Monday 28 December 2015

Unforgiven

Unforgiven (Fallen, #5)

Unforgiven by Lauren Kate is a follow-up in her Fallen series that revolves around Cam.

High school can be hell.

Cam knows what it's like to be haunted.  He's spent more time in Hell than any angel ever should.  And his freshest Hell is high school, where Lilith, the girl he can't stop loving, is serving out a punishment for his crimes.

Cam made a bet with Lucifer: he has fifteen days to convince the only girl who really matters to him to love him again.  If he succeeds, Lilith will be allowed back into the world, and they live their lives together.  But if he fails...there's a special place in Hell just for him.

Tick-tock.

The Breakdown:
1. Honestly, I was a little skeptical about this book, by the end of Luce and Daniel's story, I was a little tired of series.  But, I really loved Cam's character, and since Kate did show that glimpse earlier in the series of Lilith and him, I wanted know a little more.  I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  I really enjoyed both Cam and Lilith. Plus, they do not come off quite as sickly sweet as Luce and Daniel do.

2.  I enjoyed the deeper look that Kate provides into Cam's character.  In the previous books, he comes off confident to the point of cocky.  In this book, there is a more vulnerable side to him, and he shows his insecurities as he tries to win Lilith over.  Plus, because of Lucifer's meddling, he cannot rely on his looks alone.

3.  Lilith is definitely a darker character than Luce could ever even think about being.  She has lived centuries in different forms of Hell that Lucifer dreams up for her.  Her soul is bitter over the heartbreak from her life with Cam.  I loved seeing the change in her as her walls come down, and she develops feels for Cam.

4. Another bonus to the story were the interludes that Kate had which told Cam and Lilith's original story, how they met and fell in love and how she came to Hell. Plus, a couple of old friends show up toward the end to help Cam win his bet and win his love.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Saturday 26 December 2015

Library of Souls

Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #3)

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs is the final book of his Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series.

As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he's diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions 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 the peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all.

The Breakdown:
1. Riggs is a master of developing unique characters in his stories.  Plus the amazing use of interesting pictures that he weaves into the stories makes them all the more intriguing.  The story keeps me interested beginning to end, partly because I can't wait to see who Jacob and Emma will meet along their journey.

2. I love that this book shows more of the darker side of Peculiardom, and I am not just talking about the Hollows and Wights.  Riggs takes this book through wehre the Peculiar's outcast and wanted live.  It shows that not all Peculiar's respect the laws of Ymbrynes.   Along with this, Riggs uses this book to explain the story of how Hollows and Wights came to be.

3. Jacob makes strides as a character in this book, both his personality and his powers.  He learns just how powerful he is and how important he is in the war with the Wights/Hollows.  He also learns how to be brave even when he is scared. Plus, the internal struggle whether to stay with Emma or return to his family makes him feel very human.

4. I thought that Riggs ended this series beautifully.  The ending made sense, plus it did not leave me with lingering questions.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Monday 21 December 2015

The White Rose

The White Rose (The Lone City, #2)

The White Rose by Amy Ewing is the second book of her Lone City series.

Violet is on the run.  After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel of face certain death.  So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude.

But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy.  As they make their way through the circles of the lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into safe haven they were promised- a mysterious house in the Farm.

But there's a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it.  Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined.  But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

The Breakdown:
1. After the ending in The Jewel, I could hardly wait for this book, and Ewing reward my wait with quite the exciting story.  Daring escapes, chases through the circles of the Lone city, and surprising revelations, all these things made this book hard to put down.  Even with all the action, Ewing manages to get good continued character development into the story.

2.  Speaking of the character development, I loved the change in Garret.  He makes interesting turn from the bored royal to the rebel.  At first, he appears to just be repaying a favor, but as the story goes on he because involved in the cause.  I also really like the developing chemistry between him and Raven, and can't wait to see where that goes as the series progresses.

3. Ewing also expands more on Ash's past and what he went through to become a companion. She also gives a look at the home he came from, and while he loves his sister, his home life was not an easy or happy one.

4. Of course, Violet has huge development, especially with the discovery with truth of the power she actually holds.  She learns what exactly the Royals have done to gain their power, and how they keep their power.  She shows tremendous strength and determination in this book.

5. Ewing, like The Jewel, leaves this book with a dozy of a cliff hanger. She definitely has me wanting more, and wanting it now.  I can't wait to see where the changes and turn events lead to in the next book.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Thursday 10 December 2015

Go Set A Watchman

Go Set a Watchman

Go Set A Watcheman is the much talked about follow up novel to To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch-- "Scout"-- returns home from New York City to visit her again father, Atticus.  Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her  childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.

The Breakdown:
1.  To Kill A Mockingbird is probably my all time favorite book. (I have read it more times than I can remember.)  So when this book was announced, I was half excited, and half dreading it.  It is definitely nearly as amazing as To Kill A Mockingbird, but it was a decent read.  It was a more choppy read than its predecessor, and my favorite parts were the flash backs to Jean Louise's childhood. Plus there is the great coming into your own person for Jean Louise, and learning that while your heroes aren't perfect, you can still love them even you don't agree.

2.  So I know one of the biggest controversy about this book was that Atticus was a racist.  For me, that wasn't not really a surprise.  He was a man born in the 19th century.  He was in his 40s during To Kill A Mockingbird, and was in his 70s in this book.  I expected he to be somewhat racist because that is the time and place he was raised in.  He was a just man, and believed that everyone, no matter their color, deserved a fair trial.  He never told Jean Louise she was wrong because she believed that white and black were equal, in fact he encouraged her to stand up for her beliefs.

3. The were a few things that did bother me about this book.  Fair warning, there is a spoiler in this part, but it is something revealed at the beginning of the book.  First more shocking for me than Atticus being a racist, is that Jem is dead.  That completely caught me off guarded. Second, when the trial from To Kill A Mockingbird was mentioned, there was some glaring inconsistencies, such was the describe of what happened and the description of the man Atticus defended, Tom Robinson, who is not mentioned by name in this book.  Most importantly the outcome of the trail was different in this book.  I get that she wrote this book first, but someone should have picked up on that and had that part cleaned up.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read


Wednesday 9 December 2015

Christmas Songs Book Tag

ChristmasSongsBookTag

That Artsy Reader girl has presented new fun seasonal book tag.  Since I had so much fun doing the Monster/Halloween one, I thought I would give this one a try.

1. "All I Want For Christmas is You" Name your favorite bookish couple.
After much internal debate, because there are so many book couples that I love.  I have to go with Tessa Gray and Will Herondale from Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices series.  These two have so much stacked against them, but they make it work and have a beautiful love.

2. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" Name a book where the character is away from home (school, vacation, etc.)
Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson.  Ellie and her brother Graham go to visit their grandmother in Norway for the summer, and Ellie learns some very interesting things about her heritage being a thing of legends.

3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Name your favorite little book (Children's books, short stories, novella, etc)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi & Ron Barrett will always hold a special place in my heart.  It was a childhood favorite of mine, and may be part of the reason I am such a foodie now in my life.

4. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" What book(s) do you hope Santa brings you this year?
This is a tough one since many of the books I really want don't come out until next year.  Probably the book on my list I want the most is Tricky Twenty Two by Janet Evanovich.  Her books can always make me laugh.

5. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" What book turned your nose red? (made you cry)
Deadline by Chris Crutcher, a boy with cancer determined to live his life on his terms, so obviously there were copious amount of tears on my end.

6. "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" What is favorite book to read during the holidays? (re-read or specific genre?)
I don't really read much holiday themed books, but I did enjoy Mary Kay Andrews' Blue Christmas, which is a novella part of Savannah Blues/Breeze series.

7. "We Three Kings" What's your favorite trilogy?
Oh, how do I pick just one. There is always favorite of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, the trilogy the really introduced me to the wonders of the dystopian genre.  Or my personal favorite dystopian trilogy Legend by Marie Lu.

8. "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow"  Which character would you not mind being snowed in with?
Just one? Impossible? Tucker Avery from the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand, or Aiden St. Delphi from The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

9. "Last Christmas" Which book seriously let you down?
Still bitter about the ending to Allegiant by Veronica Roth

10. "White Christmas" Which upcoming release are you dreaming of?
I am super excited about several books coming out next year, but probably most excited about The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski.  Close runner ups are The Shadow Hour  by Melissa Grey and Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard