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Showing posts from February, 2012

February 2012 Round-Up

So I decided I'd like to do a little round up post at the end of each month, just to list everything I've read that month, what I liked best, what I didn't like so much, that kind of stuff. It's more for me than for you, but I thought you might like to see because I like to see what other people have been reading... ;P So here's what I've read this month!       1. Falling Fast  by Sophie McKenzie 2. Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick  by Joe Schreiber 3. The Kissing Game  by Aidan Chambers 4. The Killables by Gemma Malley 5. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews 6. Wonder  by RJ Palacio 7. Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters  by Meredith Zeitlin 8. Shatter Me  by Tahereh Mafi 9. Vixen  by Jillian Larkin These are just the complete books I've read this month, I'm currently half way through Forgiven by Jana Oliver, so technically this month I've read 9 and a half books! Not too bad, I don't think, though

Book Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Title:  Pandemonium  Author:  Lauren Oliver Series:  Delirium, #2 Pages:  375 Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton Date of Publication:  1st March 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: Lauren Oliver captivated readers with Delirium, the first book in a thrilling dystopian trilogy in which Lena Haloway dared to fall in love with Alex and escape the cure, the government-mandated procedure that renders a person immune to the disease of love. Lena and Alex staked their lives on leaving their oppressive society, but only Lena broke free. Pandemonium continues Lena’s gripping story. After escaping from Portland, Maine, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community, where she transforms herself into a warrior for the resistance. A future without Alex is unimaginable, but Lena pushes forward and fights, both for him and for a world in which love is no longer considered a disease. Swept up in a volatile mix of revolutionaries and counterinsurgents,

In My Mailbox #44

Hey everyone! I haven't done an In My Mailbox in absolutely ages... So I have rather a lot to show you all! I probably should make a vlog to show you everything, but I'm lazy and can't be bothered so I'm just posting pictures (But, they are special Instagram pictures, which I've just discovered and I LOVE it xD ). So sorry for the lack of vlog, but I hope you like the Instagram pictures instead ;D For Review: Forgiven by Jana Oliver (Macmillan, March 1st 2012) The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams (Simon & Schuster, April 26th 2012) Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Random House, July 19th 2012) Unravellling by Elizabeth Norris (HarperCollins, June 7th 2012) Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud by Andrew Lane (Macmillan, released) The Kissing Game by Aidan Chambers (Random House, March 1st 2012) Struck by Jennifer Bosworth (Random House, May 10th 2012) Vixen by Jillian Larkin (Random House, March 1st 2012) The Killables by Gemma Malley (Hodd

Book Review: Wonder by RJ Palacio

Title:  Wonder Author:  RJ Palacio Series:  Pages:  310 Publisher:  Random House Date of Publication:  1st March 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels. My Thoughts: Wonder

Book Review: The Kissing Game by Aidan Chambers

Title:  The Kissing Game Author:  Aidan Chambers Series:  Standalone Pages:  224 Publisher:  Bodley Head Date of Publication:  1st March 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: United under the banner of flash fiction, this is a collection of stories, or little 'cells', complete in themselves but connected by the overarching themes of betrayal and revenge. All featuring teenagers and often with an unexpected twist, these frighteningly realistic stories will take you to the very edge and beyond. My Thoughts: I don't really know what to think about this book. I don't know whether to think that I completely missed the point of it, and that I've just not picked up on a fundamental theme within the book, or whether there just is no point. There were a whole bunch of short stories, flash fiction, that seemed to have nothing in common with each other, and I don't quite know what to make of them. Having never read any kind of flash fiction b

Book Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Title:  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl  Author:  Jesse Andrews Series:  Standalone Pages:  304 Publisher:  Amulet Books Date of Publication:  1st March 2012 Source:  netGalley* Synopsis from Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia. My Thoughts: The synopsis does not do this book justice. I have to admit, I requested this book from netGalley mostly because of the cover. Take a moment to just look at it. Isn't it awesome? I love it - it's so different from any other covers I've seen in YA right now, and it caught my eye and made me want to read it, even though I'd heard nothing about it from other bloggers and there's hardly any information on Goodreads about it. After investigating Goodreads a bit more, I found some ratings from f

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Broke My Heart A Little

Hey! I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday in agess, but since I haven't got any reviews that I can post now because they're all scheduled for March (though I might change that and post them earlier) I thought I'd do one this week :) And the topic is: TOP TEN BOOKS THAT BROKE MY HEART A LITTLE There are spoilers littered throughout this post. Don't read the writing if you haven't read the book and don't want to be spoiled, but you can look at the pretty covers :P 1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green I don't really think I need to say all that much about this one. Just, Augustus Waters... <3  2. Delirium by Lauren Oliver The end. Oh my days, that end. And let me tell you, the sequel doesn't really help. :'(  3. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Prim... Oh, my lovely Primrose :'( 4. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead Dimitri Belikov, how could you?! I mean, I know it wasn't your fault, but STILL. 

Book Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

Title:  New Girl  Author:  Paige Harbison Series:  Standalone Pages:  304 Publisher:  HarlequinTEEN Date of Publication:  31st January 2012 Source:  netGalley Synopsis from Goodreads: They call me 'New Girl'... Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her. Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault. Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be. And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back. My T

Book Review: Fallen In Love by Lauren Kate

Title:  Fallen In Love Author:  Lauren Kate Series:  Fallen, #3.5 Pages:  201 Publisher:  Doubleday Date of Publication:  2nd February 2012 Source:  Review* Synopsis from Goodreads: Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story. And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other. Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for. True love never says goodbye . . . My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this series - some of the books I've really enjoyed, and then some of the books, I haven't. So I kind of didn't really

Blog Tour: Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale - Fact or Fiction Guest Post!

Hey everyone, welcome to my stop on the Someone Else's Life  blog tour! I have for you today an awesome guest blog from the author, Katie Dale - A Fact or Fiction post! __________ A lot of things that have happened in my life have somehow made their way into my debut novel, Someone Else's Life. But can you guess which ones... ? Which of these statements do you think are FACTS and which are pure FICTION... ? Answers below - no peeking! 1) Just like Rosie in Someone Else’s Life , my mum made me a gingerbread house birthday cake when I was little. 2) The incident where Trudie blew up a pressure cooker and had to scrape mashed potato off the ceiling actually happened to me! 3) Just like Rosie, I used to live in Bramberley, in Sussex. 4) Just like Kitty, I trained as an actress and played Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 5) There really is a Woody’s Plaice in Provincetown, New England. 6) Holly Woods in Someone Else’s Life is named after my daughter.

Book Review: Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Title:  Someone Else's Life  Author:  Katie Dale Series:  Standalone Pages:  478 Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Date of Publication:  2nd February 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all... Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all... My Thoughts: Someone Else's L

New Releases in February 2012

Here are all (I say all, I mean, as many as I can find... ;P ) the awesome new YA releases coming out this month! If I've missed any, let me know in the comments!       The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone (1st February 2012, Arthur A. Levine) The Other Life by Susane Winnacker (1st February 2012, Usborne) Pure by Julianna Baggot (2nd February 2012, Headline)       Daylight Saving by Edward Hogan (2nd February 2012, Walker Books) Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale (2nd February 2012, Simon and Schuster Children's Books) Hollow Pike by James Dawson (2nd February 2012, Indigo)       Advent by James Treadwell (2nd February 2012, Hodder and Stoughton) To Be A Cat by Matt Haig (2nd February 2012, Bodley Head) This Is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees (2nd February 2012, Bloomsbury)       The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan (2nd February 2012, David Fickling Books) Everneath by Brodi Ashton (2nd February 2012, Simon Pulse) After