Tag: reading

Review: Aurabel by Laura Dockrill

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

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It has been two years since Rory drowned, and Lorali is in Hastings, living the quiet life of a normal teenage girl. But her safe life on land won’t last for long. Life in The Whirl has become a hotbed of underwater politics and as the council jostles to oust the king, one Mer in particular has her eye on Lorali as the key to her own rise to power.
Meanwhile, Aurabel, a lowly Mer from the wrong side of the trench, is attacked by sea beasts and left for dead – and without a tail. Raging with righteous anger, she rebuilds herself a mechanical tail and reinvents herself as a fearless steampunk Mer seeking revenge. But she never expected the most important job that was about to drop into her lap.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Hot Key UK in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my views in any way.

I read the first book in this series – Lorali – back in May, and you can see from my review that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked.

But I bring good news – I enjoyed Aurabel more! I still stand by most of the thing I explained in my previous review, but I definitely liked more about this book.

“Some threads are too deep and thick to fray.”

The story was fast paced and definitely not as confusing! Instead of being mainly on land, this one is based mainly underwater and I actually really enjoyed that. Aurabel is a completely new character, and the story is now told by both her and Lorali. I expected that to be confusing, but it actually wasn’t.

This book seamlessly followed on from Lorali, but it felt very much like a standalone too. The story is something completely different – definitely more action than romance based – but I really liked that! The new factors of power, fighting and even cyborg mermaids really worked and helped the unqiue aspects of this novel.

“Some lines, in love, outlive the veins.”

Again, I found Dockrill’s writing very unique and interesting. But this time, it worked. Maybe it’s because I’m more used to her writing after Lorali, or maybe she’s just more experienced after writing a book before…but I actually really liked it. The random poeticness of her writing really worked.

Also can I just say – this includes a bi mermaid! Like…

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Need I say more?

So it’s safe to say I really liked Aurabel! If you’re looking for a mermaid themed pre-teen or YA novel, I’d recommend it 🙂

★★★

Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Songs About Us by Chris Russell

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments

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Two months on from the explosive finale to book one, Charlie’s life is almost back to normal again: rebuilding her relationship with her father, hanging out with best mate Melissa, and worrying about GCSEs. All the while, Gabe’s revelations about her mother are never far from her mind. And neither is Gabe.
It’s not long before Charlie is pulled back into the world of Fire&Lights – but the band seem different this time. But then again, so is she…
Meanwhile, tensions between Gabe and Olly continue to run high, leading to more turmoil between the band members and press than ever before. But when Gabriel and Charlie stumble upon yet another startling truth that links them together – everything they have stands to implode in front of them.

I’m back in the world of Fire&Lights, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s been a few weeks since I finished Songs About A Girl, but it felt like I’d had no break at all. These books have such an easy and comforting flow to them, I picked it straight back up right away.

I shall continue on here from my review of Songs About a Girl with my pure and incredible amount of admiration for Chris. Again, this book is amazing, and the writing is a massive part of that. These books wouldn’t be what they are without the writing. They wouldn’t even be half as good.

“You shouldn’t put so much pressure on yourself…“

Without spoiling too much of the goings-on in Charlie’s story, I want to say that this book has amazing representation. There are many struggles from different characters, including relationship, friendship and family issues. So many things occur and are handeled in such a good way, and it really gives a whole host of different readers something to relate to.

Before I go into the poetic speech I feel is going to come, let’s break this book down simply. As I mentioned, the writing is incredible. The plot is very fast-paced and there is constantly something going on. There is an awesome moment with LGBTQIA+ representation that was both unexpected and excellent. The way it didn’t change how Charlie saw this character felt so damn important, it might be some of the best passing representation I have seen in YA so far.

“You are who you are. Maybe that’ll change, maybe it won’t.“

As mentioned in my review for the first book, we continue to have a broad range of characters. Some good, some bad, all of them are well developed and add a lot to the story.

Now for my speech, I guess! I don’t even know how to describe this, but Chris has done something incredible. He took something I saw as shallow, materialistic and full of screaming teenage girls (band life), and gave it real depth and emotion. He gave me a world I adore and surprised me with how much I fell for it.

“As long as you’re happy, none of it matters.”

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.
Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life – first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse – seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

I know you might be wondering why it has taken me almost a year to finish this book. Yes, you read that right. I started this one in October 2016, after reading the first 3 books in the series. But after precisely 532 pages, I just stopped reading. It wasn’t that I lost interest…but other things took over and I never finished. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it took until this week to finally pick this book up again.

Surprisingly, I actually found it pretty easy to get back into the story, and after reading a short summary to catch up, I was enjoying it once more!

“You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies.”

It’s been a while, but I loved the start of this novel. Unlike the other books in the series, Breaking Dawn is broken into 3 parts. Part 1 is from Bella’s point of view, then we switch to Jacob, then back to Bella.

Starting with part 1, I adored this part. Seriously, the romance is just spot on, sexy, funny and just lovely. It’s everything I could hope for in a romance. Without giving away too much, I love the way Bella reacts to the..ahem, new addition. It adds a new layer to the story that is just beautiful.

Part 2, however, I wasn’t as much of a fan of. As much as I like Jacob, I find focusing the story on him completely can sometimes be a little annoying. It added an extra something to the story, and I like seeing the family development from his side, but I definitely preferred Bella’s viewpoint.

“When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one?”

Part 3 is the one I’ve just rejoined – and I have to say really liked. We join Bella in a completely different time of her life, a scary, fast paced and interesting time. I loved speeding through those final pages.

Let’s talk about the length of this book before we wrap up. I would say one of the reasons – maybe the only reason – I didn’t finish reading this for so long, is the length. But should it be shorter? Actually, no. Especially reading the last 200 or so pages, I realised how much we needed so much writing to explain the complex world of Twilight.

“If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?”

Overall, I really liked this book and it reminded me of my love for the entire series. It’s an interesting and complex paranormal romance with many elements and layers. It also has a happy ending – and I loved that. My love for Twilight is back, and I’m happy about it.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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Fifteen-year-old Frankie Landau-Banks has grown up a lot over the summer. She’s no longer daddy’s little girl – and almost immediately after starting the new semester at her highly prestigious school, she bags goofy-but-gorgeous Matthew Livingston as her boyfriend. They get along great but then Frankie discovers that Matthew is a member of a boys-only secret society that specialise in ‘hilarious’ pranks. Which hardly seems fair… especially when Frankie knows she’s smarter than any of its members. And to prove this, she’s going to teach them a lesson.

I unfortunately didn’t really enjoy this one as much as I’d have liked. As mentioned in my previous review, E. Lockhart has a very unique style, and it shone through once again in this novel.

Unfortunately, the first word that comes to mind when I think of this novel is slow. I just feel like for a book of over 300 pages, not much happens in this book at all. Frankie spends a while at school. She gets a boyfriend. She uncovers secrets, and she pulls some clever pranks. She ends up pretty much back where she started.

“It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can’t see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow”

Her relationship with Matthew bothered me a lot. She talks about loving him – but never actually explained why she loves him. In fact, she seemed angry at him for most of the book, and there doesn’t actually seem to be that much of a relationship between the two.

So what did I actually enjoy about this book? A lot of what I liked about it was the cleverness of E. Lockhart. The whole complicated plot and pranks and basset club were just so imaginative and clever. I really admire her for creating something refreshing and different from so many other YA novels. This is just so…unique, which lives up to my expectations of E. Lockhart.

“It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than to shut them on people.”

The plot development reminded me a lot of Fly On the Wall, also by E. Lockhart. It seemed we spent a lot of time reading this slow story for not much of a reward at the end. I felt so different about Fly On the Wall, simply just because I think we got a reward for finishing the story.

Let’s talk about this book being a feminist novel. Sure, I understand this. But I don’t actually think Frankie portrays a great role model. She’s a very jealous person who manipulates people to get what she wants. I felt her ‘love’ for Matthew was a complete lie and for once, I wish there was more focus on the romance and development of it.

“She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her to be. That Bunny Rabbit is dead.”

Overall, I have really mixed opinions of this book. It left me confused and I definitely feel like maybe I didn’t understand the full message it was trying to portray. But what I do understand and can analyze, I unfortunately cannot bring myself to love.

★★★ (2.5 stars)

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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At the Manhattan School of Art and Music, where everyone is unique and everyone is ‘different’, Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. It doesn’t help that she’s known as the girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of her favourite superhero, just so she won’t have to talk to anyone. Her best (and only real) friend is there for her, but that’s only if she’s not busy – she’s always busy!
It’s no surprise that Gretchen isn’t exactly successful in the boy department. Her ex-boyfriend is a cold-fish-sometimes-flirty ex who she can’t stop bumping into. Plus, she has a massive crush on a boy named, Titus but is too scared to make the first move. One minute he seems like a sensitive guy, the next, he’s a completely different person when he’s with his friends. She can’t seem to figure boys out!
Gretchen has one wish: to be a fly on the wall in the boy’s locker room. What are boys really like? What do they talk about?
This is the story of how one girl’s wish came true.

So, this book is weird. And I mean, it’s really weird. Like, this is literally a story of someone who turns into a fly – and I don’t mean that as a metaphor.

Although I actually really admire E. Lockhart for writing such an interesting story with the girl turning into a fly for almost half of the book. That’s a pretty crazy thing to accomplish.

“People think of hearts when they think of love, but a heart is a bloody organ in the body.”

I wasn’t sure about this book at first, simply because it really took a while to get my head around it. And it did take a while to really get into the story. I spent a good 70 pages learning about Gretchen, her family, friends, school and general life. It also took that long to get used to E. Lockhart’s unique writing style again.

The characters are all pretty interesting and gave good depth to the story. The book is incredibly short (just under 200 pages), and it flew by…but it was also enough for the plot.

“It doesn’t have any emotions.”

Like I mentioned above, E. Lockhart has a very unique style of writing…but I love her for it. This book breaks YA rules, includes some great humorous moments and is incredibly honest. However, I did have a few *tiny* issues. One, Gretchen can come across as kind of…childish? Her collections, obsessions and sometimes just manner and way she talks is just a little strange and doesn’t always read like I expected.

Two, a lot of this book is just about dicks. Like seriously, I’d say about a quarter of this book is just describing boys bodies…and I kind of get why, but it also seemed like quite a large portion of the book.

“It’s like a metaphor for love that has nothing to do with what love actually is.”

Overall? Another great read from E. Lockhart, and it did leave me impressed. It really pushes the boundaries of realism, fantasy and YA, and I love that.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high-school stage.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson marks my last book in John Green’s collection – whoop whoop!

I have to say I did like this book – but I didn’t love it. It didn’t overwhelm me or amaze me. It just felt a bit…flat.

Let’s start by talking about the whole name thing. Ugh, this just gets to me. It’s so unrealistic – and it gave a nod to the whole 19 Katherine’s from An Abundance of Katherines, which annoyed me even more. It’s also confusing, and honestly didn’t add much to the story in my opinion. I mean Will and Will hardly even communicated with each other!

“Maybe there’s something you’re afraid to say, or someone you’re afraid to love, or somewhere you’re afraid to go.”

I have to also say the teenagers in this novel are kind of…assholes. Not all the time, but all of them kind of screw up and come across really badly. One of these guys is Tiny, who is basically the centre of this novel for reasons I don’t really see? In my honest opinion, he can come across pretty big headed even though he’s trying to do all of these great things.

“It’s gonna hurt.”

So what did I like about this book? Well, the ending was great! It didn’t give perfect closure, but it did give a good message for the reader to leave with. The ending was pretty heartwarming. I also guess I liked some of the characters and some of the quotes/situations/narrative, and I found some of it incredibly lovely and sweet. I love that they included LGBTQIA+ characters and coming out. I love that it tackled homophobia in a way some teens do have to cope with.

Another important part of this story is definitely depression. One of the Will Grayson’s suffers with depression and I like the way that’s included in his story but not completely focused upon. I can’t really say whether his thoughts are accurate or not – but depression comes in all shapes, sizes and feelings. I just hope some readers can relate to him. Even though I can’t say I related to his depression, I am impressed that the authors included it.

“It’s gonna hurt because it matters.”

Oh and back to complaining. One of the Will Grayson’s (I honestly can’t be arsed at this point to remember or explain which) wrote in all lowercase letters. and i mean. like this. like the author (i think david levithan) couldn’t lift his fingers to the damn shift key. and this really, really got on my nerves.

Wow, writing about this book is getting me even more annoyed about it. So what else? We’ve already discussed the unlikeliness of names – what about the unlikeliness of them meeting randomly in – of all places – a porn shop? I mean, Will Grayson is not even a common name. Come on.

Overall, it’s slow. It’s flat, but I guess it filled a gap. I’m glad I didn’t DNF this book, and I did speed through it pretty quickly. I guess I liked it, in an okay kind of way, but I certainly didn’t feel anything more than that.

★★

-Beth

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Review: The Next Together by Lauren James

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments

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How many times can you lose the person you love?
Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.
Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?
Maybe the next together will be different…

This book surprised me for one specific reason. At least part of it is historical – and I don’t read historical. Nothing against the genre, it’s just something that has never really appealed to me.

I’m also not the biggest sci-fi reader, which means this book shocked me in another way. It shocked me completely.

“I love you.”

I was lucky enough to meet Lauren at a joint book signing earlier this year – and I have to say, she is possibly the loveliest author I have ever met. I don’t know if I mentioned I hadn’t read her book yet, but she didn’t mind. In fact, she treated me so nicely. When she noticed I had an Arrested Development phone case, she covered the title page of my copy of The Next Together with doodles and quotes from the series. And from that moment on, I knew I had to read this book.

“In every life, I love you.”

And I have to say, that decision is not one I regret. This book takes something so different, a really strange and unique concept, and somehow pulls it off. She takes a concept that seems like it will undoubtedly be cheesy, and manages to make us fall completely in love instead.

One of the amazing things about this book is how the plot flows while the characters are jumping between stories, between centuries. I could understand everything – I could love each couple and see both the differences and similarities between them all.

“I love you so much.” 

I loved this book so much, I honestly find it hard to pinpoint things about it. It’s not just great plot, great characters and immaculate storytelling. It’s all of these things – with romance and mystery and so many other things – wrapped up together in a beautiful, incredible way.

Also, can I just say…Lauren James was only 18 when this novel was published?! Like, that’s less than a year older than me? Just…WOW.

Not a hard one, this book is definitely one of my favourites. It offers a really fresh and refreshing look at YA.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments

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Sophia has seven days left in Tokyo before she moves back to the States. Seven days to say good-bye to the electric city, her wild best friend, and the boy she’s harbored a semi-secret crush on for years. Seven perfect days…until Jamie Foster-Collins moves back to Japan and ruins everything.
Jamie and Sophia have a history of heartbreak, and the last thing Sophia wants is for him to steal her leaving thunder with his stupid arriving thunder. Yet as the week counts down, the relationships she thought were stable begin to explode around her. And Jamie is the one who helps her pick up the pieces. Sophia is forced to admit she may have misjudged Jamie, but can their seven short days of Tokyo adventures end in anything but good-bye?

Note: Hi readers! I’m back home in the UK now after my week in Madeira. I’ll be blogging about my trip tomorrow but for now I have a bit of a delayed review for you!

I knew I would like this book simply because it’s so cute and fluffy. My lovely friend Sophie recommended it to me and knew I’d love it – and she was right!

I will admit I had a few gripes about this book, but overall it was utterly gorgeous.

“It might not be distance or time that takes you away from people.”

Let’s talk about a few of the things I loved about this novel. There are so many, I think I’m going to have to list them!

♥ I absolutely loved the romance in this novel. It felt slightly like a guilty pleasure, but I found myself utterly wrapped up in it all. I couldn’t help but really fall for these two.

♥ I found the plot really unpredictable and I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen until the very end of the book. I think this was helped a lot by the time frame, which was unique as it was set over seven days (I know, I know, this is kind of hinted by the title). Each chapter also showed a countdown to when Sophia was leaving Tokyo (in 7 days and less as the book went on), which added to the plot development!

♥ Which brings me to the setting! Not many YA books are set outside of the UK or USA, so it was really refreshing to have a novel set in Tokyo. I did have an issue with this too though, which I’ll discuss later on.

♥ The last thing that stood out to me was the side characters. Sophia’s friends/family all offered something different to her story, and helped shape the novel a lot!

“Maybe you decide when you let them go.”

As I mentioned above, I also had a few dislikes. One of these is unfortunately to do with the setting – which although I loved, I felt like it could have been used to a better advantage. This is kind of hard to describe, but I just didn’t feel like I was in Tokyo. I love the little touches of the Karaoke and different foods, but I wish the setting had been more inclusive (if that’s the right word!).

I also felt like the ending was a little rushed and had a few loose ends. It was nothing big, but I did notice it a little.

“But I can’t let go yet.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a cute contemporary but unfortunately felt lacking in a few parts! However, I’d still definitely recommend it for YA romance/contemporary readers.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Spoiler-free Review: One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review10 Comments

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Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.
Sports star Cooper only knows what he’s doing in the baseball diamond.
Bad body Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.
Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.
And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won’t ever talk about any of them again.
He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it’s no accident. All of them are suspects.
Everyone has secrets, right?
What really matters is how far you’ll go to protect them.

Doesn’t the concept of this book sound incredible? I’ve been intrigued by it for so long – I’m so glad I wasn’t disappointed. There are so many elements of this book that could have gone wrong but didn’t. Let’s start with the simple stuff – this book is from the viewpoint of four different characters. Was it confusing? No.

All of these characters were separate, and I knew them easily from one another. I felt like one of their friends. To say that I felt like the friends of murder suspects, people who cheated and lied, is a big thing. I always have a tendency to hate characters that, for example, cheat. I have barriers, but McManus managed to break them down.

“I stand and hold out my hand. She gives me a skeptical look, but takes it and lets me pull her to her feet. I put my other hand in the air.”

So the character development was incredible – but not just that. The plot was clever, well paced and just awesome. This book would make an amazing TV show. The pages flew by, and the suspense really shone through. As one should with books such as these, I really wanted to know what was going on. And one of the best things is I didn’t guess. I honestly didn’t know the outcome until the very end.

“‘Bronwyn Rojas, I solemnly swear not to murder you today or at any point in the future. Deal?'”

It’s so hard to write a review for a book you thought everything was great in. I honestly don’t have anything to critique! I love the low-key romance and LGBTQIA+ elements of this novel, along with the character development and depth, suspense and writing. The whole thing didn’t even feel far-fetched with the amount of drama that goes on with teenagers today.

“‘You’re ridiculous,’ she mutters, going even redder.
‘It concerns me you’re avoiding a promise not to murder me.”

If I had to critique anything, I would say the amount of characters became slightly confusing. But even saying that, it didn’t change how I feel about this novel. All I can say is the hype this book appears to be achieving is definitely worth it – it won’t let you down!

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Your Name. by Makoto Shinkai

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review12 Comments

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Mitsuha, a high school girl living in a rural town deep in the mountains, has a dream that she is a boy living an unfamiliar life in Tokyo. Taki, a high school boy living in Tokyo, dreams that he is a girl living in the mountains. As they realize they are changing places, their encounter sets the cogs of fate into motion. The light novel is written by director Makoto Shinkai of the animated film Your Name.

Your Name has held a special place in my heart ever since my lovely friend Hannah introduced it to me. In fact, before I start, I’d like to point out her review of the film. It really is something special.

I’m always searching for something, for someone.

Your Name is not only one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, but also one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Makoto Shinkai is both the author of this light novel and the director of the film, and for that reason they compliment each other perfectly. Having the first person viewpoint of both characters is a delight to read, even if it can be a little confusing at times!

In fact, the only gripe I have about this novel is so small, it actually isn’t about the writing. Because the storyline is so complex, it can sometimes be hard to follow when the characters are experiencing the same thing (and who’s talking). It would have really helped to have had one of the characters viewpoints italicized or in a different font!

This feeling has possessed me I think, from that day…

Even though I already knew this story basically word-for-word, this book still made me cry. It still left me pondering love and life. It still left me feeling overjoyed and like I’d just experienced some kind of beautiful adventure.

There is so much I love about this novel, I don’t even know where to start describing everything. For a start, I got through this book in under a day. For me, that’s incredible, and something that hasn’t happened for a while! This book flew past in a beautiful mixture of words and experiences.

That day when the stars came falling.

As with the movie, the mixture of sci-fi and romance really works for this novel. I found (in the book more than the movie), that it left a beautiful metaphor more than anything. It felt like something so real.

Overall, I am still in utter admiration of Makoto Shinkai for creating such a deep, complex and incredible romance. It is one I have recommended and will recommend to many people, readers and movie-lovers. The story is just so precious – I feel like I’m reviewing a true treasure.

One tip before I go – if you’re interested in this one I’d recommend reading the book and watching the movie within a few days of each other if you can! The story can be pretty complex on it’s own, but the two together do make it clearer.

This book, like Taki and Mitsuha, will always hold a special place in my heart.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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