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April 5, 2015 by Bianca 1 Comment

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

First of all, Happy Easter! I hope that you’re having a spectacular day, eating chocolate and reading your favourite books… Today, I have decided to review Rainbow Rowell’s ‘Fangirl’, since it’s a nice sweet story, perfect for sitting down on a beanbag, close to the heater, and indulging.

Title: Fangirl
Author/s: Rainbow Rowell

Publication Date: September the 10th, 2013
Publisher: Macmillan

Pages: 453

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository| Booktopia | iTunes

Synopsis

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

If I was asked to describe this book in one word, the first word to come to my head would be ‘cute’, because that is exactly what Fangirl is; a cute, perfect, romantic novel of which has become a bible-like book for fangirls everywhere.

If you’re searching for action, adventure or fantasy, I wouldn’t recommend coming near this book. It speaks the story of a young, quirky university student obsessed with a book series about a mage named Simon Snow, as she travels the world of love, school and fan-fiction.

Personally, I felt that Fangirl was a bit repetitive, especially during the middle of the book. Cath would go to school, write fan-fiction, sleep, talk to Levi and the cycle didn’t stop for a while. This made the novel a bit slow, and therefore not one of my favourites – as I prefer fast flowing, action packed stories, regardless of whether they’re romantic or not.

Rainbow Rowell created a beautiful ending, but a lot of us (readers) wanted more. I guess that happens with the majority of books, though. We readers can’t resist the idea of having an infinite number of books written in one world.

As Rachel (from Beauty and the Bookshelf) said in her review, one of the best aspects of Rowell’s novel is the fact that all of the characters – from Cath to her professor – felt real, which is always a fantastic thing! A few of them were boring, but it made sense, since the book was Cath’s book and Cath didn’t get to know each and every one of the people she met.

Overall, I felt that, despite Fangirl being a brilliant and unique book, it didn’t sit on my personal favourites. The plot was great, however the execution was merely above average. I would hesitate to read it again, but not go out of my way to do so.

What did you think of Fangirl, if you’ve read it? Who was your favourite character?

April 3, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

March Reads & April TBR

This “March Reads & April TBR” post was inspired by Kay from “Books Kay” on YouTube.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of homework and study that I’ve had to do, I only read one book this month, however, I am going to introduce a new feature on this blog to jazz it up and get me to read more books (which leads to more reviews)!

So, during the month of March, I read Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s novel, ‘These Broken Stars,’ which gave me the biggest book-hangover that any fangirl could ask for (which is bad for my goal… oops).

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March 31, 2015 by Bianca 8 Comments

Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars

Series: The Starbound Trilogy
Book Number: #1
Author/s: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Publication Date: December the 10th, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 374

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository| Booktopia | iTunes

Synopsis

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver finda strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

As I flipped through the final chapters of this book, I felt so many strong emotions flow through my system, it was crazy! The story had come alive within my head, and that’s one aspect of this novel that I adored.

If I wrote a list consisting of every single ending in books that I have fell in love with, These Broken Stars would be close behind Delirium (my absolute favourite).

The.BookClub ’s collective review on Instagram proved my theory that Amie and Meagan wrote a fabulous book. They pointed out all of the elements that I admired, such as Tarver (a well-written decorated war hero whom Lilac got stranded on the planet with) and thought that the idea of having these alien beings living on energy were a very unique idea.

The book demonstrated themes that visited the harsh reality that even with all of the fame, fortune and public admiration of a wealthy man’s daughter, your life can still be lifeless.

I personally enjoyed the topic of two parties, with no immediate similarities, joining forces and discovering that love has no limits – despite how cliche it sounds, this was executed very well in the pair’s novel.

I almost forgot to mention the perspectives in which These Broken Stars was written. Usually, I don’t tend to get into books written from multiple angles, which was why I was a little bit hesitant to pick up this book. However, when I began reading, I realised that Kaufman and Spooner had it all planned out, and made the plot even deeper with both Tarver and Lilac sharing their ideas, planting seeds of doubt in your head every time something happens.

I will not hesitate to pick up ‘This Night So Dark’ (the short story, connecting the first and second book in the Starbound trilogy) or ‘This Shattered World’ (the second book), in fact, I cannot wait any longer! If you’re a fan of romance, action, adventure, The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game and/or Branded (by Abi Ketner and Missi Kalicicki), I am sure of the fact that you will be captivated by this thrilling story.

More fantastic news; the two authors and Eric Balfour are currently planning a TV series for These Broken Stars, do you know how excited I am???

It’s not very often that I give a book five stars, but when I do, it means that the book was extraordinarily amazing. I strongly believe that this book deserved five stars, because within it’s pages was a unique plot, executed by the authors in a brilliant fashion. Each character was carefully built, to provide depth to the story. Not once was I bored, thanks to the constant action and suspense.

If you have read TBS, which character do you think portrays you the best, and why? If you haven’t read it yet, run to the bookshop and buy it now! It’d be a crime not to!

March 13, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Cover Reveal: Paper Towns by John Green (Film Tie-In Edition)

Good morning!

I woke up this morning to find my social media feeds flooding with images of the new Paper Towns Film Tie-In Edition of the book!

Paper Towns by John Green

I bet that you’ve seen these two spectacular covers, but look at this brilliant new film tie-in edition:

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One of our favourite novels is coming to life!

I personally love watching and reading about the process that an author takes to write a book, publicise it, and then create a movie out of it. Don’t you?

What are your thoughts on the new edition? Would you buy it?

March 8, 2015 by Bianca 2 Comments

Cover Reveal: The Magisterium Series, Copper Gauntlet

So far, regarding the Magisterium series, we know that Cassandra Clare and Holly Black are planning on writing five books, and their working names, at the moment, are:

The Iron Trial {released: September the 9th, 2014}
The Copper Gauntlet {September, 2015}
The Cosmos Blade {2016}
The Golden Boy {2017}
The Enemy of Death {which is going to be released in 2018 *cries*}

On Magisterium Day, 2015 (the 2nd of February), Cassandra Clare released this cover to the public:

I am in love with it, already! I cannot wait to get it on my bookshelf!

On the first instalment’s cover, there were three people and no animals. Here it is:

Children'sBookReviewTheIronTrial Cassandra later told us that the cover featured Call (left), Aaron (centre) and Tamara (right). It’s not official, but I believe that the ‘monster’ in the background is meant to tease readers about the massive plot twist (even though no one knows of it until they finish the book).

However, on Copper Gauntlet’s cover, stand (left to right) Havoc, Aaron, Call, Tamara and Jasper.

I simply cannot wait to find out what happens! Can you? Have you any ideas?

March 7, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Cover Reveal: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy + The Lost Herondale

**I apologise for the lateness of this post, it was in my queue and I completely forgot about it.**

This post is for all of us Mortal Instruments fanatics that are dying of Shadowhunter deprivation after closing City of Heavenly Fire in May, 2014.

Boy, do I have some exciting news for you. Cassandra Clare has just released two of her covers for the e-book series, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy!

So, we all know (or should know) that Cassandra Clare has teamed up with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson and Robin Wasserman to create a series of ten novellas, taking place after the events in City of Heavenly Fire.
Each of these books will be released on a monthly basis, beginning with “Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy” in February, 2015.

The titles of the books, to date, are:

Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy
The Lost Herondale
The Whitechapel Fiend
Nothing But Shadows
Evil We Love
Pale Kings and Princes
Bitter of Tongue
The Fiery Trial
Born to Endless Night
Angels Twice Descending

They sound interesting, don’t they?

Right, so, now to the big, exciting and extremely fantabulous cover reveals of the first two books.

Now, if you put them next to each other, they form a part of a picture (of someone about to let an arrow fly).

Ahhhh oh my Gosh, I cannot wait for this series to be released in hardcopy.

And, of course, this will work just like The Bane Chronicles; in which ten eBook novellas were released (once a month) and then a hardcopy was released afterwards.

I cannot wait any longer for more Shadowhunters! Can you? What are you most/least looking forward to in the upcoming Shadowhunter Chronicles?

February 23, 2015 by Bianca 3 Comments

Review: The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

Title: The Iron Trial

Series: Magisterium
Book Number: #1
Author/s: Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

Publication Date: September the 9th, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 299

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository | Booktopia | iTunes

Synopsis

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.

So he tries his best to do his worst – and fails at failing.

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It’s a place that’s both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

Prior to reading The Iron Trial, I’d heard rumours that it was ‘yet another rip-off of Harry Potter’.
5 days ago, when I finished the book, I could finally say, from the bottom of my heart, that it was not Harry Potter. When readers start comparing two books from the same genre (in this case, it’s fantasy), they’re going to find a lot of similarities, but if all books were completely unique, genres would not be an acceptable way of sorting text.

I originally picked up this book because I was on a book-hangover (no thanks to City of Heavenly Fire) and decided that Cassandra Clare’s writing may have the ability to rescue me from the pit of sadness, just as well as it put me there.

I was wrong.

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black may have threw me a rope and pulled me up, but only to drop me back into the pit. I cannot wait another seven months to find out what happens with Call.
Plus, the cover of The Copper Gauntlet (book number 2 in the Magisterium series) was just released… AND JASPER WAS ON THE COVER?!?!?!

I need an explanation… now!

Despite the fact that I am completely obsessed with the story, I found a few faults within the text – mostly just places where decent descriptions were lacked – but I can forget about them, thanks to the MASSIVE PLOT TWIST!?

Cassandra and Holly have a way of weaving small hints into the text, that seemingly mean nothing, but make heaps of sense once the time comes around.

Overall, I adored this book and if I had my time again, I wouldn’t hesitate picking it up again.

What did you think of The Iron Trial? If you haven’t read the book, are you considering it?

February 14, 2015 by Bianca 3 Comments

Valentine’s Day 2015

Whilst I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day myself, I take great joy in watching my social media feeds flood with those hilariously punny Valentine’s ‘Cards’, which is exactly why I’ve created four more to fill you up with happiness, and your surroundings with laughter (even if you’re single/in relationships with fictional characters).

And we all know how much Effie likes her mahogany.

Because who doesn’t need Sterek in their lives?

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February 10, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Book-to-Movie Trailer Review: Insurgent

Hello! Despite being a book-obsessed fangirl, I do enjoy watch a lot of movies – especially those based off of said books. Divergent was one of the first Dystopian-future-styled books that I read, and now that its sequel is becoming a movie, you can imagine how excited I am.

To celebrate my happiness, I’ve written a ‘review’ (of sorts) of the trailer, containing my initial thoughts on the movie.

Here it goes…

Hmm… It’s a bit harsh on my behalf to be judging a movie (that’s not yet been released) via it’s trailer and book. Besides, the first book-to-movie adaptation was brilliant, in my opinion!

A few people have watched the Insurgent film trailers (Official & Superbowl) and commented saying things along the lines of, “I honestly believe that I read the wrong book.” Personally, I only partially agree with this statement. Despite the fact that the two trailers feature this amazing ‘box’, of which no one has ever heard of, I think that it was necessary to change the execution of Insurgent, just so that the trilogy’s movie adaptations kept the movies’ plot headed in the right direction.

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