Requiem - Lauren Oliver

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.

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!!).

Life After Life - Kate Atkinson

"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.

Fallen - Lauren Kate

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.

Paper Towns - John Green

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.) 

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.