Book Review - Four

Title: Four
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent (Short Story Collection)
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Release Date: 8 July 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0007582891

Synopsis
Two years before Beatrice Prior makes her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader does the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is his chance to begin again. Newly renamed 'Four' he discovers that initiation is only the beginning.
Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. And his decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.
Two years later, Four is poised to act but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

My Review
I was so excited when this came out, but I haven't bought a copy yet as I want the American version, as I have the other books in this series with those covers and I have ot have them match. So I was waiting to read it until I got my copy, but as that hasn't happened I decided I should request it from the library to read. That way I still get to enjoy the story and I can keep looking for the American cover I want. 
This book opens up the world of Divergent a bit more and reveals a lot about Four's past. He's the guy we all love from the series and this is a great read. It really lets you see where he really came from, it just gives him another dimension, makes him seem well rounded. The book starts with Four's test and Choosing ceremony, then moves through his Initiation and then features the time he becomes a trainer - when Tris is first introduced. It was really refreshing to see the story from another point of view and made me see some details I hadn't noticed before. 
I read this in one sitting, it's easy to read and will envelope you into the world just as much as the original Divergent series did. It was like coming home and revisiting old friends. 
This is a must read for any fan of the series, it's fresh, fun and an amazing read.

My Rating

    

Read More

Book Review - Take Me On

Title: Take Me On
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits (Book 4)
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Release Date: 6 Jun 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1848452909

Synopsis
Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from. Yet he won't last five seconds in the ring without her help.
West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping him fighting for her is a shot at redemption. Especially since it' s his fault her family is falling apart. He can't change the past, but maybe he can change Haley's future.
Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they'll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

My Review
I love Katie McGarry's books, she is one author I will always pick up no matter what. I never thought she would be my type of book, as I usually head towards fantasy and paranormal, but I have actually discovered I quite like contemporary romance and Katie is the cream of the crop when it comes to contemporary.
This is the fourth book set in the world of the Pushing the Limits novels, they are all individual stories following different characters but some of them do cross reference to the other books so it will make more sense if you read them in the order they came out but you can follow it without. But really why wouldn't you read them all, they are fantastic books and well worth a read.
This book follows Hayley and West. Hayley used to be a champion kick boxer, she had won titles and was the top of her game, but then something happened, something that changed it all and she swore never to enter the ring again, never to fight anyone again and never to get involved with boys who trained as fighters. But an old grudge still stands between Hayley, her ex boyfriend and her brothers. Then new boy West gets involved, he's new to this area but gets thrown in at the deep end. When he agrees to a fight in order to protect Hayley, he's not got much hope of winning, but maybe if they work together they can pull it off. But both of them have secrets, problems at home and things they don't want the other to know. They must get past all of that and then maybe they have a hope of winning, or at least not getting killed!
I started reading this book and was immediately thrown straight back into the world, although it's been quite a while since I visited, this book has been out for a while but somehow I missed it. It was only when I saw the announcement for the new book coming out this month that I looked back at the ones already out and realised I hadn't ever got a copy of this one. I requested it straight away and moved it to the top of my pile. 
It was nice to see Isaiah and Rachel feature again and made everything tie up nicely, it even answered some questions I had about how their story ended which was an added bonus. 
I loved Hayley as a character, she is dealing with some pretty bad things and has no one she can really tell. Everything is piling up on her but she refuses to quit. She is naturally tough, and although she has moments where she breaks down - these just make her so much more human. I felt like she was the sort of girl I would have been friends with at school, if I wasn't scared of her tough exterior that is! 
She has a very level head and a very loyal heart, she will do anything to try and keep her family together and just do the right thing. 
West is more of an unknown, and although he plays the tough guy bit, he is actually very caring and sensitive, most of the fights he gets into are because he is trying to protect someone he loves, and once he's met Hayley this is no different. He can tell that she is the type of girl who can take care of herself, but he can also see through her facade and realises she needs someone at her side too. 
The pair work well together throughout the book, they have a fair share of arguments and fights but you can really feel the romance blossoming between them.
Katie McGarry is one of those writers who writes 'real'. the situations, the characters, the world. It all just comes to life on the page and makes you feel like you know the people and could just step through the pages of the book into their world.
I literally read this in one sitting, after saying I would put the book down and go to bed, I ended up sitting for a further 2 hours and finishing the whole thing. I just couldn't walk away, and everytime I considered it something would pull me back.
These books really are amazing and will make you have serious feels!
Maybe not appropriate for some younger readers due to the issues involved such as abuse. But otherwise I would recommend it to all!

My Rating

      

Read More

Book Reveiw - The Hobbit

Title: The Hobbit (Or There and Back Again)
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Series: Middle Earth
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Release Date: 7th November 2013 (this version)
Originally Published: 1937

Synopsis
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End.
But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon…

My Review
That's right, I had never read The Hobbit before. Apparently this was very shocking! I saw the first 2 Lord of the Rings films as a child and really didn't like them, i think i was too young for them and just wasn't into that thing at the time, but because of that I had avoided the series from then on. But as I have grown my tastes have changed and I love a good fantasy novel, after many lengthy conversations with friends and colleagues at the library I decided I should try it. Plus the 3rd film is about to come out and it looke kind of cool and my boyfriend wanted to see it so I thought I would try the book and then if I liked it I would watch the films.
I was warned that the story is quite slow, so I didn't expect amazing things but I actually found myself settling into it quite well and coming to like Bilbo. He's quite quirky, a bit sarcastic and to be honest, a bit cute. He's very stuck in his ways and can be grumpy but he has a certain charm to his personality that you can't help but like. 
When a strange man turns up at his door and proclaims himself to be the great wizard Gandalf, Bilbo is polite but not willing to engage in talk or adventure, so when a group of 13 dwarfs turn up on his doorstep the next day Bilbo is in for a surprise. 
The dwarfs have a quest, to reclaim the treasure hoard kept by Smaug the dragon and they need a 14th member to their group, and Gandalf has selected Bilbo to be that person.
We then follow as Bilbo grudgingly joins them on the quest but slowly starts to discover things about himself and the world. I actually rather enjoyed following the group on their journey and discovering all the new areas, problems, foes and friends. This book also crosses over as a children's book and it has that sense of ease in reading that sweeps you through the story.
The dwarfs all have very distinct personalities and I enjoyed reading about them all and how they work within the group, my favourite were Fili and Kili - they had great sense of humour!
I can't believe I left it so long without reading this, and I will definitely be moving on to the LOTR series.

My Rating

Read More

Book Review - Attachments

Title: Attachments
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: Orion
Release Date: 1st April 2011
ISBN13: 9781409116288

Synopsis
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

My Review
I have really come to be a fan of Rainbow Rowell and have now read all of her books, this was the last one I managed to find, which is ironic as it's actually her first novel.
Lincoln's life is far from perfect, the only girl he ever loved left him in college/uni, he lives at home with his mum and spends his nights sitting in an office reading other people's emails. It's not exactly hard work or challenging. Finding ways to pass the time is about as hard as it gets. 
Then he finds an email conversation between Jennifer and Beth, it's been flagged up as they are discussing things that aren't to do with work, but for some reason Lincoln doesn't report them, instead he ends up reading their conversations and even looking forward to the next time he will see one. But by the time he realises that he is falling in love with Beth it's too late - he can't confess he has broken her privacy and trust before he even met her. It would make him look like a total creep.

I wasn't sure about this book to start, it seemed a bit slow and i wasn't sure where it was going, Lincoln seemed rather pathetic and whiny which irritated me a bit. I can't stand people that moan about their lives but do nothing to change it, but as the book progresses and you learn more about his past and see him adapt and become a new person I found myself reading more and more in the hope he would get a happy ending.
I also really enjoyed reading the girls email conversations - I can see why Lincoln was intrigued. They were witty and funny but also sometimes really meaningful and made you feel for the characters. 
Rainbow tackled what is actually quite a sensitive subject here and presented it very well. I loved how well the storyline flows and develops and how the characters are so relateable.
It's not my favourite by her, but it is definitely a very good read and I would definitely call myself a fan. I look forward to seeing more from her, eagerly awaiting the next book!

My Rating

      

Read More

Book Review - Lailah

Title: Lailah
Author: Nikki Kelly
Series: The Styclar Saga (Book 1)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: 20 Oct 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1250051516

Synopsis
The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel.
On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely ally – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel.
In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom?
Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.

My Review
One of my colleagues at work told me about this book, she was really excited for it's upcoming release and had heard really good things about it. She ordered a copy and showed me it online. I agreed that it looked and sounded quite cool so I put a request in too. 
The request came in for her but as she hasn't been in for a few days I thought I might as well read it first, I had just finished another book so knew I had time to fit it in. 
Lailah isn't human but she doesn't know what she is, she can't truly die - each time she comes back and starts again only retaining odd memories of her lives before. The one constant between each life is Gabriel, a face she sees in her mind and that warms her heart, she doesn't know who or what he is but she knows he is everything she needs. 
Then she meets Jonah, a vampire in need and she helps rescue him, but ends up deep within his world and in danger. There is a war coming between the higher vampires and the second generation that goes deeper than anything you could imagine, and now Lailah is in the middle of it. It turns out that Jonah is working with Gabriel, so Lailah finally gets to meet him and suddenly everything feels right, but secrets and dark plots emerge and Lailah must decide for herself who she can really trust and find out once and for all just what she really is.
I wanted to love this book, I was quite excited for it - I had caught my friends buzz but to be honest the book fell a little bit flat. Don't get me wrong, it is still a good book but it did have it faults for me.
There seemed to be an awful lot of backstory and padding, it took a while to get to the point, there was just a little bit too much detail that I felt could have been condensed to let it all flow that little bit better, and for a while it was a bit repetitive - Lailah would be 'rescued' by Jonah and Gabriel etc, realise she was bringing danger to them or that she was in danger from them so she would run away, she would then get attacked by something and be rescued by Gabriel etc. Then the cycle would repeat. She kept trying to run and ending up in more danger, yes it was a slightly different reason each time but I wanted to shout at her and tell her to just stay put for once.
However there were also some very good parts that got me reading faster and wanting more, some very good battle scenes and the character development of Jonah, Brooke and Lailah herself was great to  read. And I liked the way the author described the angels and their link to light and darkness (Heaven and Hell), it was very well set up and clear that a lot of thought had gone into making the world of the book.
This was the sort of book that when I did pick it up I would read 100-150 pages at a time and make good progress but when I put it down I wasn't desperate to pick it back up. I would find something else to do, but when I did pick it up again I did fairly enjoy it. It just didn't have that 'must have' quality to it.
There are some very well written and exciting action scenes and I liked the sense of mystery and intrigue throughout, I did enjoy it but it isn't something I would rush to read again. I'm torn as to whether to read book 2 when it comes out, I'm not sure how curious I am about what happens to them all, although the ending of this one was very good.

If you are into Paranormal fantasy then you may love this book and it's worth giving it a try, but it didn't quite hit the mark with me.

My Rating
This was a hard choice, Average seemed a bit harsh but I didn't Really Enjoy It so in the end I had to go with the lower grade but it was tough.

  
    

Read More