Book Porn Tuesday!

Hey guys! sorry for lack of posts this month it's still exam season and honestly I'm running out of inspiration on what to post on this blog. Anyway, this week's gorgeous over is...

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: Sometime in 2016

This is the final installment in The Winner's trilogy. It is centered around The General's daughter called Kestrel who one day on an outing decides to buy a slave called Arin. Yes, it's that kind of book. The series explores Kestrel's conflicting relationship with Arin and while I'd normally be against books depicting romantic relationships between a slaver and slave due to the power imbalance, for some strange reason, this one works. There are so many interesting themes interwoven in the story: Politics, Love and Justice to name but a few. Both preceding books end on a cliffhanger so while I do encourage you to read this series, I'd also recommend you save it for next year so you don' have to painfully wait for the finale.

Book Porn Tuesday

This week's gorgeous cover is...

What You Left Behind by Jessica Vardi
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: August 4th 2015

I was scrolling through Goodreads looking for some new/not really known books to read and I came across this one. I haven't read it yet, so I'm not too sure what it's about (it was the cover that drew me in to be honest) but it's basically about a teenage boy who gets his girlfriend pregnant, incidentally she is also diagnosed with cancer, she decides to sacrifice her life in order to save the baby by refusing treatment. The story takes place I think after she dies and the father has to look after the baby. Usually I'm not into 'death' books because they're very depressing for me, but this sounds really interesting. Because, you always hear about maternal instincts, and being a mum, but it's very rare to really hear the emotional side of being a dad particularly in book form. Especially a teenage boy, also the fact that he has to cope with  his girlfriend's death is something I'm very much looking forward to reading and exploring in August

Book Porn Tuesday

I know I haven't been posting as frequently as usual, but exams have begun so I have literally no time to blog, record or read as many books as I would like to. I'm going to try and create posts in bulk so I can schedule them to come out so I don't have to worry about missing a deadline.

Anyway back to business.

Today's beautiful cover is:

The Darkest Minds! (click the link for its Goodreads page)

I literally just finished this trilogy and it was a-mazing! I really wasn't expecting it to be that good. I read the first book late last year and I finally got around to completing the series. The Darkest Minds centers around a girl called Ruby, who at 10 years old was taken away along with other children around her age to a concentration camp called Thurmond (there are many others). Now, at sixteen she has managed to break free and is on the run. I've honestly never been a fan of dystopians but this book has swayed me and I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to pick it up. It is filled with humour, amazing complex characters, deaths that will rip your heart out. And please for the love of God do not miss out on the novellas In Time and Sparks Rise, I prefer In Time, but they both give more information about the side characters who I promise you will adore.

Thank you for reading this post and I'll see you next time!

April Ebook Wrap Up

These are all the books I read on my kindle this month (click the picture for the goodreads page)

1. Simple Perfection by Abbi Glines (re-read)

This is the continuation of the Perfection duology in the Rosemary Beach series, it continues the story of Woods and Della. I genuinely can't remember how I felt about this book except that I gave it  a 3 stars.

2. Take a Chance and One More Chance by Abbi Glines (re-read)

This duology centers around  Harlow (Kiro's daughter) and Grant (Rush's former step-brother in the Rosemary beach series). Harlow was one of the most annoying, whiny, and frustrating characters I have ever had the displeasure in reading, and I have read all of Abbi Glines' books. I don't understand why I gave it a three stars- in fact I'm dropping it down to two. Grant's true character was revealed in the first one, what I thought was a kind man who  helped Blaire when she first arrived, was simply trying to get into her pants (like all the men in this sexed up town). And I know what people will say: "Boys will be Boys" , "Men will be Men" which funnily enough seems to be the recurring theme in both The Seabreeze and The Rosemary Beach series. These men do all sorts of atrocious things - treating women like sex objects, misogyny, hyper-sexualising practically every woman they see- yet they are perceived as these great guys and I can't fathom how or why. Not only that, but they are boring! What else do they do but drink, shag and work? lather rinse repeat, lather rinse repeat. How am I expected to fall in love with a character when the only redeemable thing about him is either his washboard abs or his eyelashes that make all of womankind jealous (as if all the women in the world nothing better to do than whine about the length of our eyelashes). Back to Harlow, her inner conflict between whether enjoying sex or not would make her a 'slut' or not just made me want to scream. How a woman feels ashamed for enjoying sex is beyond me, it is clearly the by-product of America's sex-education - or lack thereof. This book and all other Abbi Glines novels don't sit well with me because of the blatant misogyny that just seems to be accepted by everyone. More fool me because I continue to read and  re-read her novels, like it's crack.( Excuse the massive rant I just went on)

3. Breathe by Abbi Glines 

Funnily enough, I actually enjoyed this one. It was summery and romantic with a hint of sexiness. I loved it. I gave it a 3 stars. This book is about Sadie White who had to care for her pregnant mother while working as a maid. She incidentally is a maid for one of the biggest rock stars- Jax. They fall in love during the summer but Jax's life as rock star puts a heavy strain on their relationship

4. You Were Mine by Abbi Glines re-read

This was another re-read and it is also apart of the Rosemary beach series and it is about Tripp and Bethy. I really liked Bethy in the previous novels so I liked that we were finally getting a story about her. And I enjoyed this one, especially seeing what she was like when she was younger. The only thing that bugged me was as said previously, the misogyny. It wasn't as bad, but there were tiny micro-aggressions that really got on my nerves

Exhibit A: When Tripp asks Bethy to dance and she accepts, then Dean says "Smart girl" like what in god's name was that supposed  to mean? (This sounds like nothing when it's out of context but while reading I got the impression it was the fact that she was being obedient to a man that caused him to day such a thing)

Exhibit B: When the story flashes back to Tripp and Bethy's first time and Tripp says: "All the other girls I had been with were tense and dry" WHAT?! That literally means that they were not in a state of arousal and that is queue for you to either stop or get some lube you selfish prick. He acted like a women self-lubricating was some new thing invented by Bethy, NO! it is a necessity in order for a woman to enjoy sex. It's so funny how these men are supposedly experienced sex-gods yet they don't even know simple facts like this. 

Exhibit C: This is a trend in most New Adult novels so I don't want to single this book out (you know what ,I'm going to make a video about this because there is so much that needs to be said), but God forbid a woman wants to dress up, which throws their men into hysterics begging them to put some clothes because men and their sexual urges cannot be controlled. And this weird caveman analogy that Glines likes to use is freaking weird! " In that moment I wanted to beat my chest and growl like a caveman" or the "caveman in me growled". How is this attractive?! This of course is said after their partners does something really submissive. This Alpha male thing has taken a step way too far and it's borderline abusive. There is a huge difference in a person being dominant and  a person controlling every single move their partner makes.

5.While it Lasts by Abbi Glines re-read

*Sigh* This blog post is becoming repetitive. Blah, Blah, Blah,misogyny,Blah, Blah, Blah,annoying characters,Blah. Blah, Blah. I gave it a three stars though.

6.. When Your're Gone by none other than Abbi Glines

Why do I do this to myself? Better yet, why does Abbi Glines have duologies when they so easily could have been a stand alone? Why does the main character always have create problems for  her self? Why does the main character not attempt to resolve the problem by communicating? These are all questions I ask myself every time I read an Abbi Glines novel. Why can't I stop reading her books? What is so incredible about her novel that causes me to spend money purchasing the novels just so I can weep in frustration. *sigh* This book is about a girl called...I can't remember. Who has escaped the torment of her sexually abusive step-father and her good-for-nothing mother as well as trying do overcome a learning difficulty. She meets Mase (Harlow and Nan's brother) who instantly takes a liking to the freckle under her left buttock *sigh* I gave this three stars.

7. Fall With Me by J. Lynn 

I actually enjoyed this book (hurray!) It was great seeing familiar faces in the previous novels of this series. In the fourth installment of this series, the main character is Roxy, a nerdy bartender with a massive crush on the local policeman, Reece. On top of that her best friend since birth has been in an intensive care unit following a hate crime that occurred when they were teenagers. The perpetrator has been released and creepy things start happening to her 

I gave this one a 3.5 stars. I thought it was pretty predictable who was the stalker, but I love how the story was on forgiveness and letting things go. My only major gripe was the secret that Roxy kept from Reece was so minor I don't understand why she was so afraid to tell him.

8. Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan 

My favourite romance novel of all time! 5 out of 5 stars hands down! This book is about a woman called Bree who decides to leave town, after a traumatic incident. She finds herself in a quaint town where she rents a home and begins to start a life there. Then she meets a man called Archer, who has been ostracized from the community, we soon learn that an accident left him unable to speak. I just love this book so much! I could read it over and over again and never get bored, I love how they spoke in sign language, it was so sweet!

9. In Time (1.5) and Sparks Rise (2.5) form The Drakes Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken 

In Time was my favourite books this year and it was under 90 pages! I can't say too much about these two novellas as they may spoil things for you guys but I highly recommend that you don't skip these novels out and read them! I gave In Time a 5/5 and Sparks Rise a 4/5.

Thank you guys for reading this post, it was very rambly ad ranty and very cranky, it's nearly 2:00 am and it's exam season so please forgive me. I hope you enjoyed this, I'd love to hear your opinions on these books if you have read them. Until the next post!

March Ebook Wrap Up!

Most of the books I read this month were eBooks and I wanted to be able to show you guys, so I came up with this post.

1. Hooked on the Game by C.M Owens (Sterling Shore no. 1)

This book is about a girl called Raya Cappperton in college who lives next to a guy who throws a lot of parties. A drunken accident causes her flat to become destroyed, with no money to find another place, the girl is forced to move in with the guy - Kade Colton - whose party caused all of this. 

I gave this book a 2 stars, it was free on Kindle so I wasn't as salty as I would have been if Ihad bought it. I felt this book was incredibly unrealistic and it dragged on far too long. What really annoys me about New Adult is the fact that the 'couple' for all intents and purposes acts like a couple, they kiss, they have sex and they spend all their time together. Yet they are still convinced that their feelings aren't mutual. How can someone be so insecure? It's so incredibly frustrating, I would be okay with it if the author wanted to explore the theme of insecurity but it was done simply to further the story and I can't stand that.

2. Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Colleen Hoover

Never Never is about a couple that woke up one day and have forgotten everything about themselves and have to figure out how and why it happened.

I gave this book a 4 stars, because I thought the plot was really interesting. I won't say too much about this book because it's a mystery, but I'm looking forward to the next one. 

3. Confess by Colleen Hoover

Confess is centered around Auburn Reed and her meeting with Owen Gentry - an artist that uses other peoples confessions as inspiration for his work. They meet when Auburn finds his studio and asks for a job, sparks fly immediately and they start dating. However, Owen's secrets may just ruin their relationship.

I made the mistake of reading this straight after Stolen by Lucy Christopher, which was not an easy read, because of this I couldn't get into this as much I wanted to. I still gave it a 4 stars, it started off ripping my heart out (like most Colleen Hoover novels). My favourite part of the novel was the confessions, I thought that was so creative and that I loved the twist at the end with the painting. 

4. Consolation by Corinne Micheals

This books is about a woman who has just lost her husband - a soldier- with a newborn baby to look after. She struggles to cope but then her husband's best friend Liam shows up and she finds herself falling for him.

I gave this book a 3 stars, because it was an interesting plot and I love the way the author allowed the protagonist to properly grieve. I knocked off the two stars because of the sex-shaming from both of the main characters. I won't say what it was or who it was directed as because it will spoil something major, but I couldn't stand the way they talked about women in general. Authors may try to do it to evoke sympathy from the reader for the protagonist, but I can't deal with that.  It made me sick and it also made me dislike the characters. Aside from that I really enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward for the finale.

5. All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

All Lined Up is a New Adult written in a dual point of view. The female protagonist is called Dallas whose father is a football coach. His profession has stifled her life and she's desperate for a fresh start at college. Unfortunately her father decided to take a coaching job at her college and the boy she's falling for is apart of that team. 

I gave this book a 3 stars! I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, I was expecting a typical New Adult novel. I loved how the characters grew from being friends to a couple .

6. All Broke Down by Cora Carmack

All Broke down is centered around two characters: Dylan, a fighter of lost causes, and Silas Moore, the self pronounced lost cause. This book really exceeded my expectations as I was expecting a typical good girl, bad boy relationship. I was expecting to hate Silas after what he did in All Lined Up, but Carmack did a great job in showing the depth of his character that made my view of him  change. It was really refreshing to see some important issues being brought up, what made me love Silas even more was how he defended Stella at the end. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author especially after reading her Author's note. I gave this book a 4 stars.

7. Too Far series by Abbi Glines (Rosemary Beach)

This series is about a girl called Blaire Wynn who has just lost her mother and calls upon her father for a place to stay. She finds herself at the home of Rush Finlay who is not pleased to see her. His initial dislike of her vanishes after realizing her true character and they begin to date. However Rush is keeping a secret that threatens to ruin their relationship. (Secrets seems to be a recurring theme in the New Adult genre.)

This was my first time reading Rush Too Far, which is Fallen Too Far in Rush's point of view. I definitely enjoyed his p.o.v more because we got to see his true character. I felt in Fallen Too Far he was too sexualised, it was hard to see who he really was so I couldn't attach myself to him. After reading this I understood his intentions a lot more. I gave this series a 3 stars.

8. Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines 

This is a continuation of the Rosemary Beach series and it follows a girl called Della and her relationship with Woods Kerrington. I gave this book a 3 stars, Della had a rough childhood so I was able to deal with her insecurities. I liked the theme of duty or love that was interwoven in the story because of Woods and his family.

Those were all the eBooks I read in March! Thank you for reading this post and I'll see you in the next one

Book Porn Tuesday!

This week's book is a book whose cover has recently been revealed:

Queen of Shadows! 

(Click the book for the Goodreads page)

Queen of Shadows by Sarah. J. Mass! The cover on the left is the Hardback edition and the cover on the right is the UK Paperback. This is my most anticipated release of this year, it is the 4th installment of the Throne of Glass series and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. I won't divulge what Queen of Shadows is about - because spoilers. But Throne of Glass is basically, a YA high fantasy novel, about an Assassin called Caelena Saradothein who was captured and put in a work camp called Eindoheven.  This story take place a year after she has been enslaved; the prince of Adarlan comes to see her and offers her a bargain: Either rot in this work camp or compete in a tournament to become the King's champion. I considered this book to be 5* because it as my first Fantasy novel and it made me fall in love with the genre. To some, this book is enjoyable for the most part. This series on a whole is amazing and I strongly recommend that you start it NOW.

Book Porn Tuesday

I've decided to come up with a series on my channel. Basically every Tuesday I show you guys a book with a really pretty cover, and I explain how much I enjoyed it.

This week's book is:

Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch!

Genre: Fantasy (tap/click the book to take you to it's Goodreads page)

'Snow Like Ashes' is a book that is centered around Four Kingdoms: Spring, Winter, Summer and Autumn. Sixteen years before this book began, Spring took over Winter and enslaved the entire population- except for eight. They have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter's magic and rebuild their Kingdom. The main character of this story is an orphan called Meira who is desperate to prove herself and play a role in the retaking of her kingdom. And her time has finally come, but it comes with a price.

Thoughts: 

I really enjoyed this book and I gave it a 5* on my goodreads page.  It started off slow as does any series (world building), then it slowly built up to 'woah! this is amazing' I'm still a bit confused over the terms and such, but I loved the world and the characters (especially Prince Theron). The book ended really well with no major cliff hanger so I'm in no hurry for the next one to come but I'm still really excited as to what will happen in Ice like Fire.

Thank you for reading this post. Next week's post will be The Reader's Problems Tag!

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Book Talk

Plot:

This book is basically about a girl called Nyx who since birth has been betrothed to the Gentle Lord (the prince of demons) after her father made a bargain with him. Since she was nine she has been taught and trained to kill him upon her marriage to him. However, when they meet she begins to fall in love with him.

Non-Spoiler Review:

This book is a beauty and the beast retelling with a twist of  Greek mythology which I absolutely loved. I really enjoyed the story and the relationship between The Gentle Lord and Nyx, however I didn't really like any of the minor characters and there was no sub plots for them. I also didn't really like the climax of the novel as I felt it was a bit rushed. Nonetheless I still really enjoyed the book and I recommend you guys read it, especially if you like Greek mythology. 

Overall Rating: 4*

Talking Points (Spoilers):

• I first thought this was apart of a series so I was confused when the story seemed to have a proper ending  and not left on a cliffhanger. I quite liked that it was a stand-alone.
• I detested her family, that's what I disliked about this book- the minor characters. Although, I was intrigued by The Kindly Ones.
• Aunt Telomache was horrid. It must have been so awkward to have to listen to her bang on about the 'wifely duties' especially since she knew her father was having an  affair with her.
• Her father was the worst! He couldn't give a monkeys that he was throwing her daughter to probable death or even rape. All because of his stupid bargain. He constantly blames The Gentle Lord for the bargain, when it was his own fault for making a deal with a demon for God's sake
• Astaria was not a horrible person but I still disliked her, she was incredibly annoying and I understood why Nyx resented her. She was crying on her sister's wedding day as if it was her being sacrificed. And when Nyx returned home she was suddenly this blodd thirsty human who was despereate for Nyx to kill Ignifex. Then, she called her own sister a 'demon's whore'  because she fell in love with him.
• I also disliked Shade. And yes, I guessed that he was a part of Ignifex- whom I loved, but I found his character a lot more sinister than Ignifex himself. I think I disliked Shade mainly for the fact that he was getting in the way of Ignifex and Nyx being together. Then, when he shoved Nyx into the fire and Ignifex had to jail him while he bragged about how many of his wives he had killed. Suffice to say, I hated every character that wasn't Ignifex or Nyx.
• Nyx was a really interesting character, I really liked that she wasn't wholly good. She made smart decisions except when she listened to her sister and tried to kill Ignifex.
• Ignifex was my favourite character. I knew I was going to love him before I read the book, while reading I enjoyed his cocky demeanor and his vulnerable side when he was with Nyx. I loved how he always slept on her lap. My favourite quote from him was: "I hate him because he's a fool and a coward and he always tries to steal my wives."

Mainly I liked how the story wrapped up, but I was still confused as to what happened. All I can gather is that when Nyx tried to kill Inifex, it backfires and in the process Ignifex traps himself in the Pandora's box with all the Children of Typhoon.  Nyx forgot about him, life started over again, but she still had some flashbacks off her previous life. She somehow remembers Ignifex and rushes to save him from the Kindly Ones. I think her sacrifice for him was so kind they granted them freedom. 

I hope you enjoyed this discussion on Cruel Beauty and I'd love to hear you thoughts on the book. My next post will be on Tuesday. I'm starting a weekly series called: Book Porn Tuesday. This is where I show you all a book with a pretty cover and I discuss how I liked the book.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson Book Talk

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer.L. Armentrout Book Talk

I've been desperate to read this trilogy for a while, here's how it went!

Plot: 

This book is about a girl called Layla who is half-demon, half-gargoyle. She has been raised by gargoyles and has been hopelessly in love with Zayne - a gargoyle who treats her like his little sister. Even if he was in love with her they couldn't be together; because of her demon side she could possibly suck out his soul. While on a mission she meets the typically attractive bad-boy demon called Roth, this one she can be with since he has no soul. But would be branded as a traitor if the gargoyles found out. To top it off, she is the sole reason for a violent demon rising that will cause the end of the world.

Things I loved (Spoilers):

• I loved Roth's tattoo snake and the name - Bambi! 
• When Layla realizes that not all demons are pure evil and deserve to be killed.
• Roth's description Hell: "What's it like down there?" "Hot"
• When Roth purposely goes to the cafe because they don't serve Wardens (gargoyles)
• The Demonic Kittens!
• Armentrout's supernatural references is why I love her writing. "See the wonky-doodle banishing spell on the opposite page that was no doubt stolen from an episode of Supernatural."
• The Zayne versus Roth battle. (Team Roth all the way)
• When at the end Bambi became apart of Layla. Bambi is my favourite character from this story if I'm being honest.

Things I didn't like:

• I hated Elijah and his evil spawn. Petr deserved to get his soul taken out, no matter if he was her sibling or not.
• The Alphas are serious assholes, I feel like it's actually the demons that are the good ones compared to them.
• I hated Layla's treatment of Danika, I get she's in love with Zayne, but that has absolutely nothing to do with her.

Talking points for Stone Cold Touch:

• Demons vs Gargoyles. Who are the bad guys in this story? What is The Alpha's role in all this?
• Roth is definitely gone for ever, but how did he escape?
• Who is Layla going to end up with?
• Is the demon uprising going to continue without Naberius? or did he escape too?

Thank you for reading this week's post!