Saturday, March 31, 2012

Whats coming up!

Now that the 7 days of Ally Carter is finished and since I go on holidays next week, I will post Delirium and Pandemonium reviews. Also I am hoping get my hands some the hunger games trilogy, because the movie was fantastic and I really want to know what happens next! I will also post some reviews on:
  • Lola and the Boy Next Door by Setpanie Perkins
  • Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
  • Magic in Manhattan series by Sarah Mlynowski!

Stay tunned!
Keely x

Day 7: 7 Days of Ally Carter

Before reading the latest Gallagher Girls novel, I recommened going to http://www.thegallagheracademy.com/ to read the short stories from Liz, Bex, Macey and Zach! They give you an insight about what happened when Cammie left at the term.

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter
The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

It's a race against time...

Cammie Morgan has no idea what she did last summer, what happened to her and where she went. When she wakes up in a convent in Switzerland, she knows that the circle had her but she doesn't know what really happened to her. When she arrives back at school it isn't what she expected, Macey and Liz act like nothings happened, Bex won't talk to her and Zach is the one out of the loop for once.

When in CoveOps Cammie assembles a rifle absent mindly and has no idea how she learnt it. Then what every Gallagher Girl dreams of, Zach in nothing but a towel. When they go back to where Cammie went in the start of the summer, an assasin is sent to kill her. But when Bex is in danger she does what she has to save her best friend, even if it means killing a man. As they try to follow where Cammie went last summer they uncover some of the darkest secrets.

With Agent Townsend, Zach, Joe Solomon, Abby and Preston back (yes Preston) we start to uncover what happened to Cammie, what went on in the summer and where her dad is.

I will say that Zach and Cammie are finally together, sorta. But it is a must read and the final instalment is going answer all our questions.

Rate: 10/5 (it is just that great!)

Friday, March 30, 2012

Day 6: 7 Days of Ally Carter

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules. (from goodreads)

Uncommon Criminals is the second instalment of the Heist Society series. Where back with Kat, Hale and the gang ready to pull off another heist. Kat has a new client who wants her to pull off stealing something that hasn't been seen in the public for 30years, Cleopatra's emerald which is cursed. Along the journey they face many challenges along the way to finding the emerald and themseleves getting conned.

And then we have Kat and Hale. They have undeinable feelings for each other but will they act upon these feelings? Or will they just forget about them? So I just you all who haven't read the Heist series to go out and by these books! As you will just fall in love with Ally Carters writing and characterisation.

Rate: 5/5

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Day 5: 7 Days of Ally Carter

Only The Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
Cammie Morgan always knew that being a Gallagher Girl (aka spy-in-training) would mean a life of risk and danger. She just didn't know that life would start before she'd even left high school...

But now that an acient terrorist organisation is dead-set on kidnapping her, even Cammie 'The Chameleon' can't hide. And when someone she trusts is labelled a rogue double-agent, Cammie feels like her whole world is falling apart.

Can she still count on her classmates? Her teachers? And what about her feelings for the totally hot (yet totally unpredictable) Zach?

This semester, Cammie and her friends must spy, hack and steal if they want to find out the truth.

Cammie's life depends on it...

Cammie and the gang is back but this time in more danger than ever. When Zach mysterioulsy shows up on Cammie's winter vacation with Bex in London, Cammie knows something is wrong. When Joe Solomon is labelled a rouge agent, Cammie dosen't know who to trust. With a new CoveOps teacher not teaching them anything, all he wants to know is about Joe Solomon. In following Joe's orders Cammie discovers a clue to what has been following her for six years. With Zach back and helping Cammie uncover what the circle wants with her. With a trip to where it all started Cammie, Zach and the team takes them on a dangerous journey which answers many of the un-answered questions that Cammie has.

With Cammie, Zach, Bex, Liz and Macey, along with some help from Rachel, Abby, Mr and Mrs Baxter we start to uncover some of Cammie's longest un-answered secrets. (Yes i know its short, but I had to try and keep it spoiler free)

Rate: 5/5

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Day 4: 7 Days of Ally Carter

Heist Society by Ally Carter
Kat Bishop wants to leave the family business. But that's not easy if your family is a gang of exclusive, world-class thieves.

When a mobster accuse Kat's dad of stealing his priceless art collection, Kat knows there's only one thing to do - she has to find the paintings and steal them back. But with only two weeks, a teenage crew, a plan that will take her across Europe, and her dad's life on the line, can she pull off the biggest heist in history? (from back of book)

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way. (from goodreads)

Meet Katarina Bishop 15year old con-artist, pick-pocket, art thief and teenage girl. Kat has left this world behind, wanting to become a normal teenage boarding school girl at the Colgan School. Her best friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, has taken her back into this world that she so desperatly wanted to forget. Her father has been accused of something he didn't do, so can Kat prove that her father didn't steal these paintings?

With only a two week deadline she inlists her former crew of Hale, Simon, Gabrielle, Angus and Hamish to find and steal back these paintings that have been stolen. As they travel across Europe to figure out where these painting are they come across her father who she gives interpol a tip-off that he rob an art gallery in Paris to try and give him time if they cannot find the paintings. But Kat still insist's that she doesn't steal anymore, that she's left the business, but really it's stealling back what has been stolen and returned to it's owners right?

When the crew find out that they are stealling from one of the world's most secure art museums, can they pull off the con without anyone finding out and not getting noticed? Within the two weeks and save her dad? The first in this Heist series follow Kat, Hale and the gang across Europe to get back the paintings that have been stolen and return them to save Kat's only parent.

Rate: 4.5/5

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Day 3: 7 Days of Ally Carter

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
Cammie Morgan has a cover for every occasion. As a spy-in-training, aliases, phoney passports and fake IDs are a means of survival. But what happens when the ghosts of her past see through her flawless facade?

In her junior year at Gallagher Academy, Cammie continues to flirt with danger. When a national political convention turns into a trap, she is forced to lose her cover to save her best friend Macey - a major political target - from being kidnapped.

But are the kidnappers political extremists or something more sinister? And why has Zach, Cammie's mysterious (and totally hot) crush, suddenly returned?

With the help of an ex-Gallagher Girl, Cammie and her friends are determined to hunt down the group that threatens to tear apart their secret sisterhood apart.

This time it's personal...

During the summer before her junior year Cammie is invited to a political convention in Boston by her best friend Macey whose father is running for vice president. Little do they it is a trap. When Cammie, Macey and Preston are on a rooftop at the convention, they are apart of a kidnapping atempt but they don't know who is that target. Preston; future president's son? Macey; future vice-president's daughter and Gallagher Girl? Or Cammie; daughter of two spies, headmistress of Gallagher Academy and Gallagher Girl?

As they fight to stay a alive they have to lose their covers to save themselves and Preston from being kidnapped. Escaping narrowly with a head injury and a broken arm the girls are lucky to be alive. As Cammie's Aunt Abby comes to protect Macey from any threats that may come into the school they learn more and more about what really happened in Boston.

When Macey is made to go to Ohio for a presidential campagain, the junior CoveOps class is sent to observe the secret service, Cammie notices someone like her, a pavement artist, heading towards her best friend. Little does she know that it is a ghost from her past. Zach. As she trys to find out why Zach was there, the girls learn more and more about the schools history, their own history and who is really after them. They follow Macey throughout the campagain to find out the truth and when Zach keeps turning up they start to question him and who he really is.

Don't judge a girl by her cover, is the third book of Ally Carters Gallagher Girl series and one of the most revealing of what is to come. The characters are deeper, relationships are tested and ghost from Cammie's past are around every corner, and who is this group and who is it that they want? This book leaves you guessing until the end about who it is, who is that target and who is Zach really?

Stay tuned for another review tomorrow, Heist Society is tomorrow!

Rate: 5/5

Monday, March 26, 2012

Day 2: 7 Days of Ally Carter

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan may be a spy-in-training with a genius IQ, but there are still a lot of things she doesn't know. Like, does her ex-boyfriend even remember she exists? And why is her mother acting so strangely?

This semester at the Gallagher Acdemy, Cammie just wants to lie low, but danger seems to follow her everywhere. When the principal plays host to some mysterious guests - code name: Blackthorne - she is blamed for a security breach that leaves the school at risk.

Cammie and her friends are determined to clear her name, but this time the targets are tougher (and hotter), and the stakes for Cammie's heart - and her beloved school - are even higher.

Cross my heart and hope to spy starts right off where I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill left off. During the last day of winter break Cammie is summoned to D.C to answer question about what happened during her CoveOps fall final (after her ex-boyfriend ran into the wall with a forklift). But all this semester that Cammie wants to do is lie low and focus on school. But when her mother is acting strangely and her CoveOps exercusion to D.C finally answer her questions, Cammie realises that she wasn't going to be lying low this semester.

Meet Zachary Goode and the boys from Blackthorne academy, a school for boys (did i mention that they are also spies-in-training?). When Zach starts to show an intrest in Cammie, she does everything she can to avoid him until they realise they have no idea who they really are. When Cammie is accussed for a code black she didn't set off, she starts to suspect the boys espically when Zach was with her when the alarm went off. Cammie and her friends must find who the boys are before its too late, even if that means getting close to Zach.

Just like the first book Cammie faces the same things a normal teenage girl would like seeing you ex-boyfriend who then sees you holding another boys hand because you are practicing a CoveOps exercise and your frozen at the sight of seeing him, clothing mishaps and dances. This book is sure to make you want to see Zach (because lets face it girls, we all love a mysterious, secertive boy don't we?) and the rest of the Gallagher Girls again.

Rate: 4.5/5

Tomorrow will be Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

7 Days of Ally Carter

Finally I have found Gallagher Girls 5! So in honor of finally finding this book I am going to review each of her 7 books, I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you, Cross my heart and hope to spy, Don't judge a girl by her cover, Heist Society, Only the good spy young, Uncommon Criminals and OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF TIME!!!!
Starting today with:
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter
Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.(from goodreads)


Fifteen-year-old Cammie Morgan loves to feel invisible, because at the Gallagher Academy it's considered cool. And yes it's true; her private high school is for exceptional young women aka geniuses. It's also a secret training ground for future spies.

In this first book from the Gallagher girl series, Cammie meets a regular guy from town during a field trip to practice their pavement artist skills. He's cute, and funny, and nice.
He also thinks she's an ordinary girl.

Despite the fact that Cammie should report this chance meeting to her superiors and her best friends she keeps Josh a secret. Because while being Chameleon is usually cool, it's incredible that a guy finally noticed her. Eventually, her super-spy-to-be friends uncover the info and take on the mission of helping Cammie figure out how to capture Josh.

But what's a spy girl to do? She can't tell Josh the truth about herself and he's supposed to be completely off-limits.

This book is the start of Ally Carter's best selling Gallagher Girls series.

Rate: 4/5

Saturday, March 24, 2012

What I'm Reading

Currently reading:
Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love. (from goodreads)


I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame. (from goodreads)


Looking forward to reading these two books! Hopefully will get some time inbetween assignments and school work! Can't wait for year 12 to be over!

Keely x

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Review Time! #2

Anna and the French Kiss by Stepanie Perkins Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

(from goodreads)

What can I say! I bought the e-book version of this book only because I couldn't find it anywhere (the one and only e-book i own), it was amazing! I started at 9pm and and finished 12.30am, it was just that breath-taking. While I love paranormal YA, i do love a good love story and contemporary YA.

This sotry follows Anna to Paris, the city of lights, where she is sent to boarding school for her senior year SOAP (School of America in Paris). Of course there is a boy, Etienne St. Clair who is very swoon worthy, American born, English raised and speaks fluent French. And then there is Toph the guy she likes but is all the way back in Atlanta. As Anna embarks on her journey throughout Paris and discovers and expriences new things, she starts to fall in love with her taken best friend, he longer becomes St. Clair but Etienne. But he has a girlfriend, so can Anna deal with this or will she just ruin the the friendship that they have? I will not spoil this because you just have to read it to understand how breath-taking this complex, modern love story is.

So go out and buy this book as it will take you a journey through Paris, modern day love story and follow the story of Anna and Etienne!

Rate: 5/5

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Review Time! #1

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Overview from goodreas:
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

I re-read this book for english for our belonging topic that we are currently studying. While many may think that it is wierd for the narrator to be 'death' but it works. The book brings in the facts of what Nazi Germany was like at the time, the deaths of the Jews, the regin of Hitler, the poverty that  was happening to the German people and what will happen if you hide a Jew.

The book I will admit that it is sad, but it is the truth. The main character Liesel struggles with what Germay is becoming, she hates Hitler, feels sorry for the Jews and her best friend wants to be Jesse Owens. She isn't a normal German girl. In Hitlers eyes they should love him, hate Jews and no one should want to be a black American. When Liesel steals books she does it because she loves to read, she steals from the mayors wife only to realise that she should write a book, a book that she loses the day the world ends in her eyes. Death carries the book until he can return it to her.

The life of Liesel in time of war wasn't great, but she does learn about who she is. She defys what people think of Germans during this time and shows the side of the goodness that some people during the time had.

Rate: 5/5

Monday, March 19, 2012

2012 Wishlist

2012 Wishlist
  • Out of sight, Out of time by Ally Carter
  • The City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
  • Rapture by Lauren Kate
  • Golden Lilly by Richelle Mead
  • Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
  • Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia
  • Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick
  • Destined by Aprilynne Pike
  • Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
  • The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting
  • The Gates of Paradise by Melissa De La Cruz
  • Until I Die by Amy Plum
  • Black Heart by Holly Black
Yes I admit the majority of this list is YA paranormal, but I do prefer normal YA, YA historical, and really anything buy sc-fi and horror.