Tag: books

Teaser Tuesday: 2nd May 2017

Ali@abookishlife15 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


This week my teaser comes from Spandex and the City by Jenny T Colgan. I’m really not supposed to be reading this at the moment (I should be reading my bookclub pick) but I couldn’t resist. Colgan is another of my favourite authors and this just sounds like such a quirky and fun read that I had to start it.

My Teaser

I swore mightily to myself. I am not in the least bit brave and will not pee in a room that a spider is in or has been in or might once have been in but –

~ 8% Spandex and the City by Jenny T Colgan

BlurbSpandex and the City

LOCAL GIRL SWEPT OFF HER FEET

Mild-mannered PR girl Holly Phillips doesn’t think much of costumed vigilante ‘Ultimate Man’ – and after his superpowered antics leave her hoisted over his shoulder and flashing her knickers in the newspaper the next day, she’s embarrassed beyond belief.

But when Holly’s fifteen minutes of fame make her a target for something villainous, she only has one place to turn – and finds the man behind the mask holds a lot more charm than his crime-fighting alter-ego.

Can Holly find love, or is superdating just as complicated as the regular kind?

WOULD LIKE TO MEET: NICE GUY, LIKES DOGS, GSOH AND NO SUPERPOWERS

ARC Review: Legion by Julie Kagawa

Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Legion (Talon, #4)Legion by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Phew, I made it to the end. Kagawa is truly the master of the epic, edge of your seat finale. The ending of the previous book Soldier just about broke me and I thought this one might actually finish me off. She’s definitely not one of those authors who shies away from killing off her characters, something I both love and hate.

As this is the fourth book in the series and the previous book had such a big finish it’s almost impossible to write a review without spoilers so I’ll need to keep this short. The writing is as always excellent and there is plenty of action throughout as well as some real character development. Ember is really growing up and taking control rather than letting her impulses run wild.

This time the story focuses a lot more on Dante and we learn a lot more about his background and relationship with sister Ember. He’s one of the most interesting and complex characters in the book so I really enjoyed getting to know him better and gaining a more deeper understanding of his character and why he does what he does. I enjoyed the flashbacks to their childhood so much that I kind of wish there had been more of them but there was so much going on in the story that there probably wasn’t time.

The other characters from the previous books are more or less all present and correct and there is plenty of the banter between them that makes this such an enjoyable series. Jade, the eastern Dragon has a much bigger role to play (something I loved) but unfortunately Wes was pushed a little to the sidelines (something I didn’t love).

I will admit that I didn’t quite enjoy the story as much as in the previous book (there was a certain storyline that I’m just not buying) but I get the feeling that it’s building to the fifth and final installment which I think will be truly epic. I both can’t wait and am terrified to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. As always all views are my own.

Blurb (from GoodReads) –

*Contains spoilers for previous books in the series*

The legions are about to be unleashed, and no human, rogue dragon or former dragon slayer can stand against the coming horde. Book 4 of 5 in The Talon Saga from New York Times bestselling author Julie Kagawa.

Dragon hatchling Ember Hill was never prepared to find love at all–dragons do not suffer human emotions–let alone the love of a human and a former dragonslayer, at that. With ex-soldier Garret dying at her feet after sacrificing his freedom and his life to expose the deepest of betrayals, Ember knows only that nothing she was taught by dragon organization Talon is true. About humans, about rogue dragons, about herself and what she’s capable of doing and feeling.

In the face of great loss, Ember vows to stand with rogue dragon Riley against the dragon-slaying Order of St. George and her own twin brother Dante–the heir apparent to all of Talon, and the boy who will soon unleash the greatest threat and terror dragonkind has ever known.

Talon is poised to take over the world, and the abominations they have created will soon take to the skies, darkening the world with the promise of blood and death to those who refuse to yield.

WWW Wednesday: 26th April 2017

Ali@abookishlife21 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

WWW Wednesday

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently ReadingLegion (Talon, #4)

I started reading Legion by Julie Kagawa yesterday so I’m only around 15% in. It’s the fourth book in her Talon series and it’s off to a good start. It’s pretty much impossible to talk about without spoilers for the previous books in the series so I’ll just say it’s a YA fantasy about dragons and leave it there. I’ve had mixed views of Kagawa’s books in the past but I’ve been enjoying this series (and her Blood Of Eden series too). I am a little bit wary though as the last book had one of the most edge of the seat endings ever. I have a horrible feeling this could be the same and I’m not sure I can take it.

On audio I’m still listening to Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost. It’s the fourth and final book in her Night Prince series and I have been absolutely loving it. There are just so many bits that make me laugh out loud.

Recently Finished

Want You Gone (Jack Parlabane, #8)Things have gotten really busy at work again so I only managed to finish two books this week, the first of which was Want You Gone by Chris Brookmyre. Want You Gone is the 8th book in his Jack Parlabane series about an investigative journalist. While it is part of a series it could be read as a standalone as each book has a different story and theme. This time Parlabane is pulled into the world of cyber crime and industrial espionage when a hacker he’s used as a source calls and asks for his help.

This was a great story. It has a really clever and well thought out plot that doesn’t get too techie despite involving hacking. It was also good to have Jack back in a more prominent role than in the previous book in the series as he’s a great character. Without giving too much away, if you like an Ocean’s Eleven style heist in your books you’ll like this. You can read my full review here.More Than This

The other book finished this week was More Than This by Patrick Ness. This was actually a re read as I’d previously read it back in August last year. I’d picked it for real life book club (I was put on the spot and it was the first book I thought of) and it turned out to be a really good choice. All of the books we’ve read so far have been either literary fiction or crime so it was good to shake things up with something completely different. Not everyone liked it (the word “nonsense” may have been used by one person) but it definitely generated a lot of discussion. Personally I think I enjoyed it more on the second reading.

Reading Next

I went to see Stuart MacBride at a book signing last week so I’m more keen than ever to read his latest book  A Dark so Deadly. He’s one of my favourite authors and I know a few people have already read this and loved it so it’s one I’m looking forward to. I’m also going to try and make a dent on my TBR with one or more of the following books.

A Dark So DeadlyWintersongHoliday in the Hamptons (From Manhattan with Love #5)Carve the Mark (Carve the Mark, #1)

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below and I’ll respond when I can.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Teaser Tuesday: 25th April 2017

Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


I’ve literally just finished a re read so I’ve been a bit undecided over which book to use for a teaser this week. As I don’t want to flick through one of my upcoming reads for fear of coming across spoilers I think I’ll go for one of my favourite reads Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson. I’m not sure what it is about this book but it just makes me happy.

My Teaser

We go through a door with a ‘DO NOT ENTER’ sign on it.

“But it says-” Kristy starts.

“If it’s not locked, then they don’t really mean it,” Cora replies bluntly.

~ 73% Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson

BlurbKnow Not Why

Howie gets a job at Artie Kraft’s Arts ‘N Crafts hoping to score with his lady coworkers. After all, girls love a sensitive guy, and what’s more sensitive than dedicating your life to selling yarn and … stuff? (Okay, so maybe it’d be a good idea to actually learn what one sells at an arts ‘n crafts store.) But things don’t go exactly according to plan. Coworker #1 is Cora: tiny, much-pierced, and way too fierce to screw with in any sense. Coworker #2 is Kristy: blonde, bubbly, unattainable perfection. And Coworker #3 is, well, Arthur. It goes without saying that he’s not an option. Right?

… Right?

Yeah, Howie’s life just got straight up confusing.

Pun intended.

Review: And I Darken by Kiersten White

Ali@abookishlife7 Comments

And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)And I Darken by Kiersten White

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

When I originally read the blurb for this I immediately thought “must read”. Seriously, gender switching Vlad the Impaler story, how could I resist….and then I saw some of the reviews which weren’t exactly glowing and it gave me pause. Thankfully I trusted my initial instincts and I’m so glad I did as this book is absolutely brilliant.

It’s packed full of action, political maneuvering and intrigue and has some incredible world building and a strong female main character. I can’t wait for the rest of the series.

Read More »

WWW Wednesday: 19th April 2017

Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

WWW Wednesday

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently ReadingWant You Gone (Jack Parlabane, #8)

I just started Want You Gone by Chris Brookmyre yesterday so I’m only around 20% in but enjoying it so far. It’s the 8th book in his Jack Parlabane series but could probably be read as a standalone (I’ve certainly missed a few in the series). This time the story is about the dangers of the internet and I have to admit it’s already got me thinking about all of the information I put online. I received this from NetGalley and am on the blog tour so you can expect a review this weekend.

On audio I’ve finally managed to get my hands on Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost. It’s the fourth and final book in her Night Prince series. This series is definitely one of my guilty pleasures and has already had me teehee-ing in the car.

Recently FinishedLast Breath (Detective Erika Foster, #4)

First book finished this week was Last Breath by Robert Bryndza which I received from NetGalley. It’s the fourth in the DCI Erika Foster series and is possibly the best in the series so far. This time Erika and the team are on the hunt for a serial killer who stalks and befriends his victims online.

It’s more of a police procedural than a who dunit but it doesn’t really matter as for me the highlight of Bryndza’s books are the characters. Erika isn’t necessarily my favourite but the secondary characters like Moss are brilliant. I should have a full review up soon.

Nick and Norah's Infinite PlaylistThe next book finished this week was Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. I have to admit I read this because it fit a challenge (yellow cover) but given my love for Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares I was quite excited about it. Unfortunately it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.

It’s an easy enough read and really enjoyable in places but it just fell a little bit flat for me. It might be because I was comparing to the film or it may be I missed a lot of the music references or possibly just that I didn’t really take to the characters but something was definitely missing.And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)

The third and final book finished this week was And I Darken by Kiersten White. I knew I wanted to read this the second I saw it was loosely based on the story of Vlad the Impaler. I’m not generally a fan of historical fiction but this is more of an alternative history where it’s Vlad’s daughter Lada who is the violent, slightly unstable and totally ruthless warrior on the hunt for power. Something that’s not particularly easy for  a woman in that time period.

I loved this book and literally couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t just Lada’s story it was also that of her brother Radu who’s seen as a bit of a weakling and a coward but is actually the more cunning of the two. The relationship between them is fantastic and so is the story. I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series when it comes out this summer.

Reading Next

My plan for the next week is to keep making some progress on my NetGalley shelf so I’m hoping to read A Dark so Deadly by Stuart MacBride and Sleep Tight by Caroline Mitchell. They are both crime/thrillers so I think I’ll probably need to mix it up a bit with either Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh or Legion by Julie Kagawa

A Dark So DeadlySleep Tight (Detective Ruby Preston )Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist, #1)Legion (Talon, #4)

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below and I’ll respond when I can.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Teaser Tuesday: 18th April 2017

Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


This week my teaser comes from And I Darken by Kiersten White which I both started and finished yesterday. It’s classed as YA fantasy but as there’s no magic this is probably a bit misleading. It’s more an alternate history of Vlad the Impaler but with Vlad changed to Lada a wild and ferocious girl. The fact that I couldn’t put this down should tell you everything about what I thought of it 😀

My Teaser

“I think of you like a sister,” he said. “Like a brilliant, violent, occasionally terrifying sister that I would follow to the ends of the earth, in part because I respected her so much and in part because I feared what she would do to me if I refused.”

She nodded. “I would do awful things.”

~ 73% And I Darken by Kiersten White

BlurbAnd I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

Review: The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Ali@abookishlife7 Comments

The Upside of UnrequitedThe Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Smart, funny, sweet and emotional. I loved this book even more than Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

It’s incredibly well written, with a diverse and likeable cast of characters and an incredibly cute romance.

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker, Reid. He’s a chubby Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him.

Thoughts

OK confession time, I didn’t love Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I wanted to, had really high hopes for it but while I did enjoy it there was that little something missing for me.

This book however, this book I did love. I don’t know if it was just that I went into it with slightly lower expectations (my expectations were through the roof for Simon vs) or if I could just relate more to Molly but I thought it was so much better.

Albertalli’s writing is absolutely wonderful. She manages to capture the voice and feeling of being a teenager so well that it took me right back to my teenage years. There isn’t a huge story, it’s pretty much your usual coming of age/YA romance but main character Molly is so likeable it’s difficult not to get hooked in.

Molly was definitely a character I could relate to. She’s smart, creative and close to her family and friends but is self conscious, anxious and quiet when it comes to meeting new people and boys in particular. She develops crushes at the drop of a hat but is too scared to act and therefore ends up worshiping the boy of the moment from afar.

I loved how her character developed over the course of the story and in particular the very real way in which the author portrayed the changing relationship with her twin sister. In many ways the romance within the book was almost secondary, although it was very sweet and one of the highlights for me.

One of the other highlights was the amount of diversity. This is possibly one of the most diverse books I’ve ever come across and it felt like almost every group was represented in some way. Molly has two moms, she’s Jewish, her sister is a lesbian who is involved with a pansexual character, she has weight issues and suffers from anxiety. In the beginning I did wonder if this was too much and the author was forcing too much in but thankfully this turned out not to be the case. It all feels very natural and the issues raised are dealt with in quite a subtle and realistic way.

Overall a great read and one I’d definitely recommend if you like YA contemporary with diverse characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.