I had to mentally prepare myself for this one for a while. I knew after how devastated I was after Delirium, and a certain someone's return in Pandemonium that I would be needing a mansize box of tissues and an industrial supply of chocolate to get through this.
It was what I can only describe as a fairly perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy, and one that will stay with me for a long while. Although perhaps not as resolved as I wish it could have been (I really wanted to know what happened with the whole Lena - Alex - Julian love triangle we had going on) it was an absolutely perfect tale of the human race combining together to overthrow the wrong decisions made for them by a government with entirely the wrong morals and ideas, and the show of solidarity was heartwarming and uplifting.
We join Lena at the beginning of the story after she leaves New York with Julian, and Alex. This becomes difficult for all in the group as the tension between her and Alex, and subsequently the tension between her and Julian, and of course Julian and Alex, grows.
When they land themselves in trouble in the Wilds and have to flee from a group of regulators, they find themselves part of a large resistance headed back to Lena's original home, Portland.
Lena is then faced with the difficult decision, does she fight for what she believes in, at what cost none of them know. Or does she secrete herself further into the Wilds to live a solitary life of survival and supposed freedom?
I didn't actually cry this time (weird right? Especially as I didn't cry at City of Heavenly Fire either!!) but there were some incredibly emotional scenes, and Oliver gives the characters new depths which makes their relationships even more believable. I loved the return of Hana in the narrative, and especially enjoyed the chapters from her point of view, and seeing that the Cure really isn't everything the government thought it would be. Seeing her struggle with her reality, and what she knows her reality should be was a particularly deep section of the book, and I found it well represented the agony when you realise that your life isn't perhaps going in the direction you wished it to yet you don't know how to change it (something I'm currently going through myself). So overall I guess you could say this whole trilogy for me was a resounding success. It goes onto my Forever Pile, in other words its a trilogy I will read over and over again until I'm old and grey.
Firstly, please ignore the terrible picture, I really need to start getting decent cover images off the internet and perhaps looking at a new Blogger layout, but for the time being this method will have to do.
SO, where to begin? Well, first of all I'd say for anyone who isn't a fan of Made in Chelsea, or indeed Binky herself, this may be a slightly pointless read for you. Now that that's said, I can get on with a proper review!
I've previously reviewed 'Confessions of a Chelsea Boy' (see here) by Spencer Matthews, and although I enjoyed the read as a whole, I found the actual writing rather lacking, and was expecting something similar of Being Binky, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the writing actually very good.
She drew me in, rather unexpectedly, from the very first page, and I actually whizzed through the book in just over a day. I loved hearing all about her childhood and her close relationship with her Mother, which we see quite a lot on the show, and as a huge Made in Chelsea fan I loved hearing about how she actually got on the show, and the real truth about her friendships off screen.
I also loved that she included hair, beauty and lifestyle tips at the end of each chapter - and I found things like her anti bullying tips particularly relevant. I think it was a really nice touch, and it's something that will definitely help younger fans of the show who may be going through things like that themselves.
I actually found quite a lot of the book quite emotional, especially how up-front she is about the breakdown of her parents marriage and the bullying that she experienced at school.
It also gave me a whole new found respect for how hard Binky has worked in her life to overcome challenges, and how perhaps life in the glare of the cameras isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
Apologies for how long this review has taken to appear, I finished the book weeks ago however I have been re-reading the last few books in The Mortal Instruments series in preparation for City of Heavenly Fire being released. (Seriously guys, omg. Buy it. Just, I can't.)
I was so, so excited to read Pandemonium, anticipating that it would leave me an emotional wreck just like its predecessor, Delirium. I was slightly disappointed then, on finishing it, that I hadn't been drawn to tears. I did however thoroughly enjoy it.
I didn't really know what to expect from the story, only that it would take place in the Wilds, so the introduction of New York City as a new setting was both surprising and welcome. I really got behind the love interest in this sequel, although I will never get over Lena and Alex, I thought there was some really interesting progression in the relationship between her and Julian. I read someone on GoodReads making the point that Lena seems to take over the role of Alex in Pandemonium, and therefore Julian becomes Lena (based on relationship roles in Delirium) and I find this really interesting as it throws a whole new understanding to their relationship.
I absolutely cannot wait to read Requiem now, and it won't be too long before I devour it (I just have to read and recover from City of Heavenly Fire first) especially due to the beautiful and unexpected little twist at the very end of Pandemonium.
I guess once again this is a book I would recommend to anyone and everyone!
Ok so first of all, I have decided to change my font for the blog because I can no longer stand to look at Helvetica for a particularly long period of time.
Now onto the important stuff - Fangirl. I'd heard about it on Tumblr, as I hear about many of my books, and several times I picked it up in book shops or put it in my Amazon cart and then decided not to actually buy it after all, due to money, time, or my ever increasing TBR pile. Then one day I was feeling frivolous and my hand just happened to slip on the 'purchase' button and two days later this little beauty dropped through my letter box.
I haven't devoured a book like this in a long time. I was hooked from the first page, the first moment in fact that we are introduced to Cath, mainly because I saw so much of myself in her. Every situation she got herself in, her social ineptness, her complete disbelief that a member of the opposite sex could actually find her attractive, plus her total and utter obsession with Simon Snow - essentially the 'Harry Potter' series equivalent - all combined to make her a carbon copy of me. Aside from the whole identical twin sister situation...
This is my first novel of Rainbow's that I have read, and I'm now itching to read her others. I found her style of writing totally engaging, she painted such a vivid picture of her characters and it was obvious that she truly knew them inside and out. She not only gave me a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience, but she also greatly inspired me with my own writing, and it's made me take a step back to examine how well I know my own characters, and how convincing they truly are.
There are so many adorable moments in this novel, so many that almost made me cry, and so many that were totally and completely heartwarming - it truly was a book that I myself could only dream of writing. I actually now want to write Fangirl fan-fiction (yes apparently it exists).
I would honestly recommend this book to anyone - I think it's the perfect novel for this time of year if you're looking for something engaging and cheerful to read on holiday or whilst sunbathing (fat chance of that in England!!).
So, I have been rather quiet recently, and for that I should apologise. I have been mainly re-reading my favourite series of books (aside from Harry Potter) The Mortal Instruments, as the final book (City of Heavenly Fire) is to be released at the end of the month.
I have however kept up with my near incessant purchase of books. I'm actually at the stage now where my To Be Read pile has grown that dramatically that I'm not sure I need to buy any more books this year, of course that won't stop me, much to my parents' dismay.
I have also been working more on my debut novel, fine tuning the first few chapters and working out where everything is going to happen later in the book. I have trouble usually with the middle sections of stories in the sense that I know what's going to happen, and I know how it happens (roughly) but I never know exactly how to pad it out, so I have bought Ready, Set, Novel! in the hopes that it can help me work out more about my book as I work through it. This is going to be my summer project, ready to start work on it this autumn. I have also signed up to study a BA Hons in English Literature and Creative Writing at the Open University starting in October, so I will be a very busy bee.
The next book on my list to read is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I have been looking for something a little more light hearted than my recent foray into the supernatural YA novels for which I have a penchant. This one has had my eye for months now, so I eventually caved and bought it. I'm incredibly excited to get reading. I also have the sequel to Delirium (my number one book of the year so far) Pandemonium ready to read afterwards which I know already is going to emotionally destroy me. Requiem (of the same series) is in the pile along with The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer, an impulse buy one day recently in Tesco. I also found the most beautiful copy of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte which I couldn't help but buy today, so of course, that will be devoured in due course.
Finally, my best friends know me better than anyone else, and for my (belated) birthday present, one of them bought me the box set of the Mistborn trilogy to sink my teeth into-as you can imagine I'm very excited for this, particularly as fantasy is one of my absolute favourite genres. This is however, the very tip of the iceberg where my To Be Read list is concerned, and I'm looking forward into delving further into it with you all at my side.
Expect to hear much more of me in the next few months!
"What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?"
The tagline alone, when I read the blurb for Life After Life, made me realise that I absolutely had to read this book, and I am so, so glad I have done.
It's been on my TBR (to be read) pile for a good few weeks/months now as I've had such a large quantity of books that have been waiting to be read, so when I finally picked it up last week I was incredibly excited.
The concept of being able to go back and try again is something that has been in my head for years. I spent the majority of my teenage years suffering from very bad depression, so I barely lived. I shut myself away from all society and just tried to get by on a day to day basis. I also made some shockingly bad decisions. I would do anything to be able to go back and have these years again, to do things right and eliminate some of the mistakes I've made, because I know my life would be so much different now if I could.
So with this in mind when I began the book, I got immediately sucked into Atkinson's beautiful portrayal of English country living in the 20's and 30's. Her vivid protagonist, Ursula, was wonderfully easy to identify with on a personal level, and seeing the world through her eyes was absolutely fascinating. Atkinson's attention to detail on a historical level (especially in her descriptions of pre-WW2 Germany and the time Ursula spends with Adolf Hitler) are stupendous, and her descriptions of the Blitz in London actually left me in tears on more than one occasion.
Although this deviates completely in genre from what I normally read, I would honestly not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. My friends quite frequently look to me for book recommendations, and this will be another one passed around our little group-I'm interested in getting their perspective on what is now one of my favourite stories to have read this year.
It has now been several hours since I finished the book, and although I have physically closed it and put it back on the shelf, it is still at the forefront of my mind, sticking with me in the way that only very special books do. It is definitely worthy of the title of Costa Novel Award Winner 2013, and I will now be eagerly anticipating further novels from Atkinson in the future.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I was excited to buy it and to start it, however I then read so many people on Twitter and Tumblr saying how they were bored by the series and disappointed that I started to worry that I may have wasted my money.
I'm glad to report however that I thoroughly enjoyed it! I found the concept quite different in comparison to the usual 'dark fantasy' novels I have read, with a completely different take on the guardian angel theme.
I was initially drawn to the book due to reviewers claiming they had found it both 'scary' and 'unsettling'. Unfortunately this is something I can't agree with, although it did have me hooked from start to finish, and there were some unexpected twists.
Kate managed to create characters who were more than your usual nondescript female who falls in love with the dark brooding male. Admittedly, there is a dark brooding male (insert tongue out emoticon here) however the character is a lot more than your typical two dimensional male protagonist, and that is where I got drawn in.
I'm not one for writing hugely long and in depth reviews, mainly due to not wanting to give out too many spoilers, but I'd definitely recommend readers giving this a go if they haven't done before. Whether or not you're initially drawn to the book, I think it has a lot more to offer than meets the eye and I'm excited to read the rest of the series.
This has not been my best review. I am ashamed.
I had been mulling over whether or not to read this book for a while. I'd been so enchanted with previous novels of Green's that I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this quite as much. I like to think of John green as an author who, in many years to come, will be considered an iconic author of our time simply for his ability to make every single character he writes completely identifiable, even if you have absolutely nothing in common with them; for example, Hazel in The Fault in our Stars.
The book did have a slow start in my opinion, and I spent the first few chapters idly wondering whether it was going to take off at all or if I was going to have to struggle through to the end. I am pleased to announce however that it did pick up, although it didn't have me truly gripped until the last few chapters.
As with most John Green books, the action of finishing the book, closing it and laying it down next to me brought about such an intense feeling of satisfaction. I seem to get this with each of his novels-although I can't quite put my finger on what the feeling truly is. I say satisfaction, but in reality it is so much more. I feel happy, content, accomplished, relaxed-the list goes on, and I think it's so brilliant that one author has the power to make you feel so at one with the world, despite the ending of his novel not necessarily being a happy one.
Green manages to perfectly capture the awkward late teenage years when you're trying to discover who you truly are and show the world that you've got it all figured out, whereas in reality you're a hormone addled wreck who can only think of sex and relationships and when that homework assignment was actually due in. Reading his novels makes me so nostalgic for my own teenage years, but because he doesn't paint these years as perfection with happy endings and everything working out in the end, it makes me feel so much better about my own mistakes, and I think this is the true beauty.
John Green really does portray the world we live in with complete, brutal honesty and this is something that should be applauded and encouraged.
(I realised this has become less of a review than a massive fan post dedicated to John Green so, for want of coming across as a completely embarrassing super fan, go read the book it's good. I promise.)
I first heard about Delirium after stumbling across a fan blog on Tumblr and was immediately engaged by the concept. I then stumbled across it in W H Smiths last weekend and it was the last copy and of course I determined that it was fate for me to bring it home.
I then spent the next week in severe emotional trauma at the hands of Lauren Oliver.
I haven't cried while reading a book since first reading The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices (Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones now available on Blu Ray and DVD) however I was up until the early hours of the morning several times this week with tears running down my face while reading this stunning story of love, freedom and determination to beat the odds.
I have heard rumours that Delirium has been commissioned for a TV series in the USA, and therefore I don't want to give too much of the story away, however I will give a brief synopsis for those wishing to read the book.
Lena is a young girl growing up in the city of Portland, USA. The book is set in a future where love has been identified as a disease, fences surround cities to keep out the infected, while those inside undergo a procedure to cure themselves of love after their high school education is finished. They are then matched with a partner and sent off to begin their lives together.
Until the cure, girls and boys remain segregated from one another, contact of any kind with an uncured is illegal, and love is punishable by death. Lena and her friend Hana live their lives within in the rules until the summer of their cure, when Lena meets Alex.
I found the story both heartwarming and emotional. Lena and Alex were characters I could really get behind, their fight for freedom and what they believe in was inspiring and since finishing the book although I was a crying wreck for a while after putting it down it's left me in a weirdly positive mindset for the last few days.
This is without doubt the best book I've read so far in 2014. I know we're only at the start of the year but I definitely think that it will be a hard one to top.
So today I may have gotten a little carried away in WH Smiths and also on Amazon, but I think I probably speak for a lot of people when I say there is really nothing better than a new book day. Most people probably get like this over clothes (I kinda do as well, and don't get me started on buying new makeup) but nothing makes me happier than a massive stack of new books. To go with my other growing stack of new books. I'm pretty sure I could now open a library.
1. Delirium - I will admit to being heavily influenced by other fiction enthusiasts when it comes to books. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly capable of finding new books by myself, but if I find someone obsessing over something on Tumblr, it definitely makes me very curious to try it myself, especially if there is a strong fanbase behind it. Delirium is one of these occasions, I was going to order it off Amazon last week but for some reason didn't, then I stumbled across it today and it was the last copy and of course I made some excuse involving fate just to justify spending more money. I am SO excited to read it.
2. Vampire Academy series - I have a friend who I used to work with, with an almost identical taste in books to me. She has spent most of the last couple of weeks going crazy for these books, so when I saw the box set on sale I figured I'd be stupid to not buy them. I'm a little apprehensive that they may turn out a little 'Twilight-y' as they're centered around vampires but even if this is the case I will definitely give them a go. I cannot possibly leave a book unread, no matter how much it may or may not appeal to me once it's sat on my bookshelf.
3. Fallen & Torment - These were two books that I picked up on a whim when I was in WH Smiths this afternoon. I almost bought the entire series but I had just spent £100 on makeup about 10 minutes earlier and figured I should probably try and restrain myself a little, so I settled for two instead. I thought that was a personal achievement for me as I was in the mood to buy the entire bookshop. From what I could gather from the blurb, these books focus around angels, a supernatural theme which I find hasn't been represented much in fiction in comparison to the vampires and werewolves that have taken over since the birth of Twilight. I have a feeling that I will have two new fictional characters to fall in love with and cry over now, and I am sure we will all bear the brunt of my emotional trauma over the next few weeks.
I now have to make sure I don't buy any new books for a while. I literally have an entire desk and a whole shelf of my bookshelf full of unread books from as far back as 2012 to get through. I have an awful habit of just buying and buying books and not getting round to reading all the ones I already have, so the next few months will be a bit of a test for me.
I also need about 8 more bookshelves to store them. Or a whole room dedicated to them-the sooner I get my own place the better!
