I almost judged a book by its cover here, if I did, I would have lost out on one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read
Rating: ★★★★ and 1/2
Synopsis: Gillian of Warewick knows no other treatment than the terrible physical and mental abuse issued by her father. When he arranges a match for Gillian with Christopher of Blackmour, she is fearful: Blackmour is rumored to be an evil sorcerer. When Gillian meets him, he proves to be far more of a man than her father is, yet he is unwilling to be a lover to Gillian. She finds that Blackmour has as many psychological scars to heal as she has physical scars.
Review: This book honestly makes me cry almost every time I read it. The emotions are so raw and visceral, I literally can’t help it. This book is very much an emotional rollercoaster, with a plot twist I was genuinely not expecting. Although parts of this book are truly painful and gut-wrenching, watching how each of them struggles with their identities and worth, I love this book. The wholesomeness is enchanting and the growth that each character goes through is inspiring.
Synopsis: Alice Bell has one goal: to play for the elite junior hockey team the Chicago Falcons. But when she’s passed over at tryouts for being a girl, she’ll do anything to make her dream a reality…even disguising herself as her twin brother. With her amazing skills on the ice, Alice is sure she’ll fit in easily. That is, until she starts falling for one of her teammates…
Hayden Tremblay, star of the Falcons, can’t keep himself out of the penalty box. Constantly living in the shadow of his older brother, Hayden’s losing his passion for hockey. But when he gets shown up on the ice by the Falcons’ new rookie, Hayden’s determined to teach the kid a thing or two. Little does he guess that “Al’s” surprises on the ice are just the beginning…
Review: Cute. Amazing. Gripping. All these words I would use to describe this book. Just one of the boys uses a topic in books that I love, a girl affected by gender inequality by defying the rules and pretending to be a boy. For some reason, I just love this type of book and with just one of the boys, it has to be the best one I have ever read.
I’m currently in a reading slump so no book review today, but I will be talking about a topic very dear to my heart (and most book-readers) that is ‘Which format of book is best?’. Everyone has their own favourite but for me, it has to be classic paperback books. Continue reading “Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks and I”→
Synopsis: Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey. Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the ‘eighteen disease’ with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they’re forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably. So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates. But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can’t ever be acted upon because they’re both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B. And, oh, how lovely Plan B’s can be. Well, except for the psycho from Harper’s past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there’s the little issue that neither of them knows they’re in love with the other. Needless to say, Callum & Harper’s life just got a bit more complicated.
“One day, you and I are gonna’ wake up and be alright. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day. One day. I promise you.” – Callum Tate
Review: This book killed me. I don’t know how I didn’t die from heartbreak! Callum and Harper was so emotional but also shows the strength in the main characters. There was definitely a lot of suspense and tension in this book but my almost heart failure was worth it. Continue reading “Book Review: Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie”→
Synopsis: By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape–before her time runs out? Together with one of Linden’s servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?
Review: Oh this book messed me up… some parts of it irritated me somuch. There are part where I was shouting (in my head) “IT MAKES NO SENSE!!”. This book is also intense (and I mean intense, there is kidnapping, child brides and probably some Stockholm Syndrome). I feel like this is probably for the older tier YA readers because it will probably scar younger teens. Continue reading “Book Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano”→
Synopsis: Blue de la Cour has her life planned: hide the magic in her blood and continue trying to turn metal into gold so she can help her city’s homeless. But when her father is murdered and a cruel but powerful woman claims custody of Blue and her property, one wrong move could expose her—and doom her once and for all. The only one who can help? The boy she’s loathed since childhood: Prince Kellan. Kellan Renard, crown prince of Balavata, is walking a thin line between political success and devastating violence. Newly returned from boarding school, he must find a bride among the kingdom’s head families and announce his betrothal—but escalating violence among the families makes the search nearly impossible. He’s surprised to discover that the one person who makes him feel like he can breathe is Blue, the girl who once ruined all his best adventures. When mysterious forces lead to disappearances throughout Balavata, Blue and Kellan must work together to find the truth. What they discover will lead them to the darkest reaches of the kingdom, and to the most painful moments of their pasts. When romance is forbidden and evil is rising, can Blue save those she loves, even if it costs her everything?
Review: I rarely read books set in the past or historical fiction books ( I’ve only ever read 2, The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross and Riches to Rags by Casey L. Bound) but this book was incredible. If I could find more historical fiction books like this, I would definitely read more of this genre. This book was a retelling of Cinderella (fairy tale retellings are one of my favourite kind of books) but it had so much more than the basic story. Continue reading “Book Review: The Blood Spell by C.J. Redwine”→
These songs are personal to me, they remind me of this book (they may be songs that were popular during the time that I read this, with lyrics that relate to this book or it might just be random)
Synopsis: It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder. … Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.
Review: This book is definitely in my top 5. Cinderella is my favourite princess story, hands down, and this was the best retelling of it I have read (and believe me I have read all I could get my hands on). This is a contemporary retelling of Cinderella. Ella was recently in a car accident that killed her mother and has left her with scars and caused her to have to walk with a cane. Cinder is a cover name for Brian, Brian Oliver who is a famous Hollywood actor and playboy (and closet fantasy geek). Brian and Ella used to chat anonymously usually about their favourite book series, The Druid Prince. Ella is actually a book blogger and this book kind of encouraged me to create a blog (don’t worry I’m not expecting celebrities). When Ella doesn’t answer ‘Cinder’s’ messages for over 9 months, he assumes the worse then out of the blue she emails him explaining that she had been in a car accident (but she didn’t mention her scars or the fact that she is disabled). During this time, Brian acquired himself a fake fiance – his co-actor Kaylee Summers. His management team think that this will change people’s perspectives of Brian and making him seem more mature. Ella has been sent from a small city in Boston to Los Angeles to live with her father that walked out on her and her mother when she was 8. She has a stepmother and 2 stepsisters named Juliette and Anastasia who are all (by the media’s standards) perfect. Continue reading “Book Review: Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram”→
These songs are personal to me, they remind me of this book (they may be songs that were popular during the time that I read this, with lyrics that relate to this book or it might just be random)
Synopsis: The darker the sky, the brighter the stars. In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once thought Khalid a monster—a merciless killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain—but as she unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she could not deny. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart forever. Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where a deadly force is gathering against Khalid—a force set on destroying his empire and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Trapped between loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Using the burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. But to do it, she must evade enemies of her own to stay alive. The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true love again.
Review: This book had the perfect mix of fantasy, fighting and romance to please me. This is book the sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn and continues Shahrzad and Khalid’s story. (You probably shouldn’t read this review if you haven’t read The Wrath and The Dawn yet). The book starts off with Shahrzad being sent to a desert tribe whilst Khalid and his kingdom is in devastation after being struck by a storm; This storm caused by Jahandar in order to save his daughter. Shahrzad tries to break the curse that imprisons Khalid. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner herself by the people in the tribe as Tariq is set on destroying Khalid’s empire. She often creeps off into the night causing suspicion in the camp. during her nightly excursions, Shahrzad tries to find a cure for the curse whilst journeying to faraway lands with the help of her magic carpet. Shahrzad uses her magic carpet that was gifted to her by Musa to visit Khalid when she is on her nightly excursions however no one knows about the magic carpet apart from Khalid (after visiting him the first time) The whole story was gripping, with plot twists at unexpected places. Continue reading “Book Review: The Rose and The Dagger by Renée Ahdieh”→
Synopsis: The first time Elliott Youngblood spots Catherine Calhoun, he’s just a boy with a camera, and he’s never seen a sadder and more beautiful sight. Both Elliott and Catherine feel like outcasts, yet they find an easy friendship with each other. But when Catherine needs him most, Elliott is forced to leave town. Elliott finally returns, but he and Catherine are now different people. He’s a star high school athlete, and she spends all her free time working at her mother’s mysterious bed-and-breakfast. Catherine hasn’t forgiven Elliott for abandoning her, but he’s determined to win back her friendship…and her heart. Just when Catherine is ready to fully trust Elliott, he becomes the prime suspect in a local tragedy. Despite the town’s growing suspicions, Catherine clings to her love for Elliott. But a devastating secret that Catherine has buried could destroy whatever chance of happiness they have left.
Review: This book deserves to be hyped up. All the Little Lights is one of the first dozen books I read- and to my ‘books I’ve read’ library, is a classic. I literally read this once a week – not the whole book obviously but perhaps a couple of paragraphs or a chapter. I can actually quote some of this book by heart. Apparently this is a coming of age book however I think it veers more towards Young Adult side. The plot line is amazing and the plot twist at the end!! I’m telling you now, this book is a hidden gem. Continue reading “Book Review: All The Little Lights by Jamie McGuire”→
These songs are personal to me, they remind me of this book (they may be songs that were popular during the time that I read this, with lyrics that relate to this book or it might just be random)
Synopsis: Sephy is a Cross – a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought – a ‘colourless’ member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that’s as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Cross schools. Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by Noughts, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum – a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger.
Review: There is no doubt about it, this book changed my life. I found this book in my library and when I saw it I thought ‘Oh I’ve heard about this book before, should I read it?’. I hadn’t read a book for around 2 years before I read this and this book is what converted me into a bibliophile. Malorie Blackman’s words captured my heart and shattered it. This book was so moving and so emotional that I was literally distraught for about 2 weeks after I read it. Shockingly I didn’t cry, which to this day I still don’t know why I didn’t. Continue reading “Book Review: Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman”→
Diary of a Book Addict 