Day 5- A Book That Makes You Happy

This book makes me happy because I love reading all about the lives of one of my favourite bands in the world. Mcfly have been together for 10 years and I've been a fan of them for the whole time. Just makes me smile knowing I've supported them all that time and reading about all their achievements in their own novel.

Day 4- Favourite Book of your Favourite Series

City of Bones is my favourite book from the Mortal Instruments series because it introduces you to all of the characters. You find out about the characters, what they are like, their lives, who they are and what role they play within the rest of the series. This is also filled with a lot of action scenes which include the werewolves and vampires. I loved the film City of Bones aswell as I couldn't see that many differences between the film and the novel. Totally my favourite book from the Mortal Instruments series. My fave characters include Jace, Simon, Luke and Isabelle.

Day 3- Your Favourite Series

The Mortal Instruments series is my favourite because every book is filled with action, all different fantasy creatures and you never know what is going to happen next. The fantasy creatures included are Shadow Hunters, werewolves, vampires, faeries, warlocks, etc. There are loads of twists and turns within these novels so you never know what will happen to your favourite character next. If you loved this series then you definitely need to see The Mortal Instruments City of Bones movie.

Day 2- A Book That You've Read More Than 3 Times

I have read the whole Twilight series more than 3 times each book. I just love this series as it contains a cast of characters that I love. Every character is different via their personalities and how they all act. Plus, this series contains 2 of my favourite fantasy creatures which are vampires and werewolves. A definite must read series especially if you love all the films.

Day 1- Best Book you Read Last Year

It was a tie for my favourite book of 2012. City of Bones (by Cassandra Clare) was a fantastic read which I enjoyed because of all the fantasy creatures included within the novel. Fantasy creatures such as vampires, werewolves, shadowhunters, warlocks, etc. The Bodies Left Behind (by Jeffery Deaver) was an intense thriller. You never knew what was going to happen next. There were shocks and twists around every corner. Both are definite must reads in my opinion, especially if you are a fantasy fan or a crime/thriller fan.

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 Farm

The Farm by Emily McKay

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 4th December 2012
Publisher- Berkley Trade
Pages- 420 pages (Paperback)

The Farm is about twin sisters called Mel and Lily who live on the Farm. The Farm is where humans are sent to keep them safe, but their blood is also used to feed the vampires who come out at night. Mel is autistic so cannot communicate properly so Lily has to help her with everything and take care of them as there parents sent them to the Farm. Carter is the guy who comes to the farm they are on to try to save the twins, but what is his ulterior motive behind this act?

Normally books which change between characters each chapter annoy me as I tend to find it hard to follow the story and what is happening to each character. However, this book just flowed and I didn't have trouble following it at all as it tended to change perspectives every chapter. The book was filled with suspense, action, a bit of romance and horror. Throughout reading you didn't know if the characters in the book were going to make it to the end of the book. I was shocked by the end of the novel as I wasn't expecting that to happen. To find out what happens you will have to read the book.

Lily and Mel were good main characters as they were really brave and all they wanted was a normal live somewhere which wasn't the farm. Mel was the smart one who, although unable to communicate properly, came up with a plan of how they could get off the farm. Lily was the brave one who would do anything to get off the farm and protect her sister. However, both the twins were brave in their own individual ways. Carter was also a good character because he would do anything to protect Lily and Mel from the vampires.

Overall, I gave this book 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this book as it was filled with suspense. I just wanted to keep reading it til I finished it, but obviously couldn't as I had to do other stuff aswell. However, I loved reading this book and would definitely recommend it to people who like vampire novels. It is quite a quick read aswell as a lot of the chapters are really short. A definite must read for supernatural and horror fans. Grab a copy and enjoy book lovers!!!!!!

                       Rating 4/5
   

The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Published- 31st October 2008/1st September 2009/24th August 2010
Publisher- Scholastic Press
Pages- 374 (Hardcover)/391 (Hardcover)/390 (Hardcover)

This was a brilliant trilogy of novels. The whole series contains lots of action, fights, deaths and even a bit of love. I cannot choose one book as my favourite as I loved the whole series. So for me there is no stand out book as they are all as good as each other.

The Hunger Games sets off the series well. To explain what The Hunger Games are is a tournament where the tributes (2 from each district 1-12) fight to the death and only 1 person comes out alive. As you can imagine tributes die in lots of horrific and disturbing ways throughout the games. However, as you know 2 tributes come out of the Hunger Games.

Catching Fire continues the story really well and starts Katniss's journey as the Mockingjay. The Mockingjay is a symbol for the rebels (the people who turn against the Capitol), for example it is their symbol of hope and freedom. This novel contains another Hunger Games called The Quarter Quell (75th Hunger Games) where previous tribute winners are chosen to go into the arena. So as District 12 has only had 3 tribute winners Katniss and Peeta have to go back into the arena to fight to survive.

Mockingjay is the last novel and the action continues once again. This novel contains loads of deaths, but no Hunger Games event this time. This time Katniss is fighting to get to the Capitol so she can set everyone from each of the districts free. However, as missions always go there are lots of deaths along the way and some deaths you will not predict. The deaths in this novel are really upsetting at some points. In my opinion the series has a really sad ending which involves the 3 main characters Katniss, Gale and Peeta.

Throughout this series I have different favourite characters. Of course I love Katniss as she is a strong female lead who just wants freedom for the people of Panem. In the Hunger Games I really liked Rue's character. She was a loveable 12 year old girl and it was really sad when she was killed in the games. From Catching Fire & Mockingjay I really liked Finnick. At first you thought he was going to be a brute liked Cato, but he was nothing like that as he protected Katniss & Peeta in the Quarter Quell. He also sacrificed himself so Katniss could get away in Mockingjay. Throughout the series I also really liked Gale. He would do anything for Katniss cos he loved her. He was brave and selfless and only wanted Katniss to survive as she was his best friend & the love of his life. However, you will have to read the books to find out if they end up together.

Overall, this was a fantastic series of novels and definitely one of my favourite series of novels along with Twilight. For each book I gave them 5/5 stars. So the overall rating for this series is 15/15 stars. A definite must read for any book lovers. Plus in my opinion there aren't that many differences between The Hunger Games book and movie. So it doesn't really matter if you read the book first or watch the movie first. Get reading this series book lovers!!!!!!

                     Rating 5/5 for each book
    

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
   

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey


Published- 18th January 2010
Publisher- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages- 351 pages (Paperback)

This book is about Jessica who finds out she is a vampire princess next in line to the throne in her home country. Lucius is the vampire who has come to America with the intention of marrying Jessica. At first she doesn't believe a single word that Lucius says, until she discovers that her adopted parents have been lying to her for most of her life. The truth will soon be revealed to Jessica and she has to make decisions about her future.

This was a good novel as it is filled with action, suspense and some tense moments. You don't always know what is going to happen next so it is thrilling to find out. The novel contained a good ending as it makes you want to read the 2nd novel in this series which is called Jessica Rules the Dark Side. However, the ending is quite a happy one in my own opinion, but to find out what it is you have to read this novel for yourself.

Jessica was a good main character as she starts off as someone who isn't so sure of herself, but develops into a really confident woman. She has one best friend and a guy who is crushing on her, but when she meets Lucius everything changes for the rest of her life. Jessica is a likeable character who a lot of girls can relate to. When she meets Lucius she doesn't know if she wants to be with him or her crush Jake.

Lucius starts off as an arrogant teenager/vampire who just gets on your nerves and always tries to prove that he is right about everything. He wants things to happen right away and basically says that these things have to happen such as Jessica marrying him. However, he then becomes more likeable because he changes his opinion on everything and tries to stop Jessica from fulfilling the vampire pact of marrying him. So overall my opinion on Lucius is mixed because I didn't like him at first, but then I loved him. He is a character you can't help falling in love with because he is so irresistible.

My overall opinion on this book was that I loved it and I can't wait to read the 2nd Jessica Rules the Dark Side. My overall rating for this novel is 4/5 stars. Everyone who hasn't read this novel really must read it right now. Especially if you love vampire and romance novels then this is the book for you.

                       Rating 4/5