Review of The Prince by Kiera Cass

Pages: 59
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release: March 2013


Plot: Before thirty-five girls were chosen to compete in the Selection...
Before Aspen broke America's heart...
There was another girl in Prince Maxon's life...

Don't miss this thrilling 128-page original novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling novel The Selection. Also features a teaser to The Elite, Kiera Cass's hotly anticipated sequel to The Selection. (Goodreads)

Thoughts... Its been a long wait but I finally read the novella to the Selection series by Kiera Cass and just like her first book The Selection, The Prince continues to strengthen my love for this series.

Within this short e-book we see the story told in the perspective of Maxon in the lead up and briefly during the arrival of the 35 girls taking part in the competition. We also discover that there was another girl in Maxon's life before the competition named Daphne, the daughter of the King of France and we get to explore Maxon's relationship both with her and his father.
 The relationship between Maxon and his parents, the King and Queen however is in my opinion defined in The Prince a lot better than I thought it was in The Selection as the reader get's to the chance to explore Maxon's views and relationship with how his parents treat him.
 I'd definitely say that the King especially is put forward in a much more negative light as we are introduced further to the idea that the Selection has possibly been meddled with by the King and that he is actually rather unpleasant towards his son.
My opinion of the Queen has also changed and my suspicions have grown that there is possibly something...off? about her character. The quote "I couldn't imagine a circumstance that would dim my absolute adoration of her (The Queen)" that Maxon speaks of within the book about his mother immediately jumps out as a huge opening to the story that almost begs for his view of her to be challenged and possibly a truth may arise about her character soon that would change this. Just a theory though...
To conclude, if you haven't already read The Selection I highly recommend you read that before the novella as I think you get a broader understanding of what is happening within this story.
 The sequel,The Elite, is out later this year however I have just received my Review copy of it and am literally dancing around my room with excitement, so the review for that shouldn't be too far away if I read this one as quickly as I managed to devour the first book to the series.
Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear what you think about the series so far!

ARC Review of Ink by Amanda Sun

Pages: 377

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release: June 25th 2013

Plot: On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive. (Goodreads)

Good Points: One of the major things that stood out for me when I read this book was the obvious love the author has for Japan. The description of the people, traditions and scenery all helped beautifully create a vivid image for the reader right from page one which I absolutely loved. The use of the Japanese language throughout for me worked really well also, as at times a character would say something and you wouldn't necessarily find out what they had actually said, only what they had implied, and I thought this fitted into the book really well as the reader gains some understanding and a brief insight into the humongous challenge that Katie has of being placed in an environment where she doesn't really know the language yet. I thought this was a nice touch to the story.

Also every now and then there's a little drawing that's relevant to the scene which was nice seeing as though its a book involving drawings coming to life and for a moment I did look at the pictures on my Kindle and expect them to move -_- Just saying... 
Continuing with the Japanese setting in the book, traditional Japanese mythology is used to create the paranormal element to the story and explain the strange things that Katie is sure she is seeing such as the moving drawings that she catches staring at her.

Overall though the book did get slightly better the more I read on though I think the first half ruined it a little for me in the end and that's why I'd probably only give it 2, maybe 3 stars if I was rating it. 

What I didn't like: I really wanted to love this book but I just didn't. I saw INK a couple of months ago on Goodreads before I received the ARC and it sounded really interesting with its plot being set in Japan where a girl see's drawings come alive. Sounds pretty good, right? But instead I guess you could say that I just felt a little let down.

Firstly I would have loved for the book to deal a little more with Katie starting out in Japan rather than jumping dramatically to the point where she meets Tomohiro and seemingly falls in love with him pretty much from the start. This is reflected in her infatuation with her following him despite his cries of 'Get away from me, I'm dangerous!" which I have to admit had me rolling my eyes. I don't know, maybe I'm finally getting tired of this sort of stuff cropping up in YA books. Yes, the whole drawings to life and Japanese culture playing a key role within the book were unique I give it that, but the sub-plot wasn't. It was you're typical bad yet mysterious boy falling for the new girl at school who is being sought after by that other guy and they somehow get caught up in danger. 

To Sum Up.... I wouldn't completely rule this book out because I know some people will really love it but for me it just wasn't my cup of tea. 

The book hit shelves June 25th this year so look out for it! 

Review of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Pages: 375
Publisher: Puffin Books
Released: 2005

Plot: After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus. (Goodreads)

The Review... People have been recommending me to read these books for a while now and so I thought it was about time I gave them a try. I watched the film with Logan Lerman a couple of years ago and thought it was okay but I have to admit after reading the book I finally understand what everyone in the Percy Jackson fandom were arguing about. The book is so much better. Honestly you can barely recognise that the film even came from the book there's so many differences to it.
The main character Percy was introduced well. He has all the characteristics of a likeable character loyal, caring and at times funny which add to the book being a fun read alongside the adventure Percy, Annabeth and Grover embark on, of finding Zeus's stolen lightning bolt.
Basically I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. I was a little bit sceptical about reading the book to begin with because of the hype surrounding them and I have to hold my hands up to this when I saw Percy was a 12 year old boy I immediately thought kids book. But DON'T BE FOOLED! The book was fantastic! It was fast paced and the plot moved smoothly yet never got boring. To be honest, I kind of forgot that Percy was 12 after a while due to his smart mouthed and outgoing character that took charge in going to find not only the lightening bolt and his mother but also taking on the Gods as well.
Overall I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone of any age, the story's great, there's five books in the series and it centre's around Greek mythology. Honestly, what more could you want?
Reviews of the next books in the series to come!

Seen the trailer for Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters movie? Any thoughts? Leave them in the comments below :)

Review of Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices#3) by Cassandra Clare

Pages: 568
Publisher: Walker Books
Released: March 2013

Plot: Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy
Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her. (Taken from the back cover)

Good Points: One of the major things that I love about Cassandra Clare's writing, especially within this series (TID) is her beautiful descriptions of things that would usually seem ordinary.
 Everything seems vibrant in the world she has created and The Clockwork Princess does not fail to continue in proving Clare's worth as a writer. 
The Infernal Devices series undoubtedly as a whole is amazing. The characters in which I have grown to love continue to develop right up to the very last page of the book and every character in the series felt important, even the cook Bridget whose constant yet prophetic singing annoys the entire institute to the very end. Within the book there is also the inclusion of a series of letters between the consul and the inquisitor and other members of the clave which were an interesting addition to the story giving a back channel to what else is going on outside of the Institute. 
There was everything that I wanted and expected the concluding book to have- action, romance, drama and the bond between Jem and Will is just as breathtakingly good and strong as shown in the first two books, probably more so in this book than the others. 
The ending had me in tears because it was just so... I guess you could call it bitter-sweet. To be honest I'm still unsure on how I feel about it and I'm trying to do this without revealing spoilers and all I can think of saying is that it is like nothing I have ever read before of even imagined would or could possibly happen within the story.
You realise throughout the series that although Will and Jem share the Parabatai bond, they also share another bond with the inclusion of Tessa.The relationship that the three of them (Tessa, Will and Jem)so obviously have and the love that they share for each other is just as described throughout the series with the mention of Sydney Carton from a Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. You realise as the story progresses and this love grows even stronger that each of them is willing to die to save the lives of the other, and the tangled mess which they cannot control is so complex and painstakingly beautiful that the ending could never have been more fitting.

Bad Points: If I am being truly honest I must admit that for the first hundred pages or so I just couldn't get into the book, maybe this was down to the fact that the gap between the last book felt so long, I don't know but that was my only problem with the book. Aside from that it was just...WOW.

To Sum Up... If I had to make the choice between The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments the choice, I think, would be an easy one. Hands down, The Infernal Devices would win simply down to the characters.
 In TID the depth to which the characters are developed and the relationships they share with each other and the reader are just...perfect. I am literally at a loss for words to describe just how good this series is and just how much it means to me. Tessa is the character that most relates with me as a reader simply down to the fact that she reads. She's a character that's real; she's faulted, she makes mistakes yet she tries her best to cope in the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders which she is thrust into. 
Her relationship with Jem and Will throughout the series has left me hanging on for more. It made love triangles seem unlike the slightly over-used structure of YA fiction and instead made it seem important. I grew at war with myself over who Tessa belonged with and it was clear as the books went on that Tessa's heart truly was split in two.
Overall this books was just the perfect ending to a perfect series. If you haven't read the Infernal Devices I strongly recommend that you read them, not only for the amazing characters, the beautiful described Victorian England setting or to find out who Tessa does end up with in the end, but for the story. I can promise you its not one you'll forget.

*Also try and get the Collectors Edition of the book as it includes a pull out poster with the family trees of the families. 

Did you like the ending? Leave a comment below :)

Review of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pages: 435
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Released: 1813

Plot: When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited, while he struggles to remain indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life. (Goodreads)

(Slight spoilers-so be warned!)
Thoughts: I really loved this book! If I'm honest I was a little sceptical at reading it first simply because I didn't think I could handle reading such a delicate romance without getting bored but I couldn't have been more wrong! I really loved Elizabeth's character. I thought she was headstrong, at times funny and very much ahead of her years in terms of her character developing towards the modern. The story is plotted well and at no time whilst reading did I feel that nothing of specific interest was happening. Everything felt...right, as though each event and character played a vital part to the story which in some books I have read recently isn't a common feature. Although at first, like many, I was sucked into believing that Darcy was an arrogant fool but as the story develops and more secrets and truths are revealed I ended up seriously falling for his charming character.
I think this is another reason why the book is so well... relatable. Each character develops an actual personality and as the reader we see more clearly these 'sides' to the characters as Lizzie changes her opinion on the figures that surround her due to specific actions and twists within the plot. I think because the themes titled still resonate with today's society it is why the book is still very entertaining and a factor that makes each character likeable to some extent in their own way as each are faulted and make mistakes yet learn to overcome their prejudices.
Overall  I am pleasantly surprised by this book and would definitely read it again. 5 STARS!


To Sum Up: I cannot recommend this book enough, I absolutely loved it and you can tell why it has become such a classic among society. I have yet to see any of the film adaptations of the book though I have been watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series which I posted about a couple of days ago.
Loving this author though and cannot wait to read more of her novels.

Any recommendations on which Jane Austen novel I should read next leave in the comments below :D

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Recently I've been having quite a bit of trouble following peoples blogs and I've found this site that seems to do the job okay.
Its called Bloglovin and there will now be a permanent link to subscribe/follow in the side bar>>>>
Thanks!
Amy

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries- 'It was illuminating'.

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across something that I would never have guessed would evolve into one of the major highlights to my week.

That something was the Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a web show based around the classic novel Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen.

 The show, styled as a series of vlog entries by the character Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Bennet is a modernised adaptation of the book and each week two videos are uploaded onto Lizzie's channel in which she spills the beans on events such as her sister Jane's romantic entanglement with the handsome Bing Lee to her own encounters with the mysterious figure that is William Darcy.

Firstly, I have to applaud the writers, actors, directors and anyone else who was involved in the making of such a wonderful adaptation of Austen's novel. The series is truly a fantastic creation that I am sure has made many people more susceptible to Austen's works and the growing world that is online web series.

I for one am one of those people.

Originally, and as much as I hate to admit it, I probably would have looked at Pride and Prejudice gingerly, fearful that I wouldn't be able to understand what was happening because I mean come on its like 200 years old and the language would be far too complicated for me to understand. I can honestly say however that was probably one of the stupidest things I have ever said in my life.

I read the book, it was awesome and probably one of the best books I've read in ages (aside from TFIOS by John Green which is one of those rare books that has managed to make me both laugh and cry), and I think I owe a HUGE thank you to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries for getting me there. 

The series,which by the way consumed my entire Saturday night as you can imagine kept me glued to my computer screen hugging a pillow and gasping each time a new revelation to the story was revealed.

I grew to love the characters, each and every one of them and they made my previous reading experience of the book even more enjoyable as an entire new dimension was added to the story.

Lizzie is every bit of the complex character that she is in the book, even more so perhaps due to the seemingly direct relationship we as the audience have with her character. With social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter playing their part alongside the weekly vlogs you genuinely feel as though these characters are real people that exist as they interact on these formats and with the audience.
Hank Green and Bernie Su you really are geniuses! You've brought us something new and unique that I am sure will long be remembered, watched and loved after the series comes to a close on the 28th March 2013. I for one, am extremely grateful that you took the chance in making the series happen and making me aware not only of how great web series can be but how one book can interact on so many levels with so many people in a way I never imagined it could.
I could probably talk/write for ages on the details of each character but I want to leave this post with one final note.
Hopefully we will see more online book adaptations from you and others in the future but I just wanted to say, before the series finishes, a huge thank you for bringing the Lizzie Bennet Diaries to life...It definitely was illuminating.  ;)

Many thanks,
 A Lizzie Bennet Diaries Fan.

     For those that haven't seen the show before, I highly recommend it to you! But be      warned they're addictive :D