Happy New Year!

I remember this time last year, writing a very similar post. I love New Years Eve. It feels like there is so much promise and hope awaiting in the new year. It hasn't yet been tainted. It is pure.

 

2011 has been by no means perfect. I have made mistakes but I have learnt from them and grown. It has been an incredible blogging year for me. I have had so many firsts. First time at blogging events, meeting real bloggers, working with publishers. I want to say thank you to everyone who made that happen. Publishers that are so kind and generous to give us bloggers books and organise such incredible events. Bloggers that have made this experience so incredible. Authors for replying to messages and being so kind and appreciate of all that we do.


I hope for many things in 2012. I hope for happiness, success and good health. I wish to achieve more and be the best that I can be. Most of all, though, I just want to enjoy life.





So here's to 2012. Let's hope it's a good one!

My Bookish 2012 New Year's Resolutions Challenge

The challenge is hosted by Butterfly-O-Meter Books

I took part in a number of challenges last year and I failed to complete many of them. Throughout the year I forgot many of my challenges, mainly because I took on too many. This is the only challenge I am going to take part in next year but I will make many different targets within.

My Resolutions

1. Read 100 books

I haven't reached this goal this year (at around 70 at the moment). I hope to read 120 at best but 100 is my goal. That's 8-9 books a month and doable I feel.

2. Read at least one of my own books each month

I spend most of my time reading review books but I have over 100 books on my shelf, unread, that I have bought. I need to start reading some.

3. Only buy one book for every 5 of my own books I read

My bookshelves are crying from being so full so I need to move books from my TBR pile to my read pile and make some room. 

4. Only buy books that are part of a series I have already started

I literally cannot keep up with all the series and I need to finish the ones I have started before I start any more.

5. Do a bookshelf tour

I have filmed one dozens of times, I just never like how it turns out so I don't post it. I must post one this year.

6. Read everyday

I know this sounds a little odd but sometimes I don't read for days but I hope to read a little everyday, even if it is a couple of pages.

7. Do a weekend Read-A-Thon each month

This may not happen every month but I would like to spend one weekend each month indulging my reading addiction.

8. Comment more on other people's blog.

I love getting comments and I wish to share that with others :)

9. Make more youtube videos

In the last month I have really gotten into the youtube book community and I hope I am able to post more regularly on there

10. HAVE FUN WITH BLOGGING

I must admit blogging completely stressed me out and I felt very pressured. I am going to try my best just to have fun with it and not worry so much!

So these are my goals for the new year. Have you signed up for any challenges?

Review: The Haunting of Charity Delafield by Ian Beck

    

Title: The Haunting of Charity Delafield
Author: Ian Beck

Series: Standalone
Pages: 281

Publisher: Bodley Head (Random House)
Release Date: November 3rd 2011 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 4 stars

A magical, enchanting tale, with stunning illustrations that will transport you into another world. 

Flame-haired Charity Delafield has grown up in a vast, isolated house - most of which she is forbidden to explore - with her fiercely strict father. With only her kindly nurse, Rose, and her cat Mr Tompkins for company, she knows very little of the outside world - or of her own family's shadowy past. What she does know is that she is NEVER to go outside unsupervised. And she is NEVER to over-excite herself, because of the mysterious 'condition' that she has been told she suffers from. 

But Charity has a secret. All her life, she has had the same strange dream - a dream of a dark corridor, hidden somewhere in the house. Then, one day, Charity stumbles across the corridor. It leads to a door . . . and suddenly she realises things are not quite what they seem.

I don't really read middle grade novels but I have to say The Haunting of Charity Delafield was a pleasant surprise. It was full of suspense, action and mystery and there was a quick pace from the beginning. It was sweet and refreshing and such an enjoyment to read.

Charity's father prevents Charity leaving their home or even exploring the ground due to her "condition" in an attempt to protect her. His overbearing ways heighten Charity's curiosity about the secrets he is keeping from her about her "condition" and her mother who is claimed to be dead.

I was gripped right from the start and swept away with the mystery along with Charity. Charity was a loveable character. She was sweet and good natured but not without some mischief. I loved reading about her adventures even if they didn't even well.

The secondary characters were really fun to read about. I loved Silas, the chimney sweep and Mrs Browne, the cook. I felt like I really got to know them and they had something to add to the story.

The mystery was written perfectly and I was unsure of what was going to be discovered. The ending was a complete surprise and went in a different direction than I expected. Nevertheless it was a perfect ending.

The Haunting of Charity Delafield was a lovely surprise and I am so glad I read it. I definitely think I will be reading some more middle grade novels in the future.

Waiting on Wednesday {7}

      

Title: The international Kissing Club
Author: Ivy Adams

Series: Standalone
Pages: 400

Publisher: Walker & Company
Release Date: Jan 3rd 2012

Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy have been best friends their whole lives. And they've always agreed on one goal: to get out of tiny Paris, Texas, and see the world. The school's foreign exchange program seems like the perfect escape: Piper will go to the original Paris; Mei will go to China; Cassidy will go to Australia; and Izzy, unable to afford the program, will stay at home. To add spice to their semester away, and to stay connected to their best friends, the girls start The International Kissing Club, a Facebook page where they can anonymously update one another and brag about all the amazing guys they're meeting. After all, these girls are traveling abroad: amazing guys abound at every turn! But sometimes fun, flirty vacation flings turn into more serious romances, and sometimes you don't return from abroad the same person you were. Will the girls' relationships-and their friendships-be able to survive?

This sounds similar to The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants which I adored. It looks like such a fun cute contemporary. I love the opportunity for multiple narrations and I just think it looks fun.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking The Spine

Review: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

      

Title: The Future of Us
Author: Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Series: Standalone
Pages: 356

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: January 5th 2012 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 4.5 stars

It's 1996 and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Facebook will not be invented for several more years. Emma just got a computer and an America Online CD-ROM with 100 free hours. When she and her best friend Josh log on to AOL they discover themselves on Facebook... fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what life has in store for them. 

Josh and Emma are about to find out.

I adored Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why and I could not wait to devour The Future of Us. The premise is incredible and I have to say, the book lived up to my high expectations.

Emma just received a new PC from her father and whilst logging on to AOL she sees a facebook page of her life 15 years into the future. Emma and best friend Josh find out how changing the present changes not only their own but other's future lives.

I liked Emma. She was a little superficial at times but the thing I liked about Emma was her growth. She may not have started out perfect, nor did she end up the perfect person but she learnt from her mistakes and grew as a person. There was wonderful character development there.

Josh was amazing. He was sweet and sincere and I really liked reading his chapters. I have been reading a lot of boy and girl friendships with a touch of something more and I love them. I think friendship growing into romance is a wonderful thing to read about. it is not a direct, easy path for Josh and Emma though and the ending was a nice touch and not quite was I was expecting.

The concept must be addressed. I don't know how well the book will do ten, twenty, thirty years down the road but I think it has a perfect place in YA now. It has the nostalgia factor for those who remember when you couldn't use the internet and the phone at the same time and when mobile phones were a luxury. It was a nice reality check to remember that there was a world before technology took over.


Another thing I loved about the novel was the writing. The cohesive nature of the writing and the seamless transition between Emma and Josh was incredible. I couldn't tell who wrote what. I assumed that Carolyn wrote Emma and Jay wrote Josh but I couldn't tell. It could have been written by one amazing author.

The Future of Us rocked my world and I am so glad to have read it. I will definitely be reading some of Carolyn Mackler's novels now and of course I will   never stop reading Jay Asher's works. Highly recommended.

Merry Christmas

I hope you all have a lovely day and I wish you all the very best :)

Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

     

Title: Tempest
Author: Julie Cross

Series: Tempest #1
Pages: 432

Publisher: Macmillan
Release Date: January 5th 2012
Source: For Review
Rating: 4.5 stars

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun. 

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. 

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. 

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him. 

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Tempest was action packed from start to finish. It was wonderfully written, from a guy's POV and had a nineteen year old protagonist. What is not to love?

The story jumps right in, with Holly being shot in the first 5 chapters. Adam travels back to 2007, trying to figure out what happened to Holly and who shot her. There was so much mystery and suspicion that I didn't know who to trust. I felt like I was guessing with Adam and subsequently felt very connected with him.

I give Julie Cross major brownie points for writing a male perspective so convincingly. Whilst he was sweet and sensitive, he was still masculine and boyish. He was extremely likeable and has now been added to the list of 'sexy book boys I wish were real'. This being said he still had flaws which I love about characters. He definitely had the essence of a 19 year old boy.

Holly was lovely too. She was sweet and kind and through the time travel aspect we were able to find out a lot more about Holly. I felt like I was discovering things about Holly just as Adam was. Her relationship with Adam was so real. They had their tough moments but they just worked.

I learnt a lot about time travel. There was a lot of science about whether it was possible and how it was possible. It was a little heavy at some points and took a lot of concentration to understand how it all worked but it really added an extra dimension to the story.

The mystery and suspense of the story was written superbly. I was led in multiple different dictions and I loved not knowing who to trust. It made me keep reading to find out who was responsible.

Overall, Tempest is a great debut novel and a wonderful start to the series. I can't wait to read the next one!

Review: Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

    

Title: Virtuosity
Author: Jessica Martinez

Series: Standalone
Pages: 294

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: October 27th 2012 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 4 stars

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. Two weeks before the most important violin competition of her career, she has bigger things to worry about—like growing out of that suffocating “child prodigy” label, and not disappointing her mother. But it isn’t just the wrong time. It’s the wrong guy. Jeremy is Carmen’s most talented rival, and according to her mother, he’s only interested in one thing: winning. 

He isn’t the only one. 

Carmen is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to control performance nerves. But what started a year ago as an easy fix is now a hungry addiction. Her mother insists now is not the time to quit, but Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of doing what she’s told. 

When the darker side of the classical music industry and her mother's ambition collide, Carmen must choose between her career and her love for music.

Virtuosity is a book about music but it is ultimately about love and loss. It deals with a battle between mother and daughter, competition and love but also an inner battle of what is right and wrong.

Carmen is an extremely talented violinist, preparing to take part in a competition to win a prestigious prize. Her biggest competition, Jeremy, makes   Carmen feel passionate to win but also passion in a whole different way.

I really liked Carmen as a character and I felt like I could connect with her. I felt her struggles as much as I felt her successes. I also really like Jeremy, the competitor and the love interest. The relationship develops quite fast but I think it is just so new and familiar and a chance to rebel from her mother and music. The internal battle of Carmen deciding whether Jeremy really cared for her or merely wanted to mess with her was just as agonising for me as it was for her. I felt everything she felt.

The element of music was ongoing but it didn't take centre stage. It was merely a well crafted device to demonstrate the characters. I really loved the music aspect and it was similar to If I Stay by Gayle Forman in some ways in that sense.

The book dealt with a lot of issues, including pressuring parents and competitiveness, as well as some other issues. Carmen's mother put an insane amount of pressure on Carmen and sometimes I just really wanted to hit her. As a failed opera singer she tried to force all of her frustration onto Carmen in order for her to succeed. I think parents like Carmen's mother are definitely found in competitive sports such as music and sports and I think Martinez dealt with it incredibly well. 

The ending really packed a bunch. There was a slow burn throughout the novel that was just turned right up. So many surprising occurrences and character developments. WOW.

Virtuosity is a bitter sweet novel with highs and lows. A beautifully novel dealing with struggles of competition, love and family. I look forward to reading more from Martinez in the future.

Waiting On Wednesday {6}

      

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick

Series: Standalone
Pages: 304

Publisher: Dial Books
Release Date: June 14th 2012

"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time." 

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen year old Samantha wishes she was one of them… until the day Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. 

Jase can sense that his beautiful neighbor is missing something in her sterile home, and as the two fall fiercely in love, his family makes her one of their own. 

But when the bottom drops out of Sam's world, which perfect family will save her–and will her perfect love survive? 

Set among the haves and have-nots of a coastal New England town, My LIFE NEXT DOOR captures the angst, the heartache, and the raw-nerve emotions of first time love—and biting loss.

I adore contemporaries and this book has everything I love and more. First time love, parental issues, loss. The cover is gorgeous and I honestly don't know if I can wait until June. I will definitely be counting down the days!

Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

     

Title: Fracture
Author: Megan Miranda

Series: Standalone
Pages: 262

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: January 5th 2012 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 4.5 stars

By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her best friend, Decker Phillips, her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. 

But somehow Delaney survived—despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature—or something else much more frightening….

Fracture was a totally unique and gripping thriller with intriguing supernatural elements. It was fast-paced and addictive and I couldn't put it down.

The book starts with Delaney and Decker off to have a snowball fight with some friends. They decide to cut across the lake and Delaney ends up under water for 11 minutes. From then on, Delaney discovers she is drawn to those who are a dying.

I loved Delaney as a character. She was incredibly real and relate-able. Miranda skilfully portrayed Delaney's fears and confusion in relation to her new "power". She was by no means perfect, none of the characters were, but it was for this reason that I liked her so much.

Decker is my new boy crush. I. LOVE. HIM. He is Delaney's best friend and neighbour and whilst they don't get along all the time, there relationship is so genuine. He made mistakes and did things that angered me but I forgave him, just like I would have if he was a real person.

The plot gripped me from the very beginning. It read like a contemporary with supernatural elements, rather than a pure supernatural novel. I loved how realistic the plot felt, despite it containing impossible elements.

Basically, I really loved this book. It was genuine and real and was so relate-able. The relationships were beautifully crafted and there was a believability about it. Highly recommended.

Review: Silence by Becca FItzpatrick

    

Title: Silence
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Series: Hush, Hush #3
Pages: 438

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: October 14th 2010 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 4 stars

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

I devoured Crescendo and after finishing it, I couldn't wait to read Silence. Luckily for me, it didn't disappoint me. It was full of mystery, discovery and romance.

Crescendo ended on a huge cliffhanger and Silence picks up a couple months after Crescendo leaves off. Nora discovers that she has been kidnapped, though no one is sure who is responsible. Nora has also lost all memory of her summer, as well as the memory of Patch and revelations she has made about Angels and Nephilim and whatnot.

This book really packs a punch. There is more drama and mystery and detective work going on. Nora is trying to piece her life back together and discover what has happened to her. I felt as frustrated as Nora at points and felt more connected with her in Silence.

Patch was as great as ever. He has had a nice transition throughout the series and I am glad that it continued into the third book. I can't say I was overly fond in book one but I am now a fan. 

The book ends on a cliffhanger with lots left to be discovered. Whilst I am a fan of the series I was preparing for this to be the last book. Alas, I am happily going to read the (hopefully) final book in the series.

Review: Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

              

Title: Overprotected
Author: Jennifer Laurens

Series: Standalone
Pages: 243

Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing
Release Date: April 29th 2011
Source: From author
Rating: 4 stars

Ashlyn: A lonely society princess living in New York City. 

Daddy hired you to be my bodyguard. 

Colin: Childhood enemy, now her protector. 

Daddy thought I’d be safe. He thought I’d never fall in love. He thought he could keep me forever. 

Charles: obsessed with keeping her safe, keeping her his, he hires the one person he knows she could never fall in love with: Colin. 

Daddy was wrong.

Overprotected took me a little while to warm to but once I did I was completely addicted. It consumed every thought I had. A seemingly light read with darker undertones. I would call it as a guilty pleasure.

Ashlyn is the daughter of an extremely overprotective father that has her watched constantly. She craves freedom and in a desperate attempt to gain it, she tells her father that her bodyguard is in love with her. In return, her father brings in a new bodyguard, Ashlyn's childhood enemy, in hopes of preventing a romance between his daughter and her bodyguard.

The writing style took a while to get used it. It was very simple and straight foward but it created a quick pace that kept me reading. To say the book was addictive is an understatement. I had to know what would happen and how it would end.

The synopsis sounds a little creepy but it is much worse in the book. There is creepiness from many different angles. Her father's protection was suppressive and unhealthy. I definitely sympathised with Ashlyn.

I liked both Ashlyn and Colin. I adore hate to love romances and this was no exception. There was chemistry and sexual tension between the two from the very beginning and I loved every minute of it. Their romance was lovely to read.

The ending was a huge shock. Laurens kept me guessing and there were twists and turns involving character development and plot. There were definitely some characters that I misread.

This book exceeded my expectations and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read it. A beautiful romance mixed in with dark elements, dealing with overprotective parents and general family life. A refreshing read!

Review: Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

     

Title: Fallen Grace
Author: Mary Hooper

Series: Standalone
Pages: 307

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: February 1st 2011
Source: For review
Rating: 4 stars

Grace Parkes has just had to do a terrible thing. Having given birth to an illegitimate child, she has travelled to the famed Brookwood Cemetery to place her small infant's body in a rich lady's coffin. Following the advice of a kindly midwife, this is the only way that Grace can think of to give something at least to the little baby who died at birth, and to avoid the ignominy of a pauper's grave. Distraught and weeping, Grace meets two people at the cemetery: Mrs Emmeline Unwin and Mr James Solent. These two characters will have a profound affect upon Grace's life. But Grace doesn't know that yet. For now, she has to suppress her grief and get on with the business of living: scraping together enough pennies selling watercress for rent and food; looking after her older sister, who is incapable of caring for herself; thwarting the manipulative and conscience-free Unwin family, who are as capable of running a lucrative funeral business as they are of defrauding a young woman of her fortune. A stunning evocation of life in Victorian London, with vivid and accurate depictions, ranging from the deprivation that the truly poor suffered to the unthinking luxuries enjoyed by the rich: all bound up with a pacy and thrilling plot, as Grace races to unravel the fraud about to be perpetrated against her and her sister. 

Fallen Grace is a beautifully written novel filled with history, mystery and family. It is my first historical fiction novel and I must say, I really enjoyed it.

The story starts with Grace having given birth and her travelling to a cemetery to bury her stillborn baby. The tone of the novel is set immediately and I automatically felt sympathy for her. The life she and her sister live, selling watercress on the streets, selling their mother's possessions; it was heartbreaking.

Grace was an incredibly strong protagonist. Despite the poverty in which she lived, she was incredibly graceful and elegant. She never acted entitled and her first thought was always for her sister Lily. Grace is like a mother to Lily, putting Lily's needs before her own. She is a mother, sister and provider all in one.

The plot goes in many different directions, a lot of them being surprising to me. The progression of the plot caught me by surprise and it was totally unpredictable. The ending was unexpected and I love it when that happens.

Fallen Grace is a book containing a lot of tragedy but at the same time it contains so much hope. The love Grace has for sister and the strength she possesses definitely reminded me what was important, especially when the world around you in treating you poorly. A nice introduction for those who haven't tried historical fiction and an enjoyable read for those that have.

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

     

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs

Series: Standalone
Pages: 352

Publisher: Quirk
Release Date: June 7th 2011
Source: For review
Rating: 3.5 stars

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography,Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a book I was dying to get my hands on. I would do pretty much anything for a copy. That cover? Awesome. Those freaky pictures inside? LOVE. The book wasn't quite what I was expecting but I enjoyed it none the less.

Jacob and his grandfather have a very strong bond. From an early age Jacob's grandfather told him stories of a place where there were peculiar children that could do things that no one else could do. Jacob is a little doubtful of these stories and ventures to Wales to discover if they stories his grandfather told him were just that or if they held some truth.

From the pictures and the cover, I expected a really creepy book. Instead, there was a story of a young boy uncovering a mystery about his grandfather. I  loved the idea of the book and I adored all the pictures that accompanied it. It was a really lovely touch.

I wasn't expecting the romance that occurred. I love romance and I loved the aspect of it. I liked both Jacob and his love interest but I particularly liked Millard. Definitely my favourite peculiar.

I really enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children but it wasn't quite what I expected. I would describe it as an adventure/mystery novel rather than creepy. It read slightly more middle grade than YA in my opinion but nevertheless I enjoyed reading it.

Review: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

      

Title: Texas Gothic
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore

Series: Standalone
Pages: 400

Publisher: Corgi (Random House)
Release Date: July 7th 2011 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 3 stars

Amy Goodnight knows that the world isn't as simple as it seems—she grew up surrounded by household spells and benevolent ghosts. But she also understands that "normal" doesn't mix with magic, and she's worked hard to build a wall between the two worlds. Not only to protect any hope of ever having a normal life. 

Ranch-sitting for her aunt in Texas should be exactly that. Good old ordinary, uneventful hard work. Only, Amy and her sister, Phin, aren't alone. There's someone in the house with them—and it's not the living, breathing, amazingly hot cowboy from the ranch next door. 

It's a ghost, and it's more powerful than the Goodnights and all their protective spells combined. It wants something from Amy, and none of her carefully built defenses can hold it back. 

This is the summer when the wall between Amy's worlds is going to come crashing down.

Even though I thought Texas Gothic was definitely a strange read, it was good none the less. It was quite difficult to get into at first but after getting over the first hurdle it was an easy read.

The encounter of Amy and the cowboy next door neighbour was very funny and cringy at the same time. Having Amy and Phin as witches was a main theme throughout the book, as well as the idea of the goodnights being ‘different’.

The relationship between Amy and Ben (cowboy neighbour) was very realistic. At times you wanted to hit him and others. You just wanted to give him a hug. The Feud between the two families (Goodnight’s and McCullough’s) was a really interesting aspect of the book and there was a curiosity as to whether the families would resolve their feud in the duration of the story.

The book addresses different things such as myths, paranormal activities and anthropology which was difficult to grasp at first but as the story line got going it was very gripping.

Overall it was a good read which has a mysterious storyline full of supernatural happenings!

Reviewed by guest reviewer Rebecca

In My Mailbox {29}

For Review

Seizure by Kathy Reichs

Fated by Sarah Alderson

After the Snow by S.D Crockett

Vixen by Jillian Larkin
Black Arts by Prentice and Weil

Review: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

         

Title: Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Series: Hush, Hush #2
Pages: 427

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: October 14th 2010 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 4 stars

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. 

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something. 

Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperately searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

Crescendo was a pleasant surprise for me. I enjoyed Hush, Hush but it didn't live up to the hype for me. Crescendo, however, was a lot more enjoyable.

I found the plot captivating and quick paced. It was full of mystery and suspense and I loved that.

Patch was more appealing to me in Crescendo. He wasn't perfect but he felt less creepy for sure. Nora was a little annoying at times but I generally liked her.

All in all I thought Crescendo was a better read than Hush, Hush. A quick read with lots of twists and turns!