WWW Wednesday (26th October)

 WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading...

June's life at home with her stepmother and stepsister is a dark one – and a secret one. She is trapped like a butterfly in a net.

But then June meets Blister, a boy in the woods. In him she recognises the tiniest glimmer of hope that perhaps she can find a way to fly far, far away from her home and be free. Because every creature in this world deserves their freedom . . . But at what price?

Paper Butterflies is an unforgettable read, perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven, Jandy Nelson, Sarah Crossan and Louise O'Neill. 

I have recently finished...

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as the Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first. 

I plan on reading next...

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.

Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

I have been almost binge reading this series. I've wanted to finish it before I start Six Of Crows. I felt that if I didn't read Leigh's Grisha series before it, I might never get to it. And I am glad I have made this decision because I really wouldn't want to have missed out on this absolute gem of a series.

While I found that it took me a little longer to get back into the story then usual, mainly due to so many different names and characters, once I was back in I enjoyed every minute of it. 

Ruin and Rising is the last book in the series and what a finish it is!!! There is one huge twist I did not see coming and let me tell you I didn't know what to do with it either. And due to this I really didn't have an idea on how this could come to an end. But it managed to give us a very satisfying and to a very beautiful and exciting Grisha series. 

Just like the previous two books the writing is incredible and the wold building is impressive. I have managed to connect with the characters and the story over its course and I am really sad now that this is finished. The fact I now have Six Of Crows and Crooked Kingdom to get through is a massive help. While it's not the same characters I am really happy to be going back to the same world. 

This is an absolute must read and if you haven't yet read any of Leigh's books then please do start here. You will not be disappointed. I have loved every minute of all 3 books and can highly recommend it. 

I will keep this one short and spoiler free because this is the last book. I have had so so much fun reading this. And now that I have started Six Of Crows I see how much sense it makes to read these first, because the events of this series are being mentioned. Fantastic books! 

Weekly Wrap Up and Stacking the Shelves #43

Weekly Wrap Up...

I have once again managed my two book week. It's been two really good ones too. The first book I have finished is Ruin and Rising. I have been almost binge reading this one. Preparing myself for the Worlds Collide event in manchester next week. Which I am suuuuuper excited about. I am not reading Six of Crows and am hoping to get to the Crooked Kingdom before the event too. Yesterday I have finished A Head Full Of Ghosts. Now that's been a very surprising and exciting book. Loved it. 

 

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

 

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.

To her parents' despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie's descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts' plight. With John, Marjorie's father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie's younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface--and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.

Stacking the Shelves...

This week I've had quite a few new books. I've won Caraval in a competition on Twitter! Eeeek. Thank you so much Kavita. 

I have had a cheeky little Amazon delivery. 3 new books including All the Bright Places, Holding Up the Universe and Three Dark Crowns. 

Also got two lovely books delivered by publishers. The first one was another surprise book by twenty7 and Cut To The Bone sounds very intriguing. Thank you so much.

The second one was from Cara at the new and exciting HQYoungAdult, thank you so much for my copy of The Watcher. How pretty is the cover tho guys? 

Last but not least thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for Ever The Hunted. Been eyeing this one for some time :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WWW Wednesday (19th October)

 WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading...

The lives of the Barretts, a suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia. To her parents despair, the doctors are unable to halt Marjorie's descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie's younger sister, Merry. As she recalls the terrifying events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories begin to surface and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed. 

I have recently finished...

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

I plan on reading next...

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first. 

Review: GEMINA by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that critics are calling “out-of-this-world awesome.”
 
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.
     The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.
     Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.
     When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.
     But relax. They've totally got this. They hope.
     Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

Hot damn!!! I bloody loved ILLUMINAE and I bloody love GEMINA. Yes the magic is still there and I am still completely in love with the unique and fascinating way to tell a story. I don't even know where to begin, but let me tell you I didn't want this book to end.

This time we are aboard the Jump Station Heimdall. This is the story that basically explains why the distress signals from Kady in the first book have never been heard, simply because Heimdall is busy with their own assault. Our main characters this time are Hanna and Nik. Hanna is the daughter of the captain, she likes to party and expensive clothes, while Nik is part of a criminal family, covered in tattoos. But suddenly those two and Nik's cousin are the only ones left who can fight back when the station is under attack.

Of course the story is once again being told by files, be it emails, chats or surveillance reports, which is the most exciting way to tell this story. Which is the reason I fell in love with illuminea. It keeps you on your toes and gives you a perspective of the story you don't normally get. This in no way keeps you from connecting with the main characters. I literally couldn't tell you who I liked more, Hanna and Nik couldn't be more different. And yet I couldn't get enough of either of them. I love how bad ass Hanna really is while everyone just believes her to be this spoiled princess. And I love how Nik is actually good at heart while everyone believes him to be a criminal and nothing else. It's as if they both get to take their masks off and be themselves while absolute chaos erupts around them. Let's not forget Nik's cousin tho, because let me tell you, that young girl is pure genius with some right mouth on her, I would want her having my back any day. 

If you think you will just get a repeat from the first book you are very wrong this is a completely new and fresh story that will have you gripped from the very start. I could not put this down and I had to fight temptation to turn the pages to see what's coming next because I couldn't read fast enough. With many twists and turned and some shocking surprises this book had me at the edge of my seat many times. 

Second book syndrome?? Nope, not for these two amazing authors. They've just gone and smashed it again. One can only hope that these two will continue to treat us to these exquisite books full of visual effects and unique story lines. 

The fact this book looks stunning on my shelf is just another added bonus but as a cover lover it's certainly worth mentioning. 

Nobody writes a story like Kaufman and Kristoff! 

Thank you so much to Lawrence at Oneworld Publishing for my copy.

GEMINA will be published on 20th October! 

Review: There May Be A Castle by Piers Torday

 

A remarkable story about love and death from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

Eleven-year-old Mouse is travelling to see his grandparents on Christmas Eve with his mother and two sisters. But it's snowing, and visibility is bad, and the car goes off the road, and crashes.

Mouse is thrown from the car.

When he wakes, he's not in his world any more. He meets a sheep named Bar, who can only say Baaa, and a sarcastic horse named Nonky, who is a surprising mix of his beloved toy horse and his older sister.
So begins a quest to find a castle in a world of wonder - a world of monsters, minstrels, dangerous knights and mysterious wizards; a world of terrifying danger but also more excitement than Mouse has ever known.

But why are they looking for a castle? As the cold grows, we realise it might just have something to do with the family he's left behind; and that Mouse's quest is more important than ever.

This is a novel about love and death. It's about the power of stories to change the way we view the world - and it's about the power of a child to change their own world. Emotionally arresting but ultimately uplifting, this is a remarkable novel for our times.

As Mouse and his family set off to see the grandparents at Christmas they slide of the road and have a serious accident in the snow. Mouse who has undone his seatbelt is thrown out of the car. When he wakes  up he cant see his family or the car. But he meets a sheep and a large and talking version of his toy horse. Mouse appears to be in a different world, as if in one of his daydreams. Nonky, the horse tells him they have to go and find the castle and fast. So their journey to find the castle begins... Mouse doesn't appear to remember anything that happened before or even his family, who are still trapped in the car. While the mother is unconscious, Violet might be the only one that can help them.

I really liked the concept and I rather got into the story at first. While it was aimed at much much younger readers then me it had me hooked. But then things got a little stranger and stranger and I found myself get detached from Mouse's story. However I really couldn't get back to Violet and the rest of them quick enough.

Towards the end I had to pay much more attention when their stories started to melt together. And let me tell you I didn't quite expect the story to end the way it did. All along I saw it going somewhere different. But I do like it when a book can make my jaw drop.

All in all this was a little to strange for me and too young for me. But I think for the younger readers it will be fantastic. It portraits a very serious topic in a unique and magical way. Its one of those stories that will make you think and will touch your heart.

Thank you to Lauren at Hachette Children for my copy.

There May Be A Castle is out now.

Weekly Wrap Up and Stacking the Shelves #42

Weekly Wrap Up...

After my father dissapointing week last week I have managed to read 3 books. Yay!! Would have been happy with 2 but 3 is an achievement for me while my life seems to be super busy. The first one I have finished is Caraval! Oh and I fully understand why this is already attracting soooo much attention! The next one was The Graces, oh wow what a surprise that one has been. And last was There May Be A Castle, probably to young for me and not quite what I expected. But all in all it's been a great book week ;) 

 

Before you enter the world of Caraval, you must remember that it’s all a game . . .

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their ruthless father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the legendary, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

Then, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation to Caraval finally arrives. So, Tella enlists a mysterious sailor’s help to whisk Scarlett away to this year’s show. But as soon as the trio arrives, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nonetheless soon becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with her sister, with Legend, and with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

 

Everyone said the Graces were witches.

They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake. Stares followed their backs and their hair.

They had friends, but they were just distractions. They were waiting for someone different.

All I had to do was show them that person was me.

Like everyone else in her town, River is obsessed with the Graces, attracted by their glamour and apparent ability to weave magic. But are they really what they seem? And are they more dangerous than they let on?

This beautifully-written thriller will grip you from its very first page.

 

A remarkable story about love and death from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

Eleven-year-old Mouse is travelling to see his grandparents on Christmas Eve with his mother and two sisters. But it's snowing, and visibility is bad, and the car goes off the road, and crashes.

Mouse is thrown from the car.

When he wakes, he's not in his world any more. He meets a sheep named Bar, who can only say Baaa, and a sarcastic horse named Nonky, who is a surprising mix of his beloved toy horse and his older sister.
So begins a quest to find a castle in a world of wonder - a world of monsters, minstrels, dangerous knights and mysterious wizards; a world of terrifying danger but also more excitement than Mouse has ever known.

But why are they looking for a castle? As the cold grows, we realise it might just have something to do with the family he's left behind; and that Mouse's quest is more important than ever.

This is a novel about love and death. It's about the power of stories to change the way we view the world - and it's about the power of a child to change their own world. Emotionally arresting but ultimately uplifting, this is a remarkable novel for our times.

Stacking the Shelves...

I didn't get any book post this week, brakes my heart, not a single beautiful book arrived. BUT  I've had a superb book approved on Netgalley, Heartless!!! I am so excited. Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan. Heartless doesn't even have a UK cover yet so I won't be posting a picture. But I seriously can't wait to see it, as I am a huge sucker for beautiful covers. 

I've also treated myself to the the 3 books in The Dreamland Series, the covers are stunning and at 99p each I couldn't resist, obviously.