La La Land Book Tag

Mia - Name a character who never gives up on their dream

Clary Fairchild from The Mortal Instruments Series

Sebastian - Name a character who is extremely passionate about what they do

Alec Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments Series

City of Stars - A book that takes place in your favorite city

Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves

Musical - Name a book you think would make a good musical

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Enemies to Lovers - Name a fictional relationship where they start off not liking each other

Feyre and Tamlin from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

A Lovely Night - A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving

To Die For by Sandra Byrd

Another Day of Sun - A book that takes place in sunny California

I don't think I have read any novels that take place in California

Start A Fire - Name an underrated book that you think deserves more attention

Supernatural Series of Novels

"Hollywood worships everything but values nothing" - Name a book you worship

My signed Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown

Here's To The Ones Who Dream - Name a character who inspires you

Isabelle Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments Series

Outlander Season 1

I recently purchased the Collectors Edition of Outlander Season 1 on Blu-Ray. The Collectors Edition features a 64 page book (containing photos from each episode of the series) and 5 art cards featuring Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall. Here are some photos for you to see of the Collectors Edition. 

Day 26- A book that changed your opinion about something

Wentworth Hall changed my opinion about books from the 1900's. At first I didn't think I would like books which are like the TV show Downton Abbey, but when I read this novel it totally changed my opinion on them. I thought this was a really good novel as it was filled with intrigue, secrets and mystery. If anyone has any suggestions for other novels I can read that are like this then please feel free to do so in the comments.

To Die For

To Die For by Sandra Byrd

Published- 9th August 2011
Publisher- Howard Books
Pages- 332 pages (Paperback)

This book is about Anne Boleyn's best friend Meg and their lives from before Anne became Queen up to when she died. I really enjoyed this book and it's the first historical book I've read about Kings and Queens. To Die For gave me an insight in to how Anne, Henry and Meg would have felt during the Tudor times and what it was like for other citizens living in the same area as them.

Meg was a brilliant character as she really cared about Anne. Meg would do anything for her friends and family. It was great to get an insight into her duties and how she felt about her best friend being Queen. Meg was a little shy, bold, said what was on her mind, caring and loved her friends and family. Anne was a brilliant woman who didn't, in my opinion, deserve to die by beheading. However, she was blamed for crimes she didn't commit which was the crime of cheating on the King with lots of men, including her own brother.

I learnt a lot about the duties everyone in the court had to do, such as dressing the royal members, cleaning, preparing their food, etc. It was really sad that Anne's two baby sons died in childbirth, however it was good that she had a daughter called Elizabeth. Henry could be a nice man when he wanted to be, but later in their lives he became mean, nasty and seeked other women to marry so they could produce him a male heir.

Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you are a fan of reading historical books about Kings and Queens then this is a definite must read. It doesn't just tell you lots of facts about the time of Henry VIII, it gives you their emotions, feelings and delves deeper into their lives. If you enjoy this book then definitely check out the second novel in the series called The Secret Keeper which is about Katherine Parr.

                                  Rating 4/5
   

The Academie

The Academie by Susanne Dunlap

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 28th February 2012
Publisher- Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Pages- 368 pages (Paperback)

The Academie is a story told from different characters (Eliza, Hortense and Madeleine). Each chapter switches from 1 character to another out of those 3 characters. This is a lot different from her previous novels I have read as this is basically more of a romance novel. Her other novels have been full of intrigue, suspense and sometimes even murder. So it was a change for me to read a romance novel by Susanne Dunlap, but I really loved this novel.

This wasn't my favourite novel by Susanne so far, but it was still really good. Eliza was my favourite female character because she was fearless, brave, up for carrying out dangerous plans and desperately searching for someone to love her. However, Hortense and Madeleine were also looking for guys to love them. The character I didn't like much was Caroline because she was bossy, sometimes rude to people and didn't really do well in group situations. Although, I was happy that her character found love.

The guys in this story were genuine and lovely guys who only wanted to protect the girls they loved. However, in some cases throughout the novel this wasn't entirely possible. I wasn't really expecting the ending that the novel actually had, so that came as a bit of a surprise. The romance throughout the novel was good, but it was sad in some parts.

Overall, I gave this novel 4/5 stars. This was a brilliant novel, but there wasn't enough intrigue, suspense and tension for me. However, I found that this was a great romance novel and I don't normally tend to read romance novels. Although, I have read romance novels by Simone Elkeles and now Susanne Dunlap. It wasn't as good as Simone Elkeles's romance novels, but it was almost as good. Definitely worth a read if you love historical romance novels.

                                 Rating 4/5