3 Days 3 Quotes: Day 3

May 23, 2016May 21, 2016 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

I was tagged by the awesome Liam at Hey Ashers! to take part in the 3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge. Thanks so much Liam, I love quotes so this tag is perfect for me.

The rules are:

Thank the person who nominated you
Post a quote for three consecutive days
Nominate three new bloggers each day

This is the third and final day of my love and romance themed 3 days 3 quotes so I had to go with a quote from one of my favourite writers, Cassandra Clare. I always find myself highlighting huge chunks of her books on my e reader.

Day 3, Quote 3:

“There is no pretending,” Jace said with absolute clarity. “I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I’ll love you then”

– City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

So the final three totally awesome blogs I’m tagging are

I hope you enjoy but feel free to pass

Ali x

Book Review: The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

May 23, 2016May 27, 2016 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Liked this book a lot but didn’t get the feels I was hoping for…sorry.

This was my first book by Jennifer L. Armentrout and having heard so many great things about her I wanted to love this so much. I haven’t always had the best relationship with YA contemporary stories but I thought for sure that this book would be packed full of emotion. Unfortunately however I just didn’t feel it.

It deals with some really difficult and uncomfortable issues and I think handles them in a responsible and very genuine way. While there is a lot going on, abuse, PTSD, drug dealing, loss and bullying it’s written in such a way as to make it seem very realistic (although I don’t have much experience of most of it).

Synopsis

Main character Mallory (aka Mouse) was raised in an abusive foster home where she learned that the best way to keep out of trouble is to keep out of sight and keep quiet. While it’s 4 years later and she’s in a new and supportive home and has had lots of counselling she still doesn’t like to talk and prefers to avoid notice. Having been home schooled for the past few years she decides it’s time to face her fears and go to school.

It comes as a big surprise though when she bumps into Rider, the boy who used to try to protect her and who she hasn’t seen since a terrible event set them on different paths. He resumes his role as her protector but they’re both older now and things have changed. They come from different worlds so despite their shared past they may not have a future.

Thoughts

It was definitely interesting reading a book with a main character like Mallory. I haven’t come across many books where the main character doesn’t say much and is afraid of pretty much everything. I felt so sorry for her but still occasionally found myself getting frustrated with her and just wishing she would speak up for herself rather than letting others push her around and make decisions for her. I loved how she developed over the course of the story but I also liked how there was no instant cure. The one part I could really relate to was the social anxiety, the fear of having to go into a big group of people, to have to stand up and speak in front of others and I thought the author portrayed this very well.

Rider was possibly the sweetest guy ever and I think I fell a little bit in love with him. He did have the bad boy thing going but his reaction in seeing Mallory and at a couple of other points did ever so slightly break my heart.

Where I think my issue lay, was the relationship between them. Yes it was quite sweet, but I didn’t feel any real spark between them and in a book where the relationship is the central part of the story that’s a problem. I didn’t feel myself rooting for them so while I kind of hoped they’d get together and sort everything out it wouldn’t have been the end of my world if they hadn’t.

My other main criticism is the length. At 480 pages it’s a little on the long side. If it had really grabbed me it wouldn’t have been an issue but for me it did feel long. The writing is good but I did find there was an over emphasis in getting the very positive message across. I’m a little older than the target audience and have become quite cynical and negative in my old age so maybe it’s just me and younger readers will find it more inspirational.

I think if you’re a fan of Colleen Hoover and Sarah Dessen this book will be perfect for you. However it wasn’t as good as I was hoping.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 Days 3 Quotes: Day 2

May 22, 2016May 21, 2016 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

I was tagged by the awesome Liam at Hey Ashers! to take part in the 3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge. Thanks so much Liam, I love quotes so this tag is perfect for me.

The rules are:

Thank the person who nominated you
Post a quote for three consecutive days
Nominate three new bloggers each day

This is my second round of this tag and I’m going with a bit of a love and romance theme with my quotes. Today’s quote is from one of the greatest romances ever written and one of my favourite books.

Day 2, Quote 2:

Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches.

– The Princess Bride by William Golden

Today I’m tagging another three of my favourite blogs. There is a strong possibility you’ve already done this so feel free to pass.

Enjoy x

Book Review: The Crown by Kiera Cass

May 21, 2016May 21, 2016 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

The Crown by Kiera Cass

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic ending to the series.

*Warning review may include spoilers for previous books in the series*

If anyone has read any of my other reviews of the Selection Series you’ll know that I’ve always had kind of mixed feelings about it. Of the original Selection trilogy I only really liked the first book in the series as the love triangle drove me slightly insane and I decided that America was possibly the most annoying character ever in the history of the world (ok I may be exaggerating)

I don’t know what convinced me to pick up The Heir (probably the cover) but I found in Eadlyn a much more likeable character (which wouldn’t be difficult) and I loved the flip to the other side of the Selection process. Although possibly I’m just fantasizing about having 35 eligible bachelors competing for my hand in marriage. I found myself completely addicted to the story and I think I read the whole book from start to finish in a few hours.

As it finished on a bit of a cliff hanger (grrr!) I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Crown. How would it all end? Would Eadlyn finally stop trying to be so perfect and turn into a real person? What would happen to America and Maxon? And, would Eadlyn find a husband from the remaining contenders or walk away from the whole thing?

I have to admit I was kind of hoping she wouldn’t pick anyone and do her own thing even though I know most people had their favourite SHIP.

Synopsis

The story picks up almost immediately after the Heir with everyone reeling from the big shock at the end. As the king and queen are unable to rule Eadlyn’s forced to temporarily step into the breach and act as monarch. Despite now ruling the country of Illea, having to deal with difficult advisors, keeping the country stable and proving that she is fit to rule, she decides to continue with the selection process in the hopes of garnering the support of her people.

She narrows the contestants down to six but as the country becomes more unsettled and her rule comes under threat she feels she has to choose quickly but the big question is who will she pick and will it be for love or duty?

Thoughts

I know a lot of reviews have been very critical of Eadlyn but in all honesty I like her a lot as a character and I found her story a lot more interesting and appealing than that of America. I like that she is quite reserved and finds it difficult to open up to people. Given her upbringing and the fact that she’s had it drilled into her since birth that she will be queen and will have to set an example, it’s pretty understandable. While she definitely worries too much about her clothes and what people think about her it’s all because she wants to do a good job and not let anyone down.

I will say that in the Heir she was a little annoying at times but she does definitely soften up a lot in this one particularly when it comes to her boys. She finally starts to open up to them and gets attached to each of them for different reasons although it didn’t feel like there was a lot of romance in the air (I suppose there was a lot of other stuff going on).

The six remaining contestants are possibly the sweetest guys ever and I also got very attached to all of them although it seemed like they were more friends to Eady than romantic interests. I kind of liked that there was a bit less romance in this book but it made it pretty much impossible to work out which way she would go and how it would all end.

In terms of who she eventually picks, I fully supported her choice. There had been hints of it coming throughout the Heir so while I did think her sudden realization was a bit too sudden (hinting around this is driving me nuts) I did believe it.

While overall I enjoyed the story it wasn’t perfect and there were a couple of things that niggled at me. I felt like there was a little bit of stereotyping going on, not enough development of some of the secondary characters and some slightly odd behaviour at times. Despite these niggles however I will say that Kiera Cass knows how to write and I found I couldn’t put it down. It’s easy and it’s completely addictive.

It would have been nice to get a bit more of an epilogue as I want to know where they all end up but I think it finished the series off really well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the book in exchange for an honest review. The Crown is available now.

3 Days 3 Quotes – Day 1

May 21, 2016 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

I was tagged by the awesome Liam at Hey Ashers! to take part in the 3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge. This is actually my second round but I’m a quote addict so I will happily have another go. Thanks Liam for giving me an excuse 🙂

The rules are:

Thank the person who nominated you
Post a quote for three consecutive days
Nominate three new bloggers each day

I always find it difficult to pick quotes but I’m feeling a little soppy today so I think I’m going for a bit of love and romance this time around.

Day 1, Quote 1:

In an instant, everything in the room came alive. Like the sunshine had a melody and the sounds of footsteps had a texture I could feel in my fingertips each time anyone moved.

The world woke up when I looked at him.

– The Crown by Kiera Cass

I think most people have probably already done this challenge at least once so feel free to pass but I’ll tag some of my favourite blogs anyway.

Enjoy x

WWW Wednesday: 18th May 2016

May 18, 2016May 17, 2016 Ali@abookishlife19 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays 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.

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?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

Normal service has resumed this week and I have two books on the go at the moment, an e-book and an audio. Neither of these were actually Us (Him #2) planned so I’m wandering off my reading list yet again.

For the ebook I’m reading Us by Sabrina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. It’s the follow up to Him which I read a few months ago and really enjoyed. It’s an M/M romance, is pretty steamy but also quite funny. It had a bit of a slow start with lots of relationship angst which was getting a little dull but now I’m around the halfway point it’s really picking up. I’m absolutely loving new character Blake. He just makes me laugh so much.

At Grave's End (Night Huntress, #3) On audio, I’m currently listening to At Graves End by Jeaniene Frost. It’s the third book in the Night Huntress series which is about a half vampire Cat who hunts bad vampires with her boyfriend Bones (also a vampire). It’s obviously not a great work of literary fiction but is quite fun to listen to. It did result in some mild embarrassment yesterday when I burst out laughing while listening to it on the train. It’s a little cliched in places but Bones’ dialogue is hilarious.

Recently Finished

I’ve actually been very productive this week and managed to finish three ebooks, a physical book and an audio book. Even better, a couple of those book Don't You Cry s were on my reading next list meaning that I’m more or less back on track.

First up was Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica which I got from NetGalley. It’s a mystery/thriller and is almost two stories in one. The first is about a girl who goes missing, the other about a girl who suddenly appears. I was a big fan of Mary Kubica’s previous book Pretty Baby but found this one a little bit disappointing. There’s a lot of character development, it’s very twisty and is well written but I found it a little bit on the slow side. You can read my full review here.

The next book finished was The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence. This was chosen by my book club and I probably wouldn’t have come across it otherwise. The reason for this choice of book is that it’s main character has been diagnosed as bipolar and it’s mental health awareness week here in the UK. Despite my reservations over reading a book dealing with such a difficult subject I did find that I enjoyed it. The author has based it on his own experiences with similar issues and I think that definitely shows through.

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse (Cape Bay Cafe Mystery, #1) After that I moved on to Cappucinos, Cupcakes and a Corpse by Harper Lin which is described as a culinary cozy mystery. It’s about a woman who runs a coffee shop and one day on her way home from work finds the body of her neighbour (this seems to be a theme as the same thing happened in the The Mirror World of Melody Black). When it turns out he was murdered she decides to investigate. Honestly, I chose this book because it had a teacup on the cover (needed that for a challenge). It was quite a quick read and well enough written, however it just really wound me up and I wanted to shout at it or throw it. Obviously culinary cozy mysteries are not for me 🙂

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1) Other than that I have been obsessing over Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series. Last week I was mid way through the audio book of the first in the series, Halfway to the Grave. It ended up being one of those completely addictive stories that’s so bad it’s kind of good. Reminds me a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which isn’t helped by the main male character Bones being a double for Spike. The plot borders on ridiculous at times and I’m fairly certain I laugh at things that aren’t supposed to be funny but I am loving it.

After finishing it, I couldn’t get the next book in the series, One Foot in the Grave, on audio from the library so switched to the ebook which I finished in a day. As you can see I’m now on to the third book and am back on audio.

Reading Next

I didn’t manage to get to some of the books on my reading next list from last week so I’m still planning to read The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout and The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza so I can reduce my NetGalley shelf.

I have however acquired a few more library books during the week which are sure to distract me and, in very exciting news, the Overdrive app has finally started working on my Kindle Fire so I’ve managed to borrow a couple of ebooks. Unfortunately you only get 21 days on ebooks so will need to read them fairly quickly. One of the books I have is Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare which is the final book in the Infernal Devices trilogy. I love Cassandra Clare’s writing so, while I haven’t enjoyed this series as much as the Mortal Instruments, I’m looking forward to finding out how it all ends.

The Problem with Forever The Girl In The Ice (DCI Erika Foster, #1) Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)

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

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Teaser Tuesday: 17th May 2016

May 17, 2016May 15, 2016 Ali@abookishlife14 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat 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 Books and a Beat.

Teaser This week I’ve decided to take my teaser from The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence. It normally wouldn’t be the type of book I go for but it was chosen for my book club so I was forced out of my comfort zone. It’s a story about living with a mental illness and how just the smallest thing (like finding your next door neighbours body) can cause your life to spin totally out of control.

My Teaser

So what, exactly, defined the line between crazy and not crazy? The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that sanity was just a matter of behaviour. Its degrees could be measured by the cleanliness of your hair, the set of your facial features, how you respond to a series of social cues.

~ page 169

It definitely makes for an interesting and at times uncomfortable read.

Happy reading everyone.

Book Tag: This or That

May 15, 2016 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

thisorthat

I’ve been falling very, very behind on my book tags but when Cassie at Book Reviews and Haikus nominated me for the This or That tag I couldn’t resist. Cassie has a great blog with lots of reviews, memes and other bookish stuff so I definitely recommend you check it out.

It’s quite a simple and fun tag too so I really have no excuse.

Here are the rules:

Mention the creator of the tag (Ayunda @ Tea and Paperbacks).
Thank the blogger who tagged you!
Choose one of the options for each of the questions.
Tag 10 other people to do this tag and spread the love!

The Questions

1. Reading on the couch or on the bed?

This is a difficult one as I’m a big fan of both. Initially I was leaning towards couch as it’s less of an issue if you have a snack while eating (I hate crumbs in the bed) but I think I have to go with bed. I always seem to be cold so I need my big heavy duvet. It’s also slightly safer as the more of me is covered the lower the risk of cat attacks.

My Choice: Bed

2. Male main character or female main character?

Until the start of this year I would have been very definite that I prefer female main characters to male (I was seriously struggling to think of a male MC I’d liked) but with a few exceptions the guys seem to be leading the field this year. Particularly notable books with great male MC’s are The Chaos Walking Trilogy, A Monster Calls, Red Rising, Carry On, Him, Ink and Bone and Know Not Why.

My Choice: Male (sorry, I know I’m a traitor)

3. Sweet snacks or salty snacks when reading?

Can’t I have both? I’m terrible for snacking while eating but my choice usually depends on the time of day. Morning and early afternoon I like something sweet whereas later in the day I go for salty. One of my absolute favourite snacks though is sweet & salty popcorn.

My Choice: Both (I refuse to give up either)

4. Trilogies or quartets?

This is a little bit of an odd one as I’m not sure I’ve come across many quartets. If done well though I would probably go for a trilogy. I kind of feel like three books gives plenty of time for world building, character development and exciting plots but still has a definite ending. You know when you’re on the third book there’s a big finish coming and you aren’t going to have to read another heck knows how many books to find out what happens. One series I started to read is up to book 27 now I think. Far too long so I’ve given up.

My Choice: Trilogies

5. First-person point of view or third-person point of view?

I don’t feel particularly strongly either way but I probably lean towards first person. I like to be inside someone’s head and know exactly what they’re thinking and feeling.

My Choice: First-person

6. Reading at night or in the morning?

At night, in the morning, at lunchtime, early evening pretty much anytime is good for me. I probably do read most in the evenings or at night though so I’ll go with that even though there is nothing better than waking up late on a Sunday morning and just spending the full day in bed reading.

My Choice: Night

7. Libraries or bookstores?

I very rarely go to a physical bookstore anymore as I find there’s not as great a selection (particularly in terms of YA) as you get online. I am however loving my local libraries at the moment as I can go on to their website, order the books I want and go pick them up. Another recent discovery is that I can get audio books from the library via the overdrive app on my phone. It’s saving me a fortune and if I connect my phone to the car I can listen to books on the move.

My Choice: Libraries

8. Books that make you laugh or make you cry?

I’ll have to go with books that make me laugh. Sometimes I need a good weepy but mostly I look to books to cheer me up.

My Choice: Books that make me laugh

9. Black book covers or white book covers?

White ones while prettier (I think) get dirty and damaged a lot easier than the black covers so I’ll need to go with black.

My Choice: Black

10. Character-driven or plot-driven stories?

Umm….feeling a bit stumped on this one. I do occasionally suffer from a short attention span so I do like a good plot with lots of action, suspense and twists to keep me turning pages. However when I think about it, the books I’ve enjoyed the most have probably been more character driven. I love it when you really get inside the head of a character and connect with them. I think that’s when you get the most feels.

My Choice: Character-driven

And finally, the bit I hate tagging other bloggers. I’m usually very late to book tags and everyone who wants to do them has usually already done them so I apologise in advance. I will limit my tags to the following five awesome blogs.

Thanks for reading!

Ali

Book Review: Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

May 15, 2016 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I read and really enjoyed Mary Kubica’s previous book Pretty Baby so I was very excited to get a copy of this book from NetGalley. She has a real knack for writing gripping thrillers, with fascinating characters and lots of twists and turns.

Don’t You Cry is definitely a twisty tale and it keeps you guessing till the very end. It’s well written and has some fantastic character development but I did find it a little bit slow to get going and for some reason the whole thing left me feeling a little bit depressed and disappointed.

It is still one of the better psychological thrillers I’ve come across, I think I was just expecting something more.

WWW Wednesday: 11th May 2016

May 11, 2016May 10, 2016 Ali@abookishlife17 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays 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.

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?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

Normal service has resumed this week and I have two books on the go at the moment, an e-book and an audio.

Having put it off for some reason I’ve finally made a start on Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica. I think I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind for a thriller as it’s a book I’ve been really looking forward to. I’m a big fan of Mary Kubica and while it’s early days I have a good feeling about this book.

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1) As I can’t get my hands on any more Harry Dresden audio books at the moment (there’s a wait list) I decided to go for another paranormal series and have started listening to Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost. It reminds me a lot of Buffy the Vampire slayer as the main character is half vampire, half human and spends her time hunting vampires. Despite her hatred of the undead she does however end up teaming up with a vampire called Bones. It’s a bit ridiculous and the narrator does a really bad English male accent but for some reason I’m finding it completely addictive.

Recently Finished

I’m not too sure what’s been going on reading wise over the last week as I’ve been a little all over the place. I think it was maybe a combination of a major book hangover after the ending of Soldier by Julie Kagawa combined with some bad news at work and just generally not feeling too great. This resulted in me veering wildly off my reading plan and looking for some comfort reads.

Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina, #1) I did however manage to finish Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty which I was nearing the end of last Wednesday. It’s a children/middle grade book so I’m not exactly the target audience but I liked it a lot. I tend to avoid books for younger readers but I’m very glad I gave this a go. It’s simply written but somehow has some very strong messages, a lot of depth, emotion and atmosphere. You can read my full review here.

It was after this that my book choices became a bit more random and I felt the need to return to Sabrina Paige’s stepbrother romance series with Prince Albert. I was hoping for a bit of escapism but I’m afraid I found it just a little too ridiculous a plot even for me and I wasn’t a big fan of the leading man. He was just a little bit too crude for me.

After Prince Albert I was in desperate need of some cheering up so resorted to some old favorites. I’d meant to just skim and read my favorite parts but somehow ended up reading both Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson and The Nothing Girl by Jodi Taylor from start to finish. They’re both coming of age stories in a way with slightly odd characters. They are also both books that make me smile and leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Just what I needed.

Reading Next

Given my wandering off plan, this weeks Reading Next list is very much like last weeks. First up will be The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence which is not my usual type of story (it’s about mental illness) but I really need to read it if I’m going to the book club on the 18th.

After that I shall be back to my ever growing NetGalley shelf. There have been some fantastic books appearing there recently so I haven’t been able to resist. Going in order of archive date, first up will be The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout which I’m very excited about. I haven’t actually read anything by this author before but I’ve heard a lot of good things and I’m enjoying YA contemporary books at the moment.

In the unlikely event I finish all of these books I then plan on switching back to crime with the Robert Bryndza book The Girl in the Ice. I’ve loved his Coco Pinchard series so I’m excited to see what he does in a different genre and I have the follow up The Night Stalker ready and waiting to read too.

The Problem with Forever The Girl In The Ice (DCI Erika Foster, #1) The Night Stalker (DCI Erika Foster, #2)

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

Happy Wednesday everyone.