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
   

Deadly Cool

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 11th October 2011
Publisher- HarperTeen
Pages- 303 pages (Paperback)

Summary- Hartley has just found out her boyfriend Josh has cheated on her with the Chastity Virgin Queen Courteney. However, when Hartley goes to confront Josh at his house she finds Courteney's dead body. This leads her into a world of murder, intrigue and mystery. Everyone believes Josh is the killer, but did he really do it? Who is the real killer? It's up to Hartley to find out the answers.

Hartley was a good main female character because she was determined to find out the truth about who actually killed Courteney. This lead her on a long and dangerous adventure with the help of her best friend Sam and Chase (the gothic bad boy). Hartley can be described as courageous, brave, smart and reliable. However, she does spill details of her investigation to the police and tv crews really easily when she hasn't really found out any new information yet.

Chase and Sam were also good characters because they made the perfect team with Hartley. They were all determined to find out who the killer was. Chase was described as the bad gothic boy who you didn't know if he was good or bad/killer or innocent suspect in Hartley's investigation. Hartley and Chase made the ultimate investigating team in my opinion because they both used their knowledge and the evidence they had to crack the murder case. Courteney wasn't a popular person so there were lots of suspects in her murder.

Throughout the whole of this novel you were kept guessing as to who the killer could be. When you thought you had guessed the killer another piece of action would happen or another piece of evidence would be found. So the whole way through you kept changing your mind as to who the killer actually was, even coming up with your own bizarre storylines as to what could have happened (but didn't). This novel contained mystery, intrigue, action, murder and kept you guessing throughout the whole novel as you could never guess who the killer actually was. Overall, I give this novel 5/5 stars as I really enjoyed it and would definitely read it again (even though I now know who did it). This was a fast paced novel and readers will definitely enjoy it so get reading Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday.

                          Rating 5/5
    

The Book of Blood and Shadow

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 10th April 2012
Publisher- Random House Children's Books
Pages- 434 pages (E-book ARC Version)

The novel is based on the main female character Nora Kane. She is a shy girl with 2 best friends called Adriane and Chris. Adriane and Chris are a couple and Nora becomes a couple with Max (Chris's room mate). However, their worlds are changed when Chris is murdered, Adriane is left in a mental institution (she was at the murder scene when her boyfriend was murdered) and Nora goes in search of answers from the book, also to find out who murdered Chris. The murder was blamed on Max, but did he really do it? The book leads Nora in search of a device called the Lumen Dei, but what is this ancient device and what does it do?

This novel is broken down into 4 different parts each with their own different amount of chapters. It took me a while to read as I was really busy and didn't have much time to read. However, the novel did contain action, mystery, some parts romance and murder. Some of this novel was written in Czech as the main characters had to travel to Prague to find answers to the mystery. Other parts of the novel were letters written by Elizabeth Weston (one of the main people the mysterious book is about). The mystery contained throughout this whole novel didn't start until the characters got to Prague.

Nora was a good female character because she started off a shy person, but soon found her voice and became a couragious female character. She fought for what is right and wanted to find the answers about the book she was so desparately seeking. Eli was a good main character because you didn't know exactly who he was. Was he a good guy or a bad guy. He was also the guy with all the combat fighting moves. Luckily for Nora he was always there when she needed protecting from their main enemy. Max was the guy you were supposed to like and think he was being framed for Chris's murder, but what is the truth behind Max's story. Adriane was supposed to be the nice best friend, but also a bit of a mean person sometimes. However, was she always telling Nora the truth about what was going on her life after her time in the mental institution?

Overall, this was a good novel, but it was slow in some parts. It was hard at times to read some of it as it was written in Czech, but I gave it a go. Luckily the parts in Czech had English translations written after them. It helps teach you a new language in some parts of this novel. Overall, I give this novels 3/5 stars. This novel hasn't yet been released, but once it is I think that people should read this novel if they like mystery novels and novels which contain murder/who done it.

            Rating 3/5
  

Sirenz

Sirenz by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 8th June 2011
Publisher- Flux
Pages- 280 pages (Paperback)

The main characters in this novel are Meg and Shar. As an overview of what this novel is about is that Meg and Shar get recruited by Hades (leader of the Underworld) to become his new sirens. They have a mission to lure their celebrity target to the door of the Underworld. Shar is the girly girl who loves anything pink, whereas Meg is the tomboy who loves anything which is black. With this book I received 2 phone charms which are to do with this story. The phone charms were of kitty cats, one was pink (Shar) and the other was black (Meg). They represented each of the characters and you find out why they are a part of this novel if you give it a read.

Meg and Shar are brilliant female characters because they don't get along all the time. They are just like lots of other groups of friends who have their arguments. The girls are always disagreeing about what their plan should be to try and get their target to the door of the Underworld. Nothing ever goes right when there are people who want you to fail your task. What the girls don't know when they agree to work for Hades is that each time they use their siren powers the more they turn into a bird. Meg's power is to lure people by talking to them. Shar's power is to lure people by looking at them. However, their powers only work on men and not women.

Within this novel I would consider the main male characters as Jeremy, Mr Romanov and Hades. Jeremy is the person who starts the whole Surenz cycle. However, Hades is the one who employs the girls to become his new Sirenz. Jeremy is described as a gorgeous guy who has an eye for Meg, but does Meg feel the same way for him? The main way to describe Hades is devious, a trickster and menacing. Jeremy I will describe as the perfect teenage gentleman, good looking and charming.

If you love novels about hell and the underworld then this is definitely the novel for you. Hades is a devil who always has tricks up his sleeve. He is always trying to get one of the girls to be with him. I can't tell you who, however, as this would be considered a spoiler. The characters of the underworld are all really good as they each bring something different to the story line of the novel.

This is a brilliant novel which I believe everyone needs to check out. It is the debut team novel by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman (not each authors first novel, but first team novel). My overall rating for this novel is 4/5 stars. If you love stories about hell, the underworld and supernatural beings then this is a novel for you. Check it out as soon as you lay your hands on a copy.

                   Rating 4/5
   

Book Haul (Before September) Part 1

Here are books that I bought in the months leading up to September. Not all of them have been read yet as my TBR pile is really big. However, reviews will be posted on this blog when they have been read :)

By Midnight- Mia James

The Christmas Collection- Carol Higgins Clark

Once Dead Twice Shy- Kim Harrison

Intertwined- Gena Showalter

Beastly- Alex Flinn

Red Riding Hood- Sarah Blakeley Cartwright

Stefan Diaries Origins & Bloodlust- L.J.Smith

Vampire Diaries 3/4 & 5- L.J.Smith

Vampire Diaries 1/2- L.J.Smith

Let Me In- John Ajvide Lindqvist

I Am Number Four- Pittacus Lore



IMM (Before September)

Here are all the books I have received in the mail from authors and publishers to review in the months leading up to September. Some of these books still need to be reviewed, but there will be reviews coming up on this blog once I have read them :)

Mermaid- Carolyn Turgeon

The Guardian Angel's Journal- Carolyn Jess-Cooke

Della Says OMG & Jessie Loves NYC- Keris Stanton

The Sweetest Thing- Christina Mandelski

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester- Lara Zielin

Tighter- Adele Griffin

Anathema- Megg Jensen

To Die For- Sandra Byrd

Incubus & Arcadia Falls- Carol Goodman

Serena Embracing Darkness- Laurie Bowler

Scars- Cheryl Rainfield

Deadly Cool- Gemma Halliday

Prized- Caragh M.O'Brien