My Netgalley Life

Okay, weird title for a post, but I thought it would be catchy, and in essence this is what my post is all about!

What books have I requested (and am I still waiting for?), what books were accepted (and am I looking forward to them?), and what books did I get declined for?

Up first, the books which I requested and have been accepted for!

The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin

So, it's not often that I go for historical fiction on Netgalley, and this was on of my first requests for that genre, mainly because I've heard a lot of people talking about it, and it sounds so intriguing! I really hope it lives up to everything I've heard about it!

The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen

Guys, can you guess what made this book pop out to me on Netgalley? The cover of course, it's spectacular and the colours literally pop. And the blurb, referencing all these little stories like Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz, why would I not be interested in this?!

Blackbird by N. D. Gomes

Yet again, I was drawn in by the cover of this. It's not a genre I really read (murder mystery) but as I like my murder TV shows, I thought I'd try this book out. Plus, I've heard a lot of good things about this, so I can't wait to read and compare my views to everyone elses!

Fix Me by Lisa M. Cronkhite

So, I've told you about this before, in one of my first posts about what was on my TBR list (see HERE). And I have waited a while to read it, mainly because of the release date was further away than some other books I got accepted for, but I'm still intrigued about just what this book will be like, and it's going to be one of the first out of this list which will be read.

Next on this list, is books which I got rejected for:

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

So, this isn't available on Netgalley anymore as it's been let out, but I was slightly disappointed I never got to read this, as it was compared to some books that I adore. But, now I guess I can add it to my TBR list for if I buy any new books, which is good.

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The cover for this book is beautiful, and it is a fantasy book mixed with history. I do love these types of books, as I've read some amazing books with a similar mixture of history and fantasy, so I was slightly gutted when this request wasn't accepted.

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

I have heard so much about this book! And it sound so good, and the cover is amazing (both US and UK cover) and that's about the only things I can say about it. It's a shame I got rejected, but it is one I will definitely be buying when it is out!

The Book of Pearl by Timothee de Fombelle

One phrase that will make you guess why I wanted to request this book: modern fairytale. I love me some fairy tales. It's a shame I got rejected, but I always will buy any fairytale re-imaginings that I find, so not much of a loss!

Next, is the two requests that I have yet to get an answer to (here's hoping they're accepted!):

Invictus by Ryan Graudin

This is nearly out, so I probably won't be getting accepted for this unfortunately, as I've heard so much about it. However, it's definitely one I'll be buying when out as I've heard a lot about it and it sounds so interesting and totally in my taste.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

I am forever going to be hoping that my request for this gets accepted, as it isn't out until January I will be hoping for a little while yet. I've said this so many times about some of the books in this post, but so many good things have been said about this book, and it seems right up my alley, so I'll be buying it if I can't get a hold of a copy from Netgalley.

And that is my Netgalley life summed up so far (with probably a few more posts like this to come in my bookblogging life).

Have you read any of these books, or been accepted to read any of these books? Comment below!

Review: Fables, The Deluxe Edition 1 by Bill Willingham

So, this is just a quick review today!

My friend decided to loan me his copy of Fables, a comic book about Fairy Tales who live in Fabletown, a neighbourhood in New York after being forced to leave their storybook lands because of a character called the Adversary.

I've never really read comic books before, so I wasn't sure how I would do with one, but wow did I love it!

Especially because you should all know by now I love fairy tale re-tellings so much.

So, for those of you that haven't heard of this particular comic book, here it is:

Once Upon a Time...

Imagine that all the characters from the world's most beloved storybooks were real - real, and living among us, with all of their powers intact. How would they cope with life in our mundane, un-magical reality?

The answer can be found in FABLES, Bill Willingham's celebrated reimagining of the venerable fairy tale canon. From Snow White and the Big Bad Wolf and Goldilocks, and Little Boy Blue, the folk tales of old are reborn here as exiles living in the magically camouflaged New York City neighbourhood of Fabletown.

So, as I said, a fairytale retelling. Not one that I've seen before though, it's definitely unique from the other plots I've read about fairytales in the modern day world. But, you can tell how much I loved it by the fact that I've already borrowed the third book in this series of comic books from my friend, and plan to borrow all the others!

I do warn you though, it's definitely not all PG, and some of it can be a a bit dark. However, in my opinion it all blends well together, and it did have me laughing a lot at some of the characters!

Overall, a very good first venture into the comic book world for me, and I'll definitely be reading others in this series, and other comic book series too (my friend has just lent me another comic book series that will definitely be read & reviewed soon).

I'm giving this comic book: 5 cats!

Have any of you read this comic book before? Or do you have any other comic books you would recommend to me? Comment below!

My Favourite Movies!

So, I had a movie day with a couple of friends this weekend, and we decided to make it a favourite movies day. We each took two of our favourites, and we chose which ones we should watch.

So, after a little poll on my Twitter about if you'd be interesting reading about my favourite movies, I decided to post and tell you all about them!

First, the two I chose to take with me to this movie day (yes they're both animated but come on, I love a good animated film!):

Spirited Away

I only started watching Studio Ghibli films after a friend introduced me to them, and this one is my favourite. I just love the idea of a whole other world, and well, I also love the weirdness of it.

Weird and wonderful is how I describe it! (my friends face expressions while watching for the first time were rather amusing)

The Rescuers

And, there is it, a Disney film, I bet you must have expected at least one of these in my list! The rescuers is not a classic Disney film, but I used to watch it so much when younger that my VHS copy ended up dead from reuse. So, yes, definitely one of my favourites!

There was one other film I would have loved to have taken with me, but couldn't seem to find, and that is this one:

Big Fish

I first watched this during senior school and it just stuck with me as one of my favourites, I watched it so many times during university, it's just such a cute little story-telling film!

And last but not least, those movies that I can always rewatch, even if I've watched them a ridiculous amount of times! (yes I have quite a weird taste in movies, but don't we all have such different tastes?)

Taken

I don't know why I like this movie so much but I do! Whenever it is on TV I always make sure to put a timer on it to remember to watch it.

Alice in Wonderland

I am just a tiny bit obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, both the original animation and most new adaptations that I can find. I think it comes from the fact that I once played Alice in a musical during school.

But yes, it's one of my feel-good movies that I go to when I'm feeling bad.

Tangled

Surprise! Another Disney movie! But I love it, it is actually my favourite new Disney movie, and I've watched it so many times, I even downloaded a couple of the songs from the soundtrack, they're just amazing!

Con Air

I know, some of these options are so weird when I am usually a Disney addict, but I love this movie ever since I watched it with friends! No idea why but I do!

Forrest Gump

Come on, who doesn't like a bit of Forrest Gump? I sure do! And I visited Bubba Gump's Shrimp restaurant while in Florida, it was amazing! I just love the stories told in this movie.

Sleeping Beauty

Yep, another Disney movie, who woulda guessed? This is my favourite classic Disney movie out of all of them. Not to say I don't like the others but this one just calls to me, and I love a good adaptation of it!

Obviously, these aren't all of my favourite movies, these are just a few that I most like of all.

What are your favourite movies? Or, what do you think of mine? Comment below!

ARC Review: Book of Fire by Michelle Kenney

So, I got this book from Netgalley, as an e-copy in exchange for a review.

I was extremely excited to read it. I had a bit of a slump while reading, so it took me longer than usual, but my slump was definitely not because of this book.

I loved this book. One word I can think of to describe it, is: Amazing.

Here it is:

Life outside the domes is not possible. At least that’s what Insiders are told.

Twins Eli and Talia shouldn’t exist. They’re Outsiders.

Their home is a secret. Their lives are a secret. Arafel is a secret.

An unexpected forest raid forces Talia into a desperate mission to rescue her family while protecting the sacred Book of Arafel from those who would use it as a weapon. As Talia and her life long friend Max enter the dome, she makes some unexpected discoveries, and allies, in the form of rugged Insider August, that will change the course of her life forever.

She’ll stop at nothing to save her family but will she sacrifice her heart in the process?

The Fire Sermon meets Gladiator in this brilliant YA debut.

Guys, I just do not know how to express my love for this book. It was so good! If I hadn't have had my slump I would have read this so quickly I'm sure, and I will probably re-read it a few times too!

This book is all about Talia, a girl who lives in a forest village, after a nuclear war. The world is split into 'Insiders' who survived inside a Dome after the devastation from the war, and 'Outsiders' who, according to those inside the Dome, should not exist.

While in this book, you see so many wild and weird creatures, all thanks to the genetic engineering of the Insiders. Creatures from history and mythology, such as Griffins or Cyclops, and just random creatures, like fluorescent cats. (This particular cat was only mentioned in the book once, but you know what I'm like with cats, so it stuck with me!).

The imagery in this book is just stunning, and it had me able to imagine all of the little details of the creatures, and places, and so I definitely congratulate Michelle on how well this little book world is written.

And guys, I doubt I've said this before, but I do love a love triangle! I don't know why, but they really draw me in to a book, and I love to take sides (apparently I usually choose the least popular side).

And what did this book give me? A love triangle! Talia had to choose between an Insider, August, and an Outsider she grew up with, Max.

I'm so routing for her and August (feel free to disagree with me in the comments if you've read the book!).

So, yes, a love triangle, genetic engineering, a Fluorescent cat, and a strong female main character, it all makes an amazing book that I highly recommend!

My rating: 5 cats!

This book is out this week (25th August) and it has recently been confirmed that it will be part of a trilogy! Yay!

Have any of you read this? Or are planning to read this? Comment below!

Harry Potter Book Tag!

So, here I am, big Potterhead, probably a bit too big of a Potterhead, and when I saw this tag on Rebecca's blog I knew I had to do it, and she unofficially tagged me when I talked to her about it.


Just can't resist the pull of a Harry Potter tag!


So, here are the questions:


1. What house are you in?



Technically Hufflepuff (on Pottermore) but I was sorted into Ravenclaw for my uni society and so I feel more like a Ravenclaw than anything. I guess I'll choose to be a Ravenpuff!



2. What is your patronus?


I took a while to actually do the patronus test, but I got a Dolphin!



3. What is your wand?


Hawthorn wood with a unicorn hair core, 13 ¾



4. What would your boggart be?


I'm not sure, maybe spiders/bugs, or heights? not sure xD



5. What position would you play in Quidditch?



I'm not really a sporty person, so I'd much rather be in the stands reading a book like Hermione! But if I have to choose probably a keeper, I'm good at being a goaly.



6. Would you be a pure blood, half blood or muggle born?


Most likely muggleborn as my parents aren't that into the magical world of Harry Potter like I am!



7. What job would you want after to have after graduating Hogwarts?


I'd love to be the Hogwarts librarian! Or maybe be in the Department of Mysteries! I'm good with secrets ;)

Quite a big difference between the two I chose!



8. Which of the deathly hallows would you choose?



Invisibility cloak! Great fun that'd be!




9. Favourite book?



Prisoner of Azkaban! Love it, and love that Sirius comes in and we find out a bit more about Harry's family/family friends.



10. Least favourite book?


Probably Order of the Phoenix (can't deal with Sirius being gone) or Deathly Hallows (I miss Dobby and loads of other characters so much!)



11. Favourite film?



Yet again, Prisoner of Azkaban! Love me some Sirius.



12. Least favourite film?



Oooooh hard to say! Maybe chamber of secrets? I just don't like it as much as the others, I don't know why (still watch it over and over though)



13. Favourite character?



Noooo how to chooooooose? But I guess I love me some Sirius (if you hadn't guessed) and I love Dobby so much. (notice how I chose two characters that broke my heart later in the books)


14. Least favourite/most hated character?


Eurgh, easy peasy. Umbridge. Don't think I need to explain myself for that answer!



15. Favourite teacher at Hogwarts?


McGonagall! Totally McGonagall! Love her, love she turns into a cat, and just love her character so much. (also Lupin, but as he's only at Hogwarts for a year I chose McGonagall instead.



16. Least favourite teacher at Hogwarts?


Yet again Umbridge. I seriously think she was the worst teacher EVER. Even stuttery Voldemort possessed Quirrell was better than her!



17. Do you have any unpopular opinions about the series?

I think that Harry and Hermione would have been a great romantic pairing! (or another one is I so wanted the Hermione and Krum relationship to work out)

Please don't kill me for that opinion guys *hides in a corner*



Do you agree with my answers? Comment below! Or, feel free to do this tag even if I haven't tagged you!



I tag (and anyone else that wants to do it):


Jess


Sydney


Paige


Linda


Jackie


Megs


Ash


Aisha

Review: The Witch's Kiss by Katharine & Elizabeth Corr

So, this book has been on my TBR list for a while, after it was introduced to me by another book blogger. I love me some fairytale adaptations, and well, yet again, the cover of this book drew me in.

Yes, yes, I know, I have a problem with my obsession with pretty book covers, but I don't want to give up this particular obsession, it's gotten me some good books!

Anyways, onto the book:

Merry is an average teenager.

She's also a witch.

She is trying not to be, but she is.

Then Jack comes into her life and she can't help falling under his spell. One problem - he's part of an evil, centuries-old curse that Merry now has to break.

If Merry has lost her heart, will she lose her life too? Or can true love's kiss save the day?

Being a witch is dangerous - but being in love is even worse...

Okay, so, I admit, I haven't read many books that are actually set in the UK, in the current day, so it did take me a little while to get used it it, and connect with the characters like I usually do in a book. (I know, how weird is it that I can connect with other characters but not a modern-day UK character?).

However, as soon as I got to the 'Before' section of the book (the time where the curse in the book originated from) I was hooked. After that, I was fine with the whole modern day thing, in fact, I was more than fine, it made me remember the days when I used to read a lot more modern-day fiction while I was in school, and I loved that this book made me remember that.

As you all may know, I love fairy tale adaptations, and this had me guessing which fairy tale would be used from the very beginning! This book is a lovely little twisted version of Sleeping Beauty, in the fact that instead of the girl being the victim of the sleeping curse, it is the guy (and the weird creepy sorcerer too).

Well, what can I say about this book? It was amazing, and it had a very big twist at the end (I won't spoil it but I'll say I definitely didn't think it would end the way it did), and I know I probably won't even be able to begin to guess what will happen in the next book.

I loved all of the characters, and I loved the family dynamic in this book. Leo was one of my favourite characters, as the protective older brother that sticks with Merry no matter what happens, and it made me want a big brother like Leo in my life. I definitely hope to see more of him in the sequels.

All I can say is that although it took me a bit to get into the book, I am so glad I read it, it's taken me back to my younger years, and I just can't wait to read the next book (the prettiest cover for the second book has literally made me into the heart-eyed emoji). Definitely one I would recommend to younger readers, and people just branching out to the Fantasy YA genre.

I give this book: 4.5 cats!

Have you read this book? Do you agree with my opinions? Comment below!

Review: The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King

So, I got this as a kindle First book, which meant I got it a month before the release date in the UK. I don't tend to get kindle First books unless they really draw me in with the cover and the description, and boy did this one draw me in.

The cover for this book is amazing, bright reds and golds mix together and with my weakness for nice book covers, I just had to buy it.

 I didn't actually read it until it was released as I was so busy with work, but when I did read it, I was amazed and breezed through it rather quickly for a kindle book!

Anyways, here it is:

As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple.

But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life. Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.

Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.

In Emily R. King’s thrilling fantasy debut, an orphan girl blossoms into a warrior, summoning courage and confidence in her fearless quest to upend tradition, overthrow an empire, and reclaim her life as her own.

Now, as I said I breezed through this book, and I've even gone through it a second time since the first, as I did love the plot so much. Kalinda, the main character, is an orphan who has lived her life with the Sisterhood, and yet despite her fevers she gets chosen to be the Rajah's 100th wife, where she has to compete with numerous courtesan's to keep that position as his last, and final wife.

I just loved Kalinda, she was feisty, and I like feisty female main characters. I love that she keeps her feistyness despite everything that happens to her in the book, and I was routing for her to fall in love with someone (not the creepy Rajah). However, I must admit that I did think the love between Kalinda and Deven was very quickly built up, but I can't help but love their relationship anyway.

Plus, I love the fantasy part of this book. Bhuta's (people with elemental powers) are trying to regain their lost legacy after it was stolen by the Rajah, and while doing so they mix in with Kalinda and shape her plans for her tournament, while adding a little bit more excitement to the mix of the book!

The ending to this book had me wanting more, which is always a good way to leave it don't you think? And the next book, The Fire Queen (out 26th September) has a description that makes me think there may be a slight love triangle (I like love triangles so here's hoping) so I can't wait to read it!

Altogether, I give this book 4 Cats! (if it was more of a slow-go with the relationship it would have been 5)

Have any of you read this book? Do you agree with my review? Comment below!

Review: Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's trilogy) by Ransom Riggs

So, as you may have seen, I reviewed the first book of the Miss Peregrine's trilogy HERE.

It may seem like I'm skipping past the second book (I'm not, I've read all 3 books and I'll be talking about the last 2 here, so if you haven't read them there may be some points here I'll be making which confuse you a bit!)

But here's this book (the third one, you can see the second one on Goodreads HERE)

A boy with extraordinary powers. An army of deadly monsters. An epic battle for the future of peculiardom.

The adventure that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and continued in Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.

They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

So, I loved this book just as much as I loved the first, and even the second (not that I reviewed the second). The pictures were just as amazing and I think if you've read my other reviews you'll understand why I adored the pictures so much.

I must admit, it wasn't my favourite book of the three (not that I don't love them all), my favourite book had to have been the second in the series (Hollow City) as who couldn't love all of the peculiar animals that were introduced when the children found the Menagerie loop?

This book starts exactly where book two left off, and Jacob has learnt just how powerful his peculiar ability is, in that he can control Hollow's if he concentrates enough. This is one of the main plot lines of this book, as Jacob learns just what his ability can do and how far he can stretch it, and he definitely tests this at different points in the book (with both a positive and negative outcome).

It is in this book though that I found my favourite loop of the series, Devil's Acre. I don't know why I liked the way that Riggs wrote Devil's Acre, as it is a horrid place, but I just loved the imagery that the place gave off. Granted, if I had to choose a loop to live in myself, it definitely wouldn't be Devil's Acre, but I admit it would be an interesting one to visit for a day (as long as you had a guide like Sharon!).

My favourite character in all the books though is Addison, I mean, who wouldn't love a talking dog? And a brave one at that! I adored Addison, you first found him in Hollow City, and he was quirky and funny and I wished I had a dog like him (I may have to find a dog and put some glasses on it to recreate Addison some time).

So, for this book, I give it 4.5 cats (and I also give 4.5 cats to the whole series)

I'm definitely going to miss this series and I can't wait for more when Ransom Riggs finally lets out the new books!

Have you read the series? If so who is your favourite character and what is your favourite book? And what loop would you like to be a part of if you had the chance? Comment below!

Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Okay so, lots and lots of fabulous opinions on this book series has had it on my TBR and to be bought list for a while now. I mean, with so many people talking about it, and the author being such a sweet person on her Twitter, who wouldn't want to read it?

Plus, I have a serious weakness for pretty covers, and the shiny gold foil on this book cover just drew me in straight away whenever I was in a book store.

Lucky for me, my sister was nice and told me she would buy me one book on our trip to London, and I chose this one (it was even a signed copy so how could I resist?!)

Here it is:

Tell me how you want your story to go, he says, and we'll write it straight across the sand.

Dustwalk is an unforgiving, dead-end town. It's not the place to be poor or orphaned or female. And yet Amani Al-Hiza must call it 'home'.

Amani wants to escape and see the world she's heard about in campfire stories.

Then, a foreigner with no name turns up, and with him she has the chance to run.

But the desert plains are full of dangerous magic. The Sultan's army is on the rise and Amani is soon caught at the heart of a fearless rebellion.

An epic story of swirling desert sands, love, magic and revolution.

As you can tell if you follow me on Twitter, I read this book in less than a day. Picked it up at 6pm one night, and finished it around 11am the next day (yes I did sleep, I slept for 9 hours inbetween!)

Now, I am quite a quick reader, but this was even quick for me, and just showed how much I loved it. I am just so glad that it lived up to the expectations that I had build up in my mind after seeing everyone talking about this series.

I just loved the main character Amani. She was a strong girl with ambitions, who just wanted out of her town where she was destined to just become someones wife. As you may tell from the blurb of this book, she did manage to get away from her town, but it took her on a non-stop adventure when she decided to run with Jin, a foreigner she met at a shooting competition.

I didn't just love the main character though, I loved all of Alwyn's characters, and I connected with them so easily. In fact, I just love this world Alwyn created. I mean, who wouldn't love a book about Djinni's and magical beings? I very rarely find a book that has Djinni's in it, and now I know I definitely love any books with them in! (granted we don't see one in this book, but we hear about them, and we see some other magical beings of the desert instead)

I could go on forever about this book, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't got around to reading it yet. All I can say is that I love the way that Amani, although strong in herself at the beginning of the book, learns to grow and really comes into herself by the end of the book, while learning more about her heritage (and that's all I'll say on that point).

Just an amazing book from Alwyn Hamilton and I know I'll be reading the next in the series ASAP!

I give this book: 5 Cats!

So, do you agree with me? What do you think of this book? Comment below!

Kindle TBR

Okay, so, I thought I'd share with you my kindle TBR's. Which is a lot. Sometimes I see interesting things that I want to read on the kindle daily deal and I just buy it (oops I have an addiction).

I just can't help myself when I see cheap e-books!

So, I thought I'd share them with you (as I tend to read kindle books on my bus/train journeys and so may be reviewing some of these soon).

1. Order of Darkness collection by Philippa Gregory

So, this I bought when it was on kindle daily deal, as I've got some of Philippa's other books and they interest me. This book seems to mix both history and fantasy, which seems like it'll pull me in, and I can't wait to read them.

(annoyingly I won the paperback version of this book the day after I bought them on kindle, so I do hope I like them!)

2. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I have seen so many people talking about this book that I decided to buy it to see if I liked it, I may just have to get the actual book version if I do because I love this cover so much!

3. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

I can't remember where I heard about this book, but the description just made me want to pick it up and read it. Plus, I love dystopian series lately, and this seems like an interesting twist on that side of things.

4. The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Yet another book that I've heard a lot about, so I decided to get it to see what the hype was about! As you can tell, from the Philippa Gregory books, I love historical fiction with some fantasy wrapped in so it seemed like my type of book.

5. Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

So, I loved the Mortal Instruments series, and it was only a matter of time before I tried to read some of the spin-off's that were written. I decided to change it up though and buy these on Kindle instead of in book form, just in case I don'y like them as much as the others.

Thats the most recent of my TBR's from the Kindle list, but I do have others, such as Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb, Harmony Black by Craig Schaefer, Gateway to Fourline by Pam Brondos, and Letters to Zell by Camille Griep.

I'm sure there will be many more in the future, but these are some that I've been meaning to read for a while, and probably will read soon.

Have you read any of these books? Or wanted to read any? Comment below!