Beautiful chaos - Review (Repost with Dangerous creatures info)

Beautiful chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 

The Caster chronicles book three
Available now.
www.penguin.co.uk 

What's it about?Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?
For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.
Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

My review:

If you haven't read the first two books then there be spoilers ahoy!

I'll start by saying I really loved the first book in this series 'Beautiful creatures' and, aside from the first 100 pages, I loved the second book 'Beautiful darkness' so I feel bad admitting I felt slightly disappointed with this third instalment, but I can't figure out why to be honest, I think maybe it's because now that we're up the third book I expected it to pick up the pace a little, perhaps have a little more action, this one just felt very 'same' to the others, the story is still fresh, it's more the formula of the book that felt the same. I did enjoy the book and I liked the story but I wasn't excited by it, I found that I could put it down and go to sleep at bed time, something I couldn't do with the first two.
I still love Ethan though, I've read a few books with male leads now and he's still my favourite, and I don't mean because he's hot, he's way to young for me lol but he's a natural southern gentleman and he's just so caring and good to Lena, they're also one of my favourite lit couples.
I also really loved Link is this one, I've always enjoyed his friendship with Ethan but he's really starting to come out as his own character now and he's also really funny.
So, to conclude, whilst I wasn't glued to this one I did enjoy it and the ending was killer! I'm excited for the next book in The Caster chronicles and hopeful that the pace will pick up.

My thoughts on the cover
What I do like about these covers are that they aren't another girl-on-the-cover set, they're different but at the same time they're a little boring, I do like the yellow and the great font which is actually raised and shiny silver so it really stands out from the crowd.

Favourite quotes

The hallway in front of them as an ex-siren and a quarter incubus conquered Jackson High. I wondered what Amma would have to say about that.
Sweet baby in a manger. Heaven help us all. - Ethan

I had always hoped things would change in my town, until they started changing. Now I wanted Gatlin to go back to the boring town I'd known all my life. The way things were when I hated the way things were. Back when I could see things coming, and nothing ever came.
I didn't want to see this - Ethan

If, like me, you're already a fan of this series, then check this out!

Dangerous creatures

The first in the spin-off series is available to preorder and will be released on May 20th 2014.

A new series returns to the world of Beautiful Creatures. Some loves are cursed...others are dangerous.

Ridley Duchannes will be the first to tell you that she's a bad girl. She's Dark. She's a Siren. You can never trust her, or even yourself when she's around. Lucky for her, Wesley "Link" Lincoln can never seem to remember that; quarter Incubus or not, his heart is Mortal when it comes to Ridley. When Link heads to New York City to start a music career, Ridley goes along for the ride-and she has her own reasons. As if leaving small-town Gatlin for the big city, trying to form a band, and surviving life with a partially reformed Siren isn't hard enough already, Link soon learns he has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay.

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of Beautiful Creatures, are back and casting another magical spell. Their signature mixture of mystery, suspense, and romance, along with a dash of fun and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

Find the authors

The caster chronicles website

Kami Garcia's website

Kami Garcia on Facebook

Kami Garcia on Twitter

Kami Garcia on goodreads

Margaret Stohl's website

Margaret Stohl on Facebook

Margaret Stohl on Twitter

Margaret Stohl on goodreads

Showcase Sunday - The return!

Hello! Well it's been ten long months since I last did a Showcase post and even longer since I made a vlog but I'm back! I've decided to start doing them again, monthly rather than weekly so here's what I got in April.

Please, do leave links and/or comments to let me know what you got this past week or month because I'm nosy!

Books mentioned

For review

Young, gifted and dead by Lucy Carver

Cracks and Fragments by Caroline Green

Love letters to the dead by Ava Dellaira

Gifted

Naomi and Ely's no kiss list by Rachel Coen and David Levithan

Resistance by Jenna Black

Bought

An abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska by John Green

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Dust city by Robert Paul Weston

Dreams of Gods and monsters by Laini Taylor

Forgot to mention I also got a couple of new books on my Kindle too - The perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Where she went by Gayle Forman

Thanks for watching!

Tease - Review

Tease by Amanda Maciel

Available 1st May 2014

www.bookswithbite.co.uk 

What's it about?

A gripping, controversial debut about the nature of bullying.

Emma Putnam is dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault.

At least, that's what everyone seems to think when Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's shocking suicide. But Sara is sure she hasn't done anything wrong, because Emma brought it on herself. Sara is adamant that she was the victim - not Emma.

Inspired by a true story, Tease is a thought-provoking must-read that will haunt you long after the last page.

My review

Tease was a gripping and intense novel. But not only is it a riveting read, its also one to get you thinking, specifically about the nature of bullying. The book is told from the perspective of Sara, who is blamed - along with her friends - for the suicide of a young girl because they bullied her so intensely. Going into the book, you'd think you'd hate her and find her a difficult narrator to follow but in truth, its the opposite. As I was taken back and forth between the present and the events leading up to Emma's suicide, I felt myself starting to understand her more and while I didn't agree with everything she did, I could see how it happened and empathise with her. She gets led astray by peer pressure and is mean to someone else to make herself feel better, something she knows deep down is wrong, and yet can't seem to stop herself either. But its about the end that I found most important, I was waiting to see what she'd learn from the whole tragedy and if she would feel sorry. Of course I can't spoil that for you so you'll have to see for yourself the conclusions she comes to and how she decides to go on from there but it really is a riveting read and the such a sensitive subject was handled with poise, I really have to give props to the author for such a brilliant job.
What I would like to have seen more of though, was Emma. Although the story is told by Sara, we do of course go back to events that involve Emma and whilst all the other characters are talking she never seems to say much or give much of a reaction to anything. I could never tell if the bullying made her angry, we know she was sad because she's committed suicide, but she doesn't come off as sad either, more passive, she never defends herself but she never hides away from the group either, it was hard to get a grip on her, I'd love to have known what she was thinking sometimes but they this story is about Sara I guess, so I suppose its more for the reader to think on.
But it still got five stars from me and I can't wait to see more from this author.

Find the author
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Beautiful darkness - Quickie Review

Beautiful darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 

The Caster chronicles book two
Available now
www. penguin.co.uk 

What's it about?One night in the rain, Ethan Wate opened his eyes and fell in love with Lena Duchannes. His life would never be the same.
Lena is a Caster and her family is locked in a supernatural civil war: full of darkness and demons. On her sixteenth birthday Lena made a terrifying choice, which now haunts her day and night.
And as her seventeenth birthday approaches Lena and Ethan face even greater danger. A Caster and a Mortal can never truly be together.
Every kiss is a curse.
Ethan's next heartbeat could be his last.
It is their curse now . . .

My review

Having read all four books in this brilliant series I can honestly say that in my opinion Beautiful darkness was the weakest in the quartet for me. Although I did still enjoy it, I found it to be a slower pace and the first 100 pages had a really sombre tone to them. That being said I was still glad I made it through the book, it gets more interesting as Ethan sets out on his quest and discovers more about Lena's world and even things he never knew about his own world and the people he knows. By the time I turned the last pages I was dying to get my hands on book three to see what was next in store for Ethan and Lena and if they'd get a happy ever after. Despite any feelings I may have had about the book being slow, it's still important to the story as a whole and isn't just a bridge book that can be missed.

If, like me, you're already a fan of this series, then check this out!

Dangerous creatures

The first in the spin-off series is available to preorder and will be released on May 20th 2014.

A new series returns to the world of Beautiful Creatures. Some loves are cursed...others are dangerous.

Ridley Duchannes will be the first to tell you that she's a bad girl. She's Dark. She's a Siren. You can never trust her, or even yourself when she's around. Lucky for her, Wesley "Link" Lincoln can never seem to remember that; quarter Incubus or not, his heart is Mortal when it comes to Ridley. When Link heads to New York City to start a music career, Ridley goes along for the ride-and she has her own reasons. As if leaving small-town Gatlin for the big city, trying to form a band, and surviving life with a partially reformed Siren isn't hard enough already, Link soon learns he has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay.

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of Beautiful Creatures, are back and casting another magical spell. Their signature mixture of mystery, suspense, and romance, along with a dash of fun and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

Find the authors

The caster chronicles website

Kami Garcia's website

Kami Garcia on Facebook

Kami Garcia on Twitter

Kami Garcia on goodreads

Margaret Stohl's website

Margaret Stohl on Facebook

Margaret Stohl on Twitter

Margaret Stohl on goodreads

The wilderness - Review

The wilderness by C.J. Harper

The disappeared book two.

Available now

simonandschuster.co.uk 

What's it about?

On the run after the uprising at the Academy, Blake and Kay have ended up with the criminals and the crazies in the place of childhood nightmares, the Wilderness. Here, in a ghost city, they find a bloodthirsty captain training a ruthless Resistance who are everything Blake has hoped for, except for one thing: they're a bunch of kids. Blake thinks he can use the Resistance's plans to get close enough to kill his father, The Leader, ending his brutal and bloody treatment of the underclass. Simple. But what Blake discovers about his father and the devastating methods of the Resistance is anything by simple. Who is controlling the country? And who can he really trust?

My review

I don't know why, but it felt like I waited a million years for this book, when in truth, it was about ten months ago that I read the first, I guess I've just been that excited to read it and luckily it didn't disappoint. The first book, The disappeared, was a great introduction to this world and we got to learn a great deal about it from Blake because he started his life in one part of it and ends up seeing a whole new side to his world when he is forced into an Academy. In The wilderness we see and learn even more when he escapes into the Wilderness and joins the resistence, we literally see the other side of the fence and how people live there and as usual its not all as it seems. I liked the way the story played out and I liked how the book ended, basically I really, really liked it! C.J. Harper is great at telling a story and building up the tension until the final moments.
I have to be honest though, sometimes Blake got on my nerves, he's way to negative about everything and can be pretty big headed and judgemental but his heart is in the right place and his budding relationship with Kay is all kinds of cute so I forgive him because he does at least try to do the right thing. Kay on the other hand I really like, she's a hardass and smart but people always underestimate her because of a limited vocabulary which is a shame but something she can use to her advantage. I also have to mention new guy Ven because I just loved hating him lol He's a total dick out loud but his sarcasm made me laugh and a lot of the time I could see through it, by the end I felt like I could read him, no pun intended!
So, yeah, if you liked the first book then don't miss this because its frigging awesome!

Find the author
Twitter
Goodreads

Feed - Review

Feed by M.J. Howes

Available now

www.doublecluck.co.uk 

What's it about?

Fourteen-year-old friends Lola and Patrick are in desperate trouble - along with everybody else. Monstrous enemy invaders have increased their human raids. Those taken face a terrible fate: like animals they will be transported, processed and eaten in a food chain like no other - unless Lola and Patrick can find a way to save them.

My review

As soon as I heard what Feed was about, I knew I had to read it! Maybe that's slightly morbid of me since it's about man eating aliens but that's just how I roll! I love anything with aliens in to be honest so it's always an instant pull for me when a book has them in but this one also sounded fun and I was interested to see how people cope when they find they're no longer top of the food chain. Personally I thought the author handled the storyline brilliantly, its for younger readers so there isn't much gore, not that I don't love gore! But anyone with a weak stomach should be able to read it and you don't have to worry about your kids having nightmares.
But beyond the story, it also makes you think. Lola is pretty indignant when she finds herself in a cage and discovers everyone is separated by age and size, how the aliens fatten people up before eating them, but isn't that exactly what we do to animals? Fatten up chickens for juicy breast meat and eat younger animals because their meat is more tender than an adult. So why does it seem such a shock when it happens to humans? When a far more intelligent species decides we're the tastiest thing on planet Earth why are we so horrified? We can argue that its because we're sentient beings, we're smart right? But compared to the Arlatans' intellect we're about as stupid to them as a cow is to us.
All these and more are things that came to mind when I was reading this book and while those points aren't at the forefront of the story, they're things that go by Lola's mind too but I was glad she didn't give up like some others and was constantly fighting back, trying to find her friends and trying to escape, these things made her an admirable character and I liked her a lot, she showed why humans are different, because we fight back, we're resilient as a race because we have that survival instinct.
It really was a great book, with a well written story, characters you wish were your friends and the ability to really make you think.

Find the author
Twitter
Goodreads

Beautiful Creatures - Review

Beautiful creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

The Caster chronicles book one.

Available now.

www.penguin.co.uk 

What's it about?

In Ethan Wate's hometown there lies the darkest of secrets . . .

There is a girl.

Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head. Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes.

There is a curse.

On the Sixteenth Moon, the Sixteenth Year, the Book will take what it's been promised. And no one can stop it.

In the end, there is a grave.

Lena and Ethan become bound together by a deep, powerful love. But Lena is cursed and on her sixteenth birthday, her fate will be decided.

Ethan never even saw it coming.

My review

Beautiful creatures is a gripping novel and an excellent start to a series. The book might be a mighty 576 pages but I was hooked right the way through and found myself being easily pulled into Lena's world along with Ethan. I was captivated by both the light and dark sides of the Caster universe. I first read Beautiful creatures when it was originally released at the end of 2009 and to this day Ethan is still my favourite lead male character ever, and not in a book boyfriend way either, more like a big brother. His dedication and unwavering loyalty to Lena is amazing and he doesn't just love her, he's completely in love with her, they always felt meant to be. He has big dreams for his future, he's smart and well read, I'll always have a soft spot for him.

First time authors Kami and Margaret managed to create an immersive world in their first novel together, full of interesting characters like Link, Macon and Ridley, who all had stories of their own to add. It was a book I really enjoyed and will always be one of my favourite series'.

If, like me, you're already a fan of this series, then check this out!

Dangerous creatures

The first in the spin-off series is available to preorder and will be released on May 20th 2014.

A new series returns to the world of Beautiful Creatures. Some loves are cursed...others are dangerous.

Ridley Duchannes will be the first to tell you that she's a bad girl. She's Dark. She's a Siren. You can never trust her, or even yourself when she's around. Lucky for her, Wesley "Link" Lincoln can never seem to remember that; quarter Incubus or not, his heart is Mortal when it comes to Ridley. When Link heads to New York City to start a music career, Ridley goes along for the ride-and she has her own reasons. As if leaving small-town Gatlin for the big city, trying to form a band, and surviving life with a partially reformed Siren isn't hard enough already, Link soon learns he has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay.

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of Beautiful Creatures, are back and casting another magical spell. Their signature mixture of mystery, suspense, and romance, along with a dash of fun and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

Find the authors

The caster chronicles website

Kami Garcia's website

Kami Garcia on Facebook

Kami Garcia on Twitter

Kami Garcia on goodreads

Margaret Stohl's website

Margaret Stohl on Facebook

Margaret Stohl on Twitter

Margaret Stohl on goodreads

Fire and flood - Review

Fire and flood by Victoria Scott

Fire and flood book one.

Available now

www.doublecluck.co.uk 

What's it about?

Tella's brother is dying. He's got cancer, and Tella is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. When an invitation arrives for Tella to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a deadly competition that will lead her through treacherous jungle and scorching desert, she doesn't think twice. Because the prize is a cure to any illness. But Tella will be facing more than just the elements.

My review

Fire and flood was a brilliant book! It's an excellent read with an exciting story and fun leading character. From the first introduction of Tella, I liked her, although I did find her to be a bit flaky and wasn't sure how she'd possibly pass the trials she would be facing in the Brimstone bleed.
But she proved me wrong quite early one when she shows what she's willing to go through to win. Sure she complains about being smelly and dirty and even manages to have some boy drama, but she does it in a way that is funny and didn't come off as whining and pushed through every time, reminding herself what she's there for as motivation.
As the book went on, I really couldn't predict what would come next, what twist in the game would leave our little group trying to decide their next move and how they would get to the end of each round of the game. And the other indecisions and troubles they face, such as them working as group when at the same time they're actually each other's competition, when do you choose to break off on your own or decide if your going to double cross the people you've made friends with to make sure you win. I felt the dynamics were handled really well and you never can tell what anyone's going to do when they're all on the cusp of friendship and betrayal simultaneously.
I seriously cannot wait for book two and jump back in the competition with the hope that somehow all my favourites will win!

Find the author
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Goodreads

Win £100 and a copy of Taken!

Hello! Today I wanted to share with you a little competition that author David Massey, author of the brilliant Torn, is running throughout the month of April. You could win £100 just by simply reading and reviewing (good or bad!) his latest release Taken!

The competition is open to UK residents and here's what to do:

1. Buy or borrow TAKEN ISBN 978-1-908435-73-6

2. Read it! Then post your review on Amazon UK.

3. Email your contact details to the author. (Including Amazon user name) at 100Quid@davidmasseybooks.com

4. Make sure 'Taken Giveaway' is the subject of your email.

5. Wait for May 1st when the winner will be announced on David Massey's blog!

Taken

A young crew of five are toughing it out together, sailing around the world on a gruelling charity challenge. They are used to being pushed to the limit, but nothing could have prepared them for being kidnapped.

When they are taken hostage by a notorious warlord and his band of child soldiers, the trip of a lifetime turns into a one-way journey into the heart of the African jungle.

When hope is all you have, survival is all you can fight for...

In addition to this I also have a paperback copy of the book to give away myself!

This give away is also just for UK residents and will end in one week, the winner will be announced back on this post and will be contacted via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
So, with such an amazing opportunity, what are you doing still reading this blog post, enter the giveaway and go read Taken instead!