Goodbye Blogosphere

This is a really difficult post to write. I have been considering leaving blogging for a while now but I have such  mixed opinions on the idea. I love blogging and the opportunity to review books and just talk about my love of reading. However, in the past six months and I have lost my passion and love for reading. The pressure of review books and feeling like I couldn't read what I wanted made reading feel like a chore which is such a shame.

I decided, in order to find my love of reading again, that giving up blogging was the best option. It took away the pressure and means I can read what I want, when I want without feeling bad. I have recently started reading books I want to and guys IT IS SO FUN! So I am leaving you all in order to have fun reading.

I just want to say a huge thank you to you all for your support and talking books with me. So this is goodbye. And remember....keep reading!

Alice

Guest Post: Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer has kindly written a guest post for my blog and I am so honoured to have her. She is definitely one of my favourite authors at the moment!

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On “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

By Marissa Meyer

 When people ask me to list my favorite books, or some books that have inspired me over the years, I tend to give them a deer-in-the-headlights look. It’s a difficult question, as there are so MANY books that I’ve loved and been moved by that they tend to jumble together in my head into a mesh of titles and authors and plotlines and characters.

 But when asked if there were any books that I feel changed my life, one quickly rises to the top: The Giver by Lois Lowry.

 I read The Giver for the first time in 5th grade and I can still remember the exact feeling I had when, half-way through the book, I realized that the main character was seeing colors for the first time. Colors! My mind was blown, not only because the author had taken such care to drop subtle hints about the color-blind society, but also because I hadn’t seen it coming it all. Suddenly it was as if I was reading a completely different book. I had to stop and reconstruct the image I’d made in my mind of the world I was reading about.

 All these years later, I’m still amazed at how Lois Lowry took something so trivial and made it so vital to the story she was telling. The color red. What a simple thing. What a strange idea, to have something so common, so taken for granted, entirely removed from a society.

 For me, the true magic of this book is that it made me look at all books differently. It showed me, for the first time, that a book could change the way I looked at the world. By taking color away, and then giving it back. It was months after reading The Giver before I could look at an apple the same way—and I don’t think I’ve ever looked at books the same way since.

Month of Men Tour: Simone Elkeles

I am taking part in Simon and Schuster's Month of Men tour and I had the privilege to interview Simone Elkeles. I love her novels and had lots of fun asking her questions.

I (along with many other readers) fell in love with the Fuentes brothers but I have to say that Alex has to be my favourite. Which Fuentes brother is your favourite?

I get asked this question often and I still can’t choose!  All of my characters, but especially my Fuentes brothers, are like my own children - I could never pick a favourite! There’s something I love about each one of them.  I love how Alex has a heart of gold and would do anything to protect his family.  I love Carlos’ sarcastic personality (because that’s so like me) and the way he doesn’t back down from a challenge.  For Luis, I love that he’s so thoughtful and truly cares about how another person feels.  I could just never choose between them!

What was your inspiration for all the love interests in your novel? Are any of them based on real people?

Alex was partially inspired by this super cute guy named Luis that worked at my local bagel shop. He’s Mexican, he has that “it” factor – you can’t help but look at him when he walks in the room, he’s got tattoos, and has a certain swagger that is so “Alex” to me!  I finally told him that he was my inspiration and his friends who work with him think it’s hilarious and they make fun of him all the time about it.  Most of the time I make up my characters and they’re a mixture of a bunch of people I know.
  
If you were to write a novel in a different genre to your other works what genre would you like to write?

I think I would like to write a time travel novel.  Really, though, I adore writing romance.  It’s my favourite genre to read because I love happy endings!  I love that romance novels have the power to make you laugh and cry and that make you want to be the hero or heroine in your own life story.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you are working on at the moment?

I’m working on a new series about four football players in high school and the girls they fall in love with.  The first book is going to be out in the U.S. in October.  Don’t worry, the books are all romances and you don’t have to know anything about football to enjoy it!  I’m not allowed to release too many details about it yet, but I hope to be revealing information on my Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simone-Elkeles-Fan-Page/101698336559632) soon!  I will also post information about a Perfect Chemistry movie if there is one in the works…keep your fingers crossed that will also go into production this year!

Also if you haven't already seen the new covers for Simone's Leaving Paradise Series here they are!























Thank you to Simone Elkeles and Simon and Schuster! Make sure you read the rest of the Month of Men tour posts here!

Marissa Meyer Signing

Marissa Meyer is coming to the UK!!!! I cannot wait you guys. I am such a huge fan of Marissa Meyer and her novel Cinder and cannot wait to meet her. You should definitely come along if you can!!

January Wrap Up

I am really really pleased with the number of books I've read this month. I definitely didn't expect to read 11!  The books I read this month are:

Mothership by Martin Leicht & Isla Neal
The Secret Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Colins Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller & Sack Stentz

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Give Me Five by Meg Cabot

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DeCamillo

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Legend by Marie Lu

Vortex by Julie Cross

Anne of Avonlea was probably my favourite along with my reread of Legend by Marie Lu. I was disappointed with The Tale of Despereaux, especially after watching the film and finding that I enjoyed it a lot more. It was definitely a good book month and I'm very pleased with how much I read.

Longest book read: Vortex by Julie Cross (435 pages)
Shortest book read: The Secret Princess Diaries (58 pages)
Total pages read: 2747 pages

What did you read in January?

Review: Vortex by Julie Cross

     
    

Title: Vortex
Author: Julie Cross

Series: Tempest #2
Pages: 435

Publisher: Macmillan
Release Date: 3rd January 2013
Source: For review
Rating: 4 stars
100 Book challenge: #11

Jackson Meyer has thrown himself into his role as an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. Despite his heartbreak at losing the love of his life, Jackson has proved himself to be an excellent agent. However, all that changes when Holly—the girl he altered history to save—re-enters his life. And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents find themselves under attack and on the run.

I really enjoyed Tempest, the first book, and whilst I feel Vortex wasn't quite as good I did still really enjoy it.

Vortex deals with the aftermath of Jackson's sacrifice to protect Holly. It was really heartbreaking to read about, especially as Holly is reintroduced into the plot. Cross convincingly dealt with Jackson's mixed emotions and conflict Jackson felt towards Holly, toying between doing what he thought was right and what he really wanted. As the story progressed the line between right and wrong merged.

There were lots of shocking revelation in Vortex that I wasn't expecting. I was definitely surprised by the plot twists and I don't think I saw any of them coming. It was really refreshing to be surprised in a book instead of being able to see the plot twist from a mile away.

The same issues I had with Tempest were present in Vortex. Vortex is a 435 page book which I have no problem with (I've read books with higher page counts) but you can really feel it. It does feel very dense and heavy and I struggled reading it for a long time. It is definitely YA but it has a very adult feel to it in its heaviness. The heaviness is also probably in connection with the confusion I feel when reading the series. The time travel aspect gets fairly convoluted and I do struggle to follow. At time I do just skim over the details, only focusing on the essential aspects to the time travel.

Despite a few negative I do enjoy this series and if you like sci-fi and time travel with a fairly contemporary feel that I would recommend this series.

Reading Resolutions

I am a bit late doing this but I really wanted to share my reading and blogging resolutions with you.

Reading Resolutions

1. Read 75 books. I am hoping I will be able to read 100 but I will be happy with 75 this year.
2. Get my TBR pile at home down to 250 books. I'm at about 300 so I would like to read or get rid of at least 50 books.
3. Not buying any books this year. My TBR, as you can see, is far too huge and I feel awful for neglecting my books I bought. 
4.I will only read review books and books that I own so no borrowing books!
5. A slight exception the rule above. My boyfriend and I are at different universities at the moment so we thought it would be fun to choose a book a month to both read and then talk about it. I will probably be borrowing a few books for this as we don't have massively similar tastes in books.

Blogging Resolutions

1. Blog twice a week. I will be posting mostly reviews as my time is limited and these are what I would prefer to post.
2. Write reviews of books fairly shortly after I read them, within a few days.
3. Connect more with people on twitter and blogs. I have really missed the book community!

So these are my resolutions. What are yours for 2013?

Review: Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

     

    

Title: Level 2
Author: Lenore Appelhans

Series: The Memory Chronicles #1
Pages: 320

Publisher: Usborne
Release Date: 15th January 2013
Source: For review
Rating: 3.5 stars
100 Book challenge: #4

"I pause to look around the hive – all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories… I’ve wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me." 

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in Level 2, the waiting room between Earth and Heaven, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend…and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her…

Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing in Level 2, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between Heaven and Earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves. A choice that will change everything…

Level 2 is a really interesting, unique look at the afterlife and religion in general which I really enjoyed.

Right from the get go, Level 2 is extremely fast paced. It completely sucks you in and I was flying through it. I felt the pace lagged a little for about 50 pages at the 60% mark but it definitely picked up again at the end.

I liked how Felicia is such a flawed character. She is by no means perfect and despite disagreeing with some of her actions you could see her remorse which still allowed me to connect with her. Through the use of flashbacks (which I loved! It was done so well here) you could see her past mistakes and as she reflected on them you could see such growth.

The love triangle didn't feel too much like a love triangle for me. Julian didn't even feel like a contestant in the game as it didn't even seem like Felicia had conflicting feelings over who she liked. It was clear it was Neil that she loved and through that he was the one I was rooting for. He is a bit sickly sweet but I felt he was extremely sweet and likeable. Julian, though I didn't find him to be a huge part in the love triangle, was an enjoyable character to read about and I did really like him.

The religious aspect was really thought-provoking. Neil is very religious which is where some of the religion in the book comes in but the whole idea of Level 2 being the middle ground between Heaven and Earth brought about some interesting ideas.

The reason for docking off half a star is the pacing in the middle. The fact that there was a lag and I did struggle to make it through a chapter in one sitting meant that it wasn't quite four stars for me.

If you are looking for something unique and interesting then I would recommend Level 2. It is an intriuging look at the afterlife, religion and death.

I'm Back...

Hello :) Long time no see. This is just a quick hello to let you know I am still alive and I'm still blogging, I just needed a break and there will be a post up on Monday so look out for that!

Happy reading!!!