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Category: 4 stars

Something in Between by Melissa De La Cruz

Something in Between by Melissa De La Cruz

I really did want to give this book five stars. I really really did, because I read it in a matter of hours. Something in Between has been one of 2016’s most anticipated releases and as soon as it came out, I went down to my local Waterstones and bought it. I couldn’t wait a day longer.

I feel like the biggest reason why this book was so highly anticipated was due to the whole plotline of the book being about immigration. This is such an important topic and it was so good to see an author taking such a big topic in today’s society and turn it into a YA novel.

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

A couple of years ago, I read one of Shirley Jackson’s more popular books: We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I found it amazing. The writing was beautiful and the storyline instantly captured my attention.

 I have been wanting to read more of Jackson’s work ever since but I have just never gotten around to it. My Dad recommended that I read The Haunting of Hill House since it was also quite a creepy book with a brilliant narrative. I decided that I would trust his recommendation so I went to his bookshelves, plucked it off the shelf, sat myself down and immersed myself in it straight away.

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The Last Day of Captain Lincoln by EXO Books

The Last Day of Captain Lincoln by EXO Books

The Last Day of Captain Lincoln is the debut novel from EXO Books and is a novella that is intriguing, captivating, exciting and inspirational.

 This 133-page book was heart-warming whilst also being a book that made you cry, it was a book that you could take something away from, an important lesson that you could learn. That’s why this book was so good.

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Fractured by Teri Terry

Fractured by Teri Terry

Was Fractured as good as the first book in the Slated series? I don’t know. Both of them have got four stars but for different reasons. Slated got four stars because the build up of characters was brilliant and the story-telling was amazing.

Fractured received four stars because of the last half of the book. It was fast, action-packed and jaw-dropping.

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The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Yes, I have just read this book. I know, I know… I’m very very late to The Raven Boys party. But I’m here now, I’ve read it and I can finally have an opinion on it.

I’ve read the Shiver trilogy by Maggie Steifvater and even though it wasn’t my favourite series, it was still good. I’ve been meaning to read the Raven Cycle for a very long time – and I do actually own them all… It’s just that I haven’t had time to read them because my TBR list is towering and threatens to fall and crush me.

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Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

IT’S THE LAST BOOK IN THE MISS PEREGRINE SERIES! I loved the first and second book and I was so eager to finish the series so that I could find out what happens (but at the same time, I didn’t want to series to end because I love this world so so much!)

But… alas, I had to start the third book and find out what happens to my dearly beloved, peculiar characters…

As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discoers a new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companiions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.

They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all.

I would have loved to have given this book five stars like I did with Hollow City, but the most important thing about a series let this one down: it’s ending. It just didn’t feel right at all. It felt wrong to have that happen and I just felt a bit deflated once I had closed the book.

As much as I hate finishing a book on a cliffhanger or an ending that is filled with feels, it makes me feel something, it makes me sit there and think about the entirety of the book. With Library of Souls, everything was wrapped up nicely in sparkly wrapping paper with a big bow on top of it. It’s so hard moaning about the ending without giving away spoilers but let me just say this: Riggs could have ended the series a little bit better. That’s not to say that ending was awful and the worst thing I’ve ever read: it wasn’t. It was still slightly satisfying and wrapped everything up nicely but I just feel like it could have been done slightly better.

 “It had become one of the defining truths about my life that, no matter how I tried to keep them flattened, two-dimensional, jailed in paper and ink, there would always be stories that refused to stay bound since books. It was never just a story.”
– Ransom Riggs, Library of Souls
 
 

Apart from the ending however, the rest of the book was absolutely brilliant. We got a lot of character development, there was still that stupid, weird romance between Emma and Jacob (I just ignore it), there was loads of exciting action, plot twists which left me shocked, heartbroken and nearly crying.

This was a roller coaster of a read and I’m gutted that the series has ended. It’s one of the best series – if not the best – that I have ever read and I’m so sad to leave the peculiar world behind. I fell in love with all of the characters and just arrggghhhhh noooooo… Please don’t make me leave this world. I love it too much. Can it just be real…? I need the Tales of the Peculiar in my life. In fact, I’m going to go into my local bookstore right now and buy it because it’s the only thing I have left of the world of the peculiars. RANSOM RIGGS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!

 


I don’t even know what else to say about this book. If my fangirling and crying hasn’t proven how good this whole series is, then I don’t know how else to get you to GO AND BUY THE SERIES! RIGHT NOW… This is definitely a series that I will be re-reading over and over and over and over and over and over…

… and over and over and over…

You get the idea. So go and buy all three books, marathon them and then join me in my hysterical crying.


Slated by Teri Terry

Slated by Teri Terry

Dystopian novels are pretty much formulaic. It’s set way in the future (or past) with a slight twist: the government regime has been changed. A definition of a dystopian novel is that the setting is a society that has an illusion of a perfect utopian world. Most dystopian works present a world in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained.

I find dystopian novels intriguing. It’s interesting to see how the author sees what the world will be like in that period of time and it’s interesting to see how that perception differs from author to author.

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

If you’re expecting a scary or spooky book, you’re going to be disappointed. This book is not scary so go into the book knowing that it isn’t. I’ve heard that a lot of people thought it was going to be really creepy and got let down.

Luckily for me, I went into this trilogy knowing that it was an adventure/fantasy book so I got a lot more out of it than others. After marathoning all three books, I can officially tell you this: Ransom Riggs is a genius.

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins odd Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s Children were more than just peculiar. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for a good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

As aforementioned, this book is not a creepy book, it is an adventurous one. I tried to explain it to my Dad and I said ‘it’s got the plot line of a children’s book but it’s written in an adult way.’ And it’s true. A young boy goes on an adventure and makes new friends along the way who have powers. That’s pretty much the premise of the book but it’s so much more than that!

 

This is Riggs’ first novel and it’s such a brilliant debut. The idea is magnificent and the way the story is told with the pictures is also amazing. I loved the pictures. Some people said that the pictures weren’t scary at all and that they were boring – I didn’t think they were. They added a sense of realness to the story. There were pictures of people that looked like they could actually be the characters of the peculiar children, there was a picture of a boat, of a child, sat on a pavement in a bunny costume, of an old woman dressed all in black… They weren’t creepy (ok, maybe a couple was) they were just normal photos that had been taken and they had collected altogether and turned into a story which I think is so clever of Riggs. You would read a page, look at the picture and get a sense of how the setting looked like, how it might have felt, the way the characters may have looked. Sure, Riggs also included a lot of written descriptions about all of these but the pictures just added more.

“Stars too, were time travelers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realise we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries – but not until now had I realised how full of them the earth was.”
– Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
 
 

The world that Riggs had created was also very intriguing. I loved the concept of the ‘loop day’, of peculiar children, of monsters and of a boy who thinks he’s got nothing to do with all of it until one day, he finds out he does.

The only downfall that I can say about Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the romance between Emma and Jacob. It was just weird. Emma had dated Jacob’s Grandfather. Jacob’s Grandfather and Emma were in love, and now Jacob comes along, Emma hasn’t aged a day and then the two of them fell in love. It just felt so weird and there was even a time in the book where Jacob says that himself. it was just strange and I didn’t get why Riggs had to throw that weird type of romance in.

Overall, this was an incredible book. It was incredibly written, there were incredible characters and the use of photographs alongside the story was fantastic. This is a spectacular debut novel from Ransom Riggs and I look forward to reading other books by him!

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I don’t know where to start with this review. I had seen everyone on Goodreads, BookTube, Twitter, Bookstagram… Basically, everywhere there was hype about this book and say how amazing it was and that it was perfection.

A few weeks ago, I popped down to my local library and I saw this book on the shelf. I picked it up and I realised it was about time that I read it. I had high expectations: I wanted to love it and I wanted to take a big breath and scream to the world about how amazing it is.


In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Réves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.

Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers, and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems to almost cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs – the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. at the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of their imagination and of their love…

The Night Circus jumps to different timelines. One chapter you could be in 1894 and the next chapter, you’re in either 1900 or 1890. I don’t know. I got very very confused by it, I can understand why Morgenstern did it: there were characters who’s lived intertwined with the circus and their point of view had to be told so that all of the loose ends could be tied up at the end. So I get why she did it; it just wasn’t an easy read so if that’s what you’re looking for, this book isn’t for you.

I also found the blurb on the book very misleading. It states there’s a deep romance between the two main characters. There really isn’t. One minute they’re just going about their typical Night Circus days and the next, they’re professing their love for each other. What? Where in the world did that come from? The romance was just so sudden and there was hardly any build up to it.

The blurb also states that there is a battle. Again. No there isn’t. There is a thirty-something year battle and for half of those years, they don’t even know who they’re “battling” against. And it’s a magic match. To see which one of the two competitors is the best at using magic because two very old guys are bored and just want to use kids for fun.

“I am tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held. Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do.”
– Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
 
 

BUT! ENOUGH OF ME MOANING! MOANING IS BORING! LET’S GET ON TO THE GOOD STUFF!

The plot idea was fascinating. A circus that only comes at night and includes actual magic? A circus that is actually a stage for a life-long battle? It sounds amazing and the plot really was. I loved the characters of Herr Thiessen and the twins. And I also loved to hate the teachers: Hector and Alexander. They just didn’t have a care in the world about the consequences of their games. I also really didn’t like Marco. I found him to be very arrogant and selfish. But I loved Celia, so again, I loved to dislike Marco.

This is a slow book to read but when all of the characters come together and the timelines become consistent, the book gets rather exciting because all of the individual storylines come together and become one.

The Night Circus is a very good read. If you’re looking for something different then I recommend this. There’s beautiful writing, a beautiful, magical world has been created. There are elements of this book that are just brilliantly thought out and proves how much of an excellent writer Morgenstern is. I actually do understand the hype that surrounds this book and although I wasn’t that captivated to scream how much I love it from the rooftops, I did thoroughly enjoy reading it.

 

Resistance is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan

Resistance is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan

Resistance is Futile was one of my impulse buys. I saw it in my local Waterstones, quickly read the blurb and it sounded so different to anything I had read before. Mathematics? Sci-Fi elements? Awesome. It’s like Big Bang Theory meets Independence Day.

Connie’s smart. She’s funny. But when it comes to love, she’s only human.

As a brilliant mathematician with bright red hair – Connie’s used to being considered a little unusual. But when she’s recruited for a top-secret-code-breaking project, nothing can prepare her for working with someone quite as peculiar as Luke.

Connie prepares herself for a life of love, friendship… and the possible obliteration of mankind.

I love sci-fi ok? I love aliens, I love space, I love futuristic things… But I’ve never actually read a sci-fi book. Weird huh? So this was a first for me.

Resistance is Futile is a very fast paced book, but the fact that it’s so odd and different made it a 4-star book for me. It’s a sci-fi, romance and action book, crammed into 380 pages. It’s the fast pace that lets it down. Whilst I was reading it, the dialogue was like watching a tennis match. It was moving from character to character so quickly that I couldn’t keep up and I had to re-read some parts to make sure I knew what was going on and who had said what. It was quite off-putting to begin with, but I got used to it after a bit and managed to follow slightly easier.

“Everyone is alien. And even when you are in love with someone, even when you think you know them better than you know yourself; even when you think you know everything about them and them you, and you live in eachother’s souls. Even then you know nothing about them at all.”
– Jenny T. Colgan, Resistance is Futile
 
 

Another thing that let this book down was how suddenly Connie and Luke expressed their love for each other. One minute, they were working on the top-secret project together (yeah, they were flirting slightly) and then the next moment, they’re saying how much they love each other and end up kissing. What? I mean, I’ve heard of spontaneous relationships but this was crazy.

However, this book was extremely funny. There was one line in particular that literally made me laugh out loud – the neighbours must have thought I was crazy.

I also loved the characters and how they were portrayed by Colgan. There was such a mix of characters and each of them brought something different to the table. Arthur was American and bought a balance of humour and seriousness, Evelyn brought sophistication and a maternal figure, Ranjit brought youthful enthusiasm and Sé brought pure seriousness but complete trustworthiness.

The plot was so out-there and there was loads of twists and turns that were a complete shock to me and that ending?! Well, that’s a scene that I will never forget! It was brilliantly written and I had to read it twice to make sure that I had read it properly.

If you want a romance book with a sci-fi twist, then this book is for you. It was a brilliant read and I absolutely loved it apart from the fast-paced dialogue and the fast-paced relationship between Luke and Connie. I thoroughly recommend this book and give it a few months or so, I would love to read this book again!