GIVEAWAY!! 100 Followers!

Alright guys and girls, I'm hosting a Giveaway to celebrate my (soon to be) 100 followers! My very first giveaway! Gah excitement!

The Prize: The winner will have the option to receive one of the following books from Book Depository.


Passion by Lauren Kate (Read Review)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Read Review)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Read Review)

One Day by David Nicholls (Read Review)

I chose these books for a few reasons. Passion because it's new and I know a lot of people have it on TBR list. City of Bones because I recently read the series and I feel everyone who loves urban fantasy, YA romance needs to read it. Water for Elephants simply because it is a gorgeous story and One Day because it is my favourite book of 2011 and I still can't get it out of my head! Check out my reviews if you want to know more about the books!

The GIVEAWAY is US, Canada and International! (Or Where Ever Book Depository Ships)
Winners will be selected using Random.org, and will be posted here on July 21st.
When the winner is picked, I will notify them both on my blog and send them an email.  They will have 24 hours to reply otherwise I'll pick a new winner.

RULES:
1. Become a follower of my blog
2. Leave a comment on this post.
3. Fill out the FORM
4. Must be 13 or older
5. The Book Depository must ship to you

Thanks guys! <3

Review: Passion by Lauren Kate

GoodReads Summary: Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . . 

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last. 

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history. 

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

I have conflicting thoughts on this one! Being a big fan of both Fallen and Torment I was super excited about Passion. Over all I thought it was a good read but I found most of the story was unnecessary and unrelated to what the previous books started. None of the questions from the last two books were even touched on and I missed the interaction between Luce and all her friends. 

In this third book, Luce visits her previous incarnations in order to uncover the truth about her relationship with Daniel and the curse they share. At the beginning I found this a bit tiresome but as she started to go back further in time they got more thrilling and I found myself enjoying all the jumping around in time. As sad as it was I loved reading the scenes where Luce goes up in flames in front of Daniel. It gave me so much insight into Daniel's world and how much he loves Luce and the suffering he goes through just to be with her. I was fascinated by Daniel's chapters which broke the slightly repetitive cycle of Luce's ones. It was all very romantic! 

However, Luce did frustrate me at times. Her inability to listen to any ones warnings or advice, the fact that she never questions this Bill character and the way she runs off through time to find proof that Daniel's love for her is true?! There are certainly some faults.

As a story on it's own, ya I loved it; but as a story that's part of a series I wasn't impressed. I loved reading all the soppy scenes between Luce and Daniel but the only parts in Passion that are truly relevant to the previous two books are the last few pages. I still have high hopes for the final book. She has the story lined up well for a big finish. Because I like the series so much and have high expectations for the last book I'm still going to give this one 4 out of 5 stars. 

Tuesday Teaser

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along. 


Here's how to play:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

This week my teaser comes from The Wrong Path by Vivian Marie Aubin du Paris (Page 1).


A cold sweat broke out over her body as she heard a loud scraping noise reverberate its way into her room. It wasn‘t a familiar sound, but she recognized it immediately.
Someone was climbing up the tree outside.

Books to Movies Challenge #1 - The boy in the stripped pajamas

Last weekend I finally got around to starting the Books to Movies Challenge I'm doing. The challenge is hosted by Two Bibliomaniacs.The book and movie I chose was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.

GoodReads Summary: Berlin 1942
When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.


But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

Well first off, the blurb doesn't give much away about the content of this book. The story is told in the 3rd person, depicting the Holocaust through the eyes of a 9 year old boy. In his innocence Bruno refers to The Fuhrer as 'The Fury' and Auschwitz as 'Out-With'. But as an adult reading this book, you can see past what Bruno hears and sees and can understand the true horror of what is going on around him. Something that really bothered me through out the book was that Bruno read like a 6 year old, not a 9 year old German boy who was old enough to join the Hitler Youth.This really brought the book down for me.

However, Boyne does a beautiful job of conveying the horror and violence of the holocaust without actually describing it on the page. The story picked up at the end when Bruno's ignorance and his loyalty to his new friend Shmuel sends him on a quest that has a devastating outcome which left me in tears. Boyne handled it sensitively and showed us that it was not just millions of Innocent Jews that suffered in Nazi Germany, but naive people like Bruno, who just wanted to help his friend find his father. I'm giving this one 3 out 5 stars.

The Movie

I have similar thoughts about the movie; wasn't that impressed but it picked up at the ending with some very moving final scenes. To be honest, I wouldn't watch the movie again. I cannot understand why all the German Soldiers and German people spoke with British accents? There wasn't a hint of a German accent. The movie also lacked a lot of content from the book, such as Bruno referring to The Fury and Out-With. Overall the movie is OK, the book was better but I wasn't hugely impressed with either. I guess I had heard such good things about them, my expectations got too high. I'd only give the movie 2 out of 5 Stars.

Would love to hear people's thoughts?

I'm Back!

What a disturbing two weeks it has been for me. I was locked out of my blog due to some sneaky malware lurking around one of my images. But don't fear, it's all gone now! Unfortunately I had to delete my last three reviews on Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series. I have them back up now but I lost all my lovely comments that people left so I apologise for that.

It is so good to be back! I stopped going online altogether because I missed my blog so much, so I have a lot of catching up to do on the blogs that I follow. So anyway, I better get going, I have some reviews to write and people to stalk. Happy Blogging x

Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

GoodReads Summary: To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.
As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?

So much is going on in this book! It felt like every paragraph ended with a cliffhanger. There was just so much to take in and I loved it all! The term tortured hero couldn’t apply more to Jace in this book. His character is darker this time round but he is still fundamentally a good guy. I loved how all the characters seemed to mature so much in this book, in particular Simon and Clary. It is fast paced and packed with extraordinary descriptive visions and creatures. Clare has created a magnificent and wild world that is completely believable.

The story is full of twists, one huge one in the form of Sebastian! It delves further into the relationship between Magnus and Alec, much to my delight. I’d like to see more on them in City of Fallen Angels. Magnus is such a character with all his quirky clothes and blue glitter.

At this stage all of the books have just blurred together for me, but I still think this one is my favourite because it centered around Jace and Clary a lot more than the other ones. I usually don’t include quotes in my reviews but I’m just going to add a few that I keep gushing over!


"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."


"And I'm suppose to sit by while you date boys and fall in love with someone else, get married...?" His voice tightened. "And meanwhile, I'll die a little bit more every day, watching."

And just one more quote for some Lols!
"I am a man" he told her, "and men do not consume pink beverages. Get thee gone woman, and bring me something brown." – Jace

Over all, I am adoring this series and am delighted with the end of this book. I was completely sucked into the world of shadow hunters and the relationship between Jace and Clary. However I’ll be taking a break from Young Adult for a while, I can’t handle all this teenage angst. I’m giving it 5 stars, and I HIGHLY recommend this series!

Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Goodreads Summary:  Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father? In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My eyes feel like they are going to fall out my head. I have not put this book down once today. City of Ashes is the second book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series. I loved this book!
The story carried on from where it left off in the first book but this time it delved further into the lives and relationships of all the characters, even the minor ones. I don’t want to go into too much detail in case I spoil the first book for people.  I was very excited about the new relationship between Alec and Magnus the warlock and am looking forward to seeing how it progresses through the series. 

The plots are well written. It's fast pace and very detailed. Many parts kept me on the edge of my seat while trying to read faster to see what happens next! I am still in emotional turmoil over the relationship between Jace (whom I love a bit too much) and Clary. Despite their creepy situation I am still routing for them and I still have hope that there has been a huge and ugly misunderstanding! (If you haven’t read City of Bones then you have no idea what I’m rambling on about; I don’t want any spoilers!) There is even more conflict, tension, jealousy and adventure in book two which makes things so interesting. 


I’m giving this one 5 stars! 

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Blurb: It’s after dark in New York city, and Clary Fray is seeing things. The best-looking guy in the nightclub just stabbed a boy to death – but the victim has vanished into thin air. Her mother has disappeared, and a hideous monster is lurking in her apartment. With her life spiraling into darkness, Clary realizes that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and the secretive Shawdowhunters – a war in which she has a fateful role to play.


I know I’m a late bloomer in terms of starting The Mortal Instruments series. But hey, better late than never!


What did I think about City of Bones? I thought it was brilliant; although I have literally just read the last page and I’m still feeling very shell shocked about the revelation at the end! I will admit I started this book a few years ago and just couldn’t get past the first few chapters; the same thing happened this time round. At the start I found Clary to be foolish and naïve, following knife yielding men around a nightclub?! But once I read past that and got to know her better I really warmed to her and began to appreciate how awesome the story and characters are.


After meeting shadowhunters, Jace, Alec and Isabelle, Clary’s life as she knows it is turned upside down as she races to save her mother. The world Cassandra Clare has created is seamless and believable. She included everything; vampires, werewolves, demons, faeries, witches and warlocks. 


Clary is funny and refreshingly strong. She doesn’t let others walk all over her and she says it how it is. At the same time she is an ordinary girl that any reader can easily relate to.  Jace is beautiful (and he knows it!), arrogant, sarcastic and pretty much a badass. There is an instant spark between the two and their banter-filled dialogue often had me laughing out loud. I definitely fell hard for Jace! Arrogant but Vulnerable is my favourite!


If you like urban fantasy then this is the book for you. I have two more books on my list before I can read City of Ashes in which I am praying the horrific revelation at the end of this book will be sorted out, although I can’t see it happening. I am looking forward to reading what happens next regardless! This book has it all really; romance, mystery, adventure, violence and that twist at the end! 


I'm giving this book 5 Stars!

Teaser Tuesday

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along.

Here's how to play:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

This week my teaser is from a book I have literally just started 5 minutes ago.The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel.

"She lay perfectly still, eyes wide open, watching the darkness thicken and congeal around her. She was afraid to move, almost afraid to breathe."

 

Book Blogger Hop

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy for Books and is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!

This week's question is:

“Who is the ONE author that you are DYING to meet?

I'd love to meet J. K. Rowling and Diana Gabaldon! 

I'm joining the hop a bit late this weekend. I've been working a lot this week and when I'm not working I'm buried in Cassandra Clare's mortal instruments series! Haven't had much time for blogging! Hope everyone is well.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along.

Here's how to play:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

I've been bold this week...I am meant to be reading Darkfever but it just couldn't hold my attention so I went out this morning and bought City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. I just have to know what is going to happen between Jace and Clary! At the moment I'm going through a YA phase but to keep my blog versatile I like to alternate between Adult fiction and YA, not this week I'm afraid! Anyway I digress; on to the teaser!

"He half-closed his eyes as if in relief, and as his eyelashes lowered, she saw how angular his cheekbones looked. He had lost weight, she thought, and was about to say so when he leaned down and kissed her."

 

Fast Forward Monday

Fast Forward Monday Meme is hosted by Mysteriousrose over at Mysterious Books and gives us a chance to talk about what we will be reading/doing during the coming week!

Currently I'm reading DarkFever by Karen Marie Mooning but I have to admit I'm not enjoying it :( It is not what I expected it to be and I am finding it difficult to relate or sympathize with the main character. I will keep reading and hopefully it will pick up soon.

This week I hope to start reading Jane Eyre for the Books to Movies challenge hosted by Two Bibliomaniacs. The movie is coming out in Ireland next month and the trailer looks amazing so I'm very excited to get started on the book!  It will be my first book/movie for the challenge.

If I have enough time this week I'll be taking part in Teaser Tuesday, My Book Boyfriend on Wednesday and Theme Thursday!

Happy Blogging!

Book Blogger Hop

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy for Books and is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!

This week's question is:

“Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!”

Oooo fun question. Last week I was browsing through Andrea and Tevya’s archive at Reading Lark and I found this gem; Their Book Boyfriend post from last April featuring the one and only Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series.  They included some of my favourite quotes that took me back to the good old days when I read Outlander for the first time.

"Does it bother you that I'm not a virgin?" He hesitated a moment before answering.
"Well, no," he said slowly, "so long as it doesna bother you that I am." He grinned at my drop-jawed expression, and backed toward the door. "Reckon one of us should know what they're doing," he said. The door closed softly behind him; clearly the courtship was over.

That was my favourite post by a different blogger. If I am to pick one of my own posts I'd say my favourite is my review of The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. There is nothing special about the review itself but the book stayed with me for days afterwards. 

What was your favourite post last month?

My Book Boyfriend #5

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie of The Unread Reader in which we swoon over boys in books! 

This week My Book Boyfriend is Jace Wayland from City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Since I have only been reading an average of 10 pages a day, Jace and I are still in the early stages of our relationship, but he shows a lot of potential. 

Stats: He’s a Shadow Hunter with blond hair and eyes the colour of golden syrup. He hates cucumber, bergamot and liars.

"Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?'
Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."
..."At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."
"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting." 

"Here." Jace leaned forward and touched his fingers to the side of her temple, so gently that a flush crept up her face. "Everything we need to know is locked up in your head, under those pretty red curls."