The Grisha Trilogy: Shadow and Bone, Seige and Storm, Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis of Shadow and Bone (from Goodreads)

Pages: 325
Publisher: Indigo
Released: 31st of July 2014 (first published 2012)

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?

What I Have To Say

I read these books far too quickly to give them individual reviews, but I just can't let this wonderful trilogy go past without giving it a review. They are just the sort of books you have to fall in love with because they're so special. 

The world they're set in is based on Russia and is written in such a vivid way, with lots of characters from so many different backgrounds. My favourite was definitely Sturmhond, I'm sure plenty of people share that opinion, because his humour is amazing. 

This Trilogy just had so many great lines. There were a lot of times when I had to pause and take time to appreciate a line or joke. 

This is one of those times when I just have to tell you to trust me and read it, because all three books are great reads. 

Violet and the Pearl or the Orient Blog Tour: Extract and Giveaway

I'm so happy to be a part of this blog tour. This book is the cutest and most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Not only am I lucky enough to be on the tour and share an extract, the lovely people at Simon and Schuster are letting me give away a copy!

So read the extract below (complete with the beautiful artwork that is the pages themselves) and if you want to read more, details of entry will be below.

Giveaway (UK only) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crossing the Line by Kerry Wilkinson

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

My thanks go to Pan MacMillan for providing me with this copy. 

Pages: 392

Publisher: Pan MacMillan

Released: 11th of September 2014

Long before Jessica Daniel became a police officer, Manchester was once a ghost city after dark. Fear ruled as people were afraid to be out by themselves, the notorious Stretford Slasher terrorising its inhabitants.

Twenty-five years on and the media are feeling nostalgic over the milestone but Jessica has a new panic to worry about. Apparent strangers are being targeted in daylight, the attacker unworried about being caught. If only she and her team could find him…

It’s the coldest spring in memory and Jessica has old friends to look out for, plus secrets - so many secrets - that should have long been buried.

What I Have To Say

I hadn't realised how late this was in the series before I requested it, but luckily it was the first book of season two (when did books start coming in seasons anyway?). So I got a chance to see for myself whether it really was a good place for a new reader to start.

I think that crime as a genre is easier to join mid-series than other genres may be. There are exceptions, but in my experience, most crime books tend to work as stand alone as long as you don't mind a few references you don't understand. Crossing The Line was much the same. There were a few times previous events in the series were mentioned, but all in all everything was easy to follow.

I loved the very British pessimism of the characters, complete with weather, traffic, pen thievery and the ever present budget cuts. And though I felt that the female characters were a little bit similar, I really did like Jessica as a character.

If you're looking for a good crime series then this could be a good place to start.

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

Released: 17th of July 2014

Dying sucks – and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows. Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things – including boys.

When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden’s adopted father, a man she’s sure has sinister reasons for collecting children with abilities even weirder than hers.

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not have been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

What I Have To Say

For the first few chapters, I really hated this book. It was slow, rather dull and I really just didn't want to read it. But it is a great example of why you shouldn't give up on a book too quickly, because once things started happening, I started to really enjoy it.

So basically the story is about Rogue from the X-men if she had a little sister to take care of. That's not a bad thing. I like Rogue and I liked Ember just as much, especially while she was trying to control her gift. It was also a really good exploration of how a girl might feel when she's become her sister's carer only to have her taken away.

There was also a lot of other emotion (Ember is really screwed up) as well as a lot of mystery and suspense that made it a really intriguing read. I'm really looking forward to the next book. 

3.5 stars

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 664

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Children's Books

Released: 24th of September 2014

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings…

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack.

But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most.

What I Have To Say

I wasn't sure how this book would really work. I honestly thought that Darcy's book would be the only interesting parts. But it was by Scott Westerfeld, who's one of my favourite authors so I thought I'd give it a shot. 

It actually really surprised me. At times I was more into Lizzie's story and was reading quickly through the Darcy parts to get back to it. But at other times it was the other way around. And then there were times when I got so into each part that I forgot that something dramatic was happening in the other part.

On the whole, I think I liked Darcy's story the best as it showed a lot of Darcy's worries about being in the adult world. I was especially interested in the fact that it showed someone who chooses a path other than university, as this isn't something that's seen often. 

The way this was written just made it so much more interesting. It wasn't a contempory romance about a young debut author, it wasn't a paranormal thriller about hot hindu death gods. It was two books in one. And it did it brilliantly. 

Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 279

Publisher: Hodder and 

Released: 1st of January 2014

It's time to meet your new roomie.

When East Coast native Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment, she shoots off an e-mail to coordinate the basics: television, microwave, mini-fridge. That first note to San Franciscan Lauren sparks a series of e-mails that alters the landscape of each girl's summer -- and raises questions about how two girls who are so different will ever share a dorm room.

As the countdown to college begins, life at home becomes increasingly complex. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives . . . and each other. Even though they've never met.

What I Have To Say

As novels go, I'm surprised there aren't more written about the transfer from high school to university. Or in fact from teenagehood to adulthood in general as it's a very important time in anyone's life. But off the top of my head, I can only think of three, one of a teenager not going to college and two who do. I think it's a real shame there aren't more.

Roomies was not the best of these. Although I feel it would be a perfect read for someone to read the summer before they go to Uni, as it's a great guidebook through the anxieties of that time, the story just didn't do that much for me. 

I almost feel it would have been better had it just been the character's emails to each other, though I am possibly a little bias as I love books like that, because the two characters have such strong voices and I was more interested in the emails than anything else. 

All my criticisms aside, I would be interested in seeing a sequel of how EB and Lauren get on at University. 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 384
Publisher: Picador
Released: 10th of September 2014

DAY ONE

The Georgia Flu explodes over the surface of the earth like a neutron bomb.

News reports put the mortality rate at over 99%.

WEEK TWO

Civilization has crumbled.

YEAR TWENTY

A band of actors and musicians called the Travelling Symphony move through their territories performing concerts and Shakespeare to the settlements that have grown up there. Twenty years after the pandemic, life feels relatively safe.

But now a new danger looms, and he threatens the hopeful world every survivor has tried to rebuild.

STATION ELEVEN

Moving backwards and forwards in time, from the glittering years just before the collapse to the strange and altered world that exists twenty years after, Station Eleven charts the unexpected twists of fate that connect six people: famous actor Arthur Leander; Jeevan - warned about the flu just in time; Arthur's first wife Miranda; Arthur's oldest friend Clark; Kirsten, a young actress with the Travelling Symphony; and the mysterious and self-proclaimed 'prophet'.

 What I Have to Say 

 

I think there are a couple of reasons I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. It was really hyped up by a lot of people on Twitter, so I was expecting something special and I think most people have had things that haven't lived up to the hype. Also, I don't think I was in the mood for something so slow. After I'd got into the style of it, I started to really enjoy it, but I do think I would have liked it more if I'd read it at a different time. 

There are some books that are slow. They are boring and the sentences drag and you really just don't want to read them. But Station Eleven is one of the ones that's slow in a good way. It's sedate. You read it at a relaxing pace and you enjoy the relaxed pace. As I said, it took me a while to get into it. But I could tell that it was good quality in the first half, even when I wasn't in the mood. 

The story jumps around a lot and that's also a bit weird. But it's just something that you have to get used to. It was really beautifully written though. I loved Kirsten and the idea of the newspaper being made and traded around. The ending bothered me a little, I wanted to find out what happened after since it cut off a little suddenly. I hope there's a sequel, because not finding out would be really sad. 
 
It's a very beautiful story, so if you have it on your TBR definitely leave it until you're ready.