Tag: book

Feast of Fools (Morganville #4) by Rachel Caine

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
6238069

Goodreads | Amazon

In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Clare Danvers has never been convinced, though – especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town’s living and its dead is unthinkably sinister.

Yes, we’re back! I can’t even describe how much better Feast of Fools was compared to Midnight Alley. Although the pacing can still be a bit off in places, I found the second half of the book especially fast and interesting. I’ve been flying through all of these books, but I definitely hit a lull at the end of 3 and start of 4. So glad it’s picked up again for me!

‘“I’m gonna kill him,” Eve said, or at least that was what it sounded like filtered through the pillow.
Stake him right in the heart, shove garlic up his ass, and-and-“‘

I think a lot of this was due to the new characters. Having a new threat like Mr Bishop was so brilliantly written on Caine’s part. I feel like after having 3 books including only people from Morganville, we definitely needed a fresh insight on the vampire community. The introduction of a new, common enemy was just perfect.

I also have to say the character growth was great. I really feel like I spent more time with the main characters in this one than any books previously. Some of my favourite scenes from Morganville are definitely just scenes between the friends, and they can be the funniest too!

‘”And what?”
“When did you get home?” Claire demanded.
“Apparently just in time to hear my funeral plans. I especially like the garlic up the ass. It’s…different.”’

Overall, a really enjoyable read and perhaps my favourite Morganville book yet! I’m excited for Lord of Misrule now.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: Midnight Alley (Morganville #3) by Rachel Caine

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
6013342

Goodreads | Amazon

MORGANVILLE IS SUCH A NICE PLACE TO LIVE… AND DIE. IF YOU DON’T MIND THAT SORT OF THING. When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy. Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

There’s no doubt I’m really enjoying this series. But unfortunately this one is far from my favourite, and I felt the same the first time round too! The pacing is just so off for me, and I remember most of the book being pretty slow.

Due to not having internet for a few days, I did actually finish this earlier in the week. So everything is blending into one in my head! But if I look back at this book, it just doesn’t stick together that well. Like, everything seems random until this one event at the end. And due to this writing style, I didn’t have time to connect with the characters much which I didn’t enjoy!

‘”You shouldn’t be afraid of me because I’m a vampire.”‘

Talking of the characters, I really wasn’t a massive fan of a few of them. Shane is overdramatic, sulky and a bad friend/boyfriend. Claire makes some super bad decisions as usual but I can forgive her most of the time I guess.

But of course I still enjoyed it and things aren’t all bad! This series never fails to entertain me, and the introduction of a new character in this book is needed so much. Myrnin offers a new dynamic and focus, and his scenes are always so tense and entertaining!

‘”You ought to be scared because you just trash-talked my girlfriend to her face.”‘

So overall, a real mix but unfortunately not as enjoyable as the first two books. Although I still enjoyed reading this book, it’s just lacking in some ways.

★★★
3 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

The Dead Girls Dance (Morganville #2) – Rachel Caine

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
13512717

Goodreads | Amazon

Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favours beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls’ Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

I really enjoyed this book, and I flew through it. But unfortunately, I remember it in a fonder light. I remember my first read of this being gripping, on the edge of your seat and so emotional. I’m not going to lie, it was emotional, but I feel like Caine missed some opportunities for some really good scenes.

It’s like instead of remembering what actually happened in this book, I was taking the best parts and remembering a different, better version. Maybe that’s a problem with re-reading books later in life when you have a lot more maturity and reading experience!

‘Claire: “So we do nothing?”‘

That being said, I did still love reading this book. It’s still gripping (to a degree), and I was definitely kept entertained. I read this in less than 2 days once again and couldn’t put it down, the pages really fly by in this series. I also love the variety of scenes all over the town, with such a big cast of characters, that added so much to the atmospheric feel of this book/series.

This book is definitely more of an introduction to Morganville. We’ve met the main characters, we know who we’re rooting for and who we’re against, and now it’s time to learn about this creepy town. The description of the town is definitely one of my favourite things about this series. Caine knows how to build up atmosphere.

‘Michael: “We do the best nothing you’ve ever seen.”‘

I still adore the characters, even Claire, although I understand why most readers seem to find her annoying. She does make some stupid decisions, but mostly she’s just a real, scared, courageous, 16 year old girl who is completely out of her depth. Her loyalty is outstanding, and I love her for it.

There is still no doubt this series is pure entertainment. But I can’t help but love it anyway.

★★★★ 
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review4 Comments
18304322

Goodreads | Amazon

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.
Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

I can’t believe I didn’t read this book sooner! I didn’t pick it up until late, and by that point I’d broken an important bookworm code and watched the movie. 90% of the time I will read the book first, but this time I just happened to watch the Dumplin’ adaptation with my boyfriend when it came out and we both loved it!

I don’t think watching the movie first impacted my opinion too much – thank God they stayed very similar with the adaptation – but I did picture all of the characters as they are in the movie. So Will’s mum was Jennifer Aniston all the way.

‘All my life I’ve had a body worth commenting on’

Anyway, onto the book! Honestly, I loved it so much and it flew by. I haven’t been reading overly fast recently I guess, but I read this one in under 2 days. It was so unexpected, but this is one of those books I could just sit and read for hours on end and not even watch the page numbers. It had such a good flow and pace, and I adored it.

As for the characters, I loved them all. I had my issues with Will but the fact she’s not always perfect is kind of the point. She’s growing up and it’s such a great coming-of-age story. She learns throughout the book and I love that El called bulls**t on her. No one in this story is perfect, everyone is flawed and that felt so real and relatable. I loved how proud she was of her own body, and it made me so proud of her too.

‘and if living in my skin has taught me anything it’s that if it’s not your body, it’s not yours to comment on.’

Honestly, this book was such a pleasant surprise. YA contemporary was my favourite genre for a long time, but I’m just not in that space anymore. And I’m completely fine with that. Having said that, coming across gems every once in a while is so lovely. I don’t think I’ll ever completely stop reading the genre, and this book is proof of how much I love the odd one!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review11 Comments
22379592

Goodreads | Amazon

Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity; the inexplicability of love; and the murderous consequences of love’s absence.

At the outset, I never planned to review this book. I thought I would let it quietly pass by my blog as a (not so) little break from YA. But now I have finished it, and I am so overwhelmed with love and emotion that I just have to attempt to write my feelings into words. First of all thank you to my boyfriend Josh for recommending this book to me. I told him he could pick a book for me to read after I finished Cassandra Clare’s books, and he did not disappoint!

We were just discussing East of Eden when I started to cry while trying to describe my feelings for it. I actually didn’t shed a tear while I read, despite the sheer emotion and even devastation I felt. It wasn’t until after, dwelling in these feelings, when it hit me completely. Josh asked me how I’d describe East of Eden and I said ‘a study of human emotion’. And I suppose, in short, that would be correct.

‘But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world.’

If you read the synopsis for this book, you’ll probably wonder what kept everyone so entertained for 700+ pages. It’s literally a book about several generations of families in small town America in the 1800s. But it’s so much more than that. East of Eden is the rawest and most pure book I’ve ever read. Steinbeck writes with more honesty about human characteristics than I have ever read before – in an almost disturbing way.

This is possibly the simplest – but most clever – thing Steinbeck could have done as an author. He opens characters to allow the reader to ponder the human mindset in a way they probably never have before. It made me realise the mixture of goodness and evil in everyone, the capabilities we all have as human beings to let ourselves be taken either way. And that despite our sins, we all feel weak, and we all feel regret.

‘That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’

East of Eden has a pace all of it’s own. It is most definitely slow, but not boring..it is smooth. I know that I will come back to this book again and again because I drew such comfort from it’s pages. They flicker by in an almost inhuman calmness. It is sprawling, like a gentle ramble over hills on a gorgeous summers day. I wouldn’t want to receive this book in any other way.

I have been left feeling fulfilled, overwhelmed and broken hearted. I cannot explain the importance of this book in words, and all that is left to say is please read it if you haven’t yet. It’s quickly become one of my favourite books of all time.

★★★★★ 
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: Queen of Air and Darkness (#3) by Cassandra Clare

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments
30214330

Goodreads | Amazon

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the disease that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

I can’t believe that this is the longest book I’ve ever read, and yet it didn’t feel like it! It felt quicker than Lord of Shadows for sure, even though it took me over a week to get through. Honestly, the pacing and intricacy of this book made it fly by, and I think that’s definitely due to the constant switching between characters and worlds.

It would be impossible for me to write this review without mentioning how inclusive The Dark Artifices is. I was surprised to find I enjoyed reading about a polyamorous relationship (personally, I can’t see myself ever being in something like that), and we also had autism, LGBT, mental health, racial diversity and gender representation. It honestly baffles me how Clare manages to write these issues into an already complex and intense world.

“Grief can be so bad you can’t breathe, but that’s what it means to be human.”

So many characters yet again, and of course the additions of some more! But I loved them all so much and I find it amazing how each person fills a part of the story. Also, having read The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments made me love this book even more, because seeing all of the characters just warms my heart.

I have to say Clare definitely has a plot that repeats itself in many of these books. I always find them (and the endings) quite similar, and I always know I’m going to end on a big happy event. But I’ve got to say, I still love reading them so much, and I still end up with soppy tears in my eyes (or sometimes streaming down my face).

“We lose, we suffer, but we have to keep breathing.”

And I have to say I loved the illustrations throughout this book! They really added something to the story, and gave me significant places to read towards. Again, family dynamics are awesome and I love how the friendships are so valued in these books.

Overall without spoiling anything I have to say this book was a beautiful ending to such an intricate series I just fell in love with.

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: Lord of Shadows (#2) by Cassandra Clare

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review2 Comments
33336580

Goodreads | Amazon

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?
And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late. 

Of course I adored this book – how could I not? But I also feel as though I’ve been reading this forever. I don’t know why, but I think this is by far the longest it’s taken me to get through any Cassie Clare book. And I know it’s really long, but it surprised me how the pages didn’t seem to be flying by quite as quickly as I expected them to.

That being said, I still think this is a brilliant continuation of the Lady Midnight. It’s complex, with travels around the world (and other worlds) and contained so much depth as usual. The addition of yet more characters felt necessary and so brilliantly done. I just love how Clare can make us feel sympathy for even the most unlikely of people.

“Everyone is afraid of something. We fear things because we value them. We fear losing people because we love them.”

The variation of scenes, especially in the second half of the book, really did make some of the pages fly. I loved reading scenes set in Cornwall, then London, then Idris, then Faerie.

But…I need to talk about Faerie. I don’t know, I just feel like although my heart is absolutely bursting with love there is some small thing that didn’t click for me while I was reading it? I think that’s a lot to do with this being one of the only books I’ve ever read with Fae and the Fae lands in it, and for some reason my head just found it hard to get around (on top of being really sick at the moment).

“We fear dying because we value being alive. Don’t wish you didn’t fear anything. All that would mean is that you didn’t feel anything.”

I just feel like I’m loving this book a little bit more now looking back than I was during, and in retrospect I definitely feel like I can appreciate it just that little bit more! Overall, I thought this was a great sequel, and I’m so excited to pick up Queen of Air and Darkness. I just don’t know why it took me a while to read!

★★★★ 
4.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review16 Comments
34530151

Goodreads | Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

I have a confession to make…I tried with this book before and stopped reading after the first chapter. And I’m not going to ignore this because I loved the book so much the second time round, I think it’s important you guys know. I’m going to be completely and utterly honest about this, and just say I struggled with reading someone from such a different background. I struggled with the language, and that’s why I couldn’t get into this book the first time.

But I knew I had to carry on again at some point, and now I’m meeting Angie Thomas in a couple of weeks time, I couldn’t put it off any longer. Luckily, I can’t even describe how happy and glad I am that I finally continued with this book. My second experience was so different, and made me realise that this book is just incredible.

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong.” 

This book just screams at you about how important it is. I cannot even describe the weight this book carries, the way it makes you sit back and realise that holy crap, this stuff still happens. And I know this, I’ve seen the horrific stories in the news etc etc, but experiencing it first-hard from Starr’s perspective brings everything to the forefront of your mind.

And not only is this book important, relevant and honestly refreshing, it’s also enjoyable in many aspects. We have a relatable teen, fighting for what she believes in with her strongest weapon – her voice. It’s also a great coming of age novel, in which Starr is struggling with relationships and friendships, all normal teenage girl things. The focus on family is so strong and beautiful. I valued the love between the family so much, and seeing them work so fiercely together meant the world.

“The key is to never stop doing right.”

I wish I could explain how important this book is, and how glad I am to have come across it and finally read it. I understand I’m not the only person who struggled with getting into this book, and if I have any advice to new readers it would be to push past the initial 100 pages, because it gets so much better.

★★★★★ 
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: Lady Midnight (#1) by Cassandra Clare

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
24851136

Goodreads | Amazon

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.
Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…
Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Clare never fails to astound me, and I honestly think she may have nabbed my top spot on my favourite authors list! To prove a point, I started this book on Friday and finished it on Tuesday. And I know there are many fans who would have been able to read much quicker than I did, but for me, 5 days is pretty damn quick.

There’s something so special about The Dark Artifices, and it makes me constantly realise how incredible Clare is to write numerous Shadowhunter series with different characters and yet have them stand so far apart from one another. The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices all have very special places in my heart, and for different reasons.

“These pictures are my heart.”

I loved The Mortal Instruments so much, but I could very clearly see that Clare was developing her writing. Now on the third series, her writing is better than ever and it made Lady Midnight amazing for me. I could love no one as much as Tessa, Will and Jem, but I became so attached to Emma, Julian and his family throughout this book. The children are so diverse and vibrant and I love them all for it.

This book was full of twists and turns, especially after the initial couple hundred pages. I do think this book took a while to adjust to because it’s quite far removed from the other series, but as soon as it got going, I loved the differences. I literally couldn’t put this book down!

Also I would definitely like to point out that you really need to read Clare’s other books before this series! Not only would this spoil a lot for you, the cameos of other characters mean everything to me. I loved them.

“And if my heart was a canvas, every square inch of it would be painted over with you.”

I cannot even explain how much I adore the cast of this series. Each character was so great in there own ways and I admire Clare endlessly for creating such a vast range of characters. I can’t finish this review without a quick mention of the diversity in this book. Not only do we have gay faeries (and my favourite warlock you know who I mean), and a new Latinx Mexican friend who I adored, but also A CHILD WITH AUTISM. Ahh I could scream with how much I just appreciate this? Ty is so well represented, so well described and I’m so overly happy he is part of this world.

And I didn’t mean to descend into full on fangirling, but I think I managed to explain how much I love this book.

★★★★★ 
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

Review: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review4 Comments
28954137

Goodreads | Amazon

Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fireleft him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it. So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be. But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.

This was one of those books I didn’t know I needed. I loved it, and I can’t imagine the Shadowhunter world without it now. First of all, I love that this was based on Simon, but included a wide arc of characters. I actually liked Simon throughout The Mortal Instruments, but actually being with him through a book really helped me relate to him.

The set of the Shadowhunter Academy was awesome to! It gave a link to each of these stories, and offered up something new to the Shadowhunter world.

“I think sometimes it’s too hard to believe in yourself. You just do the things you’re not sure you can do.”

I also have to tell you guys that it only took me like four days to read this 650 page book?! I think this is due to the clever layout of the book, being cut into short stories of 50-100 pages each. Every day I would aim to read at least 2 stories, and it just flew by. Honestly, the short story concept was so well done in every way. Interlinking the characters by having them come into the Academy was such a clever way to read about side characters, and not stray too far from Simon’s story!

“You just act, in spite of not being certain. I don’t believe I can change the world–it sounds stupid to even talk about it–but I’m going to try.”

Overall, this book is a must for Shadowhunter fans! It’s such a great bridge between The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices, and I feel ready to continue with the next daunting series!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽


| Shop | Goodreads |Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |