Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll


Meaningful Nonsense!

I have had Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sitting in the attic since I moved house when I was six years old, I have watched the original movie countless times, I’ve seen the new Tim Burton version and I even played ‘Big Alice’ in my school play when I was 11 and yet I have only just gotten around to reading the book for the first time.

Wonderland is a magical and mystical place where anything can happen. Some of the story lines, if you can even call them story lines, are so random that I wasn’t even sure what was going on. But that’s what I loved about this book. I didn’t read it to review it. I’m sure it has been reviewed to death at this stage! I just read it for fun and to take my mind off my forthcoming statistics exam. It did the job!

If you haven’t read it yet, I think you really should!

Describe in two words: Wonderful and Curious



Friday, 6 May 2011

Book Blogger Hop


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:
"Which book blogger would you most like to meet in real life?"

Well this is a bit of a difficult question for me considering I only started blogging a few weeks ago and my status as a Newbie is still very fresh. Not only that but I've been super busy doing my finals for Uni (which finish next week, forever!) that I haven't really got to know anyone yet.  So I think the best thing to do here is to mention my favourite blog/blogger that I have started following! 
I am really impressed with Missie from The Unread Reader. I LOVE her weekly meme on My Book Boyfriend. If you haven't heard of it, I recommend that you check it out pronto. It's a lot of fun.

Beyond the Higland Mist by Karen Marie Moning


The super long synopsis: An alluring laird. He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart – until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm’s length – but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve.

A Prisoner in Time. She had a perfect ‘no’ on her perfect lips for the notorious laird, but Hawk swore she would whisper his name with desire, begging for the passion he longed to ignite within her. Not even the barriers of time and space would keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about following the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne’s reservations were no match for the Hawk’s determination to keep her by his side…

Ok, so this was my first true ‘erotic romance’. I will admit that at first I found it kind of cringey and embarrassing, the synopsis especially so. But I went along with it and soon I was loving all the cheesy-ness and farfetched story lines that come with these romance novels. It is an incredibly easy book to read which is what I was looking for to help me get through my exams this week.

In 1513 Scotland, Aoibheal, Queen of the Fae, tells her court of a man of such power and beauty that no woman could refuse him, a man they call The Hawk. Overcome with jealously, the King sends his fool, sexy but sinister Adam Black to seek revenge on The Hawk.  Adam travels through time and brings back the perfect woman who hates all beautiful men. Adrienne’s rebuffs make Hawk try harder, and when the Adam, sets out to seduce Adrienne, sparks fly and the game shifts into a higher dimension.

Hawk is an example of the true alpha-male, and as I mentioned in My Book Boyfriend post he is handsome, strong and masculine in every way, but with a past that makes him vulnerable. Adrienne was messed around by a man in her past and as a result is stronger, stubborn and more independent. They are both likeable characters, although I feel that The Hawk was a bit foolish near the end.

One thing that bugged me a little was the over use of the word silvery or silvery-grey to describe different things. For one, Adrienne’s hair was slivery blond and her eyes a silvery grey. It only bugged me because when I read that someone has silvery hair I imagine grey hair. And that isn’t how I wanted to picture Adrienne. Only a minor fault.

I’m giving this one 4/5 and would definitely recommend it. There are quite a few books in the series and I have heard great things about Moning’s Fever series which I will be starting sometime next week :)

Describe it is two words? Romantic and Magical


Thursday, 5 May 2011

Theme Thursdays [Female Person] – 05May11

Theme Thursdays



Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event hosted by Reading between Pages that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:
  • A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
  • Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
  • Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
  • It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
    Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”
This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

So...I'm still reading the Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning. (Nearing the end which is looking promising!) The theme this Thursday is Female Person.

"He stared at the vision before him. Silver-blond hair tumbled around the most beautiful face he had ever beheld. Her face was heart-shaped, her jaw delicate yet suprisingly strong. Her lips were full and velvety plum-rich and she had spitting silver-gray eyes, She didn't seem to have a clue about her own beauty. Or she didn't care. She had creamy skin, beautiful shoulders, a slim waist, sweet flare of hips and legs that climbed all the way up to heaven."

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

My Book Boyfriend



My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie of The Unread Reader where we can gush and swoon over the boys in our books all we like!

Sidheach James Lyon Douglas, a.k.a The Hawk. Hawk is described as Perfect; handsome, strong and masculine in every way, but with a past that makes him vulnerable. No woman can refuse him. But then he meets Adrienne who has a thing against beautiful men and he would sell his warrior soul to possess her. The Hawk may seem like a womanizer (well...he is really) but he is also a bit of a softie when it comes to Adrienne :)

Hawk: "My Heart. I didn't just pick a sweet turn of phrase to name you, but spoke from my soul when I named you thus. Without my heart I couldn't live. And I couln't breathe without you."

Adrienne: "Are you a man who has more than one heart?"

Hawk:  "Nay. Only this one. But it's bitter and dark now from the pain I've brought you."

I will be reviewing this book next week when my exams are finally over!



Saturday, 30 April 2011

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald


It took me a while to get through this one. I’ve been super busy in University but I’m glad I kept on reading. I’m sure most people had to read this book at some stage in school. But having gone to an all girls' school we stuck to Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice.

Synopsis: The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

The story is told from Nick Caraway’s point of view. Nick lives on the tip of West Egg and knows only what he sees or is told about Gatsby. It doesn’t take long for him to finally meet the mysterious Gatsby and the story unfolds beautifully from there. Fitzgerald presents us with the American Dream and how it does not become reality for all. His excellently crafted characters put their faith and their trust in unstable things such as wealth, social superiority, commercialism, the power of culture and their typical American idealism.  Essentially The Great Gatsby is a tale of a man endeavoring to win back a lost love.  Nick, unlike the other characters, is the only person to show human compassion and to grieve the tragedies that befall others.  Each character is believable and distinct and the writing is beautiful. 3/5

Describe it in two words: Tragic and Beautiful

Thursday, 28 April 2011

Made My Week!!


I could not be anymore excited!! The new Harry Potter movie trailer was released by WarnerBros this morning!!! I was in the library 'studying' when I discovered it. It was a serious challenge not to scream out in pure joy! I have been studying 10 hours a day this week so this is just what I needed to cheer me up :)

Although, on the down side I am hugely distracted now. I find myself in a routine of study for a while, watch the HP trailer, study, trailer, study, trailer! Once these exams are over I see myself re-reading the Harry Potter series :)