have I waited to review it now? Because I was just swamped with books. And it's size! I got scared by its size and, also, I had The Fear. The series was such a good urban fantasy that I was scared that, somehow, the final book in this series wouldn't live up to the hype. 

So, I held off. And then, the lovely Fliss from Midas (working on behalf of Audible.co.uk) asked if I wanted an audiobook version of this and I said no. Then changed my mind. And Fliss was very kind to send me a credit to download the audiobook. 

Now, before I go, I would like to make clear that I only listened to under half of the audiobook and I read the rest. I have reasons which I will get to, but bear with me. 

In this, the final book in the series, Jael's forces have made their way to Earth. Pretending to be holy angels, they are playing on religion and the fears of the humans to get weapons to crush his enemies once and for all. 

But for Karou and Akiva are going to stop. Or die trying. They must ally their enemy armies to defeat Jael. It's a twisted version of their dream from previous life. But Jael isn't the only threat... 

Now, let me explain why I only listened to under the audiobook. It took me over a month or so to get to that point. I stopped because of two reasons. The first was the last chapter I listened to, a section was missing. I think this was because of the download or the file got corrupt on my laptop/iPhone. The second reason, and the most important, was that there were times when the audiobook didn't follow the text within the book. It wasn't a big deal when it was a sentence of a slang/saying. But in one chapter, a paragraph was added. Out of nowhere. Which makes me think the audiobook is read from the US edition rather than the UK edition... 

And with reader of the audiobook - Kristen Hvan. I liked her voice - it fitted well with Laini's writing style. Though it did take me a while to get use to Kristen's voices from Zuzana and Mik - well, they are my favorite characters and, when I first heard them, I thought Kristen was having a laugh! 

Now, my thoughts of this book. I really liked it. I didn't love it like Night of Cakes and Puppets and Days of Blood and Starlight, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the fact that we had the new character, Eliza - a character who became a fave of mine very quickly (although not as much as Zuzana and Mik. Who, while reading this book, I was scared that Laini was going to kill off! If she did, I'm not sure I could forgive her...). And with the plot and twists, I liked how this book ended the series. 

I can completely get why there are some people that didn't like it. Some people will say the ending was too open-ended (which means that Laini could return to this world), certain characters never really got their just-dessert... 

But I enjoyed myself once I got into my stride (which was when I actually read the book), and I'm quite excited to read more from Laini Taylor's pen. 

GoodRead - Day 21

I was thinking of keeping this review back a few days as I only finished this book yesterday and I wanted to keep the review of The 100 and its sequel, Day 21 some distance apart. But am going to post this now just to mess with BookBridgr and Goodreads.

It's day 21 for the 100 sent down to Earth. This day is important, for its when signs of radiation begin to make themselves present. But that isn't the 100's only problems. They thought they were the first humans to set foot on Earth for the first time in centuries.

They were wrong.

With fear of a new, unknown enemy, the 100 has to band together. Wells struggles to keep the 100 together and not turn on themselves. Bellamy is determined to save his sister who was snatched from this enemy. And when trying to help him, Clarke finds evidence that leads to a truth that the 100 aren't the first to be sent to Earth from space. And back on the space station, Glass is forced to make a decision between love and life.

Like I said in my review to The 100 (review here), if you are expecting the TV series (aired on the CW in the USA and on e4 in the UK), you are going to be very disappointed as, while the TV show is dark (with a stupidly high death count - which I adore! NO ONE IS SAFE ON THAT SHOW!), the book is very much romantic driven.

I had problems with this book. I think it's because I read Day 21 very quickly after reading The 100, which isn't something I normally do. But I found Day 21 a real struggle. There was one or two things I really wanted ti stop reading this book - Life's too short to read awful books. In the end, I decided to skip a chapter and skim read because I decided to read this with a bunch of bloggers on Twitter and I didn't want to let them down.

I can list the problems I have - Glass being on the space station and yet, being more worried about her love life than finding out information that might be useful to the reader. Clarke and Bellamy doing stuff without telling anyone what they're planning to do - THERE ARE MYSTERIOUS BAD GUYS KILLING AND YET, GO RUN INTO THE FOREST WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE! And you survive without any real consequences - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

I could go on. I could. But I won't as I don't want to rant and rave. This book series, I feel, could have been more sci-fi or more into human survive - as the TV show does. It could have huge twists that shock the reader. But it's more love-driven and the book felt predictable and that's a huge problem with me. This book has so much potential and yet... it falls flat. It's unbaked and, in the words of Mary Berry from The Great British Bake Off, has a bit of a soggy bottom.

I MIGHT continue reading the series, but I think I might have to leave it and continue watching the TV show. I am really getting into it. I think we need to start a drinking game with the amount of death! THIS IS WHY I NEED THE DVD WHEN IT COMES OUT!

GoodRead - The 100

If you don't follow my Twitter feed (twitter.com/PewterWolf13), you should be aware that I am currently enjoying The 100, a sci-fi TV show airing in the UK on e4 (we're on season 1) and season 2 will start being aired in USA on The CW sometime in October.

So when I was sent this a while ago, I was excited to read it. But then I didn't read it. It got pushed down my huge TBR pile. So, when the sequel, Day 21, was on BookBridgr, I requested it with a plan to read the two back-to-back. And with several other bloggers, we agreed to read them together and tweet our thoughts, reactions and feelings over it.

In The 100, the Earth is no longer safe. After a nuclear war, humanity lives in space stations, safe from the raditation. No one was planned to be sent back. Until now. 100 juvenile delinquents are being sent down to Earth to find out if it's safe to return. It could be a start of something great - or a suicide mission.

Liars. Thieves. Rebels. Heroes?

Before I go my further, I need to stress something here and now: if you are expecting the TV show, you are going to be disappointed. While the TV show is quite dark, the book is much more romantic driven. It reminds me a bit of The Selection by Kiera Cass (my review for that is here). It is a fun, candy floss read.

But there are problems with this book. Well, for me, there were problems. Like I said, this is very romantic and it's hard to picture the idea of a sci-fi book, where the main characters are sent to Earth and are forced to survive with little to no idea on how to survive, that these characters beginning to fall for each other.

Another problem that I had - and I think most of bloggers that joint read this series had the same problem - is how the story was told. The book had four characters telling the story - Clarke, Bellamy, Wells and Glass - and they changed point of view every chapter. And within most of these chapters, we had flashbacks. It's hard to get attached to a character when you have to switch different points of view and then you have to switch from what's happening to them now to what happened to them several months earlier.

But my main problem is, while I enjoyed reading this (and I read this quite quickly) is that it felt half-baked. It had an good premise but it just felt flat at times. It reminded me of the new Doctor Who episode, Deep Breath, where you have several hugely interesting ideas but the ideas didn't blend together and make a good outcome. I'm sorry but you have a dinosaur running round Victorian London and yet...

I did like this, but it was a candy floss read for me. I have read Day 21, the sequel, and I have plans to watch the rest of the series but, I think I prefer the TV show than this book.

GoodRead - Mr Mercedes

I love how, with Friday's "I'm taking the pressure away" post went online, I literally finished this audiobook that took me OVER A MONTH (or it felt like that), which Midas PR kindly allowed me to review for Audible.co.uk. So, thank you Audible and Midas!

In this, Stephen King's first "crime/thriller" novel (really?), retired cop Bill Hodges receives a letter from a man claiming to be the Mercedes Killer. A man who stole a Mercedes-Benz and, early one morning, ploughed into a gathering line that waited for a job fair (thanks to the joy of the recent recession), killing eight, including a young mother and her baby. The Mercedes Killer (aka Mr Mercedes) taunts Hodges, saying he won't be catch because he has no intention of doing it again.

Which Hodges knows is a complete lie. Hell-bent to catch the guy, Hodges has to go back over this case and begins to question if he investigated the case as non-biased as he was meant to...

On the other side of town, Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother, works two jobs, once had a younger brother and is a whizz on computers. He is also Mr Mercedes, and he's plotting his next act. One that could destroy the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands of lives.

Ok, why did I want to listen to this story? Well, it's Stephen King and I have never read a Stephen King novel. And as some of you guys class him as (pun alert!) the King of Modern Horror, I have always been curious to read him (and yet a complete scaredy-cat - horror freaks me out!). Plus, this is hat some of you guys have called his first "crime/thriller" novel and I am a sucker for crime novels so this one was perfect for me.

Or so I thought.

Before I go into a full-blown rant, let me talk about the positives. This is a pretty solid read. There is a lot of character building and King takes his time with his characters. He wants you to feel for them, to grow to like them. That way, when sometime shocking begins to be plotted or happens to them, you are thrown for six. And the last two hours of the audiobook were gripping. Edge of your seat stuff there.

HOWEVER, there are problems with this audiobook! HUGE PROBLEMS!!! Which I think I can sum up into four points.

First, the narrator. Will Patton - I have SERIOUS issues with this guy. It took me a VERY long time to warm to his voice and for most of the audiobook, the reason for this was that he sounded BORED reading the book to us. Sorry, but if the narrator sounds bored then the listener of the audiobook is going to be just as bored, if not more so. If not bored, then angry. I had times (more than once over the 14 hours and 21 minutes) where I would think/rant "I'm sorry, Mr Will Patton, are we keeping you? I mean, you must have been paid to read this and you sound like you don't give a rat's **** over pretending to enjoy this story!"

The second is length. I get why the book was so long, I do, but there were sentences, paragraphs, even whole chapters that weren't needed. So why are they there? For example, the very first chapter where we are first introduced to Hodges. We met him and he discover that, because he is retired, he watches (and moans about) a lot of Midday TV and considers commiting suicide with his father's old gun. And that's it. That is basically it. The paragraphs where Hodges moans about midday TV shows and then crime shows (Bones, CSI, NCIS, etc) are important to the story how exactly? And with Hodges considering killing himself with his father's gun - it is mentioned so many times through the story (as Mr Mercedes mentions this in his letter to Hodges the following chapter) that it didn't feel like this chapter was needed. Important information from this chapter could have been inserted within chapter 3 or 4 and it wouldn't have upset the story.

The third is language. Ok, this is a weird one but bear with me here, dear readers. I am not a prude when it comes to language, so I get why curse words and swear words are used. With one character, he swears quite a bit and I get why Stephen King made him do that. I do. However, when you use swear words in every other sentence, it begins to get annoying REAL fast. And because of this, I couldn't help but wonder why Stephen King, a man claimed to be the King of Modern Horror, would use such lazy language? And if a reader begins to think that, they are not paying attention to the story and therefore, they are not enjoying the story...

The fourth (and final point) is more a me thing. As I said earlier on, I read crime and thriller books. Not other, but I do binge on the genre when I can. And with this, most of the time, I felt like I have read it before. It's a crime book yet I could sense I knew what was going to happen next. Most of the time, I was right. It didn't grab me as a crime novel and there were times, because I sensed what was going to happen next, I stopped the audiobook and left it for several days, feeling no need to come back to it...

So, yeah, I wasn't exactly thrilled with this book. I'm sorry. I know most of you guys really enjoy this book, but it didn't grab me in the same way. I do want to try another Stephen King novel but... yeah...

GoodRead - Adaptation

I was trying to do a NetGalley ban on myself. I seem to be one of those bloggers than requests books that sound interesting, then get surprised when I'm approved then I NEVER GET ROUND TO READING THEM! I know. I am a bad blogger. According to NetGalley, you should have a "Recommended Feedback to Approval Ratio is at least 80%". When I started reading this, mine was 28.1% (just check it now - 27.3%). Ooops!!!

I blame LukeLaneReads for reminding that this was on NetGalley! CURSE YOU!!! (If you want, go check his YouTube out. He always seems to know/discovers books that I go "Ooooh!" over.)

When birds start suddenly dying, causing flights to be grounded, Reese and David decide to drive back home. But when a bird flies into the car, Reese loses control and the car flips. Almost a month later, she and David wake up in a military hospital from their comas, and the doctors refuse to tell them what happens...

But that's only the start, when she gets home, Reese realises that something has changed within her. As she's trying to figure out what happened to her that can't be humanly possible, she finds herself torn between David, a longterm crush, and Amber, a whirlwind of a girl that crashed into her life.

But what is going on? And who can she trust?

Ok, I am going to admit this. This is one of those books that, when I first heard of it, I was hugely excited over. So to hear that Hodder Children's was publishing it in the UK, made me very happy. We don't have any bisexual characters in YA/New Adult so this would be a breath of fresh air. I mean, we always seem to have gay or lesbian characters but when it comes to the LGBT community, the rest seem to be ignored or they are the sidekicks or background character.

And it was. Up to a point. But more on this later.

I am going to be honest with you. I was a little disappointed over this book. There was good points to this, but there was several bad points. A mixed bag.

Ok, the good. I couldn't stop reading it. Even when I was frustrated with it, I had to know what was going to happen next. Malinda's writing made it effortless and I just kept clicking my kindle, wanting to know what happened next.

And the last 20-odd percentage made me read very late into the night!

But, this book isn't perfect. I have two real issues. Characters and genre.

With the three main characters (Reese, David and Amber), I never felt like I "clicked" or connected to them. These are our main leads so we should be rooting for them, but I felt very detached from them. Maybe this is Malinda's point because of what they went through, but still... I want to connect to these characters on some level.

My second issue was a huge problem and it's genre. The book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a sci-fi novel? Was it is a love triangle story? Was it a conspiracy theory story? It kept changing every other chapter. It only felt like Adaptation only figured it out in the last 20-odd percentage, but seeing as this is a duology (with an eNovella), I fear that it will fall back into this "What am I?".

Also, the twists in this book, I kinda saw coming. A few felt very obvious to me. I was expecting a lot of moments where I was genuinely shocked. Maybe I did have my expectations over this book too high...

While I'm not 100% certain if I will read the sequel, Inheritance, I am quite happy that, finally, there seems to be a book out there that has a bi love triangle and that YA readers are treated with respect over how it was written. We YA readers are smarter than most people give us credit for.

GoodRead - Witch Finder

Another day, another NetGalley read! I am going to try and read some of my NetGalley this month so I have some control over my NetGalley requests (and my twitchy "request" finger!). And with me deciding that I want to have my last review of the year sometime within the week of the 16th December (so no worrying over reviews during Christmas/New Year weeks).

So, Witch Finder. In London 1880, Luke is trying to join Malleus Maleficorum, brotherhood that are bound to hunt and kill witches. To join, Luke must pick a random name from the Book of Witches and kill them. Failure means his own death. When Luke chooses the name of Rosa Greenwood, he doesn't realise it would be more difficult than he first thought... 

And as for Rosa, life as a witch isn't as simple. Her mother and brother see her as property, a means to gather money and a position of employment, rather than a young woman and one of her brother's friends is looking at her, ready to take her as a wife. But if he does ask her for marry, what will Rosa do? 

If I am completely honest with you, I am in two minds over this read. 

It was an easy read and sets things nicely up for the series that is to come. I enjoyed reading about Rosa and her situation. 

However, I do have issues. Like I said, this is the first book in a series, so it suffered from "First Book Syndrome". Where a lot of things had to be set up. So, when you get to the end, some things are neatly tied up and yet, others aren't. And for me, the story lines that were left dangling, I didn't care as much about as much as I should. 

My second little issue was I wanted more description. There were times I wished there was more information. This is set in London 1880, so there were things that needed more description. But at times, it felt a bit slack. But I can forgive this as I was enjoying the story so that's why this isn't as big an issue as it could have been. 

The final issue I had was the main character, Luke. It took me ages before I warmed to him, whereas with Rosa, I liked her from within a few pages. I didn't really care for him, or his back story. I think, with him, I felt like I had read him before... 

So, this book was a mix of good and bad. I would consider reading the sequel (this is the first book in a series, remember?). And I do have the first book in the author's other Witch series (the A Witch in Winter trilogy) so I am going to read more from this author, but maybe this book came at the wrong time (I'm still recovering from the whole Allegiant affair)...

GoodRead - Night of Cake And Puppets

When the news of this novella was announced, I was excited. So excited, I spent ten minutes trying to find then preorder it on Amazon.co.uk. Sorry, but I am a huge fan of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. It was only after I preordered it that I actually read what the synopsis was about. All I saw when I saw the first time round was the title, the cover and the names Zuzana and Mik. That's it. Then I read it fully and went "This is gonna be good!"

In the novella, we go on Zuzana and Mik's first date. With a small handful of magic from her best friend, Karou, and a plan - a treasure map, actually. And the treasure is her. But will "violin boy" follow the map? And what will he find on the way...?

I forgot how much I LOVE this world! The world of Daughter of Smoke and Bone is such a wonderful world and reading Zuzana and Mik finally meeting up was wonderful. I LOVED reading this as it was sweet and fun and it makes me very excited over Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

And now we have to wait till April for Dreams of Gods and Monsters... SO FAR AWAY! So, if you are a fan of the series and you haven't read this, you need to read this. Like now.

GoodRead - Goblin Fruit

I'm pretty sure most of you have read this short story. It's one story in the short story collection, Lips Touch,  by Laini Taylor (author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone and its sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight) which has been out in most countries for ages and yet, we in the UK won't get till next year. But, as a taster, Hodder Books has released Goblin Fruit as an eNovella, just to wet our appetites (pardon the pun) and, also, to get us over the shock of Days of Blood and Starlight.

Kizzy wants it all. To look prettier. To be girlfriend of the hot guy in school. To not be involved in her weird family. She wants it all so badly, half her soul is hanging out of her. And this drives goblins crazy. They feed on souls and they want Kizzy's if she's not careful...

Laini's writing style is different in Goblin Fruit compared to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Yes, I know it's because she wrote Goblin Fruit before she wrote Daughter of Smoke and Bone as I get her writing style has changed. And the fact that this was a short story so Laini had to get to the heart of the story quickly, unlike Daughter of Smoke and Bone where she could take her time, makes a bit of difference.

I'm trying to figure out how I feel about this story. While I am excited over more Laini, this story was ok. Just ok. I feel like I'm saying that alot lately, but this was a fast fun read where I was clicking at my Kindle, needing to know how it ended and where the story was going. Afterwards, though... I feel like it was a bit of a candy floss read. Fun and addicted while reading, but once finished, you realise that there wasn't any substance to it...

Maybe I'm being a bit harse. It wouldn't be the first time. I mean, have you guys not read my review/instant reactions to Daughter of Smoke and Bone? But this does wet my appetite for Lip Touch so I will be waiting for Hodder to reveal more info on this in the new year...

GoodRead - Is It Just Me?

As you guys probably know, I am a huge fan of the comedienne, Miranda Hart. So, when it was revealed earlier in the year that Hodder were going to publish Miranda's novel, Is It Just Me?, I got excited. I spend a good few days trying to figure out if I should beg Hodder for an ARC or buy myself a copy and, if so, should I get the hardback edition or the kindle edition? I REALLY THOUGHT IT THROUGH!

Does this make me kinda sad? If any of you said "Yes", RUDE! 

Anyway, Is It Just Me?. Miranda takes a look at life and the struggles we all face (Christmas, Health, Holidays, Beauty, Technology, etc) and ask why isn't there a manual to cope with situations that befall us (like how to flirting while on a bar stool or asking how to drink a cocktail with an umbrella in)? And how does one cope with those situations? While trying to talk to her eighteen year old self (which has high yet completely unrealistic dreams such as being becoming a model, a lacrosse pro and Prime Minister), Miranda tries to explain life and tries to explain how to get over these small 

I know that's not the best way to explain it, but unless I use the Amazon summary (which explains nothing really), this is the best I can do. 

I loved this! It was gloriously funny! I related to the situations Miranda pointed out and went "Is it just me?". I laughed as she pointed out that Christmas, while all fun and happy, is COMPLETELY stressful. I went "Oh no!" when we talked about technology. And let's not get started on holidays...

I read this going "I wish I could sit down with my eighteen year old self and go 'You're going to be fine'." And I read this either smiling, exploding with laughter or snorting into my mug of tea or coffee. It was one wonderful read. 

Yes, I know some of you will go "She's not my cup of tea, humour wise" and that's fine. If she doesn't tickle your funny bone, don't read this. I know a good few comedians that have written books or do DVD standups. I just loved this book. It made me laugh! 

And this will tie me over till BBC One start showing the third series of her sitcom. *AM WAITING BBC*. But yes, this was a gloriously funny read and, yes, a guilty pleasure of mine (though, recently, I never go that term... Guilty pleasure. If it was such a guilty thing, why do we admit to it being our guilty pleasure?) 

GoodRead - Days of Blood and Starlight

Last year, Hodder went gaga over the first book in a trilogy that people were raving about. That was Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I read it (review here, though my feelings have changed a little bit since when I wrote it) and went to the UK launch party (was so much fun!). And it wasn't just Hodder that got excited. The US publisher, Little Brown, were excited. Universal Pictures won the movie rights to the whole trilogy after a huge bidding war (how on EARTH are they going to make these movies is ANYONE'S guess!). And readers went nuts over the world of Karou...

And now, with some hype (but nothing compared to Daughter of Smoke and Bone's), the sequel will be released in a week's time! So, Days of Blood and Starlight. Shall I review it for you?

After the events of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou is missing. Zuzana, Karou best friend in our world, is frantic with worry. Is she with Akiva? Is she ok? Why hasn't she responded to her emails? And will that scumbag known as Karou's ex go away before Zuzana drops a water balloon that might be filled with bladder tea?

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. Once upon a time, they held a wishbone between them. Once upon a time, the wishbone's snap split the world in two...

Now, I had to be be careful what I wrote there because I know there is a fair few of you that would be screaming "NONONO! TELL ME NOTHING!!!" while at the same, hunger for more details. So, it's hard to get the balance right.

Now, I have read other people's reviews of this book and they're split. Some people say this book suffers a little from Second Book Syndrome. Other people disagree and rave about this book. I think it depends on how you view this book. If you put a lot of hype and pressure on a second book in a series like this, it can go one of two ways: it meets your every expectation or it will disappoint you completely.

But I LOVED this book. I think this is because, while I like Daughter of Smoke of Bone, I didn't love it. I think the hype put me off as did the back story as it slowed the whole book down (but, like I said above, my views on Daughter of Smoke and Bone have changed since I wrote and published my review. It's one of those book you have to finish and take time to think about). But with Days of Blood and Starlight... wow. It was addictive reading. I kept trying to read it when I could find time - and I started a new temp job last week so I had to sneak quick reads in my lunch break, on the Park and Ride bus, in bed at a stupid o'clock...

With Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini laid the world of Karou and Akiva out. A real fantasy that we had to make sense of as it felt like the book had taken drugs. But with Days of Blood and Starlight, we got to the meat of the story. What was hinted at in Daughter was there in full force in Days. This is a book about war where no side is the right side. And we see this from several points of views...

And the last 100 or so pages... oh, Laini, you ripped out my heart and left me gasping for air. I can not WAIT to see what you do in the third and final book in this trilogy! I don't know how you are going to top yourself. It's a good thing Hodder is going to publish Lips Touch next year as I need something to get me ready...!



PS - sorry about the Ellie Goulding video. This was the only one I could find that did the sound right and the video wasn't trying to sell you something...

GoodRead - No, It's Us Too!

As you guys are probably aware if you have followed this blog for a good year, I love Miranda Hart. Just love her. So, when I heard that Hodder was publishing Miranda's first book, Is It Just Me?, I got very excited (and I have preordered it for my Kindle)! So, when Hodder revealed that they & Miranda were going to ask the general public for their embarrassing stories to go into a free eBook, via the power of Twitter (@NoItsUsToo) & Tumblr (http://miranda-isitjustme.tumblr.com/).

This little free eBook was then filled of the best embarrassing stories from the general public with Miranda writing some comments at the start and end of the collection (and a little taster of Is It Just Me?).

I read this in two sittings and I was snorting with laughter, then cringing away from my Kindle then snorting with laughter again within a space of a few clicks. It instantly made me feel happier. Laughter is the best medicine and all... (and sad to say, I have done one or two of the tweets mentions).

If you want something fast, free and having you snorting with laughter, this is perfect! And because this was such a short review, have some youTube videos... You're welcome.

DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT UK COVER REVEAL!

Earlier today, Laini Taylor and her UK publisher, Hodder, revealed the UK cover for Daughter of Smoke and Bone sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight. And they are very excited at it. They created an animated cover, just to prove how awesome it is...

For those of you want to see it minus the animating glow, here is the cover:

Oh, how I LOVE this cover! I just love it! It's simple yet gorgeous! And I am very excited for this book. I don't know whether to buy this or wait and see if I get sent a copy (which I think is HIGHLY unlikely), but who cares?! I can't till November 8th! 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone News!

As you are probably aware from other booky blogs, today is the release date of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor in paperback. And, to celebrate this, Hodder is going all out!

Today at 5:30 pm UK time, Laini will be taking over the official UK Twitter feed of Daughter of Smoke and Bone - @SmokeandBone - so if you have ANY questions for her, tweet them to her and she might answer yours!

Also, Hodder is doing 2 competitions! The first (and my fave) is to win an early proof of Days of Blood and Starlight, the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which isn't out in the UK till November (SO FAR AWAY!). All you have to do is tweet a 140 character review of the book & send it to @SmokeandBone and use the hashtag #SmokeAndBone. This contest is open to Sunday 8th July and some of the tweets might be used in online adverts, so you might see your reviews on websites such as Glamour.com.

One of my fave tweet review I've seen so far is from @MattLibrarian who has now given Hodder a idea for the cover for book two... Can you go one better?

Also, if you go to their website - www.daughterofsmokeandbone.co.uk - you can enter a chance to win a trip to Prague, where the book was set! I think it's UK entrance only, but not... check Terms and Conditions!

And, because the five teaser trailers for the hardback edition release wasn't enough (no, seriously! They did! I watched and loved each of them!), Hodder has revealed a new trailer... Enjoy!