City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare

First of all I want to keep this as spoiler free as possible, however there are a few little ones here and there so if you have not read the book yet please read no further!! Unless that is, you're a glutton for punishment like I was whilst reading Game of Thrones when I could just not help myself looking at the GOT tag on Tumblr and ended up ruining half the series for myself...

Anyway, I literally do not know where to start with this book! It's been the main focus of my thoughts for months now, and after Cassandra Clare announced that there would be six known character deaths I have been in a constant state of anxiety. I had such problems actually getting my hands on a copy of the book to begin with, with my Amazon delivery being delayed by weeks and all book shops in my area selling out within hours (who new Chester had such a strong shadowhunter presence?) so I was about a week later than everyone else actually getting to read it, but it was so worth the wait. Even if it did mean I had to avoid Tumblr and Twitter like the plague. 

So, as I said in my intro, there will be a few small spoilers and I really don't want to ruin this book for anyone so seriously guys if you don't want any snippets of CoHF gossip yet then I really suggest you stop reading now because I'm about to let slip the first little nugget of information...

The prologue. Oh by the Angel, the prologue. Possibly one of the most heart wrenchingly (is that even a word?!) introductions to any book I have ever read, introduced me to what may possibly be one of my favourite characters ever. Emma Carstairs leaves me greatly excited for what Cassie has planned for us in The Dark Artifices (WHY IS IT NOT 2015 YET!?) but then I have always been partial to the Carstairs family (Jem *swoon* <3) Speaking of Jem, his involvement the whole way through City of Heavenly Fire made me almost vibrate with glee, I do so love that boy. 

I was slightly disappointed that Cassandra had announced further Shadowhunter Chronicles after The Mortal Instruments as it gave you, as you read the book, an indication of the way things were going to pan out so I felt like I was less emotionally invested in the events and less anxious for the characters than I would have been had I been unaware there were more shadowhunter stories to come. I do however feel like it was possibly the best written of all the Mortal Instruments books, but it just wasn't as emotional as I'd expected. I mean, it's probably a good thing that I haven't been a weeping wreck for days, and of course I'm devastated that the series is over and I did find certain parts of the book very emotional, but I didn't cry.

I felt like she could have made a little more of the battle as well, obviously the main protagonists were in Edom at the time but I think there was an opportunity missed there for some really engaging combat action, and more could have been made of the scene with Julian Blackthorn and his father in Alicante. All in all though it was a fabulous conclusion to a series that has touched my heart unlike any other (aside from Harry Potter of course!). The snippet of TDA at the end of the book has left me excited for more and I'm already on countdown to next Autumn and my next shadowhunter fix.

So I'm now going to crawl into a pit of despair and lick the wounds caused by an absence of Jace Herondale and Jem Carstairs in my life, and eagerly shout 'DEMON POX' and random passers by until TDA is released and my life is filled with magic again.

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

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!!).

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

Ok, so I'm not too sure where to start with this one. I actually finished reading it weeks ago and meant to update with a review straight away but then life got in the way like it has a habit of doing, and now I've sat down to write it and honestly, I can't think of one defining thing about the book to talk about. 

It took me forever to get into to begin with, and I really didn't enjoy Mead's writing style. Although if you asked me to explain why, I would have a serious problem trying to put it into words. 

Admittedly as it went on it did get better, and towards the end of the book I did begin to get sucked into the narrative, I just didn't care about the characters which I think is so important for me with books. I like to get so totally sucked in by them that I'm reading until the early hours of the morning every morning because I really just need to know what happens right now. And that didn't happen with Vampire Academy. 

If I'm honest, I wouldn't bother reading the rest of the series if I hadn't bought them as a box set from Amazon. I'm hoping that as the series progresses, I get more into the narrative, and perhaps start to enjoy Mead's style of writing. 

I know that the 'long anticipated' film is coming out at some point this year, and no doubt I'll end up going to see that too as I always do like to check out book-film adaptations. Maybe I've been a little harsh in this review, here's hoping I'm surprised by the next installment.

Delirium - Lauren Oliver

 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.

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Divergent has been all over my Twitter and Tumblr feeds for a long time. So much so, that I was debating avoiding everything to do with it as I really did not need to become emotionally invested in more fictional characters, however, with a much anticipated movie adaptation taking to the big screen this year, I thought it would do me no harm to see what all the fuss was about. 

I was wrong. It was a bad idea, because now not only do I have to worry about the impending final installment of The Mortal Instruments hitting shelves this spring, I also have to worry about how they will portray my new favourites Tris and Four, and whether or not I will hate

the actor doomed to play Peter as much as I hate the poor guy who plays Joffery in Game of Thrones (I'm sure in reality he's a lovely guy but seriously, Joffery is the worst). 

Anyway, I digress. Divergent was always for me going to be one of those books which either lives up to the hype and possibly even exceeds it, leaving me in a weeping mess in the corner of my room after the final page has been turned and possibly screaming to the sky whilst mascara runs dramatically down my face, OR I could be incredibly disappointed, wondering why on earth the money has been spent adapting this movie when we still haven't had City of Angels news yet. Luckily (or unluckily where my social life is concerned) it was very much the former for me. 

I spent perhaps the first chapter feeling slightly confused and wondering what all the fuss was about.  If I'm honest, I think this was more to do with beginning the book during my lunch hour at work than the actual novel itself, as once I got home, got comfy and actually settled to read it, I was completely hooked. 

Veronica Roth has achieved something quite remarkable here, with a very believable take on a Dystopian future along with characters who are both charming and relatable. I am a big advocate for alternate universes, supernatural characters, magic and all the rest of it, but I am always left with a sense of disappointment when I've read the books, knowing that no matter how much I've enjoyed the story, it is physically impossible for a world like that to ever exist (I'm 22 and I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts letter). Although I wouldn't want to live in a society so divided as in Divergent, it is refreshing to read something that is plausible to an extent, and it's intriguing to get a new take on the possible future our society could face. 

With the move coming out soon, I'm not going to go too in depth as I don't want to reveal any spoilers! I will say however, that the film will definitely be worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of The Hunger Games or Battle Royale. If you are like me, and prefer to read the book before the adaptation arrives in cinemas, I would again recommend this without hesitation. 

Confessions of a Chelsea Boy - Spencer Matthews

 Ok so, I have a (not so) secret obsession with Made in Chelsea, which for all of you who haven't had the pleasure of viewing it, is a scripted reality show following a group of young, wealthy individuals and their experiences living in our vibrant capital city.

Spencer Matthews is often portrayed as a Lothario, leaving a trail of heat break and chaos wherever he goes. He is ultimately one of my favourite characters on the show, and not only because of his dashing good looks, therefore I was quite keen to give this a read as I suspected that a lot of his character is wrongly represented on the programme.

I will take a minute to say that if you're wanting perfectly constructed sentences, spot on grammar and an engaging narrative then this really isn't the book for you, and you are definitely going to be disappointed! Equally, if you're not a
fan of the show or Spencer himself I can't imagine you wanting to purchase the autobiography, but for those who are, it is definitely worth the read. 

I think it goes a long way into helping you understand what actually goes on in Spencer's head to make him act the way he appears to with regards to relationships, and it certainly reveals more about his past than I expected, leaving me to wonder how much of his personality is just bravado to cover up experiences he hasn't dealt with. 

I was curious to find out why exactly somebody of his age and life experiences would feel the need to write an autobiography, being as he's only a few years older than myself and I definitely would not have anything of worth to write about. I did however, find myself thoroughly enjoying the read, which I'm not exactly sure is something I should be enthusiastic about as I supposedly somewhat of a literary enthusiast and I would not describe this as fine literature!

To summarise, Confessions of a Chelsea Boy was a quick and easy read, no literary genius and not particularly well written; however, as a fan of Spencer Matthews and Made in Chelsea as a whole, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to like minded readers
 

The Hit - David Baldacci

The Hit - David Baldacci

One thing that you will come to realise over the course of reading this blog (if you make reading this blog a habit, which of course I hope that you do) is that my taste in books s nothing if not eclectic. Who wants to be predictable, however?

Crime/thriller fiction is definitely one of my favourite genres, I get so tied into the story and the characters and become obsessed with trying to solve the crime, which probably says more about my personality than I'd like to admit. Due to this, it is not uncommon to find me grabbing any crime thriller that catches my eye in the local bookshop/supermarket. This was one such time.

From reading the blurb, I have to say I had high expectations for this book, and whilst it did not disappoint completely, I definitely did not have the reading experience that I had anticipated, which greatly saddened me. I'm still looking for the book that can top 'I am Pilgrim' which I can safely say is the best thriller I have ever read, and is definitely up there in my top 20 of all time.

I found that I didn't get sucked into the story quick enough for my liking. I will admit here that I have never read any of David Baldacci's other novels, and didn't realise at the time of purchase that this was part of a series, and therefore when I began reading the characters and their relationships with one another had already been long established-this of course was something I then had to figure out for myself, which while not un-enjoyable, was certainly not ideal.

The writing itself was certainly good, I am one of those readers who will get driven to near insanity whilst reading a book written by an author whose grasp of the English language is lesser than my own, and despite the slow start I did find myself enjoying the narrative towards the end, however this was my main disappointment. The real 'nitty-gritty' action didn't start to hot up until the book came to a close, and I think this is really what let it down. I think this is also reflected in the time it took me to read the novel itself-a surprising 7 days, which is unheard of for me-the girl who can read several books a week on a regular basis.

To summarise, I did enjoy the book in my own way, however it took too long to ensnare me in the story and even towards the end I didn't care much for the characters. There were no essential plot twists that I didn't see coming a mile off, and although I did enjoy it I don't think I would read more of this series.

6/10.